The burned-out remnants of the former Pallets Plus business may be torn down by the end of the day today.
County Engineer Chip Woods told Lyon County Commissioners during their Wednesday study session that equipment was to be taken to the site, likely later that day, with razing to begin soon after.
Fire destroyed the building, 3 miles south of Emporia at Road 130 and Highway 99, about a year and a half ago. Since then, the remaining roof and siding have been torn or have fallen away, leaving the metal skeleton of the building still standing.
The city of Emporia and the county since have worked with owners to sell the property or remove the debris. Lyon County Attorney Marc Goodman told commissioners this month that the county has a right to tear down the rest of the building, clear away the remnants, and bill the owners for the cost.
Goodman said that attorneys for the owners have become involved in the situation.
“So, by the way, Michael (Assistant County Counselor Halleran) and I cannot talk to any owner or representative of the party,” Goodman said. “I would suggest that no one else speak to an individual owner if they contact you. ... Inform them that you’ve been advised that.”
Commission chairman Scott Briggs said that some members of the fair board have inquired whether the usable metal would be available to them to purchase and use in a building planned on the north side of the Lyon County Fairgrounds near the beef cattle barn. Briggs asked whether county workers had been asked to separate usable from non-usable metal as they clear away the area.
County Engineer Chip Woods said workers planned to separate the materials.
Briggs said that he was concerned about child and animal safety around a lagoon on the property, and asked if it was enclosed with fencing, as required.
Woods will ask environmentalist Ann Mayo of the Lyon County Health Department whether the county needs to close down the lagoon, or whether it is fenced and within code requirements.
Commissioners also discussed condensing their two weekly meetings into one meeting per week, in an effort to save time and money.
“It would free our counselor, it would free Dan (Controller Slater) up to do other things,” Briggs said.
Goodman said that much of the discussion and explanations during Wednesday study sessions are duplicated at the Thursday action meetings, and that many of the items discussed become part of the consent agenda, rather than separate agenda items.
“Then you take the action that you originally said you were going to do the day before,” Goodman said. “Most of the time, I can’t see within one day, within one meeting, that it’s going to add all that much time. If you took all of today and placed it on top of tomorrow, you’re not going to take any longer.”
Briggs said that a former county clerk had told him that in the past, when commissioners met only on Thursdays, actions sometimes had to be re-done because commissioners had not had time to think through issues thoroughly enough.
“... (P)eople would come in and dump stuff on the commission on Thursday morning, and the commission would feel like they had to decide, so (they) would make the decision without giving it consideration,” Slater said. “”Shooting from the hip is never a good idea for anybody.”
Slater pointed out that now agendas are set by noon on Fridays, allowing commissioners more time to study accompanying information than in the past.
“If it requires special consideration or extra time, you can give notice of a study session being set for the Wednesday before,” he said.
Briggs said that in some other counties, study sessions were held in the morning, and actions were taken after lunch.
He added that study sessions could be scheduled during times when commissioners knew they would be handling more-complex matters, such as budget discussions. One meeting during slower times would allow department heads and employees to spend more time at their jobs, rather than attending meetings on Wednesdays and Thursdays to discuss the same matters.
“And if it got towards budget session again next year, go to 2 days in the process,” Briggs said. “It’s something to think about.”
The commission also discussed proposed wind farm regulations with Sam Seeley, zoning and flood plains director.
Seeley said that the zoning board had voted 7-0 to adopt recommendations gleaned from studying other counties’ and states’ wind collection systems regulations; recommendations from county residents also were discussed and added to the local resolution.
Seeley said that he had gone to every county in Kansas that has a wind generator and researched regulations from “Minnesota and all the way to Texas.”
“These regulations are progressive enough to cover everything that’s industry standard,” he said. “We referred everything that as industries evolve, so will regulations.”
Commissioner Rollie Martin questioned whether the regulations would cover private wind turbines for residences.
“No, this is strictly for commercial mass production of wind industry,” Seeley said. “It doesn’t have anything to do with private windmill generation for people’s property.”
Other items discussed by commissioners included:
F purchase of a new monitor for courthouse security to replace one that has broken. The cost will be approximately $2,400.
F purchase of a drug dog to the today’s consent agenda.
“The dogs have been very good about paying their own way,” Goodman said. “... In fact, the dog’s going to be purchased with money they got from drug forfeiture.”
Goodman said that state statute sets down the types of ways drug forfeiture can be spent.
“The statute does require that you approve it,” Goodman said. “So long as the use is correct, it’s a rubber-stamp approval. ... It’s a courtesy approval is actually what it is.”