County officials are awaiting approval from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment before they officially claim a 7.5-acre parcel of land on East Street as the site for a new Allen County Hospital.
The site, between Citizens Bank and The Family Physicians on the east entrance to town, was occupied by smelters more than 100 years ago and in some cases has resulted in tainted soil that must be either cleared away or covered.
If environmental concerns prove “insurmountable, we have another site in mind,” said Commissioner Dick Works at Tuesday’s commission meeting, referring to undeveloped land north of town that borders U.S. 169 between North Dakota Road and East Carpenter Street.
The alternative site has issues with utility accessibility, Works noted. Commissioners have also heard that it is in “too residential a neighborhood,” Commissioner Rob Francis said, but noted that it would enable direct access to the highway.
Voters will have the final say as to whether a hospital will be built. The issue is on the Nov. 2 ballot in the form of a quarter-cent sales tax. The tax would mean an additional 25 cents for every $100 of goods purchased.
Commissioner Gary McInotsh was absent.
County Counselor Alan Weber was directed by Works and Francis to pursue a list of appraisers for a site once one is formally selected.
Weber also wrote up a summary of hospital trustee duties and expectations, he said, to be given to potential board of trustee candidates. The requirements were reviewed by ACH Chief Executive Officer Joyce Heismeyer, Weber said.
Weber noted he has reviewed personnel policies for all county departments and made appropriate changes.
“We really hadn’t done it for 10 years,” he said of updating the guidelines. He suggested reviewing the policies every two years in the future.
THE COUNTY ambulance service has brought in $429,000 thus far this year, said Emergency Medical Services Director Jason Nelson. That amount is $50,000 more than last year at this point, he said. Nelson said the amount reflects 80 percent of what has been billed.
“Things have been busy, unfortunately,” he said of the number of calls. Nelson said at one point recently all four trucks were on calls at the same time.
“That shows the need for the improvements we’ve made” to the emergency response system, Works said.
Nelson is scheduling cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) classes for staff at both Moran Manor and Kids Kingdom child care center.
Other businesses can schedule such training by calling Nelson at 365-1460.
WORKS said commissioners will look into a request to purchase new tires for the mental health center van, used by the county in situations when its own senior services van is out of commission.
The senior van has been having ongoing problems, said Public Works Director Bill King.
The most recent, a problem with the air conditioning system that cannot be fixed regionally, will see the van, a 2007 Ford, taken to Wichita for service.
Other issues have involved a fuel pump, back lock, emissions controls and the engine light coming on repeatedly.
“It’s just been one thing after another,” noted County Clerk Sherrie Reible.
The van was purchased with grant funds and must be used until a certain mileage is reached before the county is eligible to reapply for a similar grant, Works said.
Typically, the vans are replaced after four or five years or 100,000 miles, Reibel added.
“If you get a lemon, it’s a long four years,” said Works.
THE COUNTY is actively mowing roadways and has all three mowers out, King noted. Cool season chip seal work will be done as weather permits, he added.
A 50-gallon buried tank must be removed from Allen County Airport property. The tank’s past use is uncertain, King said, but he thought it was for a septic system.
All counties in Kansas, as of July 1, must pay for indigent burials, a tab previously picked up by the state, Works said. No such burials have taken place in Allen County since the change.
Health insurance claims are running $3,145 higher than expected this year, commissioners noted.
Commissioners reauthorized a resolution continuing a 75 cent tax per line on land line phones in Allen County to help fund county 911 services.
