Commissioners learned Tuesday that Allen County won a grant of up to $150,000 from American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds to make improvements to the courthouse and critical response center, 410 N. State St. The funds require a 60-40 federal-county match.
Commissioners sought the grant to fund replacement of a cooling tower atop the courthouse, install heating and cooling controls in the courthouse and make roof repairs to the critical response center, which houses 911 dispatch and emergency management services.
Euphoria produced by the grant was tempered by bad news from Bill King, director of Public Works.
King said about $25,000 would have to be spent to recondition a large Caterpillar loader at the landfill.
The loader has been used a little over 11,000 hours. A new unit would cost $150,000, King said.
Worse news was that the rock crusher in the quarry went down and “we’re looking at some big bucks to get it back up and running.” King estimated repairs at $50,000 to $100,000.
“We don’t know yet whether there are some gears out or whether it’s a bearing problem or what,” he said, noting the problem may be a combination of several things. “The last time we replaced any bearings — they were smaller than (those) that would have to be (replaced) this time — they cost $4,000 each.”
He said department coffers contained money for the repairs.
With a possibility that rock production will be shut down for several weeks and road maintenance interrupted by winter weather, King said he likely would defer chip seal maintenance of the Neosho Falls road northwest of Iola.
If the crusher is down too long, the county may run short of rock for emergency road repairs and for use with salt to treat icy roads. Supplies are sufficient now but could be expended quickly, King said.
Arlen Briggs, who lives in Anderson County but has property in Allen County, told commissioners Tuesday that some chip sealed roads in northeast Allen County that he travels frequently were “wavy” and he thought roadbed preparation was not done well. Briggs said Allen County road crews would do well to take lessons from those maintaining roads in Anderson County.
RODNEY BURNS, a Chanute accountant, told commissioners an audit of 2009 financial records found only a couple of minor cash-basis glitches, in part caused by agencies the county supports having fiscal years that run July 1 to June 30 rather than on the calendar year as the county does.
