By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
Ellis County will receive an additional $2.5 million in federal funds toward the Northwest Business Corridor, county comissionsers learned at a meeting Monday.
The county was notified Aug. 9 it will receive the money from the 2019 BUILD grant funds that were made available for projects experiencing COVID-related budget challenges.
These funds could be used to reduce the county’s required local contribution for the corridor project, which would make funding available for other county projects, said Brendan Mackay, Ellis County public works director.
The additional funds also could be used to increase the scope of this project. The money could be used to widen the driving surface.
The project is slated for a 24-foot driving surface and 8-foot aggregate shoulders on both sides. The 8-foot aggregate shoulders could be reduced in size to expand the paved section by 1 to 3 feet on both sides, widening the paved section from 24 feet to 30 feet, Mackay said.
Wider is always better and safer, Mackay said.
Commissioner Butch Schlyer said there are so many road and bridge projects in the county that he would like to leave the road at 24-feet and use the money to offset the county's share, so the county could do other projects.
Commissioners Neal Younger and Joe LeRoux said they agreed.
"I think if we can cover more ground and serve more people, that is certainly the preferred route for me," Leroux said.
Cathedral Avenue
The county also voted to sign the cost-share agreement on construction of Cathedral Avenue in Victoria.
Cathedral Road is being reconstructed from Sixth Street to the north edge of Victoria. Work is under way from south of Sixth Street to U.S. Highway 40. This grant will allow the county to complete the project north.
"I'm just excited that we're able to have this unexpected news, as he pointed out, it's not the norm for this to be awarded two years in a row," Leroux said. "It's been great to take care of Cathedral from the southern to the northern point of Victoria basically all in one shot."
As part of the cost share grant, the Kansas Department of Transportation awarded Ellis County 60 percent of eligible construction costs up to $700,000. The remaining costs and non-participating costs will be the county’s responsibility.
The county share of eligible construction costs is estimated at $475,600. In addition, the county will be responsible for the preliminary engineering and construction inspection engineering costs, which are estimated at $94,000 and $176,000.
Budget
The commission approved the final $29 million budget for publication at its meeting Monday.
The budget includes all departmental requests, personnel changes, health insurance premium adjustments, pay raises, retirement contribution program and continued increase to reserves for infrastructure improvements, Darin Myers, county administrator, said.
The budget includes increasing funding to capital reserves for both the road and bridge funds ($1.6 million, which is up from $329,000 in 2021), as well as setting aside capital for the construction of a new public works facility planned to be built in 2023.
The budget also includes $1.2 million for outside agencies, including $5,000 for Big Brothers Big Sisters.
The mill levy is estimated at 37.2 mills, just less than the rate set in 2022 of 37.395 mills.
An increase in landfill fees will stabilize the landfill budget, which had been estimated to be at a $14,000 deficit.
The public budget hearing is set for Sept. 12.