A pipeline company and McPherson County commissioners on July 21 discussed a memorandum of understanding to permit pipeline repairs in the county right-of-way at Navajo Road and 14th Avenue and agreed to several county conditions, including a $100,000 bond for five years, a full roadway closure with an approved detour plan and repairs built to current Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) standards.

Melissa Sherman, an attorney with Spencer Fane representing the company, told the board the firm and the county counselor had negotiated most terms and that the company was willing to provide a five-year, $100,000 bond and to use a full closure with detour routing rather than a single-lane detour. "$100,000 bond for 5 years is the first point," Sherman said. "We have agreed to that as well."

Other negotiated terms discussed in the meeting: the company agreed to provide rock (aggregate) to support detour routes and to ensure roadway repairs meet KDOT standards. County officials asked that the county approve the contractor performing the road repairs or that the county perform the repair work itself; the company offered to pay the county directly if the county does the work. Sherman confirmed the memorandum would include a requirement that repairs not be considered complete until the county inspects and accepts them.

County staff and commissioners pressed for additional clarity on several operational points: the type and amount of aggregate to be used, whether rock should be stockpiled or applied after wet weather, who will apply the material (county/township) and compacted-layer inspection procedures. A county staff member suggested allowing the township to handle spreading and that the memorandum specify county approval of aggregate type. "If you talk to the township and they want a specific type of rock ... assuming that it's not, you know, granite, so something reasonable, then that's what we would put down," Sherman said.

The board discussed closure length and traffic control. Company representatives indicated a five-day maximum closure was the working target; the company had previously offered to work 24/7 to accelerate completion but county officials cautioned about nighttime operations and dust. County staff and the company agreed to revise the traffic-control exhibit to reflect a two-way one-direction detour approach that would split traffic volumes rather than dump full traffic onto a single township road.

No formal vote was taken. Sherman said she would make the changes discussed, circulate the revised memorandum to the county counselor, and the parties expected to have revised language available for possible approval next week. County officials said they would supply specifications for rebuilding Old U.S. 81 (the roadway's base and overlay) and coordinate with the township on aggregate type and placement.

Ending: Commissioners did not adopt the memorandum at the meeting; staff and the company's counsel agreed to finalize edits and to seek county-counsel review and board approval on the revised document at a near-term meeting.