Geary County commissioners approve AT&T fiber petition, elevator service riders and backflow replacement; public works reports FEMA recovery steps

Jeremy Myers, interim public works administrator, asked the Geary County Board of County Commissioners to approve several routine public-works items and updated the board on storm damage, FEMA recovery work and maintenance contracts.

Myers recommended the county approve AT&T’s petition to install buried fiber-optic infrastructure along 440, saying the request shows two 2-inch conduits and a 44-strand fiber cable would be buried about 3 feet and that most of the work would be boring rather than open trenching. "I'd recommend commission approval for AT and T requested addition," Myers said. The board moved, seconded and voiced aye to approve the petition.

Myers also outlined new service riders with Kone to take over elevator maintenance after terminating the TKE contract. He described two rider packages: a limited freight-elevator service (labeled the freight elevator) billed at $65 a month and a complete maintenance package for the passenger elevator with higher annual cost. The county will prorate the 2025 charges based on contract start dates; Myers cited prorated amounts of $390 (Feb–Aug 2025) for one elevator and a $780 annualized amount thereafter, and another rider that would prorate to $835 through August 2025 and $2,004 per year after. He recommended the commission approve the Kone riders and authorized his signature on the agreements; the board approved the motion by voice vote.

Myers reported a roofing leak at the emergency management office during heavy rains that caused water damage to ceiling tiles and a bookcase. He said staff were pursuing replacement/repair and that he was working with Stanfield to recover some costs and labor. On a separate facilities item, Myers reported Johnson Controls inspected a backflow preventer at the health department and determined it cannot be rebuilt; he said the vendor submitted a replacement proposal. The price reported in the meeting was unclear in the transcript; staff asked the commission to approve Johnson Controls to replace the unit using health‑department CIP funds. The commissioners approved the purchase by voice vote.

On disaster recovery, Myers said FEMA Disaster Declaration DR‑4824 (flooding from June) will be the subject of a recovery-scope meeting with FEMA and KDIM on Feb. 12 to discuss options and remediation for chronic problem areas such as Kansas Falls Road. He also said FEMA DR‑4774 (the Jan. 2024 event) was at the state level for review and approval and that county staff expected federal funding or reimbursement once state approvals finalize. Myers said the county has delayed some repair work to discuss remediation and possible hydrology study needs with FEMA.

Other public-works notes included: 2025 crack-seal requests for quotes were emailed Jan. 30 with bids due Feb. 28 by 4:30 p.m.; a report that the county processed 76.04 tons of scrap metal in 2024 for revenue of $7,276.10 (compared with 76.09 tons and $8,080.70 the previous year); quarry rock prices rising roughly 8–10% from 2024 to 2025 with 2-inch road stone cited at $17.45/ton in 2024 and $19.20/ton in 2025; blade crews and spot‑rocking plans for gravel roads after recent storms; and a posted vacancy for the road-and-bridge assistance supervisor with internal candidates under consideration for interviews.

Myers closed by asking for any additional questions; the board had none.

Ending: The board approved the items Myers recommended and directed staff to return contract documents or follow-up details as needed at a future meeting.