Crawford County commissioners approve courthouse closure, set emergency‑manager interviews and routine consent items

The Crawford County Board of Commissioners approved a motion to close the courthouse on Thursday in observance of a national day of mourning for President Carter, approved routine consent‑agenda items including a clerk’s report and notice of intent to vacate, and scheduled executive sessions and interviews related to the county emergency manager search during its meeting.

The closure was moved and seconded during the meeting; commissioners discussed that closing while state offices and district courts are closed would reduce operational difficulties, particularly for motor‑vehicle transactions that rely on state systems. Commissioners also approved multiple consent‑agenda items listed on the meeting docket, and set times for executive sessions tied to personnel and procurement matters.

Why it matters: Closing the courthouse affects services that require state systems, such as motor‑vehicle processing, and the scheduled executive sessions and interviews advance the county’s search for an emergency manager, a position the commission plans to fill by private interview and closed deliberation.

The board’s consent agenda included itemized approvals listed in the meeting record as “25‑1 to approve the consent agenda,” “25‑002 to approve the December 2024 clerk’s report,” “25‑3 to approve the publication of the notice of intent to vacate,” and three executive‑session agenda items labeled “25‑4 executive session to discuss emergency management applicants,” “25‑5 executive session to discuss bidding process,” and “25‑6 executive session to discuss an insurance claim.” The transcript does not record individual vote tallies for those items; each motion was moved and seconded and treated as approved in the meeting record.

Separately, commissioners scheduled emergency‑manager interviews and associated closed deliberations. The commission set three interviews to begin at 8:30 a.m. on Friday, January 10, with a plan to open the public meeting, move into an executive session for about an hour and a half for interviews, then resume the regular meeting around 10 a.m. Commissioners also agreed to begin a separate, 15‑minute executive session to discuss the job performance of a department staff member under the non‑elected personnel exception to open‑meetings law; attendees for that session were limited to two commissioners, the communications director and the staff member named in the transcript.

During public comment, Melissa Rhodes urged legislative interest in requiring tarps on trash haulers and said she had been in contact with state legislators Tim Schauenberger and Ken Collins and with Jacob Cochran, chair of the Crawford County Republicans, about sponsoring such a bill. Rhodes said she planned to speak with legislators later in the week.

Other operational items mentioned: a commissioner reported receiving figures from Amy Demoss, the CDDO for Southeast Kansas, indicating $139,000 is available annually for distribution to intellectual and developmental disability service providers; that sum is distributed ‘‘evenly, according to cases,’’ and the commission deferred formal approval of the distribution until a Friday meeting when additional commissioners would be present. An insurance representative, Wally, reported he could buy down the county deductible to $200,000 for about $75,000 and provided an umbrella‑policy price option; commissioners asked him to email details and to return with the matter for a Friday decision. Commissioners also received an update that a truck the county ordered two years earlier was expected to arrive in the next day or two, with a vendor scheduled to install the bed/tailgate.

The meeting closed with announcements of upcoming dates: a swearing‑in and reorganization meeting for newly elected county officials on Jan. 13, a Jan. 17 Zoom survey discussion, and a Jan. 21 deadline noted for a filing called “Rock Fed.” The Kansas Association of Counties Local Government Day was announced as a possible joint attendance by all three commissioners.

Votes at a glance - Approval of minutes and motion to approve the consent agenda (agenda code 25‑1): moved, seconded; outcome recorded as approved (vote tally not specified). - Approval of December 2024 clerk’s report (agenda code 25‑002): moved, seconded; outcome recorded as approved (vote tally not specified). - Approval to publish notice of intent to vacate (agenda code 25‑3): moved, seconded; outcome recorded as approved (vote tally not specified). - Executive session for emergency‑management applicants (agenda code 25‑4): motion to hold executive session; moved and seconded; outcome recorded as approved for scheduling (vote tally not specified). - Executive session to discuss bidding process (agenda code 25‑5): moved and seconded; outcome recorded as approved for scheduling (vote tally not specified). - Executive session to discuss an insurance claim (agenda code 25‑6): moved and seconded; outcome recorded as approved for scheduling (vote tally not specified). - Motion to close the courthouse Thursday in observance of President Carter’s national day of mourning: moved, seconded; outcome recorded as approved (vote tally not specified). - Motion to adjourn: moved, seconded; outcome recorded as approved (vote tally not specified).

Ending: Commissioners set follow‑up on the CDDO allocation, insurance figures and the emergency‑manager interviews for a Friday meeting when a full complement of commissioners is expected to be present.