Coffey County commissioners approve routine contracts, CDBG payment and administrative policies; hear public concern about industrial-waste permits

The Coffey County Board of County Commissioners on Aug. 11 approved a set of routine procurement and construction items, adopted required grant administration policies and heard extended public comment urging local action on industrial byproduct disposal permits that the speaker said are due for renewal Oct. 31.

A resident who identified themself as Rene told the commission that “industrial waste byproduct disposal in our county is not going away,” and urged commissioners to press the Kansas Department of Health and Environment and state legislators before permit renewals are processed. Rene said KDHE renewal letters for two sites in Coffey County expire Oct. 31 and that KDHE’s application reviews do not consider the number of neighbor complaints. “It appears that they’re unable to do so,” Rene said of KDHE staffing and enforcement.

The commission addressed multiple agenda items tied to federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) work and county projects. The board authorized payment to Kilo Construction Inc. for the Airport Access Road construction pay application — $270,477.04 — with $74,035.69 to be paid from the county’s Community Improvement Reserve Fund and $196,441.35 to be reimbursed from a CDBG grant. Garrett Nordstrom of county engineering presented the pay-application breakdown and said he will provide this line-item liability information on future pay applications.

Commissioners also moved to retain Jared Gilmore and Phillips, PA, to prepare the county’s 2025 audit and the 2027 budget preparation (motion carried), accepted a certificate of substantial completion for the Law Enforcement Center Phase 1 Project with Goldberg & Associates with a one-year warranty beginning July 21, 2025 (motion carried), and awarded multiple road-and-bridge tire bids to local vendors with funds to be paid from the Road and Bridge Fund (motion carried).

The board adopted two policies required for receiving CDBG and other state grants: an official civil-rights-complaints policy and a county code of ethics. Commissioners reviewed a draft resolution establishing the code of ethics and approved it by motion.

The meeting included a multi-hour, no-action series of closed sessions on legal advice related to solid-waste disposal and wastewater options. County counsel and staff said the sessions were to gather legal and technical advice; no formal decisions or votes were taken in executive session during the meeting.

In discussion about SSM’s site improvements and a proposed parking lot, county staff and engineers described the parking design as larger than SSM’s immediate needs to accommodate potential future development. Commissioners questioned whether the county should fund a parking lot on property SSM owns, and raised concerns about setting a precedent, long-term maintenance and the additional wastewater and wastewater-treatment implications if the facility expands. Staff noted the current wastewater system is sized for about 30 employees and that handling process wastewater or growth to 80–100 employees would likely require separate KDHE permitting and upgrades.

Before adjourning commissioners authorized advertising for two Housing Authority board positions with an application deadline of Sept. 12, 2025, and set subsequent appointment steps.

Votes at a glance - Retain auditors for audit and 2027 budget preparation: moved by Amador, seconded by McCurry; motion carried. - Retain Jared Gilmore and Phillips, PA (audit/budget): motion carried. - Award road-and-bridge tire bids: parcels 2,3,4,6,7,8 to Barr Tire Inc. (Burlington) $21,928.20 total; parcel 1 to Pumps Tire (Topeka) $2,940.34; parcel 5 to Heartland (Topeka) $3,834.08; funds from Road and Bridge Fund; motion carried. - Authorize chairman to sign certificate of substantial completion with Goldberg & Associates for Law Enforcement Center Phase 1, with one-year warranty beginning 07/21/2025: moved by Abendroth, seconded by Barker; motion carried. - Pay Kilo Construction Inc. $270,477.04 for Airport Access Road; funds from Community Improvement Reserve ($74,035.69) with reimbursement $196,441.35 from CDBG: moved by McCurry, seconded by Evanderoff; motion carried. - Adopt official civil-rights complaints policy: moved by Barker, seconded by McCurry; motion carried. - Adopt resolution establishing county code of ethics (Resolution No. 20 25 9 51 per agenda text): moved by Peterson, seconded by McCurry; motion carried. - Advertise for two Housing Authority board positions with application deadline 09/12/2025: motion carried.

Why it matters The actions on CDBG reporting and payments, the adoption of civil-rights and ethics policies, and the approvals of construction milestones are necessary administrative steps for the county to receive and manage state and federal grant funds. The public comment on KDHE permit renewals underscores an open question for residents about regulatory enforcement and local health and environmental impacts as KDHE reviews operate on a renewal timeline.

What’s next - KDHE permit renewals for the two sites were identified in public comment as expiring Oct. 31; residents and commissioners discussed approaching state legislators and KDHE staff on staffing and enforcement concerns ahead of that date. - The county will proceed with reimbursement paperwork for the CDBG pay application and will continue project design and preconstruction steps for Phase 2 of the Airport Access Road project.

Ending Commissioners recessed multiple times for executive sessions and returned with no public actions from those sessions. The board adjourned after completing the afternoon agenda and scheduling follow-up administrative items.