Public Works reports staffing gains, outlines bridge inspection changes and rising software/hardware costs

Public Works Director Lynn Packer and Deputy Daniel Schrampp presented the division’s 2026 requests and operational priorities, saying the department had improved workforce strength and aims to reach 100% filled positions by year end. Schrampp said the county maintains roughly 583 miles of roadway and about 605 bridges (the presenters also used figures of 582 miles and 606 bridges in discussion), and inspects roughly 300 bridges per year, with most bridges inspected every two years (South of Kellogg one year, North of Kellogg the next) and a small subset inspected annually or semi‑annually depending on condition. He described mandatory services including maintenance and bridge inspection and nonmandatory tasks such as maintaining Sedgwick County Park paths and certain parking lots. Packer and Schrampp discussed a business needs assessment for bridge inspections tied to a KDOT portal that supports field entry. The county is testing tablets and vehicle Wi‑Fi telematics to perform inspections in the field; staff are using loaner devices and existing vehicle data connections for early testing but said bandwidth limitations could require future funding for data/service plans and replacement hardware. They flagged older equipment and equipment downtime as operational weaknesses and noted AutoCAD licensing costs (used in road design) are expected to jump significantly in 2028: the county currently spends roughly $40,000 on a three‑year AutoCAD subscription and the vendor projected the next three‑year cost could exceed $100,000. On funding, Packer said the highways department’s 2026 request was roughly $32 million and is slightly decreased from the previous year; a prior $100,000 study for the Northwest Expressway (a one‑year item) was removed from the 2026 request. Commissioners and staff clarified that interfund transfers shown in the highways budget reflect transfers to the CIP local sales tax fund and bond and interest funds; federal grants for capital projects are handled in the CIP and do not appear in the operating department budget. Commissioners praised improved staffing and asked for future briefings on telematics, AutoCAD cost projections and bridge‑inspection field tools.