Dickinson County Commission certifies Abilene sales-tax vote, awards bridge and road contracts

The Dickinson County Commission on Thursday certified the results of a special municipal sales-tax question in Abilene and approved a series of road and county-management contracts and routine items.

The commission certified the special-election totals after the county canvass. Election staff reported final totals of 426 yes votes and 319 no votes; seven provisional ballots had been set aside for review. The commission moved, seconded and voted to certify the canvass results.

The certification matters because it finalizes local taxing authority for Abilene and allows city staff to proceed according to the measure’s provisions.

In road and bridge business, the commission awarded the low bid for structural steel for a bridge replacement at 2980 Barn Road to the lowest bidder listed in the record (recorded as "Tester Steel") for $23,009.85; the meeting record also listed other bids from Odin Enterprises ($24,070.05), Hespersteel ($23,985.00) and Wellborn Sales ($25,139.12). Commissioners also approved a separate bid from Wellborn Sales for aluminum decking and sheeting for the same project at $20,885.50.

Commissioners approved a contract with Vance Brothers to apply a microsurfacing product on Fair Road (north of Old 42 to 14th Street), a stretch of about 1.72 miles. Staff described the work as an intermediate surface treatment intended to extend pavement life by several years; the contract was described in the record at $60,000 per mile and the commission voted to accept the proposal so the county may schedule the work.

The commission approved the county’s annual noxious-weed management plan. County staff said the Kansas Department of Agriculture provided an estimated 15 square-mile treatment area for the county and that the plan targets a 7.5% reduction in the identified priority noxious-weed area over time.

County staff also presented the annual refuse-collector licensing paperwork for roughly 10 commercial collectors that use the county transfer station; commissioners authorized the county administrator to sign the licenses on the commission’s behalf.

Routine business approved on the consent agenda included minutes (Feb. 13 and a Feb. 14 canvas), and accounts payable and disbursements as read into the record: $1,863,242.32 in accounts payable, hand checks of $3,783.93, a security wire of $4,674.00, a utility wire of $10,619.65, credit-card/wire charges of $18,977.47, a special check of $6,010.00 and an abated-tax amount of $612.30. The consent agenda was moved, seconded and approved.

On personnel and county operations, county staff member Janelle said, "We do have several open positions in the Health Department," and listed other vacancies including dispatch, deputy register of deeds, two deputy sheriff positions and environmental services spray operator openings; staff said the highway department will also have openings next month after storm-related overtime subsides. The county’s emergency manager is gathering documentation to submit FEMA public-assistance reimbursement requests for recent snowstorm response, and auditors were on site to conduct the annual audit.

Other items noted in the meeting record: the Kansas Historical Society notified the county of a nomination review for the Pray Farmstead (Hope, Dickinson County) to the National Register of Historic Places; an estimated 90 miles of county road striping is planned this spring and will be paid from the road-and-bridge sales tax; and a planning-and-zoning training for board members is scheduled for March 20, 2025, at the courthouse basement.

The meeting concluded after routine adjournment votes.