Geary County reorganizes board, approves appointments, mutual-aid resolution and three CIP priorities

The Geary County Board of County Commissioners completed its reorganization and approved routine appointments, two resolutions tied to recent snow-response work and several capital projects during a meeting that included the swearing-in of newly elected officials.

The board elected Commissioner Ash Murphy as chair and Commissioner Kathy Tremont as vice chair for 2025. Commissioners also appointed members to standing committees and regional boards, including the Public Building Commission, Flint Hills Regional Council, the North Central Kansas Regional Juvenile Detention Center Board, the Junction City Area Chamber of Commerce Board, the county risk management committee and the county's local emergency planning committee. The board reappointed Ken Mortensen, Rodney Glessner and Mike Rhodes to the PDC board to retain continuity for an upcoming jail planning process.

The board named the Daily Union the county's official newspaper for 2025 and instructed staff to research alternatives for 2026. It also designated Central National Bank as the county's official depository for 2025.

Resolutions and mutual-aid: Commissioners approved a mutual-aid agreement with the City of Junction City to assist with response to a record snowfall; staff said the agreement would allow county public-works crews to assist the city in specific areas where county equipment is appropriate. The board also adopted a resolution (gap-waiver resolution) to exempt Geary County from certain statutory gap requirements under KSA 75-11??? (resolution identified in the meeting materials as needed to finalize fiscal reporting procedure); the county finance director said the waiver allows the county to comply with state reporting procedures tied to KMAG/Canvas reporting rather than preparing gap financials.

CIP and equipment: In a quarter-one Capital Improvement Program (CIP) work session the board approved three priority projects to move forward this quarter: replacement of three sheriff patrol vehicles, exterior repairs and replacement of metal and windows at the Extension/4-H building, and a roof-coating project for the extension office building. Finance staff summarized the CIP fund balance and noted uncommitted cash and planned transfers; they said the county had previously transferred funds into CIP to address a multiyear backlog and that staff will present options for increasing the annual transfer or reallocating carryover cash in a later meeting.

Other routine actions included the appointment of representatives to the Flint Hills Regional Council, Heartland Works, the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) and various county boards. For items with no substantive debate the meeting record shows motions were made and carried without roll-call votes.

Votes at a glance - Election of chair: Commissioner Ash Murphy — motion carried. - Election of vice chair: Commissioner Kathy Tremont — motion carried. - Appointed Central National Bank as official depository for 2025 — motion carried. - Named Daily Union as official newspaper for 2025 — motion carried. - Reappointed Ken Mortensen, Rodney Glessner and Mike Rhodes to PDC board — motion carried. - Adopted mutual-aid agreement with the City of Junction City for snow response — Motion carried; recorded as Resolution 11315 in meeting discussion. - Adopted financial gap-waiver resolution allowing KMAG/Canvas reporting instead of gap financials — Motion carried; finance identified this as Resolution 11320. - Approved three CIP projects to proceed in Q1: three sheriff vehicles; Extension building exterior metal/windows; Extension office roof coating — motion carried.

Commissioners and staff said the votes were part of routine organization and quarterly planning; staff committed to bringing back more detailed budget transfer proposals and CIP prioritization at a future meeting.