Resident urges renaming of county road, raises environmental noncompliance concern; KDHE site visit planned

During public comment at the Dec. 2 Osage County Commission meeting, a resident, identified in the meeting as Miss Rose, asked the county to change a roadside sign and raised concerns about a land-application site she said has not been in compliance for years.

Miss Rose said the two-mile stretch of road on the south side of I-35 is currently signed inconsistently and urged the county to rename the south-side route so it matches the north side as "340 First Street," noting there would be minimal cost to change signage. She handed a written proposal to road-and-bridge staff and asked the county to consider the change.

Miss Rose also described a multi-year compliance issue at a nearby agricultural application site. She said the operation "is still not in compliance" and that she has raised the concern with county staff for over six years. County officials said they had asked state representatives from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) to review the matter and that KDHE planned a site visit and would take their own photographs and samples.

Commission staff said they would follow the county process for verifying road naming and sign changes, have the sheriff's office review mapping, and bring options back to the board. For the environmental complaint, commissioners said they are coordinating with KDHE staff to schedule the inspection and determine whether the operator is following permitted application practices.

Next steps: county staff will coordinate the road-sign review with road-and-bridge personnel and report back; KDHE will perform the site inspection and sample collection and return findings to county staff.