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Brown County emergency manager to resign from emergency role; public comments include revitalization appeal and auditorium grant request
Summary
At the Jan. 12 meeting Don Pounds presented a letter resigning as Brown County Emergency Manager effective Feb. 13, 2026 but said he will continue as Solid Waste Director; resident Larry Roeder requested reconsideration of a denied Neighborhood Revitalization Plan application and Kevin Kneisley sought a commission letter to serve as grant administrator for Memorial Auditorium renovations. The commission took no immediate action on the public requests.
Don Pounds, who serves as Brown County’s Emergency Manager and Solid Waste Director, presented a letter of resignation as Emergency Manager effective Feb. 13, 2026. Pounds told the commission he will continue in his role as Solid Waste Director. He also discussed reimbursement for the 2025 Brown County Developmental Services tonnage cost, concerns about the deadline for submitting explanation-of-benefits forms for the 2025 gap insurance plan, and progress on the Noxious Weed/Solid Waste building project.
Those comments were delivered during the county’s personnel/public-comment portion of the Jan. 12 meeting and signal an upcoming change to the county’s emergency management leadership while retaining Pounds’ continuity in solid-waste operations.
During the public-comment period, Brown County resident Larry Roeder asked the commission to reconsider the denial of his Neighborhood Revitalization Plan application, which the minutes say was denied because the project began before he filed the application with the Appraiser’s Office. The commission recorded no action on the request and said it will discuss the matter at a future meeting.
Kevin Kneisley of the Hiawatha Community Theater requested a letter from the commission appointing him as a grant administrator for the Memorial Auditorium so he can apply to the Kansas Historical Society for renovation funding. The commission did not take action on the request at the meeting and asked to meet with a representative of the Brown County Historical Society.
No formal actions or votes were recorded on the public requests; both items were deferred for future consideration. The board’s next regular meeting is scheduled for Jan. 20, 2026, at 1:00 p.m.
