Saline County Commissioners today approved a project to chip seal 36 miles of roadway in the county.
During the Saline County Commission meeting this morning, County Engineer Justin Mader presented a request for action for the 2020 Bituminous Chip Seal project that includes chip sealing of 36 miles of roadway in Saline County, according to information provided by Saline County.
It is estimated that the project will begin after July 15 and be completed before Sept. 27 so that no work will be done during harvest.
The total cost for the chip seal project is estimated to be
$815,179.75, the county information noted.
In other county business:
Jim DuBois, county treasurer, reported that $207,165.02 in interest was received on idle funds for the first quarter of 2020. DuBois noted that the amount was about $40,000 less than what was received during the first quarter of 2019. He also told commissioners that interest rates have dropped from 1.38 percent to 0.20 percent.
County Administrator Phillip Smith-Hanes reported on the status of the 2021 budget process. He said he plans to provide a report to the commissioners next week concerning the revenues and expenditures for the first quarter of 2020.
Smith-Hanes also reported that the 2019 financial audit is complete and asked for the commissioners to provide feedback on their desire to have a formal presentation of the audit.
Additionally, Smith-Hanes reported that with the commissioners' decision to place the jail project on the November ballot, the bond counsel and financial advisors will wait to run financial scenarios to have a better understanding of what the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic will have on sales tax revenues.
Commissioners also met in executive session concerning non-elected personnel.
According to information from the county, today's meeting was the first that commissioners conducted via teleconference. All future meetings will be conducted this way until further notice, the information noted.
Persons can call in by:
•Dialing 785-621-0800
•Entering participant code 782956 followed by #
Persons wishing to speak when the chairman allows public comment need to dial *9 to alert the moderator to open the line.
Saline County Commission meetings can be viewed on Salina Media Connection via Cox Cable channel 20 or online at salinatv.org.