May 16, 2024

Saline County Commissioners focus on budget, continues to next meeting agenda

Posted May 16, 2024 9:06 PM
The Saline County and Salina City building at 300 West Ash Street in Salina. <b>Photo by Olivia Bergmeier</b>
The Saline County and Salina City building at 300 West Ash Street in Salina. Photo by Olivia Bergmeier

By OLIVIA BERGMEIER
Lead Reporter - Salina Post

With the budget at the forefront of most commissioners' minds, the Saline County Board of Commissioners met for its regular meeting on Tuesday, May 14, and began tackling its action item agenda, which included three items: two requests from Saline County Road and Bridge and American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding management.

All commissioners participated in the meeting, with District One Commissioner Monte Shadwick calling in online.

Board of County Commissioners present on Tuesday, May 14:

District One — Monte Shadwick
District Two — Robert Vidricksen
District Three — Rodger Sparks
District Four — James Weese
District Five — Chairman Joe Hay Jr.

Saline County Road and Bridge mulcher attachment

Saline County Road and Bridge Administrator Darren Fishel first presented a mulcher attachment purchase to commissioners, which includes a $73,385 price tag.

Fishel told commissioners that this purchase would account for an additional mulcher attachment for its two other tree management crews, completing the team with the third crew gaining its own mulcher.

"You said this is the last time we're going to hit this account for this year, so that means for the next eight months, you're not going to come to us for any more equipment. Can I count on that?" Vidricksen asked Fishel.

Fishel reluctantly replied, "No."

"Things happen sometimes — you can't predict what's either going to break or sometimes things become available to the secondary market that you say, 'Oh, we could upgrade some of our equipment,'" Fishel said. "I don't plan on any more [purchases] this year." 

After a few further questions and comments from Vidricksen and Weese, Vidricksen said he saw the necessity for the purchase. Still, with the department already owning two other mulcher attachments, he had difficulty approving the purchase.

Chairman Joe Hay asked the commission for a motion, which Sparks moved. The vote passed 3-2, with Commissioner James Weese and Vidricksen voting against the purchase.

2024 Federal Fund Exchange Agreement

The following action item commissioners tackled was a Federal Fund Exchange Agreement for Saline County Road and Bridge, where each year, the department exchanges federal funds with the Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) to make those dollars easier to use.

Justin Mader, the Saline County engineer, presented the topic to commissioners, stating that this year's exchange would continue the $0.90 for every $1.00 of federal funds, which for Saline County would mean turning in $232,629.76 of federal cash to KDOT for a $209,366.78 reimbursement.

"If you leave it as federal funds, we have to meet very strict requirements for a project," Mader said. "That usually drives the cost of a project up way more than the 10% we're losing doing this exchange."

Saline County Road and Bridge plans to use the funds for its annual asphalt repair as it had for years before.

After a few questions from commissioners, Hay asked for a motion, which Vidricksen moved with Sparks seconding, leading to the unanimous approval for the fund exchange.

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ARPA Project Modifications and Update&nbsp;

Saline County Administrator Philip Smith-Hanes opened the conversation by telling commissioners that the county has continued to use and talk about the federal government's American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding for COVID-19 relief.

The initial amount sent to the county on March 11, 2021, included $10,532,376, which staff worked to allocate to various projects. The county has spent over $7.85 million of those funds.

ARPA dollars have an expiration date, with allocation required by the end of 2024 and cash spent by December 2025.

Smith-Hanes covered the various projects listed, and commissioners discussed how they would like ARPA funding to move through the next year and a half.

Informational Items

  1. Human Resources Quarterly Update
  2. Expo, Weed, Farm Update
  3. Overview of Budget Requests for 2025
  4. Commissioner Comments
  5. Announcements

Concept Discussion

  1. Expo Center Update and Discussion

Executive Session

  1. Non-Elected Personnel

05/21/2024 Agenda Items

  1. Study Session - Budget