AJ Dome
The Manhattan Mercury, Kan.
(TNS)
Feb. 24—Officials with Riley County Fire District No. 1 will solicit bids in the coming weeks for the construction of two rural fire stations.
Riley County commissioners approved the measure during their meeting Thursday. Riley County emergency management director and Fire District #1 chief Russel Stukey said fire officials wanted to start seeking bids for the two fire stations before the arrival of spring.
One of the fire stations is located in the Ashland Bottoms area, along McDowell Creek Road and Konza Prairie Lane south of Manhattan in Riley County. The second fire station will be in the University Park area along Lakeview Drive and Hi-View Drive at the west side of Tuttle Creek Lake.
Stukey said he did not have any cost estimates for the projects, as that information will be determined by the bids fire officials receive next month. Stukey said officials with Fire District #1 have been saving money in their capital outlay fund to pay for these projects.
Stukey said the Ashland Bottoms station would likely be the first to be replaced. Both fire stations will be 40-foot by 50-foot buildings. Stukey presented options for bids to be sought from contractors to erect either two pre-engineered metal structures, two pole-frame buildings, or a combination of both. Commissioners approved that plan in order to keep costs down. Riley County clerk Rich Vargo said prices of construction materials and labor are “up in the air” currently, so approving a bid process that allows for a more flexible building approach was important.
Stukey said these projects were on the county’s backburner since the COVID-19 pandemic began in March 2020.
Fire officials and county commissioners have talked in the past about renovating rural RCFD fire stations. Stukey said the two fire stations will replace deteriorating buildings that were originally built in the 1960s.
ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH SPECIALIST POSITION
In other business, county commissioners approved allowing county planning director Amanda Webb and human resources to fill the environmental health specialist job when current specialist Perry Piper leaves the position March 13.
The county environmental health specialist’s duties include inspecting, permitting and monitoring private wastewater systems and wells, water testing, and assisting the public with any questions about environmental health issues.
The environmental health specialist also assists the county health officer and emergency management officials when needed.
The environmental health specialist’s annual salary will be $63,460. The job listing can be found on the Riley County website.
GIS CONFERENCE
Additionally, the board voted in favor of allowing two Riley County IT/GIS staffers to attend the National ESRi User Conference in San Diego July 10-14. Agenda documents indicate that it’s been several years since any Riley County employee attended the conference. County commissioners approved sending two employees to the conference for $4,500 total, including airfare, lodging, meals and transportation.
According to agenda documents, the ESRi User Conference sees more than 19,000 attendees each year, to learn more about some of the tools available to them for geographic information system (GIS) mapping and analysis.
The next Riley County Commission meeting is Monday at 8:30 a.m.
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