The Saline County Board of County Commissioners met on Tuesday, Jan. 21st with a heavy agenda.

Here are the highlights from Tuesday’s meeting:

• Commissioners heard a yearly update from Rebecca Seeman, Register of Deeds. She reported on fees totaling $567,757 collected in 2019. A total of 1,381 passports were processed, 2,071 deeds were recorded, 29,441 pages were archived, and 1,848 mortgages recorded.

• Andrew Pellant, Pre-Trial Coordinator, provided his monthly report on the program. In December, there were 27 placements into the program. Since the program inception in April, a total of 330 people have been placed on Pre-Trial. There are 120 clients that are actively being supervised on the program, 21 that are in custody, 119 clients have had their charges dismissed or have been sentenced, and 70 clients have had their pre-trial bond revoked. Of those 70 clients that have had their pre-trial bond revoked, 8 clients picked up new alleged charges and 62 clients were revoked due to failing to appear to court.

• Commissioners approved the acceptance of the Kansas Overdose Data to Action Program Grant in the amount of $23,721. The Saline County Health Department is the recipient of this grant that is eligible to receive funding in two additional years should the Health Department complete required outcomes. This grant program is focused local prevention initiatives for opioid misuse, abuse, dependence, and fatal/non-fatal overdoses. The first year of this grant will focus on coalition building of community partners and community assessments to determine next steps to be taken in future project years.

• Commissioners approved an agreement between Saline County and Salina Tech to allow for a few current employees to become Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) trainers. Due to the new regulations through the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, individuals who wish to obtain their CDL must complete mandated theory training as well as an entry-level drivers training course. This agreement will allow for prospective employees of the County who do not have their CDL to attend the course at Salina Tech and receive the necessary driver training to obtain their license.

• W. Water Well Road between Burma and Lightville will be under construction in 2020. Commissioners approved $673.901.63 to be spent on this stretch of road for the grading of the ditches, re-shaping of the road bed, 6” of aggregate, and 4” of asphalt. Construction can begin as soon as winter weather is over. It is estimated that this project will be complete by the beginning of July 2020. More information will be provided once construction dates are confirmed. This project will be required to be a coordinated, sequenced project to allow homeowners access to their properties.

Other items that were on the agenda were as follows:

o Transfer of $30,000 from the Register of Deeds Technology Fund to the Land Records Technology Fund to assist in the payment for a GIS flyover of the County in 2020.
o Approval of the purchase of 40 Dell computers in the amount of $19,785.20.
o Approval of an additional $8,583 in grant funds from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment that will be used to help offset salaries of staff in the Family Planning program.
o Acceptance of membership with the Kansas Health Information Network so that the Health Department may share disease investigation information with other healthcare providers in the area through a secure network. There is no cost to the County for this membership.
o Approval for ComplianceOne to be the clearinghouse for Saline County to use to perform yearly violation checks on all CDL license holders.
o Approval of the purchase of a 2020 Kenworth T370 single-axle dump truck for the Road & Bridge Department in the amount of $78,100.
o Approval of the purchase of pipe culverts, bands, and galvanized bridge decking in the total amount of $95,915.05.
o Approval of the awards for road aggregate materials and aggregate hauling for the 2020 year.
o Heard the Human Resources Department bi-monthly update on employment, workers compensation claims, and other miscellaneous items.
o Heard the 4th Quarter Engineering Department update with reports on 2018 projects that are remaining, 2019 projects that are remaining, and proposed 2020 projects.

The agenda for next Tuesday’s meeting, Jan. 28th, will be released later this week and available on the County website: www.saline.org . All County Commission meetings begin at 9am on Tuesdays in room 107 at the City/County Building, 300 W. Ash. Citizens are always welcome to attend any and all parts of the meeting, excluding executive sessions.