October 7, 2003 Tuesday 6:00 pm
The Bourbon
County Commission met in open session in the District Courtroom of the
Bourbon County Courthouse with all commissioners and the county clerk
present. Minutes of the previous meeting were read and approved.
Members of the
Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) in attendance were: Roger
Alexander, District 4 Engineer, Jim Brewer, Engineering Manager of State
Road Office—Bureau of Design, Bob Hirt, Road Designer, Ron Kaufman, Public
Involvement Administrator, Priscilla Petersen, Public Involvement Liaison
for District 4, Mike Jacobs, Construction Engineer—Iola Office, John Hrenac,
District 4 Maintenance Engineer and Gary Plumb, District 4 Construction
Engineer. There were also more than 70 residents in attendance, including
Laura Hyer, Fort Scott Tribune reporter.
After
introductions were made of the commissioners and KDOT officials, Bob Hirt
went over a timeline of events involving the expansion of US 54 Highway east
of Fort Scott to the Missouri State Line. The project was initiated in
February of 1995 and a public meeting was held in Fort Scott on November 12,
1996, with 71 people in attendance. At that meeting there were two
alternatives for the location of the new highway—one south of the existing
road and one north of the existing road. Side road closings were not
addressed in detail at that time.
In February of
1997 an announcement was made describing the location decision. A news
release was issued inviting people to view the concept at the Fort Scott
KDOT office or in Topeka. The determination that 240th Street
would need to be closed was made by this point and information was available
to those who viewed the plans at either the Fort Scott KDOT office or Topeka
KDOT office.
In October 1999
details of location, design and right of way needs were complete and
notification of the need to close 240th Street was sent to City
and County staff. Bid letting began in April of 2003 and the estimated
completion is set for May 2004.
Mr. Brewer
responded to an audience question about reopening 240th in the
meantime by stating that in prior situations, KDOT has reopened roads and
new development has occurred in the area with the new owners having no
knowledge that the road would be closed in the future. Since KDOT cannot
tell people what they can and cannot build they feel it’s best to keep the
roads closed permanently. Audience members stated that future owners won’t
care about tonight’s meeting. Kevin Gorman, owner of Gorman’s Animal
Clinic, stated that future development in the area is a local concern, not
the State’s.
When asked by
the audience about land purchased by KDOT, Mr. Hirt stated that only enough
right-of-way was purchased to cover the current design needs. Design and
safety issues prohibit moving or altering the designs. Moving the loop to
the west would place it inside the city of Fort Scott. It was also asked if
an overpass or underpass could allow 240th Street to remain
accessible. It was stated that it would not be cost effective and is
located too close to an interchange.
“Old” 54 will
cul-de-sac east of 265th Street when the new highway is
constructed with limited access. This will require people to backtrack to
gain access to the highway to continue east.
Don Banwart,
Fort Scott Rural Fire Chief, spoke about response times to access people who
live in the affected area. He stated that 240th Street was a
through road from the north and south and 245th is not and
closing 240th north of current US 54 adds a minute and a half to response
times due to the three extra right turns needed to gain access to the area.
He feels that it is imperative that 240th remain open for better
emergency services.
City
Commissioner John Keating, III, stated that 240th Street is a
very popular bypass of busy city roads for people who travel from the north
of Fort Scott to jobs in the Industrial Park. He would personally like to
see it reopen. Mr. Keating also stated that the City of Fort Scott may have
some control of new construction as the City maintains zoning in the 3 mile
limit around the city.
Cindy Clements
asked members of KDOT how they would feel if they lived north of the current
Hwy 54 on 240th Street. She also stated that 245th at
Maple Road floods, causing a safety issue.
Members of the
audience shared that traffic on Maple Road has increased tenfold and the
curves and dust are dangerous. Bob Schweikert stated that by living on 240th
Street he has lived with the speed and dust all along. Mr. Schweikert
stated that the County has committed to improving Maple if 240th
is kept closed.
There was a lot
of discussion about the notification requirements when closing a road. The
statute regarding road closure by the county was cited stating public
notification as well as written notification was not followed. Mr. Hirt
stated that there’s a difference between the County closing the road and the
Secretary of Transportation limiting the access to a highway. He stated
this was a KDOT action and the State has no such requirements. State
officials admitted that they didn’t publicize the closure very well though
it was known in the design plans for some time.
One audience
member stated that she just purchased property on 240th Street
and was not aware that it would be closing. Mr. Hirt used this in his
argument to keep it closed. Audience members asked why KDOT is designing on
what might happen. Officials stated that KDOT always looks up to 20 years
in the future in design plans. Not doing so would cause problems with
growth.
The preliminary
cost figures for reopening 240th Street until the highway is
actually constructed was placed at a couple hundred thousand dollars and
KDOT officials stated they have not done significant research into that at
this point. Transportation officials will review the information gathered
tonight and will make a decision soon. Letters will be mailed to everyone
who signed in this evening as well as news releases to the media and the
decision will also be posted on the County’s website.
Terry Graham
asked for a show of hands by the audience of owners of property on 240th
Street north of the current highway and Maple Road between Franklin and 245th
Streets. This produced a majority of hands raised in the audience. Then
Mr. Graham asked of that group how many want 240th Street left
open and how many want it kept closed. Only the Schweikerts (and Verdon and
Chelsa Dauben by letter) indicated they wanted the road kept closed.
Robert Query,
Commissioner for the affected district, indicated that the county would
support the majority and spoke to the State officials about possible future
assistance in straightening out a railroad crossing, in a worst-case
scenario. Some audience members feel that money the County says it will use
to update Maple Road should be used to reopen 240th. Others feel
that the County should not pay to update Maple Road at all, the State
should. The commissioners were told they are on notice to fix Maple Road in
case there are any accidents.
Robert Query
moved to adopt Resolution 17-03, allowing Dan Meara to begin filing
petitions for the tax sale. Terry Graham seconded and all voted in favor.
The meeting
adjourned at 7:25 pm.
THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
OF BOURBON COUNTY, KANSAS
(ss) Terry Graham, Chairman
(ss) Gary Houston, Commissioner
(ss) Robert Query, Commissioner
ATTEST:
(ss) Joanne
Long, County Clerk