Plans move forward for county road work

Plans continue to be developed for repairs to two Chase County roads.
Chase County Commissioners Jacci Brown, Duane Dinnel and Dennis Kunnemann continued discussions with Engineering International’s Joshua Shiach about improvements on the Champion highway west of Imperial and the asphalt road south of Wauneta during their May 25 meeting.
The commissioners ruled out the most expensive option for each.
For Champion, option A, a deeper overlay would cost $2,170,000. Option C, to seal cracks and chip seal the asphalt, would cost $420,000.
Option B for the Champion road will cost $880,000 and has a seven-year lifespan.
After milling three-fourths of an inch off the road, it would receive a recycled asphalt overlay.
The county would need to perform crack filling and maintenance.
The board approved moving forward with design specs for Option B.
No action was taken on the Wauneta road.
Mark Balderston, who started as roads foreman May 10, also attended the meeting and discussed road stabilization methods with the group, such as magnesium chloride.
Balderston went on to update the commissioners on his plan to better maintain curbs and ditches of the county roads.
County Treasurer Cindy Schoenberger asked the commissioners for permission to open a new bank account for federal money the county receives from the COVID American Rescue Plan Act.
Schoenberger said the county will receive $381,095.51 as a first payment and expects to get a second payment next year.
County officials aren’t exactly sure what the money can be used for, but the county has until the end of 2024 to spend it.
The commissioners approved signing a contract with Bussell Land, LLC for use of their mag pit.
Brendan Barger had offered use of his mag pit for free to preserve the view from his house.
The commissioners felt it would be dishonest to accept use of Barger’s pit, then have it run out and use the Bussell pit anyway.
The Bussells planned on opening the mag pit regardless of the county’s decision.
The next meeting of the commissioners will be June 8 at the Chase County Courthouse.