By Rich Wicks | Times Vedette
County Engineer Josh Sebern provided an update on the Secondary Roads department to the Guthrie County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday. He described two options for meeting the county’s need for engineering work related to the many bridge projects on the horizon. Sebern said the county receives approximately $1 million annually in federal funds for road/bridge projects.
“One would be hiring a professional consultant, which I’ve gotten a quote for. Or advertise, hire and promote from within two positions,” Sebern said.
Sebern also suggested purchasing a drone for bridge review/inspection.
The consensus of the supervisors was to pursue Sebern’s plan to hire from within and to purchase a drone.
Facility Manager Brandon Thompson presented an update on his department. According to Thompson, summer weather and storms have kept his crew busy.
“We’ve been cleaning out the storm sewer inlets; there’s been a lot of debris,” Thompson said. “We’re going to be working on parking lot stripe painting once we get some dry days.”
Supervisor Brian Johnson asked if Thompson still finds 100,000 miles to be a good rule of thumb for when to replace vehicles. Thompson said yes because trade-in values fall more steeply after that milestone is reached.
The supervisors discussed the severe weather policy. The supervisors agreed that the board will make decisions about closing facilities during severe weather events and will consult with applicable departmental staff as feasible.
As part of the consent agenda, the supervisors approved two fireworks permits, for Mark Blomquist and for Rich Boals. Also approved in the consent agenda were the hiring of Mckenzie Laughery as full-time Administrative Assistant in the Sherif’s Department ($55,000 annually), and Synthia McCaughey as full-time Administrative Support Specialist in the Public Health Department ($25 hourly).
The supervisors meet regularly on Tuesdays at 9 a.m. The public is welcome to attend in person or via remote technology. To join remotely, call 323-792-6123, then use meeting code 547029216#.