By Charlene Sims, info@linncountyjournal.com
MOUND CITY – On Monday, Aug. 5, Commission Chair Danny McCullough expressed his frustration with the people giving public comment. After the third speaker, a woman who lives at the Linn County Park spoke, McCullough said, “Any body else want to tell us what we are not doing right here, please come up and state it.”
He continued, “There’s a lot of stuff that goes on behind closed doors within the county that is county business that people don’t see.” There was a comment from the audience.
“I’m sorry I don’t talk any louder, I apologize. I don’t know what you want me to do. This is ridiculous,” said McCullough. “Maybe we can invite somebody here to tell us what we’ve done right for the county. Maybe we can feel good about ourselves, I don’t know, (expletive) ridiculous. Public comment is closed!”
The woman, Sharon Welch, a tenant at Linn County Park, said that it would be good to have volunteers a the Linn County Park one or two times a year because there’s a lot of property there. She said that volunteers used to sign a waiver that the county was not responsible if they got hurt. She recommended asking volunteers if they have health insurance and if they did not, she would not let them volunteer.
Earlier this month McCullough delayed approving final budget for the park pending receipt of information on the cost of installing an electronic gate at the interest.
She said that with or without a gate to the park there are some roads going in from Valley Road that have branches so low that they hit the top of campers. She said there are also roads inside the park that need to be done yearly for the campers that come in and out.
She also pointed out that on the way to the bath house there are some kind of small ditches that drop off and she asked that cones be placed in that area.
Then Welch expressed her opinion about the upcoming swimming beach project. She said she would not want her child swimming in a bacteria-laden water that can get people sick. She said that fisherman had told her that there were already people swimming in the hot water discharge from the power plant on the east shore of the lake.
She pointed out to the commissioners that if there is a water park at the Linn County Park by the bathhouse, it would be cleaner and healthier than swimming in a bacteria lake.
“Be careful, be wise and don’t create a bunch of bills!” Welch said as she stepped away from the podium.
Rural Parker resident Tom Kemper was next up. He talked about the inconsistency the commissioners demonstrated when it came to advisory boards in the county.
Kemper pointed out that he had just listened to the commissioners decide to do away with the health advisory board, and at another meeting McCullough unsuccessfully attempted to remove a planning board member. Kemper brought up how the commissioners had dissolved the county fire board last January.
He questioned how these departments, specifically the fire department, would function if the fire chief left or was unable to perform his job. With the fire board, Kemper said, the board would be able to run the fire department until a new fire chief was hired.
He questioned whether the commissioners would know how to operate the fire department without a fire chief. By dissolving the fire board the commissioners had gotten rid of seven fire board members who had no absentee problems and possessed a lot of knowledge about the workings of the fire department.
Kemper also questioned what happens to the results of the Kansas Open Records Act (KORA) report and asked whether it was available to the public.
Sugar Valley resident Donni Motes asked the commissioners what they could do about the crime at Sugar Valley. He said that Sugar Valley had drug dealers and thieves all over the neighborhood. Motes said that the police had told him that the county would not let them do anything about it.
He said the ones causing the problems weren’t taxpayers but the taxpayers were suffering. He said that some residents had discussed protesting their taxes next year. Motes told the commissioners that there were a lot of taxpayers in Sugar Valley that were really tired of it.
McCullough said he thought if a crime was committed, the sheriff’s department would show up. Motes said the sheriff department said that they could not go in there.
McCullough said that was more of a county attorney’s question and had nothing to do with the commissioners.
Motes asked that the commissioners, the county attorney and Sugar Valley work together to solve this problem.
McCullough said, “We appreciate your comment.”
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