The Morris County Commissioner meeting was called to order on Tuesday, September 15, 2026, at 9:00 a.m. Commissioners Jim Barber, David Fox and Wayne Kohler were present. Bill Kassebaum, County Counselor, and Chelsey Schmidt, County Clerk, were present.
Others present: Jon Sawyer and Billy Kryger-Pastor Berean Baptist Church Jamie Johnson, Public Health Director, gave a report on the health department. The following services were provided in the month of August: Immunizations Given: 35 Immunizations Laboratory Testing (Strep): 2 Strep Tests Total Encounters (Contact with People): 314 People Served/Assisted In-Home Services: 125 Encounters with 16 Clients Jamie attended the Regional PHEP Meeting on August 27th. The health department continues back-toschool vaccine clinics. Bike Safety Day with the CGES 3rd grade class was held on September 11th. Work continues with the Live Well Morris County Coalition; they are preparing to apply for the BCBS Pathways Grant. The “Bucks for Buckles” event will be done at CGHS this week. Preparations are being made for upcoming annual Influenza Vaccine Clinics. “Walk and Roll to School Day” will be held on October 7th. Discussion was held regarding the need for childcare in the county.
Timothy Myers with Anthem Concrete Coatings visited with the commissioners regarding the Community Building Flooring Project. Derek Schrader, Michelle Poole, and John Poole were also present. Discussion was held regarding excess moisture that is coming up through the concrete floor. The flooring project will not be completed until the moisture issue can be resolved. It was suggested to add drainage tiles along the south and west ends of the building. The item was tabled and will be discussed further. The public hearing for amending the Morris County Neighborhood Revitalization Plan was held. Nick Jones, City of Council Grove Administrator, Chuck Scott, GMDC Director and Ryan Michaelis, County Appraiser, were present at the hearing. The proposed amendment to the plan adds language that “Rebates will only apply to the first $300,000.00 of appraised valuation increase.” Nick Jones and Chuck Scott expressed concerns that introducing a valuation cap on rebates could deter incoming industrial development and compromise the county’s competitive edge in marketing to prospective businesses. The item was tabled.
Two sealed bids were received for the sale of excess county property located at 1550 Dunlap Rd., Council Grove, and are as follows: Bidder: Adams Lumber Co, Inc., Amount: $10,150.00 Bidder: Lawrence Greenwood & Diana Irvine, Amount: $8,100.00 Commissioner Barber (Fox) moved to accept the bid from Adams Lumber Co, Inc. for the property located at 1550 Dunlap Rd., in the amount of $10,150.00. The property will be conveyed by Quit Claim Deed. Motion carried.
Commissioner Kohler (Fox) moved to publish the Notice of Hearing to Amend the Morris County Neighborhood Revitalization Plan. The hearing will be held on Tuesday, October 6th, 2026, at 11:00 a.m. in the Morris County Commissioner’s Meeting Room. Motion carried.
Sealed bids were opened for the OS-58 (575 Rd. over tributary of Big John Creek) and the OS-5 (F Ave. over Lairds Creek) Bridge Projects. Those present for the bid opening were Shelly Lautt, Brett Wright, Chad McCullough and Luke Boyden with Kaw Valley Engineering, and Duane Jackson with Ebert Construction. The bids received were as follows: Reece Construction $1,292,431.50 Ebert Construction $1,336,797.88 L&M Contractors $1,554,135.00 Bridges Inc. $1,637,434.24 The bids will be reviewed by Kaw Valley Engineering and provide the commissioners with a final report. No action was taken.
Shelly Lautt and Brett Wright gave the following public works report for the week of September 7th - 11th: Road & Bridge: Slough Creek Quarry road rock was hauled to 1200 Rd. from A-C and 400 Rd. from T-U Tree limbs were removed from the intersection at 700 Rd. from T-U Ditch work was done on 400 Rd. from T-U; dirt and unscreened creek gravel were used to stabilize the ditch; the road was built up, a new crossroad culvert was installed, rip rap was placed in the ditch drainage areas and trees were cut back and hauled to the landfill Shoulder work was done on 2100 Rd. from B-C, X Ave. from 30003100 and M Ave. from 3100-3200 Rock was cleaned from the ditch on H Ave. from 2500-2700 Routine sign work was done across the county Mowing was done on the Burdick, Delavan, Council Grove and Wilsey routes Brett Wright and Shelly attended the County Department Head Meeting Transfer Station: There was another fire in a trash truck, caused by lithium batteries Brush piles in the North Yard were burned Two fuel bids were received for 4,000 gallons of clear #2 diesel fuel and 4,000 gallons of regular unleaded gasoline as follows: Bidder: MFA Oil - Diesel 5.5558/ gal, Reg Unleaded 3.5591/gal, Total $36,459.60 Bidder: Agri Trails - Diesel 5.79/ gal, Reg Unleaded 3.89/gal, Total $38,720.00 Commissioner Kohler (Fox) moved to approve the bid from MFA Oil as presented, in the total amount of $36,459.60. Motion carried.
Commissioner Fox discussed the area of T Ave., east of 975 Rd.; there are trees and brush that need trimmed.
Commissioner Barber discussed the area of B Ave. between 18001900; there is a box culvert that has trees that need removed.
Commissioner Kohler (Fox) moved to approve minutes from the September 8th, 2026, Commission Meeting. Motion carried.
Commissioner Fox (Kohler) moved to approve the accounts payable vouchers as presented; in the total amount of $108,957.20. Motion carried. The breakdown by fund is as follows: General: $9,089.87 Road & Bridge: $76,787.22 Health Dept Flowthru: $594.00 Noxious Weed: $414.09 Solid Waste: $20,549.41 Morris County 911: $1,330.00 DARE Program: $192.61 Commissioner Kohler (Fox) moved to approve payroll as presented; in the total amount of $116,340.59. Motion carried.
Commissioner Fox (Kohler) moved to approve payroll liabilities as presented; in the total amount of $ 110,612.37. Motion carried.
Commissioner Fox (Kohler) moved to approve the Letter of Support for the City of Dwight’s KDOT Cost Share Application. Motion carried.
The meeting was adjourned at 2:30 p.m.