Lyon County and the City of Emporia’s longstanding interlocal agreement is no more following the Lyon County Commission’s weekly action session Thursday.
Commissioners voted unanimously to terminate the agreement which provided regulations and jurisdictional procedures for the metropolitan planning area. The area is all county land that is located just beyond the Emporia city limits to a certain mile radius.
County Zoning and Floodplain Manager Sam Seeley explains the metro area is land governed by the county but regulated by the city.
The termination of the agreement means the metro planning area is now no more and all zoning-related matters for land in the area, including building permits, will go through the county and not the city.
The agreement’s termination also means the end of the Lyon County Metropolitan Area Planning Commission and Board of Zoning Appeals in name only. Seeley says the board will still continue, however, it will now function only as a city planning board.
All changes will take effect immediately following a formal publication of the agreement’s termination.
In other business Thursday, commissioners approved a contract with Moss Adams for a feasibility study related to the county’s fiber to the home initiative. TCA was originally set to carry out the study, however, the contract had to be rescinded after a conflict of interest was discovered.
Moss Adams is set to begin work immediately with the feasibility study to be included in a grant application by the county to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration. The county is seeking a $30 million grant to help fund the fiber installation project.
The county is currently considering additional funding opportunities with further details on those ventures to be announced at a later time. The grant application must be submitted before Aug. 16.
The Lyon County Commission and Emporia City Commission will hold a joint meeting at 11:30 am Wednesday. County commissioners will reconvene for their weekly action session next Thursday at 9 am inside the Lyon County Courthouse.
