A pair of tabled matters have been resolved following separate actions by Lyon County Commissioners Thursday morning.
During their action meeting, commissioners approved a low bid and contracts with KBS for constructing the new shooting range for the Lyon County Sheriff’s Office and dirt prep work for the attached new Lyon County 911 dispatch and training center. The better-than-$1.5-million price tag for the project was a main reason for why the matter was tabled on two separate occasions over the last month, with commissioners saying they needed to see a more accurate breakdown of where the dollars will go within the project.
KBS provided the requested information, with Lyon County Sheriff Jeff Cope running through it during an interview with KVOE News Thursday morning.
The shooting range does come with a ticking clock due to Federal funding that paid for the new training equipment, as the range must be operational by mid-May or else the county will have to repay the nearly $250,000 in funds. Cope says the roughly three and a half week delay in the matter shouldn’t have any adverse effect on the project timeline.
As for the 911 center, this contract will only cover the ground and utility work for the center, with the actual physical structure’s construction to come at a later time.
Also, commissioners approved a construction engineering oversight fee for Driggs Design Group for a total of $9,300.
In other business, commissioners approved signing a letter of support for IdeaTek, which is seeking a Broadband Acceleration grant through the Kansas Office of Broadband Development for a proposed fiber build-out in the Thorndale Community. This item was tabled for only a week after commissioners stated they needed additional information the previous Thursday, specifically regarding a potential financial contribution which they were not expecting when the matter first came before them.
According to IdeaTek Community Relations Manager John Terry, county buy-in is a requirement of the grant, with a minimum contribution of $1 necessary. Commissioners would ultimately approve a $1,000 contribution contingent on IdeaTek receiving the grant.
According to Terry, the proposed project would build out a fiber network spanning 14 miles in Thorndale, north and south of Interstate 35, that would offer symmetrical speeds up to 2.5 GIG to over 140 “premises.” Terry says they chose the area for a few key reasons, including a significant lack of fiber service in the vicinity.
Terry adds, this rural effort is identical to the work currently ongoing within the city limits putting Thorndale and city residents “On par” in terms of service.
Last week, IdeaTek had stated the proposed project would cost roughly $670,000; however, upon further geological surveying, Terry says the actual cost is well over $700,000. Terry says they will be seeking that total sum with the grant application.
The application deadline for the grants is October 30, with Terry saying they expect to hear back by the end of the year.
In other business Thursday, commissioners approved signing a letter of support for the siting of the TerraPower Natrium reactor project. The county is the latest entity to take this step after the same action was approved by both the City of Emporia and the Regional Development Association of East Central Kansas last Wednesday.
A trio of requests from Lyon County Engineer Wayne Scritchfield also were approved unanimously and commissioners overheard a presentation regarding recent food data from Jessica Reth of the Lyon County Food and Farm Council.
Commissioners will reconvene for their regular meeting next Thursday at 9 am inside the Lyon County Courthouse Commission Chambers.
