The Lyon County Commission approved a republishing of the Road and Bridge and Noxious Weed department budgets during the board’s action session Thursday morning.
The republishing granted more authority to Lyon County Engineer Chip Woods to access additional funds in the case of an emergency, such as the blizzard which blew through Emporia during Christmas eve in 2009, and follows an estimated $100,000 in road repairs after flooding last month — money that will likely not be reimbursed by the federal government.
The noxious weeds fund provides money for the county to purchase chemicals for farmers and landowners to combat weeds such as field blindweed, Johnson grass, and musk thistle. The need for additional chemicals came about after the combination of high heat in the summer coupled with the large amounts of rainfall over the past several months.
The republishing granted an additional $300,000 for the Road and Bridge fund and $150,000 for the Noxious Weed fund. The item was approved 3-0.
Commissioners also discussed a right of way acquisition for the addition to County Road “A” near the Morris County line and broke the tie of a write-in ballot vote for the Fremont Township Clerk position. Matt Gehring and Les Anderson were tied 8-8 before commissioners broke the tie with a coin flip, which saw Gehring appointed as the new Fremont Clerk.
Seven executive sessions also took place.
The Commission’s next meeting is slated for Wednesday, Nov. 21 inside the County Courthouse.
