Two local lawmakers made an appearance at Thursday’s Lyon County Commission action meeting.
For Senate Vice President Jeff Longbine and 60th District Representative Mark Schreiber, their time with county commissioners was meant as an update on several ongoing or upcoming topics of interest. Both Longbine and Schreiber gave specific attention to mental health and transportation matters during their discussion. On mental health, Schreiber says people need to realize just how far-reaching mental health concerns are these days.
Longbine says the immediate focus has been how to handle the tight bed space at Osawatomie and Larned — or perhaps elsewhere across Kansas.
Commission Chair Rollie Martin says the mental health issue is playing out in several ways locally, including incarceration.
On transportation, Longbine urged the county leaders to use a regional approach when requesting help for local projects — especially US Highway 50 from the Coffey County line to the west.
Schreiber agreed, saying it may well be easier for a regional request to be heard in this day and age.
Martin says a regional coalition may well be the way to go as the discussion moves ahead.
Both Longbine and Schreiber say a lot of the upcoming legislative agenda rides on who becomes governor in November, but the Legislature needs to finish its work on education funding to satisfy the Kansas Supreme Court when it comes to adequacy and equity concerns.
Other topics addressed included pensions, nuisance properties and county home rule policy and a possible cap on appraisal values.
