Allen County’s newest transportation program is facing a delay.
Lisse Regehr, CEO of Thrive Allen County, briefed Allen County commissioners at their meeting Tuesday on the program’s challenges of hiring a driver for the new service.
How long the delay might last is unclear, but the program will nevertheless continue moving forward.
The largely grant-funded program will provide free rides to residents both within and outside the county.
Emergency management director Jason Trego said severe weather awareness week is March 1-5.
During this time, residents should be aware that storm sirens may sound for the purposes of readying for tornadoes statewide. Residents are encouraged to practice their storm preparedness plans.
Trego said that no tornadoes had been reported locally in 2020, and that such an absence hasn’t occurred since 1950.
He also noted that, following the state’s lead, Allen County declared a weather-based state of emergency on Feb. 19, which may help communities and others recoup costs for weather-based losses.
Whether such measures will help the City of Humboldt with its exorbitant utility prices is unclear (with natural gas having momentarily surged to impossibly high levels), but commissioners look to help in whatever way possible.
During his weekly report, public works director Mitch Garner collected commissioners’ signatures on agreements for noxious weed control and herbicide distribution.
He also presented commissioners with a bid for dust control measures from Scotwood Industries, which they approved at $85 per hour plus the cost of chemicals.
Garner noted that last year 103 residents/properties took advantage of the dust control service, and said that treatment “lasts most of the year.”
Garner also presented commissioners with multiple bids for asphalt oil.
They approved purchasing the needed products from Ergon Asphalt and Emulsions, of Kansas City, and one additional product from Coastal Energy (with prices ranging from $1.79 to $2.29 per gallon).
Additionally, commissioners gave Garner the green light to start the process of purchasing a new road blader and the personnel to drive it. The goal is to ultimately have a larger road crew that’s more responsive to resident needs.
Loren and Matt Korte were on-hand to discuss insurance with commissioners, and said that premiums had increased somewhat due to new county-owned buildings and vehicles.
