Allen County crews are poised to respond if and when snow blankets the area.
Bill King, director of Public Works, told county commissioners Tuesday his crew had “plenty of salt and pea rock mixed up and plows are ready” to be fastened to trucks and graders to clear the county’s more than 1,000 miles of roads.
Four large trucks have linear plows awaiting and V-shaped plows are available for several of the county’s graders. Trucks clear snow from about 180 miles of hard-surfaced roads while graders are used to remove snow from about 825 miles of rock roads.
King advised patience for residents living along county roads.
“We can’t be everywhere at once” when snow or ice cover roads, King said. “We get out as quickly as we can but it takes time to open roads.”
Crews in Iola and Humboldt take care of streets in their towns and the Kansas Department of Transportation handles highways 169, 54 and 59. KDOT also applies a chemical slurry ahead of storms that prevents, to a point, moisture from freezing on bridges and other critical spots.
If roads become particularly difficult to negotiate, King’s recommendation is to limit travel to only that necessary until crews have had time to deal with treacherous conditions.
Commissioners told Tom Brigham he could name a private road Jayhawk Lane, but the 911 address would be 2320 North Dakota Rd. Brigham is planning the drive to access a homesite in the Concreto area where he intends to build.
Commissioners said changing the official address would be confusing for emergency crews.
Brigham said the area might eventually have several houses in what he called a family compound.
Then, addresses apparently would have added identification, such as lot A or B, commissioners said, unless Brigham wants to go to the expense of developing a sub-division.
RON HOLMAN, building and grounds director, suggested the county purchase several new benches to replace ones near the Iola square bandstand that were showing signs of their age.
Eight-foot benches such as one purchased earlier this year and placed outside the District Court cost $390 each, including shipping, Holman said. He was asked to look at additional selections should commissioners opt to buy more.
Sheriff Tom Williams was given authority to purchase a new patrol pickup truck for about $20,000. He had estimates from U.S. General Services Administration in that price range and said he also would contact Twin Motors, Iola.
