Allen County got a welcome Christmas present in the form of $3.18 million for the first half of property taxes owed by Enbridge for its pipeline and mammoth pumping station southeast of Humboldt, County Treasurer Darolyn Maley told county commissioners Tuesday.
Maley reported 53.03 percent of ad valorem taxes assessed Allen Countians for 2015 had been collected as of Monday. Altogether, property owners paid $11,469,011.11.
Enbridge provided an assessed valuation windfall of about $39 million for Allen County this year, which pushed the county’s total to nearly $137 million, a historical high.
RON BOREN of Boren Roofing, Iola, told commissioners roofing costs will increase a tad locally.
Boren said he had been told by the Kansas Department of Health and Department to dump shingles and associated waste in the main county landfill rather than an area set aside for construction and demolition scrap.
The reason: shingles come packaged in plastic, and plastic is not permitted in the C&D portion of the landfill. Boren said it was too troublesome to remove the plastic.
The difference: A $5 a ton charge is made for material put in C&D; for the regular landfill it’s $9.
Boren said he didn’t mind dumping in the regular landfill, but that the $4-per-ton increase would be passed along to customers.
A KDHE inspector happened to notice a recent load, including plastic and cardboard, which also is prohibited, being put in the C&D area. He instructed Mitch Garner, who as director of Public Works holds landfill reins, the county could face a fine if regulations continued to be ignored.
“We don’t a have a choice, it’s a state rule not ours,” Garner said. Fines for such offenses can be hefty.
Commissioners said they would look further into the matter, but agreed observing state regulations was a foregone conclusion.
AN ANW Special Education Cooperative student will take on custodian duties at the courthouse as a learning experience for about 40 minutes each schoolday during the spring semester.
Commissioners embraced a proposal for the student, under supervision of an ANW employee, to come to the courthouse each day. Ron Holman, maintenance supervisor, said he welcomed the assistance.
Commissioners were invited to participate in a legislative update scheduled for 6 p.m. Jan. 18 in the Community National Bank basement meeting room.
