No Diesel, No Deal

Sealed bids were opened at the Oct. 18 Kimball County Commissioners meeting to purchase two 14-passenger vans for the Kimball County Transit Service.

None of the submissions met all the specifications due in part to the requirement of excluding diesel engines. All bids were rejected. The bidding process will start over again with new specifications.

The intent of acquiring two vans is to make the Denver International Airport trips that will bring in enough income to subsidize regular rides and keep fares low.

Multiple bids for vans were received from Midwest Transit in Illinois and Davey Coach from Colorado. A variety of vans or buses were presented in the bidding process ranging in price from $111,500 to $163,914. New specifications will be voted on during the Nov. meeting.

In a similar bidding process, Requests for Qualifications were opened from energy service companies Millig Design Build and Community Building Solutions. Millig Design Build is from Englewood, Colorado, and Community Solutions is based in Lincoln.

Both company’s courthouse proposals included a chiller/boiler, an automated control system, new doors and windows, renovation of the county clerk’s office and security updates. The proposals were tabled so that the commissioners could review both proposals in detail. ARPA Funds are intended to finance the projects.

In Kimball County Transit Administrator Christy Warner’s update, she said KCTS continues working on long-term management, routes, and a marketing plan.

She explained that some of the first quarter reimbursement financials are arriving with $80,000 from July. August is expected to be $86,000, and September is projected to be $137,000.

Updating the commissioners on the county roads was Randy Bymer, county highway superintendent. He spent a week at a refresher course for bridge inspection and once again passed the test to be a bridge inspector.

The county highway department is blading and mowing the roadsides. Bymer stated, referring to the two new hires, “The new guys are catching on quick.”

Re-cap tires for the belly dumps were purchased, and the department is doing minor repairs on graders and belly dumps.

A liquid fertilizer spill north of Bushnell is finally cleaned up, according to Bymer. The cleanup crew dug down about 6 inches to get the soil that the liquid fertilizer had penetrated and then re-compacted the spot.

The commissioners approved two permits to Occupy County Right of Way to Optic Networks to lay fiber on County Road 38 to the tower and Highway 71.

Bymer said Road 59 was discussed with Northrop Grumman personnel. Northrop Grumman officials were going to check to see if they have any obligation to maintain pavement, referring to the Dix road south. The spokesman for Northrop Grumman told Bymer that they haven’t looked at which roads they will run on.

In open session, the board conducted final interviews for the position of Building and Grounds superintendent. Two individuals were selected for the final round from the five applicants. Interviewing first was Steve Warner, followed by Zeb Brown.

Brown was nominated for the position, but it died for lack of a second. In a 2-1 vote, Steve Warner was appointed as Building and Grounds Superintendent. A motion was made and approved to offer Zeb Brown an assistant position in Buildings and Grounds. No word on his acceptance.

The next regular Kimball County Commissioners meeting will be Tuesday, Nov. 1 at 9 a.m.