MARCH - 2009

federal funds for four road/bridge projects totaling $12.1 million considered

Johnson County plans to submit a list of four road and bridge projects, totaling $12.1 million, to the Kansas Department of Transportation to consider for federal funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

The project list of replacing two bridges along 143rd Street west of Olathe and road improvements to sections of 175th and 199th streets in southern Johnson County was prepared by the Johnson County Department of Public Works and Infrastructure. On Thursday, March 5, the Board of County Commissioners approved the project forms to be submitted to KDOT for funding review using 2009 federal stimulus funds.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which was signed into law on February 17 by President Barack Obama, includes $47 billion for transportation programs distributed throughout the nation. The state of Kansas will receive $378 million for highways and transit programs. KDOT will use $268 million for the state highway system and share $70 million with local agencies of which $22 million will be designated for the Kansas City metropolitan area. KDOT also plans to earmark approximately $11 million to District 1, which includes Johnson County. The district also includes 16 other counties.

For consideration for funding, KDOT required that “projects need to be obligated,” meaning the road or bridge work was well past the drawing board and ready to go. That means the projects could be ready to bid, with completion of design, right-of-way acquisition, and approval of utility coordination by December 1, 2009.

Public Works identified four projects that could meet that test, including:

• 143rd Street bridge replacement over Spoon Creek, $0.8 million;
  
• 143rd Street bridge replacement over Captain Creek, $1.1 million;
  
• 175th Street pavement repair/surfacing from U.S. 169 to I-35, $1.4 million; and,
  
• 199th Street reconstruction from Antioch to Quivira roads, $8.8 million.

Mac Andrew, director of Public Works, advised the Board that it is anticipated that the funds available through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act would pay all of the construction costs of projects that have been authorized by the state to receive federal funds.

“At this time, there is no commitment by KDOT to fund any of these projects; however, it obviously is in the county’s best interest to compete for these funds,” he said.

The Board agreed, approving the project submittal forms by unanimous vote.

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County gives green light to Mission’s new community garden on county property

The city of Mission is going to get a little bit greener with a new community garden that will take root by the end of March on Johnson County Wastewater property at Lamar Avenue and Foxridge Drive.

On Thursday, the Johnson County Board of Commissioners approved a 10-year lease with the city for the gardening project on the approximate two-third-acre site of unimproved land owned by Wastewater. The lease was approved February 18 by the Mission City Council.

As part of the agreement, Mission plans to provide a maintenance shed, several raised beds for growing crops, and water and electric utilities to maintain the site. A permanent location of the shed and up to 10 raised beds has not been determined, pending reviewing the site to ensure the improvements will not interfere with existing utility and operational facilities of the Wastewater Department.

Mission plans to recruit local citizens, schools, and organizations to plant, water, weed, and maintain the beds of vegetables. Other volunteers will harvest the crops for distribution to local food pantries and low-income households.

The beds will be approximately 4-by-24 feet in size with about a depth of about one foot of soil for the growing of vegetables.

A ground-breaking for the first three beds is tentatively scheduled March 20, the first day of spring, with the planting of the first crops – potatoes, snap peas, and lettuce and spinach – to take place by March 28. Another three beds will be planted with different vegetables in April, and the remaining beds will be planted with another assortment of vegetables in May.

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$15.4 million approved for improvements to wastewater treatment plant

Construction of improvements at the Douglas L. Smith Middle Basin Treatment Plant, Overland Park, in the processing of wastewater solids was approved Thursday, March 5, by the Johnson County Board of Commissioners.

The project also will install two “green” features to use alternative fuels as new power sources in producing electricity to power the plant. It involves the addition of a cogeneration system that will use the methane gas collected as part of the wastewater treatment process. The unit also will be fueled by thousands of gallons of grease and fats from local restaurants.

By unanimous vote, the Board authorized $15,405,000 in construction phase funds for the project, increasing the total project authorization to almost $17.9 million. The approval included authorizing a low interest loan application for $17,889,000 from the Kansas Water Pollution Control Revolving Fund for the project. The fund is available though the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.

John O’Neil, director of the Wastewater Department, said the project is part of ongoing improvements to the treatment plant that began five years ago. A current project, involving an expansion to the plant and improving its nutrient removal system, was started two years ago and is scheduled for completion next month. That project, costing $37.5 million, will increase the plant’s treatment capacity to 14.5 million gallons per day to meet increased demands for service from residential and commercial growth in central Johnson County.

The next step in the construction schedule will improve the plant’s system to process solids in the treatment of wastewater, which signaled the request Thursday before the Board. The new project will expand the plant’s solids digestion system to match the expanded treatment capacity.

The project also will install a digester gas cogeneration system that will generate electricity, reducing power costs at the plant.

“It is possible the cogeneration may meet all plant needs for a savings of about $600,000/year and a significant reduction in greenhouse gas production,” O’Neil said.

A fats, oils, and grease waste receiving station also will be installed at the plant site. The station will serve contract waste haulers carrying fats, oils, and grease from restaurants and other industries. The materials will be added to the anaerobic digesters along with the sludge produced in the wastewater treatment process where one of the by-products of the bacteria eating the material is methane gas which is also called natural gas. Use of the fats, oils, and grease will increase power production from the new cogeneration system.

The greasy waste involves a lot of potential alternative fuel for the treatment plant. In 2008, the grease management program of the Johnson County Environmental Department kept 696,600 gallons of grease and solids out of the county’s sewer system from restaurants. The grease and solids currently are taken to a wastewater treatment facility in Kansas City, Kansas.

Other improvements include installation of a fourth anaerobic digester and repairs to the existing three digesters and ancillary equipment; replacement of aged or worn-out processing equipment, including bar screens and grit-removal devices; repairs of influent channel gates; and installation of a fiber optic communication cable.

In a related action Thursday, the Board authorized a $13,079,000 contract with BRB Contractors, Inc. to construct the Solids Processing Improvements Project. The firm submitted the lowest bid among six bidders. The other bids ranged from $13,181,000 to $15,831,879.

BRB Contractors, formerly known as BRB Construction, Inc., also submitted the lowest bid and was awarded the $30.2 million contract to construct the plant expansion and nutrient removal project that’s nearing completion.

The Douglas L. Smith Middle Basin Treatment Plant, located at College Boulevard and U.S. 69, was built in 1982. It serves the upper and middle Indian Creek watershed areas of Johnson County.

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Chairman Surbaugh to present 2009 State of County Address on March 31 in Overland Park

With a general theme of how Johnson County Government changes lives in the Johnson County community, Annabeth Surbaugh, chairman of the Johnson County Board of Commissioners, will present her 2009 State of County Address on Tuesday, March 31, at the Ritz Charles, 9000 West 137th Street, Overland Park.

The event, which is being co-sponsored by the Johnson County Public Policy Council, will begin with registration at 11:30 a.m. Lunch will be served at noon with the program and State of County Address to follow.

Her speech will discuss change that’s now happening; that has been created because of financial challenges County Government is facing in light of state funding cutbacks, revenue shortfalls in the county’s budget, and a national recession; and that Johnson County needs to make as a Community of Choice.

Tickets to the State of the County event are available by contacting local Chamber of Commerce offices. Cost, which includes lunch, is $30 per seat or $240 for a table with eight seats.

The address will be Surbaugh’s sixth keynote address since changes imposed under the county’s charter, which was approved by voters in 2000. The charter created an at-large, publicly elected chairman to serve as the presiding officer of the Board of County Commissioners and as the chief elected official of Johnson County Government.

A resident of Overland Park since 1968, Surbaugh has served on the Board of County Commissioners for 17 years, representing the Third District from 1992 to 2002 prior to being elected chairman in 2002. She was re-elected to a second four-year term in 2006.

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County names new health director

The Johnson County Manager’s Office has announced the appointment of Lougene Marsh, MPA, as the new director of the Johnson County Health Department.

The announcement was made Tuesday, March 10, in separate communications to the Johnson County Board of Commissioners as well as the members of the County Government’s executive management team. Marsh will officially assume her duties Monday, April 6, 2009.

The new Health Director comes to Johnson County Government after serving as director of Flint Hills Community Health Center/Lyon County Health Department at Emporia since Feb. 1, 2001. As the newest member of the county’s executive management team, she has more than 37 years of public service experience, with a strong emphasis on local health administration.

“Lougene was selected from a fine pool of qualified applicants,” said Deputy County Manager Hannes Zacharias, who will serve as her supervisor. “Her broad experience in public health administration, along with her strong academic credentials and prior work experiences at the state and local levels make her a great asset to this community.”

Prior to becoming director of Flint Hills Community Health Center/Lyon County Health Department, Marsh was employed by Kansas Social and Rehabilitation Services (SRS) from 1972 through December 2000. From 1983 through 2000, she served as the Chief of Economic and Employment Support Services for the Emporia area of SRS.

Marsh graduated from the Kansas Public Health Leadership Institute and completed advanced management and health care executive programs at the Johnson & Johnson/Anderson School of Management at the University of California, Los Angeles.

She received a Bachelor of Arts Degree with a major in history and minors in political science and English from Phillips University, Enid, Oklahoma, and a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from the University of Kansas.

“I am delighted to have the opportunity to join Johnson County government as Director of the Health Department. There is great potential for this department to serve as a public health leader for the county, the metro area and the state of Kansas, and I look forward to working with the department’s division directors and the Johnson County leadership team to advance the delivery of public health services,” Marsh said.

As Johnson County’s Health Director, she will lead the department in promoting health education, training, and wellness throughout the community; assisting in controlling and preventing public illnesses and communicable diseases; and providing targeted population-based primary care assistance and public health services.

The naming of the new Health Director caps a four-month search by County Government to fill the vacancy. The process involved a selection committee, a national search for applicants, review of 57 applications, and interviews with four finalists before the hiring of Marsh.

Sarah Plinsky, Assistant to the County Manager, has served as interim director of the Health Department since November.

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