Lake Waukomis will move from the second district to the first, making the population split between the two commission districts more even.
Commissioners approved the change at the Tuesday, Jan. 18 administrative session, held at the Platte County Resource Center. Due to population shifts noted in the 2020 census, commissioners have been in deliberation to realign the commission district to balance the population divide. Currently, the first district covers the southern half of the county, roughly to Barry Road, with the second district covering the rest of the county and the more rural areas.
First district commissioner Dagmar Wood said commissioners looked at a few different scenarios, but the addition of any of the other smaller communities in the more southern central area of the county would throw the population balance further off instead of closer together.
At a previous meeting, second district commissioner Joe Vanover said the shift made sense, as Lake Waukomis was a more urban community more in line with other communities in the southern half of the county in the first district.
Commissioners also chose a firm to handle planning, design and project management for projects funded through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), approved last year by President Joe Biden. Through ARPA, Platte County will receive approximately $20 million in federal funds to invest in physical plant changes to public facilities that respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and for mitigation of transmission in public facilities.
TreanorHL of Lawrence, Kan was chosen to oversee ARPA work for the county. Four proposals for services were received, with a committee made up of county officials and officeholders reviewing the qualifications to present a recommendation to the commission.
The approval was made using a ranking system, with approval given to the first choice, allowing contract negotiations to begin. Should the first negotiation prove unsuccessful, the county will move to the second firm on the list. Treanor was approved as the county’s first choice, with BNIM as second choice and Olsson as third.
“This is a good first step to see how we can best address the ongoing pandemic with these ARPA funds,” said presiding commissioner Ron Schieber, stating the requests for qualifications information is available for public review.
Commissioner Joe Vanover said while architectural projects were a large part of the proposed changes funded through ARPA, they were not the only component of the federally-funded program. Funds will be used to mitigate the spread of COVID, including the modernization of county government to allow more online access to services.
“So people don’t need to come in and meet face to face with a county employee to get their business done,” Vanover said.
Work on the replacement of the Bee Creek Road Bridge near Platte City will begin soon as commissioners approved a bid award to Miles Excavating for construction of the new bridge. Installation of the new bridge over Bee Creek will cost approximately $1.1 million.
Director of public works Bob Heim said the project is funded through a federal program, with 80 percent of costs covered by the federal government. The remainder may be covered through in-kind contributions, he said.
Vanover asked if the existing truss bridge could be repurposed in one of the county parks. Heim said the bridge could be reused as a pedestrian bridge, or perhaps for light vehicle traffic. Director of parks Daniel Erickson is expected to check the bridge for salvage options later this week.
Weatherby Lake was offered as a suggestion by Vanover, who said that city or others could take ownership of the bridge for their own purposes.
Heim said the bridge itself was fairly long, and may be difficult to move and have limited uses due to its size, but those interested may contact the county for more information.
Also at the meeting, commissioners appointed Gordon Cook to the Mid-Continent Public Library board. The appointment will fill an unexpired term and runs until June.