By NICK GOSNELL
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The Board of Reno County Commissioners voted Tuesday to clarify that they are not paying for the Scott Blvd. bridge, but they are willing to help with anything they can not involving money. It is County Counselor Joe O' Sullivan's legal opinion that they can't pay for the bridge.
"There are three statutes that are used to fund county road and bridge maintenance and replacement, not only for bridges and roads on county roads, but also bridges on township roads and connecting link roads maintenance, which the statute makes the county's responsibility."
Nevertheless, the commission is okay with Public Works Director Don Brittain helping South Hutchinson as he has attempted to before, to do as much as they can without laying out any specific county funds for replacement.
"Don would contact engineers that he works with on the numerous bridges that we take care of every year, have them inspect the bridge from underneath to see if it needs to be replaced, or it could be repaired and get a cost estimate of what that would take to both repair and replace it," said County Administrator Randy Partington. "We would report that back to the mayor of South Hutchinson and then Chairman Hirst, to kind of keep him in the loop of what was going on."
Commissioners praised Brittain for his background work to explain the issues to them and to staff. Commission chair Ron Hirst said they will work together if the water project on Avenue F requires any stoppage in traffic, but it is still their intent to get equipment in and out and South Hutch city council members that met with Hirst and Partington Monday agreed.
"In case they get some machinery and equipment that has to temporarily turn or be there to do any boring, which I don't foresee," Hirst said. "It could happen that street would be down for a short period of time. The county can work with that."
Ron Sellers noted that even if they could give money toward the bridge, they wouldn't want to start having cities expect that, as Hutchinson alone has 66 bridges that it is responsible for that are not on connecting links.