During their regular meeting Tuesday morning, the Saline County Commissioners appointed Hannah Stambaugh to serve as interim county administrator.

Stambaugh, who currently serves as deputy county administrator, will assume her new duties on Aug. 30. The interim appointment will be effective until commissioners hire a new county administrator. Applications for that position are being accepted until Sept. 15.

Other highlights from Tuesday’s meetings, as provided in a news release from Saline County, include the following.

• Commissioners signed an agreement with Nex-Tech to provide a new cloud-based phone system for the Department of Senior Services. The initial installation costs of $2,880 will be covered through already budgeted funds. The new system is expected to save $50 per month.
• Rick Lamer, Livestock & Expo Center director, provided a quarterly update on the activities at the Expo Center. A total of 71 events have occurred since the beginning of June. Upcoming events can be seen by visiting: http://www.saline.org/Departments/Expo-Center/Expo-Event-Calendar.
• Jason Tiller, health department director, provided information regarding the appointment of a health officer. Dr. David Dupy currently serves in this role, as well as serving as the medical consultant for the health department and as the county coroner. Through statue, a county with 100,000 or less in population can appoint the health department administrator/director as the health officer. Dupy would remain as the medical consultant and the county coroner. Tiller noted that the county could save $5,000 per year if the change in appointing the health department administrator/director as the health officer was made. Commissioners are scheduled to consider the proposed change at the next commission meeting on Aug. 27.
• Darren Fishel, Road and Bridge director, presented a copy of a letter that was drafted with the assistance of Mike Montoya, county counselor, in regard to farming in the county road right-of-way. This practice is against state law and increases road maintenance costs as well as adversely affecting traffic safety.The letter, along with a copy of the state law, will be sent to approximately 1,800 land owners. It is the intention of the county to provide education on the law and gain voluntary compliance. The Road and Bridge Department offers services that can assist with ditch layback as well as estimating property lines.

Commissioners also discussed last week’s presentations and bid proposals from the two architectural and engineering firms regarding the Saline County Jail project.

Currently, the Sheriff’s Office is housing 80-100 inmates per day in other jails across Kansas. The total amount spent on contractual housing and transport since 2010 will exceed $6 million by the end of 2019.

Additionally, commissioners have expressed the desire to enhance programs that will assist in addressing inmate mental health and substance abuse issues, however, the current jail does not have the capacity for such programs. Commissioners also noted that with the large number of inmates being housed out of county would not have access to any mental health and substance abuse program that could be implemented in Saline County.

According to the county news release, a call for action will be requested at the next commission meeting on August 27. Commissioners will make the decision to contract with the architectural firm with the best all-inclusive proposal. Information regarding the Saline County Jail project can be found at: http://www.saline.org/Imate-Population-and-Jail-Documentation.