2 commissioners vie for chairman
Staff writer
County commissioners next week will select a new chairman and vice chairman.
At Monday’s meeting, commissioners Clarke Dirks and Dave Crofoot announced their intentions to run for the position being vacated by Jonah Gehring.
Commissioners and administrator Tina Spencer brought up the idea of voting for a new chairman by ballot, but whether that would be legal is in question.
An attorney for the Kansas League of Municipalities told the Record that the advice he would give for the commission was to find another way to vote.
A ballot would be allowed if it were not a secret ballot, and who votes for whom was announced and noted in minutes.
Commissioners decided to vote in a vice chair at the urging of chairman Jonah Gehring, to select a third commissioner to serve as chairman if both the chair and vice chair were to be absent.
Commissioners also discussed proposed selling a 10-acre at the poor farm off Old Mill Rd., north of 160th St.
Auctioneer would get between 5% and 10%. Commissioners think it would sell for around $50,000.
Commissioners will vote on putting the land up for sale in its next land bank or commissioner meeting.
Commissioners also asked Spencer for a list who could serve as county counsel.
Current counsel Brad Jantz has been absent recently because of medical issues.
When asked whether the attorney should be from Marion County, Gehring laughed, and said that would be nice, but there was little chance this would be possible.
Dirks said the commissioners did not have to fill the position immediately.
“I don’t want to risk it and do it wrong,” he said.