The Stevens County Board of County Commissioners met in regular session Monday, January 21. Joe D. Thompson and Tron Stegman were present. Also present were County Counselor Paul Kitzke, County Clerk Amy Jo Tharp and RoGlenda Coulter from The Hugoton Hermes. Commissioner Pat Hall was absent.
Commissioners had a very light schedule: Tony Martin and Kim Harper at 9:30 a.m. and Brendan with Gilmore Solutions at 10:00 a.m.
The Commissioners were discussing miscellaneous issues with Amy Jo when this reporter arrived. Motion was made and passed to accept and pay the bills.
Tony Martin, Kim Harper and Keith Rome came in to discuss a non-profit gas line to help farmers having issues with fuel and gas sources. They discussed right-of-ways and easements. Commissioners said to get with all landowners who they need to go across. If all else fails, they were instructed to come back in and talk to them about county right-of-ways. They also talked about whether any lines had to bore under roads. They will have to have steel casement or concrete caps. They asked if depth of the line would make a difference. Because the ground constantly moves in southwest Kansas, this would not make a difference. They also brought in a map for the Commissioners to review. Joe and Tron both agreed the group should try to do all they could to stay out of county right-of-way and do as much as possible with the landowners.
