Reno County commissioners to weigh $289,800 in new McNew Road engineering work, with Evergy expected to pick up the tab

Reno County commissioners will decide Wednesday, Sept. 30, whether to add $289,800 in engineering and inspection work to the McNew Road corridor project, a cost the county expects Evergy to cover. The two agreements with JEO Consulting Group, Inc. would bring the county's engineering, inspection and bidding commitment on the three-mile McNew Road and Mills Avenue corridor to $316,300. Commissioners meet at 9 a.m. in the Veterans Room of the Reno County Courthouse, 206 W. 1st Ave. in Hutchinson.

Item 5.B would amend an owner-engineer agreement effective Aug. 12, 2026, narrowing the design work to the north mile of McNew Road, from U.S. 50 south to Morgan Avenue, and adding construction administration and inspection. The amendment is worth $244,800 — $25,000 for design as a lump sum, $75,040 for construction administration and $144,760 for construction observation, the latter two billed hourly and including a full-time resident project representative estimated at 1,100 man-hours — raising the total agreement from $26,500 to $271,300.

Both agenda items, presented by County Administrator Randy Partington, state that the commission previously signed agreements covering all three miles and that splitting the job into two projects is necessary to speed up the first mile, which Evergy is paying for. Construction on that mile is tentatively set to begin March 1, 2027, and reach final completion May 30, 2027. The fiscal impact line on both items reads: "Possible additional cost that is expected to be shifted to the Road Maintenance Agreement with Evergy."

Item 5.C is a separate $45,000 lump-sum agreement covering final plans, permitting, advertising and bidding for the remaining two miles — McNew Road from Mills Avenue to Morgan Avenue, and Mills Avenue from K-96 to McNew Road — with deliverables due in time to advertise the work before June 2027. That scope includes utility coordination, coordination with K&O Railway over its Mills Avenue crossing, a stormwater pollution prevention plan, a Kansas Department of Transportation right-of-way permit and a Kansas Department of Health and Environment notice of intent.

The $45,000 agreement excludes property appraisals and property acquisition services, and lists appraisals and the acquisition of easements and right of way among the county's responsibilities. A twice-tabled eminent domain resolution was scheduled to return to commissioners in late August, and the packet does not say whether it involves land along this corridor.

Among the business items, HR Director Helen Foster recommends accepting a $434,641 quote for 2027 from the Kansas Workers Risk Cooperative for Counties, which has provided the county's workers' compensation coverage since 2013. Travelers quoted $471,169.

The county's 2026 premium before year-end audit adjustments was $499,550, an increase of almost $100,000 over the prior year. The agenda item attributes the increase in part to a major 2024 accident added to the county's experience rating, which will stay on its record until the end of 2028. The item says the amount is already budgeted.

Public Works Director Logan McCurry asks to spend $62,100 from the Road & Bridge Special Machinery Fund on a used 2017 Freightliner M2 106 with a 2,000-gallon tank — $59,500 from V&T Truck Center in Longview, Texas, plus $2,600 for transport — or a similar vehicle for no more than $70,000.

It would replace a 1999 Freightliner with a retrofitted 4,000-gallon tank that was totaled after being rear-ended while parked May 11, 2026. Travelers paid the county $51,341.11 after the deductible, and Public Works determined a used 2,000-gallon unit would be sufficient and would keep the purchase closer to that payout.

County Clerk Jenna Fager recommends setting the canvass of the Nov. 3 general election for 9 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 10, at the Courthouse Annex Conference Room, with 9 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 12, offered as an alternative. K.S.A. 25-3104 requires a canvass no later than 13 days after an election.

Routine business includes vouchers and a proclamation marking October as Cybersecurity Awareness Month.

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