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Resolution spells out culvert costs
Changes bring county in compliance with state
culverts
Shown is an example of a culvert installed by the Barton County Road and Bridge Department. The County Commission Wednesday morning approved a new resolution outlining the culvert installation application process.

Bringing Barton County in line with State of Kansas guidelines, the County Commission Wednesday morning OKed a resolution creating a cost application for the installation of culverts or entrances.

This rescinds and updates a 2003 resolution, Operations Director Matt Patzner said. Updates include  detailing both the county’s and the property owner’s financial obligations and defining “culvert.”   

“Essentially, if it’s a new ditch or an existing entrance that did not exist before, that would be the county’s expense,” he said. “If it’s at the homeowner’s or the land owner’s convenience, that would be the landowners expense.”

In a nutshell, this is what state statues mandate, Patzner said. 

It was asked how much money this change would save the county. 

“In excess of a $100,000,” said District 1 Commissioner Kirby Krier, who first brought this issue up before the commission. Krier was factoring in dirt, labor, equipment and the cost of the culvert itself and noted that each entrance could cost as much as $10,000.

“That could be,” Patzner said. 

Patzner said once passed, the new resolution would be enforced.  However, the county has nine entities that requested culverts from April to October of last year, and those will be honored under the former resolution.

According to state statute: “whenever it is necessary for a city or county to make a ditch along a public road in front of any property at such depth as will in the opinion of the officials in charge of such road obstruct access from such property with the public highway, it shall be the duty of the city engineer in cities and the county engineer in counties to cause to be constructed and maintained a substantial entrance over such ditch, so as to make a good, safe crossing. The city shall pay for such improvement on city streets and the county shall pay for such improvement on county roads. The cost of such culvert shall be paid by the owner of such property when such property does not have a culvert and the installation of such culvert is requested by the property owner or such property owner’s agent.”

Installation of culverts falls to the Road and Bridge Department.