Reno County Commission
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The Reno County Commission held a public hearing Wednesday morning as part of its agenda where dog breeding and kennel came up for discussion.
The request was for a special use permit for a couple wanting to start the dog breeding facility consisting of no more than 100 dogs on land at 82nd & Yaggy Road in northern Reno County. That discussion brought some animal lovers and an activist concerned about the possibility of more dogs ending up on the street.
Henry Brubaker and his wife Sara are relocating to Hutchinson from Alexander, Ark. Brubaker was before the commission where he told that he would only breed the poodles once a year and that the breeding wouldn’t add any more than 80 animals. He says the pups will be adopted out and they do check references to make sure the animals will have good homes.
There was also concern for the space needed for such an operation. He says he has three times the space required and told of having plenty of space for the animals to run and play. He and his family would live on the property and operate the facility.
In the end, the animal activist seemed OK with the plan and the special use permit was approved by the commission unanimously.
The commission is also considering adopting a revision to its Economic Development Job Incentive policy. This would allow the county, under certain circumstances which they deem exceptional, to provide economic cash incentives in advance. This would include companies coming to the area planning to make substantial capital investment and a commitment to create 100 new full-time jobs that would have wages higher than the average in the community.
County Administrator Gary Meagher says there is what he called a “clawback” provision. That means that if the company fails to meet the criteria in the policy, that money would have to be refunded.
This policy wouldn’t apply all that often, only in certain circumstances. A good example would be the announcement last week that Mervis Railcar is coming to Hutchinson.
They also discussed the Functional Road Classification System in the county which allows for possible federal funding under the federal Surface Transportation program. This would help in gaining funding for road surface work on roads in the county.
The commission then approved a policy of withholding of wages under certain circumstances when an employee leaves the county. This would include taking funds for over-payment, to reimburse the county for funds advanced in payment of the employee’s portion of the voluntary benefits including the health benefits plan, supplemental plans such as cancer, disability or accident coverage.
This could also apply to recover the value of county property not returned such as tools, personal safety equipment, computers, electronic devices, mobile phones, keys and access cards.
The commission also approved a sick leave and personal leave time policy to include eligibility for temporary employees working a full-time schedule.
They also approved a school zone for Prairie Hills Middle School which would be on Lucille from 30th to Spyglass Drive. Part of the road is in the county and part in the city of Hutchinson. The city council also approved the zone.