Riley County commissioners table child care licensing fee increases

Nov. 7—Riley County commissioners on Monday tabled an increase to child care licensing fees to make adjustments to the initial inspection fee.

Julie Gibbs, director of the Riley County Health Department, proposed changes to a variety of fees for child care providers, both homes and centers.

For substantiated complaint investigations, the home fee would increase from $75 to $100 and the center fee would go up from $75 to $125. The county proposed a $25 increase per visit after the first visit.

Gibbs also proposed increasing initial survey fees for centers by $70 for a total of $175 and the school-age program by $20 for a total of $100.

In additional, the county proposed a $5 increase in the orientation fee for a total charge of $15.

Health department officials said the fees are similar to peer counties.

Gibbs said these fee changes come because of the need to pay the workers. She explained the process of complaint investigations and initial surveys.

The investigations include a minimum of two facility visits, interviews of parents and facility staff, consultation with the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, and administrative paperwork to process the complaint. They also require an average of 5-6 hours of staff time for every complaint.

Initial surveys for centers, preschools and school-age programs require a minimum of two facility visits, measuring the square footage of useable classroom space for the license, creating the terms of the license for KDHE, and consultation with KDHE. Orientation costs include printing and materials for attendees as well as staffers having to facilitate orientation.

All three commissioners agreed to the substantiated complaint fee increase but did not agree with the increase in initial fees.

Commissioner John Ward said increasing the fees will not help with the child care problems that are already happening.

Commissioners moved to table the approval so that the numbers could be revamped.

OTHER BUSINESS

Commissioners approved signing a $146,653 contract with Shilling Construction Co. for the High Plains Ranch Road overlay that will start in spring 2023.

The county created the High Plains Ranch Road Benefit District in December 2021, after the commission unanimously voted for it.

The county will repave the road, which is north of Manhattan on Kansas Highway 113. High Plains Ranch consists of seven unplatted lots and two platted lots. Officials said the road is paved but has deteriorated to a point it can no longer be maintained.

In a related action, the commission rejected providing to residents with a loan up to $146,653 for the project.

County clerk Rich Vargo said the county never lends out more than $10,000 for any benefit district. "Riley County is not going to be a financial institution," he said.

John Ellerman, public works director, said the county has other methods to get the initial funding, including bonds.

The residents are responsible for paying for the project; benefit districts usually involve adding special assessments to property lots to pay for the work.

Commissioners also approved the 1:1 ratio of salt and sand to treat roads for the winter season.

With the current rate of inflation, the public works staff is considering a mixture of salt and sand to treat roads. John Ellerman, public works director, mentioned that switching to salt will save 40%. Salt is currently $46.80/ton compared to last year's price of $42.80/ton. Currently, the city government does not mix with sand.

Officials said a con is sand does not dissolve and roads may need to be swept off after a storm.

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