The Board Is Definitely Not Bored!

During the Commission's Regular Session Meeting on Monday February 4, 2019, Commission Chairman, Dr. William S. Clifford, speaks about the Board's most recent accomplishments that he is most proud of. Also pictured, from left to right: Randall Partington, County Administrator; Duane Drees, Commissioner District 3; Dr. Clifford, Chairman and Commissioner District 4; Dave Jones, Commissioner District 2; Lon E. Pishny, Commissioner District 1; Dori Munyan, County Clerk. Not pictured: Larry C. Jones, Commissioner District 5.

Dr. William S. Clifford led his first Regular Session Commission Meeting on Monday morning, February 4, 2019. He wanted to take the opportunity to congratulate and thank his fellow Commissioners by highlighting a few important achievements the Board has helped to accomplish recently.

Firstly (and most importantly, according to Dr. Clifford) is the revision of Finney County's Comprehensive Plan. Many hours were spent revising the decades-old guidance document to bring it current with the needs of today's Finney County. With help from many organizations and community groups, including the Neighborhood & Development Department, the newly revised plan was finalized in November 2018. You can read more about it in our other blog post, "The 'Complete' Plan is Complete!"

This Board also saw the completed construction of the new Finney County Community Services Center in Garden City in 2016. The building helped bring together four agencies comprised of both County and State departments, under one roof to better serve the rehabilitation, probation, corrections, and youth needs within our community and the greater Southwest Kansas area. That building runs under the direction of the Finney County Department of Corrections.

Another achievement important to Dr. Clifford was the completion of renovations to the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems in five County buildings: the district courthouse, administrative center, library, and attorney's office received complete overhauls, while the law enforcement center also got a minor upgrade. This project reduced energy costs and increased long-term energy efficiencies for these older, high-traffic County buildings.

The Commission also got involved in joint projects with the City of Garden City on road and transportation issues, namely with regard to Jennie Barker Road and future improvements in that area of Garden City and Finney County.

County departments also saw improvements in-house to efficiencies and efforts to improve transparency in County business. The Commission helped achieve those goals through their willingness and approval to change procedures and set policies and standards that help the workflow of the County.

We've also been through the recent transition of two important elected positions within the County: two County Treasurers and a new County Clerk. The Commission works hard to maintain good relationships with all department heads and elected officials, and we've seen these transitions be successful.

One last major achievement the new Commission Chair points out is that of participation by the Commission in regional, state, and federal boards and committees, continuing to be a voice for rural communities and local government needs.

We are looking forward to many more achievements in the coming year and beyond for the County Commission and their service to Finney County. This is Dr. Clifford’s first term as Commission Chair. The Board re-organizes for the Chair position every year.