GIRARD, Kan. — While much of Tuesday’s meeting was taken up with executive sessions, Commissioner Bruce Blair got an earful during public input about the condition of the gravel roads in the county, particularly in the western half.

Glenn “Bud” Peak, a former employee of the county’s road and bridge department who operated a road grader, asked Blair if had any intention of managing the rural roads any better.

Blair responded that his crews have been working over the past two weeks, doing the best they can, considering the recent rain the area has had. Blair said parts of the county saw six to nine inches of rain in less than three hours.

Blair pointed out that last week his crews were out repairing washouts — and they’re at it again this week.

“When water is running down the road for half-a-mile before it gets to a ditch,” Peak said, “there’s a lack of maintenance.” Peak also admitted this was becoming a problem long before Blair took office.

Despite Peak’s interruptions, Blair responded, “The majority of what we’re seeing right now is thousands of acres of water getting pinched under culverts and bridges and being forced over the road.”

Peak said the county, as a matter of maintenance, needs to cut ditches along the sides of the road for drainage. Blair said there is simply not enough time to do that.

“I know what you want,” Blair said, “to cut the shoulder off, drag it into the road and use that material, which works until it rains.”

Expectations have changed over the years since Peak retired, Blair explained over more interruptions. Things just aren’t done the same way anymore. Blair said residents don’t want to drive through mud; they really don’t want to drive on gravel either.

“People really want pavement in front of their houses,” Blair said. “They want a super-two. We can’t afford pavement on every road.”

The nature of the traffic has changed on those roads as well. When his grandfather was farming, Blair said, he remembers smaller grain trucks running up and down those roads. Now, it’s 18-wheeled semis loaded to the maximum and putting more strain on the roads — meaning more repairs and maintenance is required.

“We just can’t keep up with what that does to the roads,” Blair pointed out.

This is not the first time Peak and Blair have been at odds about maintaining the rural roads.

“We’ve had this conversation over and over,” Blair told Peak. “We don’t agree on how the roads are maintained. All I can say is we are doing the best we can.”

After asking about the progress of the comprehensive plan, Peak took his leave, grumbling under his breath, “It’s like talking to a fence post.”

This reporting is made possible, in part, by the Support Local Journalism Project Fund. Learn more at: southeastkansas.org/Localnews