GIRARD, Kan. — The city of Girard is nearing the start of its water project, a project that entails extensive waterline improvements with roughly 18 miles of new piping to be installed across the city. On Monday, Girard Public Works Director Jackie Messer visited with the council on the procedure for service line replacements.

“I think we lied last time when they said they are going to start May 1 (2026) because I’ve been saying July 1, so I think I’m still in the running to be accurate,” laughed Messer and the council. “We did line locates and then come to find out they don’t have the material they need. They are waiting on valves and pipes and realistically, it’s going to be in June sometime, I don’t know.

“... Called the inspector that’s going to be on the job, and he said it’s going to be in June. They are still waiting on valves, so it’sgoing slow. But in an effort to get ahead of some of this, because I know these questions are going to come up, and I don’tthink the engineering firm is on the page as we are ... There’s been all along, the project has said we’re going to replace service lines, but I never heard a definition of what that was. So I talked to KDHE (Kansas Department of Health and Environment) and I sent a note to the engineer. Said that this is what we are going to do.”

Messer added that the service line replacement “all ties back to the lead and copper rule” that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) mandated in 1991 to minimize lead and copper in drinking water. Messer noted that the process will be a “case by case evaluation of what’s there.”

“We have this massive spreadsheet that we have to update continually, and this is an opportunity to get information to update it,” said Messer. “But what I was talking about was I don’t see a reason to replace lines that don’t need replaced ... We came up with a waiver because they were just going to go up on private property and replace the service line and I said ‘No, you can’t do that’ and ‘Well, we do it in the county,’ ‘Well, we don’t do it in the city.’

“So we have developed a waiver ... We are going to replace your service line if it meets the certain parameters all the way up to house, within one foot of the foundation ... Basically, you have five types of pipe. If it’s PEX or PVC, there’s no reason to replace it ... If it’s galvanized, black steel, we need to replace it. If it’s lead in the connections, which there is lead out there, ... If it’srolled copper, we are alright. But if it’s soldered copper, we need to replace it.

“... If you want your service line replaced, and you agree to let us come on your property, then we’ll replace it up to one foot, as long as it meets the parameters. I don’t think it’s fair to be replacing new lines. That’s 500 services we are talking about ... 44 to 50 percent of the city is cast iron lines and those usually have led connections or copper connections coming off them. We are going to be sitting pretty in a couple of years compared to everyone else if we do our homework and document all this stuff and get it into that form.”

In other business, the city continues to bolster its summer crew at the city pool. The council approved the hiring of Aydin Sisney, Weston Stafford, Ryder Stafford, and Harrison Burke as a seasonal lifeguard at the rate of $9 an hour.

The city also approved to increase staff at the Girard Fire and Police Department. For fire, the council approved Brody Sutton, Kenneth Atchison, and Ryder Grosstephan as volunteer firefighters. As for police, the council approved a 50-cent raise for Blake Tyler upon completion of the Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center and a positive six-month evaluation. The police department also added Bradyn Hilderbrand as a part-time officer at $20 an hour.

As for other employee increases, the council approved a $1 an hour raise for Terry Wray for the successful completion of certifications along with a $1 increase for William Eddington for successful completion of Year 2 Merchant’s Course.

The next Girard City Council meeting is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Monday, May 18, at the Girard City Hall on the southeast side of the building, located at 120 N. Ozark St. Council meetings may also be viewed on YouTube by searching for “City of Girard, Kansas.” For more information, contact Girard City Hall at 620-724-8918.

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