Adrienne Wahl [email protected] Neosho County commissioners met on Tuesday, Dec. 16 and approved fuel bids for 2026, authorized the purchase and financing of two new road graders, and accepted a new property and casualty insurance proposal during their regular meeting.
Commissioners voted to award the county’s 2026 fuel contract to Fleet Fuels of Pittsburg after reviewing two bids submitted before the 2:15 p.m. deadline. Fleet Fuels offered diesel at $2.27 per gallon and unleaded E10 gasoline at $1.89 per gallon, undercutting a competing bid from Producers Cooperative.
“This one is not gonna be that hard,” Commission Chair Nicholas Galemore said before the vote.
Road and Bridge Director Mike Brown confirmed that the Fleet Fuels bid included delivery to the county facility, as required. Fuel bids are typically valid for about an hour after opening, and Brown reviews them with legal counsel once commissioners open the bids.
The commission also approved the purchase of two Caterpillar Model 140 motor graders for the road and bridge department, one with all-wheel drive and one with rear-wheel drive. Brown said the new graders are the same model as the county’s existing equipment, with one older grader traded in as part of the purchase.
Commissioners reviewed financing proposals from Commercial Bank of Chanute, Exchange State Bank of St.
See PROPOSAL, continued on page 2 Paul and Community National Bank of Chanute. Commissioner Gail Klaassen noted the county budgeted $150,000 from the special equipment reserve fund to cover payments.
Brown said the average lifespan of a grader is about 10 years. Galemore said longer- term financing would be easier on the county’s budget, while Klaassen pointed out that the difference in interest between six- and 10-year financing totaled about $28,000 per grader.
Galemore moved to approve financing for the all-wheeldrive grader at a total cost of $330,943, with a 3.95% interest rate and annual payments of about $40,000. Klaassen then moved to approve financing for the two-wheel-drive grader at a total cost of $291,280, with semiannual payments of $17,472. Both motions passed unanimously.
In other business, the commission accepted a proposal from MRH Insurance Group for county property and casualty insurance coverage. MRH President Ross Hendrickson presented a comparison between the county’s current EMC policy and a proposed policy from Travelers Insurance.
The proposal insures county property valued at just over $16 million. While both policies include earthquake coverage, Hendrickson said the county currently carries no flood insurance. The proposed policy would cover a million dollars in damages from each possible event. The flood insurance would exclude some county property in a flood plain.
“With wind and hail in Kansas, it’s not if there is an event but when,” Hendrickson said.
He recommended adding a wind and hail buy-down policy to improve coverage.
Crime coverage, general liability coverage and law enforcement liability — set at $1 million — were the same under both policies, Hendrickson said. He also raised a concern about the county’s commercial auto fleet, noting that one vehicle was still classified as an ambulance.
Galemore explained the county repurposed two former ambulance cabs for road and bridge trucks and said correcting the classification would reduce insurance costs.
Commissioners voted unanimously to accept the MRH proposal with Travelers Insurance for an annual premium of $191,338, plus an additional $14,600 for wind and hail coverage.
The Neosho County Commission will have its final regular meeting of the year on Dec. 30, 2 p.m., in the Neosho County Courthouse basement.
