County seeks flexibility in Baldwin office lease

The Douglas County Treasurer’s Office in Baldwin could be on the chopping block next year, if that’s what it takes to help balance what promises to be a constricting 2004 budget.

Commissioners agreed Monday that the county’s lease for office space at 813 Eighth St. in Baldwin should contain an “out” clause. They had considered approving a new three-year lease for the office that opened in March 2000 but agreed to wait until some flexibility could be built into the agreement.

With the state deficit projected to run up to $1 billion, counties are bracing for deep cuts. And Commissioner Bob Johnson wants to be ready.

“I want to be able to look at as many things as we can to cut back, without having to look at people first,” Johnson said. “If the state forces us to make cuts we don’t want to make, I just want to protect ourselves.”

The county pays $500 a month for the space, where one clerk works from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays. The office handled 8,642 motor-vehicle transactions last year, or about 8 percent of the 106,411 taken in all four treasurer offices.

The new lease would start at $500 a month and increase to $550 in May 2004.

Eudora school work prompts new speed limit

Douglas County commissioners are acting fast to slow drivers alongside a construction zone for a new high school in Eudora.

A temporary 30 mph speed limit will be posted on County Road 1061, between North 1200 and North 1300 roads at the southern edge of town, commissioners decided Monday.

Crews are installing drainage pipes and a deceleration lane along the west side of 1061. The Eudora school district and its contractor requested the speed limit be lowered from its existing 45 mph.