CAPTION: Family members of David Serviss are presented with the newly unveiled street sign dedicated to David, a long-time Reno County Public Works employee who passed away in August 2024. Photographed with them are Reno County Commissioners Ron Hirst, left, John Whitesel, and on the right Don Bogner, Randy Parks and Public Works Director Don Brittain. CREDIT SANDRA MILBURN/RENO COUNTY
By Michael Glenn
The Reno County Commission approved the renaming of a section of old Kansas Highway 14/96 in honor of a former Reno County Public Works employee Wednesday at its final regular meeting of the 2024 year.
Serviss Avenue, named in honor of David Serviss, a former superintendent in the department who passed away in an automobile accident this year, will be Reno County’s newest street. Director of Public Works Don Brittain proposed the name change to the commission.
“David was an excellent employee, a good person and my friend,” Brittain said. “It is my recommendation you name this section of road from Hodge Road to the Reno County line to north Serviss Avenue.”
Reno County took over maintenance of a road formerly used and named as K-14/96. The road runs through the City of Nickerson and into Rice County.
Brittain presented the first-made street sign of Serviss Ave. to Serviss’ family. The commission approved the road name change unanimously in a 4-0 vote, with Commissioner Daniel Friesen being absent from the meeting.
In other business, the commission approved the bidding out of a new Arlington EMS station and raised the amount allowed to spend from $610,000 to $750,000.
Reno County Administrator Randy Partington said the commission originally set the cap at $610,000. Throughout the design process with Landmark Architects, however, Partington said the original cap may not be enough for construction.
“The last time I was here we were given a cap of $610,000. We’ve contracted with Landmark and have initial designs,” Reno County EMS Director Dave Johnson said. “The cost came back higher. We understand that it’s not out of line with other projects. The request is to move the lid on this up to $750,000, and that number includes a buffer.”
When asked about response times in the Arlington area, Johnson said the time has improved significantly for EMS calls.
“We’ve had 67 responses in the Arlington area,” Johnson said. “Our response time has been 3.7 minutes on average, and that’s down from 6 minutes last year.”
The commission approved the change for the budget unanimously.
The Dec. 23 commission meeting will also be the last meeting for current commissioners John Whitesel and Friesen. Commissioners-elect Richard Winger and Ron Vincent will replace Whitesel and Friesen, respectively.
