Any faint hopes by the city of Hutchinson to get financial help from the county when it comes to repairs of the city’s levee system are all but dead. This after Reno County Commissioner Dan Deming’s attempt to re-address the issue failed to gather any support form either Commissioner James Schlickau or Brad Dillon.

The matter came up again after the board received a formal letter from Hutchinson City Manager John Deardoff asking the county contribute 27% of the cost of the levee repairs, which are needed to keep the system up to the Army Corps of Engineers standards. Failure to do so would put a large portion of the city in the flood plain, forcing property owners to by flood insurance.

Deming asked County Counselor Joe O’Sullivan about City Attorney Paul Brown’s interpretation of a law allowing the city and county to enter into a inter-local agreement to fund the repairs. O’Sullivan had a different opinion, stating that such agreements could only be done on new projects, and not existing ones.

Whether the legal loophole could be jumped through or not was a moot point since Commissioners Schlickau and Dillon made their intentions known that they would not support getting involved in any water control issues county wide, including with the city of Hutchinson.

The commission will vote on the matter during next weeks agenda session.