Ellsworth County Attorney Paul J. Kasper plans to follow up on two questions asked Monday by commissioner Dennis Rolfs during the weekly commission meeting.

The first questions concerned the recovery of payment for medical and dental treatments provided to inmates at the Ellsworth County Jail.

Rolfs said commissioners are always concerned about the amount of medical and dental bills the county pays for the jail inmates. He asked Kasper if there was any way for the county to recoup those costs. Rolfs said Rice County pursues repayment of those expenses.

“I can look into it,” Kasper said, noting the issue the county often has is getting a judgment against the jail inmate because they often have difficulty paying their fines and fees.

Kasper said there are guidelines for inmate health care.

“You have to provide basic medical necessities for them,” he said.

Kasper said he would talk to the Rice County attorney about the collection policy there.

Kasper returned later in the meeting to say there is a discount program in which the county would pay a negotiated reduced rate for inmate medical and dental expenses. He will discuss the matter with Ellsworth County Sheriff Murray Marston.

The second question involved a complaint Rolfs received about the condition of the county road from Yankee Run to K-4 Highway. Rolfs asked whether the county could hold a business accountable if it was responsible for tearing up a county road.

“You have to have an identifiable responsible party,” Kasper said.“If it is something that is just general wear and tear and different trucks are using it, then it becomes more difficult, but if you had a specific road where only one person is using it and it keeps getting tore up, you talk to that person and explain the concern there.”

Kasper said generally speaking, it is the county’s responsibility to maintain the roads.

“That doesn’t mean they have to be perfect roads, but they have to be maintained.”

“They (the Road and Bridge Department) do maintain it more than they do any other roads,” Commissioner Kermit Rush said.

He noted there are two or three sand companies that run trucks on that road, not just one.

“We required them to use that route and it’s a public road,” Rush said.“They have the right to use that road too.”

Kasper said there is general wear and tear on any road.

“Even if you don’t use it, the sun, environmental conditions, freezing snow, rain, all that, snow removal — you’re going to have issues with any road eventually,” Kasper added, noting the reason for this truck route is to avoid damaging other roads in the county.

Rush said that road is hard to maintain because it is springy in several places.

The sand hauling will end before too long, he added.

Kasper said with the truck route, the county understands it will receive more wear and tear than other roads.

“It carries all that lake traffic out to Yankee Run, probably from Hutchinson or wherever,” Rush said.“And the traffic goes so fast. We farm over there and we know what it is like.”

Rolfs said he is worried about traffic accidents on the road.

“I suppose that is why we have liability insurance, “ he said. “I can’t believe they haven’t already had several wrecks.”

Commissioner Steve Dlabal said drivers should be aware of road conditions.

“That’s the responsibility of the people driving, really,” he said. “Once you see a truck, you back off the throttle.”

Kasper suggested representatives from the Road and Bridge Department discuss the matter with the sand companies.

“We hate to put a lot of money into a repair and have it back in the same exact situation two weeks from now if they have a project that’s going to be ending in the foreseeable future,” Kasper said.

Kasper hoped an amicable solution could be found.

In other business;

• No action was taken after a 10-minute executive session with county clerk Shelly Vopat to discuss non-elected personnel — specifically the Family Medical Leave Act.

The next meeting of the Ellsworth County commissioners is at 9 a.m. Monday, Aug. 12, at the county courthouse.