Ok, this it. Really, they mean it this time.
County officials have given Jay Marks, owner of Wichita-based American Scrap and Can, one more week to finish clean up at a property on U.S. 77 just south of Winfield. The county had an offer from a company who said they would work with Marks to clean up the site at no cost to taxpayers.
It was an offer that seemed to make sense to the county. Otherwise, a county-paid crew would have to come in and the do the work for which Marks would be billed.
"It already looks a lot better, they’d done quite a bit of work," Alsup said. "This way it won’t cost the taxpayers a dime and it’ll lift any liability issues off the county’s shoulders, because we aren’t doing the work."
Repeated deadlines came and passed before commissioners gave Marks a deadline to clean up or pay for the crew the county would send in to remove material and debris.
Marks caught the attention of city and county officials late last year when he began pursuing plans for a salvage yard ? or what he called a recycling center ? at a and lot at 3705 Main. County commissioners told Marks he’d have to clean up the site and seek consent from the commission to open for business.
Alsup said there has been some talk that Marks could open a can recycling business inside the building but the county has asked that he remove all scrap metal at the site before discussing that proposal.
