By Scott Edger
Little Apple Post
Riley County and the City of Manhattan are thus far managing to stay ahead of widespread supply-chain bottlenecks and staffing shortages.
According to officials, most departments are adequately staffed and supplied but larger needs are starting to expose some gaps. After sending out a Request for Proposal weeks ago for a large piece of earth-moving equipment, Riley County Commissioners got back just one proposal.
In the past, this type of request would see at least a half-dozen bids submitted. Manufacturers of heavy equipment and vehicles are experiencing severe delays and frequently deliver units with IOUs for missing control chips - with tens of thousands on backorder from Asian nations or in transportation bottlenecks around the globe.
Russel Stukey, Emergency Services Director for Riley County, said there are no staffing shortages in his department, but he has seen delays in product availability and increased prices for commodities and equipment. His department has had to delay purchases due to high prices and staff, like others around the area, are waiting patiently for supplies and equipment to be delivered.
Riley County Public Works – which performs most of the mechanical repair and maintenance on Riley County fire equipment – has had challenges filling mechanic positions, which delays repairs to fire equipment.
John Ellermann, Director of Public Works for Riley County, said his department is nearly fully staffed. They recently completed a round of new hires and only have one mechanic position vacant.
“We ask people to be patient as we do everything we can to serve the public and keep the roads in good condition this winter,” Ellerman said.
The department is stocked with supplies for now, but a severe winter and increased wear-and-tear on equipment may tax capabilities.
He said the county ordered salt early so inventory is on-hand, but just like every year, material availability will depend as much on the weather as any supply-chain issues.
“We’re holding on for now and all Public Works operations are fully functional,” Ellerman said. “Depending on the weather this winter and the condition of the trucks, we may see delays in road and pothole repairs."
Riley County Public Works has seen numerous supply and shipment delays this year, especially for new vehicles. At this time, they are waiting for two new dump trucks with salt spreaders and plows that were ordered in the spring.
“It may take more than a year for those orders to be filled,” Ellerman said, “which means they will not be ready for this season. We’re also seeing delays and shortages of vehicle parts, which puts extra stress on our existing fleet. Prices of parts and supplies have also increased because of the steel shortage.”
Planned completion dates for projects are being nudged back. Ellerman said the bridge project at Wildcat Park on South 62nd Street has been delayed due to supply shortages and price increases.
“From week-to-week the price estimates on steel can fluctuate thousands of dollars,” Ellerman said. “County crews are completing the work as time, weather, and supplies allow. It’s a walking bridge with limited vehicle access for county maintenance, so the delays do not have a significant operations impact.”
Reflecting workforce shortages across the nation, the Kansas Department of Transportation has already said it does not have enough equipment operators for winter operations.
KDOT is about 30 percent short of snowplow operators needed to be fully staffed. Municipalities around the state were warned by KDOT in early November that roads may not be cleared of snow and ice as expeditiously as in the past.
State administrators said that the agency has dealt with reduced staffing in the past, but the shortages are far greater this year.
“KDOT is facing significant staffing shortages in some areas and will work proactively to clear Kansas highways by shifting crews to affected areas and pretreating highways and bridges whenever possible,” said KDOT Secretary Julie Lorenz. “Our snowplow operators work 12-hour shifts and do their best to keep the roads open and the public moving.”
At Manhattan Regional Airport, Director Brandon Keazer said that, so far, supply and staffing issues haven’t impacted airline operations. The mild weather so far has also helped.
“We are very fortunate in this aspect as other airports are feeling the pinch of staffing challenges due to Covid,” Keazer said.
MHK has ample winter supplies on is prepared for the upcoming winter storm season, according to Keazer.
“The facility maintains a level of winter chemical inventory throughout the year,” he said, “and because this winter has been mild, we haven’t had to touch our supplies.”
Keazer said the airport has seen a slight increase in runway deicing fluid when compared to 2020. The cost of aircraft deicing fluid has increased almost 50 percent over last year.