Pierceville residents voice concerns

Frustrated by a lack of communication and transparency from the Pierceville Township Board, particularly on its recently approved budget and several other proposed projects, over 35 residents attended a community meeting with two of the three board members Monday night to discuss their concerns.

The attendees, some armed with questions for the board, filed into the gym’s stands and folding chairs. Board Clerk Vyrl Warren sat alone at a table before the residents at the beginning of the meeting, explaining that Board Trustee Dan Harms was at a funeral and Board Treasurer Doug Mai was driving back to town from Wichita.

When community members Deb Davis and Becky Kells asked where the other board members were, Warren addressed the crowd.

“This isn’t our meeting. This is you guys’ meeting,” he said.

Mai arrived about an hour after the 80-minute meeting began. Local township board meetings are generally more casual, but they must still follow protocols outlined in the KOMA, Finney County Clerk Dori Munyan said.

Irritated by communication issues surrounding the budget, public board meetings and several other community issues, Davis and Kells said they asked the board to hold a community meeting the following week at a time more convenient to working community members. Kells said she posted notices of the meeting to Pierceville residents’ doors to spread the word.