The back gravel roads of Douglas County
Invisible Borders, Essential Jobs by Anne Brockhoff, photos by Steven Hertzog
Townships and fire districts are indispensable to county residents, who depend on them not only for maintenance issues but also emergency situations.
Some Douglas County boundaries are obvious, like the city limits when you drive into Lawrence. Township borders, on the other hand, are invisible yet determine who provides two rural essentials: road maintenance and fire protection.
All Kansas townships are structured similarly, and state statutes empower them to do everything from maintaining roads and fire operations, to establishing water districts, caring for cemeteries and controlling prairie dogs.
It might surprise even those who live in the county that its nine townships oversee the maintenance of some 900 miles of roads, while mostly volunteer personnel in four fire districts respond to fire, medical and other emergency calls. Understanding the scope, funding and delivery of those services is increasingly important as Douglas County’s rural population grows.
Douglas County townships have historically focused on the first two, although township-controlled fire departments have in recent years transformed into autonomous fire districts. But township boards still have plenty to do. Most meet monthly (Wakarusa’s meets twice a month) in a townshipowned meeting hall to prioritize road maintenance, projects and repairs. Each also owns a shop and equipment, such as graders and dump trucks, and employs between one and three staff. Some also have part-time or seasonal employees.
“That is one thing, I think, over the next decade or so that will be challenging—all those people moving out there with an increased expectation of services,” says Jamie Shew, county clerk. The Clinton, Eudora, Grant, Kanwaka, Lecompton, Marion, Palmyra, Wakarusa and Willow Springs townships are independent governing bodies, each with a three-person elected board that levies taxes and files an annual budget. Baldwin City and Lecompton are included within the townships surrounding them; Lawrence and Eudora are not. 62
“Our whole goal is to do the best job that we can and be prudent with taxpayer dollars,” says Clint Hornberger, a farmer and rancher who is Willow Springs Township’s clerk.
