April 25, 2005

ELLSWORTH COUNTY COMMISSION MEETING

MINUTES

APRIL 25, 2005

The Board of Ellsworth County Commissioners convened this 25^th day of April 2005 at the Ellsworth County Courthouse.

Members Present:

Lavel Heitschmidt, 1^st District Commissioner

Kermit Rush, 2^nd District Commissioner

Terry L. Kueser, 3^rd District Commissioner

1. OPENING BUSINESS:

Chairman Rush called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m.

Commissioner Kueser moved to approve the Agenda with an addition.

Commissioner Heitschmidt seconded the motion. Motion carried 3-0.

Commissioner Kueser moved to approve the Minutes of April 18, 2005 as presented.

Commissioner Heitschmidt seconded the motion. Motion carried 3-0.

No one was present for the Public Forum.

2. APPOINTMENTS:

Roger Pearson, ECMC Administrator, reported the hospital had a $58,210 profit for March and a year-to-date loss of $88,140. The date of May 18^th was set for the Commissioners to discuss with the ECMC Board a proposed addition to the hospital and the different funding options available. Mr. Pearson proposed three different funding options all necessitating raising the property tax. The Commissioners asked about using some of the $1.6 million hospital reserves instead of tax increases. Mr. Pearson said that could be an option.

Rick Nondorf, Road & Bridge Supervisor, asked the Commissioner to sign documents assuring the state the necessary right-of-ways had been purchased for the bridgework in Carneiro. The documents were signed.

Kevin Ludlum & Gaye Woods, EMS Co-Directors, were given permission to spend up to $1,000 for their open house on June 4^th. Also, they were authorized to purchase notebooks for staff and volunteers for EMS Week at a cost of $2.75 each. Staff has been able to fill some of the cracks in the concrete in the parking lot but the Road & Bridge Department will help fix the larger ones.

Al Oller, representing the senior citizens at Holyrood, wanted to report back to the Commissioners that he did discuss with the City the bus and they indicated they did not want to give it up. However, they did have some extra funds in the bus budget and would be able to give them some money from that fund to help with the senior meal program. The ECCA still will not be giving them anymore than the $3,000 although they asked for $7,100. Mr. Oller would like to see Holyrood treated more fairly through the distribution of the money given to the ECCA by the county. The Commissioners agreed it was not fair that the City of Holyrood had to subsidize their meal program and would take that into consideration when formulating the 2006 Service for the Elderly budget.

Anita Hoffhines, Hoffhines Marketing, had three topics to discuss with the Commissioners. One, would be the meeting to develop the operational plan for the Long Range Economic Development project. It will be May 3^rd at the Midland Hotel in Wilson. Commissioners’ Kueser and Rush will attend. Two, MetroPlaines will not be doing a project on the former hospital due to the fact that Ellsworth County was removed from the low-income eligibility listing for funding. She has contacted David Rose out of Salina about listing the hospital on E-bay. He would list it at $75,000 to $150,000 for 90 days. The cost of that would be $825 plus 6% of the sale if sold. The Commissioners asked Mrs. Hoffhines to contact Mr. Rose and get additional information on the costs and if a business plan could be required of the buyer. Third, for your information, Ellsworth County is hosting the Rural Development meeting today and they are going to discuss the possibility of "business freeland".

Sheriff Tracy Ploutz, reported that he is going to have a jail audit pertaining to suicide and mental and psychological care. The expense of the audit is $3,000. Attorney Alan Glendenning suggested the audit.

County Attorney, Joe Shepack, discussed several subjects with the Commissioners including his desire to update the county’s sanitary code.

3. OLD BUSINESS:

The Commissioners discussed the letter from Vincent J. Walter requesting a road to his pasture. Upon the advice of the County Attorney, the Commissioners asked the Clerk to draft a response denying his request.

4. NEW BUSINESS:

The Commissioners were informed that the local churches would again like to use the Courthouse steps for World Day of Prayer on May 5^th.

5. OTHER BUSINESS:

Stephen Donley asked the Commissioners to review their burn policy. The present policy makes it difficult for local farmers to burn in the spring. He suggested a meeting of local landowners and the Commissioners to discuss the issue and see if some discretion could be given. The Commissioners welcomed such a meeting.

Jo Funk, Saline-Salina Health Department, called and visited with Chairman Rush about a possible grant from KDHE that could be used to help the water and sanitation situation in the Yankee Run area.

6. ADJOURNMENT:

Chairman Rush adjourned the meeting at 12:05 p.m.

 

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Janet L. Andrews

Ellsworth County Clerk