Minutes, August 15, 2005

ELLSWORTH COUNTY COMMISSION MEETING

MINUTES

AUGUST 15, 2005

The Board of Ellsworth County Commissioners convened this 15^th day of August 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 as presented.

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

Commissioner Kueser moved to approve the Minutes of August 8, 2005.

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

No one was present for the Public Forum.

2. APPOINTMENTS:

Teresa Shute, Noxious Weed-Landfill Supervisor, had contacted the City of Kanopolis about spraying bindweed on Ohio Street which is the county road coming into Kanopolis. The City refused but said the county could spray it. Mrs. Shute is concerned about the liability of spraying in the city limits and asked for advice from the Commissioners. It was suggested that she contact the city again and offer to provide the chemicals if they would do the spraying. Also, she sent a "second strike" letter to the City of Kanopolis because when the recycling trailer came back it contained food and other items that were not recyclable. There are still some containers that came from the old hospital that need to be moved. Mrs. Shute will check and see if the items are hazardous and then proceed as to how to dispose of them.

Upon the request of Sheriff Ploutz, Commissioner Kueser moved to go into executive session to discuss non-elected personnel from 9:40 a.m. until 10:00 a.m. Commissioner Heitschmidt seconded the motion. Motion carried 3-0. The Commissioners returned to open session at 10:00 a.m. and no action was taken. The Commissioners briefly discussed how an oil well could be locked up for delinquent personal property tax. They will discuss it with the County Attorney when he returns. Sheriff Ploutz reported he had hired Jonathon Hayes as a part-time jailer.

At 10:00 a.m. Chairman Rush called the 2006 Budget Hearing to order. No one was present for the hearing. Commissioner Kueser moved to approve the 2006 County Budget of $6,502,687. Commissioner Heitschmidt seconded the motion. Motion carried 3-0.

Rick Nondorf, Road & Bridge Supervisor, informed the Commissioners he was getting a permit from the Department of Agriculture to work on the Westerman Bridge. They also reviewed the schedule of bridges on the State 80/20 Plan.

Chairman Rush recessed the meeting at 10:30 a.m. At that time, all of the Commissioners went with Mr. Nondorf for an inspection of roads and bridges in the county.

At 1:30 p.m. Chairman Rush called the meeting back to order.

Kevin Ludlum, EMS Director, worked with the Commissioners to devise a salary range for paid volunteers. After much discussion, the Commissioners asked Mr. Ludlum to take the following proposal back to the volunteer:

First Responder $7.00 per hour

EMT $8.00 per hour

EMT-I $8.50 per hour

Paramedic $9.50 per hour

This would replace the per trip charge they are presently getting. On-call wages was also discussed and the County Clerk was asked to consult our Attorney Assist to see if an employee can be paid a different salary for on-call time.

3. OLD BUSINESS:

There were no old business items.

4. NEW BUSINESS:

There were no new business items.

5. OTHER BUSINESS:

The Commissioner worked on the Hoffhines Marketing proposal for the Welcome Home Plan and other projects. A reduced proposal was prepared for her review.

6. ADJOURNMENT:

Chairman Rush adjourned the meeting at 3:10 p.m.

 

 

________________________________________________

Janet L. Andrews, Ellsworth County Clerk