Minutes, April 17, 2006

ELLSWORTH COUNTY COMMISSION MEETING

MINUTES

APRIL 17, 2006

The Board of Ellsworth County Commissioners convened this 17^th day of April, 2006 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 Kueser called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m.

Commissioner Rush moved to approve the Agenda with additions. Commissioner Heitschmidt seconded the motion. Motion carried 3-0.

Commissioner Rush moved to approve the Minutes of April 10, 2006. Commissioner Heitschmidt seconded the motion. Motion carried 3-0.

No one was present for the Public Forum.

2. APPOINTMENTS:

Robert Fitzgerald, EMS Department, and Alex Vodraska, Prairie Communications, visited with the Commissioner regarding the rebanding of the 800-communication system. Also present, were Jonathan Mitchell, Gaye Woods, Tracy Ploutz, Rick Martin and Ken Nelson. Mr. Vodraska explained that the county’s radios cannot be rebanded so new ones will have to be purchased. Because Nextel-Sprint is the company causing the need for changes, they will be responsible for the cost of the radios. The State of Kansas is included in all these changes and we can joint with them, sharing their legal representation and negotiators. At the present time, we need to establish verbally our "point of contact" and furnish a list of equipment that will need to be replaced. Commissioner Rush moved to join with the State of Kansas in the rebanding of our 800 system and to appoint Robert Fitzgerald and Alex Vodraska as our "point of contact" for the project. Commissioner Heitschmidt seconded the motion. Motion carried 3-0. Mr. Vodraska asked that the County Clerk be involved as needed.

At 9:30 a.m. a Department Head Meeting was held with the following in attendance: Gaye Woods, Janice Sneath, Nancy Hysong, Peggy Svaty, Tracy Ploutz, Rick Nondorf, Teresa Shute, Paula Schneider, Ronda Kasiska and Jan Andrews. The Commissioners reviewed the Agenda items. They encouraged county purchases be made within the county, if at all possible. There were three corrections to the Employee Handbook and one new policy discussed. There was a change made to the Ellsworth County Cell Phone Usage policy and with that change, it will be included in the Handbook. The new payroll system is now able to track vacation and sick leave and in a couple of months we will start using it on a monthly basis. A new time sheet was distributed and was approved for use when we start that phase. The IRS has said we can no longer give gift certificates to employees at Christmas because it is taxable to the employees. The group agreed that at the present time a $25 addition to the December paycheck would be added. If anyone thinks of something better, they should get back to the Commissioners. The Commissioners urged the department heads to revisit their page on our website and make changes to keep it current and interesting. It was decided to have a countywide silent auction on surplus equipment on June 7, 2006 at the EMS building. The Clerk will get a listing of all the equipment for an ad and other paper work that needs to be done. Rick Nondorf, Road & Bridge Supervisor, thanked the many department that have assisted him when asked and felt the cooperation between the departments was good. The same sentiment was expressed by other department heads. Before leaving, Teresa Shute, Noxious Weed-Landfill Supervisor, informed the Commissioners she had hired Gene Diaz for the part-time landfill attendant position.

Jonathan Mitchell, Ellsworth City Administrator, discussed the process of allowing burning in the city limits of Ellsworth. Now the individual wanting to burn calls the City Inspector and the City Inspector calls the Sheriff’s office to receive final approval. Mr. Mitchell suggested that the people only needed to call the Sheriff’s office for approval. The Commissioners informed Mr. Mitchell that decision was up the Ellsworth City Council.

Ronda Kasiska, Health Supervisor, asked the Commissioners to sponsor the Relay for Life team from the Health Department at a cost of $50. Commissioner Kueser moved to pay the sponsorship for the Relay for Life team from the county in the amount of $50. Commissioner Heitschmidt seconded the motion. Motion carried 3-0. Mrs. Kasiska asked permission to have a county credit card for gasoline purchases and purchase of vaccines online. The Commissioners denied the request.

Pat Kinnaird and Clara McCoy, representing Central Kansas Mental Health, gave the Commissioners a quarterly update on the activities within the county. In the first quarter there were 32 new admissions from Ellsworth County.

Joe Shepack, Ellsworth County Attorney, asked to purchase a Sharper Image germicidal air purifier for his office. In the summertime when the air-conditioner is on, the air is very dank and he would like to see if it would help. The Commissioners approved the purchase. Upon the request of Mr. Shepack, Commissioner Rush moved to go into executive session from 11:40 a.m. until 12 Noon to discuss pending litigation. Commissioner Kueser seconded the motion. Motion carried 3-0. County Clerk, Jan Andrews, was included in the executive session. The Commissioner returned to open session at 12 Noon. No action was taken.

5. OLD BUSINESS:

Commissioner Rush moved to approve the application for rental of the Ellsworth County Community Barn. Commissioner Kueser seconded the motion. Motion carried 3-0.

The Commissioners approved a one-quarter page ad in the Ellsworth County Independent/Reporter progress supplement and asked the County Clerk to submit the proposed ad.

1. NEW BUSINESS:

The Commissioners discussed Senate Bill 407 that would allow the County Commission to set jury pay at $10 to $50. Presently, the county pays $10 per day. Commissioner Rush moved to set the daily pay for jury duty at $10 per day. Commissioner Heitschmidt seconded the motion. Motion carried 3-0.

The deadline for applications for EMS Director closed on April 14, 2006. The Commissioners extended the ad and application deadline to May 12, 2006 and added Wichita to the list of newspapers.

2. ADJOURNMENT:

Chairman Kueser adjourned the meeting at 12:15 p.m.

 

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Janet L. Andrews, Ellsworth County Clerk