Minutes, August 7, 2006

ELLSWORTH COUNTY COMMISSION MEETING

MINUTES

AUGUST 7, 2006

The Board of Ellsworth County Commissioners convened this 7^th day of August 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 as printed. Commissioner Heitschmidt seconded the motion. Motion carried 3-0.

Commissioner Rush moved to approve the Minutes of July 31 and August 4, 2006. Commissioner Heitschmidt seconded the motion. Motion carried 3-0.

No one was present for the Public Forum.

2. APPOINTMENTS:

Leann and Darrell Ploutz sister and brother-in-law of Becky Bailey and Nancy Hysong, co-worker, were present to express their support of Becky Bailey retaining her job in the Appraiser’s office. Mr. & Mrs. Ploutz asked that the Commissioners give Mrs. Bailey their utmost consideration and to reach a speedy decision as that would be best for Mrs. Bailey.

Michelle Maze, EMS Director, requested to go into executive session for non-elected personnel. Commissioner Rush moved to go into executive session to discuss non-elected personnel from 10:01 a.m. until 10:15 a.m. Commissioner Heitschmidt seconded the motion. Motion carried 3-0. The Commissioners returned to open session at 10:15 a.m. No action was taken. Mrs. Maze presented the July run and financial statistics indicating that there were a lot of call outs between 1:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. in July that would be reflected in overtime in the July payroll. In discussions with other counties, Mrs. Maze found that most counties do not charge the Sheriff’s office for EMS runs. She has talked with Sheriff Ploutz and is working on a contract between the two departments. Since the EMS building had some water damage before and after they moved in, it was requested to carpet the office area and dig up and seal the crack along the foundation of the building. Before, the problem was taken care of by just packing dirt around the foundation. She would like to have it fixed right. The Commissioners asked Mrs. Maze to get estimates on both jobs. EMT, Deedra Stertz, is starting her Paramedic schooling and has applied for a grant to help cover the costs.

Upon the request of the County Attorney, Joe Shepack, Commissioner Kueser moved to go into executive session to discuss non-elected personnel from 11:27 a.m. until 11:45 a.m. Commissioner Rush seconded the motion. Motion carried 3-0. The Commissioners returned to open session at 11:45 a.m. No action was taken.

3. OLD BUSINESS:

There were no old business items.

4. NEW BUSINESS:

Commissioner Rush moved to approve the July accounts payable in the amount of $466,299.19. Commissioner Heitschmidt seconded the motion. Motion carried 3-0.

Commissioner Rush moved to approve Resolution 06R09, State of Emergency Proclamation (Burn Ban). Commissioner Heitschmidt seconded the motion. Motion carried 3-0.

5. ADJOURNMENT:

Chairman Kueser adjourned the meeting at 11:50 a.m.

 

 

 

Janet L. Andrews, Ellsworth County Clerk

 

 

Minutes, August 4, 2006

ELLSWORTH COUNTY COMMISSION MEETING

MINUTES

AUGUST 4, 2006

The Ellsworth County Commissioners met in session on August 4, 2006 at the Ellsworth County Courthouse to canvass the ballots from the Primary Election held on August 1, 2006.

Members Present:

Lavel Heitschmidt, 1^st District Commissioner

Kermit Rush, 2^nd District Commissioner

1. OPENING BUSINESS:

Vice-Chairman Heitschmidt called the meeting to order at 8:00 a.m.

2. CANVASS OF BALLOTS:

A canvass of ballots was held with no changes from the totals reported on election night, August 1, 2006. There were 18 Provisional Ballots of which 14 were approved for counting. After the counting of the Provisional Ballots, they were added to the election totals. These ballots did not change the results of any race.

3. ADJOURNMENT:

Vice-Chairman Heitschmidt adjourned the meeting at 10:10 a.m.

 

 

_________________________________________

Janet L. Andrews, Ellsworth County Clerk

Minutes, July 31, 2006

ELLSWORTH COUNTY COMMISSION MEETING

MINUTES

JULY 31, 2006

The Board of Ellsworth County Commissioners convened this 31^st day of July 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 Commissioners

1. OPENING BUSINESS:

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

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

Commissioner Kueser moved to approve the Minutes of July 24, 2006. 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, presented her 2007 Management Plan for approval. Commissioner Kueser moved to approve the Noxious Weed Control Plan for 2007. Commissioner Rush seconded the motion. Motion carried 3-0. Mrs. Shute reported the new spray truck was working well. Also, Eugene Diaz has completed his 90-day probation period and she requested that he be moved one step on the salary scale effective August 1, 2006. The Commissioners agreed.

Rick Nondorf, Road & Bridge Supervisor, reported Kirkham, Michael & Associates has completed the bridge inspection showing that most of the bridges were in good shape. However, 8 bridges on the FAS system are obsolete plus some of the bridges on the off roads need work. Kirkham, Michael & Associates will make an appointment with the Commissioners to go over the report in detail. A large truck broke a bridge in Noble Township. Mr. Nondorf has contacted the company and they will pay for the repair of the bridge. Since the bridge had efficiency rating of 50%, he is only asking that they pay for 50% of the repairs. Mr. Nondorf has received several estimates on a new excavator and they have tried both the Hyundai and Komatsu. Right now he is leaning toward the Komatsu and would like to have permission to work with the vendors on price and a decision. The Commissioners agreed to Mr. Nondorf working on the purchase of the Komatsu.

Upon the request of Carl Miller, Appraiser, Commissioner Kueser moved to go into executive session to discuss non-elected personnel from 10:25 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. Commissioner Rush seconded the motion. Motion carried 3-0. Jan Andrews, County Clerk, was included in the session. The Commissioners returned to open session at 10:45 a.m. No action was taken. The Commissioners discussed the imaging system being proposed in the Wireless 911 grant by the Sheriff’s department and wondered if it would be of value to him. Since the grant would include flying over the cities at a lower altitude, Mr. Miller felt that would be a definite enhancement to their GIS system.

Amy Boxberger, Director of Central Kansas Community Corrections, presented her 2007 State budget for approval. They will have an increase of $56,000 and they will use some of those funds to hire a full-time special enforcement officer. Commissioner Heitschmidt moved to approve the 2007 Central Kansas Community Corrections budget. Commissioner Rush seconded the motion. Motion carried 3-0.

Sheriff Tracy Ploutz had little to discuss; however, he has a problem with the building settling and has several doors that will not close. He has contacted Ralph Doubrava to see if anything can be done.

3. OLD BUSINESS:

There were no old business items.

4. NEW BUSINESS:

Commissioner Heitschmidt moved to approve the July payroll in the amount of $156,526.23. Commissioner Rush seconded the motion. Motion carried 3-0.

AT&T is discontinuing the maintenance of payphones in certain geographical locations and has schedule the removal of the one in the Courthouse. If the county would like to continue to have one, they will need to contract Pacific Telemanagement Services to see what arrangements could be make. With the explosion of wireless phones and other communication devices, the Commissioners decided it would be best just to have the phone removed as planned by AT&T.

5. ADJOURNMENT:

Chairman Kueser adjourned the meeting at 11:50 a.m.

 

 

_______________________________________________

Janet L. Andrews, Ellsworth County Clerk

Minutes, July 24, 2006

ELLSWORTH COUNTY COMMISSION MEETING

MINUTES

JULY 24, 2006

 

The Board of Ellsworth County Commissioner convened this 24^th day of July 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 as printed. Commissioner Heitschmidt seconded the motion. Motion carried 3-0.

Commissioner Rush moved to approve the Minutes of July 17, 2006. Commissioner Heitschmidt seconded the motion. Motion carried 3-0.

No one was present for the Public Forum.

2. APPOINTMENTS:

Roger Pearson, ECMC Administrator, presented the financial report for the month of June showing monthly loss but a year-to-date profit of $87,061. He also presented a quarterly "dashboard report" that shows that the hospital continues to do well in the areas of utilization, finance, patient satisfaction and employee satisfaction. Mr. Pearson reported the hospital’s cash and investments have improved significantly due to more successful collection efforts. A brief discussion was held on the proposed ECMC educational center that will be housed in the former Century Building and the grant being sought to fund the center. The Commissioners discussed their request to offer employees of Ellsworth County memberships to the Wellness Center at little or no charge. A survey of usage was taken by the county and the figures given to Mr. Bahr, but he has not gotten back to them. Mr. Pearson suggested that perhaps a trade of services would be one way to go. Perhaps the county could pay for the cost of snow removal at the hospital in exchange for county memberships. The Commissioners asked that he supply them with the cost of snow removal and they would take it under advisement.

Ronda Kasiska, Health Supervisor, asked approval to replace a computer at a cost of $688. The Commissioners approved the request. Mrs. Kasiska discussed briefly the recent Pandemic Tabletop exercise and is expecting a critique of the exercise shortly. She has had a request from EMS to use the conference room in their building two nights each week from August to December. She has concerns about the extra electric and heat expense on her budget and asked if they had any suggestions. The Commissioners suggested she talk to the EMS Director and see if some arrangements could be made.

Randy Hofmeier and Jerry Pugh, auditors with Bartlett, Settle & Edgerle, went over the 2007 budget they had prepared with their instructions. The budget would be $7,025,981 with a mill levy of 66.581, a decrease of 1.411 mills. Commissioner Rush moved to publish the 2007 budget with a hearing date of August 14, 2006. Commissioner Heitschmidt seconded the motion. Motion carried 3-0.

Tracy Ploutz, Sheriff, Penny VonLehe, Dispatcher Supervisor and James W. Loughlin of Allied Information Solutions, Inc., discussed with the Commissioners the proposed grant request for Ellsworth County for Wireless Enhanced 911 Grant, Calendar Year 2007. Mr. Loughlin is doing the grant without charge, with the stipulation that the companies he is association with be allowed to bid on the services contained in the grant. The approximate amount being requested is $230,000. Commissioner Kueser moved to sign a letter of support for the grant and authorized Sheriff Tracy Ploutz to sign the final draft. Commissioner Heitschmidt seconded the motion. Motion carried 3-0.

Joe Shepack, Ellsworth County Attorney, went over the maps for the proposed purchase of Highway 140 right-of-way from the Union Pacific Railroad. Commissioner Kueser moved to purchase 21 acres of right-of-way at $700 per acres, a total of $14,700, from the Union Pacific Railroad. Commissioner Rush seconded the motion. Motion carried 3-0. With this purchase and the one last year, Ellsworth County now owns all the Highway 140 right-of-ways and has no outstanding leases.

3. OLD BUSINESS:

All items listed in old business were addressed during the appointments in the preceding paragraphs.

4. NEW BUSINESS:

Chairman Kueser will meet with Brent Goss and Michelle Brokes to make sure the new 4-H barn is adequately signed with "No Smoking" and "No Alcohol Beverages on the Premises" before the 4-H Fair.

Commissioner Rush moved to pay the Central Prairie RC&D dues in the amount of $250. Commissioner Kueser seconded the motion. Motion carried 3-0.

Commissioner Kueser moved to contract with Doubrava Woodworking to repair the front Courthouse steps and surrounding sidewalks for $2,560. Commissioner Heitschmidt seconded the motion. Motion carried 3-0.

5. ADJOURNMENT:

Chairman Kueser adjourned the meeting at 11:50 a.m.

 

 

_______________________________________

Janet L. Andrews, Ellsworth County Clerk