Minutes, January 14, 2007

ELLSWORTH COUNTY COMMISSION MEETING

MINUTES

JANUARY 14, 2008

The Board of Ellsworth County Commissioners convened this 14^th day of January 2008 at the Ellsworth County Courthouse.

Members Present:

Albert W. Oller, 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. Commissioner Oller seconded the motion. Motion carried 3-0.

Commissioner Rush moved to approve the Minutes of January 7, 2008. Commissioner Kueser seconded the motion. Motion carried 3-0.

Steve Donley, Garfield Township Trustee, was present and expressed his concerns about "non-taxpayers" using Garfield Township roads excessively causing deterioration of the roads. Also, they have made repeated calls to Smoky Hill Wind Farms about the roads but their calls have not been returned.

2. ELECTION OF OFFICERS & APPOINTMENTS:

Commissioner Rush moved to appoint Terry Kueser as Chairman of the Board of County Commissioners for the year 2008. Commissioner Oller seconded the motion. Motion carried 3-0.

Commissioner Rush moved to appoint Albert Oller as Vice-Chairman of the Board of County Commissioners for the year 2008. Commissioner Kueser seconded the motion. Motion carried 3-0.

Commissioner Rush moved to make the following appointments for 2008: Health Supervisor, Ronda Kasiska; Noxious Weed-Landfill Supervisor, Teresa Shute; Road & Bridge Supervisor, Richard Nondorf; Purchasing Officer, Janet Andrews; Health Officer, Dr. Ronald Whitmer; County Coroners, Dr. Ronald Whitmer, Dr. Dennis Kepka, Dr. Jerzy Smolka; Special Deputy Coroner, Shawn McGowan, PA; Workman Compensation Physicians, Dr. Whitmer, Dr. Kepka, Dr. Smolka, Shawn McGowan, PA; EMS Director, Michelle Maze; EMS Medical Advisor, Dr. Dennis Kepka; EMS Liaison, Shawn McGowan, PA; Emergency Management Director, Kenny Bernard; Official Newspaper, Ellsworth County Independent Reporter. Commissioner Kueser seconded the motion. Motion carried 3-0.

3. APPOINTMENTS:

Teresa Shute, Noxious Weed-Landfill Supervisor, reported on the E-Waste meeting she attended. A Solomon Valley E-Waste Coalition is being formed to handle the project and Mrs. Shute had a draft of the interlocal cooperative agreement for the County Attorney to approve. There is a proposed annual $500 dues and a cost, by weight, of the items being brought into the landfill. Since Rice County applied for an E-Waste grant, the Commissioners asked that she check with them to see if we might join their coalition, as it is closer. The next meeting of the Solomon Valley Coalition is February 6. The repairs to the Noxious Weed building have been made and she is still checking on estimates for the metal building.

Todd Regazio, Enel, Michael Herseth, Mortenson Construction, and Matt Gilhousen, Tradewind Energy met with the Commissioners to discuss Phase II of the windfarm. Mr. Gilhousen reviewed Phase I of the project, which is almost completed. There are 41 wind turbines and 34 are completed and schedule to go on line later today. They are ready now to start Phase II that will include 99 turbines of which 25-30 turbines will be located in Ellsworth County. The road agreement for Phase I has been assigned over to Phase II and the escrow agreement will either rollover to Phase II or be replaced with a Letter of Credit. The Phase II payment to the county will be $200,000 for the first year and $150,000 for the next nine years. However, Phase I payment for 2007 and 2008 will be paid in 2008 and possibly the first year Phase II payment. An informational meeting with the fire, EMS and law enforcement will be scheduled and sometime after that a mock run will be held to ensure the safety of the project and critique their response. Information was exchanged for billing and other services that might be required from Smoky Hill Windfarm, LLC.

Carl Miller, Appraiser, reported they had fifteen Payments Under Protest filed so far on the 2007 tax year.

Rick Nondorf, Road & Bridge Supervisor, presented a contract with Kirkham Michael & Associates for Engineering Service between Ellsworth County & Kirkham Michael Associates, Inc. to review all drainage structure under 12^th road and 15^th road north of I-70 and recommend improvements to those structures based off of axle loads provided by Tradewind Energy, LLC. Tradewind Energy, LLC will provide 100% of the labor and funding for structure improvements. Commissioner Rush moved to approve the aforementioned contract with Kirkham, Michael & Associates. Commissioner Oller seconded the motion. Motion carried 3-0.

4. OLD BUSINESS:

There were no old business items.

5. NEW BUSINESS:

Commissioner Rush moved to approve 2007 abatements 115-116 in the amount of $369.66. Commissioner Oller seconded the motion. Motion carried 3-0.

Commissioner Rush moved to approve early payment of ad valorem taxes to the Services for the Elderly in the amount of $32,126. Commissioner Oller seconded the motion. Motion carried 3-0.

6. ADJOURNMENT:

Chairman Kueser adjourned the meeting at 12:30 p.m. The next meeting will be on Tuesday, January 22^nd as Monday is a holiday.

 

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Janet L. Andrews, Ellsworth County Clerk