Minutes, April 21, 2008

ELLSWORTH COUNTY COMMISSION MEETING

MINUTES

APRIL 21, 2008

The Board of Ellsworth County Commissioners convened this 21st day of April 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 Kueser called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m.

Commissioner Rush moved to approve the Agenda with an addition. Commissioner Oller seconded the motion. Motion carried 3-0.

Commissioner Rush moved to approve the Minutes of April 14, 2008 as corrected. Commissioner Oller seconded the motion. Motion carried 3-0.

No one was present for the Public Forum.

2. APPOINTMENTS:

Roger Pearson, ECMC Administrator, presented a schedule of the Open Forums he is having with the employees of the hospital and invited the Commissioner to attend. The remodeling is on schedule and he present payment request #5 from the contractor. Upon the recommendation of the Board of Directors, Commissioner Rush moved to approve payment request #5 from C. V. Cale in the amount of $114,062. Commissioner Oller seconded the motion. Motion carried 3-0. The financial report for the month of March showed a loss of $100,195 and a year-to-date loss of $231,951. Since Deb Hyman will not be seeking another term on the Board, the Commissioner asked the Clerk to put an ad in the paper advertising the open position.

Upon the request of Joe Shepack, County Attorney, Commissioner Rush moved to go into executive session to discuss attorney-client information from 9:44 a.m. until 10:05 a.m. Commissioner Kueser seconded the motion. Motion carried 3-0. The Commissioners returned to open session at 10:05 a.m. No action was taken.

Michelle Maze, EMS Director, reported her computer had crashed and asked permission to purchase a new Dell computer at a cost of $1,268. Commissioner Rush moved to allow the purchase of a Dell laptop computer in the amount of $1,268. Commissioner Kueser seconded the motion. Motion carried 3-0. Mrs. Maze asked to go into executive session. Commissioner Kueser moved to go into executive session to discuss non-elected personnel from 10:15 a.m. to 10:25 a.m. Commissioner Rush seconded the motion. Motion carried 3-0. The Commissioners returned to open session at 10:25 a.m. No action was taken.

3. OLD BUSINESS:

The old business item of ECMC Board of Directors was decided in discussions with Roger Pearson, ECMC Administrator.

4. NEW BUSINESS:

Commissioner Rush moved to approve the payment of dues to North Central Regional Planning Commissioner in the amount of $3,500.

5. ADJOURNMENT:

Chairman Kueser adjourned the meeting at 11:05 a.m.

 

__________________________________________________

Janet L. Andrews, Ellsworth County Clerk

Minutes, April 14, 2008

ELLSWORTH COUNTY COMMISSION MEETING

MINUTES

APRIL 14, 2008

The Board of Ellsworth County Commissioners convened this 14^th day of April 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 Kueser called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m.

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

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

No one was present for the Public Forum.

2. APPOINTMENTS:

Becky Crowder, The Austin Peters Group, met with the Commissioners and presented her salary survey results. Also, attending were Nancy Hysong and Sheriff Ploutz. Mrs. Crowder reported the survey showed the county was definitely behind 1 ½% in their ranges and some individual positions were significantly lower. She suggested some changes that could be made in the 2009 budget year and suggested more increases could be phased in during the next couple of years. The Commissioners asked that she gather additional information as to the total implementation cost and get back with within the next two weeks.

Stacie Minson, Watershed Specialist with K-State Research & Extension, Pam Hays and Brad Kratzer, Soil Conservation District and Teresa Shut, Noxious Weed-Landfill Supervisor met with the Commissioners on several items. Mrs. Minion and co-worker James Leakier discussed water quality from the Smoky Hill River Basin after the recent rains and the new testing methods they are using to get their results. Also, Mrs. Minion has a grant to be used to collect old tires and has selected Ellsworth as one of the site for funding. It was decided the county would set April 26^th through May 3^rd for free dumping of old tires. Businesses would not be eligible and tires with rims are not acceptable. The grant money will pay for the tires to be picked up and processed.

Per the Commissioners' request, Teresa Shut, Noxious Weed-Landfill Supervisor presented the Commissioners with an updated bid from TRIB Construction for a 54' x 72' metal building. Commissioner Kueser moved to accept the bid from TRIB Construction for a metal building in the amount of $48,397. Commissioner Rush seconded the motion. Motion carried 3-0. In the meantime, Mrs. Shute will clean out the small shed where the new building will be located and place an ad for selling the shed.

Michelle Maze, EMS Director, has had several inquires about the open Paramedic position, but the five hour deduction for sleep time is a problem. Mrs. Maze presented a new schedule whereby each full-time would have two 24-hour shifts each week and she would use part-time employees during the weekend with full-time staff. The purpose of this rescheduling would be to do away with the 5-hour non-paid sleep time. The Commissioners will take the recommendation under consideration. Mrs. Maze reported there had been a glitch in some billing with Medicare with some claims not being submitted and the time frame for filing the reports has expired. Therefore, the county will take an approximate loss of $7,000 on those claims. New policies and procedures have been established to keep this situation from occurring again.

Sheriff Tracy Ploutz reported he had applied for a grant to replace vests for the deputies. The grant will pay 50% of the cost of the vests. Also, he has applied for funding to replace the lifescan fingerprint machine. Legislation passed now requires palm prints to be taken and the present machines cannot be retrofitted, so they will have to have a new machine. The grant will not pay for the total cost of replacement and the additional amount will have to come from the Sheriff's budget.

 

3. OLD BUSINESS:

Commissioner Rush will check with ECMC Board Member, Deb Hyman, to see if she is interested in a seconded term on the ECMC Board of Directors.

4. NEW BUSINESS:

Commissioner Rush moved to approve 2007 State Assessed Abatements 164-190 in the amount of $6,185.74. Commissioner Oller seconded the motion. Motion carried 3-0.

5. ADJOURNMENT:

Chairman Kueser adjourned the meeting at 12:10 p.m.

 

 

____________________________________________

Janet L. Andrews, Ellsworth County Clerk

Minutes, April 7, 2008

ELLSWORTH COUNTY COMMISSION MEETING

MINUTES

APRIL 7, 2008

The Board of Ellsworth County Commissioners convened this 7^th day of April 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 Kueser called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m.

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

Commissioner Rush moved to approve the Minutes of March 31 & April 4, 2008. Commissioner Oller seconded the motion. Motion carried 3-0.

No one was present for the Public Forum.

2. APPOINTMENTS:

Donna Barta and Peggy Pruitt, who have sons in the Ellsworth County Jail, met with the Commissioner to discuss treatment of their family members while in custody. The Commissioners clarified that the jail is the responsibility of the Sheriff and asked that they take their concerns to him. Arrangements were made for Mrs. Barta and Mrs. Pruitt to meet with the Sheriff immediately.

Teresa Shute, Noxious Weed-Landfill Supervisor, presented three bids for a metal building to be erected between the Noxious Weed and Road & Bridge to be used for recycling and storage by both departments. The lowest and best bid was from Trib. However, since it was a December bid, the Commissioners asked that she call them and get a fresh bid.

Rick Nondorf, Road & Bridge Supervisor, requested permission to purchase a John Deere tractor mower. Commissioner Rush moved to authorize purchase of a 2007 John Deere 6415 tractor with a Tiger side-mount rotary mower in the amount of $57,500 and to put the 1981 tractor up for bids. Commissioner Kueser seconded the motion. Motion carried 3-0.

3. OLD BUSINESS:

There were no old business items.

4. NEW BUSINESS:

Commissioner Rush moved to approve March accounts payable in the amount of $229,171.25 and the early disbursements in the amount of $588.13. Commissioner Oller seconded the motion. Motion carried 3-0.

Commissioner Rush moved to reject the additional insurance offered to the county for uninsured/underinsured motorists. Commissioner Oller seconded the motion. Motion carried 3-0.

5. ADJOURNMENT:

Chairman Kueser adjourned the meeting at 11:40 a.m.

 

 

_______________________________________

Janet L. Andrews

 

Minutes, March 31, 2008

ELLSWORTH COUNTY COMMISSION MEETING

MINUTES

MARCH 31, 2008

The Board of Ellsworth County Commissioners convened this 31^st day of March 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 Kueser called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m.

Commissioner Rush moved to approve the Agenda with an addition and correction. Commissioner Kueser seconded the motion. Motion carried 3-0.

Commissioner Rush moved to approve the Minutes of March 24, 2008. Commissioner Oller seconded the motion. Motion carried 3-0.

No one was present for the Public Forum.

2. APPOINTMENTS:

Rick Nondorf, Road & Bridge Supervisor, reported that the speed study requested last year for Hwy 140 west to Wilson and the county line road south of Wilson to 156 have been approved and will be done this year. Mr. Nondorf met with Mr. Kihn and the Water Resource Board about the flooding that occurred last year on his property. Findings concluded that the work the county did on the road in that area did not affect the water flow and cause the flooding of Mr. Kihn's property. Since the county required a CDL license for employment at the Road & Bridge Department, Mr. Nondorf asked the county to pay the cost of obtaining a CDL license and also pay the renewal cost of those who already have the license. Commissioner Oller moved to reimburse the expense of obtaining a CDL license to the employee with the stipulation that the employee must work for the county at least one year from the date of obtaining the license. If the employee leaves before fulfilling the agreement, the full cost will be taken from his last paycheck. Commissioner Kueser seconded the motion. Motion carried 3-0. Commissioner Oller moved to have the CDL renewal license fee for County employees paid by the County. Commissioner Kueser seconded the motion. Motion carried 3-0. The bid on the bridge east of Kanopolis came in lower than expected and the county needs to send their 20% or $35,200. Mr. Nondorf reported on the various bridges the bridge crew was working on and the work that they planned to do at the 4-H barn. The salary information Mr. Nondorf had gathered was given to the Commissioners and will be forwarded to Rebecca Crowder who is doing our salary survey.

3. OLD BUSINESS:

Commissioner Rush moved to approve Resolution 08R03, A Resolution Rescinding Resolution 99R13 And Imposing New Conditions Of Eligibility For Ellsworth Hospital Board Members. Commissioner Kueser seconded the motion. Motion carried 3-0.

The County Clerk reported she had good comments on the new evaluation form. The Commissioner authorized the use of it for this year's evaluations.

4. NEW BUSINESS:

Commission Rush moved to approve Abatement 163 in the amount of $81.06. Commissioner Oller seconded the motion. Motion carried 3-0.

Commissioner Rush moved to approve the March Payroll in the amount of $156,078.38.

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

Commissioner Rush moved to approve Resolution 08R04, A Resolution Establishing A Setback Requirement For Structures Exceeding 150 Feet. Commissioner Kueser seconded the motion. Motion carried 3-0.

The County Clerk explained that the Extension Service had asked to use our postage meter as their model is being discontinued and service would not be able. Since an upgrade to a larger and newer machine would not be financially feasible, they asked if the could use the county one and reimburse the county for the postage. Since the county machine has an accounting system and can track postage, the Commissioners agreed it could be used.

5. ADJOURNMENT

Chairman Kueser adjourned the meeting at 10:50 a.m. and the Commissions went on a tour of the road and bridge projects that are in progress and those that have been completed.

 

 

___________________________________________

Janet L. Andrews, Ellsworth County Clerk