MINUTES MORTON COUNTY COMMISSIONERS MARCH 14, 2011 Bob called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. with open doors. Present: Bob Boaldin, Chairman; Ron DeGarmo, Vice-Chairman; Teresa Harder, Commissioner; Eric Witcher, County Attorney; Mary Gilmore, County Clerk The Agenda was reviewed and approved with additions. The Minutes of the February 28, 2011 meeting were read and approved, as amended, on a motion by Ron, seconded by Teresa. Bills were reviewed and approved for payment. Judge Brad Ambrosier met with the Commissioners to discuss the purchase of a new recorder for the big courtroom in the amount of $4400. Judge Ambrosier stated that the district is down to two court reporters and we now have to rely more on electronic proceedings. He would like to have the recorders the same in each of the district courtrooms and send the recordings to a centralized location for transcription. Consensus of the Commissioners was to approve the purchase to be paid from the County Attorney s Diversion Fund. Jim Lavielle and Justin Holliday entered the meeting. Mr. Lavielle mentioned that the Western Kansas Child Advocacy Motorcycle Run is scheduled for June 9 th. Jim distributed a list of items the WKCA Center needs for the children ages 1-18. These children are often taken from their homes with nothing of their own. The list itemizes the various articles so badly needed. The Commissioners agreed to donate use of the Civic Center for the event on a motion by Teresa, seconded by Ron. Mr. Lavielle also mentioned he has been conducting church services for the prisoners since April 2001. A discussion took place concerning the possibility of Jim being designated as the County Jail Chaplain as a number of other counties have a designated Chaplain. The Commissioners felt this was an excellent idea and motion was made by Bob, seconded by Ron, to appoint Mr. Lavielle as the County Jail Chaplain. The Commissioners asked Justin to check with other counties and see if their Chaplains wear a certain type of shirt and, if so, to make sure Mr. Lavielle gets one. The Commissioners and Justin expressed their
appreciation to Mr. Lavielle for the volunteer work he does in Morton County. Alejandra Juarez, BCBS Representative, met with the Commissioners to discuss Morton County s upcoming insurance renewal. Among items discussed were: Grandfathered vs. non-grandfathered status; the Group Utilization Report; the Patient Expense Summary Report; Claims in excess of $25,000; and the increase in the rates. Alejandra mentioned that the County may want to consider going out for bids for health insurance, if anyone would give us a bid. She stated that the amount that BCBS pays for claims submitted by Morton County employees is catastrophic and she has never seen anything like this. A discussion took place concerning the State of Kansas BCBS health insurance policy. The Commissioners said they would look into the possibility of joining the State s group. A lengthy discussion took place in an attempt to understand some of the details of the County s policy. Alejandra reiterated that although Morton County s group is small, the expenses are enormous! The Commissioners thanked Ms. Juarez for her time. The meeting recessed at noon for lunch and reconvened at 1:00 p.m. Charley McKinley presented the Commissioners a copy of his February Road Report. Charley said he hasn t heard anything about who might have shot out the caution light at county road D24. Charley mentioned he plans to seal five miles this year (the Gore Road.) He also plans to do some hand patching. Cost to seal the five miles is approximately $200,000. Charley reported the Road Department hauled in the materials for the Tri- Rotor helipad and Tri-Rotor had the work done themselves. He has plans to put in some rumble strips on the road by Wes Bressler s old place and do some crack filling in some areas at the Civic Center parking lot. After he fills the cracks at the Civic Center parking lot he plans to work on the driveway at the Turf Care Center. Gwen Rodriguez entered the meeting. A discussion took place concerning a request to take old trailer houses to the Landfill, have them broken down and placed in designated pits. Gwen said she felt they could only take one trailer house a week and still get their work done. She is in the process of trying to get hold of a fellow who would take the trailer houses and then they would not have to be taken to the Landfill. She will keep the Commissioners informed of this matter.
Gwen mentioned that Noxious Weed would be receiving a Forest Service grant in the amount of $9900. She stated she would like to install a three tank injection system on the 2004 truck. Cost of the three tanks, labor and control console to run the injection system is $16,393. Approval to pay the difference between the $9900 and the $16,393 was given on a motion by Bob, seconded by Ron. Ed Johnson, Tim Hardy and Matt Higgins, met with the Commissioners. A discussion took place concerning placing water meters at the spray pads used by the chemical sprayers. Tim said that the County will need to install a backflow at the one line we have at Jordan Air s fill area. Matt said he will get a cost for us and then he could place the order for the backflow part and the County will have to pay to have it installed. The County also needs to install a two inch line to the Tri-Rotor spray pad area. Tim mentioned that the trailer owned by Tri-Rotor recently placed across from the Clubhouse will need to be skirted, according to City Ordinance. Tim also mentioned they have a lot of old vehicles sitting around on lots within the City of Elkhart. Shannon Whisennand said he would like the job of moving the vehicles but they need a place to store them. Tim asked if they might transport them to the Road Department. Following a discussion consensus of the Commissioners was to take them to the Landfill. If the owners do not reclaim their vehicle within 30 days the vehicles will already be at the Landfill and we will sell them as scrap iron. A discussion took place concerning the City s asphalt project for Morton Street. Tim said the pre-construction meeting is scheduled for March 23 rd. Kevin Shook entered the meeting and reported the materials are in to separate the Airport property from the Golf Course. He has marked the area and the summer help is home on spring break and will help build the fence. Kevin mentioned the Golf Advisory Board Meeting went well. The Tournament schedule is set now. Justin Holliday and Shelby Ralstin met with the Commissioners and reported they had conducted interviews with several applicants to fill the Deputy Sheriff position vacated by David Cole. The applicant recommended by Justin was Mark Espinoza. Mark has no experience so will have to attend the Academy for 17 months. His starting salary will be $2100/mo. with no experience. Motion to hire Mark Espinoza was given by Ron, seconded by Bob.
The Commissioners signed the following: the application of Mark Espinoza; the Payroll Form; the Payroll and Accounts Payable Warrant Registers; the Farm Lease Agreement between Morton County and Kenneth Horton; the Road Petitions from T-L Irrigation and Phoenix Petrocorp, Inc; and the Health Department application for grant funds from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. Teresa reported that Leonard Hernandez mentioned to her that the Health System is still mulling over the possibility of taking over the billing part of the EMS Department. Vienna Lee met with the Commissioners and reported that she was contacted by Sara Spencer from the Health System requesting a signature on a Memorandum of Understanding between Morton County Health System and the Civic Center for the Health System to utilize the Civic Center in case of an emergency. Eric reviewed the document. Motion was made by Ron, seconded by Teresa, to approve Vienna signing the MOU. A copy will be given to the Clerk once all signatures are acquired. Vienna presented the Commissioners a copy of the March updated Civic Center Calendar of Events. Vienna mentioned that a small Committee (only three of the eight appointed) met with Terry Woodbury regarding the Town Square Project. Mr. Woodbury suggested that two people from Dermot, two from Richfield, two from Rolla, and two from Elkhart serve on the Committee. The next meeting will be held in Richfield on March 31 st. This group will meet for four months in the beginning; after four months Terry will decide whether or not to proceed with the project. Vienna reported the Civic Center is missing, or never had, some metal utensils. Following a discussion motion was made by Teresa, seconded by Ron, to approve Vienna to purchase the utensils that are needed. Also, the ovens need calibrated. Approval was given to have the ovens calibrated. Vienna also reported that there are birds nesting in the overhead door at the Civic Center. Overhead Doors suggested an aluminum vinyl siding piece be placed over the top of the door to keep the birds out. Approval was given for Vienna to contact Overhead Doors and have them install the aluminum piece.
Approval was given to pay Boaldin Electric for the work done to the Museum. This bill is to be paid out of the Building Fund. The Commissioners reviewed information from John Nusser regarding a recent problem with the fuel pump at the Airport. The problem has been addressed and pilots should have no problem with the system. There will be a pre-construction meeting for the Airport Runway 17-35 Project on March 30 th at 1:00 p.m. at the Airport. The General Contractor hopes to begin the project in April. It is expected to be a five month project. At this time a call was place to Pat LeClerc regarding scheduling a time to meet with her as a consultant regarding the County s health insurance. Pat gave a list of information the Clerk would need to provide in an effort to get a quote for the State of Kansas Health Insurance Policy. Pat will meet with the Commissioners at their next meeting on March 28 th. Kirk and Donna Weinkauf, Weinkauf Petroleum, met with the Commissioners regarding the County purchasing some of the property currently owned by Weinkauf. The FAA requires the County to own these.2 acres as part of the future Taxiway Project at the Airport. Mr. Weinkauf said he does not want any money for the property but would appreciate some assistance in filling in some low areas on the property that hold water. Consensus of the Commissioners was that some of the crushed concrete could be used. Also, in lieu of a privacy fence, the Commissioners approved Mr. Weinkauf to plant trees. The County would be willing to install a drip line for the trees using Weinkauf s water. Mr. Weinkauf said he would consult with the Forest Service, and the Conservation District to better determine which trees would be best for that area. Eric stated he would draft a contract for the property and what the County will do in lieu of paying for the property. He can have a rough draft of the contract ready at the end of the week or the first of next week. The Commissioners thanked the Weinkaufs for their time and understanding of this situation. There being no further business the meeting adjourned on a motion by Bob, seconded by Ron.