MINUTES MORTON COUNTY COMMISSIONERS JULY 25, 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. Minutes of the July 11 th, July 14 th, and July 15 th meetings were read and approved as amended on a motion by Ron, seconded by Teresa. Bills were reviewed and approved for payment. Teresa gave a brief update on the Conservation District meeting she attended in hopes of learning more about the LEP status. Troy Coen indicated he would draft a letter to Jennifer Sensley indicating the Conservation District will no longer support the LEP. Jennifer will then be able to disconnect the LEP office from the server. A call was received from Vienna Lee. The air conditioner compressor at the Civic Center needs to be replaced. She has contacted Kent Boaldin and he contacted a Trane representative who works on commercial air conditioners. Trane hopes to get the parts and the air conditioner repaired prior to the Fair starting. Steve Rice entered the meeting and reviewed with the Commissioners the proposed budget changes made following the hearings. The Commissioners were successful in reducing the mill levy by 2.5 mills from the amounts presented by the individual departments. Following a lengthy discussion motion was made by Bob, seconded by Teresa, to publish the 2012 Budget at 49.16 mills. The Budget Hearing will be held on August 15 th at 10:00 a.m. The Clerk presented information that Larry Simmons received regarding the letters that need replaced on the front of the Health Department building. The proposal included the three letters ($46), plus shipping and handling; replacing all four words ($395), plus shipping and handling; If we want the company to install the letters they charge a maximum of eight hours x $40 ($320.) Consensus of the Commissioners was just to have the company mail the three letters needed and Larry can install them.
Charles Hull met with the Commissioners and requested approval to purchase the Modular Breathing Air System with integrated compressor, refill station and cascade breathing air storage system from Weis Fire & Safety Equipment in the amount of $48,516.80; this replaces the previous bid. Half of the cost of this equipment will be paid by the County and the other half will be paid by the City of Elkhart. Approval was given on a motion by Ron, seconded by Bob. The Capital Outlay Request Form was signed. Charles mentioned he still needs to purchase additional bunker gear for the newest volunteer firefighters. Charles reported his newly donated truck is not running at this time. He will attempt to make the needed repairs as he has time. The Supervisors met with the Commissioners for their regular monthly meeting. Present were: Tony, Charley McKinley, Charles Hull, Kevin, Vienna, Rhianna, Sally and Gwen. Tony: Getting costs, etc. for a new chassis for one of the ambulances. Tony also mentioned there have been a few occasions when EMS has had to meet a flight crew in Hugoton to make a transfer since Runway 17-35 is closed at this time for reconstruction. Rhianna: Giving school immunizations. Will have a booth at the Fair to promote the Health Department. Rhianna said the State will be coming down soon for site visits. Sally: Had some oil and gas researchers from Oklahoma in the office. Looks like there may be a major transition of a purchase in the near future. Gwen: Has two spray trucks out on the roads since it is a nice calm day today. Weed sprayed the Airport and Fairgrounds. Had a recent burn site inspection and got a deficiency because we have not burned we currently still have a county-wide burn ban. The inspector didn t seem to care. The sprayers have covered 359 miles in nine days. Vienna: Staying busy. On the Economic Development side of her job, the County opted in on the Rural Opportunity Zone and the Commissioners signed the Resolution. She has been working with the Public Square Committee. On the Civic Center side, Governor Brownback had a meeting last week regarding the drought. The air
conditioner compressor is not working but Trane hopes to get it repaired before the Fair starts. Vienna had asked Bob to give the PREDCI members an update on the rails. PREDCI had two new members attend the luncheon/meeting. No one played golf due to the high temperatures. Charley: Have had a few spotty rains in the County. Have some blades out today. The crew was busy working on the government project while Charley was out of town. The Sheriff is in the process of investigating the sabotage to the grader. Charles: one. There have just been a couple of small fires since the Big Ron: Ranchers are taking their cattle off the Grassland these next three days. That s not good for the economy. Ron said the Governor stopped in Rolla to discuss the drought. They had about 15 people in attendance but the meeting was good. Reminded everyone of the barbeque at the Fair on August 6 th. Vienna will need some help. Clerk: Finished the budget and is now ready to publish. Still have some employees who have not received their new insurance cards. Let the Clerk know if you didn t get any of your cards, also let her know when you do receive the cards that have been ordered. Teresa: Appreciates everyone s cooperation in working on their budgets. Discussed a recent news article regarding the Reno County Register of Deeds. Makes us appreciate the good customer service given at Morton County. Bob: Appreciates everyone and the work done. We have a lot of dedicated employees and the County employees are the best group in the country. Following the Supervisor s Meeting, Rhianna presented the Commissioners a copy of the Health Department monthly report. Rhianna also received approval for her and Kendra to attend the Level II Hearing workshop to be held July 28 th in Meade. Gwen presented the Landfill/Weed Department monthly report. The Commissioners asked Gwen if she thought the Weed staff might be able to go to work early and leave early in an effort to get more weeds sprayed. Gwen felt that would be no problem.
Gwen asked if she might be able to take some vacation time to help check in exhibits at the Morton County Fair. Approval was given. The meeting recessed at noon for lunch and reconvened at 1:00 p.m. Charley McKinley met with the Commissioners. Charley will take a look at the cracks on Runway 4-22. Gwen had mentioned she sprayed the weeds in the cracks. Once the weeds are killed Charley can go back and fill in the cracks. Charley reported the sabotaged road grader transmission should be back in Dodge City next week. The Commissioners signed the following: Road Petition from Phoenix Petrocorp, Inc.; Road Petition from Teeter Irrigation; Accounts Payable Warrant Registers. Bob Wetmore, Associate Director of Great Plains Development, Inc, met with the Commissioners and reviewed the available business loan programs and recent clients in Morton County. A discussion took place. Mr. Wetmore left Morton County s Membership Statement in the amount of $606.20. The dues are based on the census figures for Morton County. Teresa said she would vote against paying these dues. Justin and Shelby entered the meeting. Justin reported Tracie had checked into a wireless connection for Ted McCoy s vehicle computer to be used when he is conducting KDOT inspections. No action taken at this time pending additional information. A discussion took place concerning Officer McCoy and an incident that developed over the weekend at the scrap metal yard. Vienna met with the Commissioners and reported the air conditioner compressor may turn into a more expensive item than thought. The Commissioners asked Eric to look into a vicious dog ordinance for Morton County. A discussion took place. Luann Watson entered the meeting. Luann mentioned that the Conservation District will no longer be sponsoring the LEP program. Luann was informed that the District wants LEP moved out of the building as soon as possible. Luann stated that the $3400 grant will cover the two conferences she is required to attend and the fees for services will cover the rest. A discussion took place concerning where Luann will conduct her business. Consensus of all present was that she should work out of her
home. Luann was in agreement with this. Eric will review the new contract prior to the Commissioners signing it. There being no further business the meeting adjourned on a motion by Bob, seconded by Ron.