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Kiowa County Commissioners Meeting

Courthouse Lower Level Conference Room

October 31, 2019

Bert Lowery, John Bertram, Ronald Freeman, Kristi Cooper, Kerri Ulrich, Chris Tedder, Stacy Barnes, Jeff Blackburn, Shelly Tuttle, and Chay Howard attended the meeting.

Consent agenda included: Agenda, Accounts payable reports and Commissioner minutes of 10/21.

After the prayer was given by Jeff Blackburn, Bert opened the meeting. John moved to approve the consent agenda as presented and Bert seconded, motion carried 3-0. Kristi left the meeting and Shelly took over as the minute taker.

Jay Schmidt came to give updates for the public works departments which included; a Payroll change for J. Price (merit increase), updates on the overlay North of Mullinville. Jay also explained that he met with KDOT at the RR crossing North of Wellsford. They are wanting to possibly put in flashing lights and crossing arms, he said that the decision will be made by the RR and the decision usually takes about 6 months to make and if they decide to go that route, it could take up to a year to get installed. Jay also discussed an extended warranty for the Mack Truck that was purchased a couple of months ago. Jay told the Commissioners that SJN Bank of Kansas and Brad Zimmerman have reached out and would like to bid on lease purchases in the future. They discussed fixing the track loader at the landfill and some of the payment options that Jay has. Bert moved to fix the track loader at the land fill and John seconded, motion carried 3-0. They will pay for part of it this year and finish paying it off next year unless there is enough money in the budget at the end of the year this year to pay it off, then that is what they will do. Last, they discussed the recycling dumpsters. John moved to do away with the recycle dumpsters at the 3 locations that the County pays for and Bert seconded, motion carried 3-0. Payroll change was presented for approval for J Price(merit). Bert moved to approve the payroll change and John seconded, motion carried 3-0.

Kerri Ulrich came in to give updates for the Health department which included presenting a Payroll change for A Brown (separation) which Bert moved to approve the payroll change for A Brown, Ron seconded, motion carried 3-0. Kerri then asked if she could start the process to fill the vacant position in her department. Ron moved to approve the Health department to hire a full-time employee and Bert seconded, motion carried 3-0. Ron asked Kerri if she had looked in to the daycare situation that was discussed at the last meeting and she told him that due to the loss of staff in her department, she had not had a chance yet, but had discussed it with her staff and they will continue to look into it.

Matt Christenson came in to discuss the cabinets that were removed from the old County Attorney’s office. He asked if Travis could install them in the area outside of his second office and the election room for more storage. It was by consensus to allow Travis to install the cabinets in that area.

Break called for 5 minutes at 9:41. Regular session began at 9:46.

Shelly Tuttle presented the holidays for 2020 for approval. After some discussion Bert asked that the holidays be tabled until the meeting on Monday. Next, Shelly Tuttle presented payroll changes for S Davis (separation) and Z Martin (separation) for approval. After review Bert moved to approve the payroll changes as presented and John seconded, motion carried 3-0.

Chris Tedder came to give updates for the Sheriff office which included; an updated Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the City of Greensburg. After some discussion, it was decided that the Sheriff and the Commissioners liked the MOU that was first presented better but would like the County Attorney to review it prior to signing. Chris then told the Commissioners that he would be coming in at about $200,000 under budget again this year and it was due to being short staffed and not over budgeted. Chris told the Commissioners that he was looking into purchasing a keycard door entry system for his building. It would track the comings and goings and let you know who entered the building. Chris also told the Commissioners that he was considering purchasing a second K9. This K9 would be a dual-purpose dog, meaning it would be a bite dog. It would be Scott’s dog. Justin’s dog would handle all the school stuff, both dogs would handle drugs, and Scott’s dog could chase suspects, and such when needed. The purpose of the second dog is to help decrease overtime. Next, he informed them that he is still looking into purchasing speed signs. Last he presented the payroll changes for M Tedder (merit) for approval. After some discussion regarding the payroll changes Bert moved to approve them as presented and John seconded, motion carried 3-0.

Break called for 10 minutes at 10:20. Regular session began at 10:30.

Chay Howard arrived at the meeting and was presented with both MOU that Chris had previously presented to the Commissioners. After review, Chay felt that the first MOU was the better of the two and felt that that one would be the best option. There was some discussion with Stacy Barnes, Chay and the Commissioners and all parties feel that Communication is what was lacking before and this MOU fixes that. Bert moved to approve the first MOU as presented and John seconded, motion carried 3-0. Stacy informed them that Chris will be helping with the hiring process.

During Commissioner Discussion they decided to table the discussion about supervisor wages until the next meeting. Next, Chay brought up an issue in the Treasurer’s office regarding a title issued. At 11:01 Bert moved to go into a 5-minute executive session non-elected personnel to discuss Financial Affairs of a Private Business at 11:01 and John seconded, motion carried 3-0.  Regular session began at 11:06 with no action taken. Next, he gave updates on the tax sale coming up. Next, they discussed Chay’s attendance at meetings and his voucher for the Court of Appeals. Last John informed them that Ray Stegman got ahold of him about some repeaters off Purple Wave.

Meeting adjourned at 11:30

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