RESOLUTION 2021-8

July 30, 2021

John Bertram, David White, Bert Lowery, Kristi Cooper, Chay Howard, Jay Schmidt, Jonathan Clayton, Kendal Lothman, Grant Neuhold, Jeff Blackburn and Cody Sherer attended the meeting.

Consent agenda included: Agenda, Payroll reports, Accounts Payable reports and Commissioner minutes of 07/19/2021.

After the prayer given by Jeff Blackburn, John Bertram opened the meeting at 9:00. Bert moved to approve the consent agenda as presented and David seconded, motion passed unanimously.

Jonathan Clayton came to give a presentation for Mullinville Community Foundation and to inform them of what this origination is doing for the community. After his presentation he requests them to sign a letter of support for the grants they are applying for. John move to sign the letter for support for the Mullinville Community Foundation and David seconded, motion passed unanimously.

Cody Sherer came to give updates for the County fire departments which included ISO (Insurance Service Offices) audit and explained what the audit all includes. Also presented a quote for pump certification from WEIS Fire in the amount of $2754 that he is going to.

Grant Neuhold came to get permission to allow the use of one of the office spaces in the Media Center for the office of Economic Development. After some discussion John moved to allow them to use the office space in the Media Center and David seconded, motion passed unanimously.

Kristi Cooper came to inform them that she is going to have Pro-window Inc clean the exterior windows at the courthouse and commons building for $1256 a facility and that this would only be a service that is needed. Next, she informed them she is getting a quote from Service Master to strip and was the floors at the courthouse and commons building as well and she will report back.

Jay Schmidt came to present a payroll change for R Hohl (6-month probation) for approval. After review of the payroll change Bert moved to accept the change as presented and David seconded, motion passed unanimously. Also gave updates which included Sand Seal on Brenham is completed by Heft & Sons, Foley looking at a grader that has some injector issues and roll off container’s discussion.

Kendal Lothman came to present a payroll change for C Vergis(new hire) for approval. After review of the pay change Bert moved to approve and David seconded, motion passed unanimously. Next, he presented a quote from Mallory Safety and Supply for a vest in the amount of $1574.95 and requests they allow him to take this out of the Special Equipment fund. Bert moved to approve the purchase to come out of the Special Equipment fund and John seconded, motion passed unanimously.

Chay Howard gave some updates regarding the tax sales.

Meeting adjourned at 10:12.

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July 19, 2021

John Bertram, David White, Bert Lowery, Kristi Cooper, Chay Howard, Jay Schmidt, Kerri Ulrich, Kendal Lothman, Morgan Allison, Jeff Blackburn and Matt Christenson attended the meeting.

Consent agenda included: Agenda, Payroll reports, Accounts Payable reports and Commissioner minutes of 07/06/2021.

After the prayer given by Jeff Blackburn, John Bertram opened the meeting at 9:00. Bert moved to approve the consent agenda as presented and John seconded, motion passed unanimously.

John Bertram moved to adjourn the regular meeting and call the Board of health(BOH) meeting to session. Kerri Ulrich came to give updates for Public Health which included; State WIC audit completed, fiscal year reporting completed, back to school vaccines and physicals started, new sign placement, Covid new variant details, county vaccination totals and school nursing contracts with Valley View and Bucklin School. John adjourned the BOH and called the regular meeting back to order. Kerri presented the contracts for Valley View and Bucklin School for approval. Bert moved to approve the contracts as presented and John seconded, motion passed unanimously.

Jay Schmidt came and presented updates for the Public Works Department which included payroll changes for C Pyatt and R Young(merit), storage pod moved to the fairgrounds, tree work done around Belvedere, landfill inspection from KDHE and road maintenance on Cottonwood Street in Haviland City. Bert moved to approve the payroll changes as presented and John seconded, motion passed unanimously.

Morgan Allision came to give updates for the Kiowa County Memorial Hospital which included; new physician hired, community health assessment, June financials and partnering with Pratt and Edwards hospitals.

Break called till 10:34.

Kristi Cooper presented a tax correction for approval. Bert moved to approve the correction as presented and John seconded, motion passed unanimously.

Kendal Lothman came to present a payroll change for B Parkin(merit). After review of the payroll change Bert moved to approve the change as presented and David seconded, motion passed unanimously. Next, they discussed the 911 emergency phone fund and explained how that money is not tax dollars and that it comes from the state from phone carriers.

Matt Christenson came to discuss computer security training for all employees and explained why it is so important and why this would keep the county protected. He presented quotes from KnowBe4 for security awareness training in the amount of $2187. It was by consensus to move forward with the security training and he also informed them that is he looking to partner with WSU with security training.

Brenda Osborne came to present a payroll change for C Clark(merit) and asked for them to approve an additional raise to get her deputy up closer to all the other deputies in the register of deeds, appraisers and clerks offices. After some discussion Bert moved to approve the payroll change as presented and David seconded, motion passed unanimously.

Kristi Cooper the present one bid from Pueblo concrete for the courthouse and fire station. She informed them that the bids will come out of the building fund. After some discussion John moved to accept the bid for the fire department in the amount of $32,400 and David seconded, motion passed 2-0 (Bert abstained). David requested to go out and look at the curbs, guttering’s and sidewalks to get a better idea of what will need to be replaced.

After some discussion John moved to accept the bid for the $54,700 for the front steps only and David seconded, motion passed 2-0(Bert abstained). Dave requested to get separate bids for curb and guttering, sidewalks and for the drive way on the east side of the building and John agreed. She reported she will get a new bid out in the papers. Last she asked about phone reimbursement for her phone since she uses it more for with her new promotion. David moved to approve the reimbursement in the monthly amount of $50 and John seconded, motion passed unanimously.

During Commissioner discussion David wanted to have it on record the discussion for a daycare is a need as a whole and the County would not be operating and that he would only be in favor to help subsidize them if needed and John and Bert agreed. He has been approached about this and just wanted to have it on the record. Next, they discussed the Economic Development and Grant called via cell phone to be part of the discussion regarding office space in the Commons building. John moved to allow the economic development director to have office space in the media center area, motion not passed due to no second (David abstained). Discussion tabled until the 30th and she can remain in the office space till then.

Meeting adjourned at 11:27.

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July 6, 2021

John Bertram, David White, Bert Lowery, Kristi Cooper, Chay Howard, Kendal Lothman, Kerri Ulrich, Jay Schmidt, Jeff Blackburn and Matt Christenson attended the meeting.

Consent agenda included: Agenda and Commissioner minutes of 06/30/21.

After the prayer given by Jeff Blackburn, John Bertram opened the meeting at 9:00. Bert moved to approve the consent agenda as presented and John seconded, motion passed unanimously.

Jay Schmidt came to give updates for the public works departments which included; M-29 grader lease from Foley for signatures, mowing and replaced culvert south of Haviland last week.

Matt Christenson came to give some updates on the ARPA grant funds. He informed them that we have received half of the funding already and also reported what each entity will receive here in Kiowa County and a explained a checklist and how the process will go as we start to spend the grant funds. The board will consist of Matt Christenson, Kristi Cooper, Chay Howard, Kerri Ulrich, David White and Kendal Lothman.

Kerri Ulrich came to ask for clarification on where the funds to pay for the sidewalk would come from and it was by consensus to take it out of the building fund. Next, she present payroll changes for P Pearson and P Fuller for approval. David moved to go into executive session to discuss employee relations for non-elected personnel for 15 minutes and John seconded, motion passed unanimously. Regular session began at 9:45 with no action taken.

Break called till 9:50

John moved to approve the payroll changes as presented and David seconded, motion passed unanimously. Next, she asked about the need of a countywide daycare and Dave clarified that he spoke with a Economic Development board member about looking into this and asked her for some guidance on what the County should do and gave some suggestions.

Kendal Lothman came to present a payroll change for C Parkin(6-month probation) for approval. Bert moved to approve the payroll change and John seconded, motion passed unanimously. Next, he presented a payroll change for R Stegman(pay increase) for a part-time deputy. John moved to approve the payroll change as presented and Bert seconded, motion passed unanimously.

Jay Schmidt came back regarding a road between the elevator and storage bins in the city of Haviland that Rusty from Alliance Ag and he will talk with Rusty to see what the County can do to assist them .

Kristi Cooper presented tax corrections for approval. John moved to approve the tax corrections as presented and David seconded, motion passed 2-0(Bert absent).

Meeting adjourned at 10:27

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June 30, 2021

John Bertram, David White, Bert Lowery, Kristi Cooper, Chay Howard, Kendal Lothman, Jeff Blackburn and Matt Christenson attended the meeting.

Consent agenda included: Agenda, Payroll reports, Accounts Payable reports and Commissioner minutes of 06/21/21 & 06/28/21.

After the prayer given by Jeff Blackburn, John Bertram opened the meeting at 9:00. Bert moved to approve the consent agenda with the corrections to the minutes for June 21st as presented and David seconded, motion passed unanimously.

Karen Butler came to present a payroll change for T Butler(job performance adjustment/certification) for approval. After some discussion Bert moved to approve the payroll change as presented and John seconded, motion passed 2-0 (David abstained).

Kristi Cooper presented payroll changes for the Sheriff, County Attorney, Register of Deeds, Treasurer, Clerk, Commissioners, Appraiser and Emergency Manager for an annual merit increase for approval. Bert moved to approve the changes as presented and David seconded, motion passed unanimously.

Kendal Lothman and Matt Christenson came to present changes to the pay plan moving Bert moved to approve the change and John seconded, motion passed unanimously. John moved to approve the payroll changes and Bert seconded, motion passed unanimously. Next, he presented a quote for a bullet proof vest in the amount of $1224.84 and requests it be taken out of the Special Equipment fund. David moved to approve the purchase to be taken out of the Special Equipment fund and John seconded, motion passed unanimously.

Break called till 9:47.

Kristi Cooper presented a payroll change for the Maintenance Supervisor for approval. David moved to approve the payroll change as presented and Bert seconded, motion passed unanimously. Next, she asked if she could dispose of the metal chairs at the community center since she is replacing them with new chairs. She did inform them that the Fair board does get first choice of the chairs and then she would advertise a set date for one afternoon in August to allow anyone in the County to come get chairs for free. They gave her a consensus to dispose of the chairs in the matter she explained. Next, she presented payroll reports, accounts payable reports, minutes for signatures and informed the next meeting would be held on Tuesday July 6th due to the Courthouse being closed on July 5th in observance of Independence Day.

During Commissioner discussion David wanted to inform them that the Media Center has started making the Live Kiowa County video that the Commissioners funded and to bring up the discussion on a County daycare that could receive funding from the County if needed. After some discussion, it was by consensus to have the Economic Development to look into this topic and see if they could find anyone with interest.

Meeting adjourned at 10:16

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June 28, 2021

Bert Lowery, John Bertram, David White, Kristi Cooper, Matt Christenson, Theresa Dasenbrock, Tiffany O’Rouke, Brenda Osborne, Karen Butler and Jan Case attended the meeting.

John Bertram called the special meeting to order at 9:00 to go over the 2022 County budget with our auditors, Theresa Dasenbrock and Tiffany O’Rouke from Lewis, Hooper & Dick and LLC.

Theresa reviewed the landfill agreed upon procedures and the audit report. Tiffany then went into the audit process and explained some observations and recommendations. Next, Theresa shared comparison graphs for population, totals milled levied last year, assessed tangible valuations, total levies that was compared to surrounding counties and cities and explained the Senate Bill 13 regarding the Revenue Neutral Rate(RNR) and how it affects setting County budget levies.

Ron called for a 5-minute break at 10:00.

John called the meeting back to order at 10:05 and they moved into the budget process and went through each request and adjusted budget requests. Theresa informed them that with the budget adjustments made they would be under the RNR by 4.758 mills. After some discussion on moving the levy up to the RNR to 73.067 she informed them that they would be looking at a decrease of 2.378 mills from 2020 levy for 2021 and this levy is at the RNR level. David moved to set the 2022 mill levy as 73.067 for publication and John seconded, motion passed 2-1(Bert opposed). The budget hearing will be held on August 2nd at 10:00 am during the regular Commissioner’s meeting.

Meeting was adjourned at 12:19

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June 21, 2021

John Bertram, David White, Bert Lowery, Kristi Cooper, Chay Howard, Jay Schmidt, Kerri Ulrich, Kendal Lothman, Grant Neuhold, Andy Kimble, Aaron Stokes, Steve Heft, Aaron Heft, Jeff Blackburn, Richard McVey, Jonathan Clayton and Matt Christenson attended the meeting.

Consent agenda included: Agenda, Payroll reports, Accounts Payable reports and Commissioner minutes of 06/07/2021.

After the prayer given by Jeff Blackburn, John Bertram opened the meeting at 9:00. John moved to approve the consent agenda with the corrections to the agenda as presented and Bert seconded, motion passed unanimously.

John Bertram moved to adjourn the regular meeting and call the Board of health(BOH) meeting to session. Kerri Ulrich came to give updates for Public Health which included; school nursing contracts, outbreak of a virus at Tanginika Water Park, grant works, lawn updates, furniture updates to allow cleanable surfaces, COVID-19 totals, currently no cases, new COVID-19 variants information, countywide percentage vaccination rate 34.8%, State of Emergency order expired. John adjourned the BOH meeting and called the regular meeting to order. She introduced proposals on a new sign to be placed on the west side of the building from RaRa ink creative in several quotes and sizes. After some discussion John moved to approve the quote in the amount of $3258.35 and Bert seconded, motion passed unanimously. Next, Kerri presented a social media policy for Kiowa County per KDHE for their department. After review of the policy David moved to approve the policy as presented and John seconded, motion passed unanimously. Also presented the County animal bite policy that is shared between all the entities within the county. John moved to accept the update policy and David seconded, motion passed unanimously. Additionally, she presented a bid for sidewalk work at the health department. John opened the bid from Pueblo Concrete in the amount of $7012.50. John moved to approve the bid as presented and David seconded, motion passed 2-0 (Bert sustained). Lastly, she presented quotes on 2020 Explorer from Lewis Motors in Dodge City. After review of the quote from Lewis Motors Bert moved to accept the quote and John seconded, motion passed unanimously.

Jay Schmidt came and presented updates for the Public Works Department which included road work bids from Heft & Sons for 3 projects for Northern Natural Chip Seal $232,320, North City Service overlay $464,000 and Brenham blacktop $79,200. Bert moved to approve all 3 project bids from Heft and Sons and John seconded, motion passed unanimously. Next, he presented a payroll change for R Foster(merit) for approval. After review of the payroll change Bert moved to approve the change and David seconded, motion passed unanimously.

Grant Neuhold came to give a presentation on the media center and give a breakdown on what he does as the Technical coordinator for the Media Center which included; streaming events, technical support, marketing for business, providing video support, capturing Kiowa County history through our residents video series, live coverage of community events, KC feature that features our County through video, Live Kiowa County website marketing our County.

Break called till 10:24.

Matt Christenson, City of Greensburg Mayor, Andy Kimble, City of Mullinville Mayor and Aaron Stokes, City of Haviland Mayor, came to represent the 3 communities through the County and to give a presentation on their communities and how they can get Kiowa County on the virtual map and how to get families to move to Kiowa County. They did request $15,000 from the County to get the project up and running and ask for additional support in next year. David moved to approve the pay $15,000 to the Economic Development for the video and marketing and that it will be taken out of the County Commissioners fund and John seconded, motion passed 2-0(Bert abstained).

Kendal Lothman came to present quote from Skaggs Ace Hardware in Pratt for a washer in the amount of $1129.99 and requests for it to come out of the Special Equipment fund. Bert moved to approve the purchase to be taken out to the special equipment fund and John seconded, motion passed unanimously. Next, he presented a quote from Secure Tech Systems for a panic monitoring alarm in the amount of $19,074 and to be shared between the County Diversion fund and Special Law fund. Wanted to inform them that he updated their vehicle and body camera through Watchguard in the amount of $17,000 approximately and will be paid out of the Special Law fund as well. Last they discussed how they need work on getting wages increased over in his department to help entice individuals to apply with his department. He is working with Matt and will be reporting back on some ideas.

Break called till 11:32.

Kristi Cooper presented a payroll change for J Finch(merit) for approval. After review of the payroll change John moved to approve the payroll change and Bert seconded, motion passed unanimously. Then Kristi informed the Commissioners that she would like to take a short recess so they could go look at the front steps of the Courthouse and then they would come back to discuss.

Break called till 11:43

After looking at the front steps Kristi informed them of what she has observed and that the steps out front are deteriorating which is a safety liability for the county and patrons. So, she informed them as of today those steps would be closed to any access until they come to a solution on them. She did inform them that in 2015 they contracted pueblo concrete to put a skim coat of a concrete adhesive on them but that didn’t last due to weather. So, they discussed some options on she will work on getting bids and report back. Next, she presented a library board member appointment letter from Kelly Askew to appoint Staci Derstein to the board for a 4 year term. David moved to approve the appointment and Bert seconded, motion passed unanimously. Next, she asked about the elected official salaries for 2021 and 2022 and explained that they could look at giving them the increase while setting the 2022 budget per the auditor’s recommendations. Commissioners came to a consensus on setting salaries for elected officials for the next year and Kristi will get those numbers to the auditors before our budget workshop on Monday. And she will get payroll changes ready for the next meeting for the 3% merit increase for the elected officials, DJ McMurry and Ray Stegman. Break called 11:48.

During Commissioner discussion David requested to continue the discussion on the fire chief salary. After some discussion Bert moved to approve to pay Cody Sherer $2500 for assistant fire chief as the same of the other two and John seconded, motion passed unanimously. Last David wanted to open the conversation of a County wide daycare and the need we need here and that hopefully we can grab some interest of others.

Meeting adjourned at 12:46.

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June 7, 2021

John Bertram, David White, Bert Lowery Kristi Cooper, Chay Howard, Jay Schmidt, Bruce Foster, DJ McMurry, Matt Christenson and Jeff Blackburn attended the meeting.

Consent agenda included: Agenda and Commissioner minutes of 05/28/21.

After the prayer was given by Jeff, John Bertram opened the meeting at 9:00. Bert moved to approve the consent agenda and John seconded, motion passed unanimously.

Jay Schmidt came to give updates for the public works departments which included; payroll changes C Erickson and B Brown(new hire for PT mower),Hank Halley came to behalf of Wes Halley to request to tie into our water line at our R&B shop in Belvidere, 30 yard roll off container order through Northend Disposal for the landfill, mowing tractor purchase, Bruce presented the Bert moved to approve the contract as presented and David seconded, motion passed unanimously. Bert moved to approve the payroll changes and David seconded, motion passed unanimously. John moved to allow Wes Halley to tie into our county main line after July 1st and David seconded, motion passed unanimously. Bert moved to approve to purchase two tractors from John Deere in the amount of $58,141.79 and David seconded, motion passed unanimously. John informed them he has received a call on and drainage concerns in Belvidere.

DJ McMurry presented a resolution 2021-5 to reappoint the County Appraisers for Joe Roth and DJ McMurry. David inquired on how many days he works in the office and DJ explained his schedule. Bert moved to adopt the resolution as presented and John seconded, motion passed unanimously. The next renewal for their contract will be June 30th, 2024.

Kristi Cooper and Matt Christenson came to discuss the current County Pay Plan and presented their recommendation for changes which were section 2.4, 2.10, 3.5, 4.1, 4.2 and 4.3. After some discussion on the changes Bert moved to approve the changes to the pay plan per Matt and Kristi’s recommendation and to review section 3.4 at a later date and John seconded, motion passed unanimously. Next, she presented Resolution 2021-6 for the County authorizing participation in Rural Opportunity Zone Student Loan Repayment Program John moved to adopt resolution as presented and Bert seconded, motion passed unanimously.

Break called till 10:29

Chay Howard wanted to inform them that the they will have their confirmation hearing for the next tax sale on Monday June 14th.

Next, they started the prebudget workshop and went through each budget that was submitted for 2022. While looking at the fire budget request they discussed increasing wages for the fire chief, assistant fire chiefs and secretaries. Kristi explained the chief currently is paid $660 for his yearly salary, assistant chiefs are paid $312 for their yearly salary and the secretaries are paid $35 each time they work on run reports and reports submitted to the State for our departments. After some discussion Bert moved to change the salary for the chief to $5000, assistant chiefs to $2500 and secretaries to $70 and John seconded, motion passed unanimously.

Meeting adjourned at 12:15

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May 28, 2021

John Bertram, David White, Bert Lowery Kristi Cooper, Mary Racette, Kelly Askew, Nadine Lampe, Kendal Lothman, Matt Christenson and Rhonda Fernandez attended the meeting.

Consent agenda included: Agenda, Payroll reports, Accounts Payable reports and Commissioner minutes of 05/17/21.

After the pledge of allegiance and prayer John Bertram opened the meeting at 9:00. Bert moved to approve the consent agenda and hold off on the minutes till they can have a minute to review them and John seconded, motion passed unanimously.

Mary Racette came to present their 2022 budget request and gave some updates on some upcoming events. Board members present were Sue Greenleaf, Carmen Renfrow, Kyla McDonald and Lenna Holtz.

Bert moved to approve the minutes of May 17th and John seconded, motion passed unanimously.

Nadine Lampe with Arrowhead West came to present their 2022 budget request and gave some updates on the program.

Kelly Askew came to present the County Library 2022 budget requests.

Sue Greenleaf came to present the County Fair board 2022 budget request.

Matt Christenson came present 2022 budget requests for Courthouse, Emergency Management, and Commons building. Matt requested an executive session for non-elected personnel for employee relations for 15 minutes. John moved to go into executive session at 9:52 and Bert seconded, motion passed unanimously. Regular session began at 10:07. Bert moved to approve an increase on Matt’s salary from $65,500 to $70,000 and David seconded, motion passed unanimously.

Kendal Lothman came to present payroll changes for M West and S Woodsmall (new hires) for approval. After review of the changes Bert moved to approve the payroll changes and John seconded, motion passed unanimously. Next, he presented quotes for an ice machine from InteGreen Services Inc for $3999. He explained he wanted to purchase one from a company that will service the equipment instead of buying from a store and he would like it to come out of the Special Equipment fund. Bert moved to approve the purchase and John seconded, motion passed unanimously. He presented a quote from Mallory Safety and Supply for a bulletproof vest and asks for it come out of the Special Equipment fund in the amount of $1114.89. John moved to approve the purchase to come out of the Special Equipment fund and Bert seconded, motion passed unanimously.

Jay Schmidt and Rusty Owens came to discuss the disposal of the grain storage bags. Bert moved to approve pay roll changes and David seconded, motion passed unanimously. Next, they discussed to rent a container from North End disposal. Next, he presented a new a list of new fees for the landfill. David moved to approve the adjustment on fees and Bert seconded, motion passed unanimously. He then presented quotes on a ditch bank flail mower from Beaver Valley Supply Company in the amount of $3495, Bestco Sales for $4849 and Victory Tractor Implements for $3995. Bert moved to approve the purchase from Beaver Valley Supply Company and John seconded, motion passes unanimously. He also presented a bid for a new tractor from John Deere in the amount of $58,141.79 and Case Farmall for $54,440. Informed them he was going to get bids out for overlays on City Service Rd., Chip Seal Northern Natural Rd. and Sand Seal on Brenham Rd.

Rhonda Fernandez came to present insurance renewal quotes for July 2021 through July 2022. Bert moved to approve the Blue Cross and Blue Shield and John seconded, motion passed unanimously. Next, they talked about the supplemental insurances and discussed several options. Kristi will visit more with Rhonda on how to move forward with them.

Break till 12:02

Kristi Cooper gave updates from Maintenance department which included on going projects outside for a few of our facilities on the courthouse gazebo, health department yard remodel and commons building pond. Next, she presented budget requests for County Clerk, County Election and Community Center/Fairgrounds. Last she gave an update for the Election filings for 2021 Elections. Courthouse is closed on Monday May 31st for Memorial Day and the next meeting is June 7th.

During Commissioner discussion they discussed the Rural Opportunity Zone student repayment plan and Kristi informed them that currently the County is part of the program and how the program works. David gave an update from the meeting he attended regarding promoting Kiowa County.

Meeting adjourned at 12:47

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