Kiowa County Commissioners Meeting
Courthouse Lower Level Conference Room
April 2, 2018

Ronald Freeman, John Unruh, Bert Lowery, Chay Howard, Kristi Cooper, Terry Mayhew, Travis Payne, Rosa Spainhour, Matt Christenson and Rhonda Fernandez attended the meeting.

Consent agenda included: Agenda and Commissioner minutes of 03/30.

After the prayer by Terry Mayhew, Ron opened the meeting. John moved to approve the consent agenda with the addition of an executive session for 10 minutes with Travis under this time on the agenda and Bert seconded, motion carried 3-0.

Travis Payne came forward to give updates for his departments which included; he is going to run the ad for the supervisor for the Solid Waste for another week or until it is filled. Bert will work with Travis on interviewing applicants. They discussed the rock for the driveway at the fairgrounds and the low spot. Table this till the next meeting until they can get a chance to look at it again. John moved for a 10 minutes executive session for non-elected personnel to discuss employee relations at 9:12 and Bert seconded, motion carried 3-0. Regular session began at 9:22 with no action taken. John moved to go back into executive session for an additional 5 minutes and Bert seconded motion carried 3-0. Regular session began at 9:27 with no action taken. Next, they talked about spraying at the golf course due to liability, so John moved to not allow the Noxious weed to spray the golf course. Motion died due to no second. Travis informed them of some upcoming trainings that he will be attending as well and will be gone for that.

Break was called for 5 minutes.

Rhonda Fernandez came forward to discuss utilization summary reports for Benefit Management Inc and Blue Cross and Blue Shield and give updates regarding insurance. She informed them that insurance is going up 3% to 5% with our current plan. They asked her to look at different options such as deductible increases and employee/employer shares. She will work on those and get back with them.

Matt Christenson came forward to discuss scheduling interviews for the maintenance position and John will sit on the interviews.

Break was called for 5 minutes.

Rosa Spainhour came forward to discuss hotel tax exempt and explained that she cannot get hotels to do a tax exempt without a company credit card and so it was by consensus to get a county credit card for the ambulance to use on trips for lodging, meals, etc. Kristi asked her to get with Greg at Peoples Bank to set up her new account.

John moved to 10:40 for 5 minutes. Bert seconded, motion carried 3-0. 10:46.

During Commissioner Discussion Kristi Cooper presented information on the Paid Time Off and Extended Illness Bank policy per their request from the last meeting. Kristi explained the policy and how it works for the employees with those hours. Next, they discussed the donating time to employees and Kristi explained the process on that policy as well. Next, they discussed creating a policy for employees that are on a volunteer emergency service to be allowed to respond and remain being paid regular pay up to their regular scheduled hours. And she asked for them to allow them to keep any pay they receive from those services as an incentive. It was by consensus to draw up the policy for the next meeting. Also, she asked to amend policy 301 to allow employees who get called on Jury duty to keep their pay as well and it was by consensus to make that change as well. Kristi will work with Chay to get those drawn up. Last she presented a payroll change for M Brown for a 6-month probation period for review. After review John moved to approve the pay change as presented and Bert seconded, motion carried 3-0. Last they talked about the court lawn and it was by consensus to call Dave Moyer. Dave Moyer was called via phone and they asked him to thatch the lawn before he mows for the first time. Dave agreed to those conditions and he will charge the same as one mowing. Bert mentioned the sealing of the mason at the Commons building need to start getting bids. Ron moved to get bids for that project and John seconded, motion carried 3-0.

Meeting adjourned at 11:57

Kiowa County Commissioners Meeting
Courthouse Lower Level Conference Room
March 30, 2018

Ronald Freeman, John Unruh, Bert Lowery, Chay Howard, Shelly Fisher, Travis Payne, Rosa Spainhour, Matt Christenson, Chris Tedder attended the meeting.

Consent agenda included: Agenda, Payroll/AP reports and Commissioner minutes of 03/19.

After the Pledge of Allegiance, Ron opened the meeting. Bert moved to approve the consent agenda as presented and Ron seconded, motion carried 3-0.

Travis Payne came forward and presented the contract for the Federal Funds exchange that was approved at the meeting on March 19, 2018. He explained that by doing the exchange at 75% we do not have to follow KDOT’s specs and have a little more freedom. Next, he told the Commissioners that Nace Farms donated 2 loads of rock to the Community Building and are asking that the County get 2 loads, he would charge $28.98 per ton, 25 tons per load, to help maintain the lot. John asked to table this discussion until the next meeting. They also discussed the drainage between the Barn and the Community building, which they will discuss at greater length at the next meeting. Travis brought in two bids for culverts. One from J & J Drainage for $9775.50 and the other from Welborn Sales for $10263.40, Bert moved to accept the bid from J & J Drainage and John seconded, motion carried 3-0. He also presented information on two different gas monitors for the landfill, one was a smaller, wearable monitor for $595, the other was a larger, handheld monitor for $1300. Bert moved to purchase the smaller, wearable monitor for $595 and John seconded, motion carried 3-0, Travis will purchase RKI Instruments Gas Detection for Life, model GX-2009 from Amazon. Next, they discussed the Kiowa County Solid Waste Management meeting and the next meeting will be an open hearing at the Commissioner’s meeting on April 16th. Travis had a couple of questions for Chay regarding minute taking at the Solid Waste Management meetings. Chay advised that the minutes need to be send out to the board and approved. Other items discussed were using magnets on the roads, road improvements and the purple wave sales.

Break called for 7 minutes.

Chris Tedder came forward with a letter from Frontier Forensics Midwest letting us know that their fees are increasing slightly for autopsy’s. Next, Chris was asked about excessive speed by his Deputy’s through towns to get to calls during hi-traffic and school transport times. Chris informed them that he would address the issue.

Matt Christenson came forward to discuss the bids for mowing for the upcoming season from Dave Moyer and Paul Alvarez. Matt informed the Commissioners that Paul Alvarez called and withdrew his bid. John moved to accept the bid from Dave Moyer and Bert seconded, motion carried 3-0. Next, Matt told them of an issue with a stuck valve in the main line of our sprinkler system. This is not the first time this has happened and the last time it happened, it caused a high water bill. After some discussion Matt asked if he could get some bids for someone to come out and do an irrigation system directly from the main line and not the cistern.

Shelly presented a tax correction for approval and after review John moved to approve the tax correction and Bert seconded, motion passed 3-0.

During Commissioner Discussion John brought up our Donated Time policy and asked that we put it on the agenda for Monday, April 2, with that they are wanting to discuss the PTO and EIB policy. Chay presented the contract from Hinkle Law that was approved at the March 19th meeting for the Commissioners to sign as he did not have the contract with him at the previous meeting. Next, he informed then that they were finishing up publications for the tax sale. Last they discussed the Commons and the sealing of the masonry. Bert was going to try to make a few phone calls and they will talk about it more at the next meeting.

Meeting adjourned at 10:42

Kiowa County Commissioners Meeting
Courthouse Lower Level Conference Room
March 19, 2018

Ronald Freeman, John Unruh, Bert Lowery (absent), Kristi Cooper, Tony Factor, Travis Payne, Rosa Spainhour, Matt Christenson, Cody Sherer and Jay Koehn attended the meeting.

Consent agenda included: Agenda, Payroll/AP reports and Commissioner minutes of 03/05 & 3/16

After the prayer was given by Tony Factor, Ron opened the meeting. John moved to approve the consent agenda as presented and Ron seconded, motion carried 2-0.

Mitzi came forward for the board of health meeting. Ron adjourned the regular meeting and called the BOH meeting to order. Mitzi gave updates which included; health fair setup, Wic changes, grant application and community assessment meeting tonight. Ron adjourned the BOH and called the regular meeting to order. Mitzi presented a grant application from KDHE for $18,161 for the immunization action plan, public health Emergency Preparedness and State formula. After review of the application John moved to approve the grant application and Ron seconded, motion carried 2-0.

Chay Howard wanted to inform the Commissioners of the information he had received from Hinkle Law Firm regarding their legal representation for Kiowa County. He added that the overall cost for them would be around $700. After some discussion John moved to approve the contract with Hinkle Law as legal representation for Kiowa County after more information was provided and Ron seconded, motion carried 2-0.

Travis Payne came forward and presented a map for overlays and scrub seals for this season. He also asked if he go ahead and get bids on those two projects and it was by consensus to go ahead. Next, he informed them that he will be working on finishing the Scott Street project from last year and there was discussion on the material to be used and John asked to table this discussion till the next meeting. He also asked them to allow to request to exchange the Federal Funds of $65,588.98 at the rate of 25% and will receive $49,191.74. John moved to approve the exchange of Federal Funds and Ron seconded, motion carried 2-0. He gave updates on the equipment on purple wave and informed them of some violations they received at the landfill on their annual inspection. They are correcting these violations and he is still working with Kirkham and Michael on the Facility Operating Plan (FOP) for the landfill since it has never been finished.

Break called for 5 minutes.

Rosa came forward and presented a quote on 2 monitors for $64,832.40 from Zoll. She explained after applying for a state grant she was approved for $25,000 and that when applying for the grant she had to give a quote on a specific monitor and so she received three quotes but choose to go with Zoll due to the options for the model. She explained that she will use encumbered funds in the amount of $21,639.06 and she will have a year with no interest to pay the remaining total on the monitors through Zoll. John moved to approve to the purchase and Ron seconded, motion carried 2-0.

Cody Sherer came forward to talk about replacing a pump housing on truck 561 in the amount of $1242.60. He explained that he was only able to get one quote due to the lack of parts for that specific truck. John moved to approve the quote and Ron seconded, motion carried 2-0.

Matt Christenson came forward to discuss the lighting on the radio tower after inspection of the tower that the lighting system has extensive damage from a lightning strike and that he has filed a claim with EMC and working with them to determine when the damaged occurred and also informed them that is currently out of compliance with FAA regulations for towers of that height and could be subject to fines and penalties and encourage them to go ahead with approval on replacing the lighting system in the amount of $30,978.60 to come out of the equipment fund. After some discussion John moved to approve the new lighting system and Ron seconded, motion carried 2-0. Next, he presented bids for mowing for the upcoming season from Dave Moyer and Paul Alvarez. The bid request was per location as in the past requests. After looking over the bids John asked to table this discussion till the next meeting when Bert would be present. Last he informed them that he had gotten some good reviews back on Crystal Clean Window Plus that they had requested he get. After some more discussion John moved to hire them to clean the Courthouse and Commons building windows for $1600 and Ron seconded, motion carried 2-0.

Jay Koehn came forward to talk to them about buying a new truck for the fire department and he presented quotes from Lanterman $45,341, Kingman Motors $44,747 and Marmies $46,880. Jay explained that Kingman and Marmies are for a 2018 Ford and Lanterman is for a 2019. He also explained that he will get bids on the rest of the setup at a later date and that it will take 3 months to get the vehicle due to high orders. After some more discussion Ron moved to buy from Lanterman and John seconded mc 2-0.

No items were discussed during Commissioner Discussion.

Meeting adjourned at 11:26

Kiowa County Commissioners Special Meeting
Courthouse Lower Level Conference Room
March 16, 2018

Ronald Freeman, John Unruh, Bert Lowery, Kristi Cooper, Ray Stegman, Andrea Taylor and Matt Christenson attended the meeting.

Ron called the special meeting to order at 10:00.

Ray Stegman came forward and presented Resolution 2018-5 for a proclamation of a State of Local Disaster Emergency for Kiowa County from the fire on March 15, 2018. He explained that he is applying for the FMAG Fire Management Assistance Grant to help with cost occurred from the event. After review of the resolution Bert moved to adopt Resolution 2018-5 and John seconded, motion carried 3-0.

Meeting adjourned at 10:47.

Kiowa County Commissioners Meeting
Courthouse Lower Level Conference Room
March 5, 2018

Ronald Freeman, John Unruh, Bert Lowery, Kristi Cooper, Chay Howard, Travis Payne, Richard McVey and DJ McMurry attended the meeting.

Consent agenda included: Agenda and Commissioner minutes of 02/28/18

After the pledge of allegiance, Ron opened the meeting. Kristi asked to make a correction to the minutes of February 28 with adding health department will pay for the health fair. Bert moved to approve the consent agenda with corrections to minutes and amendment to the minutes of February 28 and Ron seconded, motion carried 3-0.

DJ McMurry came to discuss how PUP hearings are handled and informed them that valuation statements have been sent out. John asked about Pratt Well Service bankruptcy and clarification on the case with Hinkle Law Firm. Kristi presented the contact and Chay explained that the County Attorney office hired them due to them not being able to handle the case in a timely manner and explained the fees would be a percentage of the taxes they owed. John requested Chay to see how much we owe as of today and wanted to know what our exact percentage of fees would be if they follow through with this lawsuit. John expressed concerns the attorney fees would be greater than the taxes due and Ron agreed.

Break called for 5 minutes.

Travis came forward to discuss R&B and Solid Waste. First, he talked a little on scales for the landfill but said he would like to hold off on the discussion till he could get more information on several types of scales. Next, John requested a 15-minute executive session for non-elected personnel to discuss employee relations at 10:02 and Ron seconded motion carried 3-0. Regular session began at 10:17 with no action taken.

Richard McVey stopped by to say hello and give updates regarding mental health cases.

During Commissioner Discussion Chay reported he spoke with Hinkle Law Firm and had informed them that we would owe 6.5% of their share and that they were unable to let him know what we owe to date due to the billing not completed. Chay is figuring it will around $700 depending if the case goes for a normal amount of time. There was no action taken on the contract with Hinkle Law Firm at this time. Next Chay informed them that he is setting up dates to meet with Compton contractors and GLMV architect and both party’s attorneys to come and visit them regarding the Commons roof. Bert reported he received a call from Ray Stegman regarding the weather tower and that the controller box was damaged due to lighting and that they may have to replace the box. Kristi asked Bert to have Ray file an insurance claim on the tower and that we can go from there pending what the insurance company does. Last Kristi asked Chay to review an easement agreement with CMS from the last meeting and after his review John moved to approve the easement agreement with CMS and Bert seconded, motion carried 3-0.

Meeting adjourned at 11:47.

Kiowa County Commissioners Meeting
Courthouse Lower Level Conference Room
February 28, 2018

Ronald Freeman, John Unruh, Bert Lowery, Kristi Cooper, Terry Mayhew, Travis Payne, Rosa Spainhour, Matt Christenson and Chris Tedder attended the meeting.

Consent agenda included: Agenda, Payroll/AP reports and Commissioner minutes of 02/20/18

After the prayer was given by Terry Mayhew, Ron opened the meeting. Bert moved to approve the consent agenda with corrections to minutes and Ron seconded, motion carried 2-0.

Travis Payne came forward to give updates for his departments. Travis presented a payroll change for R Koehn (retirement) and K Koehn (merit increase) and Bert approved the payroll changes and John seconded, motion carried 3-0. He then presented the final figures for the rental of crusher for $37,281.40 and crushed 10,300 total tons of concrete and saved $39,918.60 overall. Pricing on C&D at the landfill was discussed with no action taken. Travis requested a 5-minute executive session for non-elected personnel to discuss employee relations at 9:17. Bert moved for the executive session and Ron seconded, motion carried 3-0. Regular session began with no action taken, Next Kristi asked per Ron’s request if we have a service agreement on our generator at R&B or Community building and Travis explained that they do the service on the one at R&B and added they could do the one at the fairgrounds and it was by consensus to have them do the services on it. Next Kristi presented the only bid for the bridge project on 53rd and B St from Pueblo Concrete. Bert resends from the discussion as Commissioner. After they reviewed the only bid submitted Ron moved to approve the bid from Pueblo Concrete in the amount of $18,710 and John seconded, motion carried 2-0.

Break called for 5 minutes.

Mike Bushnell came from CMS to request approval of an easement. Discussion was tabled till Chay could review the easement contract.

Rosa Spainhour came forward to inform them that she is going to purchase a portable cooler fan for community events such as County Fair, Safe kid events, 4H day camp and memorial weekend for $1900. Next, she presented information on a new program for active shooting training and they are looking to host it called ALICE.

Chris Tedder came forward to give updates which included vehicles on purple wave and new radios.

Kristi presented a payroll change for S McCann (merit increase) and after review Bert moved to approve the pay change and Ron seconded, motion carried 3-0. Next, she presented a payroll change for K Butler for a salary correction and explained there was an error when figuring her 5% COLA increase from January. After review John moved to approve the corrected payroll change and Bert seconded motion carried 3-0. Last she presented a tax correction for approval and after review Bert moved to approve the correction and Ron seconded, motion carried 3-0. John requested the total amount of tax dollars collected before and after the PUP hearings so far this year from the Treasurer. Kristi will get this information and report back at the next meeting.

Matt Christenson came to give a quote on cleaning the windows at the Courthouse and Commons building and after some discussion they asked him to check into references and report back. Also he informed them that he will be placing an advertisement for a maintenance technician

During Commissioner discussion Kristi presented a contract from Hinkle Law firm for legal counsel for a bankruptcy on Pratt Well Service. Discussion was tabled till they can talk with Chay regarding this.

Meeting adjourned at 12:01

Kiowa County Commissioners Meeting
Courthouse Lower Level Conference Room
February 20, 2018

Ronald Freeman, John Unruh(absent), Bert Lowery, Kristi Cooper, Travis Payne, Mitzi Hesser, Tyler Heinson, Bruce Foster, Stacey Barnes and Grant Neuhold attended the meeting.

Consent agenda included: Agenda, Payroll/AP reports and Commissioner minutes of 02/05/18
After the pledge of allegiance, Ron opened the meeting. Bert moved to approve the consent agenda and Ron seconded, motion carried 2-0. John was absent from meeting.

Ron adjourned regular session and called the board of Health meeting to order. Mitzi gave updates which included, table top meeting in Wichita, community assessment for grants, health fair costs, hiring new environmentalist for Kiowa County. Ron adjourned the BOH meeting and called regular session to order. Mitzi explained that the cost for the blood work has doubled since last year and explained that she would raise the price from $25 to $30 to cover the increase in costs. She asked for a decision on allowing her to pay for County residents out of her budget and that she would not pay rent due to covering the costs, so she could get the notification out to the public. After some discussion Bert moved to have Mitzi pay for all County residents lab results at the Health Fair out of the Health Department fund and Ron seconded, motion carried 2-0. It was by consensus to have not pay rent and if needed they will look at it later in the year.

Travis Payne came forward to give updates for his departments. Per the Commissioners request from the last meeting he brought a cost comparison for having a service contract with Foley or doing the fluid changes in house. He informed them that each fluid change would cost on an average of $900 for Foley and only $296 for us to do the fluid changes. Which would be close to 60% savings. It was by consensus not to do service agreement with Foley. Next, he discussed putting a barrier fence around the pit at the landfill and presented figures from Superior Fencing. The quote is for (30) 16’ wide X 5’ high panels for $8648.10. He explained the purpose of the fencing and added to the discussion that our operational plan states that we have one and could be written up if one isn’t placed. After some further discussion Bert moved to buy 30 panels from Superior Fence for the pits at the landfill and Ron seconded, motion carried 2-0. He also added that he is starting to cover some of the pit and will look to seed it this spring.

Break for 5 minutes

Ron asked for a 5-minute executive session at 9:39 for non-elected personnel to discuss employee relations with supervisor Travis Payne and Bert seconded, motion carried 2-0. Regular session began at 9:44 no action taken.

Grant Neuhold and Stacey Barnes came to talk about hosting Kansas Road trip and holding a welcome reception at the Commons. Stacey explained that some of instructors are coming in the night before the event and informed that they are using the Commons building for the reception and that the museum will be open to offer drinks/ice cream and that they would allow them to bring in their own alcohol beverages per the Commissioner approval. After some discussion on concerns, it was by consensus not to have alcohol there unless they can pay for the event insurance that the County insurance company is requesting in the amount of $1 million of liability insurance. They explained they didn’t want to pay for is but asked if they could get a waiver from the individuals would that suffice, and the Clerk will check with our insurance provider and report back.

Break for 5 minutes

Tyler Heinson came to discuss chemical cost from Noxious Weed and wanted clarification on the costs. Bruce Foster and Travis was present for the discussion. Travis presented the last 3 bills for Tyler and explained his costs. Tyler expressed that his confusion was cost shares and explained that he was unsure of the cost but knew it was cheaper than anywhere else. The County sells the chemical at our cost and not shelf price so there is some savings there for the farmers that Travis explained. He also explained that purchasing chemical through Noxious Weed is 100% on the customer share but on must thistle it is 75% on the customer share. Tyler did mention that he isn’t upset on the cost but would like to get a bill as he gets the chemical verses waiting till the end of the year. And Travis mentioned that the cycle of billing has been corrected and this will allow the farmers to pay for their purchase sooner than later. The Commissioners suggest that the cost shares be posted at the office so farmers see this when they come in to order or pay for their bill and ask that it get it the paper to clear up any more confusion on the cost shares.

Kristi Cooper requested for a 5-minute executive session for non-elected personal to discuss employee relations to include Travis Payne. Bert moved for the executive session at 10:33 and Ron seconded motion carried 2-0. Regular session began at 10:38 with no action taken.

Bert moved for an executive session at 10:45 for non-elected personnel for 5 minutes to discuss employee relations and Ron seconded, motion carried 2-0. Regular session began at 10:50 with no action taken.

Kristi Cooper presented a payroll changes for Scott James (resignation) and Chay Howard (Position change) after review Bert moved to approve the changes and Ron seconded, motion carried 2-0. Next, she presented a tax correction for approval. After review Ron moved to approve the tax correction and Bert seconded, motion carried 2-0.

During Commissioner discussion Chay informed them that he has heard back from Compton regarding the roof at the commons and feels that they need to invite them to talk about their obligations and they agreed so Chay will contact them and go from there.

Meeting adjourned at 11:27

 Kiowa County Commissioners Meeting

Courthouse Lower Level Conference Room

February 5, 2018

Ronald Freeman, John Unruh, Bert Lowery, Kristi Cooper, Travis Payne, Matt Christenson, Chris Tedder, Mary Sweet, Bruce Foster, Cyndee Tuttle, Kyler Ludwig, Raymond Mehl, Terri Mayhew and Rosa Spainhour attended the meeting.

Consent agenda included: Agenda and Commissioner minutes of 01/31/18

After prayer given by Terry Mayhew, Ron opened the meeting. Bert moved to approve the consent agenda and John seconded, motion carried 3-0.

Travis Payne came forward for updates for his departments. Travis presented a payroll change for J Williams (merit increase) After review John moved to approve the change and Bert seconded, motion carried 3-0. Continued the discussion on the tractor and mower blades. He went over the equipment we currently have and hours on the equipment. He reported that they have 2 open cab tractors that are not being used stored at the landfill. He went over the value of the two tractors and it was by consensus to list them on purple wave to get more money. John expressed concerns on the tax lid coming up with purchasing a new tractor. John moved to purchase the 6135E JD tractor with a 5-year warranty for $72,347 from John Deere and a Falcon 10-foot hydraulic mower deck for $26,732 from Alamo and Bert seconded, motion carried 3-0.

Break was called at 9:23

Chris Tedder came to present a report on his expenditure report for 2017 on the Special Law fund per K.S.A 60-4117.

Kristi Cooper asked if they would like to contribute to the Safe Kids program in the amount of $100 and Bert moved to support the Safe Kids program with $100 and John seconded, motion carried 3-0.

Kyler Ludwig came per the Commissioner’s request regarding the airport road with Raymond Mehl engineer of the project and they discussed the road and ditches.

Kristi Cooper continued with clarification on funds for the transfer switch installation at the Community building and it was by consensus to take it out of the building fund.

John left at 10:09

Bruce Foster and Cyndee Tuttle came to present the annual yearend report for Noxious Weed. After review Bert moved to approve the reports and Ron seconded, motion carried 2-0.

During Commissioner Discussion Matt came to inform them that he hasn’t heard anything back from the architect from GLMV regarding the Commons roof but will keep trying and if he hadn’t heard anything back that he would get with Chay to draft a letter.

Meeting adjourned at 11:11

Kiowa County Commissioners Meeting
Courthouse Lower Level Conference Room
January 16, 2018

Bert Lowery, John Unruh (absent), Ronald Freeman, Kristi Cooper, Travis Payne, Mitzi Hesser, Rosia Spainhour, Chris Tedder, Debbie Price, Deborah Factor and Chay Howard attended the meeting.

Consent agenda included: Agenda and Commissioner minutes of 01/02/18

After the pledge of allegiance, Ron opened the meeting. Bert moved to approve the consent agenda as presented and Ron seconded motion carried 2-0.

Ron adjourned the Commissioner meeting and called the BOH meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. Mitzi came to inform them that the WIC program generated $18,258 in sales at our local grocery store. She also reported that they are about caught up on book work from the flu season and explained that it takes a few months to get it all recorded. Lastly, she wanted to inform them that the Health Fair is scheduled for April 7th and informed them that it cost approximately $8800 last year to pay for all the blood work for all county residents and that she isn’t sure if they will do it again but if they do would they consider lowering her rent for the year to cover that cost and they said they would discuss it and let her know. Ron adjourned the BOH meeting and called regular meeting to order.

Travis Payne came forward for updates for his departments. The Clerk presented his payroll change for his 6-month probation period for approval. She explained after the average of the three evaluations he received a 3.5 % increase. Bert moved to approve the payroll change for Travis and Ron seconded, motion carried 2-0. Next Travis presented a payroll change for Jerald Schmidt (new hire) for approval. Ron moved to approve the change and Bert seconded, motion carried 2-0. A payroll change was also presented for department changes for Joshua Meitl and Derry Liggett for approval. Ron moved to approve the department chances and Bert seconded, motion carried 2-0. Travis added that the transfer switch has come in for the generator at the Community building and is waiting for Sagebrush to schedule the hook up. He also reported that the old noxious weed truck brought $5300 and the lathe brought $1900 on purple wave. Additionally, he presented information for a membership from National Joint Powers Alliance (NJPA) to purchase equipment at discount prices and by consensus they agreed to sign up. He wanted to clarify that the purchase for the compactor was discussed at the meeting of September 5, 2017 and it was moved by Ron to take it out of landfill closure fund and Bert moved to transfer $18,000 for solid waste capital outlay to help with the purchase. Next, Chay requested a 5-minute executive session for employee relations to include Travis. Bert moved to go into executive session for 5 minutes to discuss employee relations at 9:26 and Ron seconded, motion carried 2-0. Regular session began at 9:31 with no action taken.

Debbie Price came to ask about an invoice she had received regarding the fence at the fairgrounds. Bert explained that they agreed to pay for all the remainder supplies for the fence and it was by consensus for the Commissioner’s to pay the invoices out of the Commissioner fund.

Grant Neuhold came to give updates for the Media Center which included the continued growth from the opportunity from hosting conferences for companies, educational training for schools, streaming live events, open community classes twice a week at the media center.

Deb Factor came from Youth Core Ministry Program to inform them of the program they offer the communities called Circles and gave an overview of what the program is about and what it does and asked them to consider funding to help with the program and Bert explained that this would have to be budgeted for and they would look at it in the budget workshop.

Kristi Cooper presented payroll changes for Jennifer Scarbrough (merit increase), Andrea Taylor (merit increase), Zane Martin (part-time) and Jacob Martin (full-time). After review of the payroll changes Bert moved to approve them and Ron seconded, motion carried 2-0. She then presented a tax correction for review and after review Ron moved to approve the tax corrections and Bert seconded, motion carried 2-0. Next, she presented quotes on a new copier from Office Solutions and Bolen. She explained that Bolen doesn’t offer as many choices as Office Solutions and that she would like to purchase the same brand that they already have which is a Lanier and after they went through the quotes she explained that she would use $4300 from the Clerk Tech Fund and the difference from her regular budget and Bert moved to pay $300 from Commissioner fund do to the use for their reports, copies etc. and Ron seconded, motion carried 2-0.

Chris Tedder came forward and reported they he has purchased a new charger for $24,750 for this year and he forgot to come in and ask about encumbering and was wondering if he could still do that and explained he wanted to use some of it to help with the purchase of the new vehicle, but he wasn’t sure if he would be allowed since he was late. They asked him to talk with Theresa to see what she suggests and report back. He also reported he has hired a part time and full-time deputy as well and that there have been no issues with the pipes in the mechanical room.

During Commissioner Discussion, Rosia asked if they would be talking about the ambulance contract again and Chay added that he has went over the contracts that the Clerk has on file and that he will be reviewing it over with Scott and will be in contact with Great Plains. Rosia added that she thought it renewed every year and Chay explained that the contract that is on file expired with no amendment, but he would look further into the contract so see if he missed something. Next Ron asked Rosia about purchases that he notices on her last voucher that there was sales tax paid and he explained that they don’t pay taxes with a government status and Rosia explained that on hotel expenses that if you don’t use a company card that they won’t honor tax exempt status at some hotels and Ron suggested not to stay at places that won’t honor it due to them being exempt for taxes and he suggested making sure to use their tax exempt on all purchases in the future.

Meeting adjourned at 11:29.