Commissioner Minutes

Kiowa County Commissioners Meeting
March 7, 2022

Bert Lowery, John Bertram, Kristi Cooper, Chay Howard, Jay Schmidt, George Jennings, Michael Rainger, Kendal Lothman, Julie Lyon, Jessica Soto-Botello and Stacy Weaver attended the meeting.

Consent agenda included: Agenda, Payroll report, Accounts Payable reports, and Commissioner minutes of 2/28/2022.

Prior to the meeting, prayer was received by Stacy Weaver. Bert Lowery opened the meeting at 9:00. John moved to approve the consent agenda as presented and Bert seconded, motion passed unanimously.

Jay Schmidt invited John Riggins with Kirkham and Michael to come forward and present the agreement for the Kansas Local Bridge Improvement Program for the KDOT project number 049 C-5177-01 for the fiscal year of 2024 for approval. After review from the County counselor, Bert moved to approve the agreement as presented and John seconded, motion passed unanimously. Jay then presented a merit payroll change for K Koehn for review. John moved to approve the payroll change as presented and Bert seconded, motion passed unanimously. Next, he informed them that they have been working on M St. from 25th Ave through 27th Ave and that it is almost complete. Chay then presented 2 resolution drafts regarding enacting regulations for the excavation of section corner monuments within the County’s right of ways and enacting regulations for the use of the County’s right of ways for them to review and gave a quick review of the changes he made. He informed them that he would follow up at the next meeting to see if there are any changes they suggest. Lastly, George Jennings came forward for the discussion on the reusing of items in the landfill and Chay requested to table the discussion so he can look into the topic further.

Kendal Lothman came to present a payroll change for C McElroy for his 6-month probational period. After review of the payroll change John moved to approve as presented and Bert seconded, motion passed unanimously. Next, he presented a proposal from ATCI (Allied Technical Consultants Inc) for X911 mapping program and Verizon Connect Live Tracking for 36 GPS devices for the emergency service vehicles which included City PD, EMS, Fire and Sheriff departments. He explained Allied Technical Consultants INC (ATCI) how it is established and how it interfaces with the system ENTERPOL and their current CAD operating system. The cost of this would include X911 mapping program, 36 GPS devices, installation of equipment and integration subscription fees in the amount of $11,370.40 and then it would be $10,470.40 annually. He did want to inform them that he would cover the annual mapping fee of $2,500 since the Sheriff office will renew the service annually and that he would bill the individual departments for their share of the fees starting next year. After some discussion John moved to take the cost of $11,370.40 out of the Sheriff’s Special Equipment fund and Bert seconded, motion passed unanimously.

Kerri Ulrich came to request a Board of Health meeting session. Bert adjourned the Commissioner meeting at 9:46 and called the Board of Health meeting to order. She presented the application signature pages for the Family planning grant, COVID-19 IAP Supplemental 3 Vaccine access grant, COVID-19 IAP Supplement 4 Vaccine Equity, ELC grant, Immunization Action Plan(IAP), Public Health Emergency Preparedness (PHEP) and State Formula (SF) grant requests for approval in the amount of $132,552.70. Bert adjourned the BOH at 9:53 and called the Commissioner meeting to order. Bert moved to approve the grant application as presented and John seconded, motion passed unanimously. Next, she wanted to see if they would cover the expense for employees and members located in County owned facilities again this year for their health fair bloodwork. John moved to cover the costs mentioned for the health fair and Bert seconded motion passed unanimously.

Break called till 10:00

Julie Lyon, Economic Development Director, gave a brief update on how the 2 daycares are coming along and introduced Jessica Soto-Botello from Childcare Aware who came to discuss childcare needs and what services a health consultation for childcare in the county could do and how they can benefit local daycare providers.

Michael Rainger came to talk to them more regarding his services in energy savings and handed out some information for them to review.

Kristi Cooper presented a personal property tax correction for their approval. After review of the correction, John moved to approve the correction and Bert seconded, motion passed unanimously. Also, she informed them that the County Budget workshop with Lewis Hoper and Dick LLC will be held on June 27th starting at 9:00 am in the Commissioners meeting room. Last she presented payroll and accounts payable reports and minutes from February 28th for signatures.

During Commissioner discussion, Chay Howard wanted to briefly review the resolution he presented earlier for them to consider for Road and Bridge. He also informed them that he is still needing to talk with Ms. Barton with KNRC on some of the language of the resolution she presented at the last meeting and discussed his understanding of the Rails to Trails program and how it affects the County and what they need to do. Lastly, he gave a quick update on the tax sale.

Meeting adjourned at 10:46

Kiowa County Commissioners Meeting
February 28, 2022

David White, Bert Lowery, John Bertram, Kristi Cooper, Chay Howard, Kelly Askew, George Jennings, Michael Rainger, Tracy Barton and Tracy Weaver attended the meeting.

Consent agenda included: Agenda, Payroll report, Accounts Payable reports, and Commissioner minutes of 2/22/2022.

Prior to meeting prayer was received by Stacy Weaver and the pledge of allegiance was recited. David White opened the meeting at 9:00. Bert moved to approve the minutes with corrections as presented and John seconded, motion passed unanimously. Next, Bert moved to accept the consent agenda and John seconded, motion passed unanimously.

Kelly Askew came as the County Library director to visit about the commons building and to follow up on when the building would be sealed since it was approved in April last year. David asked Bert to if he could give more information on the project since he is contractor. Bert informed them that the temperature needs to be a minimum of 70 degrees and no wind gusts. He informed them that he is hoping to start the project once the weather permits. Lastly, she wanted to inform them there would be an increase in the County Library budget for 2023 which would allow them to offer a health insurance stipend to their 2 full time and 2 part time employees and explained that they would not qualify for a group insurance plan since they don’t have enough employees. She just wanted them to be aware of the increase in their request.

George Jennings came as a private citizen to open a conversation regarding recycling goods such as household furniture to construction materials and metal and tools, from lumber and wood, to fence posts and firewood that are thrown out to the landfill and how this could conserve on reusable waste and how this would benefit both county residents and the environment. He asks them to consider creating a reuse policy for the County landfill. The commissioners agree if they are allowed to make those changes to the policy that they would be in favor of such changes, but they would need to visit with Jay first to see how the policies are set and they could go from there. George will reach out to Jay as well informed.

Michael Rainger with Rainger Associates came to give a quick review on lowering residential inflation thru energy cost reductions and provided some information on how he could help. He did inform them that over the next couple of months he would come to give updates on his progress at each meeting as he progresses forward.

Tracy Barton with Kansas Natural Resource Coalition (KNRC) came to discuss the Rails to Trails program that they are assisting other county members. She presented the plan document for their review as she informed them of the program and how they are moving forward assisting other counties removing the Rails to Trails due to inactive line of railroads trails within several counites. She explained if they would like to move forward that they would need to adopt a resolution allowing KNRC to proceed on with the process. Next, she presented the resolution for the counselor to review. Chay will review all documents provided and they can discuss this at the next meeting.

Break called till 9:51.

Kristi Cooper wanted to have a discussion on mowing services for the county facilities and see if they wanted to contract those out again or have the maintenance department provide that service since it was handled by her department, but that they would need to purchase some of the equipment needed, since they disposed of some of the major equipment needed. After some conversation it was by consensus to move forward with receiving bids for those services and they would review the quotes and compare the costs for the county overall and go from there. Next, she presented the completed questionnaire for KCAMP that she has submitted for an insurance quote and explained that she had also submitted the information that included our seven-year loss run detailing claims which included dates of losses, claim descriptions and a copy of the machinery and equipment we currently insure. She did inform them that the renewal would need to move to a calendar year and that they don’t offer workers compensation, so she is looking into additional coverage quotes for that as well but that their representatives would explain all that to them when they come out with their proposal. Lastly, she presented the February 22 commissioner minutes and accounts payable reports for signatures.

During Commissioner discussion, David wanted to inform them that he won’t be present at the next meeting but wanted them to know that he is in full support of moving forward on the 911 mapping for the county that Kendall will be presenting at the next meeting.

Meeting adjourned at 10:18

Kiowa County Commissioners Meeting
February 22, 2022

David White, Bert Lowery, John Bertram, Kristi Cooper, Chay Howard, Kerri Ulrich, Jay Schmidt, Kari Kyle, Stacy Barnes, Kendal Lothman, Gene Yohn, Michael Granger and Stacy Weaver attended the meeting.

Consent agenda included: Agenda, Payroll report, Accounts Payable reports, and Commissioner minutes of 2/7/2022.

After prayer given by Stacy Weaver and the pledge of allegiance, David White opened the meeting at 9:00. Bert moved to approve the consent agenda as presented John seconded, motion passed unanimously.

David adjourned the regular meeting at 9:02 and called the Board of Health(BOH) meeting to order. Kerri Ulrich came to give updates for public health which included the office will be closed from March 29th -31st for state conference in Topeka, lot purchase is on hold at this time, drive up window project still is pending, health fair preparations beginning, continuing to work on family planning grants that are coming due soon, will be receiving reimbursement of testing supplies from the state, received home testing kits for the public and vaccines still being dispersed. David adjourned the BOH at 9:15 and called the regular meeting to order. Next, she presented a merit payroll change for J Steyn. Bert moved to approve the payroll change as presented and John seconded, motion passed unanimously.

Chay Howard presented resolution 2022-6 for approval with changes as presented and he explained after resolution 2022-5 was adopted at the last meeting he was informed that there were some changes that need to be addressed and changed. After reviewing the changes, John moved to adopt resolution 2022-6 and Bert seconded, motion passed unanimously. Next, he asked to continue the discussion regarding fees assessed to use of county right aways and included Jay in the discussion. Chay will make the changes as directed by Jay and the commissioners and will present a new resolution. Jay also wanted to discuss the application to excavate for section corner monuments within road right of ways because he felt the fee under section 6, regarding the fee assessed for the hourly rate for the use of county backhoe was below the FEMA rate and suggested that it needed to be raised. After some discussion John moved to change the fee from $34 to $80 per hour for use of county backhoe, motion died due to no second. Jay did mention that he has received an application from MKEC with the current fees and just wanted to get those fees updated. Chay suggested they would need to look into how the fees were set He informed them that he would like to create a resolution to set the fees for the application of excavation for section corner monuments with road right of ways.

Jay Schmidt came and presented updates for the Public Works Department which included CDL drivers, attended the miner safety refresher course hosted by Heft and Sons, major tree trimming and tree removal on the Sun City Road, Wilmore Road, Soldier Creek Cemetery Road, Thompson Creek Road and around Belvidere, starting to build up M St. west of 183 this week, some excavation work for MKEC engineering on 29th Ave through 25th Ave for locating survey markers this week.

Break called till 10:01

Kari Kyle came to request them to reappoint Jane Case and Farrel Allison as board members to the Kiowa County Council on Aging board. Bert moved to reappoint the members and John seconded, motion passed unanimously. Next Kristi presented a funding letter from SWKAAA (Southwest Kansas Area Agency on Aging) in the amount of $1200 and explained that since 2012 they have funded them $700 and asks them to increase the funding and then she asked Kari to explain what the program is for and how our funding helps our local center. After some discussion Bert moved to approve the full funding requested by SWKAAA in the amount of $1200 and John seconded, motion passed unanimously.

Kendal Lothman presented a termination payroll change for C Vergis. Bert moved to approve the payroll change as presented and John seconded, motion passed unanimously. Next, he asked if they would be open to getting a quote from KCAMP for our business and personal property insurance and explain the benefits they can provide for the Sheriff’s office. Lothman explained how his experience from a previous employer. After some discussion it was by consensus to move forward with receiving a quote from KCAMP as our renewal is coming up in May.

Stacy Barnes presented a letter of support for the City of Greensburg for BASE grant application for development at the Greensburg business park. Bert moved to sign the letter of support and John seconded, motion passed unanimously.

Kristi Cooper presented resolution 2022-7 for appointing a voting member of the South-Central region homeland security council for Kiowa County in Rays absence. After review, John moved to adopt resolution 2022-7 as presented and Bert seconded, motion passed unanimously. Next presented were tax roll corrections for gas and real estate. John moved to approve the corrections as presented and David seconded, motion passed unanimously. Also, she presented the February 7th minutes, payroll reports and accounts payable reports for signatures.

Gene Yohn came as a private citizen came to talk to them regarding an old and ongoing criminal investigation and Michael Granger also came to let them know that he was back in the community and that he will be coming back at a later date with some information to share with them regarding energy conservation.

Meeting adjourned at 10:53.

Kiowa County Commissioners Meeting
February 7, 2022

David White, Bert Lowery, John Bertram, Shelly Tuttle, Chay Howard, Jay Schmidt, Matt Christenson, Theron McKinney, and Julie Lyon attended the meeting.

Consent agenda included: Agenda and Commissioner minutes of 2/7/2022.

After the prayer and the pledge of allegiance, David White opened the meeting at 9:00. Bert moved to approve the consent agenda as presented John seconded, motion passed unanimously.

Jay Schmidt came and presented updates for the Public Works Department which included a payroll change for R Lothman for a merit increase. After review of the payroll change Bert moved to accept it as presented and John seconded, motion passed unanimously. He also presented the track loader lease agreement from Foley, after some discussion, John moved to purchase the track loader for $297,537.21 David seconded, motion passed unanimously. Last Jay brought up resolution 2012-13 regarding permitting use of County right of way by utilities and how he feels it needs to be updated. After some discussion they decided to review the resolution and discuss the changes that they would like to see at the next meeting.

Bert called for a 10-minute executive session for attorney client privilege to discuss legal issue regarding use of the right of way, David seconded, motion passed unanimously. Regular session began at 9:30 with no action session taken.

Chay informed the Commissioners that Diane Thompson with Haviland Broadband emailed him and Kristi this morning to inform them that she would not be able to make it to the meeting but would like the Commissioners sign a letter of support. Diane included a couple of sample letters in her email. Chay left to print the letters.

Matt Christenson came and discussed a grant program that was announced last week called BASE, Building A Stronger Economy, after some discussion the Commissioners decided that this grant did not benefit the County at this time. Matt also updated the guys about a critical hardware failure in one of our servers that happened last week, he has ordered the part and hopefully will have it in a few days.

Chay came back with the sample letters that Diane emailed, after some review and discussion the Commissioners decided to call Diane to verify that they needed the letter before the next Commissioner meeting that will be held on February 22, 2022. John moved to sign a letter of support for the ReConnect Grant Program, David seconded, the motion passed unanimously.

Theron McKinney and Chay Howard came to discuss the proposed resolution for open burning in the county. After some discussion John moved to pass resolution 2022-5 for enacting regulations for opening burning in the county and setting penalties for violations of the regulations regarding open burning and Bert seconded, motion passed unanimously. Next Theron informed the Commissioners that the Haviland fire department is going to need to replace the 1972 AMC 6X6 tanker. It was agreed by consensus that Theron can start looking at tankers and let the Commissioners know what he can find.

David called for a 5-minute break.

Regular session began at 10:26.

During Commissioner discussion Chay informed the commissioners that he is waiting on a little more information on purchasing the lot for the health department and will get the contract to the Commissioners when he can. Chay is also going to look at the road and bridge resolution and let them know his thoughts as well.

Meeting adjourned at 10:31.

Kiowa County Commissioners Meeting
January 31, 2022

David White, Bert Lowery, John Bertram, Kristi Cooper, Chay Howard, Kerri Ulrich, Jay Schmidt and Theron McKinney attended the meeting.

Consent agenda included: Agenda, Payroll report, Accounts Payable reports, and Commissioner minutes of 1/18/2022.

After the pledge of allegiance, David White opened the meeting at 9:00. Bert moved to approve the consent agenda as presented John seconded, motion passed unanimously.

Kristi Cooper presented tax corrections for approval. After reviewing the corrections presented, Bert moved to accept the corrections as presented and John seconded, motion passed unanimously. Next, she presented payroll reports, account payable reports and minutes of January 18 for signatures.

Kerri Ulrich presented a payroll change for S Richmond for the contact tracer position that is no longer needed for her department for separation. Bert moved to approve the payroll change as presented and John seconded, motion passed unanimously. Next, she asked them on how they wanted to purchase the property adjacent to the Health Department which would expand for more parking but wasn’t sure if they would like to purchase title insurance or buy the property out right from the buyer. After some discussion it was by consensus to purchase the title insurance for the purchase of the property.

Jay Schmidt came and presented updates for the Public Works Department which included payroll changes for R Hohl and J Williams for merit raises. After review of the payroll changes David moved to accept them as presented and John seconded, motion passed unanimously. He also reported they began removing and trimming trees on Sun City Road around Belvidere, presented a quote for a self-propelled paint striper and is waiting on track loader lease agreement from Foley and will bring that to the next meeting when he receives it. No action taken on the paint striper purchase.

David brought up the topic regarding paying COVID-19 pay and wanted to revisit the conversation due to an employee requesting them to revisit the pay. After some discussion they choose to not reinstate the COVID-19 pay at this time and that the employees will need to follow the current Paid Time off (PTO) policy moving forward.

Theron McKinney came to inform them that Pueblo concrete has started the concrete pad they had approved and to discuss a countywide fire ban. Chay informed them that he would create a resolution on how county fire bans will be handled and gave a few suggestions as in time duration of the burn bans, penalties, fines and who is authorized to call for the ban as in the Fire Chief and/or Emergency Management Manager. Chay will work with him and get one ready for the next meeting. Last, he just gave a short update on personnel.

Chay asked for clarification on the purchase of the property for the health department and it was by consensus to go ahead and purchase the title insurance. The cost for the title company to prepare the documents will depend on the purchase price if they share the costs with the buyer or just have the county pay for that expense. He will work with a title company to prepare these documents and come back when they are completed for the purchase of the property. David requested a 15-executive session for advice with attorney-client privileges discussing the legal matters regarding wavier of fees on the use of right of ways and Bert seconded, motion passed unanimously. Regular session began at 11:25. David requested an additional 15 minutes for advice for attorney-client privileges discussing the legal matters regarding wavier of fees on the use of right of ways and Bert seconded, motion passed unanimously. Regular session began at 10:41 with no action taken.

Meeting adjourned at 10:42.

Kiowa County Commissioners Meeting
January 18, 2022

David White, Bert Lowery, John Bertram, Kristi Cooper, Chay Howard, Kerri Ulrich, Jay Schmidt, Theron McKinney, Diane Thompson, Julie Lyon, Terri Butler, Norval Ralstin and Matt Christenson attended the meeting.

Consent agenda included: Agenda, Payroll report, Accounts Payable reports, and Commissioner minutes of 1/3/2022.

After the pledge of allegiance, David White opened the meeting at 9:00. John moved to approve the consent agenda as presented Bert seconded, motion passed unanimously.

Jay Schmidt came and presented updates for the Public Works Department which included cattle guard foundation installed at the Belvidere cemetery and pad for the fuel tank and containment at the shop in Belvidere, hauling sand and blading this week, trimming trees new week, build up on M St. from 183 to 25th Ave and R St. from 183 to 25th Ave, looking into purchasing a Snorkel ATB46N Boom lift or a Genie S-60 to be used at the shop and could be used for multiple reasons, 2 quotes from Foley for a new 952-12 track loader in the amount of $251,604.87 with a construction package and $290,106.63 with a waste package. He would be leasing the new loader. And informed them the old loader would cost around $60k to get it back running but could be looking to see if they would trade in as well. He will work on getting lease agreements together and come back.

Kristi Cooper presented a payroll change for S McVey(merit) for approval in Chay’s absence. After review of the change Bert moved to approve the merit increase and John seconded, motion passed unanimously.

Theron McKinney came to discuss a countywide fire ban and explained how they have done it in the past and suggested to revise the process which would allow him to call for the ban and not to have to go through the approval of the commissioners and they agreed. Chay will look into creating a resolution and report back at the next meeting. Next, he presented the revised application for emergency vehicle lighting and explained how that process worked. After some discussion they decided to only allow officers to be able to have emergency lighting on their personal vehicles at their own expense and Chay presented resolution 2022-4 regarding emergency lights on vehicles for volunteer firefighters. Bert moved to adopt the resolution presented and John seconded, motion passed unanimously. Last they discussed the appointment as Fire Chief. After some discussion and acceptance of the appointment by Theron, Bert moved to appoint Theron and David seconded, motion passed unanimously.

Diane Thompson with Haviland Broadband came to give some updates on the Broadband Acceleration Grant (BAG) through Kansas Office of Broadband Development and Kansas Department of Transportation and ReConnect federal grant through USDA. She informed them how Haviland Broadband has been active in improving broadband in their serving area which includes completing fiber connection in the City of Haviland, adding small fiber extension in southeast Greensburg and they have high level and explained how the grants work and how they will provide service for residents and asks for county assistance in a in-kind match by waiving fees collected by Public Works. The discussion was tabled till the next meeting.

Kiowa County Historical Society came to discuss the replacement of the round barn roof with the assistance from the County. Terry Butler and Norval Ralstin informed them that they had been working with a historical restoration company on what they should do to replace the roof and that they have received three bids for the project and the lowest bid is in the amount of $53,000 and explained that they also go quotes for more repairs that needs to be done as well. After some discussion it was by consensus to spend up to $45,000 and asks them to include increases in their next budget requests to allow for future expenses needed for the barn. They will work on getting a formal bid and report back.

Matt Christenson came to give updates on the APRA funding and renewal of backup software from SHI in the amount of $1443.20 and it was by consensus to allow him to purchase the software needed.

David adjourned the regular meeting and called the Board of Health(BOH) meeting to session. Kerri Ulrich came to give updates for Public Health which included WIC and Family planning training tomorrow, low testing supplies, quarantine requirement changes. David closed the BOH and called the regular meeting to order.

Julie Lyon came to give some updates regarding economic development and to inform them how the daycare project is going.

Break till 11:16

Meeting adjourned at 11:21.

Kiowa County Commissioners Meeting
January 3, 2022

David White, Bert Lowery, John Bertram, Kristi Cooper, Chay Howard, Kendal Lothman and Ray Stegman attended the meeting.

Consent agenda included: Agenda and Commissioner minutes of 12/23/2021.

After the pledge of allegiance, David White opened the meeting at 9:00. Bert moved to approve the consent agenda as presented John seconded, motion passed unanimously.

Kendal Lothman came to present a payroll change for T Neil(merit) and C Parkin(merit) for approval. After review of the payroll changes Bert moved to approve them and John seconded, motion passed unanimously.

Ray Stegman came to present a payroll change for A Taylor(merit). After review Bert moved to approve the payroll change and John seconded, motion passed unanimously. Next, he discussed the Belvidere tower is needing lighting and he presented a quote from Randy’s Tower that will share the expense with the coalition and that our share is $2,049.81 for the cost of lighting . Bert moved to approve to quote presented and John seconded, motion passed unanimously.

Kristi Cooper presented resolution 2022-1 providing for chairman and vice-chairman of the board of commissioners, official county depositories, official county newspaper and County holidays, resolution 2022-2 Waive GAAP requirement and resolution 2022-3 authorizing participation in rural opportunity zone student repayment program for calendar year 2022. After review of the resolutions Bert moved to adopt the resolutions as presented and John seconded, motion passed unanimously.

Break called till 9:40

During Commissioner discussion Bert asked about a publication he saw regarding a foreclosure and mentioned Kiowa County, Chay informed that is due to delinquent taxes are against the property mentioned.

Meeting adjourned at 9:42.

Kiowa County Commissioners Meeting
December 30, 2021

John Bertram, David White, Bert Lowery(absent), Kristi Cooper, Chay Howard, Jay Schmidt, Matt Christenson, Karen Butler, DJ McMurry, Kerri Ulrich, Eric Buck and Jeff Blackburn attended the meeting.

Consent agenda included: Agenda, Payroll reports, Accounts Payable reports and Commissioner minutes of 12/20/2021.

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

Kristi Cooper presented a letter in absence of Shelly for a year end budget transfer for District Court in the amount of $6000 to be transferred to the special equipment fund that will go towards microfilming next year. John moved to approve the transfer and David seconded, motion passed unanimously.

Jay Schmidt came to present a payroll change for J McClain(seasonal position ended) for approval. John moved to approve the payroll change and David seconded, motion passed unanimously. Next, he gave some updates which included shoulder work on City Service, preparations for upcoming weather, landfill track loader updates on repairs, Belvidere cemetery road updates and removing some cottonwood trees around Wilmore.

DJ McMurry came to request a year end budget transfer out of the Appraisers fund to go into his special equipment fund in the amount of $9000 that will go towards GIS updates and arial photography. David moved to approve the transfer and John seconded, motion passed unanimously.

Kristi Cooper presented payroll changes for all county employees for the 4% Cost of Living increase that was pre-approved at the last meeting. David moved to approve the payroll changes as presented and John seconded, motion passed unanimously.

Break called till 9:23

Eric Buck came to request a year end budget transfer for Ambulance services to his special equipment fund in the amount of $20,433.87 to be used for purchasing power loading systems for ambulances, repairs on the Durango, batteries for the cots, uniforms, and future vehicle purchases. David moved to approve the transfer and John seconded, motion passed unanimously.

Kerri Ulrich came to discuss making some changes to her office by offering better testing options which would be to put in a walk-up window on the east side of the building and mentioned what the benefits this would be for the public and the staff. It was by consensus to get bids for the project and report back for approval. Next, she presented a new policy and procedures for BinaxNOW COVID-29 testing and went over the handout.

Matt Christenson came to present the updated pay plan to reflect the COLA they approved at the last meeting. After review of the changes, David moved to approve the changes as presented and John seconded, motion passed unanimously. Next, he presented a yearend budget transfer request for $10,000 for Emergency Management to go towards updating towers into his special equipment fund. John moved to approve the transfer and David seconded, motion passed unanimously. Last they discussed funds that could be used to go towards assisting the roof replacement at the round barn and after some discussion he suggested for those funds to come out of the commissioner’s fund since their fund always has extra funds at the end of the year that could be used. Discussion was tabled till the Kiowa County Historic Society can come to be part of the discussion.

Karen Butler came to request a yearend budget transfer in the amount of $10,000 from the Register of Deeds and be put into their special equipment fund for electronic updates. David moved to approve the transfer of funds and John seconded, motion passed unanimously.

During Commissioner discussion they revisited the topic of recruiting for the sheriff office.

Meeting adjourned at 10:47.

Kiowa County Commissioners Meeting
December 20, 2021

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

Consent agenda included: Agenda, Payroll reports, Accounts Payable reports and Commissioner minutes of 12/6/21.

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

John adjourned the regular meeting and called the Board of Health(BOH) meeting to session. Kerri Ulrich came to give updates for Public Health which included training exercises, jail nursing agreement with Sheriff office, health fair preparation starting in January, COVID-19 case totals, vaccine totals and working on a document regarding school quarantines guidelines with the school and medical director. John adjourned the BOH and called the regular meeting back to order. David requested a 10-minute executive session for non-elected personal to discuss personal matters regarding the health department at 9:27 and Bert seconded, motion passed unanimously. Regular session began at 9:37 with no action taken.

Norval Ralstin came to talk with the Commissioner’s about them assisting with the cost of replacing the roof at the round barn south of Mullinville and is requesting assistance from the County to help with the replacement of a new metal roof. David informed him that will discuss this and see if they could help with the funding.

Jay Schmidt came and presented updates for the Public Works Department which included concrete projects on 5th Ave is completed, engineers will be out to inspect the intersections north of Haviland regarding the signs, local safety plan discussed regard paining edge lines on the blacktops, install cattle guards on Belvidere road next week, received 2 JD tractors last week, track loader at the landfill final drive needs repairs and a rebuild on a 953C.

Matt Christenson came to request to transfer $7476.91 for IT equipment for the support agreement building control software into a Special Equipment fund and additional $5000 for workstations. He did explain that they had already approved the purchase of the IT equipment but that the company is unable to ship until next year and therefore he won’t be invoiced at that time. Bert moved to allow the transfer of $12,476.91from capital outlay in the courthouse general to be put into the special equipment fund and John seconded, motion passed unanimously. Next, he presented a quote from Building Control Systems(BCS) for support agreement in the amount of $4,700. Bert moved to approve the quote from BCS and John seconded, motion passed unanimously.
Next Matt requested to revisit the COLA discussion from last meeting. After much discussion David moved to approve a 4% COLA increase on all county employees for 2022 and John seconded, motion passed unanimously.

Chay Howard presented a resolution 2021-10 which elects Kiowa County to participate in the National Opioid Settlement. After review of the documents he provided, John moved to adopt the resolution as presented and Bert seconded, motion passed unanimously.

Break called till 11:52

Rhonda Fernandez came to give BCBS 2021 claim updates and insurance updates.

Kristi Cooper presented tax corrections for approval, after review of the corrections Bert moved to approve them as presented and John seconded, motion passed unanimously. Next she asked if they would allow the courthouse to close on December 23 at noon to give an extra day for the Christmas holiday and it was by consensus to close at noon.

During Commissioner discussion they discussed the round barn assistance and on call pay with the sheriff office,

Meeting adjourned at 11:41

Kiowa County Commissioners Meeting
December 6, 2021

John Bertram, David White, Bert Lowery, Kristi Cooper, Chay Howard, Jay Schmidt, Kendal Lothman and Matt Christenson attended the meeting.
Consent agenda included: Agenda and Commissioner minutes of 11/30/21.

After the pledge of allegiance, John opened the meeting at 9:00. Bert moved to approve the consent agenda as presented and David seconded, motion passed unanimously.

Jay Schmidt came and presented updates for the Public Works Department which included. City Service Road project complete by Heft and Sons, blading, building intersections and driveways back after the project is now completed, 15 grader tire quotes from Alliance Ag $12,990(Hercules tires), Greensburg Tire $18,007.50 (Michelin tires) and Commercial Tire Center $16,470 (Michelin tires). Jay informed them that while he was getting quotes that tires are hard to get in per some of the vendors and so after some discussion, they wanted to stay with Michelin tires and so it was consensus to go with Greensburg Tire if they can get the tires in that are needed.

Matt Christenson came to discuss COLA raises for all employees for 2022. He informed them the last COLA was December 2017. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for all urban consumers has increased by approximately 12.2% since the last COLA was applied to county employee wages. He gave a breakdown of different options from 3% to 12% and informed them the impacts that would be on the budgets. He asked them to discuss this in the next couple meetings and they could continue the discussion at the last meeting of the year if they would like to give a COLA this year to all the employees.

Kristi Cooper asked for clarification on chairman and vice chairman for resolution 2022-1 and after some discussion the new chairman will be David White and the vice chairman would be Bert Lowery. She informed them she would get the resolutions prepared for the first meeting in January.

Break called till 9:29

Chay Howard came to discuss the national opioid settlement and documents and presented resolutions that are required. He asks them to review the information he presented, and they will continue the discussion at the next meeting.

Jay came back to inform them that Greensburg Tire is unable to get the tires at this time and that the price would go up once they did get them in, so it was by consensus to get the 15 grader tires through Commercial Tire Center out of Salina since they are readily available to them.

Meeting adjourned at 10:00.