Commissioner Minutes

Meeting held at the County Community Center Building

March 15, 2021

John Bertram, David White, Bert Lowery, Kristi Cooper, Chay Howard, Jay Schmidt, Kerri Ulrich, Morgan Allison, Rhonda Fernandez, Michael Rainger and Jeff Blackburn attended the meeting.

Consent agenda included: Agenda, Payroll reports, Accounts Payable reports and Commissioner minutes of 03/01/21.

After prayer and the pledge of allegiance. John Bertram opened the meeting at 9:00. John moved to approve the consent agenda as presented and David seconded, motion carried 3-0.

John adjourned the regular meeting at 9:01 and the called the Board of Health(BOH) meeting to order. Kerri Ulrich, County Health officer came to give updates which included Payroll change P Pearson, last POD until KDHE moves into Phase 3, State formula grant, Immunization Action Plan, Public Health Emergency Preparedness grant, KDHE ELC Covid-19 infrastructure expansion grant, mask mandate changes and health fair announcement date. John adjourned the BOH meeting to order and called the regular Commissioner meeting to order. Kerri presented payroll change for P Pearson for approval. Bert moved to approve the change as presented and John seconded, motion carried. Grant applications in the amount of $131,224 were presented for signatures after review. John moved to approve the grant applications and Bert seconded, motion carried 3-0. Last they discussed the mask mandate and it was by consensus to lift the mandate. Kristi will search of the Resolution number to repeal and discuss this later in the meeting under commissioner discussion.

Jay Schmidt came to give updates for the public works departments which included; new grader lease with Foley Equipment, road maintenance updates, possible dairy farm, Cat truck repair, road issues and concerns from a use of county right away project and payroll change for D Maas(6-month) and W Burnham(6-month). Jay Wade with Foley Equipment came to discuss a new grader lease for 2021 140-15AWJ Motor Grader. After discussion on leasing options Bert moves to approve the lease in the total amount of $324,244.38 for 7 years with lease payments in the amount of $38,160.43 and John seconded, motion carried 3-0 Next After review of the payroll change Bert moved to accept the change and John seconded, motion carried 3-0. Bert moved to approve the payroll changes as presented and David seconded, motion carried 3-0.

Morgan Allison came to give some updates for Kiowa County Memorial Hospital(KCMH) which included how they are handling the mask mandate and in-house policy’s, Haviland clinic operations and finishing up the transition on management of the hospital changes.

Clay Parkin came to present payroll changes for J Rugg(merit), S Kost(6-month) and M Tedder(6-month) for approval. Bert moved to approve the changes as presented and David seconded, motion carried 3-0.

Michael Rainger came to request a 15-minute executive session so he can present a demonstration of his sole proprietorship’s Proprietary Software Application that is not public and contains trade secrets. Bert moved to go into executive session regarding data relating to the financial matter or trade secrets of a sole proprietorship at 10:00 and John seconded, motion carried 3-0. Regular session began at 10:15. Dave moved to release energy usage data on County facilities from the City of Greensburg and John seconded, motion carried 3-0.

Rhonda Fernandez came to give Employee Benefits review from July 2020 through February 2021.

During Commissioner discussion they continued the discussion for the mask mandate. Kristi informed them that they would need to repeal Resolution 2020-19 to end the County mask mandate. John moved to repeal Resolution 2020-19 and Bert seconded motion carried 3-0. Next Chay presented the Drug testing policy 709 for review. He explained the changes which included who would still be subject to be tested for pre-employment and random testing. He asked them to review the policy and they would continue the discussion at the next meeting.

Meeting adjourned at 11:16.

Download Minutes

Meeting held at the County Community Center Building

March 1, 2021

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

Consent agenda included: Agenda and Commissioner minutes of 02/26/21.

After prayer and the pledge of allegiance. David White opened the meeting at 9:00. Bert moved to approve the consent agenda as presented and David seconded, motion carried 2-0.

Jay Schmidt came to give updates for the Public Works departments which included; payroll change K Koehn(merit), exchange of State and Federal funds in the amount of $53,914.89. cattle guard cleanouts, trimming of trees, recycling grain bags, new motor grater leases. Bert moved to approve the payroll change and David seconded, motion carried 2-0. David moved to accept the exchange of federal funds in the amount of $48,523.40 and Bert seconded, motion carried 3-0.

Rosa Hettinger came to continue the discussion on purchasing a new transfer truck and presented a replacement schedule for equipment and vehicles per David’s request. Next, they moved into the discussion of allocating funds from the Special Equipment to go towards the purchase of a new transfer truck. After some more discussion, Bert moved to allow $30,000 from the Special Equipment fund to go towards the purchase and David seconded, motion carried 3-0. It was by consensus for her to not pay it back and will allow her to transfer funds at the end of 2021 for future purchases.

Matt Christenson came to present quotes for security cameras at the courthouse. He broke it down for just the equipment which is B&H $5,855.57 and SHI $6,291.09. Then quotes for the company to come install would be from CDS $12,322.59, C&C Group $19,200.00 and $22,202.95. He explained that he would recommend the County perform an in-house installation of the new security camera solution at the Courthouse to help lower costs and that he would recommend purchasing cameras and storage drives through B&H and the workstation that serves as the NVR be purchased through SHI in the amount of $5855.57 with a combination of the two vendors. He also added that the Sheriff office is looking into upgrading their security system and that we could utilize the old cameras which would save us some money as well. After some discussion David moved to combine the purchase from B&H and SHI in the amount of $5855.57 and reuse the old Sheriff Office cameras and Bert seconded, motion carried 3-0. Next, they discussed the sound system he set up for a demo and working on getting bid requests regrading sealing of the Commons, masonry quotes on Mullinville library and leasing space at the City building in Mullinville.

Break called till 9:58.

John moved to go into executive session for non-elected personnel at 10:00 for 20 minutes for employee relations to discuss performance evaluation and wage compensation with Matt Christenson and David seconded motion 3-0. Regular session began at 10:20 with no action taken.

John moved to go into executive session for non-elected personnel at 10:20 for 20 minutes for employee relation to discuss performance evaluation and wage compensation with Jay Schmidt and Bert seconded motion carried 3-0. Regular session began at 10:40 with no action taken.

John moved to go into executive session for non-elected personnel at 10:40 for employee relations to discuss performance evaluation and wage compensation with Kerri Ulrich and David seconded, motion carried 3-0. Regular session began at 11:00 with no action taken.

During Commissioner discussion Kristi presented minutes for signatures and clarification on employer KPERS contribution rates for working after retirement employees.

Meeting adjourned at 11:16.

Download Minutes

Meeting held at the County Community Center Building

February 26, 2021

John Bertram, David White, Bert Lowery, Kristi Cooper, Chay Howard, Kerri Ulrich, Mindy Heinson, Michael Ranger, Brenda Osborne and Matt Christenson attended the meeting.

Consent agenda included: Agenda, Payroll reports, Accounts Payable reports and Commissioner minutes of 01/16/21.

After the pledge of allegiance, John opened the meeting at 9:00. Bert moved to approve the consent agenda as presented and John seconded, motion carried 3-0.

Mindy Heinson came to discuss some updates at the Extension office which included Wade leaving and that they would be replacing him once the hiring freeze from the state is lifted.

Kristi Cooper presented tax corrections for approval, after review Bert moved to approve them as presented and John seconded, motion carried 3-0. Next, she presented policy 305 for Bereavement leave and explained they no longer needed this policy because they combined this to be included under the PTO accrual and that they had missed dissolving this policy when they changed the new PTO policy. Bert moved to dissolve Policy 305 and David seconded, motion carried 3-0.

Matt Christenson came to discuss the library building in Mullinville and reported there are major concerns to the exterior of the building such as there are cracks in the mortar and bricks missing. And after inspecting the building that there is no insulation which caused the pipes to freeze last week. He did mention he would get quotes on repairs but suggested that he talk with the City of Mullinville in utilizing one of the spaces in the city hall. He will work on that and report back. Next, he discussed options for a sound system for the community center which included purchasing the equipment outright or renting the equipment through the Media Center. It was by consensus to look into using the equipment from the media center before they commit to purchasing the equipment. Matt will get with Grant and report back with an agreement. Last David asked about the Commons building and matt reported they are still looking into it but hasn’t found anything but he is still waiting for the adjuster to come out since he wasn’t able to come out last week and that he would probably look at getting a quote to seal the south and west side of the library portion of the building.

Kerri Ulrich came to present a payroll change for C Stokes (separation) and Jerry Swartz(separation) for approval. After review of the payroll change Bert moved to approve the changes as presented and John seconded, motion carried 3-0. Next, they discussed the mask mandate, but no action was taken.

Break called till 9:56

Michael Ranger came to give a brief update on Brighter Communities 501c and asked if they would all sit down with him and so he could visit with them individually about his company. Kristi will forward his information the Commissioners per his request.

Brenda Osborne came to discuss the postage machine lease with Pitney Bowes and explained the lease is up in April and so she has got 3 quotes from Midwest Single Source in the amount of $13,825.20, Midwest Connect for $14,400 and Pitney Bowes for $16,007.40. After reviewing the quotes Bert carried 3-0. Brenda presented the lease for signatures by John.

Kristi Cooper presented payroll and account payable reports to be signed. Next, she presented policy 504 for use of Equipment and Vehicles per Bert request for discussion. She advised them that currently if an employee is involved in an accident it is up to the supervisor’s discretion to have them take a drug or alcohol test, but it was by consensus to change it to that it will be mandatory anytime there is an accident involving an employee operating equipment or vehicle. Chay will draw up a revised policy.

During Commissioner discussion they discussed the following; handling tarps at the landfill, city of Belvidere city water, use of county right-a-ways, supervisors’ executive sessions and insurance coverage limits, streaming of meetings and tax sale. Kristi asked if it would be possible to mute breaks and executive sessions, so that there would only be one recording of the meeting, so viewers wouldn’t have to look for all the different recordings. Bert moved to mute the meeting on breaks and executive sessions and John seconded, motion carried 3-0.

Meeting adjourned at 11:29.

Download Minutes

Meeting held at the County Community Center Building

February 16, 2021

John Bertram, David White, Bert Lowery, Kristi Cooper, Chay Howard, Kerri Ulrich, Jay Schmidt, Dee J McMurry, Rosa Hettinger, Bruce Foster, Morgan Allison, Susan Page, Kendal Lothman, Matt Christenson and Kelly Askew attended the meeting.

Consent agenda included: Agenda and Commissioner minutes of 01/06/21.

After the pledge of allegiance, John opened the meeting at 9:00. Bert moved to approve the consent agenda as presented and John seconded, motion carried 3-0.

John adjourned the regular meeting at 9:02 and the called the Board of Health(BOH) meeting to order. Kerri Ulrich, County Health officer came to give updates which included downward trend in cases, Covid clinic schedules, doses administered to date, change from KDHE regarding quarantine after they receive their second dose and survey results from the PODs. John adjourned the BOH and called the regular meeting to order. John moved to go into executive session for 10 minutes to discuss employee relations for non-elected personnel at 9:15 and Bert seconded, motion, carried 3-0. Regular session began at 9:25 with no action taken.

Jay Schmidt came to give updates for the public works departments which included road maintenance updates, M23 brake recall and payroll change for R Lothman(merit). After review of the payroll change Bert moved to accept the change and John seconded, motion carried 3-0. Bruce Foster came to present the annual noxious weed report for signatures.

Rosa Hettinger came to continue the discussion on purchasing a new ambulance and where the funds could be used from. David asks if she had a vehicle and equipment replacement schedule and she explained that it is hard for her to do that due to the use of the other ambulances. She explained the replacement of the monitors were not planned due to a recall which forced them to purchase new monitors. They discussed options of usable funds to go towards the purchase. USD 474 will allow them to store the ambulance in their school garage since they had to find a new location due to a new fire truck for the current station the truck is in. She will put a list of replacement equipment and report back at the next meeting.

Break called for 5 minutes till 10:04.

Dee J McMurry came to discuss how tax corrections are established and how he makes those changes and how they are processed.

Kelly Askew came to introduce herself as the new librarian for Kiowa County and wanted to inform them of a new leak in the building that cause some damages to the interior wall and books. Matt reported that an adjuster will be out tomorrow to look at the damages and mitigate from future damages. He will report back when he knows more on the situation from the adjuster.

Matt Christenson came to discuss changes to the pay plan and went of the changes with the commissioners which included removing the cap on the pay ranges, changes from a percentage raise to a flat rate raise. David asked about the maintenance agreement they pay to Foley. Matt informed them that he is getting a different quote.

Kendal Lothman came to give updates for the Sheriff office which included updates to the water systems in the Sheriff office and payroll change for R Tedder. After review of the payroll change, John moved to approve the change as presented and Bert seconded, motion carried 3-0. Next, he presented quotes from BestWater for SWK for a reverse osmosis system in the amount of $3675 and water softener system in the amount of $4875. He explained that they have had issues with hard water which has caused multiple issues in the building and that this would eliminate future issues. Also added that he would be leasing a new dishwasher which includes all chemicals and maintenance would be included in the lease since the old one was taken out, but he would come back when the get these two systems installed for approval of a lease dishwasher. Bert moved to approve the quotes from BestWater to come out of the Special Equipment and John seconded, motion carried 3-0. Last he wanted to inform them that Ray is working on getting a heater proposal at the head house since they had issues with the fire repeater on the S.O tower.

Break called till 11:19.

Kristi Cooper presented signature cards for Haviland State Bank and Peoples Bank for the Commissioners to sign. Also presented was payroll and account payable reports to be signed as well. Next, she advised them their next meeting will be February 26th.

David requests a 15-minute executive session for non-elected to discuss employee relations regarding wages and John seconded, motion carried 3-0. Regular session began at 11:39 with no action taken. Dave moved to go back into executive session for non-elected personnel to discuss employee relations for 10 minutes and Bert seconded, motion carried 3-0. Regular session began at 11:49 with no action taken.

Meeting adjourned at 11:50.

Download Minutes

John Bertram, David White, Bert Lowery, Kristi Cooper, Karen Butler and Chay Howard attended the meeting.

Consent agenda included: Agenda and Commissioner minutes of 01/29/21.

After the pledge of allegiance John Bertram opened the meeting at 9:00. Bert moved to approve the consent agenda with additions as presented and John seconded, motion carried 3-0.

Jay Schmidt came to give updates for the Public Works departments which included; payroll change J Williams(merit), mining safety class coming up for CDL licenses, road maintenance, employee status.

Michael Rainger came to give an introduction of his business for Eco friendly technology called Brighter Communities to help with energy savings and gave a quick overview of what he does.

Break till 9:24. John called the meeting back to order.

Kerri Ulrich came to give updates for COVID-19 which included; vaccines, distribution of the vaccines, POD(point of distribution) vaccine clinic. John adjourned the BOH and called the regular meeting to order.

Matt Christenson came to give updates which included; IT improvements, update to courthouse security cameras, update to the overall network core switch update for the courthouse and sheriff office and firewall update. He will report back with more firm numbers once those come in.

Break called till 10:03

Kristi Cooper presented payroll change for J Williams(merit) for approval. Bert moved to approve the payroll change as presented and David seconded, motion carried 3-0. Next, she presented reports for a special AP for truck fires from War time finds in the amount of $5900 for approval, Bert moved to approve the AP reports and David seconded, motion carried 3-0. Last she presented the signature cards for the banks to collect all the signatures of the authorized signers on the County accounts. Next meeting will be held on February 16th and that the Courthouse will be closed on the February 15th in observance of Presidents Day.

Chay Howard requests an executive session for non-elected personnel to discuss attorney client privileges for 5 minutes. Bert moved to go into executive session as stated above to include Chay and Kristi at 10:15 and David seconded, motion carried 3-0. Regular session 10:20 with no action taken.

During Commissioner discussion David wanted to discuss purchasing speakers for the Community center due to the facility being used for weddings, meetings and 4-H that could be rented. Next, David request an executive session for non-elected personnel to discuss employee relations at 10:34 and John seconded, motion carried 3-0. Regular session began with no action taken. David requested another 20-minute employee relations for non-elected personal for employee performance at 10:36 and Bert seconded, motion carried 3-0. Regular session began at 10:56 with no action taken. They request to have the hourly supervisors to come at the first meeting in March to discuss wages and possible merit increase. They tabled the discussion on Elected official raises until after they meet with the other supervisors in March.

Meeting adjourned at 11:16.

Download Minutes

John Bertram(absent), David White, Bert Lowery, Kristi Cooper, Karen Butler and Chay Howard attended the meeting.

Consent agenda included: Agenda, Payroll reports, Accounts Payable reports and Commissioner minutes of 01/19/21.

After prayer given by Tony Factor and the pledge of allegiance David White opened the meeting at 9:00 in John Bertram’s absence. Bert moved to approve the consent agenda with the corrections to the agenda as presented and David seconded, motion carried 2-0. Bert moved to approve the payroll and AP as presented and David seconded, motion carried 2-0. David moved to accept the minutes of 1/19 and Bert seconded, motion carried 2-0.

Karen Butler came to discuss the purchasing of 3 books for the Register of Deeds in the amount of $2474 which will come out of the tech fund. Bert moved to approve the purchase of the books and David seconded, motion carried 2-0. Bert asked how long do these books last and Karen informed them that since she has been in office since 2012 that she hasn’t had to purchase any till now.

Kristi Cooper presented payroll changes for R Walker(separation) for approval. After review of the pay change Bert moved to approve the change as presented and David seconded, motion carried 2-0. Next, she presented tax corrections for approval. After review of the corrections Bert moved to approve the tax corrections and David seconded, motion carried 2-0. David asked to have someone from the appraiser office to present these in the future for any questions they may have. Kristi will let them know.

David White moved to go into executive session for non-elected personnel to discuss employee relations for 15 minutes at 9:17 to include the Kristi and Chay and Bert seconded, motion carried 2-0. Regular session began at 9:32 with no action taken. Bert Lowery moved to go back into an executive session for 15 more minutes at 9:33 to discuss employee relations for non-elected personnel and Bert seconded, motion carried 2-0. Regular session began at 9:48 with no action taken.

During Commissioner discussion they discussed the following; use of County right away policies, business insurance coverages and health insurance premiums.

Meeting adjourned at 10:23.

Download Minutes

Meeting held at the County Community Center Building

January 19, 2021

John Bertram, David White, Bert Lowery, Kristi Cooper, Chay Howard, Kerri Ulrich, Jay Schmidt, Ron Freeman, Susan Page, Morgan Allison, Grant Neuhold, Cody Sherer, Kendal Lothman and Clay Parkin attended the meeting.

Consent agenda included: Agenda and Commissioner minutes of 01/06/21.

After prayer given by Tony Factor, John opened the meeting at 9:00. Bert moved to approve the consent agenda as presented and David seconded, motion carried 3-0.

John adjourned the regular meeting at 9:02 and the called the Board of Health(BOH) meeting to order. Kerri Ulrich, County Health officer came to give updates which included; B.1.7 variant strain, vaccine rollout plan, phase 2 to rollout at the end of January/beginning of February, continuing the mask mandate to stay in place till the end of May, $5000 grant received from Sunflower for salary support for staff and contract trace, 2020 account write off accounts, CPR training scheduled on January 28th. John adjourned the BOH and called the regular meeting to order. John moved to discontinue the mask madidate, motion died to no second.

Jay Schmidt came to give updates for the public works departments which included; road maintenance updates, shoulder work on Brenham blacktop and payroll change for R Hohl (new hire). After review of the payroll change Bert moved to accept the change and John seconded, motion carried 3-0.

Susan Page and Morgan Allison came to introduce themselves and start an open line of communication with the hospital and board of Commissioners. They will come on a monthly basis as they move forward with the transition.

Grant Neuhold came to discuss a board appointment for the Economic Development board. He asked them to appoint Kristy Zenger to the board. David moved to approve the appointment and Bert seconded, motion carried 3-0.

Cody Sherer came to discuss fitting truck #542 with a new bed. He explained he received 2 quotes from Emergency Fire Equipment in the amount of $49,109.77 and Weis Fire & Safety Equipment in the amount of $58,000, tire quote from War Time Finds for 4 tires in the amount of $5900. Bert moved to approve the purchase from Emergency Fire Equipment and John seconded, motion carried 3-0. Next, he asked for approval of the tires and explained he was only able to get one quote due to the type of vehicle it goes on. Bert moved to approve the purchase of the tires and John seconded, motion carried 3-0.

Kerri Ulrich came back to present a payroll change for J Swart(wage change) for approval. John moved to approve the payroll change as presented and Bert seconded, motion carried 3-0.

After break John called the meeting back to order at 10:00.

Kristi Cooper presented payroll changes for S McVey(merit) and C Erickson(separation) for approval. After review of the payroll changes Bert moved to approve them as presented and David seconded motion carried 3-0.

Bert Lowery moved to go into executive session for non-elected personnel to discuss employee relations for 15 minutes at 10:06 to include Kristi and Ron Freeman and David seconded, motion carried 3-0. Regular session began at 10:21 with no action taken. David moved to go back into executive session for 10 more minutes at 10:22 to discuss non-elected employee personnel and Bert seconded, motion carried 3-0. Regular session began at 10:32 with no action taken.

Kendal Lothman came to give updates for the Sheriff office which included vehicles and employees. Also gave an update on the situation regarding Deputy Jeremy Rodriguez and informed them that he has been put on unpaid administrative leave.

Meeting adjourned at 10:54.

Download Minutes

Kiowa County Community Center

January 4, 2021

Ronald Freeman, John Bertram, Bert Lowery, Chay Howard, Kristi Cooper and David White attended the meeting.

Consent agenda included: Agenda and commissioner minutes of 12/30

After the pledge of allegiance, Ron opened the meeting at 9:00. John moved to approve the consent agenda as presented and Ron seconded, motion carried 3-0.

Kristi Cooper presented a resolution 2021-1 and 2021-2 for approval. Bert moved to adopt resolutions as presented and John seconded, motion carried 3-0. Next, she presented payroll changes for C Parkin(department change) and S Beltz(merit) for approval. John moved to approve the payroll changes as presented and Bert seconded, motion carried 3-0. The next meeting will be on January 19th she informed them due to being closed to observe Martin Luther King Day.

During Commissioner discussion John presented a plaque to Ron for his 12 years of service as County Commissioner.

Meeting adjourned at 9:10

Download Minutes

Kiowa County Community Center

December 30, 2020

Ronald Freeman, John Bertram Bert Lowery(absent), Kristi Cooper, Jay Schmidt, Jeff Blackburn, Shelly Wadel, David White and Rosa Hettinger attended the meeting.

Consent agenda included: Agenda and commissioner minutes of 12/21

After the prayer given by Jeff Blackburn, Ron opened the meeting at 9:00. John moved to approve the consent agenda as presented and Ron seconded, motion carried 2-0.

Jay Schmidt came to give updates for public works departments which included; speed limit signs posted on South Oak and Mockingbird lane, 100 cutting edges for graders quotes from Welborn $13,676 Foley $13,646 and Byram Blades $14,700, paying for the new dodge pickup to Lopp Motors. After some discussion on the blades it was by consensus to try to keep the business local and buy them from Bryam Blades in the amount of $14,700. Next, John moved to post 4 30 mph signs on the two roads mentioned and Ron seconded, motion carried 2-0. Last it was by consensus to go ahead and pay for the truck from Lopp Motors.

Shelly Wadel came to request to transfer $6000 from the District Court budget to go into the Special Equipment fund for District Court for microfilming. Ron moved to allow the transfer and John seconded, motion carried 2-0.

Rosa Hettinger came to discuss year end transfer in the amount of $23,194.51 to the Ambulance Special Equipment fund. John moved to approve the transfer and Ron seconded, motion carried 2-0.

Kristi Cooper presented an appointment letter for the Council on Aging board for appointment for Harry Koehn. John moved to appoint Harry Koehn to the Council on Aging board and Ron seconded, motion carried 2-0. She also requested them to allow a transfer $10,000 from the Community Center fund into the Special Equipment fund for the Community Center that would go towards the purchase of tables and chairs. And informed them that this transfer is separate from the one Matt requested at the last meeting. Ron moved to allow to transfer and John seconded, motion carried 2-0. Next, she requested a transfer from the Election budget of $15,000 to go into the Special Equipment fund to be used for election equipment such as new electronic poll pads. John moved to allow $15,000 and Ron seconded, motion carried 2-0. Last she presented payroll changes for A Taylor(merit), R Freeman(separation), C Tedder(separation), K Lothman(new hire) and D White(new hire) for approval. She explained the elected payroll changes would be effective January 11th. After review of the payroll changes Ron moved to approve them as presented and John seconded, motion carried 2-0.

During Commissioner discussion they discussed a purchase of a camera and after looking into the vouchers, Kristi explained that it was for the camera that they purchased from the Kiowa County Media Center that they currently use and that there was a delay in the invoice from them. Also, they discussed looking into microphones so the audience that is watching the stream can hear since they had concerns of people saying that they could not hear the meetings very well. Kristi will reach out to Grant and report back.

Meeting adjourned at 9:42

Download Minutes

Kiowa County Community Center

December 21, 2020

Ronald Freeman, John Bertram Bert Lowery, Kristi Cooper, Chay Howard, Jay Schmidt, Kerri Ulrich, Jeff Blackburn and Matt Christenson and Rhonda Fernandez attended the meeting.

Consent agenda included: Agenda and commissioner minutes of 12/07

After the prayer given by Jeff Blackburn, Ron opened the meeting at 9:00. Bert moved to approve the consent agenda as presented and John seconded, motion carried 2-0.

Ron adjourned the regular meeting and called the BOH meeting to order. Kerri Ulrich came to discuss updates for Board of Health(BOH) which included; COVID case totals, copy of the antibody testing procedure, vaccine arriving in the next couple weeks, explained the difference in the vaccines for Pfizer and Moderna, payroll changes N Zadina & P Fuller(merit). Ron adjourned the BOH and called the regular meeting to order. After review of the payroll changes Bert moved to approve the payroll changes as presented and John seconded, motion carried 3-0.

Jay Schmidt came to give updates for public works departments which included; lease agreement for signatures on the new 2021 Caterpillar 140-15AWD motor grader, encumber funds from R&B fund and move the funds into the Special R&B equipment fund in the amount of $145,000 to pay for lease agreement on the M-29 grader payments. Bert moved to approve the encumbrance of funds and John seconded, motion carried 3-0.

Matt Christenson came to discuss transfer of funds in the amount of $4179.64 from the Community Center fund to go towards repairs to the generator at the Community Center. Bert moved to approve the transfer and John seconded, motion carried 3-0. Next, he requests to transfer $25,000 from Courthouse General to the General Special equipment fund to go towards the purchase of a different used truck for maintenance. John moved to approve the transfer and Bert seconded, motion carried 3-0.

Kristi Cooper presented payroll changes for J Scarbrough(separation), T Neill(merit), C McElroy(merit) for approval. After review of the payroll changes Ron moved to approve them as presented and John seconded, motion carried 3-0. Next, she presented a voucher from Decker Electric and explained that the District Court will be getting some updates to their audio system and that they will be paid with Cares Act funds that they received from the state, but the county will pay for the service upfront and be reimbursed. This project must be completed by the end of the year to be eligible for reimbursement from the state. Bert moved to approve voucher as presented and John seconded, motion carried 3-0. She will run a special AP and bring the reports to the next meeting. Last she wanted to discuss the employer paid leave regarding the Families first Coronavirus response act. She explained currently when an employee is quarantined, they are paid 100% of their wages up to a 2-week period for 80 hours and that this ends on December 31st and asks what they would like to do moving forward. After some discussion John moved to pay any employee who is quarantined 100% of their wages up to 2-week period for 80 hours per occurrence and Ron seconded, motion carried 3-0.

Matt Christenson came to discuss final distribution of the spark grant. Krista was present for the discussion regarding the funds that was allocated for the Sheriff office. He explained that expense would not be covered in the Cares Act funds due to the project would not be completed in the year we received the funds and that they would have to pay for that out of their regular budget. The funds that was allocated was $9997 and those funds have now been allocated to USD 422 to help with COVID related expenses.

Break called till 10:06

Rhonda Fernandez came to give a review of 2020 BlueCross & BlueShield reports.

John left the meeting.

Break called till 11 till County Attorney could arrive.

Chay Howard presented a letter he had received from the attorney for hospital board of trustees regarding the ambulance service agreement again, so Ron was aware of what was going on with the transition for a consent letter to assign the existing agreement for the ambulance service over to the Kiowa County Memorial Hospital. Next, he presented a resolution 2020-20 regarding two properties owned by Great Plains that will be conveyed to the county to be held for use by the hospital. Bert moved to adopt Resolution 2020-21 and Ron seconded, motion carried 2-0. Next, he requested an executive session for 15 sessions for non-elected personal regarding employee relations. Bert moved to go into executive session and Ron seconded, motion carried 2-0. Regular session began at 11:27 with no action taken. Bert moved to go back in for another 10 minutes and Ron seconded, motion carried 2-0. Regular session began at 11:37 no action taken. Bert requested to go back in for another 10 minutes for non-elected personnel and Ron seconded, motion carried 2-0. Regular session began at 11:47 with no action taken.

During Commissioner discussion there was no topics discussed.

Meeting adjourned at 11:51

Download Minutes