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C20080205                                                                                                     February 5, 2008

 

            The Board of County Commissioners met in regular session at 9:00 a.m. with all members and the County Clerk present.

 

            The monthly department head meeting was held with the following in attendance: Randy McCauley, Road Department Administrator; Don Button, Emergency Management Coordinator; J.D. Neufeld, Civic Center Building and Grounds Manager; David Graber, Transfer Station Manager; Jerry Jo Deckert, Emergency Medical Service Director; Tom Fuhrmann, Appraiser; Rita Gee, Treasurer; Anita Alvarado, Health Department Administrator; and Lynette Metcalf, Health Nurse.

 

            Carl Higgs made the motion to approve the minutes of the January 15 & 17, 2008 meetings and the claims against the various funds of the county. Madison Traster seconded the motion and following clarification of several vouchers, it passed unanimously.

 

            J. D. Neufeld, Civic Center Building and Grounds Manager, presented bills for power washer rental. Rental of the larger machine was $500.00 and rental of the smaller one was $600.00. He also presented an invoice for purchase of the smaller machine at a cost of $2,895.00. If the machine is purchased, the $600.00 rental fee will not apply. Carl Higgs made the motion to approve the purchase of the power washer from R-D Sales at a cost of $2,895.00. Madison Traster seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. The power washer will be paid from the equipment fund.

 

            Madison Traster made the motion to transfer $400,000.00 from the county building fund and $200,000.00 from the special equipment fund to the Municipal Investment Pool for the benefit of the care home project. Carl Higgs seconded the motion and it passed unanimously.

 

            Madison Traster made the motion to approve the purchase of a TIME IPS time clock system, which will be used by all county departments, at a cost of $5,741.72. Carl Higgs seconded the motion and it passed unanimously.

 

            Madison Traster made the motion to adopt Resolution No. 08-03 authorizing the issuance of $9,750,000 General Obligation Bonds for the hospital. Carl Higgs seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. Bids were received for selling the hospital bonds. Greg Wartman, Bank of Ulysses, attended this portion of the meeting. Discussion was held regarding local bank involvement in the bid process through Country Club Bank whose bid was slightly higher than the low bid. Mr. Wartman expressed his opinion as a taxpayer that a low bid is a low bid. Following discussion Madison Traster made the motion to approve the low bid of 3.372821% for the purchase of $9,750,000 principal amount of General Obligation Bonds from UMB Bank. Carl Higgs seconded the motion and it passed unanimously.

 

            Randy McCauley, Road Department Administrator, requested approval to upgrade the surveyor’s computer. Carl Higgs made the motion to approve the quote from Vectors, Inc. to upgrade the Trimble Geomatics Office from 1.50 to 1.6+ at a cost of $995.00. Madison Traster seconded the motion and it passed. Mr. McCauley reported that bridge inspections have been completed and all bridges passed. Discussion was held on asphalt needs for 2008. Madison Traster made the motion to approve the payment of damages to Arlin Alexander regarding Road W work. Carl Higgs seconded the motion and it passed unanimously.

 

            The commissioners recessed for lunch with the Care Home Board at Park View Assisted Living. Those attending from the Care Home and Assisted Living were: Marsha Flummerfelt, Assisted Living Manager; Billie Upshaw, Care Home Administrator; Alicia Beims, Director of Nurses; and Board Members, Pam Gindlesberger, Kent Carmichael, Julia Traster and Larry Rumburg. The Care Home Administrator and Director of Nurses talked about the difficulty in finding help. General discussion was held.

 

            LaVonne Michael, Senior Citizen Director, presented an estimate for converting the old care home to a senior center. The total estimated remodel cost is $2,056,600. Commissioner Traster asked if the Senior Citizens would be able to contribute money toward the cost. Mrs. Michael said they probably have around $170,000 that could be used. The commissioners asked Mrs. Michael to see if the architect can come to their next meeting.

 

            Jerry Jo Deckert, EMS Director, presented information on replacing cell phones in her department. Carl Higgs made the motion to approve the purchase of cell phones from Alltel at an estimated cost of $625.00 and Vostro 200 Slim Tower computer from Dell at a cost of $489.00. Madison Traster seconded the motion and it passed unanimously.

 

            Robin Hathaway, County Attorney, presented a request to purchase 2 car cameras at a cost of about $5,000 each. One will be for the city police department and one for the county’s sheriff department. Madison Traster made the motion to approve the purchase of 2 Watch Guard cameras at a cost of $10,000. Carl Higgs seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. Ms. Hathaway requested the county purchase a pair of binoculars for Kansas Wildlife and Parks. Carl Higgs made the motion to approve the purchase of binoculars costing $1,275.00. Madison Traster seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. Ms. Hathaway presented a request from the Kansas Highway Patrol for a scope camera. Marty Long made the motion to approve the purchase of the fiber scope camera for the Kansas Highway Patrol at a cost of $7,603.00. Carl Higgs seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. All items presented by Ms. Hathaway will be purchased with diversion fund money.

 

            Marty Long made the motion to recess into executive session for 6 minutes for the purpose of discussing land acquisition. Carl Higgs seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. After 6 minutes the meeting continued in open session.

 

            Madison Traster made the motion to recess into executive session for 15 minutes for the purpose of discussing financial matters pertaining to the county. Carl Higgs seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. After 15 minutes the meeting continued in open session.

 

            Don Button, Emergency Management Coordinator, requested approval to replace 2 computers in his department. One will be to run the community information channel on television and the other will be his computer. He plans to use the administrative money he received from FEMA following the ice storm. Carl Higgs made the motion to purchase the computers with FEMA Administration money at a total cost of $3500.00 from the Computer Alchemist. Madison Traster seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. Mr. Button gave an update on his department. Discussion was held on warning sirens.

 

            Marty Long made motion to recess into executive session for 40 minutes to do non-elected personnel employee evaluations. Carl Higgs seconded the motion and it passed. After 40 minutes the meeting continued in open session.

 

            The commissioners adjourned to meet again in regular session on February 19, 2008.

 

______________________________                                    ______________________________

Linda McHenry, County Clerk                                      Marty Long, Chairman