C20090217 February
17, 2009
The Board of County Commissioners met in
regular session at 9:00 a.m. with all members and the County Clerk present.
A conference call was held with Morton,
Stanton and Stevens Counties regarding WEKANDO business. The commissioners
recessed into executive session for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes the
commissioners continued in open session and then recessed into executive
session for 15 additional minutes. After 15 minutes the meeting continued in
open session and WEKANDO completed their business meeting.
Marty Long made the motion to approve the
minutes of the February 3, 2009 meeting and the claims against the various
funds of the county. Madison Traster seconded the motion and it passed
unanimously.
Randy McCauley, Road Department
Administrator, presented two road-crossing permits which were reviewed and
approved by the commissioners. Mr. McCauley reported the cost to white line and
center stripe the county’s paved roads would be $700/mile. He also said the average
daily vehicle count over a 3 day period on the 7 mile road was 232 vehicles a
day. Striping is not required unless the vehicle count is 4,000 per day. Additionally,
regulations state that once the county stripes a road, it is required to stripe
the road from then on. The unanimous decision was made that striping would not
be done. The process for purchasing fuel for the road department was discussed.
The decision was made to continue the current practice of taking bids from the
local distributors when fuel is needed. At the present time there are two
distributors operating in Grant County.
Madison Traster made the motion to recess
into executive session for 15 minutes for the purpose of discussing possible land
acquisition. Marty Long seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. After 15
minutes the meeting continued in open session.
Marty Long made the motion to approve an
agreement for services with Bucher, Willis & Ratliff Corporation for
improvements to the Ulysses Airport at a cost not to exceed $3,650.00. Madison
Traster seconded the motion and it passed unanimously.
J.D. Neufeld, Civic Center Manager,
presented two bids for spraying county grounds. Marty Long made the motion to
accept the low bid of $2,895.00 from K & K Lawn Care. Madison Traster
seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. Marty Long made the motion to
recess into executive session for 5 minutes to discuss non-elected personnel.
Madison Traster seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. After 5 minutes
the meeting continued in open session.
The commissioners adopted a Statement of
Support for the National Guard and Reserve. The statement will be posted in the
courthouse.
Linda McHenry, County Clerk, briefly
explained needs the U.S. Census Bureau has for the 2010 Census. The
commissioners gave their approval to provide space at the Civic Center for the
Census Bureau to test job applicants and train new employees for census work at
no cost, if necessary.
The commissioners recessed for lunch with
the City of Ulysses at Park View Assisted Living. General discussion was held. After
lunch, there being nothing on the agenda until 5:30 p.m., the commissioners
recessed until that time.
At 5:30 the commissioners reconvened with
City Council Members, Ann Papay, John Battin, Ed Wiltse, John Duran, Pete Woods
and Scott Malone in attendance. Mayor Thadd Kistler, City Manager, Daron Hall,
City Attorney, David Black, and City Clerk, Mary Smith, also attended the
meeting. Members from the public in attendance were: Rita Gee, Treasurer; Mary
K. Sullivan, Register of Deeds; Lance Babcock, Sheriff; Sheila Brown, Deputy
Clerk; and Steve Alford, concerned citizen. Discussion was held on the
possibility of city/county unification. Everyone attending had an opportunity
to express their thoughts on the matter. Discussion was held on Senate Bill 75
which gives guidelines and permits counties to pursue unification without
special legislation. The decision was made that no one would travel to Topeka
to testify for the bill. It was the consensus of all in attendance that the
matter should be investigated by appointing a board for this purpose. City
Council Members and the County Commissioners will take some time to think about
who they would like to appoint to the board. Council Member Scott Malone
recommended someone be hired to work with the board on this project. A meeting
will be held at a later date to formalize plans for the board.
The commissioners adjourned to meet again in
regular session at 9:00 a.m. on March 3, 2009.
______________________________ ______ _____________________
Linda McHenry, County Clerk Carl
Higgs, Chairman