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