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C20080902                                                                                                     September 2, 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: Rita Gee, Treasurer; Jerry Jo Deckert, EMS Director; Randy McCauley, Road Department Administrator; J.D. Neufeld, Civic Center Manager; Mary K. Sullivan, Register of Deeds; Don Button, Emergency Management Coordinator; and Todd Hampton, City/County Building Official.

 

            Carl Higgs made the motion to approve the minutes of the August 19, 2008 meeting and the claims against the various funds of the county. Madison Traster seconded the motion. Following clarification of two vouchers the motion passed unanimously.

 

            The commissioners authorized John Crosby to proceed with having a licensed plumber install a freeze proof faucet on the roof of the courthouse. This will facilitate the cleaning of the roof and A/C units. It was pointed out that filters on all the A/C units need to be replaced on a regular basis.

 

            The commissioners discussed Kenny Sneyd’s concern with nonpayment for towing charges, which was talked about at the last commissioner meeting. It was the consensus of commissioners to allow the Sheriff’s policies and procedures to take care of this issue since he is an elected official.

 

            Randy McCauley, Road Department Administrator, presented bids for crushing concrete at the landfill. Lee Construction bid $2500.00 for mobilization and $48,655.00 (5260 tons at $9.25/Ton) to crush the concrete. Dodge City Sand Co. bid $10.75/Ton or $56,545.00. Carl Higgs made the motion to accept the low bid of $51,155.00 from Lee Construction for crushing the concrete. Madison Traster seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. At Mr. McCauley’s request, Carl Higgs made the motion to recess into executive session for 10 minutes to discuss non-elected personnel. Madison Traster seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. After 10 minutes the meeting continued in open session. In other business, the commissioners made the decision that the county will not accept a negative dilute specimen on any drug test. Whenever there is a negative dilute specimen, a repeat test will be performed.

 

            Discussion was held on what to do with the old care home. Chairman Long said he was in favor of bulldozing the old care home. Commissioner Higgs indicated he was not ready to make a decision at this time.

 

            Tom Fuhrmann, County Appraiser, reported the hard drive in one of their servers from the state crashed. There are problems with the other servers and a real danger that information will be lost so Mr. Fuhrmann is in the process of converting to central hosting through the state.

He said there is no cost for the central hosting at this time. There will be some cost if the appraiser’s office has to have a dedicated internet connection, but Pioneer Communications is working to see if something can be done to increase the courthouse internet speed.

 

            Jerry Jo Deckert, EMS Director, reported she has been checking on an ambulance purchase. She said there are 3 companies she is looking at. She said the quotes range from $117,000 to $127,000. Production time is 120 to 260 days. Ms. Deckert said the two 2002 ambulances will be in service for several years. The commissioners said it was their understanding when the third ambulance was sold to Greensburg there would be no new purchases for a while. Ms. Deckert will check her five-year plan to see when the next purchase is planned. Ms. Deckert reported on a leak in the garage area when the driving rain occurred several weeks ago. She said that leak has been fixed but the building is going to need some maintenance in the near future. She also said there are some sewer problems with tree roots in the lines.

 

            J.D. Neufeld, Civic Center Building and Grounds Manager, reported the scrubber had quit working again but they were able to get it started. The company said the machine needs a new circuit board that will cost about $800.00. A new scrubber would cost $12,000 to $15,000. A new scrubber is included in the Park Maintenance five-year plan for 2009. The commissioners suggested that Mr. Neufeld spend the next few months checking to see what type of new scrubber would be best for use at the civic center. The commissioners authorized Mr. Neufeld to take sealed bids on the old truck at the civic center.

 

            LaVonne Michael, Senior Center Director, and Betty Warner, Board on Aging Board Member, met with the commissioners. Bill Anderson, Jessie Nickerson, Dennis Leighty, Shirlene Madsen, Joanne Lance, Betty Radloff, Wanda Bloesser, and Debbie Long, local citizens also attended this portion of the meeting. Mrs. Michael presented a brief history of the senior citizens center. She gave reason the senior center needs more space and requested the commissioners consider allowing the senior citizens to build a new facility on the ground currently occupied by the old care home. (A copy of the formal request is attached as a part of this record.) LaVonne explained that she thinks she can use fund raisers and grant money to build a new facility. Chairman Long gave all in attendance an opportunity to speak for a few minutes. It was the consensus of those who spoke that they do not want their taxes to increase any more at this time so they are not if favor of building a new senior center. No decision was made by the commissioners.

 

            The commissioners adjourned to meet again in regular session on September 16, 2008 at 9:30 a.m.

 

 

 

 

____________________________                                        ____________________________

Linda McHenry, County Clerk                                               Marty Long, Chairman