April 1, 2024                                                                                   Monday, 5:30 p.m.

The Bourbon County Commission met in open session with all three Commissioners and the County Clerk present.

Jason Silvers, Mary Pemberton, Teri Hulsey, James Whitney, Scott Christiansen, Clint Walker, and Rachel Walker were present for some or all of the meeting.

Jim opened the meeting with the flag salute.

Clifton made a motion to approve the consent agenda which includes approval of minutes from 3-25-2024.

Nelson asked to make an announcement before the minutes were approved. Jim and Clifton agreed to let Nelson make an announcement. Nelson resigned his position as 1^st District Commissioner. Nelson stated that he signed up for a section under public comments and then read a prepared statement, and announced his plan to run for Sheriff. Jim and Clifton thanked Nelson for his work as Commissioner and wished him good luck. Nelson left the meeting.

Clifton made a motion to approve the consent agenda. Jim seconded the motion and all approved.

Mary Pemberton discussed the solar farm projects and stated the same excuse of no zoning was being blamed as it had during the Jayhawk Wind project. Mary said the Commissioners should protect county residents and those adjoining, non-participating landowners. Mary said the current contracts have outlined a 25-foot setback from a neighboring property line, and she feels that is not acceptable. Mary said she does her own research and does not rely on the information provided by others. Mary discussed other areas that are zoned and stated many are allowing alternative energy, but they are not allowed to run amuck and gave an example of Labette County who she said issued a moratorium and stated they would not sign any road use agreements until they received more information on the project. Mary stated most places hold public hearings and said it would be great if the Commissioners held informative meetings for residents. Mary said there will be a presentation given by individuals who have knowledge of solar farms on Wednesday at 6:30 at the Fort Scott Livestock Market. Mary said this will be the first of many meetings and it is informational, not to take a stance for or against the project.

Eric Bailey, Public Works Director, and Dustin Hall, Assistant Public Works Director, presented the culvert report for March. Eric said the fuel prices report was emailed to the Commissioners. Eric stated the bridge project at 160^th Street and Fern Road was going well with the old bridge removed and the area being measured for concrete, however; the rain today might cause a delay. The Blackberry project will begin replacing electric poles starting April 30^th. Eric said that weather permitting there will be a blast at the Blake Quarry on Thursday. Jim asked if this would be a single blast or a double blast, and Eric stated it will be a double blast as they have more than enough overburden cleared at the quarry. Eric stated the crack sealing machine was started today and they anticipate starting later this week sealing cracks. Eric said they will begin in areas around the shop in case of technical difficulties and plan on committing April and May to crack sealing. A controlled burn was held at Elm Creek Lake last week. Clifton stated he needed to leave in 10-minutes. Eric handed out their 2024 asphalt plan and asked to be placed on the agenda on April 15^th to go over the different projects.

Clifton made a motion to amend the agenda and move SEK-CAP to the next item. Jim seconded the motion and all approved.

Scott Christiansen and James Whitney, with Southeast Kansas Community Action Program, Inc Public Transportation provided an informational packet that outlines the services they offer residents in Bourbon County. Services started August 28, 2023 in Bourbon County, and so far in March they have had 94 riders. Many riders are in the Fort Scott area, however; they will travel to the smaller towns in Bourbon County with Uniontown and Mapleton having many residents who frequently use their services. Any resident can call to request a ride, but they are unable to haul pets or go into Missouri. SEK-CAP received a $5,000 grant from Health Bourbon County Action Team and contributions from other area businesses to provide services until June 30, 2024 and are asking for $3,000 from Bourbon County to help with operational costs for July 1, 2024-June 30, 2025. Jim said they would think about the request and place the item on next week’s agenda.

Teri Hulsey, EMS Director, asked for approval to meet with Rob Harrington with Bourbon County REDI to apply for a Communities Facility Grant. Clifton stated he received more information on the grant and Kansas doesn’t do more than 10%. Teri handed out a sheet that outlined the EMS run numbers and explained the difference in numbers from last year versus this year. Teri stated that a transfer is inter-facility, so that is when they took a patient from the ER to a hospital for additional treatment. Since we do not have an ER that is the reason for the jump in the transport numbers and no transfers. Jim thanked Teri for all that she does.

Jim told Susan Walker, CFO, that she would be placed on the agenda for next week for the items she had on the agenda that they were unable to get to since Clifton had to leave early.

Jim and Clifton stated they appreciated what Nelson did as a Commissioner.

Clifton made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 6:03. Jim seconded the motion and all approved.

THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

OF BOURBON COUNTY, KANSAS

___________________, Chairman

___________________, Commissioner

ATTEST:                                                                                                   ___________________, Commissioner

Jennifer Hawkins, Bourbon County Clerk

4-8-2024                                Approved Date

March 25, 2024                                                                            Monday, 5:30 p.m.

The Bourbon County Commission met in open session with all three Commissioners and the County Clerk present.

Michael Hoyt, Bo Casper, Clint Walker, Rachel Walker, Jason Silvers, and Marla Heckman were present for some or all of the meeting.

Jim opened the meeting with the flag salute.

Clifton made a motion to approve the consent agenda which includes approval of minutes from 3/11/2024, approval of payroll totaling $295,311.50, and approval of accounts payable totaling $445,254.99, and approval of January and February financials. Nelson seconded the motion and all approved.

The Commissioners opened the hay bids for three properties the county owns. The first was for Elm Creek with the only bid being submitted by Joe Tirri for $500.00. The Commissioners asked how many acres were at Elm Creek and what the bid was last year. Eric stated there are 307.7 total acres at Elm Creek including the lake and shelter sites. The County Clerk stated the bid last year was $3,000 and that the way she published the bids it gives the Commissioners the ability to reject any and/or all bids. After discussion Jim made a motion to accept the bid of $500.00 from Joe Tirri for Elm Creek hay. Clifton seconded the motion and all approved. Only one bid was received for the 250^th Street radio tower site and that was for $50.00 from Joe Tirri. Jim made a motion to accept the bid of $50.00 from Joe Tirri. Nelson seconded the motion and all approved. The old landfill site received two bids, one from Joe Tirri for $50.00 and one from Pat Murphy for $316.00. Nelson made a motion to accept the bid from Pat Murphy for $316.00. Clifton seconded the motion and all approved.

Bo Casper voiced his concerns on the safety of the solar panel farms. Mr. Casper asked if the Commissioners know the pros and cons of the solar panel farms. Mr. Casper asked if the solar farms will be inspected after hailstorms to determine if damage was done to the battery packs. The potentially hazardous materials in the lithium battery packs were discussed with possible impact to local water supplies and livestock with Mr. Casper stating solar farms have not been around long and that at one point asbestos and lead pipes were deemed safe and now we know the health issues related to those. Mr. Casper said that individuals who have knowledge and experience in the field will be coming in possibly next week to discuss solar farms and when he knows the time and date, he will advertise for all residents who are interested to attend. Mr. Casper asked for a temporary hold on the installation of the solar panels until more information is gathered because he does not want Bourbon County to be a wasteland like Pitcher, Oklahoma. Jim said that the Commissioners signed a resolution stating that homeowners can do what they want with their land and there is no legal way for the Commissioners to put the solar farms on hold since Bourbon County is not zoned. Nelson said that a lot of residents are putting solar farms on their land as their kids are not interested in farming and they see this as an opportunity to hold on to their land since the are too old to farm. Nelson stated that there are Blythe’s that have leased their land but he wanted to let everybody know that it is not him nor his immediate family. Jim suggested that Mr. Casper speak to KDHE if he thought there were hazardous material that could impact his land and gave him a phone number for Jason Schultz.

Nick Graham asked if the county would receive the hospital building back if Legacy Health went out of business or filed for bankruptcy. Clifton said that Legacy is backed by a million-dollar company. Justin stated that there is a 5-year clause that would allow Bourbon County to receive the building back. It was asked if an emergency room could be in another building besides the hospital building, and Clifton said yes, however; you can’t just build a metal building and put a hospital building in it.

Michael Hoyt discussed a quote from a recent article in the newspaper stating the college would have a $70,000 windfall due to an additional distribution from the county. Mr. Hoyt asked where the funds for the distribution came from. Patty Love, Treasurer, said a TIF fund was set up several years ago and that tax dollars have gone into the fund, but were not being pulled to allocate to other entities during distributions. Mr. Hoyt asked if Patty had a list of all entities who received money from this distribution and said he would submit a KORA request for them.

Jennifer Hawkins, County Clerk, informed the Commissioners that it would cost approximately $1,500.00 to hold early voting for one week and asked if they wanted to have early voting available in May when the retailer’s sales tax question is on the ballot. The Commissioners agreed they wanted to have early voting available for residents who cannot make it to their polling place on election day. Jennifer received a public notice from KDHE for the reissuance of a Water Pollution Control permit for the City of Bronson. Jennifer stated that the notice will be available in her office until April 20, 2024 for any resident who wishes to see it or who would like the contact information to submit any questions or concerns. A real property relief application was submitted for Sean and Kim Krokroskia’s property that was destroyed by fire at 928 S. Osbun. Clifton made a motion to approve the real property relief application starting in February 2023 for 928 S. Osbun. Jennifer said since it is the end of the quarter, she is checking on the two remaining appropriations sitting in the contingency fund. The Fair Board is allocated $10,000 and $25, 800 for Bourbon County Senior Citizens. Each board has allowed a representative from Bourbon County to sit on their board, so the Commissioners agreed to fund each appropriation.

Eric Bailey asked for a 5-minute executive session. Clifton made a motion to go into executive session under KSA 75-4319 (b)(1) to discuss personnel matters of individual nonelected personnel to protect their privacy to include the three Commissioners, Eric Bailey, and County Counselor Justin Meeks to return at 6:16. Nelson seconded the motion and all approved. Clifton made a motion to resume normal session at 6:16 with no action. Nelson seconded the motion and all approved.

Clifton made a motion to go into executive session under KSA 75-4319 (b)(1) to discuss personnel matters of individual nonelected personnel to protect their privacy to include the three Commissioners and County Counselor Justin Meeks to return at 6:22. Nelson seconded the motion and all approved. Clifton made a motion to resume normal session at 6:22 with no action. Nelson seconded the motion and all approved.

Clifton made a motion to amend the agenda to allow Jenny Goode to speak.

Jenny Goode, property owner in Mapleton, asked for a letter of support for an eminent domain resolution that Cowley County passed. Jenny read the resolution and said that it prohibits eminent domain being used if the property is going to be recreational and states no private development will be allowed for 30 years. Justin Meeks stated that the county cannot pass a resolution that would trump a state or federal law. Nelson said he attended the meeting that was held last Friday in Mapleton for the Pike Reservoir and that landowners were not happy. Nelson said he would be ok signing a resolution against eminent domain even if it doesn’t have teeth to hold up. Clifton said he won’t sign any resolution that would overstep his bounds. Jim asked Jenny to give a copy of the resolution she read to the County Clerk.

Eric Bailey, Public Works Director, said that the bridge project will start tomorrow so  160^th Street between Express Road and Fern Road will be closed for the next month.

Clifton said he has stated in public and on paper that he is against eminent domain, however; he has no dog in the fight. Jim said that the reservoir project is a state project that he feels was not handled well from day one. Nelson said he would advocate against the use of eminent domain. Nelson said a prayer during his commission comment time.

Clifton made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 6:31. Nelson seconded the motion and all approved.

THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

OF BOURBON COUNTY, KANSAS

___________________, Chairman

___________________, Commissioner

ATTEST:                                                                                   ___________________, Commissioner

Jennifer Hawkins, Bourbon County Clerk

4-1-2024                           Approved Date