The commission began the meeting with a number of executive sessions.

Executive Session K.S.A. 75-4319 (b)(1) – Lora Holdridge, Leslie Harran, 15 minutes. Returned to session and then reentered executive session for another 15 minutes with the same people. Returned with no action.

Executive Session Pursuant to K.S.A. 75-4319 (b)(1) – Samuel Tran. 5 commissioners, Kenny Allen, Terry Halsey. 25 minutes. Returned to session with action. Tran moved to accept the exemption to policy letter from Public Works in regards to take-home vehicles. Motion passed. Tran then moved to accept the exemption to policy vehicle for EMS. Motion passed with Milburn-Kee voting against. Tran then moved to allow the county appraiser to continue to use the county vehicle as a take-home vehicle. Motion did not pass, Milburn-Kee, Tran, and Beerbower voting against.

Bourbon County Comprehensive Plan — Tran with Brian Ashworth

Ashworth, from the planning commission, came to make himself available to the commission. The first step to zoning a county, per Kansas state law, is a comprehensive plan. The commission has been consulting with Mel Hoss to walk them through creating one for Bourbon County. In order to get the comprehensive plan going, they must solicit proposals from planning firms. Ashworth asked for the commission’s input on the document.

Ashworth outlined the timeline for soliciting plans from planning firms. He then asked the commission to publish the Request for Proposal (RFP).

Cost estimate for the RFP is $100,000, based on what Cherokee County paid for its plan. It will take about 6 months for the planning company to develop the comprehensive plan through extensive research and information gathering throughout the county.

Tran thanked the planning commission for their hard work and complemented their teamwork.

Milburn-Kee then moved to allow Ashworth to work with the county clerk to publish the RFP and distribute it to the list of possible planning firms the planning commission has collected.

Commissioner Greg Motley asked where the funding for the plan creation would come from. Milburn-Kee said that counselor Billenburg had negotiated $200,000 in payments from the solar panel people. It has not been collected.

Clerk Susan Walker said they needed to book the expense at the time they agree on it, according to cash-basis law.

Motion passed unanimously.

IT Services — Tran

Tran invited Jason Rinker from Stronghold to speak at the meeting. Rinker updated on the project Stronghold is working on for the county. They are at the half-way mark and anticipate finishing within the six-month timeline. He asked to bring the project manager and account representative to the commission to give a detailed update. Milburn-Kee told him that arranging to speak to the board as a whole would be preferable and he agreed to do that.

Rinker then addressed technology changes that were brought up at the last commissioner meeting by the county clerk. He said there are three areas of her letter that Stronghold finds concerning. He also said it was positive in that some hardware that needed to be updated per Stronghold’s analysis in 2025 is being updated.

The three areas of concern include several ongoing security concerns. He said the last 60 days of data that Stronghold has contain no security concerns generated by the county. “We would really like to know what these concerns are so they can be addressed,” he said

The letter also stated that the county offices involved had experienced “significant issues,” but there were no notes given to Stronghold in the last 60 days about those issues.

“As with any partner, I would assume that it would be reasonable to at least notify us of those significant issues and allow us an opportunity to correct those,” Rinker said.

The third issue is that the letter said that the transition they are planning will ensure that the various offices’ data is protected in transition.

“This is kind of insinuating to us that your data is not being protected,” he said. In the last 60 days there’s only been one ticket that required addressing by Stronghold in that regard.

He also said that the complaint about backups causing problems was not brought up with Stronghold in the last 60 days.

Milburn-Kee asked what types of requests the county is generating at Stronghold. Rinker read off examples of creating email addresses, connecting scanners, and updates from the State of Kansas, as well as others.

Tran asked what the average response time is for a ticket. Rinker said they usually respond with a couple of hours, depending of the severity of the issue.

He then explained what had happened at Stronghold and how they handled giving authority to department heads for needed software updates.

Tran asked if there were any threats or vulnerabilities to the county’s firewall. He also asked if Stronghold had discovered any more of the county’s information on the dark web. Rinker said that while there are no specific threats he is aware of at this time, constant vigilance is required.

Tran also asked what the bottom issue with CIC (the county’s accounting software) is and what is causing problems with the staff. Rinker said that  when he reached out to CIC, they told him that they are not allowed to speak with Stronghold unless given specific permission by Bourbon County.

Tran asked who is the gatekeeper for CIC in Bourbon County. Walker said she is and is willing to give Stronghold access if Tran is present during the call. He agreed to be present. They agreed to get the conversation done before the next week.

Rinker said that the changeover to .gov email addresses is a good thing that the whole county should do. He said it should be registered to the county so the county can control the domain.

Walker said on of her security concerns is missing emails. She reiterated her hope that the commission supports her office’s desire to move to a new server.

She also wants to know who else can access the emails in their offices.

“There’s just a lot of trust issues, I think,” she said.

She said that when they called in to Stronghold to have things done, they were denied access without Milburn-Kee’s approval.

Tran said that as far as he is concerned only Stronghold has access to emails in the county.

He agreed with Walker’s trust issue, but said that uncontrolled admin rights in the county are not secure.

Walker said they only want admin rights to their own systems to update their accounting program that they control in the offices at the courthouse. She said she has called several times to get that fixed and further issues have arisen.

“I don’t think it’s asking much for us to be able to update our CIC software,” she concluded.

Tran asked that they give a report on the increased vulnerability of the county with the addition of more servers and a cost analysis as part of Stronghold’s quarterly report.

Rinker said he his company hasn’t been given the information by the departments in the courthouse that are purchasing a new server, so he cannot accurately address those questions.

Rinker also said that cyber-liability insurance carriers have started asking that those entities they cover have one set of eyes on everything to avoid the trouble of “too many cooks in the kitchen,” or the opposite problem of no one really overseeing.

Citizen Comments

Michael Hoyt said he personally contacted Dr. Cohen and told him his was unhappy with how long it’s taking to get the county employee handbook updated and implemented. After pointing out that Emerson is the new payroll handler for the county and Dr. Cohen’s company became the HR department through Emerson, Hoyt asked how Stronghold became the county’s IT department.

Hoyt concluded by asking what the commission plans to do about the contention that is evident in the courthouse.

“You all are the ones in charge. If we have personnel that are infighting, we need to get to the root cause and find out why. You all are the peacemakers, not to drive a further wedge in by attacking anybody,” he ended.

Susan Walker came with several questions.

She distributed a noise complaint form draft for the commission to amend and approve.

She also asked that the commissioners get the information for resolutions to her by noon on Fridays, per the commissions own stated procedural steps, in order to give people time to look them over before the meetings.

Old Business

Handbook-Tran

Tran asked for a status update. Milburn-Kee told him that KCamp sent a sample back to HR. “As far as I know, they haven’t got all the edits done,” said Milburn-Kee.

Tran said that all suggestions have been accepted except for reducing the introductory period for new employees from 365 days to 90 days. In Kansas, if someone is fired at 91 days, and they can file grievances.

“The only individuals that are not protected in the state of Kansas in labor law are white males below the age of 40,” said Tran. Going to 365 days protects the county.

Milburn-Kee said that after receiving notes from HR and other business owners, she has changed her mind about some of the requested changes.

Motley said that in his experience 90 days requires employers to make an evaluation on the employee, which is best for the county. The first 90 days will give you what you need to know. He also said they also already voted on it as a commission.

Commissioner Joe Allen agreed with Motley, saying that all his jobs in the past had a 90 day introductory period.

Beerbower said he likes it as it stands. No changes were voted on.

Fractional CFO-Tran

At a cost of $5,500 per month split between the sheriff’s department and the county, Tran moved to have Baker Tilly serve as the CFO for the county.

Motley said that on the surface, this appears to be a solution looking for a problem.

Tran said that the county seemed to lack congruency in how it handled the budget. He also said there was a lot of unneeded inputs in the formulation of the budget.

Motley pointed out that the City of Fort Scott, which uses Baker Tilly as financial advisor, has no elected officials to deal with like the county does. Fort Scott also does not have any accounting experts as part of their government, as Bourbon County does. He also said the Dr. Cohen from HR called him and asked him to run these processes and the commission appointed him to do that.

“So this seems like a vote of no-confidence in me,” Motley said. He said that there are three accounting experts elected as officials in Bourbon County, of which he is one. The other two are the County Treasurer and the County Clerk.

He questioned the idea of spending money on an outside source, (based in England with offices in Overland Park, KS) for services he and the others in the county can provide.

Milburn-Kee said that by voting to terminate the liaison positions of the commission, they also ended Motley’s finance position.

“What you’re saying is this is no confidence in me for the budget process,” said Motley. He went on to say he is trying to avoid the situation the commission created last year in which they asked for a budget committee to advise the commission on making a budget and then did not take any of their suggestions.  He said that no one from that committee was happy that all their work was pushed aside.

He said that hiring Baker Tilly would make any strategic planning or budgeting help from him unnecessary and he will not facilitate that for the county if they are hired.

“All you’re going to get with Baker Tilly is a monthly report,” said Motley. They will not be auditing or checking data, just compiling and reporting what they are given.

Tran said this issue is a continuance of the decision made in 2025 to hire a fractional CFO for 2026.

Allen said that while he is not an expert in this field, he trusts the in-house expert. He also said he doesn’t want to spend the county’s money to pay for what the county already has.

Beerbower said there are benefits to having an outside eyes on the county budgets.

Motley said the commission needs to wary of taking actions that send a message of distrust to those they work with.

Milburn-Kee said she talked to Ben from Baker Tilly about what services he would be providing. He said he would help find inefficient patterns in the county. He also said he would follow the direction of the commission regarding the spending limits dictated by tax rates and mill levy.

Tran said that the disparity between the budget given by the committee and what the commission wanted was the commission’s fault for not communicating more clearly with the committee.

County Clerk Susan Walker spoke to the commission saying they cannot cut the mill without cutting services.

“The problem has been, in the past, we have not been a part of the process,” said Walker. The department heads and elected officials are only asked to bring to the table what they think they need to operate.

“I don’t feel like we’re being heard, because the costs are going up,” said Walker.

“Our biggest expenses are people and publications. We don’t even hardly have enough money to train,” she said. “There were not a lot of questions asked during the budget process and when I would bring things up, I would get accused of withholding information. But that’s not what was happening. I didn’t know what you didn’t know.”

“Mr. Motley is right. The three of us together can build the budget. So, I think this is an unnecessary expense,” said Walker.

Tran called for a vote. He read the resolution.

Motion failed to carry. Tran and Milburn-Kee voted for it, Beerbower, Allen, and Motley voted against.

Performance Audit-Samuel Tran

Baker-Tilly cannot perform the audit because they are already employed by the county. The issue was tabled.

DMV Lease Agreement-Samuel Tran

In order to lease the space to the DMV, electrical has to be run to their equipment, which will cost the county about $1,000.

Milburn-Kee pointed out that the rent the DMV is paying will cover the cost of running the electrical and will allow the county to sell the building that has housed them in the past, which they are now moving out of.

Motion to sign carried.

Employment Action-Samuel Tran

A resolution brought to the table last week, was read by Tran. The resolution give the commission authority in the hiring or change of employment status of county employees when it impacts the county’s budget by increasing benefit costs. This resolution gives fiscal oversight to the commission, but leaves authority to hire and fire in the hands of elected officials.

Motley completely agreed with the intent but had problems with definitions in the resolution. He had concerns about various “what-if” situations. He suggested they make each elected official and department head responsible for the employee benefits budget for their departments.

Milburn-Kee said that she had been trying to make those changes, but they weren’t approved. The resolution provides guidance for the payroll administrator.

Walker spoke up and said her concern was that the payroll department get a correct number of employees. She was also concerned that departments would have to budget for employees to choose the biggest benefits package, which costs the county the most, and would lead to inflated budgets and budget creep.

Motion carried and resolution 15-26 was passed.

Payroll Administration-Samuel Tran

The resolution clarified the duties of the executive assistant regarding payroll.

Motley asked the clerk if the resolution was in accordance with state statutes as she understands them.

Walker expressed concerns about coding for the general ledger and clarity of communication. She also asked for responses to her questions.

Motion carried, passing 16-26.

Flex Spending Discussion — Milburn-Kee

Walker explained what happens when an employee takes the flex spending option. She also asked to be given a report for auditing purposes.

Resolution 622 — Milburn-Kee

Commission found out about this resolution last week. It was to have been added to the handbook, but the handbook hasn’t been updated since 2002. The resolution front-loaded sick leave due to the pandemic.

Resolution was repealed. Accruals will be referred to the HR department.

New Business

Employee Recognition – Allen

Allen asked that department heads and elected officials come to the first meeting each month and recognize one of their department’s employees. He offered to contact each department and set it up.

Noise Complaint — Beerbower

The noise complaints that the county has received have brought up the issue of who is going to look into the complaints. Beerbower looked at applying the American National Standards Institute’s information to the county’s resolution. He also found some training for the noise inspector and vendors who sell standardized equipment.

Beerbower’s recommendation will be to replace the existing resolution and declare the assignment of inspection in the new resolution. He believes the assignment should go to the sanitation inspector from the appraiser’s office.

One member of the audience spoke up and asked that noise inspections not be at the same time each day,  but at random times.

Culvert Permit – 2433 Locus Road

Motion approved

There will be a special meeting on February 12, 2026 from 5-6 PM for Interviews and a work session immediately following until 8:00 PM.

January 26, 2026 at 5:30 PM
Bourbon County Commission Meeting

Three commissioners attended the meeting: David Beerbower, Mika Milburn, and Greg Motley.

During the opening of the meeting, Commissioner Mika Milburn made several modifications to the agenda, including removing the discussion of courthouse space.

After the public hearing for the vacation of a road, in which the owner of the property on the road asked that it be vacated as the county had done nothing with it in the 15 years she had lived there, Resolution 08-26 was approved.

After approval of the minutes from the Jan. 12 meeting and the consent agenda and tax corrections, the citizen comments portion of the meeting began.

Citizen Comments

Lora Holdridge, Register of Deeds, addressed the commission. Before she began her comments, vice-chairman Beerbower reminded her that her comments had to be to the commission as a whole and not to a specific commissioner.

Holdridge asked what statute that was under and Beerbower said it was part of what he learned in commissioner training.

Holdridge said that without a statute she would challenge it. Beerbower gave her three minutes.

Milburn interupted Holdridge and asked for a break.

Beerbower announced a three minute recess.

After three minutes, Milburn returned and then left again on a phone call.

Beerbower then told Holdridge that they had had this discussion several times, and in the last meeting, the board announced the plan to look into what spaces are available in the courthouse and take input from each department to divide it up appropriately.

He said he has heard several different claims for dispatch’s old space, but the commission has not made any decisions yet.

Beerbower said they were not going to discuss it tonight.

Milburn returned and said that the county’s counselor, Bob Johnson, advised to remove the public comment.

Holdridge said she would not leave and would stay and talk.

Beerbower asked her to leave and she again refused. He said they were having a county commissioner meeting, not a register of deeds meeting.

Milburn then moved to adjourn the meeting , Beerbower seconded, and it was ended. Motley did not vote.

The commission did not complete the remainder of their agenda including:

1. Executive Session K.S.A. 75-4319 (b)(1) – Motley
2. Department Updates
a. Payroll update – Milburn-Kee
b. Inventory – County Clerk
c. Commission Minutes – County Clerk
d. County Clerk Procedures
e. 2025 End of Year Financials – County Clerk

3. New Business
a. Strategic Planning – Motley
b. Commission Calendar – Motley
c. EOC Access
4. Create Agenda for Next Meeting
5. Commission Comments

Continuation of yesterday’s county commission story

Sanitation Issue – Milburn-Kee

Commissioner Mika Milburn-Kee has been working with the county counselor to get the information needed to the county attorney so that appropriate action can be taken regarding a residence with sewage seeping into the lake.

She also noted that in the Dec. 20, 2024 county commission meeting, the county attorney at the time handed this information off to the chairman of the board when he resigned his position. Neither she nor Commissioner David Beerbower knows what happened to the work that was done by the previous county attorney.

Commissioner Samuel Tran asked if the homeowner had been notified of the problem. Milburn-Kee said that a letter was sent April 5, 2024 notifying of a $200 per day fine.

Parliamentarian Kaety Bower said that the county had the tank pumped a few years ago, at the taxpayers’ expense, but it hasn’t been maintained since then, and now there’s human waste running into the lake and puddling in driveways.

Tran expressed frustration that it had not been followed up on. Milburn-Kee said that the county lacks a policy and proceedure that would lead to a satisfactory conclusion at this time.

Tran asked how the county would go about condemning the building, if it becomes necessary. He also suggested that the commission give the county assessor the authority to ticket violators of the only code in the county, which is the sewage code.

Beerbower proposed that the county pump the tank to give them time to get the problem fixed. Bowers said it would take 4 weeks to fill back up.

Elevator Estimate KSA 19-214

It will cost approximately $200,000 to bring the courthouse elevator up to requirements. The elevator is currently out of compliance. The current projected start date for the project is the end of January, 2026.

Tran and Beerbower both expressed that they want to see the statement of work from the contractor so the commission is aware of what is involved in the job.

The courthouse maintenance supervisor, who has gathered the bid and information for the work needed, is leaving his position at the end of 2025.

Noise Resolution – Beerbower

Beerbower presented the commission with an updated noise resolution. The county counselor said that it should be handed over to the planning commission.

The revised resolution has EPA decibel level guidelines: decibel levels are to be no greater than 70dB for a 24 hour period, or greater than 55dB outdoors from 7a-10p near sensitive areas (residences), or 45dB indoors 7a-10p in sensitive areas, and no greater than 45 dB outdoors overnight (10p-7a). These measurements, recorded within 75 feet of the source, will be considered in violation. Enforcement shall be by the Bourbon County Commission or its designee. Violations will result in: notice of violation, demand for corrective action, citation, or all three. Fines can be up to $500, and each day in violation is considered a new offense.

Beerbower then moved that the commission adopt the resolution, numbered 50-25.

Milburn pointed out that there is already state code that the commission hasn’t been able to enforce and questioned the county’s ability to enforce a new ordinance without a procedure for follow-through.

Resolution passed, Milburn voting against.

Planning Commission Moratorium – Beerbower

In the last meeting of the planning commission, they reintroduced that they would like a moratorium halting all other entities from coming in to Bourbon County and starting up to allow them a year to develop a comprehensive plan and zoning for the unincorporated areas of Bourbon County.

The temporary moratorium would include: utility level, power generation and storage systems, including but not limited to wind, solar, battery energy storage systems, nuclear fission, crypto mining, data centers, and waste disposal.

Tran told the commission they did a good job at their meeting. He had no issue with the moratorium. Milburn-Kee said she didn’t have an issue either.

Beerbower said the moratorium would give the planning commission time to get its feet under it and make a plan.

He moved to have the county counselor draft a moratorium as directed by the planning commission, with a deadline of Jan. 5, 2026.

Motion passed unanimously

New Business

Budget Amendment (Need Date and Time)

County Clerk Susan Walker said that two funds require a budget amendment at this time: the Law Enforcement Fund and the County Sales Tax Fund.

The amendment for the Law Enforcement Fund will take it from $2.2 million to $2.6 million, and the County Sales Tax from $926,935 to $1,633,692.

Commissioners Beerbower and Tran are unavailable for the budget amendment meeting before the end of the year.

Without the amendment, the county will have two budget violations in its regular audit.

Sheriff Martin got Bern Hart, his department’s financial advisor, on the phone to address the commission.

Hart said that the Sheriff’s 2025 budget did not take past costs or the trends of those costs into account.

“The Sheriff’s over budget because he wasn’t given enough budget for 2025 to operate,” said Hart.

Milburn said her expectation is for departments to stay within their budget, rather than levy more mills and “give everyone what they want.”

Sheriff Martin and County Clerk Susan Walker were at the table for the discussion. They both left to have a discussion outside of the open meeting.

When they came back, Sheriff Martin said that the three offices the county must support reasonably to operate: the Sheriff, the County Attorney, and the District Court.

Hart pointed out that all the sheriff’s operations come from one fund. He also said that his department raised $395,000 from housing inmates.

“The sheriff’s brought in more than enough money to cover the budget amendment that he’s asking for,” he said. “He’s not asking for any more money. He’s just asking to use the money that he’s already raised.”

Susan Walker said the budget in question was made while she was CFO. She didn’t make the decisions independently, but in conjunction with the commission at the time.

“We are at an impasse on the budget amendment,” said Beerbower. No further action was taken.

The Commission Will Not Meet on December 22nd or 29th 2025

Soldier Road Concerns– JD Handly, Osage Township Trustee

Handly told the commission that several citizens have contacted him with concerns about the condition of Soldier Road, which has been in poor condition since 2023.

“I apologize for not bringing a solution to the table, but we’ve got a real problem with that road. If you’ve traveled it, you know what I’m talking about,” he said.

It has standing water and reverse crowning and takes a lot of heavy logging traffic from Missouri.

“I believe they’re doing the best they can with the training that they have and the equipment they’ve been working with,” he said of the county’s public works department.

His goal is to get it on the radar and begin to have a conversation about it with the county.

Dustin from Public Works acknowledged that the road does need some attention and receives a lot of truck traffic which is causing damage.

Benefit District – Dustin

Kenny, who was out sick, wrote up an estimate for the benefit district that Dustin hasn’t seen. The county also needs a waiver restoration letter and more clarity about what the district wants regarding the distance paved and the width of the road. There are also culverts involved and a city fire hydrant requiring a 60-foot easement, per commissioner Samuel Tran. Commissioner Mika Milburn-Kee said she would reach back out to the homeowners to get the details hammered out.

Public Comments

Mike Houston from Mapleton: Observation and Attitudes

Houston addressed the commission as “a citizen and taxpayer.” He commended them for conducting the meeting this week better than in the previous week.

He also said it seems like the commission has forgotten that Susan Walker, County Clerk, is an elected official, too. She is to follow the guidelines from the state, just like the commissioners need to. In a public forum and meeting, remember that the commission is meeting for the sake of the community and the county’s employees as well as other elected officials.

Department Updates

Bill Martin – Sheriff

“I was incorrect,” said Martin, regarding the previous discussion about the commission’s approval of funding for phones and technology updates for his department. The board did approve the phones for the sheriff’s department in the Sept. 15 meeting. “My apologies,” he said.

The new phone system cost the sheriff’s department $693 less than the original estimate.

Sheriff Martin commented on the confusion about Stronghold and the county’s lack of an IT department.

Milburn said the county has hired Stronghold as managed services for the county as well as for special projects.

Martin reiterated his open-door policy and asked the commissioners to come to him with anything they need to discuss.

Susan Walker – County Clerk

Resolution 44-25 R&B Sales Tax to R&B $600,000 Road and Bridge Sales Tax Transfer for work completed. Approved.

Tran asked if the commission would continue to do their business in resolution form, and they agreed to do so at Milburn’s suggestion.

Resolution 45-25 EMS Equip to EMS $26,530.06

Moving the reserve over to their operation fund. Approved.

Resolution 46-25 Jail Sales Tax to Law Enforcement $250,000 Approved.

Resolution 47-25 Inmate Fees to General $60,200

This is done to cover the longevity pay. Approved.

Payroll

Walker asked about the timeline for the implementation of pay cuts to the County Clerk and Register of Deeds from the commission’s decision to take payroll duties from the Clerk’s office and road record duties from the Register of Deeds office.

The county is in the process of hiring a person to do payroll and will have a special meeting with executive sessions to conduct interviews on Thursday, Dec. 18 at 3 p.m.

The commission said to implement the new pay rate January 1, 2026.

Benefits Termination Timeframe

The commission voted to terminate employee benefits at the time of employment termination, not carry it through the end of the month, as has been the previous policy.

“Supervisors either have to be timely on their terminations, or we go to this [benefits end at termination date, no longer carry through the end of the month],” said Walker.

Motion carried, Commissioner David Beerbower opposed.

Old Business

SEK Mental Health Board Members – Tran

Tran brought up the subject of serving SEK Mental Health as a board member.

Beerbower said he too, had heard from other counties and there’s concern about how the SEK Mental Health Board is being run, particularly with the salaries of the leadership.

Milburn said that she had a call from the CEO of Mental Health saying they are making adjustments to salaries. He also sent her a text highlighting the collaboration of SEK Mental Health with Freeman Hospital.

She read an email from one of the Bourbon County volunteer board members asking that the commission call him and his fellow Bourbon County board member to the table and discuss it.

“If you can’t have a transparent NGO (non-government organization), then it’s not a service to the people the way the people need it,” said Tran. Information should be provided freely, especially since the organization takes federal taxpayer dollars.

Beerbower moved to terminate the volunteer board members representing Bourbon County with the SEK Mental Health Board, effective immediately.

Milburn asked that the commission allow those board members to attend and be terminated in person.

The motion carried, Milburn voting against.

Beerbower moved to appoint himself and commissioner Tran to the open positions, to be revisited when the new commissioners are added to the board in January. Motion carried.

Resolution for Courthouse Space – Milburn-Kee

“We really need to clean up the space before we start allocating new space,” said Tran. He pointed out that before they allow departments to expand into new spaces, they need to clean up the courthouse because there is stuff everywhere.

Beerbower said it is quite evident that the board needs to do a walk-through and make some decisions about items currently stored in the courthouse.

They adopted the resolution delineating the current use of space in the courthouse.

108 W 2nd Street Realtor Selection – Milburn-Kee

Milburn-Kee said she asked realtors if they would be willing to sell the building in question. She said it is quite evident that local realtors have a “bad taste in their mouths” from previous work with municipalities, particularly the City of Fort Scott and the sale of lake lots.

She does have one realtor who expressed interest. She recused herself from the voting process.

Tran motioned to allow Stuart Realty Company to list the building for $200,000. Motion carried. Milburn abstained.

Handbook Approval – Milburn-Kee

Dr. Cohen, Bourbon County’s HR department, recommended that the commission approve the vacation and sick leave accrual policy of 1/12 per month of the amount allocated for the employee, rather than giving them the full amount on January 1 of the year, as is the current policy, removing the county’s liability for all of the sick leave or vacation pay should an employee terminate.

Payroll and benefits are to be figured from the employees most recent hire date.

These changes are to be implemented prior to the new handbook implementation, which is taking longer than anticipated.

Milburn-Kee handed out a resolution based on his recommendation.

Historically the county has had a use-it-or-loose-it policy regarding vacation time. Both vacation and sick leave have been front-loaded in January as well.

Beerbower said that vacation is an earning that increases with time. Not front-loading it means that vacations will all be taken at once in the second half of the year, after employees have accrued enough leave to take time off.

He said that one or two people who may quit early in the year shouldn’t mess it up for the whole group.

Walker said that the county doesn’t have the financial means to fund carry-over vacation. It’s built into their wages.

“You can adopt it, but you’ll find out within a year that you can’t afford it,” said Walker. The county’s financial statements must show that the county can fund the liability of vacation time.

Terry from EMS suggested that those who have years of service are being penalized by only allowing 1/12 per month. This is particularly apt in the first responder world. Currently, salaried employees and elected officials don’t log their sick time or vacation time, and have no cap, but supervisors can deny them leave.

Milburn said they are moving to standardize it for now until the handbook is approved, which gives them the option to adjust it later.

Undersheriff Davidson spoke to the commission, saying it is disrespectful to the employees of the county to make this change. He questioned the commission’s need to control how people take their vacations. He questioned the idea that Dr. Cohen independently brought up this issue on his own. He also accused the commission of attempting a power grab.

Sheriff Bill Martin asked what the hurry is to push the changes through. He also pointed out that they should wait until the other commissioners are sworn in.

Regarding the handbook he said, “Let’s not pick and choose. Let’s do it all together.”

Walker said that the payroll process has the vacation of 2025 available until the second week of January, giving the board some more time.

Tran said it’s not a power grab, but an effort to follow the recommendation of the county’s HR specialist to create a rule-book you can live by. He also mentioned the ability to ask for advanced leave.

Beerbower said that the message of this change is that the county commissioners don’t trust the employees not to take advantage of the county by quitting at the beginning of the year, requiring payout of all their front-loaded vacation time. He said he’s in favor of slowing down and not making big changes.

Beerbower said that the carryover is to cover times when employees can’t use their leave because of their duties.

Tran pointed out that policies are not laws and have exemptions.

Parliamentarian Kaety Bower said there are middle-ground options that could apply here.

Tran said he spoke to a constituent during a meeting recess and pointed out that the county should not do harm to employees by removing their vacation time, jeopardizing the plans they have made by purchasing vacation tickets, and causing them to lose the cost of the tickets.

He proposed front-loading half of their vacation in January with the stipulation that if a county employee leaves before the end of June, he or she will pay back unspent vacation time. This is a compromise that will get the county through 2026, with the understanding that there will be no front-loading at all starting in 2027.

Beerbower said he doesn’t think the issue needs to be rushed. He wants to wait to make any changes until after the new year.

Sheriff Bill Martin said it doesn’t look good to make this change and then not meet for two weeks.

Milburn moved to approve Resolution 49-25 as amended by Tran. Tran seconded and then explained that the county hired a functional expert in the person of Mr. Cohen to guide them in this matter, but the clerk is also warning about the financial feasibility. He thinks the compromise he proposed is the best option.

Motion passed with Beerbower voting against.

The commission meeting opened with several members of the audience making public comments.

Public Comments

Lora Holdridge: Register of Deeds

Holdridge explained to the commission that her office was moved out of the computer room last week by Stronghold, the county’s IT department. She keeps the equipment needed to run her office there. She expressed concern about Stronghold and CrawKan moving equipment into the space she had been using. With the understanding that dispatch is moving out, she wondered if she could use that space for her 4 scanners and a six-foot shelving unit and another camera. “I just need all my stuff together in one place,” she said.

Commissioner Mika Milburn-Kee said she is working on a resolution delineating where each department will be housed in the courthouse building.

JD Handly

J.D. Handley spoke to the commission, representing himself. He said the three-minute time limit the commission puts on public comments is disrespectful and unnecessary. “You know the saying, ‘If it’s not broke, don’t try to fix it’? Well, I see a lot of that going on,” he said.

Handly mentioned a Public Works employee politely addressing the commission a few weeks ago and asking them some questions. The commission ignored him, according to Handly, which he sees as very disrespectful. He reminded the commission that the employee is a voter and taxpayer, as well as a county employee. He said they owe him a public apology and an invitation back to the meeting to have his questions answered.

“I am tired of the animosity between the clerk and this commission. It’s putrid,” he said. He said County Clerk Susan Walker is capable of serving as the commission’s administrative assistant and could do so if it weren’t for the petty differences between the commission and her.

“We didn’t elect you people to come in here and sit in these seats and bicker amongst one another,” he said. “Set your differences aside and take care of the county’s business. If you can’t do that, then resign and let somebody else in the seat that can.”

He also said that the outsourcing of human resources and payroll is ridiculous.

“Set your differences aside. If you can’t, step out,” he concluded. A few audience members clapped as he left.

Greg Motley — Freeman

Motley is resigning as a Freeman Board Member to avoid a conflict of interest as the County Commission District 4 Commissioner Elect.

He reported that Freeman is serving the county well, operating at a loss of more than seven figures as they await final approval from the state.

Deanna Betts with Bourbon County Core Community

Bett thanked the commission for their support of the poverty program, Core Community, started two years ago.

Over the last two years, they’ve conducted two classes, bringing eight people out of poverty, which is ahead of the average of 3-4 years it normally takes for a person to get out of poverty.

She said they are partnering with Redemption House to offer their participants wrap-around services.

She said they have contribution agreements with the solar companies, so she advocated signing those, as it would enable Core Community to offer more services and get more people out of poverty.

Approval of Minutes (unofficial until approved) 12.01.25

Postponed to 12-15-2025

Consent Agenda
Approval of 12.05.25 Accounts Payable & Longevity Payroll (sent 12.3.25) $289,244.53
Tax Corrections

Commissioner Samuel Tran brought up expenses and how the county tracks the technology purchased. He also expressed concern about the fact that department heads can spend their budgets on other departments’ needs. While he agrees with the spirit of helping one another, he doesn’t think this is an ethical process for obtaining the equipment.

Commissioner David Beerbower addressed his concern, saying the commission needs to create oversight, starting on the first of the year with the new commission. He also said that there’s an annual inventory of the county’s property to help track the county’s items per statute.

Tran asked who was checking the inventory.

The County Clerk and the Register of Deeds both offered an explanation of the way they purchased technology, but Beerbower said he didn’t want one at that time.

Tran asked Walker to explain the funding of the county’s longevity pay.

Walker started an explanation, but didn’t complete it. She then said he was being disrespectful and that he didn’t understand how things are done.

Tran said he just wants accurate numbers. When Tran wanted to explain the meeting he had with the clerk to the rest of the commissioners, she refused to stay at the table.

Milburn asked to move locksmith charges from the county commission fund to the IT fund. Motion was approved.

Beerbower moved to approve the consent agenda as corrected. Motion carried.

EMS Award

Tom Odin, a neuroscience nurse from St. Luke’s, presented awards for Bourbon County EMS and Scott Township for a stroke call they took on July 10, 2025. The EMS and Scott Township workers called air evac and transported the patient to St. Luke’s in Kansas City. He is doing fine now.

Odin recognized Michael Houston, Todd Miller, Justine Banwart, Dylan Peterson, Robert Kline, Ron Witter, Adam Miles, and Jason Eastwood for their quick response and activation of AirEMS for rapid transport, which made a significant difference in the patient’s outcome.

The commission participated in a number of executive sessions for lawyer client privilege and returned to session with action.

Resolution 39-25 – Contribution Agreement Hinton Creek
Resolution 40-25 – Contribution Agreement Tennyson Creek
Resolution 41-25 – Tennyson Creek exemption from Moratorium
Hinton Creek First Amendment
Tennyson Creek First Amendment
Tennyson Creek Contribution Agreement
Settlement and Release Agreement Tennyson Creek
Settlement and Release Agreement Hinton Creek
Contribution Agreement Hinton Creek

The attorney went over the agreements, which have been made available to the public. There are nine documents which mirror each other. There are solar projects on Tennyson Creek and Hinton Creek. These documents seek to resolve pending litigation between various land owners and the board of commissioners.  The documents included are two proposed contribution agreements, amendments to development agreements signed by previous commissions, and three resolutions for the board’s consideration including an exemption from the moratorium, and approval of contribution agreements for Hinton Creek and Tennyson Creek.

The attorney advised approving the exemption to the moratorium first and considering the rest of the agreements together, followed by the two resolutions for the contribution agreements.

Beerbower moved to accept Resolution 4125, Tran seconded. Milburn asked for a ten minute recess to look over information.

Before beginning on the voting, they opened the floor for public comments.

Pete Owenby asked about battery electric storage systems. Tran said they don’t have enough information since the project is in the formative stage. 800 megawatts is the maximum aloud per the agreement. There’s a 400 foot setback requirements from a non-participants house.

Owenby asked if the solar company will be allowed to move to other sections. Tran said it depends on the landowners’ willingness to lease to them.

Owenby confirmed that the zoning committee does not affect the Tennyson Creek and Hinton Creek projects.

Randy Mcanulty spoke to the commission about his neighbor across the road. This neighbor is leasing land to the solar companies and his property line is 90 feet from Mcanulty’s house.

He expressed concern for how the land will be cleaned up once the solar farms are obsolete, as well as the reduction in property value for those who live near the farms. He expressed concern about the next generations having to clean up the equipment.

“All they’re doing is screwing their family down the road,” he said of those who take a lease check from the solar companies and let them use the land for their projects.

Mary Pimperton thanked the commissioners for hiring an attorney and negotiating a deal the the solar companies. “I think there’s been a very good resolution come to that will allow the county to benefit from the projects.”

“This is a long time coming,” said Tran. His name was on the original lawsuit prior to becoming a commissioner because he is a firm believer that government officials don’t have the right to take away the next officials’ policing power.

Beerbower moved to adopt resolution 4125, exempting Tennyson Creek and Hinton Creek from the moratorium on solar projects. The motion passed unanimously.

Beerbower then moved to adopt the development agreement, contribution agreement, and settlement and release agreements for both Tennyson and Hinton Creek projects. They were all approved unanimously.

Sonia Lala with Small Business Administration Disaster Recovery

On Oct. 24, 2025, a presidential declaration made federal funding available for working capital loans to help with economy injury disaster enabling small businesses and non-profit’s to meet their financial obligations. The loan can be for up to $2 million, 30 year term, first repayment is after 12 months, no application fee. Call 1-800-659-2955 to apply.

Third  and fourth executive sessions with attorney Jacob Millenberg, no action

Culvert Permit – 2222 35th Street

Dustin Hall and Kenny Allen from Public Works addressed the commission, asking for approval to install it. Milburn moved to put it in. The motion passed unanimously.

 Jayhawk 240th Speed Limit

Milburn asked Hall and Allen their opinions. Beerbower confirmed that they were referring to 240th from Jayhawk to old Hwy 54. He said that constituents are asking him to leave it the way it is. Tran said the limit is as low as it is for a reason. Milburn suggested the commissioners take a drive out there before making a decision. They agreed.

The bridge at 110th and Fern is completed and awaiting a final inspection for a new load rating.

Resolution 38-25 providing in kind county facilities for the sixth judicial was approved. The annex is completed under budget and the sixth judicial will be moving over there.

Susan Walker – County Clerk

December 22nd meeting is canceled because Beerbower and Tran cannot make it.

Neither Beerbower nor Tran can make the last two meetings of December. This presents a problem because the necessary budget amendments to close out the fiscal year need to be published 10 days before their hearings, by law. Beerbower said he would try to adjust his schedule to make the Dec. 29 meeting.

October 2025 Financials

Clerk Susan Walker asked how they want to receive financials.

Part of her duties as the clerk is to do maps and road records, requiring a computer and software that her office shares with the Register of Deeds, as they both create maps in their offices.

Old Business

Sale of Real Property Resolution – Milburn-Kee

MIlburn read a resolution to establish a policy to sell property belonging to the county through a realtor.

She then moved to sign resolution 42-25. Motion carried.

New Business

Real Property Relief Application – Herman & Darlene Leihsing/Avis Bosley

Milburn had reviewed the application for 2453 Jayhawk Road in Fort Scott and moved they approve the application. It passed unanimously.

Resolution 42-25 – Transfer of Funds

Tran said he was good with transfers for Road and Bridge, EMS, and Law Enforcement. He was concerned about the inmate fund having enough to cover the sheriff’s needs until the end of the year if they pull the $200,000 that the resolution lists. $58,684 was the total needed to meet the county’s longevity pay. Tran and Beerbower discussed pulling $58,300, but not $200,000.

Tran moved to rescind his previous proposal to move the $200,000 from the inmate fund the to the general fund. Motion carried.

They asked the clerk to work on the figures and will deal with it in the next meeting.

Driver’s License Resolution – Milburn-Kee

The resolution does not replace the county’s contract with the drivers license division for provision of a facility. It moves the driver’s license office to Suite 10 in the courthouse building at the same rate as the rent they have been paying for their current location. Resolution was approved.

Areas of Responsibility Courthouse – Milburn-Kee

Milburn is working to craft a resolution describing how the courthouse space will be allocated to the various departments housed there.

Milburn announced that Wreaths Across America is this weekend, and they will start placing them on soldiers graves at the national cemetery on Saturday at 10am.

Commissioner Comments:

Samuel Tran: part of the confusion at the commissioners’ table is from the inability to listen more than talk. He asked the commissioners to take care to articulate what they mean so he can understand them.

This confusion is very frustrating when he gets conflicting information filled with emotions. “I don’t care about your feelings. I care about the facts,” he said.

David Beerbower: in an effort to communicate what has happened over the last week in the county, he read the definitions of “political gamesmanship” and “playground gamesmanship.” He said what happens behind the scenes is pretty close to playground gamesmanship. He expressed the desire to serve as a statesman, not a politician.

He expressed hope that the commission and county government members will work as a team in the new year.