Bourbon County Commission Agenda Summary for June 22 Meeting

Bourbon County Commission Meeting Agenda 06.22.26

Bourbon County Commission Meeting Agenda Outline

Meeting Date & Time: June 22, 2026, 5:30 PM

Location: 210 S National Avenue, Fort Scott, KS 66701

• 1. Call Meeting to Order

• 2. Pledge of Allegiance

• 3. Prayer – Led by Commissioner Motley

• 4. Introductions

• 5. Approval of Agenda

• 6. Approval of Minutes

  • a. June 15, 2026

  • b. May 11, 2026 (Revised)

  • c. April 13, 2026 (Revised)

• 7. Approval of Accounts Payable – June 18, 2026 ($83,374.82)

• 8. Approval of May 2026 Financials

• 9. Special Appearances

• 10. Public Comments

• 11. Department Updates

  • a. Landfill – Blake Hurd

• 12. Old Business

  • a. Jarred Gilmore Phillips 2026 Audit Engagement

  • b. SEK Juvenile Detention Center Discussion

  • c. American Flag Purchase

  • d. Procedures for Adopting Resolutions

• 13. New Business

  • a. Statement/Discussion – Commissioner Allen

  • b. Fund Resolution – Commissioner Milburn

  • c. Resolution 25-26: Cancellation of Warrant Checks – County Clerk Walker

  • d. Heartland Business Licenses Annual Billing

• 14. Future Agenda Topics

  • a. Public Works Budget Work Session (Scheduled for June 29, 2026)

• 15. Commission Comments

• 16. Adjournment

(Cross-reference: Complete Agenda Layout found on PDF Page 1)

Detailed Packet Summaries & Historical Minutes

I. Draft Minutes Summary: June 15, 2026

• Call to Order & Attendance: Chair Samuel Tran called the meeting to order at 5:30 PM. Present were Commissioners Samuel Tran, David Beerbower, Joe Allen, Gregg Motley, Mike Milburn-Kee, and County Clerk Susan Walker. Multiple local citizens, media members, and department reps were noted in attendance. (PDF Page 1)

• Agenda & Accounts Payable Amendments: The agenda was rearranged to move public comments up and insert a pressing Public Works item. In reviewing accounts payable batches, Commissioner Milburn-Kee flagged duplicate vendor invoices from Murphy for rock crusher training totaling $7,849. The board approved the June 5 batch ($184,461.59) while withholding the disputed checks, and passed the June 12 batch ($833,269.76) cleanly. (PDF Page 1)

• Hidden Valley Road Jurisdiction: Public Works Director Kenny Allen delivered a definitive review regarding resident requests for county road maintenance in Hidden Valley. Legal and infrastructure checks confirmed that a 2017 resolution was meant strictly for law enforcement patrol access and did not establish public easements. The current road system fails county infrastructure metrics (lacking proper bases and engineered drainage) and would strain the county budget. The board unanimously adopted Resolution 23-26, formally declining the roads into the public network and reinforcing private HOA maintenance obligations. (PDF Page 1–2)

• Public Safety Systems & Water Drainage: Representatives from INA Alert pitched security system upgrades, offering a complimentary engineering valuation for county facilities. Local landowner Mark Warren presented severe field flooding concerns near Uniontown, Redfield, and Paint Creek, requesting updated culverts and proper side-ditching. Commissioner Milburn-Kee requested his media evidence to launch a site investigation. (PDF Page 2)

• Clerk Records, Formatting, & Elections: Commissioner Milburn-Kee brought forward corrections for the April 13 minutes, noting a previous revision had been omitted from the record. Chair Tran voiced strong concerns about the style of AI-generated minutes (referencing May 11), noting subjective phrases like “push back gently” and “echoed forcefully” painted commissioners in a non-neutral light. Clerk Walker clarified that she utilizes standard settings without injecting editorial context. Additionally, a motion by Milburn-Kee to deny the Clerk’s use of the Commission Room for upcoming 2026 elections failed 2-3; a subsequent motion to approve the full spatial request passed 3-2. (PDF Page 2–3)

• Comprehensive Plan & Moratoriums: The board accepted a Planning Commission recommendation to hire Confluence to orchestrate the county’s Comprehensive Plan and Zoning Code for $152,000, praised as a long-term “blueprint” for entrepreneurs. Due to the expiration of previous protective measures, the board approved Resolution 24-26, instating a 365-day moratorium on utility-scale power generation, data centers, crypto-mining, and waste operations (exempting established solar entities). (PDF Page 3)

• Baker Tilly System Access: To eliminate friction in generating general ledger records, the commission voted unanimously to grant financial consulting group Baker Tilly read-only remote access to the CIC accounting platform using standalone login credentials. (PDF Page 3)

II. Historical Minutes Summary: May 11, 2026

• Public Meals-on-Wheels Crisis: During public comments, Michael Hoyt warned that federal funding rollbacks had severely defunded regional agencies on aging, restricting home meal delivery eligibility for local seniors. He implored the county to build provisions into upcoming budget cycles. (PDF Page 4)

• County Communication & Check-Signing Authority: County Attorney James Crux formally admonished the commission for a stark “lack of communication,” revealing that unannounced policy deviations had caused late employee payrolls for two consecutive months. To clear logistical hurdles, the board passed a motion authorizing Commissioner Allen to sign accounts payable checks, superseding previous procedural standoffs regarding statutory requirements. (PDF Page 4–5)

• SecureView Payroll Access Standoff: Commissioner Motley moved to restore read-only pay entry reporting access to the County Clerk to expedite general ledger balancing, noting intermediary data formats provided by administrative staff lacked cost-center mapping. Commissioner Milburn-Kee countered that the system configuration was all-or-nothing, raising data privacy exposures. The motion failed 2-3, and the matter was tabled to invite a systems representative to a future work session. (PDF Page 5)

III. Historical Minutes Summary: April 13, 2026

• Economic Development Wins: Fort Scott City Manager Brad Matkin announced major property acquisitions: the Value Merchandisers building and the Timken manufacturing plant were successfully sold to new operators, collectively projected to introduce up to 550 local jobs over three years and trigger massive facility expansions. (PDF Page 5)

• Employee Outcry Over Altered Benefit Records: A major labor dispute erupted when County Clerk Walker and approximately 40 county employees confronted the board over unannounced adjustments to their benefit tracking. Documentation showed 21 employees had their original hire dates modified in the software between November 2025 and March 2026, threatening KPERS retirement tiers and erasing decades of longevity credits. Following intense public cross-examination and heated executive recesses, the board voted to restore open time-entry visibility to all workers and authorized structural corrections. (PDF Page 6)

• Juvenile Justice Regulatory Shift: Michael Walden, Executive Director of the SEK Regional Juvenile Detention Center, requested the county preserve its board membership. He warned that newly passed House Bill 2329 overrides previous vetoes to extend juvenile detention lengths of stay from 45 to 90 days, an overhaul expected to saturate facility bed capacities across Kansas. (PDF Page 6)

Financial Packet Breakdown

I. Accounts Payable Batch Summary (June 18, 2026)

The upcoming accounts payable batch totals $83,374.82 across 70 total departmental invoices. Key operations pulling from county resources include:

• District Court (Dept 10): $17,054.00 total. Features a heavy capital deployment of $15,324.00 paid to McClelland Inc. as a 40% deposit for an audio system upgrade in Courtroom A, alongside legal conflict attorney fees. (PDF Page 8)

• Courthouse General (Dept 43): $13,379.74 total. Includes localized utility overhead with Evergy facilities, commercial maintenance services with Cintas, and an elevator maintenance contract payout to Kone Inc. totaling $7,503.36. (PDF Page 10)

• Road and Bridge Sales Tax Fund (Fund 222): $12,455.80 total. Driven primarily by a material and logistical invoice of $11,257.15 paid to Kunshek Chat and Coal Co. for sand and hauling operations supplying 284.99 tons of material. (PDF Page 3)

• Juvenile Detention (Dept 18): $11,347.00 total. Encompasses the primary monthly regional detention fee of $11,194.00 alongside inmate medical costs. (PDF Page 9)

• Landfill (Fund 108): $10,652.41 total. Designated entirely for regional municipal solid waste (MSW) processing agreements with Allen County Public Works. (PDF Page 2)

• County Sheriff & Correctional (Fund 120): $6,810.57 total. Distributed across needs assessments, facility sprinkler inspections, plumbing repair labor ($1,440.00), and vehicle fleet equipment. (PDF Page 2)

II. Bank Reconciliation & Cash Balance (As of May 31, 2026)

The county records a unified cash balance across all liquid profiles of $15,781,466.81 with zero variance reported by the Clerk’s review. (PDF Page 11)

• *Treasurer General Account (Landmark 3049): Main bank balance of $13,805,425.64. Adjusted down by $68,436.38 in outstanding checks and $931,493.16 in outstanding wires, balanced against $710,976.27 in transit deposits and minor adjustments for an ending book value of $13,621,735.67.

• *Clerk’s Payables Account (Landmark 3064): Main statement balance of $457,742.07. Adjusted against $344,337.25 in outstanding checks, $95,945.93 in outstanding wires, and $922,985.86 in transits for an ending value of $608,031.14.

• Certificates of Deposit (CDs): The county maintains a total CD investment portfolio of $1,550,000.00 structured across Union State Bank, Landmark Bank, and City State Bank.

III. Key Fund Balances (May Period 5 Close)

The formal Fund Status Report outlines major operational accounts tracking into the mid-year boundary:

• 001 – General Fund: Opened the period at $821,487.83, logging $83,469.32 in monthly receipts against $305,900.27 in active disbursements, closing with an ending cash balance of $599,056.88. (PDF Page 11)

• 064 – Employee Benefit Fund: Holds a substantial reserve tracking at $1,087,833.14 after drawing down $121,982.84 in monthly expenses. (PDF Page 11)

• 120 – County Sheriff/Correctional: Closed period 5 with $330,789.46 in cash reserves following $277,052.64 in operational monthly expenditures. (PDF Page 11)

• 220 – Road and Bridge Fund: Tracks at a tight ending balance of $54,140.92, significantly insulated by the parallel 222 – Road & Bridge Sales Tax Fund which maintains $779,851.14 in reserve capital. (PDF Page 11)

• 224 – Road & Bridge Special Improvement: Retains an independent cash structure of $624,755.21. (PDF Page 12)

• 108 – Landfill Fund: Concluded the processing month with an active operational balance of $289,843.67. (PDF Page 12)