June 17, 2024 Monday, 5:30 p.m.
The Board of Bourbon County Commissioners met in open session with all three Commissioners and the County Clerk present.
Clinton Walker, Rachel Walker, Marla Heckman, Mike Wunderly, Deb Needleman, Bo Casper, Michael Hoyt, Joe Ludlum, Jean Tucker, Pete Owenby, and Brent M. Smith 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 6-10-2024, approval of payroll totaling $238,157.83, and approval of accounts payable totaling $361,343.72. Brandon seconded the motion and all approved.
Clint Walker spoke about how quickly the Road and Bridge crew was out replacing a downed stop sign and stated the mowing crew was doing an excellent job.
Joe Ludlum thanked the Commissioners for signing the solar project and stated he doubted that county zoning could have improved it. Mr. Ludlum said he thinks that all PILOT funds from solar and wind should be distributed. Mr. Ludlum spoke of how Linn County and Coffey County benefit from electric power and urged the Commissioners to disband any committee charged with setbacks as agreements have already been signed. Mr. Ludlum stated solar panels are in yards and on rooftops and that KDHE should be the one to decide if the solar panels are safe. Mr. Ludlum stated he is a lease holder and is among 70 who signed with wind and 30 who signed with solar. Mr. Ludlum said that for the wind turbines the landowner receives $15,000 per turbine and that solar is on a per acre basis which can be anywhere from $250-$2500 per acre. Mr. Ludlum said he currently has a property leased now for hunting and pasture ground and will make more in one year on solar than he would in ten years leased for hunting and pasture.
Michael Hoyt thanked the Commissioners for all the work they did on the hospital and stated now that there is a plan in the open, he is 100% behind it as long as there is transparency. Michael referred to a comment made last week how individual’s party affiliation is nobody’s business and stated he knows what presidents he voted for but that is nobody’s business.
Mary Pemberton stated last week the Commission approved fireworks permits and resolution 21-91 states” whereas the Board of County Commissioners find that it is in the best interest of the citizens of Bourbon County to regulate the sale and display of fireworks and the location of stands for the said sale and display.” Mary said if you can regulate one industry why can’t you regulate another such as solar and wind. Jim said they are moving forward with Mary’s request to form a committee to work on setbacks.
Deb Needleman asked for the same amount of funding as last year for the 2025 year for Bourbon County Senior Citizens. Deb said that last year it was decided to take money from their budget to pay SEK Area Agency on Aging directly for the Meals on Wheels food prep and she said they are ok with that provided the quality of the food remains acceptable. Deb stated they have volunteers who work approximately 150 hours a month at the center and they provide 92 monthly meal boxes to seniors and 150 families in the community receive commodities every other month. Deb explained they are looking for grants to repair and stabilize the north wall of their building.
Rob Harrington said he would like to give an overview of what went into the project to get healthcare into Bourbon County. Rob stated in 2022 they began the process of bringing in Legacy and they were approached by the ER and at that point the Commissioners waived the lease rate to keep the ER. Rob said that soon after that we had to forego clinic rent of approximately $23,000 per month to get the helipad. Rob said thanks to REDI and Bourbon County the hospital building is now full with the SEK Mental Health Center and Kansas Renewal Institute. Rob stated KRI has 60 new employees and added a needed and necessary service to the state and they currently have a waiting list of over 100 kids who need care. Rob stated that multiple organizations were spoken to in attempts to bring in an ER only and that with Freeman we now will have a hospital as well. Rob thanked the Commissioners, the committee who helped with the retail sales tax, and the EMS staff for all their hard work.
Jennifer Hawkins, County Clerk, presented a disaster relief application for Terry and Patricia West’s barn that was destroyed by a tornado on April 26, 2024. Clifton made a motion to approve the abatement for the barn destroyed by a tornado at 1674 115th Street. Brandon seconded the motion and all approved. Jennifer presented nine letters that were received by individuals who are interested on being on the solar panel committee. After discussion it was determined to add the letters to the end of next week’s meeting. Clifton made a motion to allow Chairman Harris to open the letters and contact those individuals and invite them to the next meeting. Brandon seconded the motion and all approved Jennifer presented a title for EMS unit #1 for the Chairman to sign and explained this unit was approved for trade in last year on a remount ambulance that is now ready for delivery. Clifton made a motion to allow the Chairman to sign the title. Brandon seconded the motion and all approved. Jennifer presented the lease agreement for the Sany mini excavator that was approved for Public Works to purchase at last week’s meeting. Brandon made a motion to allow Chairman Harris to sign the lease agreement. Clifton seconded the motion and all approved. Jennifer reminded the Commissioners of the budget work session that will take place next week beginning at 1:00 in the Commission Room.
Brandon stated he did not have any comments for tonight.
Jim said he was contacted by the interim President at FSCC who would like to meet with Bourbon County and the City of Fort Scott to discuss roads at the college. Jim said no decisions would be made that this was just fact finding. Brandon said he is fine with Jim meeting with them. Jim said received an invitation to represent the Commission and attend a finance meeting on July 2nd in Chanute with Senator Moran. Clifton and Brandon stated they are fine with that.
Clifton made a motion that the three Commissioners will be at the budget work session next Monday. Brandon seconded the motion and all approved.
Brandon made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 6:21. Clifton seconded the motion and all approved.
THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
OF BOURBON COUNTY, KANSAS
___________________, Chairman
___________________,Commissioner
ATTEST: ___________________, Commissioner
Jennifer Hawkins, Bourbon County Clerk
6-24-2024 Approved Date