Shane Walker, 53, is the new Fort Scott City Commissioner, replacing Pete Allen who resigned last month.

Walker is the Chief Information Officer (CIO) for Bourbon County.

He has 10 years experience in a corporate setting, five years running his own business and 18 years of local government experience, he said. He has also been a firefighter for 10 years and has served on a regional Homeland Security board through the State of Kansas.

Walker’s education history involves multiple schools and programs mainly in information technology from IBM, Cisco, Sun and Microsoft.

Currently, he is involved in the community as a part of Gunn Park Trails, a volunteer mountain bike trail group; is the local Historic Preservation Association Vice President and is in the Knights of Columbus.

He and his wife have four daughters.

Walker applied for the city commissioner vacancy because he wants to “help make Fort Scott a better place that my kids want to come back to, after college, and live.”

His first meeting as a commissioner was April 5.

The duties of Fort Scott City Commissioners are to set policy, procedures and budgets, he said.

The commission meets the first and third Tuesday of each month at 6 p.m. at City Hall, 123 S. Main.

Equitable Sharing Agreement _ Certification

April 5, 2022 Tuesday at 6 pm
The Bourbon County Commission met in open session with Commissioner Harris,
Commissioner Oharah and the County Clerk. They were present for the entire meeting.
Commissioner Beth was present for a portion of the meeting.
Also present for the meeting were, (some were present for a portion of the meeting, some were
present for the entire meeting) Matt Quick, Susan Bancroft, Justin Meeks, Deanne Weir,
Charlotte Ernest, Debra Matt, Earl Capp, Vicki Capp, Kim LaPorte, David Scharenberg, Dan
Laughlin, Steven Hall, Jan Laughlin, Ronald Burton, Jarad Lord, Donald Coffman, Clint Walker,
Mike Hueston, Alyssa Firley, William Peters, Nadine Leach, Butch Leach, Fred Larson,
Woodrow Brown, and Brandon Whisenhunt.
Jim thanked everyone for coming.
Lynne made a motion to approve the previous weeks minutes as well as the work session. Jim
seconded. Jim and Lynne approved.
Eric Bailey presented a permit for Josh Query at 2504 Limestone Rd for an entry culvert. Lynne
made a motion to approve the permit. Jim seconded. Jim and Lynne approved.
Eric reported that they were able to get Elm Creek burned. He said that they have started
crushing at Thomas Quarry. Eric said that Schwab Eaton had been in town looking at the low
water crossings and are finishing up and they should have that report back in about a month. Eric
asked the commissioners if they were still planning to have a hard surface meeting next week.
They all agreed that they wanted to have a meeting next week following the regular commission
meeting. Eric reported that IEA is finishing up on the punch list regarding the windmill project
and should be turning the roads back over soon.
Hay bids were opened. Jim made a motion to approve the highest bid for each property which are
as follows:
Elm Creek – Joe Tirri $3357.00
Native Road – Steve Sinn $251.00
Tower – Steve Sinn $25.00
Lynne seconded. Jim and Lynne approved.
Lynne Made a motion to go into executive session under KSA 75-4319(b) (2) for consultation
with an attorney for the body or agency which would be deemed privileged in the attorney-client
relationship, the Commissioners will meet in another location and reconvene in this room and
will be for 7 minutes returning at 6:18 pm and will include Commissioners Harris and Oharah
(Commissioner Beth was not present) and Justin Meeks. Jim seconded and Jim and Lynne
approved.
Lynne made a motion to return to normal session at 6:18 pm with no action. Jim seconded. Jim
and Lynne approved.

Lynne Made a motion to go into executive session under KSA 75-4319(b)(4) to discuss data
relating to financial affairs or trade secrets of corporations, partnerships, trusts and individual
proprietorships, the Commissioners will meet in another location and reconvene in this room at
6:26 pm. Included will be Commissioners Harris and Oharah (Commissioner Beth was not
present), Justin Meeks, and Susan Bancroft. Jim seconded. Jim and Lynne approved.
Lynne made a motion to resume normal session at 6:26 pm with action. Jim seconded. Jim and
Lynne approved. Lynne made a motion to allow Justin Meeks and Susan Bancroft to work
together on a partnership regarding Elm Creek. Jim seconded. Jim and Lynne approved.
Lynne made a motion to go into executive session under KSA 75-4319(b) (1) to discuss
personnel matters of individual non-elected personnel to protect their privacy, the
Commissioners will meet in another location and reconvene in this room at 6:34 pm. The session
will be for 5 minutes and include Commissioners Harris and Oharah (Commissioner Beth was
not present) Justin Meeks and Susan Bancroft. Jim seconded. Jim and Lynne approved.
Lynne made a motion to resume normal session at 6:34 pm. Jim seconded. Jim and Lynne
approved.
Commissioner Beth joined the meeting.
Justin said that they are asking the commissioners to change the title for Shane Walker to Chief
Information Officer and Susan Bancroft to Chief Financial Officer. He said there is no change in
pay, only the title, and it is to encompass all of their job titles into one. Jim made a motion to
change Shane Walkers title to Chief Information Officer and Susan Bancroft to Chief Financial
Officer. Clifton seconded. All approved.
Susan Bancroft said that she has a letter from I AM REHAB requesting to renew their contract
for another year which would take it through May of 2023. Clifton asked when the contract for
Via Christi renews. Susan said she believed that it was in August. Lynne made a motion to renew
the contract for I AM REHAB for another year. Clifton seconded. All approved.
Susan said that they need to elect one of the commissioners as a voting delegate for the KAC.
She said that they are wanting to add an HR group to the organization and one of them would
need to complete to voting form. Clifton made a motion to allow Jim as the voting delegate for
KAC. Lynne seconded. All approved.
Susan said that based on the appraisal of the medical building done during the feasibility study,
that it appraised for much more than they anticipated and that the amount of insurance needs to
be increased to at least $7 million in coverage on the building itself. Clifton made a motion to
increase the amount of coverage on the medical building to $7 million. Lynne seconded. All
approved.
Susan asked if they would be interested in doing a joint KOMA training with the City of Fort
Scott. Clifton said that he and Lynne had already been through the training and are not interested
in doing it again at this time. Jim said he would possibly participate depending on his schedule.

Public Comment:
Vicki Capp asked what the plan is for Yale Road? Are they going to fix it and repave it or turn it
into gravel and leave it gravel? Eric said that the base on Yale Road is failing and it would have
to be taken back to gravel and the base needs to be rebuilt before it would be able to be repaved.
That is the plan for it, but at this time, nothing has been decided and they are having a meeting
next week to address the plan for hard surface roads. Vicki asked if the one cent sales tax was
still in place to help maintain the road? Susan said that it is still in place but is for all roads. Jim
explained that when the sales tax was passed that it was enough to maintain what was already
paved. Then they added more miles of paved roads and it is hard to keep up with it all and find
money to maintain it all. There are roads in every part of the county that need attention. David
Scharenberg asked if all three of the commissioners supported repaving Yale Road. Lynne said
that has always been his plan was to repave it. Jim said that each district should see 1/3 of the
sales tax money and he would support what Lynne wanted to do with the 1/3 he receives for his
district. Clifton said he had roads in his district that are bad too and need repaired and they would
do the best they could with what they have. There was more discussion regarding the road
conditions in the northwestern part of the county.
Ronald Burton asked about the county helping with Union Street on the edge of Mapleton. Justin
said they cannot do that because it is the city limits and that would be competing with the private
sector. He asked if he could close it to through traffic when it gets too bad? Justin said yes since
it was in the city limits. He asked if he annexed it out of the city then would the county maintain
it? Justin answered that then it would be a county road and they would be responsible for
maintaining it.
Mike Hueston asked if the commission could recap the presentation that was given by Nobel
since they were unable to attend that meeting. Clifton talked about the highlights of the
information given by Noble. Hueston asked about the condition of the ambulance wearing out
and need replaced. Clifton said that this something they will have to evaluate and get a plan in
place. He said that the county has purchased one new ambulance but the others were given by
Mercy and they cannot give them or sell them for a certain timeframe.
Commissioners Comments:
Lynne said that they are working on getting a cell tower up in that area and getting internet for
everyone in that area. He said that he wanted to keep taxes the same and not have to increase
them. He thanked everyone for coming.
Clifton thanked everyone for coming to the meeting.
Jim thanked everyone for coming and was glad they had a good turnout. He said that they are
planning to keep having meetings at outside locations and since they had a good turnout would
be back at Mapleton again. He said that they are going to work hard to keep taxes from raising.
Clifton made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Lynne seconded. All approved.

Meeting adjourned at 7:33 pm
THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
OF BOURBON COUNTY, KANSAS
(ss) Jim Harris, Chairman
(ss) Lynne Oharah, Commissioner
(ss) Clifton Beth, Commissioner

March 29, 2022 Tuesday 9:00 am
The Bourbon County Commission met in open session with all three Commissioners and
the County Clerk present.
Also present for all or some of the meeting were Clint Walker, Anne Dare, Don
Coffman, Matt Crystal, Drew Solomon, Tom Booser, Merrill Atwater, Dr. Randy
Nichols, and Mark McCoy.
Eric Bailey presented permits for Joe Kerr at Indian Rd and 195th for an entrance
culvert. The second permit is for Craw-Kan to install fiber lines in the southwest part
of the county. Clifton made a motion to approve the permits at Indian Rd & 195th and
also for Craw-Kan in the southwest area of the county. Lynne seconded. All approved.
Eric said that he received a phone call this morning regarding a utility company
cutting Maple Rd. at approximately 190th or 195th he has not seen it yet. He was not
aware of this and is going to work with them to get the appropriate permits. Eric said
that he does not think that cutting the road was the best option but he was not aware
of the project prior to them cutting the road. Eric asked that if a utility company
contacts a commissioner, then please refer them to his department so they can look
at all options and get appropriate permits. Jim said that he had a conversation several
months ago with a utility company but he said that he told them to contact Eric.
Eric said that due to the road safety plan grant received last year, TranSystems
Company is in town gathering data. Eric said that if you see vehicles with lights
driving around gathering data but those vehicles should be clearly marked.
Eric discussed the placement of a stop sign in Bronson in the area of 25th & Bay St at
the far west part of the curve. He provided maps and of the location and it was
discussed as to what the best placement would be. Jim made a motion to place a stop
sign at the intersection of Bay and the curve between 25th & Bay. This would stop the
westbound traffic on Bay Street and the sign would be placed on northwest corner of
the intersection. Clifton seconded. All approved.
Eric said that Dustin had worked diligently to find a dump truck and it paid off
because they were able to find a 2008 Sterling in Tulsa for $60,000.00 and it has the
plow attachments that they will be able to put the county plow on it. Eric said that
they finished at 267th and Arrowhead with the 36” culvert replacement so that isn’t so
narrow now. He said that they are scheduled to burn at Elm Creek Lake on Friday,
weather permitting. Eric gave an update on the windmills saying that they are still
working on the punch list that he submitted and everything is going good on finishing
up. Jim Harris asked if Eric had received information on federal funding for the year
yet. Eric said yes, but that it had been postponed. Lynne asked about the ditching on
Wagon Rd that he had received a call on. Eric said that it is on the list and they are
working as fast as they can but they also need to look at fixing cross tubes if the
ditching is going to really help anything.

Millie Lipscomb, with the Elk’s Lodge, said that with costs rising on everything, that
she was requesting a donation from the county of $750 instead of $500 that has been
donated by the county the last few years. Clifton made a motion to donate $750 to
the Elk’s Lodge for their fireworks display this year. Lynne seconded. All approved.
Ashley presented the contract with Hamlin Energy to help secure the best price for a
gas supplier since Pro Solutions is going out of business. She said that they will look
and price as well as monitor bills and recommend locking in a price or changing
suppliers. She also said that the contact is not for a specific time frame that it can be
revoked at anytime with a written letter from the county. Clifton made a motion to
allow Chairman Harris to sign the contract with Hamlin Energy. Lynne seconded. All
approved.
Clifton made a motion to amend the agenda to add mowing at 401 Woodland Hills
Blvd. Lynne seconded. All approved.
Clifton made a motion to move county counselor comments to the end of the agenda.
Lynne seconded. All approved.
Clifton said he had been asked if the bids received were apples to apple and he said
that they are not. Justin Meeks recommended rejecting all bids and rebidding it. He
said that he thinks that we should rebid with better specs. Jim agreed. Clifton made a
motion to reject the bids for mowing and rebid it with more detailed specs and to be
due back by next Tuesday’s meeting. Lynne seconded. All approved.
Clifton made a motion to go into executive session under KSA 75-4319(b)(4) to discuss
data relating to financial affairs or trade secrets of corporations, partnerships, trusts,
and individual proprietorships. The session will last for 30 minutes returning to the
commission room at 9:57 am and will include the 3 commissioners, Noble Health
representatives (Drew Solomon, Tom Boozer, and Marrill Atwater), Josh Jones, Shane
Walker, Susan Bancroft, and Justin Meeks. Lynne seconded. All approved.
Clifton made a motion to resume normal session at 9:57 am with no action. Lynne
seconded. All approved.
Clifton made a motion to move the executive session for personnel matters to next
week’s meeting. Lynne seconded. All approved.
Susan reminded everyone that the meeting next week on March 5th will be held at the
Mapleton Community Center at 6 pm and asked what the commission wanted to do
about future meetings in outside areas of the community. Jim said that he would like
to see one held at Garland and Hiatville. Lynne said he would like to see a night
meeting held here at the courthouse as well and Jim agreed. Lynne also said that if
you are going to have meetings at those locations you should probably have one at
Fulton, Hammond and even Devon. Jim said he would be in favor of trying that and

proceed based on attendance. Jim recommended that once we have been to several
remote locations for meetings, that they continue with a remote location meeting
once per quarter and an evening meeting at the courthouse every 4-6 weeks possibly.
Susan said that she would work on a schedule. Susan handed out a capital
improvements document to help department heads to understand what needs to be
taken into consideration when looking at capital projects. This also includes
personnel. If a department needed to add personnel they would have to justify the
reason for requesting.
Noble Health Presentation – Drew Solomon gave an update on the feasibility study. It
is substantially complete. There are a few items that need to be done. A lot of good
findings. Tom Booser will provide additional information. Tom is the coordinator of
the research. All of rural Kansas has a demographic trend happening. Every year 25
families leave this county. Right now 19% of the population of Bourbon County is 65+.
In 20 years 40% of the population will be 65+. This region is the least healthy in the
entire state. Kansas used to rank 9th in terms of health and has declined to 29th out of
the 50 states. Through community meetings and surveys the consensus is that we
need more healthcare. Data shows there is a very significant trend in this county.
There was substantial migration for healthcare from this area prior to the hospital
closing. Eleven million dollars per year for healthcare leaves Bourbon County for care
outside of this county. If this is going to be a sustainable hospital it must control the
out migration. It must find a way to build trust in the community and attract people
back. In this community, in this region, these hospitals carry twice the
uncompensated care burden as most rural hospitals. As the population ages, you can
see from a financial standpoint, your coverage may exceed, in terms of income from a
hospital, 40% of revenue. Medicare pays less than private insurers. Medicare
typically pays less than the cost to deliver the care. The current model of this
hospital the cost to deliver the care is higher than what the reimbursement is. Every
time you see a patient you lose money. The only way a hospital can fix that is from a
high percentage of private insured patients. If you have a large Medicare/Medicaid
population and you can control payments you have a very stable model. This is why
so many hospitals get some level of tax subsidy because there is a structural mismatch
between costs and revenue. The only way to surmount this, going forward, is to do
something different than you’re doing right now or what has been done in the past.
This is a structural problem and you have to change the approach. Part of that is
collaboration. Rural hospitals should collaborate more. This is going to require
transformation. A completely different way of behaving in regard to healthcare.
There has to be some sort of community leadership to get people to understand that
using healthcare in the region keeps it sustainable. In this region, workforce could be
the main component of whether a hospital is viable or not. There is a nursing school
in Pittsburg that graduates about 120 students per year. On average, those students
owe $25,000 which could be about 15 to 20% of your pay every month to pay off that
loan. What if there were help for these candidate nurses so they wouldn’t have that
debt. This requires community activism and some original thoughts. The former
hospital operated in a certain model allowing surgery and other things like that.
There is a merging model called a rural emergency hospital that could be an option

Agenda
Bourbon County Commission Room
1st Floor, County Courthouse
210 S. National Avenue
Fort Scott, KS 66701
Tuesdays starting at 9:00
Date: April 12, 2022
1st District–Lynne Oharah Minutes: Approved: _______________
2nd District–Jim Harris Corrected: _______________________
3rd District–Clifton Beth Adjourned at: _______________
County Clerk–Ashley Shelton
MEETING HELD IN THE COMMISSION ROOM
Call to Order
• Flag Salute
• Approval of Minutes from previous meeting
• Eric Bailey – Road and Bridge Report
• Lora Holdridge – Executive Session KSA 75–4319(b)(1) to discuss personnel matters of
individual nonelected personnel to protect their privacy
• Tri–Valley Agreement for Services
• County Counselor Comment
• Susan Bancroft, Finance Director Comment
o Executive Session – KSA 75–4319(b)(1) to discuss personnel matters of individual
nonelected personnel to protect their privacy
• Public Comment
• Elected Officials Comment
• Commission Comment

Tri-Valley Agreement for Services

Uniontown City Council will have their regular monthly meeting on April 12 at 7 p.m. at city hall.

Council members are:

___ Jess Ervin ___ Danea Esslinger ___ Josh Hartman ___ Amber Kelly ___ Bradley Stewart

SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS/PROJECTS

CITIZENS REQUESTS

Ruritan, Skeet George –

UHS Alumni Association, Susan Eldridge –

FINANCIAL REPORT

Charlene Bolinger – Financial reports

APPROVE CONSENT AGENDA

1. Minutes of March 8, 2022 Regular Council Meeting
2. Treasurers Report, Monthly Transaction Report & Accounts Payables

DEPARTMENT REPORTS

Superintendent:  Bobby Rich

Codes Enforcement:  Doug Coyan

Shipping/Storage Containers, Accessory/Storage Buildings, Fences regulations, Solid Waste

Clerk Report:  Sally Johnson  

Financial Audit contract

Insurance renewal

COUNCIL & COMMITTEE REPORTS

Councilman Ervin –

Councilwoman Esslinger –

Councilman Hartman –

Councilwoman Kelly –

Councilman Stewart–

Mayor Jurgensen –

OLD BUSINESS

Wholesale water supply –

Pond Improvement Project –

City Utility Low-Interest Loan update –

American Rescue Plan Act update–

Street Repair –

NEW BUSINESS

ADJOURN

To view attachments:

04-22 Informational items

2022 Financials – March