Bourbon County Commission Agenda (October 06, 2025)Agenda 10.06.25

The following is an outline for the first page of the agenda.

Meeting Details (Page 1)

• Location: Bourbon County Commission Chambers, 210 S National Ave., Bourbon County, Kansas
• Time: 5:30 PM, October 06, 2025

I. Roll Call

• Pledge of Allegiance
• Prayer

II. Approval of Agenda

III. Consent Agenda

• Approval of 10.03.25 Accounts Payable: $302,462.17
• Approval of 10.03.25 Payroll: $297,874.77

IV. & V. Presentations / Action Items

• Building Health, Inc. CareVan – General Public Transportation Letter of Support (Becky Gray)
• Derek Raines

VI. Public Comments

• Public Comments for Items Not on The Agenda

VII. Old Business

• Road Closure 140th Street
• Law Enforcement Resolution
• Gov. Deals – Beerbower

VIII. New Business

• Credit Cards – Milburn
• Voting Delegate KCAMP KAC Conference
• KDEM (FEMA required documentation):
  • i. Subrecipient Audit Requirements
  • ii. Title VI Civil Rights Form
  • iii. Title VI Civil Rights Policy Plan
  • iv. Notice of Nondiscrimination
  • v. Title VI Complaint Form

IX. Department Updates

X. Build Agenda for Following Meeting

XI. Commission Comments

XII. Adjournment

Detailed Summary of Information Packet

The remainder of the packet contains the standard Executive Session motions, a list of future agenda topics, and a detailed summary of open invoices (Accounts Payable) supporting the Consent Agenda items.

Executive Sessions and Future Topics (Page 2)

• Executive Sessions – Form of Motion: The document outlines the Kansas statutes (KSA 75-4319) under which executive sessions can be held. Reasons include discussing personnel matters (b)(1), consultation with an attorney (b)(2), employer/employee negotiations (b)(3), financial affairs or trade secrets (b)(4), preliminary discussion of real estate acquisition (b)(6), and security measures (b)(12).
• Future Agenda Items: Key topics currently scheduled for upcoming meetings are:
  • 10/14/2025: Vehicle Lease Program, Economic Development, Juvenile Detention Contract, Sanitation Worksession.
  • 10/20/2025: Culverts, 2025 Tri-Valley Agreement, 190th Street.
  • 10/27/2025: Bitcoin Mining, Noise Resolution, Moratorium.

Open Invoices By Department Summary (Pages 3-10, Report Pages 1-8 of 34)

This multi-page report details the invoices and payroll-related transactions presented for approval in the Consent Agenda. Most entries are automatic payroll clearings to vendors like Blue Cross/Blue Shield, Bourbon County-IRS, and KPERS.

Approval August Financials

Commissioner Samuel Tran asked for a detailed explanation of parts of the quarterly financial statement. County Clerk Susan Walker answered several of his questions.

Executive Session pursuant to KSA 75-4319 (b)(2) for consultation with an attorney for the public body of agency, which would be deemed privileged in the attorney-client relationship

County Counselor Bob Johnson stepped in to update the commission on pending litigation in place of the insurance attorney, Forest Road. The commission returned to session, no action.

Old Business

Budget Discussion

“We approved a budget last Friday,” said Commissioner David Beerbower.

Tran asked Ben Hart for an audit report on the budget. Hart said that it looked good and nothing stood out to him as problematic.

County Clerk Susan Walker asked to speak. She said she went back through and refigured the wages and the employee benefit fund. She has concerns about having sufficient funds for employee health insurance. Open enrollment is upcoming in October.

Walker asked for a $100,137 increase in the employee benefit fund, which will take the mill to almost revenue neutral at 57.45.

“We’ve actually done something that no other commission has done in…seven years,” said Tran about the county’s 2026 budget. He expressed concern about the “budget creep” that last-minute changes represent.

“We’re trying to reset the paradigm,” by only taxing for what the county needs and making a plan for the future said Tran. “We can what-if this to death.”

Beerbower said he sees them handling the employee insurance decision in the way they did the county’s budget, with detailed analysis to stay within the spending limits set by the budget.

Tran and Commissioner Mika Milburn both wanted to keep the budget as is. Beerbower agreed and no action was taken.

Roads Discussion
Lynne Oharah – 95th & Unique

Oharah has found the mylar maps from 1987-89 that were used to inform the county maps until 2011.

He reiterated his request for all documentation for closing the 1056 feet of Unique Road on his property using statute 68.

“All I’m asking for is that that road be declared still open,” said Oharah. He also said they want minimal maintenance on the road.

County attorney Bob Johnson said he watched the video of meetings held during Covid masking  (possibly 2020 or 2021) where a Mr. Meeks made a long explanation of the situation and the need to find the 1986 resolution from when they had the public hearings about the roads.

Johnson plans to talk to Mr. Meeks to see what the follow-up was.

Oharah said the county has maintained the road in perpetuity, including the installation of a culvert this year.

Tran took issue with the culvert. He also pointed out that Oharah was a commissioner at the time of the meeting referred to by Johnson, and he did nothing to help his neighbors who came and spoke at that meeting. Tran then pointed out that Oharah stands to gain financially from the sale of the property.

“We’re trying to do something that’s legal,” said Tran. He said they cannot speed things up, and that the current commission has to repair damage from the past commissions and ensure these same types of things don’t happen in the future.

He said he has empathy for Oharah’s plight, but he will not rush his decision.

Beerbower ended the discussion at that point.

North National,

There are new speed limit signs on North National. Citizens are requesting that the four-way stop where 218th meets N. National be made a two-way stop, with traffic open from east to west, but still stopping north and south at that intersection.

Tran asked if changing the stop signs would cause traffic problems. Sheriff Bill Martin said as long as the vegetation is cleared and visibility is good, there shouldn’t be a problem.

Beerbower made a motion to remove the stop signs going east and west on North National at the 218th street intersection. The commission approved.

Eagle Road

Eagle Road, going to Garland, east of 69, was repaved in the last 2 years after 4 or 5 years as gravel. The speed limit was lowered while it was gravel, and folks are requesting that it be raised back up to 55 now that it’s paved.

Tran recommended talking to an engineer from KDOT to determine what the speed limit should be. No official action was taken.

190th Street Benefit District

County Counselor Bob Johnson said benefit districts are typically done through an HOA, but it is still feasible for the county to set one up without that. The agreement would include an increase in ad valorem taxes for those in the district to cover the cost of the road maintenance. He offered to visit with the owners and send proposal documents to the commissioners.

Beerbower asked if the Public Works Department could give an assessment, and the county would proceed from there.

Kenny Allen from public works said the road needs a good deal of work done before it can be paved.

CIC Access

Milburn said they are working to get view-only access for the commissioners and the sheriff.

Walker said that her office enters all the bills, as it is her responsibility by statute, and no other departments should be entering bills.

Tran said they need a standard operating procedure from either the clerk’s office or the sheriff’s office on how things are entered into the system.

Johnson will review the statute and advise next week.

Courthouse Elevator

Milburn said the current elevator company will not give a certificate of compliance because the elevator doesn’t meet requirements. They are looking for bids on repairing the elevator.

Tran offered to help by reviewing the contract for repair if needed.

108 W 2nd

Milburn had no updates for that. The county paid $162,700 in 2013 for the building. The plan was to build a parking lot out of the lot behind it as well. They are waiting to decide what to do with the building until it is emptied by moving the sixth judicial and driver’s license department.

Crawkan

Tran asked about adding a “termination with convenience” clause for the county to the contract, and Johnson said he’d look into it.

Planning Commission Terms – Beerbower

Beerbower announced that Planning Commission members with one-year terms are Pete Owenby and Jeremy Milburn; two-year term members are Brent Smith and Bo Casper; three-year term members are Kyle Parks, Brian Ashworth II, and Seth Tucker.

Bob Johnson said he would work to get the first planning commission meeting up and going.

Resolution 1125 Review

Beerbower wants to “scratch the whole thing and start over.”

He handed out notes on changes, and they will bring it up again at the Oct. 6 meeting.

New Business
Credit App for Enterprise – Bill Martin and Ben Hart

Sheriff Martin took a moment to recognize Sergeant Scott Hillman of Hays, Kansas, who was killed in the line of duty over the weekend.

Martin said he is awaiting information from the clerk’s office to fill out the Master Equity Lease Agreement with Enterprise. He is also awaiting word back from legal counsel regarding agreement.

He plans to come back to the commission with the completed documents at the next meeting.

Resolution – Law Enforcement

Johnson, Hart, and Martin addressed the commission regarding a resolution that would fix the unidentified fund discussed in a previous meeting.

Milburn expressed displeasure with the resolution, and a discussion about the use of funding from the housing of out-of-county prisoners followed.

Beerbower and representatives of the sheriff’s department were in favor of using those funds to help with the purchase of bigger-ticket items the department needs, such as replacing vehicles and upgrading radios.

Tran said those funds fluctuate a great deal and cannot be used to build the sheriff department’s budget. He also pointed out that Sheriff Bill Martin is the CEO of his department and is fully responsible for his department’s budget.

Tran asked Martin what he expects in the future regarding payment for housing at the county jail. Martin said he hopes it will stay the same. They only fill the jail to 85% capacity with out-of-county inmates to make sure they always have the necessary space.

Martin went on to say he would not spend from the fund without bringing it before the commissioners first.

“We’re just trying to capture the revenue that’s already there in a resolution form, not create a different fund,” said Hart.

“You guys have been doing this” since 2019, said Johnson.

Beerbower said they would bring it back in two weeks.

Motion to move normal meeting from the 13th of October to the 14th. Passed.

Department Updates
Public Works – Kenny Allen and Dustin Hall

Tran thanked the department for patching North Union in Mapleton.

KDOT Grant – Bridge 19.2-Q.0. The grant is for 2027. The plan is to set aside some of the expected FEMA money to help with the county’s 10% of the $82,000 cost to rebuild the bridge.

Tran asked how their meeting went with Enterprise. Hall said the meeting went well, but they want to test it out before committing. If it works out, they would work to replace a third of their fleet each year until they were fully enrolled in the program.

“For us, I think it would work out in the long run,” said Hall. The two trucks they are replacing are mowing trucks. The department has two broken-down trucks now, which they will trade in.

Milburn said she would love to have them figure it up both ways, leasing, and continuing to purchase vehicles on their own.

Hall said it is a lot easier for Enterprise to sell used vehicles than it is for Public Works as a department.

They discussed leasing equipment like graders and dump trucks as well.

Transfer of Thomas Quarry

The commission approved the signing of reclamation paperwork for the quarry, transferring it to the new company that took over from the county.

Commission Comments

Milburn: “I want to acknowledge that the recent changes, while not easy, were both necessary and effective,” she said of the budget process. She believes the changes made will position the county for a better future.

Tran: “I’m happy that we got the budget through.” He learned a lot, and the vast majority of the county officials and department heads are willing to tighten their belts and do what’s needed. He’s cautiously optimistic about 2026. He anticipates the work on the insurance to be a challenge, but that the commission will rise to the occasion.

Beerbower thanked the commission for their work on the budget and looked forward to the strategic planning and insurance work coming up.

Lynne Oharah’s concern about the county declaring Unique Road open was the first item of business the commission handled after opening its meeting with regular county business.

Oharah wants the portion of Unique Road that adjoins his land to be declared open by the commission. He says that the procedures for closing a road, per KSA68102 or 102a are “very specific on how roads are closed,” and that the road portion he is concerned about has not been officially closed by the county.

He wanted to address an issue he said should be uniform throughout the county. He mentioned three roads (Quail and two sections of Unity) that the county stopped maintaining during his tenure as commissioner. He says they were arbitrarily closed and had their signage removed.

“You can’t do that. That’s not in the KSAs,” he said.

He referred to a certified survey from 1973, which he provided to the county commissioners, saying that the pins on the survey denote there is a 40 foot right of way between the two fences, which is the county road Unique.

“I don’t care what GIS shows. The pins don’t lie,” said Oharah.

He wants the county to direct the clerk to update its records, as the county is responsible for providing an accurate map of the county to the state. He said the title company would not accept the survey without the county also declaring the road to be open.

He says there is a discrepancy between the 2011 map and the 2012 map, which is what the public works director at that time “ran with.”

Beerbower said that because Oharah’s neighbor had his lawyer contact the county’s counselor, they couldn’t discuss the matter in an open meeting.

“Part of that land is mine, so I am requesting — I am not represented by legal counsel — I’m requesting that my portion of this road be opened,” said Oharah.

“Time is of the essence. Because I’m down to the wire,” said Oharah, referring to his efforts to sell some of his land.

He said that the commission didn’t need legal counsel to make a decision.

“We’re going to seek advice before we proceed any further,” said Beerbower, referring to the fact that they were dealing with the actions of past commissioners.

Oharah asked the commission to consider holding a special meeting if something were to happen that would jeopardize the sale of his land.

Tri-Valley – Bill Fiscus

Fiscus thanked the county for its support of Tri-Valley over the years. At the last meeting they spoke of a missed payment for Tri-Valley from 2024 for $13,750. The current agreement is for $55,000. They have also requested $55,000 in 2026.

He asked if they would receive that missed payment and how will it affect the 2025 and 2026 allocations.

County Clerk Susan Walker said the carryover from the missed payment was taken out of the budget in the last county commissioner meeting. She said a normal levy for Tri-County is 0.3 and the county is now levying 0.26.

The commission opted to discuss it during budget discussions later in the meeting.

Derek Raines

Raines spoke of the problems his family is having with EvoTech, a bitcoin company, which put in natural gas generators 172 yards from his house about 18 months ago. They run the generators continuously, 24/7. Inside the house, it’s 59-61 decibels, 54 dB in the back porch, and 73-74 on the front deck. He said the hum is constant in the house and they cannot open the windows.

The Raines had lived in their home for five years before EvoTech moved in and started running their generators.

Raines said he contacted the undersheriff who guided him to McCloud, in Jefferson County, KS. He then spoke to Doug Walbridge, who offered his assistance to the Bourbon County Commission to get this issue regulated.

“It’s just overbearing. We moved to the country from town for the peace and quiet,” he said. It’s bringing their property value down.

He said his parents can hear it 2 miles away.

He offered to get a petition signed or whatever else might help.

“It’s messing up our little piece of heaven,” he said.

He said he spoke to his state representative today as well, and plans to speak to KDHE also.

He mentioned that he pays more taxes to the county than EvoTech.

Tran asked what would need to happen to make it work for the neighborhood. Raines said it needs to be made so they can’t hear it.

Beerbower said the commission was looking into all the options and would keep working on the problem.

Sheriff Bill Martin & Ben Hart

Enterprise Fleet Management – Kenneth Olsen

Olsen represents Enterprise Fleet Management, which is working on an allocation for Chevy Tahoe police vehicles to replace vehicles in the sheriff’s current fleet.

Commissioner Mika Milburn asked how it would affect the 2026 budget. Olsen said they have a five-year plan to replace all the sheriff’s department vehicles for an average of $163,000 per year.

The funding for the new vehicles would come from the jail sales tax. Walker handed out a budget spreadsheet showing how the sheriff’s department budget would work.

Beerbower was in favor of adopting the leasing plan from Enterprise.

Tran expressed concern about the issue of balancing budget creep with the need to provide the sheriff’s department with reliable equipment.

Olsen said his company wants to create a partnership with the county. The county isn’t locked into the five-year plan Enterprise has proposed, but a flexible relationship bringing good data to the county to help them make wise decisions about vehicles going forward.

“This is a hard pill to swallow, but this is a pill we are going to have to swallow,” said Tran. He also asked that Ben and County Counselor Bob Johnson look over any contract before the county signs it to be sure there’s no fine print that will cause the county problems going forward.

Olsen also asked about getting a contract to work with the Public Works department, as his team prefers to have two departments involved. He said their vehicles’ average age is 2008.

Public Comments for Items Not on The Agenda

Susan Walker, County Clerk, corrected a statement she made at the previous meeting that commissioners must make $5,000. That’s not by statute, but a necessity to qualify for KPRS.

She also wanted to respond to comments Milburn made that Walker felt were directed at her. She was getting $6,500 to administer the county’s payroll, but that job is being transferred to an outside company, PayEntry.

Walker also said that the clerk’s office never handled HR issues, just activities and job descriptions. Bourbon County was lacking an HR department to handle disciplinary issues. She welcomes having someone from outside the county handle those issues. In the past, those issues were handled by the commission and the county counselor as the de facto administrators. “That was not something that was handled in the clerk’s office,” she stated.

“To say that I was the one directing the budget and the budget decisions is a misstatement,” she said, referring to Milburn’s commissioner comments in the last regular meeting.

The county had been paying her $3,500 to enter the budget numbers given her by department heads into the county’s budget document. The auditor offered to do it for $6,500.

Walker also expressed concern about PayEntry. There are several factors she was hesitant about in the process, and wasn’t consulted or allowed to ask questions during the meeting when it was discussed.

The kickoff meeting to transfer payroll to PayEntry was last week. One county employee took a whole day taking screen shots to give them data that could not be pulled from the system. PayEntry will charge $40 per pay period for those employees that are asking for paper checks. The county can require them to take pay cards or direct deposits instead.

PayEntry will only support child support garnishments, but there are other garnishments that the county will have process.

There are several exceptions to the rules that must be set up including grants that are used to make some parts of payroll.

Oct. 3rd is not a reasonable timeframe to be able to start up.

“What I have essentially come down to is: What we are doing, is we are paying a company to cut payroll checks and file federal and state taxes for us and that’s probably the easiest process for us to do,” she concluded. Her office will still have to do the benefit reconciliations, which is the most challenging part of the county’s payroll process. If she had been involved in this process from the beginning, the county might not be in this situation.

Milburn replied by saying that her comments were “a complication of a lot of things that needed addressed.”