December 15, 2020                                         Tuesday 9:00 am

The Bourbon County Commission met in open session with all three Commissioners, the County Clerk and the County Counselor present.

Also present were the following: (some were present for a portion of the meeting, some were present for the entire meeting), Jason Silvers with the Fort Scott Tribune, Mr. & Mrs. Clinton Walker, Anne Dare and Michael Hoyt.

Eric Bailey and Dustin Hall with Road & Bridge met with the Commissioners; they are putting brine on some of the roads and hills today due to the anticipated weather coming.

Eric said he had a good meeting (regarding clean up and the roads) with the contractor installing fiber on the south side of 54 Highway.

Eric said some of their employees are getting updated CPR and 1^st aid training for their MSHAW qualifications.

Eric said they needed to update the board members for the 5 year solid waste plan; Jeff made a motion to appoint Lynne Oharah, Clifton Beth, Jim Harris, Eric Bailey and Frank Young as the solid waste management committee, Clifton seconded and all approved.

Eric said they applied and should receive a grant from KCAMP for the purchase of a tarp for a hauling truck.

Eric said the hydraulic pumps are overheating on the dump trucks, he said they are taking a truck to Joplin for the installation of a new pump to test to see if this repairs the issue.

Eric said they are repairing a spindle on a tire on a grader.

Eric and Dustin discussed the motor on the rock crusher; they contacted Foley, Inland, Larry’s Diesel and CAT in Joplin for a quote, to date they have received a quote from Foley for $36,000 to replace the motor with a re-manned motor.  They have contacted Murphy Tractor to discuss the cost of repairs vs. the trade in value of the crusher, (they don’t want to spend more in repairs then the crusher is worth), to discuss a possible crusher demonstration or to possibly rent a crusher.

Gregory Vahrenberg with Raymond James (on the telephone) met with the Commissioners to discuss the possible bond refinancing.  Mr. Vahrenberg said with the current low interest rates it is a good opportunity to refinance the 2015 general obligation bonds, he said refinancing the years 2024-2035 can produce savings.  He said the cost to refinance would be paid out of the proceeds.  He said the current average interest rate is 3.23% and the estimated refinanced rate is 2.03% and if refinance could produce approximately $251,941 in savings.  Lynne asked if they reviewed savings for refinancing other bonds, Mr. Vahrenberg said only refinancing the 2015 bonds produced savings; he hadn’t reviewed the sewer district bonds, but said he would.  The approximate cost to refinance is 2% of the principal amount of the bonds. After discussion, Clifton made a motion to start the process to refinance the 2015 bond, Jeff seconded and all approved.  If the County later decides to cancel the refinancing there will be no cost to the County.

Jody Hoener met with the Commissioners to discuss Spark; she said they have encountered some difficulties getting items purchased, she said the credit cards being used have limits and there have been barriers getting checks cut in off cycles.  The Spark money has to be spent by the end of the year.  Jody said they needed real-time numbers on what the balance is so that all of the money can be spent by the end of the year.  There is a Spark meeting (between Greenbush, departments and others) on December 15^th to discuss the balance and reconciling expenses.

Jeff made a motion to allow employees with unused vacation time as of 12/31/2020 to carry over the unused vacation time until 4/30/2021, Clifton seconded and all approved.

Register of Deeds Lora Holdridge met with the Commissioners to discuss longevity pay; she had concerns over employees that had left employment and come back to work getting longevity credit for the time the employee worked at the County before leaving.  Lora said all of the elected officials had prior experience with the County before becoming elected.  Jeff said elected officials aren’t eligible for the one-time longevity pay, but said if they became unelected and serve the County then their prior knowledge with the County should count towards longevity.  Lora said she wasn’t asking for elected officials to get the longevity pay. Lora said if an employee comes back to work for the County then their longevity date should be the date they come back to work, not their original start date.  She said their other benefits aren’t held and said their longevity (original hire date) shouldn’t be held either.  Lora didn’t agree with the longevity calculation for a former Commissioner leaving and coming back as an employee.

Lynne made a motion to amend the agenda to discuss a pay matter, Jeff seconded and all approved.  Lynne said pay raises had been given at times and said Lora had taken on extra work regarding road records back to the 1950’s, Lynne said he thought they should consider a pay scale to compensate for the extra work; Lora thanked him, but said she wasn’t here to discuss that issue.

Clifton made a motion to go into a 15 minute executive session for personnel matters of individual non-elected personnel to protect their privacy, the Commissioners will meet in another location and reconvene in the Commission room, Jeff seconded and all approved, (the session included the Commissioners and Justin Meeks).  No action was taken.

Jeff made a motion to go into a 15 minute executive session for personnel matters of individual non-elected personnel to protect their privacy, the Commissioners will meet in another location and reconvene in the Commission room, Clifton seconded and all approved, (the session included the Commissioners and Eric Bailey).  After the session, Jeff made a motion to fill the administrative clerk position for Road & Bridge, Clifton seconded and all approved.

On 12/8/2020, the Commissioners approved a bid from Schwab Eaton to do the bridge inspections; the Commissioners asked that yes be circled on that agreement for the low water crossings.

Jeff made a motion to go into a one hour executive session for confidential data relating to financial affairs or trade secrets of corporations, partnerships, trusts and individual proprietorships, Clifton seconded and all approved, (the session included the Commissioners, Jody Hoener, Shane Walker, Nedra Barr, Sharon Ross, Lindsay Madison, Josh Jones and Pete Allen (some were attending the meeting by Zoom).  No action was taken.

Jeff made a motion to go into a 25 minute executive session for confidential 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 the Commission room, Clifton seconded and all approved, (the session included the Commissioners, Justin Meeks and Jody Hoener).  After the session, Lynne made a motion to give Clifton permission to meet with CHC, Clifton seconded and all approved.

Lynne made a motion to amend the agenda to discuss resolutions, Clifton seconded and all approved.

Jeff made a motion to adopt Resolution 30-20, a wage resolution effective 01/01/2021, increasing the wages for the position of major, captain and GIS coordinator, Clifton seconded and all approved.

Jeff made a motion to adopt Resolution 31-20, a resolution allowing unused 2020 vacation time to be carried over until April 30, 2021, Clifton seconded and all approved.

Lynne made a motion to not have a Commission meeting on December 29^th or January 5^th and to allow the Commission room to be used for early in-person voting, Jeff seconded and all approved.

Jeff made a motion to go into a 20 minute executive session confidential 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 the Commission room, Clifton seconded and all approved, (the session included the Commissioners, Jody Hoener and Justin Meeks).  No action was taken.

At 1:00, Jeff made a motion to adjourn, Clifton seconded and all approved.

THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

OF BOURBON COUNTY, KANSAS

(ss) Lynne Oharah, Chairman

(ss) Jeff Fischer, Commissioner

(ss) Clifton Beth, Commissioner

ATTEST:

Kendell Mason, Bourbon County Clerk

December 22, 2020, Approved Date

Agenda

Bourbon County Commission Room

1st Floor, County Courthouse

210 S. National Avenue

Fort Scott, KS 66701

Tuesdays starting at 9:00

Date: December 23, 2020

1^st District-Lynne Oharah Minutes: Approved: _______________

2^nd District-Jeff Fischer Corrected: _______________

3^rd District-Clifton Beth Adjourned at: _______________

County Clerk-Kendell Mason

*SPECIAL MEETING

MEETING WILL BE HELD IN COMMISSION ROOM. ANYONE ATTENDING THE MEETING WILL BE REQUIRED TO WEAR A MASK. MUST MAINTAIN SOCIAL DISTANCING.

3:00 – 3:20 – Executive session – confidential data relating to financial affairs or trade secrets of corporations, partnerships, trusts and individual proprietorships

3:20 – 3:30 – Executive session – personnel matters of individual non-elected personnel to protect their privacy

December 8, 2020                                           Tuesday 9:00 am

The Bourbon County Commission met in open session with all three Commissioners, the County Counselor and the County Clerk present.

Also present were the following; (some were present for a portion of the meeting, some were present for the entire meeting), Jason Silvers with the Fort Scott Tribune, Mr. & Mrs. Clint Walker, Anne Dare, Mark McCoy and Michael Hoyt,

Road & Bridge director Eric Bailey met with the Commissioners; he presented the 2021 bridge inspection proposal from Schwab Eaton.  Jeff made a motion to approve the Schwab Eaton bridge proposal of 23 structures not to exceed $5,175.00, 1 fracture critical inspection for $1,500 and 5 low water crossing inspections for a total of $475, Clifton seconded and all approved and the Commissioners signed the agreement.

Eric Bailey reported the motor had gone out on the rock crusher; he said they are getting quotes and said a high estimate would be $35,000 if the engine needs replaced, but said they are still getting quotes and opinions.

Eric reported the County had hauled 69 loads of gravel to an area where the fiber optic had been installed; he said he is working with the contractor that did the install.  Lynne complemented the County’s work to repair those roads.

Eric said they are working on roads near 115^th & Poplar/Quail.

Jeff Fischer reported that Shirley Hurd asked the County for help removing large cedar trees that needed removed in the Lath Branch cemetery; Lynne said in the past the County has given cemeteries gravel or moved dirt. He said cemeteries are taxing entities that operate on a limited budget, he said in the past they have given the public works director the discretion to do work in the cemeteries.  Eric said the County will help with the work, he said it would be a joint effort between the County and an individual that wants the wood from the trees.

Jeff made a motion to go into a 10 minute executive session for personnel matters of individual non-elected personnel in another office and reconvene at the Commission room, Clifton seconded and all approved, (the session included the Commissioners and Patty Love).  After the session, Lynne said they would have further discussion on the topic later today.

Jody Hoener gave a SPARK update; she said they will do a report to the State by Thursday this week, she said William Wallis needed to earmark $5,000 of the SPARK money received for the cost of a single audit.

Jody said BWERC is helping businesses with State reporting as well as helping businesses complete applications for revolving loans.  She said Health Bourbon County is now a partner with BWERC.  Jody reported BWERC will be hosting the Chamber coffee on 12/10/20; she said they will be requiring masks and social distancing, and said if someone feels uncomfortable doing this they should reconsider attending the coffee.  Jeff made a motion that the Commissioners be able to attend the coffee, Clifton seconded and all approved.

Jody Hoener met with the Commissioners to discuss the OMNI lockbox option; she said OMNI has waived all fees for the lockbox (the lockbox is a bank account where ambulance payments would be made).  Jody said the payments would be applied to patient’s accounts in a timelier manner with a company that has the knowledge of customer service, OMNI has a HIPPA compliance policy in place and OMNI could streamline the payment process.  She said the lockbox would close the gap between the billing company and the customers.  OMNI would collect a % of the money collected for their service.  Lynne said they had temporarily fixed the EMS receivables problem, Jody suggested considering a long term solution.  Lynne said they needed to work through issues before making a decision on the OMNI lockbox.  Jeff made a motion to amend the agenda at noon today for an executive session for non-elected personnel, Clifton seconded and all approved.

Lynne made a motion to amend the agenda to discuss an annexation from the City of Fort Scott, Jeff seconded and all approved.  Jeff discussed the adopted Resolution 19-2020 from the City of Fort Scott annexing Peerless property into the city limits; Peerless requested that the City annex some of their land into the City of Fort Scott, this land is located east of the hotel.  Jeff made a motion to approve annexation from Resolution 19-2020 from the City of Fort Scott, Clifton seconded and all approved.

Terry Sercer met with the Commissioners regarding the 2020 budget amendment; he said the Landfill and Public Safety had large expenses in November and said the Landfill and the Jail were down in revenue.  Terry said he will add the SPARK grant funds to the amendment.  Terry said there was a coding error in the Road & Bridge Sales Tax and said a transfer will need to be made.  Lynne said they would use approximately $75,000 of the Special Machinery money for Road & Bridge expenses.  Clifton made a motion to approve the 2020 amended budget for publication, Jeff seconded and all approved.

Bill Martin, Ben Cole, Bobby Reed and Lesley Herrin (filming) met with the Commissioners.  Bill Martin said he appreciated the major and the captain getting a raise after not getting one for 7 years; he said now his #3 employee is making more than his #2 employee (the undersheriff).  Bill said in 2017 he requested open communication with the Commissioners; Bill said he sent emails to other Sheriff departments on how they met with their Commissioners, Bill said other Sheriff’s talk to their Commissioners outside of the Commission room so they can understand the issues they are dealing with; Bill read some of the responses he received.  Lynne said the Commissioners no longer represent the County when they step outside the Commission doors.  Justin said it is a KOMA violation to meet with two Commissioners @ two separate times about the same issue; he said this is called streaming.  Bill said once again he is reaching out to the Commissioners and said he was willing to meet any of the Commissioners outside of the Commission room to discuss issues that are going on; Lynne questioned what was wrong with meeting publicly in an open forum about those issues, Bill said it becomes a fight publicly.  Bill said a former Commissioner used to go office to office to find out elected officials concerns.  Michael Hoyt gave the Commissioners documentation on advisory boards; He suggested developing a citizen’s advisory board to bring issues to the Commissioners.  Jeff made a motion to give Clifton the authority to talk to the Sheriff when needed so they can better understand their needs, Clifton seconded and all approved. Lynne said he would entertain the discussion of a raise for the undersheriff; a raise was not discussed.

Anne Dare met with the Commissioners to discuss BEDCO; she requested a detailed copy of the BEDCO budget, Lynne said she should ask Greg Motley for a copy of the budget.  Anne discussed the County giving money to BEDCO and said if a County employee was hired as the BEDCO director it could eliminate a job at the City or vise versa.  Lynne said that BEDCO is not a County organization. Lynne discussed what BEDCO is trying to accomplish and compared it to Thrive Allen County; he discussed what Thrive Allen County has done for Allen County economic development.  Lynne said BEDCO is looking for someone with experience and someone with grant writing abilities; and said everyone has the opportunity to apply for the position.  Clifton said he believed in the BEDCO program and said he would be watching the program carefully.  Anne questioned if the County could afford to give $130,000 to BEDCO: Jeff said they compare Bourbon County to other counties and said it is evident of counties that don’t have economic development as a priority.  Anne asked that the Commissioners consider all options so that they still were funding BEDCO in five years, Lynne said the County has helped fund BEDCO since it was established.  Anne discussed Justin Meeks and his position and the Commissioners discussion over hiring another person to handle different duties; she said if he couldn’t handle the position then maybe the Commissioners should return the position to a full time job.  Lynne said Justin’s contract if for part time County Counselor; he said changes with our organization (with EMS, emergency room, HR issues and others) a business manager could handle internal issues and said the County could save enough money to pay for this position. Lynne said Justin doesn’t charge for additional hours worked over his contracted time.  Justin said he is the County Counselor (he said his current salary is $64,000 + benefits), but said he has worked on other issues and has volunteered his time, he said he sees the organization changing and said there are changes that he doesn’t have the skill set for.

Jeff Fischer said the COVID cases were up nationwide; he said people’s behavior will determine how severe the economic impact COVID will be on our community.  Clifton said as a nurse, they are getting tired.  Clinton Walker discussed the impact to businesses where business owners had gotten COVID or had died from COVID. Anne Dare said some people are mad that the mask ordinance isn’t being enforced.

Jeff made a motion to go into a 10 minute executive session for personnel matters of individual non-elected personnel, to meet in another location and to return to the Commission room at 11:27, Clifton seconded and all approved, (the session included the Commissioners and David Neville).  After the session, the Commissioners requested from Kendell what was done regarding carrying over vacation time from 2019 to 2020; the Commissioners will address this issue on 12/15/2020.

Jeff made a motion to go into a 60 minute executive session for confidential data relating to financial affairs or trade secrets of corporations, partnerships, trusts and individual proprietorships, to meet in another location and to return to the Commission room at 12:28, Clifton seconded and all approved.  The session included the Commissioners, Justin Meeks and Jody Hoener.  No action was taken.

Lynne made a motion to go into a 15 minute executive session for personnel matters of individual non-elected personnel in another location and to reconvene in the Commission room, Clifton seconded and all approved, (the session included the Commissioners and Justin Meeks).  After the session, Lynne made a motion that he attend a meeting with the City of Fort Scott on 12/9/2020, Justin Meeks said he would also like to attend the meeting, Clifton seconded and all approved.

At 12:50, Clifton made a motion to adjourn, Jeff seconded and all approved.

THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

OF BOURBON COUNTY, KANSAS

(ss) Lynne Oharah, Chairman

(ss) Jeff Fischer, Commissioner

(ss) Clifton Beth, Commissioner

ATTEST:

Kendell Mason, Bourbon County Clerk

December 15, 2020, Approved Date

Agenda

Bourbon County Commission Room

1st Floor, County Courthouse

210 S. National Avenue

Fort Scott, KS 66701

Tuesdays starting at 9:00

Date: December 22, 2020

1^st District-Lynne Oharah Minutes: Approved: _______________

2^nd District-Jeff Fischer Corrected: _______________

3^rd District-Clifton Beth Adjourned at: _______________

County Clerk-Kendell Mason

MEETING WILL BE HELD IN COMMISSION ROOM. ANYONE ATTENDING THE MEETING WILL BE REQUIRED TO WEAR A MASK PROVIDED BY THE COUNTY. MUST MAINTAIN SOCIAL DISTANCING.

9:00 – 9:05 Eric Bailey, Road & Bridge

9:05 – 9:08 Eric Bailey, Executive Session, Consultation with an attorney for the body or agency which would be deemed privileged in the attorney-client relationship

9:15 – 9:30 Lynne Oharah, Executive Session, Personnel matters of individual non-elected personnel

9:30 – 9:45 Spark

9:45 – 9:50 Millie Lipscomb, asking approval for reappraisal of property

10:00 – 10:30 2020 Budget Amendment Hearing