County Commissioners began discussions to restructure those departments within the county that the commission is over. They also ordered a safety study for the Elm Creek Lake Dam.

Old Business

Policy and procedures

Commissioner Mika Milburn talked about the need for an interim reference addendum to the county’s 2002 policy book as the commission revisits and revises it. She suggested assigning reference numbers to the forms and procedures as they make or revise them for easy reference during revision and in the final product.

County Clerk Susan Walker has started adding reference numbers to forms as they are being amended. She has also requested an administrative procedure book separate from the original policy and procedure book. Commissioner David Beerbower agreed.

Per the commission’s decision in the April 28 meeting, the road closure request form now has relevant statutes on the back, instructions for accurately filling out the form, and includes the proviso that those applying for road closures pay the county’s administrative costs to close the road.

An audience member expressed that requiring a citizen to pay for administrative costs of road closures seemed unfair in light of the taxes paid by citizens for the maintenance of that road.

The commission approved Resolution 1625 to update the road closure form and costs.

Resolution for waiving landfill fees for cities of fewer than 400

Beerbower expressed concern that the reduction in landfill fees will reduce income for the Public Works Department. However, he’s okay with giving the break to cities that do the demolition themselves.

“I’d rather all of the garbage be in one spot than all over the county, personally,” said Milburn. She sees this an opportunity to help build and grow in the county.

Public Works Director Eric Bailey said there’s been inconsistent charges to municipalities for construction and demolition waste in the past. He recommended charging for C&D because of the work it requires.

Commissioner Brandon Whisenhunt moved to approve the resolution. Milburn and Whisenhunt voted “yes,” Beerbower voted “no.”

Set public hearing for vacation of road for May 19, 2025 at 5:35pm

The road for the hearing is the alley in between lots 3 and 4 of sub of lot one block eight in Hyattville.

Budget Work Session Update

Milburn wanted to put out a reminder that the commission has requested each department’s detailed budget be submitted to the commission by June 1, 2025.

Work Comp Procedures and Benefits

Beerbower spoke of changes he is proposing to the way the county handles Workman’s Comp. He said the purpose of Workman’s Comp is to protect employees from financial hardship due to injury on the job. With added medical expenses costs amount to more than the 66.67% that comp provides to an employee. In light of the impact on the employee’s inability to work and possible need for care causing their spouse to be unable to work, Beerbower believes there should be changes.

His suggested changes state that any employee injured on the job will be placed on administrative leave until their status is determined, with pay. If placed on workman’s comp, they will remain on administrative leave with 50% pay and remain in that status until released from workman’s comp.

County Counselor Bob Johnson cautioned that it would be wise to run this change by the county’s insurance provider to be sure that if the county has a policy to continue to pay an employee it won’t affect their workman’s comp benefits.

The commission chose to table it until the May 12 meeting to gather more information.

Human Resources

Bob Johnson, county counsel, said most counties don’t have human resources, but it runs through the clerk’s office and then goes to the county counsel if needed. Regarding grievances, he said he would be glad to assist. He also referred to the handbook as the main source of information and guidance.

He offered to talk to Susan’s office to help them make a plan for how to handle employee grievances and infractions in the future.

Milburn expressed concern about a conflict of interest in using the clerk’s office as the county’s HR resource. Johnson agreed, saying she was right and that he would be glad to help.

Hiring for a Floater Position

Milburn said the commission allocated $13,000 at the last meeting for a floater position to help in various offices and report directly to the commission. As it is the county’s policy to hire from within whenever appropriate and possible, she moved to hire Jennifer Hawkins for the position.

The commission approved the motion.

News Business

Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks

Don George with KDWP spoke to the commissioner about the $40,000 grant from his department that the county received to help with the dam at Elm Creek.

George recommended that the commission renew its current grant, which has expired. The project has been ongoing since August of 2021, but it is much more extensive than a $40,000 project. The grant is a 25/75 split, committing the county to pay 75% of the costs of dam repairs. However, George said they could apply for a phase II grant of another $40,000.

Milburn expressed concern that the project would end up being much more extensive than currently projected.

Eric Bailey suggested they look at minutes from previous commission’s discussion to see if they made any decisions about it.

He also spoke to Frank Young from  AG Engineering today, who strongly encouraged the commission to do a safety inspection on the dam to give them recommendations on all that they notice out there. The inspection will cost the county $3000 and has at least a 60 day wait.

Bailey strongly encouraged an inspection and George agreed. Bailey said they know of 3 areas where water is getting through and a valve that needs to be dealt with.

Whisenhunt said he is on a hunt for other money to help with the lake.

The dam was a WPA project and has historical value, said George.

Milburn asked who the county had that could go look for grants. But there’s not currently an economic development resource for the county.

The commission approved motions to extend the grant application and to hire Ag Engineering to do a safety inspection of the dam.

Hard Surface Roads and Bridge Repair Request

Eric Bailey, public works director, spoke to the commission about Uniontown Maple Road connecting a county road to a highway, which will be done later this year as the funds become available.

Yale Road is a priority for his department this year.

The commission approved the current hard surface plan and asked Bailey to come with to the commission with any changes.

Bridge

It’s time to apply for grants for bridges. This year’s bridge is on Jayhawk between 195th and 205th. “It really needs to be replaced,” said Bailey. It would be a project similar to the one at 60th and Grand.

The current estimated cost is $889,127, with the cost to the county being around $85,000. May 23 is the deadline to apply for the 90/10 grant, with the state paying 90 and the county paying the 10 percent.

In the past the county set aside money from a previous FEMA declaration to pay its portion of the bridge replacement costs. When Bailey took over, the county had about $300,000 set aside for that use. A good deal of that was used up with the flood of 2024, but they are expecting a reimbursement from FEMA.

The commission moved that Bailey apply for the grant.

Elm Creek Shelter House #2 has the roof off for replacement, and two large trees near it had to be taken down.

The commission approved the culvert requests.

Adopt a Countywide Letterhead

Milburn suggested that the commissioners bring examples of letterheads for them to choose from.

“Things are changing so we need to change our logo,” said Whisenhunt. He suggested having a school competition at the start of the 2025-26 school year for students to design a new logo for the county.

Dump Fees for Employees

Milburn moved to end the perk of no dump fees for county employees because of complaints she had received from more than one person.

Beerbower wants to deal with the inconsistency issues but keep the benefit for county employees.

Whisenhunt said that if they are going to run it as a benefit, they should figure out what it’s costing the county.

The motion failed for lack of a second, and the issue was tabled for discussion at the next commission meeting.

Bourbon County Mission Statement

Milburn said, “I think we need a mission statement.” Beerbower agreed, and the commissioners agreed to bring it back up on June 2.

Commissioner Comments

Beerbower announced that due to surgery, he will be unavailable after the 13th for a couple of weeks and needs a commissioner to attend the zoning committee meeting on May 14th.

Beerbower then spoke of the changes the commission has been working on, particularly in how the county does its work. He said he believes it’s time to start restructuring some of the departments that the commission oversees. He moved to separate the landfill from public works, using revenues generated by the landfill to offset their budget. The landfill is vital to the community, he said, “I believe they will benefit more from having their own supervision and answering directly to the commission.”

Milburn said she thought separating that would cause additional cost to the county in the form of hiring a director.

Beerbower said that he had reservations about the seperation when it was first proposed, but now believes it’s the right move.

Milburn suggested that they let Johnson help with the personnel issues and wait until they get to the budget talks to do anything further. She wants to see all the restructuring as a whole rather than starting on it piecemeal.

Whisenhunt believes restructuring is also in order, but the problem is that they have a building they need to pay for. The need to crunch the numbers is the only reason Whisenhunt didn’t second it so the motion died.

Milburn then moved to table the discussion and to look at the restructuring as a whole.

The motion carried.

Milburn thanked the cooperating agencies that have kept on through the years advocating for the community, particularly George with KDWP.  She also thanked Johnson for offering to help with the HR issues and Greg Motley for his help with the budget meetings.

“I am committed to improving and becoming more proficient,” she said.

“I want to thank you [Milburn] for jumping right in and taking the bull by the horns,” said Whisenhunt. He also thanked the citizens who speak up and tell the commission what they think.

Laura, the register of deeds, is fighting pneumonia. Whisenhunt asked that we please pray for her. She is a vital part of the county.