February 26, 2024 Monday, 5:30 p.m.
The Bourbon County Commission met in open session with all three Commissioners and the County Clerk present.
Cherri Walrod, Clint Walker, Jason Silvers, Michael Hoyt, Deb McCoy, Teri Hulsey, Trevor Jacobs, Mark Mcoy, Anne Dare, Patty Ropp, Debbie Martin, and Rachel Walker were present for some or all of the meeting. .
Jim opened the meeting with the flag salute.
Nelson made a motion to approve the consent agenda which includes approval of minutes from 2-12-24 and 2-20-24, approval of payroll totaling $293,310.56 and approval of accounts payable totaling $327,719.27. Jim seconded the motion and all approved.
Cherri Walrod, Community Liaison for Core Community Bourbon County, invited the Commissioners to a Bridges out of Poverty workshop that will be held on March 2nd. Cherri stated the workshop will be lead by Deborah Factor, CEO of Youth Core Ministries, and participants will review a mental model of poverty, examine a theory of change, and analyze poverty through the prism of housing, the hidden rules of class and resources.
Clint Walker discussed other communities who have passed resolutions in favor of Medicaid expansion, suggested Bourbon County do the same, and said he doesn’t like to send his money elsewhere.
Mark McCoy, with Bourbon County Emergency Management, said there is currently a red flag warning and urged residents not to burn as there will be wind gusts up to 50 mph.
Nelson presented a resolution 04-24 opposing the settlement of illegal immigrants in Bourbon County and made a motion to adopt it. The motion died due to a lack of a second. Nelson said resolutions make statements and he believed many residents of Bourbon County would agree and said you need to stand up for what you believe in or what you think is right. Clifton stated the first part of the resolution is already a law and that the only way he would vote in favor of passing the resolution is if wording is changed to state Washington DC failed not just the Biden Administration. Clifton also said he doesn’t agree with the bottom section and stated he will not go against a church helping little kids and said in his opinion this was political mudslinging. Jim read a resolution prepared by the County Counselor that is in favor of the settlement of legal immigrants in Bourbon County. Trevor Jacobs, District 4 State Representative, thanked the Commissioners for allowing him to speak. Trevor said he appreciates Nelson for bringing this up as it is our Constitutional right to protect the border and that if people think that immigrants are not coming here, they are foolish. Jim discussed the resolution Nelson presented and said he has a problem with the section stating the Biden Administration and churches as well.
Eric Bailey, Public Works Director, presented a utility permit for 1997 195th for the final approval signatures. Eric said the work has been completed and meets their specifications. Eric presented the Bi-annual inspections agreement with Schwab Eaton. 111 bridges will be inspected and put on the KDOT portal for $19,622. Eric said the new miner training for MSHA will take place this week. The DWR permit has been obtained for the location east of 130th Street on Kansas Road, so they have ordered four 48-inch culverts to complete the project. Eric said they are still waiting on the DWR permit for 225th and Tomahawk Road. The bridge project at 160th Street and Fern Road is scheduled to start April 1st but could be as soon as March 11 as they are finalizing utilizes now. Nelson asked where the bridge project at 60th and Grand Road stands and Eric said it is in the inspection phase. Eric said they met with an asphalt contractor for Eagle Road and they took core samples and are waiting to hear results back. Eric said they may not have enough fines in the mixture now that the rock crusher is producing cleaner chips. Eric said they are aware there is some unraveling on the road and will be able to correct this by putting a surface coat on. Eric said a meeting is scheduled with the City of Bronson to visit about asphalt and he said he will send Nelson the time and date of the meeting. There was a hailstorm in April 2022 and there was damage done to the roof at the public works building. Eric said the insurance adjuster would like to visit and he asked permission for Clifton to be present since he has experience with metal roofing. Jim and Nelson agreed to allow Clifton to visit with Eric and the insurance adjuster. Eric stated they had to raise tire prices at the landfill from 9 cents per pound to 10 cents per pound due to the company we use to dispose of the tires raised their prices. Eric said there have been questions about the motor graders and if they have GPS capabilities. Every motor grader has GPS and a report can be generated to show what time the graders start, fuel consumption, where the machine has graded, and even how much time the grader sits idle. Eric said he has asked his graders to do daily maintenance such as greasing and that is why they may be at their homes before 3:30. Eric said his door is always open if anybody has questions about purchases they make to give him a call.
Matt Quick, County Appraiser, stated property valuations will be sent out March 1st. Due to the housing market everything is going up and it is approximately 9% this year. Matt said the market side is showing an increase of at least 30%. Matt said commercial property is on cost as they cannot use market value and those properties have gone up because costs have gone up. Dry crop land is down some this year while grass land is up some. Matt stated that residents have 30 days to appeal their valuations and his office will review the property and schedule a meeting to sit down and go over everything with them. Matt said he wanted residents to be aware of the increase and stated the value doesn’t set the taxes the mill levy does. Jim asked if the majority of what Matt does is dictated by the state and Matt said everything is set by the state. Michael Hoyt asked if there is a hunting land classification and Matt stated no, there is dry crop and grass land which is broken down into tame for hay ground and native for pastures. Matt said that last year we were not compliant due to our residential values being too low. Matt said he wishes he could lower them but that is not what the state dictates.
Jim made a motion to table the discussion of healthcare sales tax due to Justin being sick and unable to attend tonight. Clifton seconded the motion and all approved.
Susan Walker, CFO, stated she has previously asked to use the state setoff program for public works and the landfill. Teri Hulsey, EMS Director, has spoken to the state setoff program and they currently collect for approximately 53 EMS agencies with good luck. Teri said they can collect off of not only income tax returns but also casino winnings from casinos in Kansas. Susan said we currently write off $3,000-$10,000 per month for EMS bills. Jim asked if the state charges to use their setoff program. Susan said they charge 19% of what is collected. Susan said Teri and her staff would have to submit reports to the state and Teri stated she has a letter drafted that they would send out to individuals before they are sent to the setoff program. Currently OMNI, the third-party vendor who bills for our EMS services, sends out two statements and a final letter and will write off if no payment is received. Michael Hoyt asked how long that takes because sometimes it takes insurance longer than 90 days to pay on a claim. Susan said it is usually 120 days past due when OMNI sends the final notice letter. Nelson made a motion to allow EMS to start using the state setoff program to help collect on EMS billings. Clifton seconded the motion and all approved. Teri presented an agreement that needs to be signed to before they can use the program. Clifton made a motion to allow Chairman Harris to sign the agreement. Nelson seconded the motion and all approved.
Susan stated a few weeks ago the Sheriff’s department asked to replace a totaled vehicle. They originally were looking at using ARPA funds but Susan said she has been working with Patty on an additional distribution that will take place next week. There will be approximately $38,000 received from the extra distribution and Susan suggested the funds be used to purchase a patrol vehicle outright instead of financing. Nelson made a motion to allow the extra distribution to pay for the patrol vehicle for the Sheriff’s Department. Clifton seconded the motion and all approved.
Jennifer Hawkins, County Clerk, received a letter stating that Mark McCoy’s appointment to the non-lawyer member position of the 6th District Judicial Nominating Commission will expire in March. Mark McCoy stated he would be honored to serve again if the Commissioners wish to re-appoint him. Nelson made a motion to re-appoint Mark Mcoy to the non-lawyer member position of the 6th District Judicial Nominating Commission. Jennifer stated in the past the county has received a bad audit for not completing inventory yearly so she presented a 2023 inventory certificate for the Commissioners to sign so the county is in compliance with state statute. Clifton made a motion to approve the 2023 inventory list. Nelson seconded the motion and all approved. Jennifer presented a letter from the county’s insurance provider, KCAMP, informing those with historical courthouses that they may want to consider purchasing coverage on a reproductive cost valuation basis. After discussion it was decided to remain with the coverage the county currently has for replacement cost basis. Jennifer asked if more than one Commissioner planned to attend the Bridges out of Poverty workshop with Jim being the only Commissioner who plans to attend. Jennifer stated the Presidential Preference Primary election will be held on March 19th with early voting beginning March 11 at the courthouse. The early voting will take place from 8:30-4:30 Monday through Friday, 8:00-12:00 on Saturday, and 8:30-12:00 on Monday, March 18th. In the past the Commissioners have not held a meeting on the day before the election since the Clerk’s office is busy with setting up election sites and the Commissioners agreed to not hold a meeting on March 18th. Jennifer asked if the Commissioners would like to advertise for hay bids for Elm Creek Lake, the old landfill site near 225th and Native Road, and the radio tower site on 250th Street. Eric Bailey said that he would like to do them this year again. Jennifer will place the bids in the newspaper and the website.
Clifton said he gets called out by people online and said he is accused of not having a thick skin and stated there is a member of the audience who pressed charges against someone who raised their voice and said at some point you lose patience. Clifton said he hears what people say about him not being conservative enough but that he’s sitting in this seat and if someone is staring and pointing at me and slaps hard on the table he feels threatened. Clifton said he has been called disrespectful but stated the audience is as well. Jim said Trevor called him after the last meeting and he told him he wanted Justin to review the resolution and make some changes and he would approve it. Jim said he has to support his thoughts as wells as yours and was surprised that Justin’s resolution wasn’t passed tonight. Deb Martin said that they have no problem with legal immigration but Justin’s resolution doesn’t state illegal immigration and she thinks we need to focus on the illegal aspect. Michael Hoyt asked if there will be al election in April since the healthcare tax has been delayed. Jennifer Hawkins stated they will not be able to hold the election on April 16th due to the timing restrictions she has to follow to publish notification of a special election. Jim said he feels a lot of people were rude speaking towards them. Nelson said a prayer during his Commission comment time.
Nelson made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 6:53. Clifton seconded the motion and all approved.
THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
OF BOURBON COUNTY, KANSAS
___________________, Chairman
___________________, Commissioner
ATTEST: ___________________, Commissioner
Jennifer Hawkins, Bourbon County Clerk
3-4-2024 Approved Date