Agenda
Bourbon County Commission Room
1st Floor, County Courthouse
210 S. National Avenue
Fort Scott, KS 66701
Tuesdays starting at 9:00
Date: August 23, 2022
1st District–Nelson Blythe 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 & Bridge Report
• Bob Reed – Jail Update
• Jim Harris – Executive Session KSA 75–4319(b)(4) to discuss data relating to financial affairs or
trade secrets of corporations, partnerships, trust, and individual proprietorships
• Justin Meeks – County Counselor Comment
• Susan Bancroft – Chief Financial Officer Comment
• Shane Walker – Chief Information Officer Comment
• Public Comment
• Commission Comment
Justifications for Executive Session:
KSA 75–4319(b)(1) To discuss personnel matters of individual nonelected personnel to protect their privacy
KSA 75–4319(b)(2) For consultation with an attorney for the public body or agency which would be deemed privileged in the attorney–client relationship
KSA 75–4319(b)(3) To discuss matters relating to employer–employee negotiations whether or not in consultation with the representative(s) of the body or agency
KSA 75–4319(b)(4) To discuss data relating to financial affairs or trade secrets of corporations, partnerships, trust, and individual proprietorships
KSA 75–4319(b)(6) For the preliminary discussion of the acquisition of real property
KSA 75–4319(b)(12) To discuss matters relating to security measures, if the discussion of such matters at an open meeting would jeopardize such security measures.
What’s Happening in Fort Scott August 19 Newsletter
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Obituary of Clifford Carpenter
Clifford Eugene Carpenter, age 66, resident of Liberty, MO, died Friday, August 19, 2022, at Liberty Health and Wellness Nursing Home in Liberty, MO. He was born March 12, 1956, in Ft. Scott, KS, the son of Chester and Betty Dixon Carpenter. Clifford retired from Hallmark Greeting Card Distribution Center in Liberty, where he worked as a forklift operator. He greatly enjoyed treasure hunting at flea markets and dealing with antiques in his spare time.
Survivors include his mother, Betty Carpenter, Lamar, MO; 3 brothers, David Carpenter and wife Teresa, Jasper, MO, Norman Carpenter and wife Tonya, Ft. Scott, KS, and Carl Carpenter, Kansas City; and several nieces and nephews. He was preceded in by his father.
Graveside services will be held at 10:00 AM Wednesday, August 24, 2022, in the Deerfield Cemetery, Deerfield, MO. Arrangements are under the direction of the Cheney Witt Chapel, 201 S. Main St., Ft. Scott, KS 66701. Words of remembrance may be submitted to the online guestbook at cheneywitt.com.
FS City Commissioners Present at Visioning Session on August 23
There may be a majority of City Commissioners present at the Bourbon County R.E.D.I. Visioning Session to be held in the River Room, on Tuesday, August 23rd, 2022, at 5:30 p.m. at 3 West Oak Street, Fort Scott, Kansas. Even though a majority may be present, no City business will be conducted.
Special FS City Meeting for Revenue Neutral Rate Hearing on August 23
The City Commission will meet on Tuesday, August 23rd, 2022 at 5:00 p.m. for a special meeting at City Hall in the City Commission meeting room at 123 South Main Street, Fort Scott, Kansas. This meeting will be held to hold a Revenue Neutral Rate hearing and consider the adoption of a Resolution for this also. The Commission may also discuss the 2023 Budget and give authorization to publish the public hearing. A Certificate of Appropriateness will also be considered for signage at 17 S. Main Street.
This meeting is open to the public and will be broadcast on the City’s you tube channel.
The Bourbon County Sheriff’s Office Daily Reports August 19
Visioning Meeting to Bring Community Stakeholders Together
BOURBON COUNTY REDI PRESS RELEASE
On Tuesday, August 23rd Bourbon County Regional Economic Development, Inc will bring Bourbon County Commissioners, city commissioners from Fort Scott, Uniontown, Bronson, Mapleton, Fulton, and Redfield, as well as Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce board members, the Good Neighbor Action Team (GNAT), Healthy Bourbon County Action Team (HBCAT) board members, USD 234 and USD 235 board members, and the Fort Scott Community College board together to discuss a unified vision and how to grow Bourbon County together.
The Visioning Meeting will be held at The River Room above Luther’s BBQ at 5:45 PM.
The meeting will be facilitated by Rob O’ Brien of O’Brien & Associates, an economic and community development consulting firm from Joplin, MO.
Bourbon County Regional Economic Development, Inc Director Robert Harrington said, “We want to bring the community together in a unified effort; get everyone to pull on the same end of the rope so we can achieve our agreed-upon goals in a more expedient manner. To my knowledge this type of gathering with so many stakeholders has not been done in Bourbon County.”
This will be the first of three meetings in which stakeholders will meet to create a unified vision for Bourbon County. The goal will be to take these recommendations and work with other members of our communities to make them a reality.
Bourbon County Regional Economic Development, Inc is a 501c3 not-for-profit organization dedicated to attracting and creating investment, wealth, and economic opportunity in Bourbon County, Kansas.
For more information contact Rob Harrington, (620) 215-0144.
Chlorine Burnout of Fort Scott Water on August 22
The City of Fort Scott Water Utility will be initializing a free chlorine burnout of the water distribution system starting Monday August 22nd, and ending as soon as a free chlorine residual is established
throughout the entire system, approximately 2 (two) weeks.
This burnout is necessary maintenance of the water distribution system which will help maintain State standards for disinfection residual levels and ultimately maintain the high quality of water that you have come to expect.
Occasionally during this process customers may temporarily experience low pressures, taste or odors,
discolored water, or even some sediment in their water.
We do apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
Any questions, concerns, or comments are welcome.
Please contact the Water Treatment Plant at 223–5160 between 8:00 A.M. and 4:30 P.M. Monday through Friday.
Letter to the Editor: Deb McCoy
HONESTY IS ALWAYS THE BEST POLICY” George Washington
I want to encourage each and every one of you to get involved and not become complacent in what is happening among the City Commissioners. If you cannot attend the meetings they can be viewed live or at a later date on youtube.com. Simply type Fort Scott City Commission Meeting into the search bar. Become involved!
City Policies, Procedures and Ordinances. Why do we even have them? Because it gives guidelines for everyone to follow when presented with different situations. It provides consistency. It provides fairness. It provides cohesiveness and takes the guessing game out of what should be done.
We have been provided guidelines of all sorts since the beginning of time. Ten Commandments, Parliamentary guidelines, Constitutions, Bill of Rights, State guidelines, Kansas League of Municipalities guidelines, Professional guidelines, Workplace guidelines, Organizational guidelines, Meeting guidelines etc.
Where in the Rules of Professional Conduct does it say that we can manipulate the Rule of Law to fit our needs? It doesn’t. It states as a professional, the Rule of Law should be followed and respected.
Why are we wasting so much time on trying to get around or making exceptions as to what is written as an Ordinance or a State Statute? Why don’t we do what is right? We certainly have bigger things to be concerned about.
Put aside your personal agendas and start working for the citizens who voted you in and who are concerned about where our city is going.
Where are the written strategic plans for 5 years and 10 years? Why have we spent thousands of dollars on surveys and have not yet been given the results of these surveys nor have we seen any productive implementation of these studies.
We could have spent a lot of that money on infrastructure.
The fact is, without a good foundation, we don’t have a solid ground to build upon.
Without strategic plans we have no vision.
We need more action and less rhetoric over what should and should not be.
Why don’t you just follow the Rule of Law!
They are not in place for you to manipulate, they are there for you to follow.
Sincerely, Deb McCoy
Happy Kids Daycare and Preschool Opens
Lindsay Knopp and Afton Brown are the new owners of Happy Kids Daycare and Preschool, INC. at 1502 Scott Avenue, the former New Generations building.
The business provides daycare for children ages two weeks and up.
“We are pretty much full, with a waiting list of 50-plus,” Knopp said.
“We… have our normal daycare settings and preschool during the school months and then daycare and summer program during the summer months,” Brown said.
The hours of operation will be 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Currently in the preschool there are 37 students, Knopp said. “This includes the USD 234 (students). They lease a space to serve more preschool age kids and the majority of those students are also served in our daycare the other half of the day. In daycare we currently have around 60.”
“We are still waiting on our license, but we signed on the building June 16th,” Knopp said.
To contact the business call (620) 223-1506 or email:
Restoration by Patty LaRoche
When Dave and I were first married, I found a couple of end tables at a garage sale and brought them home to restore them, stopping first at a lumber yard where an elderly man helped me buy the correct supplies. Dave was away on a baseball road trip, so it was the perfect time for me to set up shop in our one-car garage and turn ugly into beautiful.
It was a painstaking process, and to this day it has given me an appreciation for people like Jim Sackett who find it rewarding to refurbish furniture for a living. After sanding, I applied the stain. Two coats of polyurethane later (I had to protect my treasures), they turned into a masterpiece. Today, I would call them ugly and take them to the dump, but not then.
The night Dave returned—and not anticipating anything to be in his path in our garage—he drove in and ran right over them. I heard the noise and thought we were being ransacked which, actually, would have made more sense, but no! Dave simply did not pay attention and reduced my tables to splinters. His excuse didn’t fly (even though his car obviously did): “Why should I expect anything to be in the middle of the garage in the middle of the night?” “Well, lucky for me I wasn’t standing there to greet you. Would you have just plowed over me too?”
I don’t remember Dave’s response, but I’m pretty sure it was NOT an apology.
Since then, only a few other times have I attempted to restore something. This past week, I tried to restore the bottoms of my pots and pans. After soaking them in Google’s suggested homemade paste for several hours, not one stain came out. For some reason, what looks so simple…well, isn’t.
Of course, furniture is not the only thing needing restoration. Laptops, old photographs, leather boots, broken bones, friendships and marriages, to name a few, sometimes need repair. Then, there are Christians. Yes, Christians. Even they occasionally need a little help, and lucky for us, God’s the best in the business at making the old look new.
The word “restore” appears 136 times throughout the books of the Bible. King David simplified things in Psalm 23:3: He (God) restores my soul.
Do you ever need your soul restored? I sure do. Like now. A Christian couple is upset with me, and I fight the need to act ugly right back. I mean, where is their love, the one thing that’s supposed to set us apart from non-believers? What about walking the talk?
So, I take it to God—albeit reluctantly—who reminds me that I need to ask those two questions of myself. Where is my love? Am I walking the talk? If so, I would not be fighting the desire to tell this couple how they aren’t acting very Christ-like and demand an apology. Surely there’s a scripture entitling me to do so…somewhere.
But of course, there isn’t. Instead, I find Romans 12:21: Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. In other words, I need to turn my ugly into beautiful. I need to allow God to restore what He knows needs a little help.
Lucky for me, no polyurethane required.
Letter to the Editor: Deb McCoy
Honesty is the best policy.
George Washington I want to encourage each and every one of you to get involved and not become complacent in what is happening among the City Commissioners. If you cannot attend the meetings they can be viewed live or at a later date on youtube.com. Simply type Fort Scott City Commission Meeting into the search bar. Become involved! City Policies, Procedures and Ordinances. Why do we even have them? Because it gives guidelines for everyone to follow when presented with different situations. It provides consistency. It provides fairness. It provides cohesiveness and takes the guessing game out of what should be done. We have been provided guidelines of all sorts since the beginning of time. Ten Commandments, Parliamentary guidelines, Constitutions, Bill of Rights, State guidelines, Kansas League of Municipalities guidelines, Professional guidelines, Workplace guidelines, Organizational guidelines, Meeting guidelines etc. Where in the Rules of Professional Conduct does it say that we can manipulate the Rule of Law to fit our needs? It doesn’t. It states as a professional, the Rule of Law should be followed and respected. Why are we wasting so much time on trying to get around or making exceptions as to what is written as an Ordinance or a State Statute? Why don’t we do what is right? We certainly have bigger things to be concerned about. Put aside your personal agendas and start working for the citizens who voted you in and who are concerned about where our city is going. Where are the written strategic plans for 5 years and 10 years? Why have we spent thousands of dollars on surveys and have not yet been given the results of these surveys nor have we seen any productive implementation of these studies. We could have spent a lot of that money on infrastructure. The fact is, without a good foundation, we don’t have a solid ground to build upon. Without strategic plans we have no vision. We need more action and less rhetoric over what should and should not be.Why don’t you just follow the Rule of Law! They are not in place for you to manipulate, they are there for you to follow.
Sincerely, Deb McCoy