COMMISSIONERS’ PROCEEDINGS
OCTOBER 15, 2024
Agenda:
8:30 – Bills
8:45 –
9:00 – Hospital/David and Angela Piper
9:15 –
9:30 – Tony Martin
9:45 –
10:00 –
10:30 –
The Board of Stevens County Commissioners met in a regular session. Paul Kitzke, County Attorney and Amy Jo Tharp, County Clerk, were also present. Tron called the meeting to order. Pat moved to approve minutes from the last meeting. Joe seconded. Motion carried. Joe moved to approve the county vouchers. Pat seconded. Motion carried. The County Clerk was instructed to draw warrants on the Treasurer chargeable to the various funds of the county for the following amounts:
| General | $ 129,068.38 |
| Co. Building | $ 4,036.53 |
| Judicial District | $ 1,237.67 |
| Road & Bridge | $ 175,369.01 |
| Airport | $ 17,299.99 |
| ARPA | $ 12,072.00 |
| Library | $ 96,692.25 |
| 911 Wireless | $ 1,452.78 |
| Noxious Weed | $ 14,817.06 |
| EMS | $ 18,093.05 |
| Fire | $ 16,941.15 |
| Community Health | $ 46,232.20 |
| Comm Hlth Grants | $ 208.00 |
| Sheriff | $ 88,498.38 |
| Non Spec Equipment | $ 24,637.51 |
| Emp Miscl W/H | $ 100.00 |
| Treas Tech Fund | $ 1,971.64 |
| TOTAL: | $ 648,727.60 |
Ross Sullivan came in and told the commissioners the doors at the EMT/Fire building have been installed. Ross showed the commissioners the estimates for LED lights at the Moscow Senior Center and EMT building which totals $2,165.59. Ross also told them the generator at the community health department is down and believes the radiator is plugged as it keeps throwing an alarm. The commissioners agreed to have LED lights put in at the Moscow Senior Center and the EMT building in Hugoton.
Dave Piper and Angela Piper with the hospital came in. Dave said they will be holding a finance training session for hospital board members and plans to extend the invitation to the commissioners as well when they decide on a date and time. Pat asked if there was a certain statute determining how many terms a board member can serve. Dave replied he was unsure but knew at the current time the Stevens County Hospital Board members may serve three (3) terms of three (3) years each term. Dave and Angela stated the hospital financials are good for August and the hospital is moving in the right direction. The hospital now has a pulmonary resuscitation physician, providing financial training to staff, and writing for grants among other improvements. The hospital has received funds for a van for the Pioneer Manor as well.
Dave reported the only issue currently is the massive size of the Pioneer Manor. They are starting to see where repairs need to be made and will become more expensive as time goes by. Several months ago, the Pioneer Manor sustained damage from a lightning storm which knocked out their door alarm system and there were no replacement parts to fix the system as it was antiquated. The new system they had to purchase was roughly $91,000.00 and approximately $13,000.00 to hire temporary staff to walk the hallways to make sure residents did not leave without being noticed. To date, KCamp has not paid anything for the insurance claim and stated they can only pay around $30,000.00 for the upgraded system. The commissioners told Amy to investigate what can be done to help get closure on the insurance claim for the system at Pioneer Manor. There is a bill from Lin Goode for some work done at the hospital, clinic, and pharmacy for their sewer including concrete work in the amount of $23,500.00.
Dave informed the commissioners he had attended the Kansas Hospital District meeting in July and was told out of the United States, Kansas tops the list of high-risk hospitals closing. Dave also said United and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas are the worst at paying hospitals or clinics for care. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas have the patients pay twenty-five percent (25%) while all other states have the patients pay fifteen percent (15%).
Pat instructed Amy to approve payment for a bill from Lin Goode in the amount of $23,500.00 for the hospital. Tron and Joe agreed. Joe asked Dave if there were any heart specialists or a way Dr. Farhoud could come back to see patients. Dave said Dr. Farhoud now sees patients through Telemed at the hospital in the specialty clinic.
Jayme Rich came in and told the commissioners the wellness center is five (5) months behind depositing checks. Jayme also stated the sales tax submissions received from the wellness center lack paperwork and she has tried to contact the department and has yet to receive an answer. The sales tax submissions are due on the 25th every month and have started to affect the treasurer’s office regarding balancing. Jayme also informed the commissioners that the county has received tax money from KDI, and they are paid in full, and Best Western is still making regular payments on their taxes.
Tony presented the commissioners with some crossing permits for signatures. He said one of the crossing permits is to run down the center line and the only issue is waiting for a survey to be completed. Tony also told the commissioners the county roads are in bad shape due to no moisture and all the trucks hauling for harvest. Joe said Road 21, north of Road V, appears to have had some heavy equipment dragged and the road is torn up. Tony said he will drive out and look at the road to see if anything can be done at this time. He informed the commissioners APAC bid out a project on Kansas State Highway 56 and would like to stockpile some asphalt in Stevens County. The commissioners told Tony they did not see a place where asphalt can be stockpiled at this time.
Tony said the planning and zoning board met with Glenn Kerbs and they will have a public hearing on November 20th at 3:00 PM in the Memorial Hall to discuss Travertine Solar Energy’s conditional use permit.
He reported on the landfill that they are waiting on Scout Energy to come out and see if the gas lines are sturdy enough to withhold the weight of heavy equipment going back and forth during the new pit build. Bidding for construction of the new pit will hopefully begin soon. Paul suggested whoever gets the bid should get a bond.
The county appraiser, Angela Eichman came in and requested a five (5) minute executive session over non-elected personnel for a question about unpaid leave.
Joe made a motion to enter executive session for ten (10) minutes over non-elected personnel about leave of absence. Tron seconded. Executive session began at 10:17 AM and concluded at 10:21 AM.
Joe made a motion to allow Lori Rome to receive additional days of unpaid leave if it becomes necessary for her to exceed five (5) days. Tron seconded, no discussion, motion carried.
Joe asked Angela if the county needs to hire someone to do the Seaboard Energy Plant appraisal. Angela suggested the county hire someone who has experience in bioenergy appraisals to appraise Seaboard. Angela informed the commissioners she plans to review the board of tax appeals order to see what the district judge says after the Seward County hearing. Angela also suggested the county set back some money in case Seaboard pays taxes and goes to the board of appeals and the county is ordered to pay the taxes back.
Rodney Kelling came in and asked the commissioners if they had a chance to review his raise request. Joe asked Rodney how much of a raise he is wanting to receive, and Rodney said $10,000.00 per year. He said he will have invested enough time in KPERS to be able to retire in June of 2026 but is not sure at this time if he will continue working past that date. Tron said the commissioners will table the raise request and let Rodney know soon.
Paul Kitzke said he reviewed the request by Flora Foods, Inc., on the county’s restrictions to the property Flora Foods recently purchased from KDI. Paul said Flora Foods want the restrictions on selling to another company lifted and the nuisance restrictions waived as they will follow industry standards. The request for waiving and lifting of restrictions needs to be approved by the Board of County Commissioners. The commissioners do not have issues with Flora Foods manufacturing foods and will permit that use. The commissioners want to retain the restrictions on building and nuisance currently.
Amy asked the commissioners if she should contact the museum and have the Stevens County Gas and Historical Society Board come to the next meeting to discuss the insurance on the properties. Amy said she received a request from the museum to put a newly purchased building onto the KCamp insurance and noticed the property was deeded to Stevens County Gas and Historical Museum, Inc. She stated she looked back at all the other property deeds and all of them are deeded that way except for the well which is deeded to the City of Hugoton and the large storage building along Jefferson which is deeded to the Stevens County Board of Commissioners. She discussed this issue with KCamp, and they asked if the museum board was appointed by the county commissioners, and she told them no. KCamp said they will continue to cover the museum’s property at this time but had suggestions of the museum turning all their property over to the county and doing an annual lease of $1.00, or the museum will need to acquire their own insurance for the properties deeded in their name. The commissioners discussed the issue and are willing to see if the museum would like to have the property with the storage shed transferred from the county to the museum. Amy was instructed to call the museum board to the next commissioner meeting to discuss the property.
Amy said she received a letter from the library stating Wanda Shaddix resigned from the library board, and they would like to have Tina Mueller appointed to fill the vacated spot until April of 2025, which is the end of term for the position.
Pat made a motion to appoint Tina Mueller to fulfill the vacated position of Wanda Shaddix on the library board until the end of term. Joe seconded. Motion carried.
Amy told the commissioners paperwork was received from the community health department for the raises and noticed one salary is going to be more than what is anticipated for the grant to cover.
Amy told the commissioners when Leading Edge came out to begin onboarding for the new server and IT, they went to the wellness center and noticed the computers are very obsolete and one of them is a 1998 Acer Aspire. Amy asked if Leading Edge could get a price quote on new computers for the wellness center. The commissioners discussed the issue and asked if one (1) computer could work for the wellness center instead of two (2) and Amy said it would need to be decided after Leading Edge has more time to look at the specifics at the wellness center. The commissioners told her to let them know when she finds out what needs to be done.
Attest: Amy Jo Tharp, County Clerk
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Tron Stegman, Chairman