COMMISSIONERS PROCEEDINGS
AUGUST 6, 2018

The Board of County Commissioners met in regular session with all members present.  Also present were Paul Kitzke, County Attorney; Amy Jo Tharp, County Clerk and RoGlenda Coulter with the Hugoton Hermes.  Joe called the meeting to order.  Tron moved to approve the minutes.  Pat seconded.  Motion carried.  Pat moved to approve the county vouchers.  Tron seconded.  Motion carried.  The Clerk was instructed to draw warrants on the Treasurer chargeable to the various funds of the county for the following amounts:

General	$           83,574.74
Road & Bridge	$         104,921.04
Airport	$             4,846.17
Noxious Weed	$           10,425.66
EMS	$           15,544.16
Fire	$             4,367.94
Community Health	$           37,837.18
Sheriff	$           86,021.31
	$         347,538.20

 

Phillip Willis came in to inquire about who owns a strip of land located at the east side of the airstrip because the Johnson grass is getting big and needs mowed.  Pat Hall told Phillip that it is the airport’s property.  Phillip said the noxious weed department is still spraying for bind weed and some Johnson grass when weather permits.

Joe asked if there were any problems or changes that need to be made to the budget as per budget hearing discussion.

Pat made a motion to pass the 2019 budget.  Tron seconded.  Motion carried.

Pat made a motion to adjourn the budget hearing.  Tron seconded.  Motion carried.

Dave Eckert came in to ask the commissioners if the taxes will stay the same for 2019.  The commissioners confirmed that the budget was set so as not to raise taxes.  Dave then asked why the fitness center couldn’t be moved to the recreation center and save on costs.  He felt it was an issue with tax payers paying for two (2) separate buildings that support the same issue.  He said that it could reduce employee costs by merging.  Pat told Dave that the membership fees pay for all the utilities at the building and Joe mentioned that most people are enjoying the idea of a twenty-four (24) hour fitness center.  Joe further stated that when two (2) different governmental entities and a school is involved on working together it could get complicated.

Dave Eckert said maintaining the tax rate but still improving the county is a great feat.  Joe agreed and said the tax lid hurts the county because if the budgets get cut to give tax relief and something happens like an emergency or needing to help county residents, the funds can’t get recovered.  The tax lid stops the county from going up on the budget if needed, so it has to stay where it is at for the time being.  We don’t know how long this tax lid will last.

Joe called the regular meeting to order.

Dave Eckert was in to discuss the museum stating the bid that was given to the commissioners originally was costly because of the quality of the work.  He stated the bid that was accepted for $2500, was less than professional work with some areas not even getting paint.  Cracks are still noticeable and some places have double paint.  He told the commissioners he would like to have the company come back and redo or correct the issues.  The previous bid for around $8500 was from the same company/person that did the work ten (10) years ago.  Joe said it will get checked into and will be fixed.

Elaine Rowden with the Wellness Center came in and requested a ten (10) minute executive session over non-elected personnel about issues concerning employees at the Wellness Center.

Pat made a motion to go into executive session for ten (10) minutes by reason of non-elected personnel of wellness center employees.  Tron seconded.  The executive session began at 9:00 am and commenced at 9:10 am.  No action taken.

Elaine discussed in open meeting that she wishes the board would communicate better with wellness center issues as far as who the department head is and who and how things need to be presented to receive grants from other sources.  Joe told Elaine to be present at the next meeting to discuss the department head for the wellness center and the job duties for the employees within that department.  The department head issue will be tabled until the next meeting on August 20, 2018.

Marilyn Harris came in and requested an executive session about courthouse employees.  The commissioners were uncomfortable going into an exec session because the county counselor had to step out for several minutes.  Marilyn said she wanted to discuss the uncleanliness of the kitchen the last several times she went in to cook.  She said the dish towels hang on the sink and soak in bleach water but never really get washed in a washing machine.  The stove, floor and countertops are not getting wiped down after events.  She also told the commissioners that getting rid of the dishwasher in the kitchen would take away any sanitization with kitchen utensils.

The commissioners discussed possibly having Marilyn clean the Memorial Hall after events with no more than ten (10) hours a week at $15.00 per hour.  Joe wanted to table the discussion at this time.

Tony presented the commissioners with a crossing permit to be signed.

Tony is hoping to have more rumble strips put in today.  He also hopes that drivers stay alert and defensive when driving on highways and that alone would help cut down on the accidents.

Tony told the commissioners the Road and Bridge Department will be doing some asphalt repairs due to farm implements coming out of the field and catching on the roads.  They are also behind on mowing due to the rain and have received a couple of complaints about blading, but will get it completed.

Tony said that the Stevens County Fair had a good turnout and the weather was compliant.

Paul Kitzke told Tony and the Commissioners he had sent out an easement to Oklahoma and followed up on it for the road that Robb Heger is needing.  Robb Heger is going to contact the person in Nebraska to see if the easement has been signed and is being returned.

Kristopher Fair with Nex-Tech came in and gave the commissioners more information on what the company does.  He said they do networking, installation, computer work, and add extra security.  They also offer maintenance and monitoring even remote monitoring to patch and fix software and other computer related issues to keep hackers from breaching the system.  Nex-Tech also helps avoid issues by being able to do upgrades and taking care of the software by linking remotely.

Kris told the commissioners that the costs between the Community Health Department and the Courthouse are similar because of the amount of computers on lease and the number of wifi access points.  Nex-Tech offers the computers on a lease program where they can be purchased after thirty-six (36) months or receive new equipment for another lease agreement.  This will include all service calls, issues with hardware, firewall, backups and extra protection.

Joe told Kris he would like to see if there is a way to streamline the two entities (courthouse and community health) to make it a cheaper cost.  Kris said he will look into what Nex-Tech can do.

Jonathan Pearcy with the Foundation Board was present as per request by the county commissioners.  Joe explained to Jonathan that the Foundation Board needs to deal with their funds before the IRS steps in.  Amy Jo was directed to get a letter from Theresa with Lewis, Hooper and Dick to get information to the Foundation Board about their funds and the repercussions if something isn’t done soon.

Tron made a motion to pay Southwest Glass and Door $1,141.00, which is half the cost of a door for the Moscow Senior Center.  Pat seconded.  Motion carried.

Robert Lucero came in to discuss with the commissioners the recent issue about Memorial Hall.  He informed the commissioners that he forgot about the family reunion that was in the Memorial Hall due to family problems.  Pat asked Robert if he had access to the Memorial Hall calendar.  Robert said he has access to the calendar and has a copy of the month.  Joe asked if the Memorial Hall was set up for the function prior to the event and Robert said with everything going on with his family he had forgotten to get it done.  Tron asked if Robert felt overwhelmed doing the job of two people and Robert stated he was not overwhelmed.  Joe informed Robert that his time has been short the last several weeks.  The commissioners discussed with Robert about the kitchen not being cleaned sufficiently and Robert said he will work on being more thorough.

Jan Leonard with Eco Devo and Mark Kliewer, attorney with the Berkley Firm that is representing the Northwest Cotton Growers Co-op, were in attendance and informed the commissioners the conference call with Sarah Steel is no longer needed.  Mark said the cotton gin is hoping for no IRB but to get an ad-valorem instead.  Estimates based on the project budget would be between $7.3 million and $9.4 million on machinery equipment.  He said the improvements will be eligible but not the equipment.

Mark said the appraiser will do values on January 1, 2019 and asked what the commissioners would be willing or able to help with.  Mark also informed the commissioners that the exemption in 2019 will be less due to the project not being completed by January 1, 2019.  The project should be completed by 2020.

Joe told Mark if the company adds jobs for the community and the county can receive money back in lieu of some taxes he would contemplate the idea of an abatement.  Joe said that right now with the gin, there are intrinsic costs for the county such as extra road repairs, Fire and EMS costs for emergencies at the gin and other unforeseen costs.

Pat said he would like a costs of benefit analysis before a decision is made.  He would possibly entertain one for five (5) years but is not interested in ten (10) years.

Joe said the policy allows for ten (10) years, and Tron said the vote could still be “no” if needed and the gin will still be built even if the abatement is not approved.  Joe said if it was done with a payment in lieu of taxes it would be considered.

Pat asked Mark why the gin didn’t go with the IRB and Mark said there wasn’t enough time to file and have it all done.  Pat said he would like to see what the foregone revenue would be and would like to see the numbers.  Discussion tabled for another time.

Amy Jo said there are issues with the LaserJet printed checks.  The bank will not locate the check numbers at the top of the check and she will have to go back to MICR checks.  This will cause a need for a new printer, checks and MICR ink.  At this time she will share the MICR printer with the Treasurer’s office.

By motion, the Board adjourned.

Attest: Amy Jo Tharp, County Clerk

 

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Joe Thompson, Chairman