COMMISSIONERS PROCEEDINGS
SEPTEMBER 3, 2019
Agenda: 8:30 – Bills
8:45 – Rodney Kelling – Ambulance
9:30 – Tony Martin – Road & Bridge
10:00 – Pine Tree Bids for removal
10:15 – Brendan Giesick – Gilmore Solutions
The Board of County Commissioners met in regular session. Also present was Amy Jo Tharp, County Clerk. Tron called the meeting to order. Joe moved to approve the minutes of the last meeting. Pat seconded. Motion carried. Joe moved to approve the county vouchers. Pat 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 | $ 59,691.69 |
| Road & Bridge | $ 84,951.23 |
| Airport | $ 1,661.55 |
| Noxious Weed | $ 4,348.97 |
| EMS | $ 4,251.02 |
| Fire | $ 3,225.41 |
| Community Health | $ 32,817.33 |
| Sheriff | $ 36,670.49 |
| Employee P/R Misc W/H | $ 25.22 |
| Highway Improvement | $ 13,676.45 |
| Insurance Agency Damages | $ 40,828.49 |
| 911 Wireless | $ 7,204.00 |
| Election Equipment | $ 34,442.53 |
| Airport Grants | $ 3,600.00 |
| Alcohol Treatment Fund | $ (237.50) |
| Special Law | $ 11,052.00 |
| $ 338,208.88 |
Pat Hall requested information on the problems shutting off the commissioner’s phone.
Amy Jo Tharp told the commissioners that Nancy Honig came in and gave her a bill for the air conditioning unit for the 4-H building. The extension is now a district, but the 4-H building is the county’s responsibility. Pat Hall said Phillip Gooch contacted him about the roof on the 4-H building having leaks. Pat said if it is leaking, it needs to be taken care of.
Tron Stegman said Jan Leonard is wanting to stop trucks from going north on Washington Street from First Street to Highway 56 during the days of the High Plains Music Festival. Discussion tabled until later.
Rodney Kelling, Emergency Management director, came in with Tim Leitnaker with ARV Ambulance. He said ARV has a demo ambulance ready and will only take seven to ten (7-10) days for the graphics. Joe Thompson asked what ambulance was purchased last and Rodney told him it was the Osage. Pat inquired about the powertrain and was informed it was a pickup style. Tron asked what ambulance would go to Moscow if Rodney got a new ambulance. Rodney told him the 2006 Freightliner would go to Moscow. Joe said the figures from a demo model to one built is about $5,000.00 difference and feels that a bid should be let out with specs on a new model. Tim said it could take 120-180 days for ARV Ambulance and other vendors to get ambulances out once the bid is made.
The commissioners agreed the ambulance needs to have four-wheel drive and a diesel engine. Tron Stegman asked Rodney when he would like to have a new ambulance and Rodney said by the end of the year. Tron asked Rodney what the protocol is when an ambulance goes down and Rodney told the commissioners they will not do transfers outside of Stevens County. If needed, another county would come in to assist.
Joe told Rodney to get a spec sheet on an ambulance that is needed and get bids. Tim said he would draw up a spec sheet for Rodney and will be presented to the commissioners for approval when the spec sheet is completed.
Amy Jo Tharp gave the KWORCC Inspection to the commissioners for review. She stated there are only two items listed that needs attention. The forklift drivers need to make sure their certificates are up to date and a GFCI plug needs to be installed by the water fountain downstairs. The commissioners instructed Ross to have Hancock look into getting that fixed due to the marble needing to be cut to accommodate the new plug.
Tony Martin with Road and Bridge came in and stated he spoke with Jan Leonard about stopping trucks from driving on North Washington Street from September 6th thru the 9th for the High Plains Music Festival. Tony said he would rather put up a twenty (20) mile per hour sign with flashing lights instead of trying to block traffic and causing other issues. He said he has a larger sign but he feels that would block visibility for the cross traffic.
Tony stated they are working on dirt roads this week, getting ready for harvest. Less than ten miles of road still needs asphalt patching and will probably start next week.
Tony informed the commissioners Grant County is having issues with vandalism on their equipment, stolen radios and broken windows.
Pat asked Tony if he had any thoughts on the 4-H building since there is no longer any 4-H board. Tony said the only thing he sees needing to take care of would be basic repairs. Tony said keys were handed out to too many people for the other buildings on the fairgrounds, yet he has still not received a key for the 4-H building.
Vanessa Willis with the Treasurer’s office came in and showed the commissioners some information on the credit card program at the Wellness Center. She said we need some information either from Elaine Rowden or Curtis Crawford to get into the website and make changes by September 30th or the county will be paying an extra $30.00 per month in fees for this program.
Jan Leonard came in to visit with the commissioners about North Washington Street for the High Plains Music Festival and what can be done to make sure the attendees stay safe. Tron said the commissioners and Tony discussed changing the speed from forty-five (45) miles per hour, down to twenty (20) miles per hour beginning September 6th thru the 9th. Jan said he would like to put up “No Parking” signs from the Landfill to the RV park on the east side of the road and possibly, put up some tri-pod barricades to keep people from parking there. Joe said to discuss the signs and festival with Sheriff Ted Heaton.
Pat made a motion to change the speed down to twenty (20) miles per hour on the north side of Washington Street from First Street to Highway 51 during the dates of September 6th through September 9th, 2019. Joe seconded. Motion carried.
Phillip Willis and Ross Sullivan came into the meeting.
Chris Nuckles and Jace Nuckles with Nuckles Tree Care, Derek Heckel with H&H Enterprise and Jake Altman with Pro-Control was in attendance for the tree removal bids.
- Settlemeyer Tree Trimming Removal: $6,695.00 Stump: $2,240.00
- Ty Allen Removal: $6,875.00 Stump: $1,610.00
- Nuckles Tree Care Removal: $5,200.00 Stump: $1,600.00
- H&H Enterprise Removal: $6,700.00 Stump: $1,950.00
- Pro-Control Removal w/ Stump: $5,400.00
(Removal: $4,800.00 Stump: $600.00)
Derek Heckel asked the commissioners why they have decided to remove the trees when they could be trimmed up. The commissioners stated there was too much dead in the trees and the pine trees are a hassle to care for with the school right there.
Pat made a motion to accept the low bid from Pro-Control to remove the trees and stumps for $5,400.00. Joe seconded, motion carried.
Pat told Ross to turn off the sprinklers on the east side of the courthouse for the tree removal.
Ross asked the commissioners if anyone around cuts marble so he can put the required plug in at the basement water fountain. The commissioners told him to contact Hancock Electric and have them do the work in case the marble needs to be cut, or if something else can be done for that electrical outlet.
Sheriff Ted Heaton came in.
Brendan Giesick with Gilmore Solutions came in to discuss the post onboarding with the new IT. Brendan said he was fearful of the change of twenty (20) systems and two (2) servers needing to be replaced because they were on loan from the previous IT company. But, he said Gilmore Solutions’ main goal is to keep things secure and now everything is in place, it seems to be running better and Gilmore Solutions is trying to make sure issues will be addressed in a timely manner. Amy Jo Tharp said the main complaint since everything has been changed over and is running better, is receiving a call back or e-mail to let the county employees know an approximate time their issue will be dealt with. They need to know what to expect and when, as far as getting approvals for software updates, installation of scanners, printers and other office equipment that might need updated or changed.
The commissioners asked Brendan if Gilmore Solutions could look into the credit card machine at the Wellness Center and see what can be done to get it corrected and running smoothly. Brendan said it would depend if there is a contract for the system. Joe said there is not an agreement for Alert Alarm to receive monthly fees. Brendan said he would talk to the IT technicians and see what can be done about a credit card system or the one the county currently has.
Brendan told the commissioners he will bring an addendum to the next commissioner meeting to get the Landfill and Noxious Weed department into the contract. The costs should be minimal because it is not much to add on.
Brendan said the Sheriff department at this time does not want to come to Gilmore Solutions which is fine but hopes in the future they would consider it for the efficiency and security.
Brendan informed the commissioners at this time, the backup system being used is the AS400 which is an older system. Amy Jo Tharp informed them that one of the Appraisers will pull a tape out of the machine on a nightly basis and take to the bank to be placed in a lock box, as a means of backup in case of a disaster. Brendan said eventually he would like to see the county go with an AZ system such as the CIC to use as a backup because it can be done electronically and remotely. There would be no more tapes or discs. He said the CIC is more secure than the AS400, cheaper and has a longer life.
Brendan said the domain migration to 365 has been pushed to November. He is waiting to get credentials from the domain owner the county is currently using and get it switched over. He also said Gilmore Solutions will be doing a “Know Before” which is included in the agreement and is training on fake phishing and e-mails.
Around 2023, the operating software will need to be replaced and work done in the network room to clean up some trouble areas such as extra cords and wires which are no longer needed.
Brendan said the phone system the courthouse currently uses is managed by Susan Schulte with the GIS department and Gilmore Solutions has no issues with that. He did state someone would need to have access in case of any issues where Susan is not around to take care of the problem. Amy Jo said she spoke with Susan and an agreement was made to have a backup person know how to run the phones in case of any issues.
Pat asked more questions about the phones and told Brendan if it is in the contract, that they have access to run the phones, do patches, add and remove names, discuss issues with Pioneer Telephone Company and help with the systems, he didn’t see a problem for Gilmore Solutions to have access. Brendan said with voice-over IP it could help cut costs on phone lines. Amy Jo was instructed to send copies of current phone bills to Brendan for review to see if costs can be cut.
Sheriff Ted Heaton told the commissioners the cameras inside the courthouse and courtroom are old and outdated being purchased in 2007. He said they need replaced and at this time there is not any way of accessing six (6) cameras.
Brendan said Gilmore doesn’t do cameras but they use a third (3rd) party called I&A Alert which does a good job. He also said to check with Key Office Solutions of Garden City.
Ted spoke with the commissioners about having access to petty cash for investigations and said he is low on funds. He requested $5,000.00 to be used as cash. Request was granted by the commissioners.
Tron asked Ted if he spoke to Jan Leonard about the music festival. Ted said they spoke together about it and Ted will have his deputies around to help out as much as possible. Tron informed Ted of the speed limit change and Ted felt it was a good idea.
Marilyn Harris came in and told the commissioners she will be gone three (3) weeks in September from the 8th thru the 28th and is requesting the person she has to help with the cooking, be allowed to clean up. She said the person will need to clean during open hours as she is not giving them a key to the kitchen. Amy Jo said Ross is a backup if needed. The commissioners told Marilyn it would be fine if she has someone to do her cleanup in the kitchen after events.
By motion, the Board adjourned.
Attest: Amy Jo Tharp, County Clerk
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Tron Stegman, Chairman