COMMISSIONERS’ PROCEEDINGS
SEPTEMBER 26, 2022
Agenda: 8:30 – Bills
9:00 – Shelby Martin – Wellness Ctr
9:30 – Tony Martin
The Board of Stevens County Commissioners met in regular session. Amy Jo Tharp, County Clerk was also present. Tron called the meeting to order. Pat moved to approve the minutes of the last meeting. Joe seconded. Motion carried. Pat moved to approve the county vouchers. Joe 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 | $ 40,552.35 |
| Judicial District | $ 513.70 |
| Road & Bridge | $ 68,373.93 |
| Airport | $ 8,414.51 |
| Register of Deeds Tech Fund | $ 3,649.50 |
| County Building | $ 27.00 |
| Noxious Weed | $ 2,872.36 |
| EMS | $ 6,339.56 |
| Fire | $ 1,627.62 |
| Community Health | $ 21,481.46 |
| GIS Equipment Fund | $ 3,649.50 |
| Sheriff | $ 37,226.87 |
| Highway Improvement Fund | $ 21,823.57 |
| Emp Misc W/H | $ 35.16 |
| TOTAL: | $ 216,587.09 |
Ross Sullivan came in and updated the commissioners on Auto-Chlor’s contract. He stated they raised their rates from $49.00 per month to $149.00 per month. He stated the dishwasher in the Memorial Hall is a leased dishwasher and has been for at least the last nineteen (19) years. He stated the company comes in and does a monthly routine check and as long as he has been with the county there has not needed to be any maintenance done to the dishwasher as of yet. He told the commissioners the dishwasher is used periodically in Memorial Hall for banquets, dinners and other rentals. A new dishwasher he has viewed is around $5,000.00. Pat Hall said to get rid of the dishwasher and to call Auto-Chlor and have them come and pick it up, he feels people can bring in their own dishes and silverware to use. Tron suggested if the company would sell the dishwasher to the county for $2,000.00, to purchase it and if not, then the dishwasher needs to go back. Ross said he would contact them and see what they say.
Shelby Martin came in with Jackson Turner from AK Roofing and told the commissioners the R-panel on the Wellness Center roof is showing signs of leaking and other areas of concern. Jackson stated it would be unwise to use R-panel and said the slope of the building is bad as well. Jackson advised the commissioners to use twenty-six (26) gauge metal with three and a half (3.5) span between each one. Shelby stated the roof leaks a lot and really needs repaired. She stated the roof over the office is the worst part of the building and is leaking constantly every time it rains causing the ceiling to cave. Joe Thompson asked if a standing seam roof would be best and Jackson agreed as it has a wider over-lap and snaps together. Joe asked if it would be better to pull the skylights out and Jackson stated it would only cause more holes. Pat said he is not in agreement with a new roof over the whole building as it would likely cost around $80,000.00. The commissioners asked Amy Tharp if she had information on how much the cost of spraying the Fire Department roof was and she said she would look through her files.
Shelby stated she is looking at the possibility of offering personal training services at the Wellness Center. She also stated she will get grant information to the County Clerk and copies of the checks as well.
Tony Martin came in and stated he will be putting an ad in the newspaper for bids on the landfill shack roof and would like to have the bids available for the next commissioner meeting on October 12, 2022, at 9:30 AM.
Tony stated the Alfred Benesch company came in and will need to test the ground water and monitor wells for the pits. The state said for a county to not put in their original plan, the county will have to line the pits and then have to do four (4) more monitoring wells. Joe asked Tony if there is enough help at the landfill and Tony stated it would be nice to have a part-time employee for the landfill to help keep Saturday’s open. Tony also informed the commissioners the landfill is getting close to going from a small landfill to the next level due to tonnage. He said at this time he does not have information about the next level on landfills.
Tony requested a $1.00 per hour merit raise for Wes Regensberg stating he has taken on quite a bit of work.
Joe made a motion to approve a $1.00 merit raise for Wes Regensberg. Pat seconded. Motion carried.
Amy informed the commissioners and Tony, Carrie Baeza, The City Clerk of Hugoton, reached out and asked if the county could do some road work at the Hugoton Cemetery as they are planning an expansion. Carrie stated the city would purchase the materials and have them delivered to the Road and Bridge Department and to let the city know the approximate cost of the work. Tony said the equipment the county road department has is too large and wide to do the work. He also stated there would need to be more dirt work and at this time the county does not have the manpower to build the roads and keep up on the county roads.
Tony said the Road and Bridge Department will be shutting down the asphalt plant until next year in hopes of conserving fuel. He is satisfied where they are on the crack/seal and repairs on the roads for this year. It was noted the Road and Bridge Department is going over on the fuel budget but stated he can probably use funds out of the Special Highway fund to cover fuel for the rest of the year.
Amy informed the commissioners Paula Rowden has turned in her resignation letter and her last day of work will be December 31, 2022. The commissioners stated there will need to be a posting in the newspaper for the open position of Community Health Director.
Ross came back in and informed the commissioners Auto-Chlor will not sell the dishwasher nor lower the maintenance cost.
Amy told the commissioners the current Neighborhood Revitalization Plan (NRP) for Stevens County expired in 2016. She stated the application stated it was only good for three (3) years and the commissioners would need to make a decision to keep the NRP or not. She stated she viewed other county NRP applications and none of the ones she viewed had a time limit for people to be signed up for NRP. The commissioners discussed the issue and decided to keep the NRP in place and continue with the plan. Amy said she did not know if the cities and schools need to sign into another interlocal agreement or if the originals stand as she did not notice a date to relinquish the interlocal agreement. She said she did not know if they would need a Resolution but has e-mailed County Counselor, Paul Kitzke, to find out if he had any information for moving forward.
Amy disclosed a conversation she had with Carrie Baeza, City Clerk of Hugoton about dispatcher wages. She stated Carrie wanted to propose the city pay an average cost of the dispatchers’ wages from the previous audited year so the city could budget that amount for the year. The commissioners did not see the point in changing the cost share plan for dispatch pay at this time.
By motion, the Board adjourned.
Attest: Amy Jo Tharp, County Clerk
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Tron Stegman, Chairman