COMMISSIONERS’ PROCEEDINGS
MAY 27, 2025
Agenda:
8:30 – Bills
8:45 – WKCAC – Don Rivera
9:00 – SDSI – Steve
9:15 – RCDC – Rebecca
9:30 – Tony Martin – Public Works
10:00 – Website bid opening
10:30 –
11:00 –
The Board of Stevens County Commissioners met in a regular session. County Clerk Amy Jo Tharp was also present. Tron called the meeting to order. Shannon moved to approve minutes from the last meeting. Joe seconded. Motion carried. Joe moved to approve the county vouchers. Shannon 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:
| Airport | $ 2,170.34 |
| Co Building | $ 790.00 |
| 911 Wireless | $ 116.78 |
| Noxious Weed | $ 9,566.30 |
| EMS | $ 7,983.09 |
| Fire | $ 1,965.72 |
| Community Health | $ 13,982.31 |
| ARPA | $ 92.93 |
| Airport Grants | $ – |
| Employee P/R Misc W/H | $ – |
| Sheriff | $ 40,158.73 |
| TOTAL: | $ 241,299.66 |
Joe said he went with Angela Eichman to Seaboard to meet with their attorney and other personnel for the walk-through of the plant to understand what Seaboard is considering personal property as opposed to real property. Seaboard made the decision to wait for the Conestoga case to be finalized as that will set the precedent to determine what the State is considering personal property versus real property pertaining to energy plants. The determination should be around mid-June.
Amy received a letter from the library board requesting Marcie Knoll to fill the spot which was previously vacated by Wanda Shaddix and was temporarily filled by Tina Mueller.
Joe made a motion to appoint Marcie Knoll to the library board for a regular term. Shannon seconded; motion carried.
Amy shared some information from the Kansas Department of Revenue pertaining to House Bill 2125, House Bill 2231, Senate Bill 35, and Senate Bill 117 which pertains to property taxes.
Don Rivera with Western Kansas Child Advocacy Center (WKCAC) was in attendance and discussed some possible changes with their services. The WKCAC is appreciative of the funding they have received from Stevens County and is requesting the same amount for 2026 which is $2,500.00.
Steve Hinson with Southwest Developmental Services, Inc., (SDSI) presented the commissioners with a request to have someone on the board represent Stevens County. Steve discussed what SDSI does and is thankful for the county’s support all these years. SDSI is requesting $42,283.00 for the year 2026.
Rebecca Clancy and Stephanie Wills with Russell Child Development Center, Inc., (RCDC) came in and stated the program is doing great things for children from birth to three (3) years old and appreciates the money the county appropriates to them every year. Their request for 2026 is $25,500.00 which helps keep their program free for families.
Tony Martin told the commissioners the city-wide cleanup is scheduled soon and asked if the city will need to be charged at the landfill for this service. The commissioners agreed to allow the city-wide cleanup charge for the city to be void for two (2) weeks. Tony reported the wall at the asphalt plant is complete. With the recent moisture, he has thought about the wellness center parking lot and feels it will be easier to get packed down around the septic lines, however the concrete slab is starting to sink where the clean out is so there will need to be some work done there. Tony stated the best time to work on the wellness issues would be in the fall. The concrete bridge for the gas pipeline running through the landfill has begun and will hopefully be completed on time.
Amy informed the commissioners Rex had visited with Aqua Shield about the roof issue at the courthouse and had not heard back from anyone else he reached out to. Also, the company which came out to inspect the integrity of the courthouse noticed normal settling but nothing to worry about and Rex should receive a detailed report shortly.
Amy presented two (2) bids received for the county website for the basic web design:
- Apptegy $6,000.00 startup fee and $8,000.00 per year
- Revize $8,350.00 startup fee and $2,000.00 per year
Amy explained there were some other costs requested in the spec sheet for features that were not included in the basic web design which would raise the prices. Commissioners agreed to the company with the lower annual cost and may include additional features as requested by the departments.
Shannon made a motion to accept the Revize bid. Joe seconded; motion carried.
Robert Davis was present from the airport board. He stated the lighting project has not started yet. The $96,000.00 cost will be split as 90/10, meaning there is a grant for 90% of the costs and the airport will be responsible for 10% of costs. Robert then shared that the State of Kansas is giving the airport approximately $34,673.00 to put toward the runway lighting project. There is also a crack/seal project which will cost roughly $32,000.00 and should be started in the fall or the beginning of next year. The runway lights should be completed this fall and with all new LED lighting, hopefully the utility costs will be minimal. Robert said the road leading into the airport will need to be repaired at some point as there are large cracks which make the road rough.
Joe asked Robert about the updated job description for the airport manager position. Robert replied that it went back and forth from the board to the clerk’s office and had basically been dropped by the airport board. Amy said she had done a couple drawdowns for airport grant money in the past but had not been asked to in quite a while, after previous discussion was had with Robert regarding that not being her responsibility. She was assuming Robert or someone else had been handling them. Robert stated there has not been any for a while and it only takes a fraction of time to complete. Amy said she understood it is not time consuming but does not handle that part of the grant process for other departments as they are responsible for their own grants. Robert relayed concerns about the airport board members doing the drawdowns as they are not employed by the county and believes it could cause issues with insurance.
Attest: Amy Jo Tharp, County Clerk
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Tron Stegman, Chairman