COMMISSIONERS’ PROCEEDINGS
NOVEMBER 28, 2022
Agenda:
8:30 – Bills
8:45 – Cammie Heaton – Interview Comm Health Admin
9:00 –
9:30 – Tony Martin
10:00 – Anna Rome – Interview Comm Health Admin
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 | $ 49,278.50 |
| Judicial District | $ 382.58 |
| Road & Bridge | $ 36,144.73 |
| Airport | $ 2,491.14 |
| ARPA | $ 1,289.98 |
| Noxious Weed | $ 3,156.33 |
| EMS | $ 11,571.33 |
| Fire | $ 1,569.61 |
| Community Health | $ 17,609.66 |
| County Building | $ 8,449.06 |
| Sheriff | $ 37,607.05 |
| Fire Equipment Fund | $ 165,251.00 |
| Emp Misc W/H | $ 17.58 |
| TOTAL: | $ 334,818.55 |
Ross Sullivan came in and said the carpet cost for the offices in the courthouse is estimated to cost around $14,000.00 from Flooring America. Pat asked if Ross had heard from Finishing Touches on the estimated cost, Ross said he has not seen any estimates from them as of yet, and Pat then stated he would be in contact with them and see if the county could get an estimate this afternoon. Ross then asked the commissioners if they would allow him to purchase a snowblower to help with the walks and parking lot when it snows. Pat instructed Ross to get costs and present them at the next meeting.
Rodney came in and handed the estimate for security cameras at the EMS/Fire buildings in Moscow and Hugoton from INA Alert, stating the cost is less and is only for installation of the cameras and wiring, no annual fee for monitoring as it will be monitored by Rodney. The commissioners said they will table the cameras until the next meeting. Rodney said the fire truck is being repaired and Rodney will be heading to Salina this Friday to pick it up. Rodney said EMT classes have begun and currently there are sixteen (16) people enrolled and three (3) are Moscow residents.
Cammie Heaton was in appearance for the Community Health Administrator interview. Cammie stated she has recently received her BSN and feels she is ready to take the administrative position. She said the department uses grants for many areas and would continue receiving the pertinent grants and feels the building is large enough and there is a wing that is not currently being used and she has ideas to help improve the usage. She stated she would like to see a type of Family Planning for educational purposes and be able to provide forms of birth control along with a dental health proposition to have someone come in once a month or once a week to provide dental care for children with medical cards or no insurance to do screenings, fillings and sealants. She feels these two (2) programs will bring in some more revenue for the county and health department. The commissioners asked Cammie if she is anticipating hiring another RN as a replacement. Cammie stated she feels it is doable to handle both positions of working with clients and doing the administrative work without hiring a replacement but is not sure how that will work. Cammie said if the family planning and dental ideas work out, she will most likely have to hire another person. The commissioners informed Cammie the county has to watch the values and sometimes the value is low which causes the budgets to get cut and the commissioners are trying to help the community by being mindful of the costs. Cammie said she believes these ideas will be cost effective and hopefully a fresh set of eyes will be beneficial. Pat stated the commissioners have thought about selling both Community Health vehicles and saving costs on fuel, insurance and upkeep. Cammie stated she would like to keep one of the vehicles as they do some home visits for vaccines, lab draws and various other medical aid. The commissioners asked Cammie what she feels her pay should be and she suggested around $34.00 per hour as that is how much the Haskell County nurses make and her doing administration on top of nursing, she feels that would be a good starting pay.
Amy Jo brought up the High Plains Theater and stated in the April 22, 2019, minutes it stated the commissioners were not opposed to helping the theater with $7,000.00 to $8,000.00 per year.
Joe made a motion to annually review the county funds and depending on the budget will appropriate funds for the theater and further have approved $7,500.00 for the theater for 2022 and 2023. Pat seconded. Motion carried.
Discussion about tipping fee costs being raised and the commissioners suggested discussing the tipping fee rate changes before cities work on their budgets so they will know how to budget for a raise in tipping fees.
Pat mentioned the museum has put in new LED lights and understands it was a prior approval but stated the museum needs to follow county protocol for any changes or updates to the building or property the museum sits on because it is county owned property. The commissioners stated if the museum has the funds for certain projects, then it is good, but they still need to follow the protocol the county has laid out as the buildings and property is still the upkeep and insurance county responsibility and the commissioners need to have the right to approve any upgrades or repairs to any and all county property.
Amy stated the repairs for the Hugoton Senior Center roof due to the wind damage at the beginning of the year have been completed and will need to be approved for payment. She stated KCAMP has paid for some and will check with KCAMP to see what amount was approved for the repairs through insurance and issue a check to the contractor.
Amy said Pioneer Communications has turned in a warranty renewal for the Community Health Departments phone system stating for one (1) year the cost will be $479.95 and for three (3) years the cost is $1,188.00. Amy said she will discuss the information with Paula and see what she says and find out if it is for the new phone system the health department now has.
Amy told the commissioners the Southwest Kansas Highway Officials Administration is holding a meeting on February 16th, 2023, in Garden City and told the commissioners if any choose to attend, they need to get in touch with the administration to register.
Amy informed the commissioners that the County Treasurer still has not received sales tax reports from a county department for the last four to six (4-6) months and no deposits have been made within the last month. Tron said he would get in touch with the department and find out why taxes have not been reported and no deposits made.
Tony Martin came in and gave an update on the grader and stated it appears Caterpillar is putting in a new engine due to more issues than expected but should still be on the agreement price recently decided upon. Tony said he is still working on a pit deal with Cullison’s to see what the cost will be for 2023. Tony said he is looking at having a starting wage at Road and Bridge to be $18.00 per hour and said Seward County recently transitioned to that amount as a start wage as well as employment is hard to come by. Discussion about pulling ditches came up and Tony stated Grant County mows every inch of their county roads while Stevens County only mows the ditches of the black tops. Pat suggested a way to help cut costs and divert the dirt blowing is to not pull all the ditches and see if that helps.
Anna Rome came in for her interview with the County Commissioners over the Community Health Department Administrative position. Tron asked Anna what her idea for running the Community Health Department was and if she had any suggestions. Anna said she would like to see the Hospital and Community Health Department work together in certain areas, such as sharing important information when it comes to COVID and help with COVID testing. Pat agreed and said he would like to see more cooperation between the two (2) entities as well. Tron inquired what Anna is currently making and she stated $16.00 per hour at this time. The commissioners asked her the difference between RN, LPN and BSN, stating they weren’t sure what the difference was. Anna stated an RN is like an associates degree in nursing and a BSN is a bachelor’s degree in nursing. She stated the training is mainly the same, but the BSN has more education and is a bit more extensive as it is a four (4) year program. Right now, Anna says she does phlebotomy work and is currently enrolled in the EMT class and would love the opportunity to have a more hands on approach and learn administrative, grant writing and budgeting. The commissioners asked her where and what she plans on doing in the future and she stated she loves working with all aspects in the health field.
Discussion about which interviewee the commissioners want to hire for the administrative position and the commissioners stated they would like to have Cammie in the administrative position as she has more experience with the administrative process. The commissioners then discussed the pay for the administrative position and decided upon the start pay for Cammie to be $70,720.00 beginning in 2023, if Cammie accepted the position and stated no COLA for the pay in 2023. There was a brief discussion about COLA’s for 2023 with no motion made.
Pat made a motion to hire Cammie Heaton for the Community Health Department Administrative position with a beginning salary of $70,720.00 for 2023 with no COLA in 2023. Joe seconded. Motion carried.
Added and Abatement Orders for 2022 taxes, numbered One (1) through Fifteen (15) were reviewed and approved by commissioners and given to the County Treasurer; total valuation added 15,074 and tax assessed $2,693.19, total valuation removed 6,627 with a relief assessment of $1,014.77, totaling a value of 8,447 and tax of $1,678.42.
By motion, the Board adjourned.
Attest: Amy Jo Tharp, County Clerk
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Tron Stegman, Chairman