BUTLER COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

Monday, August 29, 2005

CALL TO ORDER

Commission Chairman Mike Wheeler called the Butler County Board of Commissioners to order at 9:00 a.m. Present were Commissioner Will Carpenter, Commissioner Randy Doll, Commissioner Randy Waldorf, Commissioner Dan Woydziak, Administrator Will Johnson Jr., and Clerk Recorder Tammy Bridges.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

Commissioner Waldorf motioned to approve the minutes of the Butler County Commission Meetings of Monday, August 22, 2005 as written and Tuesday, August 23, 2005 as amended. Commissioner Woydziak seconded the motion. Motion carried 5-0.

ITEM #1 – CONSIDER AN OFFER FROM LYLE L. LANCE FOR THE SALE OF A 1996 AMBULANCE

Grant Helferich, Director of EMS, came before the Board for approval of an offer from Lyle L. Lance to purchase a 1996 ambulance. While transporting an emergency patient from the scene of an accident, the engine overheated and now is of no use. The estimate to replace the engine (7.3 L turbo diesel) is approximately $8,000.00.

It was the consensus of the Board to advertise this ambulance for sale and request bids.

Commissioner Woydziak asked Mr. Helferich to bring a plan before the Board for the Emergency Medical Services Department related to staff, placement, recall, and a policy on residency for employees. Mr. Helferich stated that after having discussions with Mr. Johnson, he would present a plan to the Board. Administrator Johnson stated that they would present the plan around the first of November.

ITEM #2 – CONSIDER RESOLUTION NO. 05-49 PROCLAIMING A STATE OF LOCAL DISASTER EMERGENCY FOR BUTLER COUNTY

Jim Schmidt, Emergency Management Director, came before the Board for approval of Resolution 05-49, a proclamation of a State of Local Disaster Emergency for Butler County, Kansas. Mr. Schmidt thanked Administrator Will Johnson for bringing together and coordinating the support between the county and the City of El Dorado. Mr. Schmidt said that, according to the State, criteria would not be met for assistance to residents of apartments or uninsured people who had flood damage because we didn’t have the required amount of water. Part of the criteria requires 40% of uninsured loss, and Mr. Schmidt stated that it takes 4 feet of water in about a 12-hour period inside of a residence to have that kind of loss. The deepest water level the Emergency Management Department has found is around 18 inches. Mr. Schmidt stated that in order to apply for public assistance, it takes $2 million in damage, and at this point in time, we have approximately $200,000 in public assistance damage.

Jim Schmidt stated that a National Incident Management System (NIMS) resolution would be coming before the Board at a later date. Mr. Schmidt said that NIMS is necessary so all management departments across the United States will be speaking the same language. He indicated that if we aren’t NIMS compliant by next year, we would not be able to obtain Office of Domestic Preparedness (ODP) grant funding or fire grant funding for the fire departments. Mr. Schmidt stated that the Board would also need to be compliant by taking an on-line course.

Chief Dan Armstrong came before the Board and stated that he had written a grant for a pumper truck for Fire District #3, and commended Kathy Guy for her help with the grant. They received notification from the federal government last Thursday that Fire District #3 will be receiving a grant in the amount of $188,100. Chief Armstrong stated that the total for the pumper truck would be approximately $225,000, with the difference to be paid out of the Equipment Reserve Fund. Mr. Armstrong stated that the Fire Board motioned to allow him to move forward with approval from the Commission Board.

Commissioner Woydziak motioned to allow Fire District #3 to solicit bids for a pumper truck to be paid for with a grant and the remainder to be paid out of the Equipment Reserve Fund. Commissioner Waldorf seconded the motion. Motion carried 5-0.

Administrator Johnson stated that Randall Allen, Kansas Association of Counties (KAC), requested a conference call while the Board was in session today at 10:00 a.m. to discuss prescription drug costs as they relate to jail inmates and juvenile offenders.

ITEM #3 – WORK SESSION – ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Will Johnson, Administrator, came before the Board for discussion related to Economic Development. He said that Thursday night’s meeting with the Economic Development Board went very well. Mr. Johnson stated that we are looking for a skilled individual, and will be putting a job description together to include a highly educated and experienced strong team builder and motivator. Administrator Johnson stated that he would be receiving information on job descriptions from Harvey, Reno and Sumner Counties.

RECESS

Commissioner Wheeler recessed the Board for 10 minutes at 10:00 a.m.

RECONVENE

Commissioner Wheeler reconvened the Board at 10:10 a.m.

APPROVAL OF VOUCHERS

Commissioner Carpenter motioned to approve the vouchers for August 29, 2005 in the amount of $696,214.24. Commissioner Doll seconded the motion. Motion carried 5-0.

OTHER ITEMS OF BUSINESS TO COME BEFORE THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS

Commissioner Woydziak stated that Mark Detter, Assistant Administrator, is working on a press release to apologize to the people in Rose Hill whose names were published in the newspaper for unpaid specials.

The conference call from Randall Allen, KAC, came in at 10:15 a.m. Mr. Allen verified that our jail facility has 230 beds. He stated that a research report dated April 2005 summarizes different approaches to reduce prescription drug costs pertaining to the jail and juvenile detention population. He stated that Atchison County, with 73 beds, estimates a savings of $20,000-$25,000 this year by integrating a discounted prescription drug program. Mr. Allen said that several other counties have moved forward with this program, including Crawford, Harvey, Leavenworth, Pratt, Reno, Sedgwick, and Sherman. The Commissioners stated that they would be interested in looking at the discounted program.

Administrator Johnson stated that David Stewart, PKHL Architects, would be presenting a mock drawing for the commission bench tomorrow.

ADJOURNMENT

Commissioner Doll motioned to adjourn the meeting of the Board at 10:30 a.m. Commissioner Woydziak seconded the motion. Motion carried 5-0.