BUTLER COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

Tuesday, May 3, 2005

Commission Chairman Mike Wheeler called the Butler County Board of Commissioners to order at 9:05 a.m. Present were Commissioner Will Carpenter, Commissioner Randy Doll, Commissioner Randy Waldorf, Administrator Will Johnson Jr., and County Clerk Recorder Tammy Bridges.

ITEM #1 – CONSIDER APPROVAL OF A PERMIT APPLICATION AND PUBLIC ENTITY DISCLOSURE STATEMENT RELATED TO THE EXPANSION OF THE COUNTY’S CONSTRUCTION & DEMOLITION LANDFILL

Darryl Lutz, P.E., Director of Public Works, came before the Board for approval of a permit application and public entity disclosure statement related to the expansion of the County’s construction & demolition landfill. Butler County currently operates a construction & demolition landfill on County-owned property on the north side of SW 40^th Street north of the subtitle D landfill. The current permitted disposal area is full. KDHE has developed new and much stricter design, construction, and operating standards for C&D landfills. On November 17, 2003, the Board of County Commissioners approved an agreement with Burns & McDonnell Engineering Company to prepare plans and the permit application to expand the construction and demolition landfill. Plans have been completed and are ready to submit to KDHE for approval.

Commissioner Doll motioned to approve the permit application and the public entity disclosure statement related to the expansion of the Butler County Construction & Demolition Landfill. Applications to be filed with the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, and C & D landfill certification and allow the Chair to sign both documents. Commissioner Carpenter seconded the motion. Motion carried 5-0.

ITEM #2 – CONSIDER RECEIVING BIDS AND AWARDING A BID FOR THE SALE OF BONDS RELATED TO SEWER DISTRICT NO. 19 AND CONSIDER APPROVING A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE SALE OF SAID BONDS.

Darryl Lutz, P.E., Director of Public Works, came before the Board to receive bids and award a bid for the sale of bonds related to Sewer District No. 19 and consider approving a resolution authorizing the sale of said bonds. Bids were received from:

Average

Net Interest Annual Net Good Faith

Bidder Cost Interest Rate Deposit

Gold Capital Management $189,620.61 4.05626 Sure Bid

Country Club Bank $192,163.33 4.11066 Check

Commerce Bank $193,209.17 4.13303 Sure Bid

Commissioner Waldorf motioned to accept the low bid from Gold Capital Management in the amount of $189,620.61 with an average annual net interest rate of 4.05626, good faith deposit with sure bid. Commissioner Woydziak seconded the motion. Motion carried 5-0.

Commissioner Waldorf motioned to adopt Resolution No. 05-25. Commissioner Woydziak seconded the motion. Motion carried 5-0.

ITEM #3 – WORK SESSION – DISCUSSION ON COUNTY SALES TAX

Will Johnson, Administrator, provided data from the Department of Revenue report on State of Kansas Sales Tax Collections. In Butler County in 2004, $24,092,082 was collected from the 5.3% statewide sales tax. Sales tax revenues in Butler County were up 5.8% over 2003. Butler County generated $394.13 per capita in 2004 and ranks 50^th in per capita sales tax collection in Kansas down from 44^th in 2003. A 1% sales tax would have generated $4,545,675 in 2004. The 24-month collection assumes a September election and a January 2006 collection date.

Based on collection amount of $4,545,675 and twenty-four month duration, the county could generate $9,091,351 with a 1% dedicated sales tax that would end with Sedgwick County’s special sales tax.

Alternative 1: If the monies were utilized to offset debt payments over a 17-year period the mill levy impact would be 1.30 mills. This assumes 3% interest payments on the monies annually, 3% growth in payments annually and 3% growth in assessed valuation.

Alternative 2: If the monies were utilized to fund a capital improvement program for road and bridge over the same time period funds could start at $524,785 in year one and grow to $858,173 in year seventeen, again assuming the same 3% growth would allow for 1.3 mills annually to be funded for a road and bridge CIP.

Alternative 3: The county could escrow the funds and call the bonds early thus reducing the payment schedule by approximately 5 years and minimizing interest payments.

Administrator Johnson stated that the cost of a poll site election would be approximately $39,679, and a mail ballot election would cost approximately $41,300. One of the big costs in the mail ballot election is postage. The election department is checking into obtaining a non-profit status with the postal service, which would drop the rate from 34 cents down to 11 cents.

Chuck Boully, George K. Baum, came before the Board and stated that they work with elections all over the state. He suggested that there are different techniques in getting information to the public. These include identifying what the money will be used for and how it will benefit Butler County. Other marketing ideas are to have a public meeting, put together a steering committee outside of the Commission to speak to different groups in the County, and get the media involved.

Commissioner Doll inquired about the Cowley County sales tax. Mr. Boully stated that they are doing a half-cent sales tax to build a new jail. This tax is a dedicated sales tax for $10 million and will stay in existence as long as there are bonds or interest outstanding.

Administrator Johnson asked Mr. Boully what marketing techniques Cowley County was utilizing. Mr. Boully stated that they had a fact sheet explaining what they are going to build and the costs of the project. This is the second election for the sales tax; the first one did not pass. They went back to the community and asked what they didn’t like, and made some changes. The Automobile dealers were opposed to the first election, but gave their support for the second one, in which the sales tax amount was lowered.

Commissioner Wheeler opened the floor to public comments.

Kenneth Green came before the commission and stated that he is opposed to the countywide sales tax and related that his property taxes went up and were going to cost him $440 more.

Larry Adams came before the Board and stated that we don’t need a sales tax in Butler County and said we needed to tighten our belts. He stated that the commission needed to quit spending money and the taxpayers are tired of high taxes.

Tony Grunder came before the Board and stated that a higher sales tax is hard on his business. In addition, he feels like the commission is telling him that he needs to pack up and move to Wichita and take his million-dollar payroll with him. He indicated that he has spent his life building a business, and doesn’t think government should have that much control over it. Mr. Grunder said that he can count the outsiders that come in and pay our tax, but he can’t count the people who don’t show up. His suggestion was to hold a public hearing and let the people know what they want to do.

Steve Little came before the Board and asked how the data on how many people come to Butler County was obtained. Administrator Johnson stated that the number Larry Powell gave them was an estimate.

Richard Peckham came before the Board and stated that the board has done a fine job. He has two businesses, a service business and a real estate business. He is concerned about the aggregate affect on the economy of our county in general. He stated that if we raise the tax in Butler County, we might lose businesses. Mr. Peckham believes that Butler County’s sales tax needs to be below Sedgwick County’s sales tax. Mr. Peckham indicated he would be in favor of a higher mill levy than an increase in sales tax.

Commissioner Carpenter asked Mr. Peckham what we could do to keep people from going to Wichita and keep them shopping in our county. Mr. Peckham indicated that people like to go to attractive business locations where they can get the services and products they want. We need to give the business community the message that we want them here. He stated that the development in Andover is massive and will add to the tax base of the county. Mr. Peckham suggested that the commissioners hold the line a little bit longer because he thinks the economy is going to pick up.

John Culver, Parks Motors, came before the Board and stated that before he could be supportive of any tax, he would like to have a clear-cut goal of how the money would be used. He stated that if the Board could sway people like himself and Tony Grunder and some of the big-ticket guys to get on their side, then it would be a much easier sale. But, Mr. Culver stated that he couldn’t really get there until the board gives him a good argument. He advised that if the Board decides to do this, it should be done on a general ballot. Mr. Culver asked the Board to give us all time, put committees together and develop a rational plan. He informed the Board that he would be willing to help if he could.

RECESS

Commissioner Wheeler recessed the Board at 10:25 a.m. for 5 minutes.

RECONVENE

Commissioner Wheeler reconvened the Board at 10:30 a.m.

Mark Detter, Assistant Administrator, came before the Board with a brief overview of the safety committee and risk management. The committee consists of seven members: Chairman Joe Megredy, Vice-Chair Diane Rollins, Secretary Mark Detter, Jane Dodson, Jim Schmidt, Kathy Guy, Sgt. Hall, and Robert Taylor. The purpose of this committee is to promote safety and risk management throughout the entire Butler County organization. Mr. Detter said the committee is working on building response plans, updating the evacuation plan, a certification plan to include a person from each department, and a safety award program.

Tom Murray, Insurance Center, Inc., came before the Board and related that his company is licensed in over 25 states and the agency dates back to the year 1885 in Butler County. Mr. Murray stated that they have a program called MYWAVE, which is a web based risk management program that deals with a wide array of issues.

APPROVAL OF ADDS & ABATES

Commissioner Woydziak motioned to approve Adds & Abates #2220. Adds in the amount of $1,717.60 and Abates in the amount of $672.58. Commissioner Carpenter seconded the motion. Motion carried 5-0.

OTHER ITEMS OF BUSINESS

Commissioner Doll helped the Leon Senior Center in obtaining a contribution of $3,000 from Tom Devlin to help in finishing the basement. The people spoke very highly of the County and the contribution of $10,000. They were also appreciative of Commissioner Waldorf’s visit.

Commissioner Waldorf mentioned that he would be speaking at the Optimist Club at lunch today.

Commissioner Woydziak stated that he would be attending the Solid Waste Committee meeting on Thursday to discuss recycling as well as other issues.

Commissioner Wheeler remarked that he would like to go to Rosalia first when the Commission goes on the road.

Administrator Johnson said that the Butler County Farm Service Agency (FSA) Office requires written notice on AG leases. FSA now requires authorization and designation from the Board.

Commissioner Woydziak motioned to officially designate Darryl Lutz as person of record and Will Johnson as secondary person for the FSA and allow the Chair to sign. Commissioner Waldorf seconded the motion. Motion carried 5-0.

Commissioner Woydziak motioned to designate the Chairman of the Board of County Commissioners and the County Administrator be the signators for the escrow account with Elk River Wind Farm. Commissioner Waldorf seconded the motion. Motion carried 5-0.

ADJOURNMENT

Commissioner Doll motioned to adjourn the meeting of the Board at 11:15 a.m. Commissioner Waldorf seconded the motion. Motion carried 5-0.