BUTLER
COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
Tuesday,
November 13, 2001
Commission
Chairman, Bill Shriver, called the Butler County Board of Commissioners to
order. Present were Commissioners Randy Doll & Will Carpenter; County
Administrator, Jay Newton; and Commission Secretary, Marcy Zwall.
Commissioner
Doll moved to approve the Butler County Commission Meeting minutes of Monday,
November 5, 2001, Tuesday, November 6, as amended. Commissioner Carpenter seconded the motion. Motion carried 3-0.
Commissioner
Carpenter moved to approve vouchers totaling $279,757.76, dated November 13,
2001. Commissioner Carpenter seconded
the motion. Motion carried 3-0.
Commissioner
Doll moved to amend vouchers paid November 5, 2001, to $557,801.68. The approximate $7,000 difference is for
garnishments. Commissioner Carpenter
seconded the motion. Motion carried 3-0.
TELECOMMUNICATIONS TOWER AT
DEGRAFF
Todd
Kennemer, Director of Planning & Zoning, notified the Board that Ron Jones
of American Tower has informed him of his company’s intentions for the proposal
submitted at the September 25th meeting, which was tabled. American Tower has announced that projects
pending local approval (such as this one) will be “moth-balled”, meaning funding
will not be received unless approved as presented. Mr. Kennemer presented a letter confirming Mr. Jones’
indications. Due to the abundance of
opposition to the location & height proposed for this tower, Mr. Kennemer
recommends denying this Conditional Use Permit.
Commissioner
Carpenter moved not to approve the Conditional Use Permit for the 250 foot
self-supporting telecommunications tower, Case #CU-01-07.
Commissioner
Doll seconded the motion. Motion
carried 3-0.
County
Clerk Ron Roberts & Carol Borger, Director of the Health Department,
reviewed the concept of a Butler County Employee Wellness Program. Angie Lassley, Director of the Greater
Wichita YMCA, and Roy Dickson of the El Dorado Health Club were also available
for discussion. Ms. Lassley presented
an agreement between Butler County & the YMCA/El Dorado Health Club. She informed the Board that the County would
be billed quarterly for $45 per employee.
This would result in a $100 per year, per employee discount for the
County. Further, Ms. Lassley announced
that the $50 “Joiner Fee” would be waived.
She noted that some County employees are already members of the YMCA in
Wichita, and their memberships will transfer.
Also, the Board was told that 6 members would be needed to qualify for
these rates. Due to the expense, the
Commissioners asked what recourse they would have if an employee never used the
facilities. Ms. Lassley responded that
other corporations have included a clause stating that if an employee did not
use the YMCA after so much time, their membership would be discontinued. Mr. Roberts suggested approving the
agreement now and promoting it as of the first of next year. Commissioner Doll asked if funds were
available for this. Mr. Newton stated
that he felt there was money in the 2002 budget that would cover this. Ms. Lassley offered to provide the Board
with a list of county employees who currently had memberships, as well as a
revised agreement that included a clause to cover non-use of the facility.
Commissioner
Doll moved to approve the Greater Wichita YMCA Corporate Membership agreement
between Butler County and YMCA, with a monthly membership fee of $14.37 for
singles & $26.57 for families. The agreement is to include the following
caveat: if the usage by an employee
decreases, the County would no longer support them. The County’s participation will be a partial payment of $180 per
year per participating employee. The effective date of this agreement is to be
December 1, 2001. Commissioner Carpenter seconded the motion. Motion carried 3-0.
Darryl Lutz, County Engineer, presented & reviewed the following items:
Paul’s Valley
3rd Add. Bid Award: Mr. Lutz
presented his recommendation to the Board for the bid on the construction of
internal street improvements for Paul’s Valley 3rd Addition,
suggesting accepting the lowest bid for the contract. He added that statutory regulations require approving the bid
from the lowest qualified bidder. In
addition, he informed the Board that the end cost would be approximately
$50,000 less, due to an unnecessary alternate.
Commissioner
Doll moved to approve the bid for Paul’s Valley 3rd Addition to APAC
of Kansas in the amount of $414,528.03; and allow the Chair to sign the Award
of Contract document.
Commissioner
Carpenter seconded the motion. Motion
carried 3-0.
Paul’s Valley
3rd Add. Road Maintenance Agreement: Mr. Lutz presented & reviewed a Road Maintenance Agreement
between Butler County & Pleasant Township for Paul’s Valley 3rd
Add.
He
confirmed that the County would receive approximately $3,000 annually, which
will be put into the Road & Bridge Fund.
Commissioner
Carpenter moved to approve the Subdivision Road Maintenance agreement with
Pleasant Township for Paul’s Valley 3rd Addition; and allow the
Chair to sign.
Commissioner
Doll seconded the motion. Motion
carried 3-0.
SW 170th
St. Road Improvements: Mr. Lutz requested authority
to solicit engineering proposals for survey, design & plan preparation work
for reconstructing 1 mile of SW 170th St., between SW Butler Rd.
& the Sedgwick County line.
Commissioner
Carpenter moved to authorize the Director of Public Works to solicit statements
of qualifications & engineering proposals for design for the reconstruction
of SW 170th ST. between the Sedgwick County line and SW Butler
Rd. Commissioner Doll seconded the
motion. Motion carried 3-0.
Scott
Stoskopf, Director of Computer Services, was called away from the courthouse and
unable to be present for discussion on this matter.
Commissioner
Doll moved to table this item.
Commissioner Carpenter seconded the motion. Motion carried 3-0.
Administrator Newton presented a proposed Butler County Holiday schedule for 2002, which included the following 10 holidays:
New Year’s Day: 01/01/02 Veteran’s Day: 11/11/02
President’s Day: 02/18/02 Thanksgiving: 11/28/02
Memorial Day: 05/27/02 11/29/02
Independence Day: 07/04/02 Christmas Day: 12/25/02
Labor Day: 09/02/02 Floating Holiday: Employee’s Choice
Commissioner
Doll moved to accept the proposed 2002 Holiday Schedule as shown above.
Commissioner
Carpenter seconded the motion. Motion
carried 3-0.
Scott
Stoskopf returned and the Commissioner allowed him to present this issue. He requested approval from the Board to
purchase SonicWall Pro VX, which will add security from network attacks as well
as allow use to control & monitor Internet activity. Mr. Stoskopf noted that, while the County
does not play a “Big Brother” role, easier review of Internet access would be
preferred. He stressed that the main
objective to obtaining this software is for the firewall, preventing hackers. Mr. Newton commented that he would like to
see the use of the Internet formalized consistent with the Purchase Card
Program. He feels the Department Heads
should be aware of what users in their departments have access to part or the
entire Internet. Mr. Stoskopf explained
that either some users can be prohibited from accessing some sites, or there
can be a blanket ban for all County users on some sites. He also added that this has been part of his
5-year plan for several years, and has attached it to his annual budget. Commissioner Carpenter stated that he was
hesitant to support this issue; however he realized the importance of Internet
security. Mr. Stoskopf requested that
he be allowed to secure sites by employee position, not specific people. The Board agreed that would be appropriate.
Commissioner
Doll moved to approve the purchase of the SonicWall Pro-VX, in the amount of
$3,629, to be paid out of Computer Services Capital Equipment Fund, and
includes the $515 annual subscription; and allow the Chair to sign. Commissioner Carpenter seconded the
motion. Motion carried 3-0.
·
Railroad Update: The Board,
along with Larry Powell, BCED Director, reviewed the timeline for possession of
the rail line. They noted that the
closing is scheduled for November 27, 2001, and the Chairman would need to be
available for that. While the closing
office is in Dallas, the documents can be signed electronically from here. The Commissioners also reviewed what documents
would be received, including the lease agreements to be transferred. The Board was in total agreement that said
leases need to be reviewed by Mr. Powell, & possibly an attorney. BNSF has agreed to allow these documents to
be read at their office. The Board
requested that a one-week extension be obtained for the closing, in order to
allow time to review the lease documents.
Mr. Powell was instructed to contact an attorney to aid in reviewing
said documents, notify Mr. Newton of attorney’s name, contact Norman Manley to
inform him of actions that are being taken, and report back to the Board on
November 27th.
·
Tiger
Ruling: Mr. Newton explained
that the Court’s ruled in favor of the defendant regarding owning tigers, due
to the “Exclusion” clause in Butler County’s resolution adopted in 1998. It states that if the person holds a
Rehabilitation License, they may be excluded from this resolution, which the
defendants have. Further, he noted that
this should be remedied in the near future.
·
REAP Assessment: The Commission discussed an invoice received
from REAP. It is a result of Harvey
County being dismissed from the Statistical Metropolitan Area because of the
census. Harvey County wants to hire a
legal firm to argue this, but need financial help from all the REAP members. The amounts requested were based on a $100
base-line cost for each contributing community. Butler County’s share is $789.
Commissioner Carpenter moved to authorize payment of
the assessment for REAP, in the amount of $739.00, to help with the legal
consultation fees for Harvey County.
Commissioner Doll seconded the motion.
Motion carried 3-0.
Commissioner
Doll moved, having no further business before the board, to adjourn the
meeting. Commissioner Shriver seconded
the motion. Motion carried 3-0.