BUTLER
COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
Tuesday,
November 6, 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.
Darryl Lutz, County Engineer, presented & reviewed the following items:
Walnut River
Bridge Rehab.: Mr. Lutz approached the Board
with a report from Mid Kansas Engineering Consultants regarding the status of
the study on options for the rehabilitation of the Walnut River Bridge, east of
Augusta, on SW 100th St.
Karl Svaty of MKEC reviewed several options for the Commissioners,
recommending widening the road to 26’ with a conventional forming system. In addition, Mr. Svaty presented an
experimental material from Boeing, noting that approximately 20 other bridges
are in the process of installing this.
He described it as containing carbon fiber with kevlar stitching &
an epoxy matrix. Using the material from
Boeing would allow the construction of a 32’ bridge deck. Mr. Svaty was not able to give the Board a
cost estimate, but advised that it would take no more than 3 months to obtain a
bid. The Commissioners debated the benefits of using an experimental product. Commissioner Carpenter specified his concern
on the longevity of the material. Mr.
Svaty stated that while this is experimental in bridges, this material has been
used in the construction of airplanes for about 20 years. Commissioner Shriver commented that his
experience with plastic always found it to creep under constant load.
Commissioner
Doll inquired what the most pressing problem of the bridge was. Mr. Svaty noted that the deck was in need of
repair. He reminded the Board that a
report on the steel substructure & concrete piers was done in August 2001,
finding it in excellent condition.
Mr.
Svaty commented that another option is to leave the bridge as is with patching
& painting (hydro-demolition overlay with a new rail, approach slab & girder). However KDOT recommends that if there is
more than 5% patching, the bridge should be replaced. Mr. Lutz indicated that there would be more than 5% patching. When asked what his ultimate recommendation
would be, Mr. Svaty responded by the 26’ deck replacement is the best option.
The
Commission requested that Mr. Svaty obtain estimates on both a 24’ deck
replacement & a 26’ deck replacement.
Further, the Commission requested MKEC to research the cost of the
experimental composition.
SW 70th
St. Project: Mr. Lutz presented documents
for the SW 70th St. Project for approval. These included a Certification of Real Property Acquisition
Procedures, Authority & Method,
Commissioner
Doll moved to accept & allow the Chair to sign the Certification of Real
Property Acquisition Procedures Contract, as required by KDOT for the SW 70th
St. project.
Commissioner
Carpenter seconded the motion. Motion
carried 3-0.
Commissioner
Doll moved to accept & allow the Chair to sign the Authority & Methods
Procedure Contract, as required by KDOT for the SW 70th St. project.
Commissioner
Carpenter seconded the motion. Motion
carried 3-0.
Commissioner
Doll moved to authorize the signing of the Authority to Award Contract
Commitment of County Funds contract, as required by KDOT, for the purposes of
the SW 70th St. Project, in the amount of $1,992,661.35, committing
the County to $431,843.17.
Commissioner
Carpenter seconded the motion. Motion
carried 3-0.
Mr.
Lutz advised the Board of the previously approved proposal for the County to
provide Construction Engineering Services for this project. Said proposal was submitted to KDOT &
approved. In turn, KDOT provided the
necessary documents to be signed for such services. Mr. Lutz also explained that this agreement provides that KDOT
will reimburse the county for 80% of these expenses.
Commissioner
Doll moved to approve the contract for Federal Aid Road Construction Engineer
for Butler County, as required by KDOT, in the amount of $106,774.66, of which
80% will be reimbursed. Commissioner
Carpenter seconded the motion. Motion
carried 3-0.
Paul’s Valley
3rd Add. Bid Opening: Mr. Lutz,
along with the Commissioners, opened sealed bids for the construction of
internal street improvements for Paul’s Valley 3rd Addition. Four Kansas contractors submitted bids for
the project, as follows:
* APAC of Kansas: $414,528.03
* Central Paving of Wichita: $445,775.86
* Richey Paving of Wichita: $436,737.90
* Cornejo & Sons of Wichita: $426,825.35
Commissioner
Doll moved to receive bids for Paul’s Valley 3rd Addition street
improvement project, and allow the County Engineer to review the bids and
return with a recommendation.
Commissioner
Carpenter seconded the motion. Motion
carried 3-0.
Traffic
Engineering Study: Mr. Lutz presented the Board
with the traffic engineering report for the intersection of SW 210th
St. & SW Butler Rd. He noted that
this report was requested as a result of this being a high profile accident
intersection. The report recommended
trimming back the trees for better vision; replace some of the advance warning
signs with larger ones, plus relocating some along Butler Road; and revamp the
stop signs with either a 2-way sign with a flashing beacon, a 2-way sign with
an overhead flashing beacon, or a 4-way stop sign.
Commissioner
Doll moved to accept the report on the SW 210th & SW Butler Rd.
intersection study, and allow the County Engineer to review it & return
with cost estimates for implementation & a recommendation, as well as
possible funding for such.
Commissioner
Carpenter seconded the motion. Motion
carried 3-0.
Mike
Thompson of Poe & Associates requested a time to open bids for the Shay
Avenue Landscaping project.
Commissioner
Shriver moved to set the bid opening for 10:00 a.m. on December 4, 2001 for the
Shay Avenue landscaping project.
Commissioner Doll seconded the motion.
Motion carried 3-0.
Mike Thompson of Poe & Associates informed the Commissioners that the silt fence requested in the last change order is no longer needed, due to a good stand of grass.
Commissioner
Doll moved to accept Change Order #3, which is a deduction of $1,650, on the
Central Street project; and allow the Chair to sign.
Commissioner
Carpenter seconded the motion. Motion
carried 3-0.
Administrator Newton, along with Sheriff Stan Cox, reviewed the position description & salary range for the Director of Detention Services, for approval. Sheriff Cox supported the description & felt the salary was “impressive”. Further, he inquired what involvement he would have in the hiring process. Mr. Newton suggested an interview panel of 5 members, with Sheriff Cox as the Chairman. Commissioner Carpenter volunteered to be a member. Sheriff Cox made several recommendations as well. Commissioner Shriver recommended that Sheriff Cox form the panel, while Mr. Newton begins advertising for applicants.
Commissioner
Carpenter moved to approve the position description and pay range (Range 20)
for the Director of Detention Services, as outlined in Administrator Newton’s
memo dated November 6, 2001.
Commissioner Doll seconded the motion.
Motion carried 3-0.
Connie Rausch, Department on Aging Director, presented Sr. Center Program & Transportation Service contracts for 2002 to be approved. She noted that, since the 2002 budget remained the same, these contract amounts are the same as last year. Commissioner Doll inquired if financial statements have been submitted as required. Ms. Rausch confirmed that the Senior Centers have been providing those statements. Further, she stated she would provide a summary of each Center’s statement to the Board, by the end of the year, & include their Quarterly reports. Commissioner Doll specifically asked for a balance sheet of Assets & Liabilities for review.
Commissioner
Carpenter moved to accept the contracts from the Department on Aging; and allow
the Chair to sign. Commissioner Doll seconded the motion. Motion carried 3-0.
·
Veterans’ Memorial: Dick
Morris, of El Dorado, & Representative Bill Mason approached the Board
regarding a proposed memorial to veterans.
Rep. Mason informed the Board that a Celebration of Freedom Committee
has been formed and active for the past 4 years. He added that they decided the next action would be a memorial,
which would have a symbol representing veterans of all wars & conflicts as
well as all services. He noted that a
sub-committee has been formed for this project, which has decided on an eagle
statue and is requesting permission to place the memorial on the courthouse
grounds, subject to the Celebration of Freedom Committee’s approval. Mr. Morris explained that the artist is
giving her statue “Wings of Freedom” for the cost of the casting. The whole memorial will include black
granite with emblems of all the armed forces, the US & Kansas flags, and
bricks & limestone to match the courthouse. The gentlemen added that the El Dorado High School Art Teacher,
Frank Wise, along with the Treanor Architect, Dan Rowe, have offered their
assistance with this project. Mr.
Morris added that he did not feel that the memorial would require a lot of
maintenance, due to the materials used.
The Commissioners were very supportive of the idea, and impressed by the
proposal. Commissioner Shriver
requested that Mr. Newton ask Buildings & Grounds to flag the proposed area
for the Commissioners to view.
The
Commissioners recessed for 5 minutes, at 10:58a.m.
The
Regular Session reconvened at 11:03 a.m.
OTHER ITEMS (CONT’D)
·
Compactor Repairs: Mr. Lutz
informed the Board that, after a recent inspection of the landfill compactor,
some major problems were detected. Mr.
Lutz received an estimate of cost at a little over $20,500, with almost half
the expense covering maintenance.
Commissioner Doll moved to allow the County Engineer to incorporate repairs to the landfill compactor, in the total amount of approximately $20,500, to be paid out of the landfill fund. Commissioner Carpenter seconded the motion. Motion carried 3-0.
· Employment Agreement: Administrator Newton presented a Drug Court Supervisor employment agreement to the Commissioners for approval. He advised that this was a result of the employment of a Drug Court Supervisor, through the Juvenile Accountability Incentive Block Grant received. Mr. Newton noted that, after reviewing the job description of this position, he did not feel the pay range was appropriate for the job. However, since the employee had already been hired, the only alternative was the aforementioned agreement.
Commissioner Doll moved to approve the employment agreement between Butler County and Melody A. B. Gelroth, a grant-funded employee of Butler County; and allow the Chair to sign. Commissioner Carpenter seconded the motion. Motion carried 3-0.
Commissioner
Doll moved, having no further business before the board, to adjourn the
meeting. Commissioner Carpenter
seconded the motion. Motion carried
3-0.