BUTLER
COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
Tuesday,
January 22, 2002
Commission
Chairman, Randy Doll, called the Butler County Board of Commissioners to order.
Present were Commissioners Bill Shriver & Will Carpenter; County
Administrator, Jay Newton and Commission Secretary, Linda S. Peterson.
Commissioner Doll opened the public hearing at 9:00 a.m., with no comment; he closed the hearing at 9:02 a.m.
The Commissioners met with Darryl Lutz, County Engineer and Martin Goedecke, Goedecke Engineering, about the Prairie Rose Chuckwagon Road agreement. Mr. Lutz stated that the Prairie Rose traffic count estimated 41,000 vehicles per year, or 112 vehicles per day. Commissioner Shriver asked which way was the best to have this road finished. Mr. Lutz stated that he believe that the minimum paving (chip/seal) would be the way to go. Financing for this would be 40% Tourism grant of $110,000 and a CDBG of $160,000 which would be an option of paying it back over 10 years at a 0% interest rate or a 50% grant 50% loan at 2% over 10 years, if PRC could prove it’s a final destination.
Mr. Goedecke believed that the load capacity and dust control were two main items in making a decision. Commissioner Carpenter asked Mr. Etheredge if he expected his business to grow 10%. Mr. Etheredge stated he hoped it would grow, and they were also looking into having a few conventions next year. Commissioner Doll suggested that they go with chip and seal.
Commissioner Doll made a motion to approve the 350,000 CDBG grant. Commissioner Shriver seconded the motion. Motion carried 3-0.
Commissioner Doll moved to chip and seal the .8 of a mile of Parrell Rd. Commissioner Carpenter seconded the motion. Motion carried 3-0.
Commissioner Doll requested that Mr. Lutz and the township work out an agreement to do the maintenance of the road. Mr. Bill Shaffer, Benton Township Trustee agreed they would. Mr. Bill Bolin, SCKEDD, stated that the application to the state needed to have a letter of intent on how the road was to be maintained. Mr. Lutz and Larry Powell will draw up this letter.
Mr. Etheredge asked if they could go ahead and get the conditional use permit situation taken care of. All of the Commissioners stated this was schedule for the first of March to be reviewed. Commissioner Doll stated for the record that “It is not the intent of this Commission to shut down Prairie Rose Chuckwagon. We want to help Prairie Rose. It’s a good business, which has grown, and the Commission wants to work with you.”
Mr. Jerry Rayl, Davidson Securities, reviewed the temporary notes for financing the improvement projects for Andover and USD 385. Five of seven benefit district improvement projects for the new Andover Public School facilities located east of Andover are financed with temporary notes. The notes are due in February 15th, 2002. 100% of the project costs are to be paid by the benefit district. This will be a 12 month note but callable in 6 months. Permanent bond levies with special assessment will be issued after the notes are called. Andover school district will be paying cash for their portion, and the County has no out of pocket expense.
Commissioner Carpenter moved to authorize renewal of the temporary notes to cover USD 385 benefits district project cost and authorize the chair to sign, also include the engineering and construction costs of Paul’s Valley third addition paving project. These consist of $1,290,000 for the Andover project and $485,000 for the Pauls Valley project. Commissioner Shriver seconded the motion. Motion carried 3-0
Commissioner Doll moved that we accept the underwriting agreement with Gold Capital management and the resignation of Davidson Securities as financial advisors Commissioner Shriver seconded the motion. Motion carried 3-0.
Commissioner Shriver moved to approve resolution number 02-04, Cash Basis Accounting Method, and authorize the chair to sign. Commissioner Carpenter seconded the motion. Motion carried 3-0.
Mr. Mark Dick, of Allen, Gibbs and Houlik was present to discuss the year ending audit for the County. Mr. Dick stated that he needed more accounting help in the County. He suggested that the county look into hiring an Accountant. He also suggested that the offices should be able to look at their accounting information on their own computers, eliminating the monthly distribution of accounting data on paper. The County already has the software installed to do this. This would reduce the paper flow. Mr. Newton suggested that Mr. Dick come to a Department Head meeting and show how to use this program and he said he would be glad to. Mr. Dick stated that because of the change in accounting systems it took longer then normal. It took 1000 hours last year at a cost of $60,000. He projected that this years audit will take 450 hours, and he would guarantee that or they would absorb the cost. They will be starting March 18 and be out of her by the middle of April. Mr. Dick stated that they were spending 50-100 hours taking information and putting it into a financial statement, that if we had an accountant all this would already be done, so this would be saving money and time. Commissioner Doll asked what other counties do. He was informed that the accountant is either in their own department, under the administration or under the Clerk’s office. Commissioner Shriver asked why the hourly rate was so much higher this year. Mr. Dick informed that their normal rate was $112 to $115 per hour but they charge us $60.00 per hour. They had more work because changing financial systems. The largest counties have accounting in it’s own department usually under the manager, the rest have accounting in the Clerk’s office
Commissioner Doll moved to accept the Engagement Letter for the audit from Allen, Gibbs and Houlick. Commissioner Carpenter seconded the motion. Motion carried 3-0.
Stan Cox, Butler County Sheriff, presented bids for 5 new 2002 Police package vehicles, 3 used police package vehicles and 6 used stock vehicles.
Bids were opened and taken from Lubers in Cheney for $77,730, Friendly Ford for $60,960, Frye Chevrolet for $79,037.70, Mel Hambelton for $64,500, Parks of Augusta for $61,465, with traction control $62,270 and Rusty Eck for $61,085.
Commissioner Shriver moved to accept the bids. Commissioner Carpenter seconded the motion. Motion carried 3-0.
Sheriff Cox, returned after reviewing the bids and told the Commissioners that they would like to go the Parks Motors of Augusta with the Intrepids.
Commissioner Doll moved to accept the bid from Parks of Augusta in the amount of $61,965.00. Commissioner Shriver seconded the motion. Motion carried 3-0
Sheriff Cox introduced Roy Raney as the new Detective Captain.
Commissioner Shriver moved to approve the process of sealed bids for a 1984 Chevrolet pickup and a 1986 Chevrolet utility ¾ ton truck. Commissioner Carpenter seconded the motion. Motion carried 3-0.
The Commission requested Sheriff Cox, to get rid of all the old vehicles that are just being stored at different facility that do not run anymore and have them towed away.
Stan Cox, Butler County Sheriff, submitted an agreement with the Quality Emergency Vehicles (QEV) to install graphics and emergency equipment to the new police vehicles and remove the old graphics and equipment from the vehicles being taken out of service.
Commissioner Shriver moved to have QEV do the stripping and necessary work on the Sheriffs vehicles. Commissioner Carpenter seconded the motion. Motion carried 3-0
Mr. Riley Walters, Director, Butler County Noxious Weed Department presented bids for a new truck. There were three bids. Lacey Reiger of McPherson in the amount of $25,303; Rusty Eck in Wichita for $26,747 and Friendly Ford for $25,490.
Commissioner Doll moved to accept the bids. Commissioner Shriver seconded the motion. Motion carried 3-0.
Mr. Riley Walters came back with his recommendations of purchasing a 2002 truck from Friendly Ford in the amount of $25490.
Commissioner Shriver made a motion to accept the bid from Friendly Ford in the amount of $25,490. Commissioner Carpenter seconded the motion. Motion carried 3-0
Mr. Walters Walters, Director, Butler County Noxious Weed Department presented for review the County Noxious Weed Report to be submitted to the Kansas Department of Agriculture. Commissioner Shriver brought up the issue of Sercia Lespedeza in the County, We stated that we have the best grass in the world and he would like to see a more aggressive attack on this invader. Commissioner Shriver would like to see a proposal to upgrade and get ahead of the curve on it and what he needs to do this. Mr. Walters felt that the County was gaining on this. Mr. Walters felt that he was doing too much application himself rather then scouting. He said that he was undermanned in this area. He had people quit because they needed better paying jobs with benefits. He had a man that would stay on during the winter, but had to leave for a better paying job. He feels this man would be a benefit to his department. Commissioner Doll asked how many people he had in his Department. Mr. Walters informed them only 3, a secretary, an assistant and himself. Commissioner Doll said his philosophy is that you don’t save money by not paying good people enough. Commissioner Carpenter asked if he thought he could get this man back. Mr. Walters believed he could.
Commissioner Shriver moved to accept the Annual Noxious Weed Report to the State and authorize the chair to sign. Commissioner Carpenter seconded the motion. Motion carried 3-0.
Mr. Walters also commented on a cost sharing program that has matching funds that he is checking into and would be back to discuss with the Commission at a later date.
FILE SERVER FOR COUNTY
Those attending were Mr. Stoskopf, Director of Computer Services; Mr. Manley, Butler County’s Attorney; Mr. LaForge, LaForge’s Inc. and Mr. Sean McDonald, LaForge’s Inc. Mr. Stoskopf informed the Commissioners that the server continues to fail. It has failed 4 times to date. He states that the employees are losing trust in this server. Mr. LaForge admits there has been problems with this server. He believes that the problems are stemming from one component, which they now have and are ready to put in at any time. They have already replaced a number of components trying to get it to work. LaForge’s was told that these parts were compatible, but Mr. LaForge does not believe they are. Mr. Newton stated that we have lost weeks and weeks of works. Mr. LaForge noted they would be able to install these caddies after hours if necessary.
Pamela Dunham, GIS Coordinator stated that her office lost 3 days of work just on this last crash, had to go to the December 26th backup so they lost the entire week. Her office went from December 26 to January 7 not being able to do any work. She said she is having to backup on her own hard drive because she just doesn’t know if the backup on the server is going to do its job. Clark Allemang, Director of Appraisers, says he has lost trust in the server to have the information there that is suppose to be there and they had a mailing date that was critical that had to be put off because of this problem. Mr. Lutz, Director of Public works also lost 2-3 days of data and files were lost. Morale has become a big issue. Commissioner Shriver asked, “What does LaForge’s need to do?” Mr. McDonald said he needed 4 hours to install and rebuild database. Mr. Stoskopf stated that he would need 8 hours for his office to backup data and then test, then put data back on. Commissioner Carpenter asked, “If LaForge’s was prepared to do the time it would take to get this thing right?” LaForge’s answered “yes they were.” Mr. LaForge suggested that a last ditch effort was to install the caddies and go from there. Commissioner Doll asked Mr. Stoskopf what his recommendation was. He informed them that his staff and himself would like to try a new server. Commissioner Doll accepted Mr. Stoskopf recommendation. Mr. LaForge stated that once these components were installed that this server would not go down in the next year, it’s not going to go down for years. They have many of theses servers out there that are still up and running and never have been turned off. Mr. Stoskopf stated we were using the old server just for a safety backup.
Commissioner Shriver wanted to know as far as a supplier how far should this continue until it stops. Mr. LaForge stated he wanted to salvage this relationship. Mr. Newton asked Mr. LaForge if there were any cases that this might just be a lemon. Mr. McDonald stated that this server has had other problems, not just the backup. Commissioner Doll stated that he felt the confidence level of our staff is at zero and our Computer man is saying four chances is enough. Mr. Manley asked Mr. LaForge if the County was to give LaForge’s another chance, would LaForge’s be inclined to reimburse the County for the cost that the County has incurred up to this point, corruption of data and redo that work. Mr. LaForge said, “pay the County up to this point or from this point forward?” Mr. Manley said “either or both.” Mr. LaForge said he might be willing to pay for lost man-hours from this point forward after the caddies are installed. Mr. Manley asked “might be or are”
Commissioner Doll told him that we needed to get to the bottom of this. Mr. Manley reiterated that the county has lost many man-hours and data and believes that LaForge’s would be responsible for damages incurred by the County in the past and future. Commissioner Shriver stated that LaForge’s should step up and help cover what we lost in the past. He stated he did not feel the County should be penalized for something that didn’t work. Mr. Manley asked if this was caused by something the County did or was it the technology or product. Mr. McDonald said he wasn’t sure if this problem has caused every single issue, but did not believe the county did anything inappropriate. The server was purchased in April 2001. Ron Roberts said it’s just not a loss of data its an issue of work time and money. Commissioner Carpenter said he was willing to give them one last shot, if this thing crashes he stated he thought LaForge’s should be responsible. Commissioner Doll said he would go with Mr. Stoskopf recommendation to get a new server. Commissioner Shriver stated he would be willing to give them one more chance. If that fails we would want some cost recuperation. Mr. LaForge agreed.
Mr. Stoskopf was telling the Commissioners that the tape drive is not big enough to hold all the information. Mr. LaForge believes they could get a larger tape drive by tomorrow for a cost of $4500.00.
Commissioner Carpenter made the motion that we allow LaForge’s to replace 8 file servers and do whatever else it takes and from this point forward be responsible for any loss to the county related to it. Mr. Manley asked Mr. LaForge if he was in agreement with this and he said yes. Commissioner Shriver seconded the motion. Commissioner Doll asked Mr. LaForge what if this goes down in 10 months, then what happens, Mr. LaForge said he was not concerned about that. Motion carries 2-1, with Commissioner Doll voting against.
Commissioner Carpenter made a motion to enter into an agreement with LaForge’s to split the cost to replace the backup. Commissioner Shriver seconded the motion. Motion carried 3-0.
Mr. Newton wanted Mr. Stoskopf to let him know of any conflict associated with this situation, so it could be brought up at the next meeting.
Mr. Darryl Lutz, Director of Public Works, presented for discussion the implementation of the proposed operations adjustments at the Butler County Landfill. The landfill has 7 full time position, and can not cut back on this. Overtime can be cut back by $12,500. Ground water monitoring can be cut back by $10,000, Leachate management cut back by $16,000, Access Road maintenance cut back by $15,000. Mr. Lutz stated that the refinery was bringing in coke everyday for a daily cover. Commissioner Shriver stated he liked how these things were itemized and keep this going. Commissioner Doll stated that there is a $38,000 in savings.
Commissioner Shriver moved to accept the recommendations of Solid Waste programs cost reduction opportunities. Commissioner Carpenter seconded the motion. Motion carried 3-0
The Commissioner instructed Mr. Newton to talk to Corjeno & Sons about the Landfill.
Phil Hughey, Assistant Director of Public Works presented a proposal for a clothing allowance program for field personnel. The cost of this would be around $17,000 to $18,000 yearly. Uniforms would include 5 short and 5 long sleeve shirts with the County logo and individual name on each shirt. Reimbursement eligibility would include $60.00 for jeans, $75.00 for boots (every two years), and $50.00 for jackets.
Commissioner Carpenter made the motion to approve the clothing allowance program for field employees of Public Works for around $13,500 and also the Landfill employees in the amount of $2000.00 and authorize the chair to sign. Commissioner Shriver seconded the motion, with the stipulation that we review this in a year to see how it is working. Motion carried 3-0
JJA
PART-TIME CLERK II POSITION
Ann Carpenter, JJA Administrator presented for approval a request to employ a part-time clerk II with unexpended Block Grant funds, which was discussed in details last week.
Commissioner Shriver moved to approve a part-time person plus furniture and equipment needed for this position until the funds run out. Commissioner Doll seconded the motion. Commissioner Carpenter abstained. Motion carried 2-0
SIGN
SOFTWARE LICENSE AGREEMENT
Mr. Stoskopf, Director of Computer Services, presented for approval the Software License Agreement with H.T.E. Looking Glass Mapping as part of the Computer Aided Dispatch System. Commissioner Shriver told Mr. Stoskopf that Mr. Manley needed to look at the license agreement before bringing it to the Board.
Commissioner Shriver moved to sign after Mr. Manley’s review. Commissioner Carpenter seconded the motion. Motion carried 3-0.
SOFTWARE
UPGRADE/REPLACEMENT FOR REGISTER OF DEEDS
Mr. Stoskopf, Director of Computer Services, presented for signage the software upgrade and replacement License agreement. Commissioner Carpenter told Mr. Stoskopf that Mr. Manley needed to look at the license agreement before bringing it to the Board.
Commissioner Carpenter made the motion to enter into the license agreement pending Mr. Manley’s approval. Commissioner Shriver seconded the motion. Motion carried 3-0
Commissioner Carpenter stated that a memo needed to be sent out about having an attorney look over all contracts.
CEREAL MALT BEVERAGE (CMB)
LICENSE
Commissioner Carpenter moved to approve 2002 CMB
License # 108 for James and Kay Owings, dba Driftwood and License # 109 Wayman
Oil Retreat; and allow the Chair to sign.
Commissioner Shriver seconded the motion. Motion carried 3-0.
Commissioner Shriver moved to approve the Adds in the amount of +$113.14, and the Abates in the amount of -$18,553.02 with the approval #2083 Commissioner Carpenter seconded the motion. Motion carried 3-0.
OTHER ITEMS:
¨ Mr. Newton informed the Commission on the Department on Aging, that he believed that they should go ahead and make the appointments needed and felt this was a good program for the County. Commissioner Shriver stated go ahead and make the appointments and discuss this later.
Commissioner Doll moved to appoint Vic Cox of Andover and Frances Markee of Whitewater to a three-year term. Commissioner Carpenter seconded the motion. Motion carried 3-0.
¨ Commissioner Carpenter stated that he would be looking for someone for his area
¨ Mr. Newton handed out a memo about the Augusta Highway Shop Wastewater Ponds, stating that the Wastewater ponds are functioning well within the proposed loss limits.
EXECUTIVE SESSION
Commissioner
Shriver moved to recess into Executive Session at 12:45 p.m. until 1:03 p.m.,
to discuss land acquisition exception, preliminary discussions relating to the
acquisition of real property.
Commissioner Carpenter seconded the motion. Motion carried 3-0.
The Commissioners reconvened the regular session at 1:09 p.m.
Mr. Newton updated the Commissioners about the parking situation, when the building of the Judicial Building begins. The Christian Church said we could use their parking lot. The construction of Main and Ash parking lot will begin first so that will be available and diagonal parking will be implemented around Home Lumber. Mr. Newton told the Commissioners they needed to grant a 10-foot easement for telephone service lines.
Commissioner Doll moved that we grant a right of way easement W 10 ft, lot #1, block 6 in original town, now the City of El Dorado, Butler County for utility uses. Commissioner Carpenter seconded the motion. Motion carried 3-0.
Commissioner Shriver asked Mr. Lutz if the County could not mow clear up to the fence lines on county roads. Mr. Lutz said they would try to back off the fence row around 3ft.
Mr. Scott Stoskopf, Director of Computer Services stressed that items will have to be tabled because of the server discussion. Commissioner told him to keep them informed and if one thing goes wrong let them know immediately.
Commissioner
Doll moved, having no further business before the board, to adjourn the
meeting. Commissioner Shriver seconded the motion. Motion carried 3-0.