COMMISSION MINUTES, NOVEMBER 22, 2010

The Board of Washington County Commission met in regular session on Monday, November 22, 2010 in the commission room at the Washington County Courthouse. Present: Alison Mueller, 1^st District Commissioner; Roger Otott, 2^nd District Commissioner; Gene Helms, 3^rd District Commissioner, and Elizabeth Hiltgen, County Attorney, and Lou Kern, County Clerk.

Chairman Helms called the meeting to order with prayer.

County offices will also be closed on Thursday, November 25 and Friday, November 26 for the Thanksgiving holiday.

The next regular meeting will be Monday, November 29, 2010 at 8:30 AM.

The board approved bills and payroll for November 15 totaling $347,669.98.

The board approved and signed change order nos. 2010-1 through 2010-21.

Due to the declination of Ben With to accept the position of Logan Township Clerk and upon recommendation of the Logan Township Board, Alison Mueller moved and Roger Otott seconded to appoint Bruce Simmons as the Logan Township Clerk. Motion carried. The commission accepted the declination to serve as Union Township Clerk from William J. Hardenburger. The board approved and Chairman Helms signed Official Bond and Affidavit of Sureties for Leslie Bruna as Little Blue Township Clerk; Phil Olson as Sheridan Township Clerk, and Joanne M. Dague as Washington Township Clerk.

Sheila Ouellette, Communications Director, and Theresa Herrs, Deputy Director, reported that a recommendation has been received for additional cameras to cover unmonitored areas in the jail. The quote from Simplex is for $15,000.00 that was approved. Sheila asked to set aside money at year end to upgrade the jail booking software. Issues with water leakage between the law enforcement center and the jail facility were discussed. Upgrades to the communication and emergency radio system as required by the State of Kansas were discussed.

Duane Bruna, Noxious Weed and Solid Waste Director, asked permission to close the transfer station on Saturday mornings due to budget constraints and low volume of items being disposed of. No decision was made at this time. The cost from Schwab-Eaton for survey work at the transfer station is $4,200.00. Duane expressed concern over how his department would handle disaster materials should the need arise.

Merry Roop and Rob Kohlmeyer, Rural Fire District #9 board members, and Don Alldredge who represented city and rural firemen met with the board to discuss consolidation of city and rural fire districts. Merry asked the commission if any city representatives had said anything to the commission about consolidation as no one in the city has talked to the rural fire district board. The commission has not had any conversations regarding consolidation. Rural Fire District #9 is not opposed to consolidation if asked but feels that the citizens impacted by the consolidation should be asked for their input.

Bill Collins and Phil Schultze, Murray Company, met with the commission, Elizabeth Hiltgen, County Attorney, and Christy L’Ecuyer, Business Coordinator, to speak of how Murray Company can help with building a new hospital. Mr. Schultze asked if the hospital board had complied with federal regulations for procurement. Christy reported that six companies submitted proposals three years ago and that Albericci Company was chosen at that time. Mr. Schultze offered to give suggestions for improvement on the site plan for free and said that his company would serve as both general contractor and construction management for 3% of the total cost of the hospital.

David Willbrant, Public Works Administrator, gave weekly work report. David asked about purchasing reflective rain/cold weather gear at $80.00 each for each of the public works employees. The board only approved the purchase of three rain suits to be used for power washing. Roger Otott moved and Alison Mueller seconded to sign a utility permit agreement with AT&T for burying cable at a site at 1650 Yankee Road, east of Highway 36. David discussed issues with the airport beacon and the wind sock. The board approved a $715.00 charge from BWR Engineering to prepare the permit for the AWOS system at the airport. Keystone Pipeline has approved 10 loads of rock to be placed on several areas as an advance on the settlement request. Keystone is back in Washington County doing repairs on fittings that have not passed inspection. David will be receiving FEMA monies for several sites within the county.

The board recessed at 12:15 P.M. for lunch and reconvened at 1:15 P.M.

Mike Dolan, Business Development Director and Mark Heise, Architectural Designer, Albericci Company and Neal Pfister, Lawrence Group Architects met with the commission, Everett Lutjemeier, Washington County Hospital Administrator; Ted Lillie, Hospital Board President, and Christy L’Ecuyer, Business Coordinator, to review changes to the preliminary site draft and a proposed time schedule.

Christy L’Ecuyer, Business Coordinator, gave weekly work report. A public meeting is scheduled for November 29 at 7:00 P.M. at First National Bank in Washington for public input on the proposed new hospital. Jennifer Korgie, representing Green Capital Power, met with the board and Christy to discuss the possibility of establishing a wind farm in Washington County.

The meeting adjourned at 3:30 P.M.