Rooks County Commission minutes dated February 25th
(The following article is taken from the approved minutes of the February 25th regular meeting of the Rooks County Commission.)
The Rooks County Board of Commissioners met in regular session. Those present were commissioners John Ruder, Corky Hagan and Greg Balthazor. Ruthmary Muir, Rooks County Clerk, was present to write the minutes. Sherry Koster, Sanitarian with the NCKS LEPG, was present, arriving early for her appointment. Ruder asked all to rise and recite the Pledge of Allegiance. The agenda was approved.
Koster presented the quarterly and yearly reports for 2019. Koster reported there is not much funding in the LEPG for 2020, as last year she did a lot of work with all the cabins in the area, but Koster figured there are plenty of reserve funds to get by on.
The commissioners reviewed their minutes of February 18th, and approved and signed them as presented.
In weekly reports, Hagan reported he had received a newsletter from Northwest Kansas Planning and Development. Randy Hrabe, executive director, had attended the Ellis County Commission meeting and he said the Ellis County Commissioners are asking to lower their dues 20-25%. The Rooks County Commissioners discussed the pros and cons of this request and thought by monitoring the work and time taken to get the work done in Ellis County, it might enlighten them as to how much they actually use the organization’s resources. The Rooks County Commissioners also thought that the City of Ellis may be willing to help financially.
Balthazor said he had been approached by a Woodston City resident saying there is junk being hauled back to a site that had previously been cleaned up. This will need to be addressed. Balthazor had attended the economic development meeting, and highlighted the following: The “Twice as Nice” program is going well. The committee has a goal of $50,000.00 that the Dane G. Hansen Foundation will match. This money stays in Rooks County and is given away in the form of grants; Harrison Gilliland plans to build duplexes at the old hospital site in Plainville; the Rooks County Airport has received a grant for snow removal equipment; Wes Bainter is looking at building two houses in Plainville; YEC is scheduled for March 18th in Plainville; and there are two new businesses in Rooks County. Balthazor said he had joined in a teleconference phone call with Work Force One.
Road and bridge supervisor Rich Bouchey presented a check in the amount of $11,547.30, received from the City of Woodston for the clean up work done in the Circle pasture. The commissioners signed the check for deposit
Bouchey said he is getting some calls back from the Pro-Seal Company. Bouchey would like to get Jerol DeBoer’s (Penco Engineering) input about Pro-Seal’s company before getting involved with them. Bouchey has put in a call to Venture Corporation asking for a quote for millings and overlay to do the Zurich/Webster blacktop, which is approximately ten miles.
Bouchey mentioned that the Doosan loader’s steering pump is out. They believe it is a sensor making the break system lock up. A mechanic has been called to look at it. The Doosan loader has a Scandia engine, which needs special software and specialized personnel to look into the repairs.
Bouchey reported his safety meeting held the previous week went very well and only two employees were not able to attend. The new trucks will be delivered to 1-70 Truck Repair in Hays by April 1st. 1-70 Truck Repair will then need to make the inspections. The truck boxes will be ready by May 1st in Wichita.
An ad has been published in the newspapers for bids to cash rent the Landfill pasture. Bids are due on March 20th.
The commissioners let Bouchey know that sheriff Gary Knight had notified them that the tower in Plainville had been measured at 120: Rooks County’s addition of 50’ will make it 170’ high. Bouchey said this would help his department quite a bit with being able to hear signals in the southwest part of the county.
Ruder made a motion to sign for deposit a check received from the State of Kansas for rent at the Water Resources Building in the amount of $1,000.00. Hagan seconded the motion and Balthazor agreed.
A billing in the amount of $1,044.00 was received from Michael A. Montoya, P.A. Attorney at Law for professional services and costs accrued from working on and attend Board of Tax Appeal hearings. The commissioners voted to pay the bill.
Rooks County Custodian Roque Garcia had asked for approval to pay a bill to Fire Alarm Specialists in the amount of $683.65 to install batteries in the fire alarms. The commissioners called Garcia for some clarification and then approved the payment of the bill.
The commissioners reviewed the Agricultural Land Value Changes from 2019-2020 received from county appraiser Heather Poore.
Hagan made a motion to accept the 2019 annual report from Township #9. Balthazor seconded the motion and Ruder agreed.
Ruder made a motion to continue their membership to the Kansas County Commissioners Association (KCCA) and pay the dues in the amount of $325.00, Hagan seconded the motion and Balthazor agreed.
Noxious weed Director Mike Klein presented an annual report due to the State, which was signed by the commissioners. The report showed Rooks County has sprayed 50,000.00 acres of musk thistle with airplanes. Klein said he had about 5,000 more acres to do this month to finish until fall spraying begins.
The commissioners discussed the possibility of adding a maternity leave policy to the employee work policy.
With no further business to transact, Ruder reminded the Board to meet at 9:00 a.m. on Friday, February 28th to approve month-end payroll and vouchers.
