Tuesday Sept 8 Mitchell County Commissioners Meeting

Mitchell County Commissioners

Tuesday, September 8, 2015

By Terry Bailey

The Mitchell County Commissioners conducted their weekly business meeting on Tuesday, September 8 this week due to Monday being the official observance of Labor Day. All Commissioners and the County Clerk were present for the meeting.

The first order of business was the consideration of two Neighborhood Revitalization Grant tax abatement applications. One was from Craig Gengler for a new agricultural building. The building will measure 80’ x 80’ x 16’. The building plus electricity costs was valued at $89,000. The grant was approved for this structure.

The second building was a new home for Dan and Julie Ellenz. The structure will be located in the Silver Fox Addition and is valued at $526,700. The tax abatement was granted for this building.

Becky Schaefer, Director of Communications, appeared before the Commissioners to give them an update on the replacement of the 911 mapping software and related programs. Schaefer said the Mitchell County change out of the updated 911 system will take place in the next month or two and will be the fifth one of this new system installed in the United States. The connection will be a fiber optic one because an internet connection is not strong enough to support it.

Schaefer recently visited Hutchinson which has a similar system. She was given a tour and demonstration of the new system and felt it was helpful to gain insight into the operation of the more powerful programs.

AT&T and AirBus will do the training on the new system. They will be here to test out the system and then train the Mitchell County personnel on its operating protocols.

According to Schaefer, she and her crew have been working diligently cleaning up the old system so that bad things are not transferred to the new one. She said a vendor would have done the cleaning for $2,500 but she felt they could save money by doing the cleaning in-house and save the money.

The new system will have three wireless lines and two land line providing input. Part of the training/testing will be deliberate attempts to overload the system.

Mitchell County will not own the new system but instead will lease it. The lease cost is $55,000 per year. Schaefer assured the Commissioners she has ample 911 funds to cover the cost and will have sufficient money each year to pay for the lease.

Finally, Schaefer asked the Commissioners permission to run for the office of Secretary of the APCO Organization. They congratulated her on her efforts and gave their approval.

Next on the Agenda was Larry Emerson, Superintendent of Public Works. He submitted paperwork for the commissioners’ signature authorizing a new employee to take the CDL licensure training for which he would be reimbursed. The Commissioners signed off on this course of action.

Next week, Stuart Porter, engineer with Schwab Eaton, will come with Emerson to the meeting to discuss engineering related matters.

Emerson reported the work has begun on the K Road bridge replacement. The have torn out the old bridge and are doing preliminary dirt work. The road is now closed which has prompted some calls to Commissioners from those who have to make a detour. Commissioner Mike Cooper explained that there was not good time to do a project such as this. In early spring it is too cold and by late spring tilling and planting are going on. In the summer we have harvest and the working or wheat ground. In fall the fall harvest begins and then cold weather sits in. The work is being done now because that is when the crews are free to do the work.

A new employee, Tim Boudreaux, is working out very well so far said Emerson.

Kathy Webster one of the Mitchell County representatives on the Pawnee Mental Health Board of Directors appeared before the Commissioners requesting that they sign a proclamation declaring September as Mental Health Recovery Month. A brief discussion ensued about the need for readily available mental health care services. The Commissioners voted unanimously to make the proclamation.

Webster reminded the Commissioners that since the passing of Sharon Treaster Mitchell County has been short one position on the Board of Directors. They have looked for a suitable replacement since that time but none has been found until just recently. Webster told the Commissioners that she would like them to approve Terry Bailey as the second Mitchell County representative on the Pawnee Mental Health Board of Directors. The Commissioners promptly made that appointment.

Kelly Hawk, EMS Director, told the Commissioners that not long ago one of the heating – air conditioning units had been replaced at the Ambulance barn. The second one is now in need of replacement. The cost is in the neighborhood of $11,000.

He also reported they still have not received a quote to tear off one side of building and replace the boards underneath and then put new siding on.

Harvey Knoll of Knoll’s Building and Roofing appeared to get the Commissioners answer to a previous question. When completing the bid on the roofing of the courthouse and law enforcement center Knoll had made errors in his calculations. This made his bid to do the job cheaper than his costs to complete the job. He had asked that he be given some consideration regarding the miscalculations.

Chairman of the Commissioners, Tom Claussen, told Knoll that while they understood his situation, they could not raise the amount of money he said he would take when he bid for the job. The bid is the bid. Changing this would open them up for all kinds of possible difficulties later.

Having completed all their business, the Commissioners adjourned the meeting.

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