MITCHELL COUNTY COMMISSIONERS â€“ Monday, March 28, 2022

By Terry Bailey

The Mitchell County Commissioners were faced with a full list of items on the agenda for their meeting Monday morning, March 28, at the Courthouse. All Commissioners and the County Clerk were present.
First up were Garry Clark, Dan Emmot, and Bill Bunger representing Rural Fire District #3. They reported that the cost of equipment and fuel has been steadily rising over the past several years. Emmot said, "We have been working with the same budget amount of $57,000 for at least the past ten years. We are starting to get behind on services we need to offer."
The representatives of Fire District #3 were requesting a budget increase to $80,000. County Clerk Chris Treaster said a raise of this amount would be greater than the Revenue Neutral Rate. This would necessitate a mailing to all the property owners and residents of those withing the territory of Fire District #3 informing them of such a rate increase and allowing them to comment on the raise. She said there are 683 residents in the district as well as property owners who do not live there.
There was general consensus that the rate increase was not out of line considering they had worked with the $57,000 amount for over ten years. It was noted that the residents of Paradise and the surrounding area would not object to spending more for their Fire District. But, by law, raising the budget amount to $80,000 automatically calls for a notification of the people in the Fire District. The mailing falls to the County Clerk. Treaster said she would try to get the mailing completed by August 1st.
Ed Harbin, representing K-CAMP the County's insurance carrier, was present to award a loss ratio check to the County. This is based on the amount paid in premiums to the number of losses recorded. The amount of the check was for $450.
City Manager Jason Rabe and NCK Tech College Preident Eric Burks were present to lay out a plan of cooperative efforts for maintenance of streets and parking lots on the Tech College campus. Rabe said they have been operating under an informal agreement where work has been done with the College paying for the material and the City doing the work. They felt is best to adopt a formal framework for this activity.
Rabe said, "If for some reason I was no longer around and Eric was no longer around, the issue could get cloudy."
They presented a rough draft proposal which would include the County as a participating member in this maintenance agreement. Burks said, "The County and the Tech College already work together with the students from the Heavy Equipment department helping with the grading and maintaining of the road in the County. The Tech college students do the work for free, and the County furnishes the fuel This has worked out well for both parties." Burks also mentioned the significant financial impact the Tech College had on the local economy.
Everyone agreed that the proposal was one that could benefit all parties involved. The County, City, and Tech College will get together and iron out the details of the rough draft presented and develop a final document.
The Commissioners approved a contract for the purchase of a parcel of land 125' x 305' located immediately to the north of the ambulance barn. The purchase cost was $10,000. This land could be used to allow for expansion of the ambulance barn at some point in the future.
A Neighborhood Revitalization Grant application from Ben Fugate was approved to construct a 50' x 104" metal building with an apartment for $235,000.
The Commissioners approved an update to the by-laws of the participation agreement with the NCK Regional Juvenile Detention Facility in Junction City.
A request from Doug Palen to close a gravel road between P Road and O Road for a bike race on Sunday, April 3, was approved.
Cortney Murrow, County Health Officer, requested a five-minute executive session to discuss trade secrets of a corporation. No decisions were made as a result of that closed session.
Brian Streit, Courthouse Maintenance Supervisor, requested a fifteen-minute executive session to discuss non-elected personnel. No decisions were made as a result of that closed session.
Marty Hernandez, Superintendent of Public Works, and Stuart Porter, County Engineer, were present requesting approval to issue the first progress check for work done on the new County Shop Building. The checks will be issued through Hernandez's office each month from the current date until the work is completed. The first check to Senger Construction of Glen Elder was in the amount of $120,169.80. It was agreed that since the Commissioners had approved the total amount of building, they would not need to approve each monthly check, but they would like to remain informed of the issuing of the monthly checks.
Having addressed all items on the published agenda, the meeting was adjourned.

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Beloit, KS 67420, USA