MITCHELL COUNTY COMMISSIONERS – Monday, June 6, 2022

By Terry Bailey

The Mitchell County Commissioners conducted their regular weekly meeting at the Courthouse Monday morning, June 6. All Commissioners and the County Clerk were present.
County Engineer, Stuart Porter, was present to discuss the guardrail replacement project on the Waconda Lake Causeway. He had a program document for the decision aspect of the of the project. This second phase of the guardrail project is roughly twice the size of the first phase. He said the consultant design contract is due in February of 2023. He expects the work to be completed sometime in 2025. The total cost of the project is $2,259,712. Mitchell County's contribution will be $360,000.
Superintendent of Public Works, Marty Hernandez, reported that the Case rubber-tired high loader ordered sometime ago is scheduled to delivered by the end of June.
Economic Development Director, Emily Benedick, reported there will be another meeting to discuss the Day Care situation in Mitchell County. She also said that the first mural for Mitchell County will be on the grocery store in Tipton. The Waconda Trader mural is also scheduled to be completed in the near future. She said a grant application has been submitted to the Kansas Arts Council. The City of Beloit signage project, derailed by the pandemic, is back on track and making progress for the placing of signs on the major entrances to the City.
County Clerk, Chris Treaster, reported the auditors had visited the Courthouse last Tuesday through Thursday. Their initial opinion was very positive. The 2023 budget will be acted upon July 11th. There was some concern that the high inflation rate might cause difficulties with keeping the budget under the Revenue Neutral Rate.
County Health Official, Cortney Murrow, reported she had purchased a lead analyzer to test for lead contamination. When asked if there was a lead contamination problem in Mitchell County she replied, "Yes." She said old batteries poorly stored and paint chips from the scraping of house for painting that contain lead paint provide ample sources of contamination. Murrow said if parents have concerns about possible lead contamination in their children they should first contact their family physician
Murrow requested a fifteen-minute executive session to discuss non-elected personnel. This was extended for another ten minutes. No action was taken as a result of this closed session.
Murrow also reported she had consulted with Eric Hamel, EMS director, regarding securing the services of a compliance group to update their paperwork and procedures of their HIPPA reporting. The cost would be $5,500 per year on a multiyear contract.
Commissioner Jim Marshall said, "It is hard to tell where stop. If it was a one-time cost I could support this, but year after year this would amount to a lot of money. He suggested Murrow contact the County's insurance carrier, KCAMP, to determine if they have such a program. Murrow said she would contact them.
The Commissioners signed a proclamation naming the month of June as Elder Abuse Prevention month.
A Neighborhood Revitalization Grant for Curtis and Christine May to construct a 50' x 100' building in the amount of $90,000 was approved.
Having addressed all the items on the published agenda, the meeting was adjourned.