MITCHELL COUNTY COMMISSIONERS – Monday, March 27, 2023

By Terry Bailey

The Mitchell County Commissioners met at the Courthouse on Monday morning, March 27th, to conduct the business of the County. All Commissioners were present for the meeting.
Becky Snook, Communications Director, reported that the recent Storm Spotter training was quite successful. She said the representatives from the National Weather Service put on a very informative program.
Snook took the opportunity to remind everyone that severe dust storms necessitate people to pull off the road and stop until the dust passes. She said it was important to pull well off the road and turn off the car lights. Turning off the lights is important because people tend to drive toward taillights in front of them. If the car is not moving, folks will drive right into the parked cars.
The acronym WAR Day was discussed. This refers to Wildfire Automatic Response, meaning a full response is necessary when a wildfire breaks out in order to contain the situation.
Snook requested the approval of an increase in the Quality Assurance Program. This is a program that monitors radio communication to analyze its effectiveness and appropriateness. This is an unbiassed monitoring of radio traffic to ensure the correctness of communication. The cost of this service has been $750. The price has been raised to $1.000. The Commissioners approved the increase.
Eric Hamel, Director of Emergency Medical Services, provided the Commissioners with a revised financial balance sheet from the Delyshisa's accountants. The Commissioner believed it was an improvement over the last form but was still not totally understandable. Commissioner Tom Claussen commented, "The bottom line is that we want to make sure that Mitchell County is getting every dollar we are owed."
Stephanie Simmons, Director of the Health Foundation, was present with a guest, Janelle Kircher (Kee-ker), the new administrator of the Mitchell County Hospital Health Systems. Kircher was present to make formal introductions and to meet the Commissioners. She is a native of Midland, Texas, and is a registered nurse by training. Kircher commented that when she interviewed for the job she was very impressed with the hospital staff and the wide variety of services offered to the residents of North Central Kansas.
Tony Miller, representing North Central Kansas CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates), asked the Commissioners to declare the month of April Child Abuse and Awareness Month. They did so and signed the proclamation.
Jeremy McGuire, Blue Cross insurance representative, was present to provide a six-month utilization review for the County's health insurance. Some categories show higher than average use and some show lower than average use. McGuire said, while the numbers are a little lower than last year, for the most part they are where they should be.
A Neighborhood Revitalization Grant was approved for Creighton Remus to build a 40' x 75' building for $62,500.
Having addressed all the items on the published agenda, the meeting was adjourned.