COMMISSION MINUTES – MONDAY, AUGUST 4, 2003

 

The Commissioners met with all members.  Present were Barbara Kolde, chairman; Richard Carlson, vice chairman; and Tom Doperalski, member.

 

Jim and Marion Bradley met with the Commissioners to inform them of events in the upcoming Oregon Trail Convention that will be held August 10 through 16.  So far there are 348 individuals registered to attend.  Headquarters for the Convention is the Holiday Inn in Manhattan.  The evening of their banquet, there will be a demonstration of the cello and violin made from wood from the Louis Vieux Elm.  The Commissioners told the Bradley’s that they could have a pen and pencil set made from the Louis Vieux Elm to sell at their silent auction.  Mr. Bradley informed the Commission of the various events that will take place during the week.  Mr. Bradley stated that sponsors had donated approximately $8,000 to help with the event.  Mr. Bradley also stated that Rodney Biesenthal, noxious weed director, had been very helpful in painting and other preparation at the Oregon Trail Park south of Westmoreland. 

 

Richard Carlson moved and Tom Doperalski seconded to go into executive session with administrator and county counselor to discuss personnel issue.  Session to be from 8:45 until 9:00.  Motion carried 3 to 0.  Regular meeting resumed with no action as a result of the session.

 

Administrator discussed with the Commissioners costs of upgrading the current IBM AS/400 server to a new IBM iSeries (AS/400) Server.

 

John Armbrust and Terry Olson representing Manhattan Area Chamber met with the Commissioners and presented them with a draft of the 2003 Legislative Policies and Positions.  Mr. Armbrust expressed concern of the statutes that affect Pottawatomie County as well as the City of Manhattan.  Mr. Armbrust invited the Commissioners to attend a meeting at the Chamber. A representative of the State Transportation department will be speaking.  Ms. Olson asked for input from the Commission on issues of concern.  Commissioner Carlson stated that while he is in favor of continuing to host the Country Stampede, there are some issues that need to be addressed.  Ms. Olson informed them that the Chamber will be meeting with the Stampede and invited the Commissioners to attend.  Commissioner Carlson also expressed concern of the Streamlined Sales Tax bill and its negative effect on small businesses.

 

County clerk informed the Commission that after speaking with John Lang, the public hearing date of 10:30 on August 25 set at last Monday’s meeting will need to be changed to September 8 at 10:30.  The hearing is for the vacation of side and rear yard setbacks on Lot 1 in Abe’s Acres by David W. Johnson & Linda M. Johnson.  Mr. Lang is representing the Johnsons’.  Commissioners approved rescheduling the hearing.

 

At 10:00 A.M., Commissioner Kolde declared bidding closed for the roof repair project on the courthouse and sheriff’s storage building.  Leu Lowrey, public works director, opened the only bid submitted.  Construction Inc of Wamego submitted a bid for the courthouse roof of $57,000 for Alternate #1, which is a standing seam roof. Alternate #2 bid of $55,000 was submitted and is clay tile.  A bid of $3,500 was submitted for repair of the sheriff’s storage building.  Leu expressed concerns of the clay tile option, as it would be more likely to have problems with leaking.  Upon Leu’s recommendation, Tom Doperalski moved and Richard Carlson seconded to accept the bid submitted by Construction Inc of Wamego for Alternate #1 of $57,000 for the courthouse roof repair and $3,500 for sheriff’s storage building roof repair.  Motion carried 3 to 0.

 

Leu informed the Commissioners that they had received no responses from a request to bid the painting project at the courthouse.  He stated that he felt part of the reason is the surety and performance bond requirement for the bid process.  It is rather expensive and may have kept some individuals from submitting bids.  Leu will contact a few individuals and possibly open the job again for bids.  Leu discussed other road/bridge projects with the Commissioners.       

 

George Hough, emergency management director, met with the Commissioners to discuss the Alltel tower contract.  There is a liability insurance requirement in the contract that Robert is checking on through the county’s insurance agent.  County counselor is the lease area agreement portion of the contract.  The hydrant at the intersection of Onaga Road and Hartwich Road has been installed.  Pipes will be placed around the hydrant to protect it.  There is a new set of application forms to be completed for light and siren permits for emergency vehicles.

 

George has submitted his notice of resignation as director of emergency management, which will be effective August 22.  Richard Carlson moved and Tom Doperalski seconded to advertise to fill the position.  Motion carried 3 to 0.

 

Gregg Webster, zoning enforcement officer, met with the Commissioners to update them on activities in the zoning office.  He discussed with the Commission the expiration of a conditional use permit issued to Mike Crubel on July 8, 2002 through Resolution 2003-35.  This permit allows an individual to operate an outside U-Haul storage facility on Mr. Crubel’s property.  The Commission directed Gregg to check with county counselor regarding past due utility bills on the property before any decision is made for renewal.

 

Approved minutes for July 28, 2003.

 

Meeting adjourned at 11:15.  Commissioners will meet at 1:00 for a work session.

 

 

 

_____________________                                                             ____________________

County Clerk                                                                                         Chairman

 

                                                                                                                                ____________________

                                                                                                                                Vice Chairman

 

                                                                                                                                ____________________

                                                                                                                                Member