These minutes are unofficial until approved by the Board of Commissioners at their next meeting.
March 18, 2019 Unofficial
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The Board of Nemaha County Commissioners met in regular session on Monday, March 18, 2019 in the Commissioner’s Room of the Nemaha County Courthouse. The meeting was called to order by Chairman Gary Scoby leading the flag salute. Present also were Commissioners Tim Burdiek and Dennis Henry, and County Clerk Mary Kay Schultejans recording the minutes.
The board reviewed the minutes from the March 11, 2019 meeting. Dennis Henry moved to approve the minutes with the corrections noted. Tim Burdiek seconded the motion. The motion carried with all voting aye.
Dennis Henry moved to approve a cereal malt beverage application submitted by the Sacred Heart Catholic Church. Tim Burdiek seconded the motion. The motion carried with all voting aye. Chairman Gary Scoby signed the cereal malt beverage license as presented.
Windfarm Attorney James Neeld called to speak to Commissioners by phone. Tim Burdiek moved to hold a forty-five minute executive session until 10:00 am to discuss legal issues relating to NextEra Energy Resources. Dennis Henry seconded the motion. The motion carried with all voting aye. Present for the executive session was the Board of Commissioners, Attorney James Neeld by phone, and County Attorney Brad Lippert. The meeting returned to open session at 10:00 am with no action taken by the board following the executive session.
Open discussion concerning the development of a windfarm in Nemaha County began at 10:05 am. Chairman Gary Scoby announced that the county is still in negotiations with NextEra Energy Resources concerning the term sheet for the Soldier Creek Windfarm. Questions and comments were posed to Commissioners from those present for the open windfarm discussion.
Emergency Preparedness Report:
Emergency Preparedness Director Russel Lierz advised the board that:
• he prepared a letter to send to the State of Kansas Emergency Management regarding the condition of the Nemaha County roads at this time. Russel shared this letter with Commissioners.
• a storm spotters class will be held this Thursday in Sabetha at the Community Center.
• all of the emergency sirens in the county have been tested. Russel stated that several of the sirens failed, but they have all been fixed at this time except for the one in the City of Goff.
• he will be attending emergency training near Salina next week.
• he will be observing active shooter training in Onaga next week.
Sheriff’s Report:
Sheriff Rich Vernon advised the board that:
• he may need to hire further correction officers in the near future as some current correction officers have spoken to him about possibly resigning to take new positions.
Alice Lackey and Susan Futscher with the Nemaha County Training Center came before the board to let Commissioners know that Alice is retiring effective March 29th and Susan will take over as the new director of the Nemaha County Training Center. Alice thanked Commissioners for their cooperation over the years with the Nemaha County Training Center organization.
Road and Bridge/Solid Waste Report:
Road and Bridge/Solid Waste Supervisor Dennis Ronnebaum advised the board that:
• he would like to make an official request for one of his employees to utilize shared leave. Commissioners agreed to allow this employee to utilize shared leave.
• he needed an executive session with Commissioners. Tim Burdiek moved to hold a ten minute executive session until 11:45 am to discuss the possible hiring of non-elected personnel. Dennis Henry seconded the motion. The motion carried with all voting aye. Present for the executive session was the Board of Commissioners, Road and Bridge/Solid Waste Supervisor Dennis Ronnebaum and Office Manager Kathy Haverkamp, and Clerk Mary Kay Schultejans. At 11:45 am, Dennis Henry moved to extend the executive session until 11:55 am. Tim Burdiek seconded the motion. The motion carried with all voting aye. The meeting returned to open session at 11:55 am with no action taken by the board following the executive session.
• he would recommend accepting the bid from Bergkamp Construction in the amount of
$809,838.00 to redo the four mile stretch of W Road north of Highway 36 and the two mile stretch of 200th Road. Commissioners stated that they agreed with this recommendation. Dennis stated that he would let Bergkamp Construction know that they have been approved to do both of these road projects in Nemaha County this year.
• Office Manager Kathy Haverkamp received the county’s federal funding award letter from the Kansas Department of Transportation. Kathy stated that Nemaha County is estimated to receive $117,000 in federal funding for 2019.
County Attorney Brad Lippert came before the board. Commissioners spoke to Brad about the training period for a new county employee. Commissioners also spoke to Brad about procedural issues relating to the public hearings to be held concerning the approval of the term sheet for the construction of the Soldier Creek Windfarm in Nemaha County.
The board reviewed vouchers submitted by the different departments that were paid at the middle of March.
Jim Shump came before the board to complain to Commissioners about the condition of the township roads in Gilman Township. Commissioners stated that they would take a look at his road sometime.
With no further county business coming before the board, Chairman Gary Scoby adjourned the meeting at 1:45 pm. The next regularly scheduled meeting will be held on Monday, March 25, 2019 at 9:00 am.