Commissioners Approve 2023 Budget

The Grant County Commissioners met on Tuesday, September 6, 2022 in the courthouse. The meeting began at 9:00 a.m.  Chairman Mark McGaughey led the Pledge of Allegiance and offered the prayer. Commissioner Kevin Shapland was in attendance and Commissioner Janet Stewart was absent. Department heads were on hand to give their monthly reports.

Sheriff James Biddle reported there were currently 31 in jail and that they had made 21 arrests in August. One prisoner was transported to Larned State Hospital and three are being sent to prison after sentencing.

County Treasurer Terri Trotman said that her office has remained busy. Oil and Gas warrants have been sent out and she is hoping that they will pay those taxes before the end of September. She completed real estate redemptions with a total of 187. She should know by the September 20th meeting how many would be eligible for tax sales. Trotman said the last big distribution goes out this month.

County Attorney Kelli Premer-Chavez said that she is preparing for two trials so that is keeping her busy. 

Fire Chief John Crosby said that his department has been slow which is unusual for August. One of their trucks is down and they’re waiting for parts. EMT class begins October 4th and should be a big class with almost 30 signed up. He has hired two new firefighters and is now at full staff.

EMS Director/EM Coordinator Jeff Baier reported that his department will be helping with the EMT class. Has a weekly meeting with FEMA.

Ludi Gonzales from the Senior Center reports that they had a nice attendance for the Senior Day at Frazier Park. There were 95 seniors plus the church people and senior staff which brought their total to 130. She said the seniors enjoy having the cookout at Frazier. Today is picture day at the center so the patrons are having their photos taken. Gonzales said they are having problems with food shortages and trucks not showing up. They are having to change the menus frequently because of the shortages. A town hall is scheduled on September 27th to discuss insurance. The kitchen will be used to make the cinnamon rolls for the Home Products Dinner.

Mari Honstead said that the Civic Center has been busy and have several large events coming up, including: the Pioneer Communications and Pioneer Electric annual meetings on September 15th, the Home Products Dinner on the 20th, a circus on September 22nd and the Fairy Tale Fair on October 4th. She also said that they have started booking Christmas parties. McGaughey asked Honstead when she thought they would seed the park and she said next spring.

Randy McCauley, Public Works Supervisor, reported that the mowers have been busy and will get the mowing done around the civic center and airport before the Home Products Dinner. It’s been busy, as usual, at the landfill and Chris remains busy spraying.

County Clerk Sheila Brown reported that there will be two constitutional amendments on the November ballot. The first amendment (HCR 5014) would shift the current balance of power by allowing the Kansas Legislature to revoke or suspend any rule or regulation adopted by executive branch agencies. The second (HCR 5022) would require county sheriffs be elected and give authority to the Attorney General to begin the process to remove or recall sheriffs from office, instead of the District Attorney. The Grant County budget hearing is being held as part of this meeting at 10:00 a.m. and the budget will go out today after approval. Brown also said that KCAMP renewal sheets will be going out to the department heads.

Health Department Administrator Denise James said that they had 633 appointments in August and had completed the kindergarten physicals. They had also been busy with vaccinations for students. She reported that new COVID vaccines would be available. The COVID numbers in Grant County have remained about the same, but James said because of so many “at home” tests the number could be double what they report.

Register of Deeds Dana McDaniel reported that her office has been steady with documents and oil and gas researching. The passport activity is low with only three passports processed in August. She anticipates the demand for passports will increase with people making holiday travel plans.

The department head meeting concluded at 9:37 a.m.

The regular meeting continued with Randy McCauley who presented bids from Silver Star and Malone Enterprises for the replacement of the overhead door at the transfer station. There were some differences in what each bid covered, so the commissioners asked McCauley to contact both parties and clarify what their bid covers. He got the information and the commissioners accepted the bid of $17,579.60 from Silver Star with the funds to come from County Building. McCauley then requested a ten-minute executive session to discuss personnel. There was no action from the session.

At 10:00 a.m., the Commissioners opened the public forum, RNR hearing and Budget hearing. There were no visitors to address the commission. Shapland made the following motion, “Grant County finds it necessary to exceed the Revenue Neutral Rate and moves to adopt Resolution 22-05.” McGaughey seconded and the resolution was adopted. McGaughey then moved to approve the 2023 Grant County budget in the amount of $15,336,096.00. Shapland seconded and the budget was approved.

The commissioners next approved the wage increases at the fire department. They then heard from Mari Honstead who asked for permission to purchase a freezer to replace one that had quit running. The commissioners approved the purchase from Menard’s for $679 from special equipment fund. She also presented bids from Malone Enterprises and Silver Star for the large overhead door on the East side of the Civic Center auditorium and the shop. The bid of $15,692.00 from Malone was accepted and will come from the county building fund.

The commissioners went into executive session with Denise James, not to exceed ten minutes. Following the session, the hiring of a receptionist and a wage increase at the health department was approved. 

John Crosby was next on the agenda and requested the purchase of six more SCBA packs and a charger. The commissioners approved the purchase of six air bottles and a charger from Casco Industries, not to exceed $7,133 to be paid from ARPA funds. Crosby also said that he had been shopping around for a new fire truck and the cost right now would be around $350,000. He said he had also seen some used trucks priced at $200,000 and less. The commissioners told him to keep looking.

In other business, Chairman McGaughey said that he would be attending the Regional Commissioners meeting and the KLPG meeting, both to be held in Garden City.

James Biddle came in to request permission to purchase nine balistic vests from Godfrey’s at a cost of $9,343.68. Half of that cost will be reimbursed to the county with a government grant. Biddle also said that they got the air conditioning system install finished and he was happy with it. In one other matter, he said that Sedgwick County had asked him if Grant County could house some of their overflow prisoners. Sedgwick County would pay Grant County $35 per day per prisoner. That would be $1200 income per month for one prisoner.

The final visitor of the day was Jean Lamatsch, Court Services Officer for the 26th District. She wanted to discuss the cooling system in her office which shares the thermostat with Tom Fuhrman’s office. John Crosby will put some dollar figures together for some possible solutions.

The commissioners approved an airport hangar for David Klingman. McGaughey agreed to be the K Camp delegate from Grant County.  The minutes of the previous meeting and claims against the county were approved.

The meeting was adjourned at 11:35 a.m. The next meeting of the Grant County Commissioners will be Tuesday, September 20, 2022 at 9:00 AM in the Commissioner’s room.