Board of Supervisors Minutes
June 2012
June 5, 2012:
The Fremont County Board of Supervisors met in regular session on Tuesday, June 5, 2012, in the Fremont County Courthouse Boardroom, with Hickey, Bartholomew and Morgan present. A quorum was declared and the meeting officially called to order at 9:00 a.m. Minutes of the previous Board session were read and approved. The agenda was approved as posted.
Let the records show Twila Larson was present for this meeting.
At 9:00 a.m. Motion was made by Bartholomew to approve Retail Cigarette/Tobacco Permits for Sidney Foods and Cubby’s. Morgan, aye; Bartholomew, aye; Hickey aye.
At 9:05 a.m. Dick Hunt, City of Shenandoah, met with the board to inform them they will be changing the name of Airport Road at a Shenandoah Council meeting later this month.
At 9:20 a.m. Christy Briley, Safety Coordinator, met with the board to discuss findings in the Iowa Municipalities Workers’ Compensation Association (IMWCA) Site Visit, on May 23, 2012. Briley said the gentleman that did the site visit said the county is paying 46% more than they should be because of our repeat offenders. In order for the county to reduce the fee for Workers’ Compensation, it was suggested the county consult a Human Resource Specialist for suggestions regarding how the repeat offenders should be handled. It was also felt the Safety Committee meetings should be evaluated to make sure all members are participating, and if they are not they may have to switch out members.
At 9:35 a.m. Dan Davis, Engineer, met with the board for approval of the following:
Motion was made by Morgan approving the following Resolution 2012-25 for Temporary Road Closing & Detour Designation for replacing bridge over Plum Creek on L-44 in Scott Twp. Morgan, aye; Bartholomew, aye; Hickey aye.
RESOLUTION NO.2012-25
RESOLUTION FOR TEMPORARY ROAD CLOSING AND DETOUR DESIGNATION
WHEREAS, Chapter 306, Section 306.41 of the Code of Iowa, provides for the temporary closing of a highway for construction, reconstruction, maintenance or natural disaster, and that any numbered road closed for over forty-eight hours shall have a designated detour route, and WHEREAS, Fremont County is replacing the Washington Street bridge over Plum Creek on County Route L44 on Bluff Road in Scott Township. This road will require temporary closing from the South of the intersection of Bluff Road and Water Street in Thurman, IA Section 1, T70N-R43W, thence South on Bluff Road 450 feet and terminating, and WHEREAS, the detour route shall begin at the intersection of 177th Street and Bluff Road in the SW corner of Section 12, T70N-R43W, thence West 1.0 mile on 177th Street to the intersection of 220th Avenue; thence North on 220th Ave, 1.0 mile to the intersection 215th Avenue; thence North on 215th Avenue, 1.5 mile to the intersection of County Route J24 on 155th Street; thence East on County Route J24 on 155th Street, approximately 1.0 mile to the intersection of County Route L44 on Fletcher Street in Thurman, IA; thence South 0.2 miles to intersection of County Route J24 on Filmore Street and terminating at the intersection of County Route J24 on Filmore Street and County Route L44 on Bluff Road in Thurman, IA Section 1, T70N-R43W. NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED by the Board of Supervisors of Fremont County that the above-described road be temporarily closed and the detour established as necessary until such time as said construction or reconstruction work has been completed.
Motion to approve made by Morgan.
Approved this 5th day of June, 2012.
Attest:
/s/ Joan Kirk
/s/ Randy Hickey, Chairman aye
Fremont County Auditor
/s/ Bart Bartholomew aye
/s/ Cara Morgan
aye
Motion was made by Morgan to sign Contracts Bonds with Manatt’s Inc. on J-64 Project #ER-CO36(63)--58-36. Morgan, aye; Bartholomew, aye; Hickey aye.
At 9:45 a.m. Motion was made by Bartholomew to approve the following Resolution 2012-26. Morgan, aye; Bartholomew, aye; Hickey aye.
BE IT HEREBY RESOLVED by the Fremont County Board of Supervisors this 5th day of June, 2012, that the following individuals shall be approved as Reserve Deputies for the Fremont County Sheriff’s Department, as requested by Fremont County Sheriff Kevin Aistrope. The effective date of employment shall be June 1, 2012:
Nephi Jones, Scott Delong, Austin Richardson, Ethan Johnson, Michael Brammer, Milton Trabal, Donald McAllister, Brandy Dreshner, Michael Roush, Drew Bartholomew, Jeffery Linkenhoker, Arvid Garey, Tom Byrnes, Rick Stegall Michael Wake, Scott Richardson, Jared Johnson, Rodney Umphreys, Trevor Mayberry, Kulley Huntley, Joseph Linkenhoker, Steve Mather, Tony Donahue.
Motion to approve made by Bartholomew.
Attest:
/s/ Joan Kirk
/s/ Randy Hickey, Chairman aye
Fremont County Auditor
/s/ Bart Bartholomew aye
/s/ Cara Morgan
aye
At 9:50 a.m. Mike Crecelius, EMC, met with the board to discuss the 403 Demolition Program.
Also discussed was an email from the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) passed on by Ken Bouma with DNR, saying in part, that legislation states that any community with an effective Flood Insurance Rate Map from FEMA that is not participating in the NFIP will not be eligible for State financial assistance following a flood-related disaster declaration in that community. Morgan said they may not want to get in a hurry, and talk to the task force before proceeding further.
At 10:05 a.m. Janeth Winkler, Fremont County CPC/Community Services Director, met with the board to inquire how a meeting with Mills/Montgomery Counties had gone. Hickey said the details have been work out between the boards, and the Mills County Attorney is going to prepare a 28E Agreement for the three counties sharing their Mental Health Departments. Winkler handed out some information she picked up from a meeting she had recently attended. She brought everyone’s attention to a timelines regarding regional sharing. By June 30, 2014 counties must meet all requirements of regions.
Winkler requested to stay on the SIRHA Board, and that was approved by all.
In other business, the Recorder’s Monthly Report was approved.
At 11:15 a.m. there being no further business, Bartholomew made a motion to adjourn.
Bartholomew, aye; Morgan, aye; Hickey, aye.
ATTEST:
Fremont County Auditor Randy Hickey, Chairman
June 12, 2012:
At 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday, June 12, 2012, a department head meeting was held in the Fremont County Courthouse Boardroom. Present were Randy Hickey, Bart Bartholomew, Cara Morgan, Corey Becker, Steve Whitehead, Robin Shirley, Dennis Henneman, Judy Crain, Karen Berry, Jenny McAllister, Margaret Johnson, Arnold Emberton, Mike Crecelius, Janeth Winkler and Joan Kirk. Topics discussed were: grant funded law student working in Attorney’s Office; new door locks for courthouse offices; state updating furniture for jury room; tax sale, request by Treasurer to let her know of any big expenditures in the next couple of months; reminder that emails are not private; Fremont County will be sharing CPC with Mills/Montgomery; employee handbook modified; still working on flood issues from last year; West Benton FEMA project completed.
The Fremont County Board of Supervisors met in regular session on Tuesday, June 12, 2012, in the Fremont County Courthouse Boardroom, with Hickey, Bartholomew and Morgan present. A quorum was declared and the meeting officially called to order at 9:00 a.m. Minutes of the previous Board session were read and approved. The agenda was approved as posted.
Linda Damrau and Kristy Damrau with Project Recovery stopped by to visit with the board.
At 9:00 a.m. the board canvassed and certified the 2012 Primary Election. The following candidates were nominated for the Republican Party: Board of Supervisors-Cara Marker-Morgan; County Auditor-Joan Kirk; County Sheriff-Kevin Aistrope. The following candidates were nominated for the Democratic Party: Board of Supervisors-Chuck Larson. The following offices did not receive nominations for the Democratic Party: County Auditor; County Sheriff.
At 9:20 a.m. Ed Morrison with IWMCA (Workman’s Comp), during a site-visit, talked about how the high claims have caused the county to be bumped up into high risk because of repeat offenders, and felt it might be in the county’s best interest to hire a Human Resource Attorney to see if there is something the county can do to prevent employees from abusing Workman’s Comp. Hickey indicated he would like to have it clear as to what the county can and cannot do if there is someone abusing the system. Morgan felt it would be in the best interest of the county to hire an HR Attorney, and Bartholomew agreed. The board plans on doing more research on this subject. No decision has been made at this time.
At 9:30 a.m. the board discussed the fact that there are several projects at the courthouse that need to be completed. Also present was Steve Whitehead. Morgan said she had talked to a Taylor County Board member, and they have put in central air and heating, plus new windows. Morgan said this has been a considerable savings to Taylor County’s heating and air conditioning bill. Morgan asked Whitehead to contact the board member she had talked to and ask for some tips on how to proceed if Fremont County chose to do that. Whitehead talked about the lights on the outside of the courthouse not working, and it may be a better idea to put them on the building rather than on the ground. Also discussed was a problem with the air conditioner in the attic leaking in the Judge’s chambers. Whitehead said he would come up with a timeline and list of courthouse improvements.
At 9:45 a.m. Bartholomew made a motion to approve a request from the County Attorney for use of the Courthouse break room for a meeting on the second Monday of every month this year at 7 p.m. She will be responsible for opening and closing the area and for turning off any lights. Morgan, aye; Bartholomew, aye; Hickey aye.
At 9:50 a.m. Motion was made by Morgan to approve the following Resolution 2012-27. Morgan, aye; Bartholomew, aye; Hickey aye.
RESOLUTION NO. 2012-27
BE IT HEREBY RESOLVED by the Fremont County Board of Supervisors this 12th day
of June 2012, that the following transfer of funds be approved and made:
$387,603.00 from the Rural Services Basic Fund, share of Rural Services taxes,
to the Secondary Road Fund and $62,397.00, property tax relief of local option
taxes, from the Rural Services Basic Fund to the Secondary Road Fund.
Motion to approve transfer made by Morgan.
Attest:
/s/ Joan Kirk
/s/ Randy Hickey, Chairman aye
Fremont County Auditor
/s/ Bart Bartholomew aye
/s/ Cara Morgan
aye
At 9:55 a.m. Hickey reported that he has talked to Dennis Henneman and he has agreed to take on the additional duties of the General Assistance position that will be vacated by Janeth Winkler when she retires at the end of June. Motion was made by Morgan to approve Henneman for the position. Morgan, aye; Bartholomew, aye; Hickey aye.
At 10:00 a.m. Steve Perry, Project Manager with Sidney Downtown Streetscape Project met with the board. Also present were Arnold Emberton, Steve Whitehead and Mark Travis. Perry wanted to follow-up with the board regarding power for the downtown street lights saying Hickey had spoken to him about the county possibly not allowing the panel on the west side of the courthouse. Emberton said the first time he had heard about it was a contactor told him they are going start tearing up the courtyard to put a box on the building. Perry would like the box placed on county grounds because it could feed the power equally to the north and sides of the square. Morgan said she was not aware of any of these plans that affect the courthouse courtyard; she also sees redesign to the courthouse property and courthouse access, as far as she knows none of that was conveyed to the board. Hickey said he did not think anything has been set in stone that says the county has to allow the box on their property. Perry said two months ago he did come in to talk about how the project is going, but going back to Emberton’s point that it is probably true, the communication did not take place. Morgan said anything that is going to happen on county property needs to be communicated and the county should be involved, they do not want to be notified after the fact. Perry said his request still stands in locating that panel. Bartholomew asked if they had to dig a trench in the ground and if the wall would be damaged. Perry said yes they would have to dig the trench, but they would go under the wall, and the panel will set on a self-standing pole not on the building. Morgan asked about liability regarding the panel, saying units on the property have been struck by lightning and wonders where the liability falls, and saying they definitely need a lease before they put their equipment on county property and liability, maintenance and that sort of thing needs to be addressed. Morgan said the document needs to be in place and approved before they begin any work. Perry indicted he is in a hurry to get this done. Morgan said if they had communicated this up front it would have allowed them to have the time to get this stuff done. Hickey asked Emberton if there would be a problem with another box there, and Emberton said the only thing he could think of is it may limit something the county would like to do in the future. Perry said he would be in touch with Hickey and would like to get this moved along as quickly as possible.
At 10:35 a.m. Mike Crecelius, EMC, indicated he received an email the other day and Southwest Iowa will have five more river gages put in by the Iowa Flood Center. Crecelius updated the board on some upcoming meetings. Crecelius also presented the board with a copy of a letter he will send to home owners that had homes damaged beyond repair after the 2011 flooding, and eligible for the FEMA 403 program. The letter in part stated it was the second and final notice for property owners to participate in the FEMA 403 program requesting they sign and return a Right of Entry form.
At 10:42 a.m. Karen Berry, Assessor, told the board that House File 524 passed which combined the Assessor’s budget for the Assessment Expense Fund and the Special Appraiser Fund and now put it into one fund. The Department of Management requires a department amendment meeting to combine those two funds. It will not change a thing, just put them together. It should be a five minute meeting and Berry wants to have it on a Tuesday so the board of supervisors are already in the courthouse, and hopes she has some of her conference board show up so she can have a quorum. It was agreed the meeting is going to take place on July 10th following the regular board meeting.
At 10:47 a.m. Bartholomew made a motion to approved Cigarette/Tobacco Permit for Friendly’s Travel Center. Morgan, aye; Bartholomew, aye; Hickey aye.
At 11:05 Arnold Emberton, Information Technology Director, met with the board requesting approval to purchase a copier/scanner for the attorney’s office for $5570 from Konica Minolta. Emberton said he would also like to replace four pc’s for $848 each, saying it may be a less depending on licensing and software. Morgan made a motion to allow the purchases. Bartholomew, aye; Morgan, aye; Hickey, aye.
In other business, payroll and claims were approved for June 15, 2012.
At 11:40 a.m. there being no further business, Morgan made a motion to adjourn.
Bartholomew, aye; Morgan, aye; Hickey, aye.
ATTEST:
Fremont County Auditor Randy Hickey, Chairman
June 19, 2012:
The Fremont County Board of Supervisors met in regular session on Tuesday, June 19, 2012, in the Fremont County Courthouse Boardroom, with Hickey, Bartholomew and Morgan present. A quorum was declared and the meeting officially called to order at 9:00 a.m. Minutes of the previous Board session were read and approved. The agenda was approved as posted.
At 9:00 a.m. Vicki Sjulin and J.R. Hendrickson met with the board to discuss the conditions of Swedish Road near Hamburg. Sjulin said the city has blacktopped their portion of the road and really made the conditions of the road worse than when it was gravel, and would like to see it back to gravel. Sjulin said the city told her they would not repair their portion until the county gets its potion done. Hickey said the county owns a zipper which could put the whole road back to gravel, and maybe if the city is interested they could hire the use of the machine and do the whole troubled area. Sjulin said she will talk to City of Hamburg and see if they will be willing to do that.
At 9:15 a.m. Motion was made by Morgan to appoint Deb Taylor to the Board of Health. Bartholomew, aye; Morgan, aye; Hickey, aye.
At 9:20 a.m. Arnold Emberton, IT, met with the board for seeking approval of Solutions Annual Software Agreement Motion was made by Morgan to approve the Agreement. Bartholomew, aye; Morgan, aye; Hickey, aye.
At 9:30 a.m. Steve Perry did not make it to this meeting.
At 9:45 a.m. Janeth Winkler, Fremont County CPC, Danielle Bruce, Mills/Montgomery CPC, and Robyn Wilson with the Iowa Department of Human Services, met with the board to discuss regionalization and other changes in the Mental Health Department that is going to be taking place. Wilson said Fremont County’s Budget looks to be in good order and should make the transition just fine. Wilson also said a statement from Dept of Human Services, dated back to Oct. 2010, regarding CINA Placement for $23,854.35 will be forgiven.
At 10:10 a.m. Kevin Aistrope, Sheriff, met with the board seeking approval to purchase new equipment for the new vehicles he is purchasing for his department. Aistrope said the new radios will be compatible to digital so when they do to go digital it should be no big deal. Hickey asked how many he will need and Aistrope said ten, but wants to acquire two at this time. He would like to put them in the new vehicles he is purchasing, cost for the two radios will be approximately $9,981. Aistrope is also requesting to purchase two new in car cameras saying it would help protect the county regarding liability. Aistrope said it would be nice if he could afford to buy an on-person camera for each of his deputies at a cost of about $800 per person. Morgan said when it comes to nice to have, compared to necessary that is a difference. Morgan made a motion to approve one new car camera and two radios. Bartholomew, aye; Morgan, aye; Hickey, aye.
The Sheriff also discussed Room and Board being used for the Jail Study.
At 11;00 a.m. there being no further business, Bartholomew made a motion to adjourn.
Bartholomew, aye; Morgan, aye; Hickey, aye.
ATTEST:
Fremont County Auditor Randy Hickey, Chairman
The Fremont County Board of Supervisors met in regular session on Tuesday, June 26, 2012, in the Fremont County Courthouse Boardroom, with Hickey, Bartholomew and Morgan present. A quorum was declared and the meeting officially called to order at 9:00 a.m. Minutes of the previous Board session were read and approved. The agenda was approved as posted.
At 9:00 a.m. Dan Davis, Engineer, met with the board for bid opening on a new grader. Present were Scott Lawson with Caterpillar, Mike Batenhorst, Purchasing Agent for the County Engineer, and Jeff Shirley. The only bid received was from Caterpillar, and their bid was $163,634 with trade-in of a 2004 140H CAT. The bid comes with full machine warranty. Motion was made by Morgan to accept the bid as presented. Bartholomew, aye; Morgan, aye; Hickey, aye.
Davis was also requesting approval to start the process of searching for a cleaning person for two days week to clean for the Road Department. Motion was made by Morgan to approve hiring a cleaning person. Bartholomew, aye; Morgan, aye; Hickey, aye.
Davis said with recent retirements, and employees being shifted around to fill the positions, he is requesting to start the process of application and interviewing to fill a position on the road crew that is now one short. Motion was made by Bartholomew to approve the request. Bartholomew, aye; Morgan, aye; Hickey, aye.
At 9:15 a.m. Janeth Winkler, CPC, met with the board for approval of Nishna Production and Waubonsie Mental Health contracts for 2013. Winkler did say she reduced the block grant from $4,500 to $3,000 regarding consultation services with Waubonsie Mental Health. Motion was made by Bartholomew to approve the Contracts for Year 2013. Bartholomew, aye; Morgan, aye; Hickey, aye.
Winkler also left Board of Health Contracts with the board of supervisors.
At 9:30 a.m. the board and visitors discussed proposed changes regarding updating the employee handbook. Present were Vicki Kirkpatrick, Pam Van Scyoc, Jenny McAllister and Judy Crain. Unable to reach an agreement, Morgan suggested Bartholomew contact the county’s HR representative Renee Von Bokern regarding the proposed changes. No decision was made at this time.
At 10:00 a.m. Judy Crain, Treasurer, met with the board to discuss the Fremont County Tax Sale held on June 18, 2012. 136 parcels were sold for the total dollar value of $105,658.52. Fremont County acquired 33 parcels at the public bidder sale in the total dollar value of $24,441.17.
At 10:15 a.m. Motion was made by Morgan to approve the following Resolution 2012-28. Bartholomew, aye; Morgan, aye; Hickey, aye.
RESOLUTION NO. 2012-28
BE IT HEREBY RESOLVED by the Fremont County Board of Supervisors this 26th
day of June, 2012, that the following transfer of funds be approved and made:
$3,880.66 from the TIF Rebate Fund, to the LMI Assistance Fund, as stated in the
Waubonsie Ridge Agreement.
Motion to approve transfer made by Morgan.
Attest:
/s/ Joan Kirk
/s/ Randy Hickey, Chairman aye
Fremont County Auditor
/s/ Bart Bartholomew aye
/s/ Cara Morgan
aye
At 10:20 a.m. Motion was made by Morgan to sign Insurance Renewal with ICAP. Bartholomew, aye; Morgan, aye; Hickey, aye.
At 10:25 a.m. Motion was made by Bartholomew to approve Retail Cigarette/Tobacco Permit for Sapp Bros. Bartholomew, aye; Morgan, aye; Hickey, aye.
At 10:30 a.m. Kevin Aistrope, Sheriff, met with the board, there was no discussion regarding replacing a deputy at this meeting.
Kevin Aistrope, Sheriff, and County Attorney, Margaret Johnson, met with the board. They discussed the importance of body cameras pertaining to possible litigation issues. Johnson said that the body cameras are very helpful if the deputies remember to turn their speakers on, if they do not it is not as helpful, but still better than nothing. The Supreme Court is not requiring that they have these on person cameras right now but she feels it will be coming in the future. Johnson said they save a lot of litigation time if they have the cameras. You can see exactly what is happening as it happens. The Sheriff’s Office would have to have a policy in place that makes them turn them on. Defendants make accusations as to what happened, so from a liability standpoint they can just look at the video to see if that is what really happened. Aistrope said he can purchase eight cameras from Wolfcom Enterprises for $6,515.00, and felt he had it in the current year’s budget to do that. Motion was made by Bartholomew to allow the purchase if he has it in his current year budget. Bartholomew, aye; Morgan, aye; Hickey, aye.
At 10:55 a.m. Motion was made by Morgan to approve the following Resolution 2012-29. Bartholomew, aye; Morgan, aye; Hickey, aye.
Authorizing Appropriations to County Officers and Departments FY 2012/2013
Resolution to appropriate 100% of the budgeted amounts for expenditures deemed necessary to all Budgetary Funds/Departments for FY 2012/2013, as published in the Notice of Public Hearing-Budget Estimate on February 23, 2012.
ADOPTED this 26 day of June, 2012.
PASSED AND APPROVED, this 26th day of June, 2012.
Attest:
/s/ Joan Kirk
/s/ Randy Hickey, Chairman aye
Fremont County Auditor
/s/ Bart Bartholomew aye
/s/ Cara Morgan
aye.
At 11:00 a.m. Motion was made by Morgan to approve the following Resolution 2012-30. Bartholomew, aye; Morgan, aye; Hickey, aye.
BE IT HEREBY RESOLVED by the Fremont County Board of Supervisors this 26th day of June, 2012, that the Auditor be authorized to cancel outstanding warrants that are over one year old.
Motion made by Morgan.
Attest:
/s/ Joan Kirk
/s/ Randy Hickey, Chairman aye
Fremont County Auditor
/s/ Bart Bartholomew aye
/s/ Cara Morgan
aye
In other business, payroll and claims were approved for June 29, 2012.
At 12:00 noon there being no further business, Bartholomew made a motion to adjourn.
Bartholomew, aye; Morgan, aye; Hickey, aye.
ATTEST:
Fremont County Auditor Randy Hickey, Chairman