The Board of Lincoln County Commissioners met at 9:00 a

Board of County Commissioners of Lincoln County

Agenda for August 28, 2009

9:00 Call to order and Pledge of Allegiance

9:05 Brent Blankenship with U.S. Imaging to discuss digitizing the records in the County Clerk’s office

10:00 Social Services Director Colette Barksdale to give her monthly report

11:00 Extension Director Linda Yoder to give her monthly report

1:00 Jeff Brislawn with AMEC to discuss the revisions to the Lincoln County Hazardous Mitigation Plan

1. Approve payroll and expense vouchers

2. Approve the minutes from the August 18, 2009 meeting

3. Review a letter from county auditor Gary Woodward giving notice of his retirement

4. Review the July reports of revenues and expenditures for County General, Library, Landfill, E911, Capital Projects, Conservation Trust, Lodging-Tourism, Road & Bridge and the individual road districts

5. Review and sign an application for a grant to USDA Rural Development for an 800 MHz console for dispatch and storage for county generators

6. Review and sign Contract Amendment #2 with the Department of Public Health and Environment for the Health Care Program for Children with Special Needs

7. Review a contract amendment for Department of Local Affairs grant EIAF #6305 for Lincoln Community Hospital Electrical Upgrades

8. Review and approve the paperwork for the Karval Fire Protection District Ambulance Service

9. County Commissioners’ reports

10. County Administrator’s report

11. Old business

12. New business

The Board of Lincoln County Commissioners met at 9:00 a.m. on August 28, 2009. The following attended: Chairman Ted Lyons, Commissioners Steve Burgess and Gary Beedy, County Administrator Roxie Devers and Clerk to the Board Corinne M. Lengel. Kay Christie with The Limon Leader and Eastern Colorado Plainsman arrived at 9:20 a.m. and left around 11:30 a.m.

Chairman Lyons called the meeting to order and led the Pledge of Allegiance, and then Brent Blankenship with US Imaging met with the Board to discuss digitizing the records in the County Clerk’s office. He explained that the company has been in business for over thirty years, and that they have done work in at least three Colorado counties—all that have the Saul’s Creek Engineering recording system that Lincoln County has. He said he’d been speaking with County Clerk Corinne Lengel, and she would like for the marriage records to be digitized first, as there is no back-up of those records. She would then like to move backward from April of 1997 on the aperture cards, which is when the county went onto the computer with recorded documents.

Brent informed the Board that the employees of US Imaging are mainly ex-county and ex-title company personnel, so they have a greater understanding of the importance of the task they are hired to perform. US Imaging also keeps a copy of the county’s information at their facility for disaster recovery. He went on to say that they have a ninety-nine percent accuracy level on the indexing of the images, as they use double-key indexing, which means that two people perform the data entry at the same time, and it is then checked with a computer for errors. If errors are found, a third person then verifies the errors and corrects them.

US Imaging anticipates a phased approach to the digitization process and will submit a proposal to Ms. Lengel and the Board, once the inventory is completed by Image BASE, LLC. Brent said he couldn’t really give an estimate on the cost at this time, until they see what the inventory shows.

Mr. Lyons asked if the company would take the books offsite, and Brent responded that it would depend on whatever the county wanted to do. They can bring workers to the courthouse, which would help save on shipping and the worry that something may happen to the documents, but it would, of course, cost more. He said they can work 24-7 if the county permits it, or they would work whatever hours the county allowed. They would run two ten-hour shifts until the job was done, which would not take as long if they were allowed continuous access. He added that the only additional cost to the county if they chose to do it that way would be the per diem for the workers.

Ms. Devers asked how long it would take if the county were to send ten books to the company for digitization, but Brent said he couldn’t really say because it would depend on how many pages were in each book, and they wouldn’t know that until they looked at them. He said ten books should take two-to-three weeks, depending on their size.

Ms. Lengel asked if it would be possible to have them come on-site to complete the marriage records, and then send them the extra copy of the aperture cards later on, and Brent agreed that that would be the most feasible option.

Mr. Beedy asked if they scan the images in color, but Brent said they do only if it is a required portion of the document. Otherwise, they scan in grayscale; giving a range of 256 shades of gray between black and white to choose from. That helps to pull gray-signatures into focus, as well as images that have begun to fade.

Jeremiah Higgins, who had joined the meeting, asked if the company does maps, and Brent said that they certainly can. Ms. Lengel added that they could also digitize some of the aperture cards of their maps prior to starting on the other aperture cards, as they are beginning to fade and are very valuable. Mr. Beedy added that the irreplaceable documents should be done first, and Ms. Lengel agreed, but added that those with the most unreadable images should be a consideration, as well.

Brent said he would spend some time in the Clerk’s vault before he left to take some measurements of the marriage books, and would then wait for her to send him a copy of the inventory.

Mr. Burgess made a motion to approve the minutes from the meeting held on August 18, 2009, as submitted. Mr. Beedy seconded the motion, which carried unanimously.

The Board reviewed a letter from county auditor Gary Woodward giving notice of his retirement, and Mr. Burgess and Mr. Lyons both were under the impression that Amanda Brown, Mr. Woodward’s assistant, was still going to do some work for Lincoln Community Hospital. The Board felt it would be worth asking her if she would be interested in continuing to audit the county’s financial records, as well.

The Board reviewed the July reports of revenues and expenditures for the County General, Library, Landfill, E911, Capital Projects, Conservation Trust, Lodging-Tourism and Road & Bridge funds and the individual road districts.

At 10:00 a.m., Social Services Director Colette Barksdale met with the Board to give her monthly report. Robert Kraxberger attended with Ms. Barksdale. As the Board reviewed the July financial, attendance and caseload reports for the department, Ms. Barksdale informed them that the caseload reports were in a new, hopefully easier to follow, format. She showed the commissioners several thank you notes and cards from the local schools in regard to Project School Supply, and then informed them that her department would be doing some One-on-One CSE Training beginning the week of September 14.

Ms. Barksdale informed the Board that they were “bailed out” by $83,741 in prorated Final Distribution of County Tax-Based Relief, according to the Property Tax Relief report, which she shared with the commissioners. She added that it was the highest amount she had ever seen, but cautioned that it would most likely not happen again, as it may not even be funded next year.

Ms. Barksdale had attended two meetings regarding the budget-balancing plan, and said that Lincoln County had come out of the governor’s budget cuts pretty well. There were some items that would affect the county; such as, the closure of several beds at the Centennial Mental Health facility in Fort Logan, and the fact that the Aid to the Needy Disabled program is being eliminated. Lincoln County has three residents on that program. She added that there also will be no cost of living increase on Old Age Pension and the indigent care programs at the hospital might be affected.

Ms. Barksdale concluded by saying that there will be an ad in next week’s newspapers regarding the windows that they have for sale, and that the Child Welfare Action Committee report will come out in September.

The Board reviewed an application for a grant to USDA Rural Development for an 800 MHz console for the dispatch center at the Sheriff’s Office, along with storage for county generators, and Ms. Devers said she was waiting on a letter of support from Gary Ensign.

Mr. Burgess made a motion to sign the grant application, Mr. Beedy seconded the motion, and it carried unanimously.

Mr. Lyons placed a telephone call to Kerry Halde, who said that the Oil and Gas Commission has now implemented a policy that all tank batteries and pumps must be painted earth-tone colors. He said it will cost between $2,000 and $10,000 per well and tank battery to paint everything out here, which is ridiculous. Apparently, the new law states that any well or battery that is visible from a state or county road must be painted, and Mr. Halde commented that there are roads down south that are rarely traveled. He felt the money could be better spent by leasing more property for additional drilling purposes, and asked for assistance from the commissioners, such as a letter and a phone call. Mr. Burgess said they could speak with County Attorney Stan Kimble about it at their meeting next Monday, August 31.

Mr. Lyons then placed a phone call to Mike Vaughn in regard to the issue with the woman and her stroller at the demolition derby. Mr. Beedy asked Mike what he thought they could do to control the pit area a little better, as it is a great safety concern of the county with all of the heavy equipment there. Mr. Burgess asked Mike if he had the authority to make people go to the other side of the arena, and Mike said he tried to be nice, but they were looking at trying some different colored arm bands or something to designate those people so they could escort them back to the stands if they should wander into a restricted area. Mike estimated there were between eight-and-nine hundred people at the derby this year. He said they’d also had a request not to hold the fair the same time as Kit Carson County’s and Mr. Burgess said he thought they had moved theirs up a week this year.

Extension Director Linda Yoder arrived at 11:00 a.m. to give her monthly report. .

Ms. Yoder reported that the fair programs all seemed to go well, even though there were a few minor glitches, as always, such as reminding contestants that competition is a good thing, as it is more about youth development than who wins or loses. She added that the State Fair projects also went well, and made special mention of the fashion revue contestant and how much she learned by socializing with other members with interests similar to hers.

Ms. Yoder said she has been asked several questions regarding canning this year and people are asking for workshops, and she has some new equipment for testing pressure canner gauges. A master canner from Elbert County will come out on November 7 for a workshop, and she is trying to schedule some other workshops as well.

The Farm Safety 4 Just Kids program will be September 30, but Ms. Yoder said she is having problems with getting all of the stations filled and wanted to know if the Board had any suggestions for someone to fill the 4-Wheeler Safety station. Mr. Burgess suggested Witts, and Ms. Yoder said she would contact them.

She will also be starting up the Strong Women Strong Bones program again on September 1, in Hugo, and the Sale Committee is working on an MOU to present to the commissioners and Fair Board at a future date, although it may not be finished by the September meeting.

Ms. Yoder also asked the Board to approve the Baby Bear Hugs Office Space Agreement. Mr. Beedy made a motion to sign the agreement. Mr. Burgess seconded the motion, which carried unanimously.

Mr. Burgess then made a motion to go into executive session at Linda Yoder’s request, per C.R.S. 24-6-402 (4) (f) (I), to discuss personnel. Mr. Beedy seconded the motion, which carried unanimously. Those remaining for the session were Mr. Lyons, Mr. Burgess, Mr. Beedy, Ms. Devers, Ms. Yoder and Ms. Lengel. The session was tape-recorded and is on file in the County Clerk’s vault.

After coming out of executive session, Ms. Yoder said she had brought some of her budget papers for 2010, and wanted to encourage the Board to consider a full time 4-H Associate, adding that the office may need some extra secretarial help for the week of fair and the week following.

Contract Amendment #2 with the Department of Public Health and Environment for the Health Care Program for Children with Special Needs, in the amount of $2,402, was reviewed and Mr. Beedy made a motion to sign the contract amendment. Mr. Burgess seconded the motion, which carried unanimously.

The Board reviewed a contract amendment for Department of Local Affairs grant EIAF #6305 for Lincoln Community Hospital Electrical Upgrades, which Mr. Lyons had been authorized to sign at an earlier date.

Ms. Devers said that all of the paperwork for the Karval Fire Protection District Ambulance Service was received, so Mr. Beedy made a motion to adopt a resolution authorizing the Karval Fire Protection District to provide ambulance service in Lincoln County with basic life support ambulances. Mr. Burgess seconded the motion, which carried unanimously.

At a regular meeting of the Board of County Commissioners of Lincoln County, Colorado held in Hugo, Colorado on August 28, 2009 there were present:

Ted Lyons, Chairman Present

Steve Burgess, Vice Chairman Present

Gary A. Beedy, Commissioner Present

Stan Kimble, County Attorney Absent & Excused

Corinne Lengel, Clerk of the Board Present

Roxie Devers, County Administrator Present

when the following proceedings, among others, were had and done, to-wit:

RESOLUTION #730 It was moved by Commissioner Beedy and seconded by Commissioner Burgess to adopt the following resolution:

WHEREAS, pursuant to the Colorado Emergency Medical Services Act, Section 25-315.101, et seq., C.R.S., the Board of County Commissioners has the authority to establish requirements for the inspection, licensure, and operation of ambulance services, ambulance personnel, and ambulance vehicles operating in the county; and

WHEREAS, the Lincoln County Commissioners adopted Resolution #651 and thereby established rules and regulations governing the licensure of ambulance services operating within Lincoln County; and

WHEREAS, the Karval Fire Protection District has presented the Board of County Commissioners with an application to license the ambulance service and to permit their ambulances as basic life support vehicles; and

WHEREAS, upon review, the Board of County Commissioners determined that the documentation presented met the rules and regulations established under Resolution #651;

NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED by the Board of County Commissioners of Lincoln County that the Karval Fire Protection District is hereby authorized to provide ambulance service in Lincoln County with basic life support ambulances.

Upon roll call the vote was:

Commissioner Burgess, Yes; Commissioner Beedy, Yes; Commissioner Lyons, Yes.

The Chairman declared the motion carried and so ordered.

Board of County Commissioners

of Lincoln County

_______________________________________

ATTEST: _______________________________________

_________________________________ _______________________________________

Clerk of the Board

Ms. Devers also said she’d finally gotten all of the paperwork for the Limon Ambulance Service, so it could be approved, as well.

Mr. Burgess made a motion to adopt a resolution authorizing the Limon Ambulance Service to provide basic and advanced life support service in Lincoln County with permitted basic life support ambulances. Mr. Beedy seconded the motion, which carried unanimously.

At a regular meeting of the Board of County Commissioners of Lincoln County, Colorado held in Hugo, Colorado on August 28, 2009 there were present:

Ted Lyons, Chairman Present

Steve Burgess, Vice Chairman Present

Gary A. Beedy, Commissioner Present

Stan Kimble, County Attorney Absent & Excused

Corinne Lengel, Clerk of the Board Present

Roxie Devers, County Administrator Present

when the following proceedings, among others, were had and done, to-wit:

RESOLUTION #732 It was moved by Commissioner Burgess and seconded by Commissioner Beedy to adopt the following resolution:

WHEREAS, the Lincoln County Commissioners adopted Resolution #651 and thereby established rules and regulations governing the licensure of ambulance services operating within Lincoln County; and

WHEREAS, the Limon Ambulance Service has presented the Board of County Commissioners with an application to license the ambulance service as advanced life support and to permit their ambulances as basic life support; and

WHEREAS, upon review, the Board of County Commissioners determined that the documentation presented met the rules and regulations established under Resolution #651;

NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED by the Board of County Commissioners of Lincoln County that the Limon Ambulance Service is hereby authorized to provide basic and advanced life support ambulance service in Lincoln County with permitted basic life support ambulances.

Upon roll call the vote was:

Commissioner Burgess, Yes; Commissioner Beedy, Yes; Commissioner Lyons, Yes.

The Chairman declared the motion carried and so ordered.

Board of County Commissioners

of Lincoln County

_______________________________________

ATTEST: _______________________________________

_________________________________ _______________________________________

Clerk of the Board

Mr. Beedy reported that he met with his road foreman, David Seymour, on August 20 regarding the layout for the new fuel storage tank, and they looked into ordering pipe for posts. He also composed the letter to The Nature Conservancy that he said he would write. On the Twenty-seventh, he participated in a conference call meeting of the Eastern Colorado Services for the Developmentally Disabled.

Mr. Burgess reported that he, Chris Monks and Adam Davis toured roads on August 19. He also did some work on the fuel tank project for District 2 and ordered posts for the safety barriers that are required around the tanks. He also spoke with John at Eaton Sales and Service, who told him that the permit has been applied for. He gave the plans to Land Use Administrator Ken Morrison and a copy to David Seymour. On the Twenty-second, Mr. Burgess received a letter from the Kyle Railroad, and Mr. Beedy said he had received one also, as did Mr. Lyons. Mr. Burgess said he would leave it for Mr. Kimble to review on Monday. On August 23, he received a phone call from Weed Coordinator Wayne Shade, regarding a possible complaint that may be received due to his spraying in front of a residence. Mr. Lyons said he had a call from Wayne, as well. On August 25, Mr. Burgess and Mr. Lyons attended a CDPHE meeting, and on the Twenty-sixth, Mr. Burgess attended the Child Welfare Action Committee meeting. He participated in the walk-through of the roundhouse on Thursday, the Twenty-seventh, and attended the hospital board meeting that evening. Earlier this morning, he obtained quotes from Shideler Electric for the electrical work to be done at the fuel storage tank sites.

Mr. Lyons reported he spoke with Mike Vaughn about the demolition derby on August 19 and to Kerry Halde on the Twentieth. On the Twenty-fifth, he went with Mr. Burgess to the CDPHE meeting, and attended the hospital board meeting on August 27. They discussed the cost report that was due on May 31 in regard to Medicare, and Mr. Lyons provided a document showing that Lincoln Community Hospital was required to pay back a total of $1,008,802.00, due to overpayments made in 2008, and others in 2009 because of a rate change.

At 1:00 p.m., Jeff Brislawn with AMEC met with the Board to discuss the revisions to the Lincoln County Hazardous Mitigation Plan. Hugo Town Manager Gary Ensign, Limon Town Administrator Dave Stone, and Limon School Superintendent Scott Vratil were in attendance, as well as Land Use Administrator Ken Morrison.

Mr. Brislawn began by saying that he had been hired to help facilitate the update of the plan, which was driven by the Disaster Mitigation Act passed in 2000 stating that entities had to be eligible to receive pre and post disaster funding through FEMA. The plan requires a five-year update cycle, and Mr. Brislawn said that time has come. The plan is in near-final draft form; they just need to complete the public comment and input phase prior to finalization. He went on to say that the plan is not an operations or response plan, but rather what to do to prevent future disasters, adding that a large portion of the plan is dedicated to possible hazards within the county, although the most prevalent are natural disasters caused by drought, snowstorms, hail, lightning and wind.

At a comment that the Town of Hugo doesn’t participate in the County Planning Subcommittee, Gary Ensign stated that their town attorney told them that it creates a liability if they impose standards that they cannot enforce. If they were to sign off on a plan stating that those standards will be enforced and then they aren’t and something happens, the town could be responsible for the damages done by the disaster.

Mr. Brislawn said the plan will need to be adopted by the county and each of the jurisdictions once it is approved by FEMA, which will probably be in mid-November.

Once everyone had gone, Ms. Devers reported that she had come up with a proposal for an IT person, so the Board reviewed it, agreeing to delete the portion regarding payment for mileage and travel time, choosing to leave the hourly rate negotiable.

Ms. Devers said she also researched the Colorado Clean Indoor Act, which was created with HB06-1175, referring to indoor areas only where nonsmokers are to be protected from exposure to environmental tobacco smoke. She said that apparently that did not apply to the grandstands at the fairgrounds.

The difference between the HUTF collections in July of 2008 and July of 2009 was $2,767.69, with 2009 being higher. The difference between August of 2008 and August of 2009 was $1,729.00, with 2009 again being higher.

Ms. Devers said she’d looked over the Lincoln County Economic Development Policy in regard to sales tax, and discovered that the investment incentive for a wind farm would be quite costly (eighty percent) to the county. After some discussion, Mr. Burgess said he felt the policy needed to be reviewed and revised before application was actually made and the county found itself in another situation like the Preisser lawsuit.

Ms. Devers said that they are not actually committed to what is in the policy, but that those making application might possibly ask for the incentive because they would say the county used it to entice them into building in Lincoln County. Mr. Lyons said the leases were in place long before the policy went into effect, but Mr. Burgess still believed the document should be revised.

Ms. Devers said it could be shown to Stan Kimble on Monday.

Mr. Burgess made a motion to review the Lincoln County Economic Development Policy with County Attorney Stan Kimble on August 31, and make revisions upon Mr. Kimble’s recommendations. Any applications submitted on or prior to August 31, 2009, will not be considered by the Board of Lincoln County Commissioners until review and revision of the Lincoln County Economic Development Policy are complete. Mr. Beedy seconded the motion, which carried unanimously.

Further discussion was tabled until the policy is reviewed by the county attorney and his recommendations are made.

Ms. Devers said she had received some job descriptions for road foremen from Cynthia Barnes with CTSI, and the Board will look them over for Monday’s meeting.

A brief discussion was held regarding creating new maps for the road districts since District Three has taken over upkeep on a small portion of District One roads, but the Board felt that they would wait to do anything until they decided if what they were doing was working or not.

Mr. Burgess said he’d received estimates for the electrical wiring on the fuel storage tank projects, and he would like to use the bid from Shideler Electric, Inc. in the amount of $3,663 for District Two. Mr. Beedy felt that he would like to wait to decide, as it appeared that Shideler Electric was much higher in his case, and he wanted to do further research.

Mr. Burgess made a motion to accept the proposal from Shideler Electric, Inc. in the amount of $3,663, for electrical work to be done for the fuel storage tank system in District Two. Mr. Beedy seconded the motion, which carried unanimously.

Mr. Burgess said that they have had to do quite a bit of work on County Road 28, roughly three or four miles south of the county line, and there is a bridge there that definitely needs replaced. It will either take one ten foot culvert or three six foot culverts, and he would prefer to get the ten foot one. He has some of the three foot culverts in stock, but was planning on using them for County Road 109. It would cost around $6,000 to purchase a ten foot culvert, and the other Board members agreed it was probably a wise idea. Mr. Burgess said he would like to take the money from the bridge fund.

Mr. Burgess also said that his district has an old 1987 International truck that needs to be replaced. Chris Monks found a 2007 Mack that they could replace it with, and the ‘87 will bring $7,000 trade-in value. Mr. Burgess made a motion to purchase a 2007 Mack truck for $65,000, less trade-in of $7,000 for the 1987 International, making the total price for the Mack $58,000. He said he should have the money in his budget. Mr. Beedy seconded the motion, which carried unanimously.

Mr. Burgess asked if any of the offices needed a copy machine, as the hospital has almost thirty units that they would like to sell.

A brief discussion about other issues at the fair was held; such as, the dance being held under the awning and not in the Ellis Allen building, thus causing a problem with knowing who did, or didn’t, pay to get in, and two of the toilets in the women’s restroom under the grandstands being out of order again.

The Board began reviewing payroll and expense vouchers for the month of August, and then Greg Etl with DOLA called to inform the Board that all grant funds through the department for the August cycle have been put on hold. He felt that it may happen for the December cycle, as well, and wanted the Board to get their contracts signed as soon as possible for the fuel storage tanks, as it would be more difficult for DOLA to pull the funding if a signed contract was in place. Mr. Etl was informed that the contracts had already been signed.

The Board finished approving the payroll and expense vouchers for August, and then, with no further business to come before them, the meeting was adjourned until 9:00 a.m. on August 31, 2009.

__________________________________________ ___________________________

Corinne M. Lengel, Clerk to the Board Ted Lyons, Chairman