Board of County Commissioners of Lincoln County  

Agenda for October 16, 2009

 

 

9:00 Call to order and Pledge of Allegiance

 

9:05 Meet with Kristi Gay with RC&D and representatives from Cheyenne, Kit Carson and Elbert Counties to discuss a regional application for a Community Energy Coordinator Grant through the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant

 

10:30 Work on the 2010 county budget

 

 

1.      Approve the minutes from the October 6, 2009 meeting

2.      Cancel County General check #12411 written on September 30, 2009 to Professional Radiology Services for $27.00 since the bill was paid twice

3.      Review the current schedule for 4th quarter bookings at the fairgrounds events building

4.      Review the September report from the County Clerk

5.      Review the September reports of revenues and expenditures for County General, Capital Projects, Conservation Trust, E911, Landfill, Library, Lodging Tax, Road & Bridge, and the individual road districts

6.      Review a letter from the State Board of Land Commissioners concerning evaluation of a parcel of School Trust property in the county that may be disposed of

7.      Review information from Larry Kallenberger, Executive Director of CCI, concerning the Colorado Supreme Court’s decision in the matter of Adams County Board of County Commissioners versus the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment, specifically in the issuance of a hazardous waste disposal permit and a radioactive materials license

8.      Review the concurrence from CDOT on McCauley Constructors, Inc. being awarded the Hugo Union Pacific Railroad roundhouse roof construction project.  Approve the Notice of Award and the contract with McCauley Constructors.

9.      County Commissioners’ reports

10.  County Administrator’s report

11.  County Attorney’s report

12.  Old business

13.  New business

     

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Board of Lincoln County Commissioners met at 9:00 a.m. on October 16, 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 attended until 11:15 a.m., and County Attorney Stan Kimble attended in the afternoon.

 

Chairman Lyons called the meeting to order and led the Pledge of Allegiance, and then Kristi Gay with RC&D, and Richard Seares with the RC&D Council, met with the Board to discuss a regional application for a Community Energy Coordinator Grant through the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant.  They are working on a regional effort for renewable energy and Ms. Gay explained that the Governor’s Energy office has $120,000 in recovery money available to the eastern region, which is composed of Cheyenne, Kit Carson, Elbert and Lincoln counties.  The funds must be applied for as a region, but Ms. Gay said that the only other county to express interest at this time is Cheyenne County.

 

Since the money has already been designated for the region, Mr. Lyons felt they would be foolish not to send in an application, as it could possibly provide a two-or-three year job to someone.

 

Mr. Beedy asked if the county would then be required to subsidize the position after that, as sometimes that is one of the stipulations of receiving such funding.  Ms. Gay responded that there is a provision for how the county would make the position sustainable, but added that if there is no longer a need for the position when the state money is gone, there shouldn’t be a problem.  If the commissioners would turn in an application based on how they would like to see the money spent, there is always a chance that the governor won’t approve the application anyway.  Mr. Lyons felt it didn’t hurt to try.

 

Ms. Devers said there was some confusion with the whole process, as Pat Vice had told her that Bob Mailander had contacted her and suggested that she apply.  Ms. Devers didn’t understand if that meant that Ms. Vice should work with the county if the county decides to apply, or if Mr. Mailander meant that Economic Development should submit its own application.  She added that part of the stipulation was that a community energy coordinator would have to be hired.

 

Ms. Gay said that the RC&D Council has offered to apply for the region, but if the county preferred to take the lead that was perfectly acceptable.

 

Mr. Lyons said he’d thought they could somehow incorporate it with what Ms. Vice already does, and Mr. Seares agreed that if they already have someone in the position, they could then just hire the coordinator and Ms. Vice could administer the grant, which was Mr. Beedy’s idea, as well.

 

Mr. Burgess thought it should be totally separate from Economic Development and Mr. Beedy questioned who would oversee the coordinator.

 

Mr. Lyons said it really didn’t matter to him who receives the money as long as the opportunity is not passed up, adding that he agreed with Mr. Burgess that Lincoln County and Economic Development should make separate applications.

 

Discussion was held as to starting salary and who the actual hiring party would be; the county, RC&D or an independent contractor.  Mr. Beedy commented that if the county does the hiring, there will also be benefits to consider. 

 

Ms. Gay is willing to work on the application and will contact Ms. Devers if she has questions.

 

Mr. Beedy made a motion to approve the minutes from the meeting held on October 6, 2009, as submitted.  Mr. Burgess seconded the motion, which carried unanimously.

 

Mr. Beedy made a motion to cancel County General check #12411, written on September 30, 2009, to Professional Radiology Services for $27.00, since the bill was paid twice.  Mr. Burgess seconded the motion, which carried unanimously.

 

The Board reviewed the current schedule for fourth quarter bookings at the fairgrounds events building, as well as the September reports from the County Clerk and the Veterans Service Officer, the September reports of revenues and expenditures for the County General, Capital Projects, Conservation Trust, E911, Landfill, Library, Lodging Tax and Road & Bridge funds, and the individual road districts.

 

Weed Control Coordinator Wayne Shade stopped by the meeting to inform the Board that he was ready to take the weed truck to Washington, and wanted to know if it was acceptable to use the county credit card for his lodging.  The commissioners agreed that it would be okay and asked if there would be a lot of repairs to the truck.  Wayne said that two wiring harnesses need replaced, and that there is no longer pressure in the hand sprayer, so it will need fixed, as well.  When asked how many miles are on the truck, Wayne responded that it now has one hundred thirty-four thousand miles on it and it had seventeen thousand on it when he first started working for the county in 2005.  Discussion was held about the lifespan of the plastic tanks, and Wayne said he planned on asking them about how long the chemical cones usually last when he reaches Washington.

 

The Board reviewed a letter from the State Board of Land Commissioners concerning evaluation of a parcel of School Trust property in the county that may be disposed of, along with information from Larry Kallenberger, Executive Director of CCI, regarding the Colorado Supreme Court’s decision in the matter of Adams County Board of County Commissioners versus the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment, specifically the issuance of a hazardous waste disposal permit and a radioactive materials license.

 

Also reviewed was the concurrence from CDOT on McCauley Constructors, Inc. having been awarded the Hugo Union Pacific Railroad roundhouse roof construction project.  Ms. Devers said she would get the contract to Mr. Kimble for his review once she receives it, but would like for the Board to approve the Notice of Award and give Mr. Lyons permission to sign the contract once Mr. Kimble has examined it. 

Mr. Burgess made a motion to approve the Notice of Award and the contract with McCauley Constructors, Inc. for the Hugo Union Pacific Railroad roundhouse roof construction project, and to allow Mr. Lyons to sign the contract once it has been reviewed by County Attorney Stan Kimble.  Mr. Beedy seconded the motion, which carried unanimously.

 

Mr. Beedy reported he attended the department head meeting on October 7, and also met with Michael Smith from CCI.  On October 8, Mr. Beedy attended the State Transportation Advisory Committee meeting in Denver, stating that it appears there is no idea which direction funding projects will be headed in the future.  On the Ninth, he attended the CCI legislative committee meeting, and on the Fourteenth he met with David Seymour and John Rowe about replacing the loader in District Three.  On October 15, Mr. Beedy attended a rail committee meeting.

 

Mr. Burgess reported he attended the Baby Bear Hugs meeting in Yuma on October 12, and voiced his concern that the organization may not be able to sustain itself if counties don’t contribute what is requested.  On the Thirteenth, Mr. Burgess said he’d taken one of the Prairie Development journey signs out to Thompsons for Walks Camp.  On October 15, Mr. Burgess spoke with Charles Crisp about gravel, attended Linda Yoder’s retirement party, spoke to Chris Monks about new equipment, and called Mick Jaques about the cell at the landfill because Chris had some concerns about the large dirt berm. 

 

Mr. Burgess informed Mr. Beedy that the fuel storage tanks will be delivered on October 27 and 28, and that he has scheduled Bart O’Dwyer to set them.

 

Mr. Lyons said that he also attended the department head meeting and meeting with Michael Smith on October 7 and went by the landfill on the Eighth, stating that they need to put some rotomill on the road where it meets the oil.  On the Fifteenth, he attended Ms. Yoder’s retirement party and the RC&D meeting.

 

Ms. Devers reported that Cindy Miller with the Northeast Counties Association of Local Governments (NECALG) told her that Lincoln County residents have been served through the Weatherization Program.  There are eleven homes that will be worked on in 2009, which is double what there were in 2008.  She also informed Ms. Devers that they did not get millions of dollars for the program.

 

Barbara Vaughn, who works for LCH, asked about insurance coverage when she gives flu shots at the county’s clinics.  Ms. Devers called Patti Lell with CTSI and was told that liability coverage is in place regardless of whether the person is paid or a volunteer.  However, when Ms. Devers informed her that the county intended to pay anyone administering the shots, Ms. Lell told her the county would be liable for workers’ compensation.  A phone call was placed to Herman Schreivogel at Lincoln Community Hospital, who said that they would go ahead and pay Ms. Vaughn and the county could then reimburse the hospital.

 

Joel Plath had provided a job description for the 4-H Assistant, which Ms. Devers said is not set in stone, but is simply a starting point.  Joel understands that the county will advertise for the position if it is the Board’s intention to proceed with funding the position, and he would like to review the applications, as would Patty Brewer.  He felt that he may not be available for the interviews but that Patty should be involved.

 

Ms. Devers also reported that Tamra Hooper with the Conservation Trust Fund notified her that the services of an engineer and surveyor, as well as the cost of building the lift station at the fairgrounds, are eligible expenses related to the improvement of the facilities.

 

Information from Wagner Equipment on several pieces of equipment was reviewed, and Mr. Burgess explained that the tracks on the 1995 D6H dozer in District One are worn out and the undercarriage is damaged, and that it would cost a little more than $33,000 to fix it.  They have decided to trade it in on a 2003 Caterpillar D6R with a thousand hours on it for $158,825; trade-in value of $52,500, and Districts One and Two will divide the purchase.  He added that District One will need approximately $28,000 more and that they intend to set it up on a two-year payment plan.

 

As for equipment in District Three, the intention is to trade in a 2000 938G loader with 5,570 hours on it for a 2008 950H loader and a 2005 446D backhoe loader with a bucket.  Mr. Burgess stated that they will receive a much better interest rate by purchasing the equipment all at one time.

 

Mr. Burgess made a motion to purchase the above-mentioned equipment for all three road districts from Wagner Equipment Company, as presented.  Mr. Beedy seconded the motion, which carried unanimously.

 

A call was placed to Chris Monks to ask when the county would take ownership of the equipment, and he said the first payment would be due on June 15, 2010, but that they would go ahead and pick up the equipment this year.

 

Scott Ravenkamp called to inform the Board that the afternoon of November 5 will be the best time for everyone to meet at the Stewards of the Range conference, and shortly thereafter, Ken Morrison brought the commissioners an agenda for the meeting.

 

Ms. Devers continued with her report, stating that Tonda Scott’s supervisor, Tsering Dorjee, is willing to help in the process of hiring a new Public Health Director, and asked the commissioners if they wanted her to sit in on the interviews, which they agreed would be beneficial.

 

Ms. Devers also provided a draft job description for the Road & Bridge supervisor, which the Board reviewed.  New salaries and steps were set up to accommodate the new level on the pay scale.

 

When Mr. Lyons called for old business, Mr. Burgess said he’d received a phone call from Paul Jenkins regarding the World War II re-enactment recently held down south.  Mr. Lyons said he didn’t know what could be done, and Mr. Beedy said there were no county ordinances and it may not be worth trying to adopt something for an event that only happened occasionally and didn’t last more than a couple of days.

 

Mr. Burgess also said that Tony Wernsman had taken a soil sample for the bridge at Thompsons’.

 

As for new business, Mr. Beedy said that David Seymour wants to replace the first bridge on the bridge report with two six foot tubes, which will cost $8,750.  He asked where the money would be taken from, and it was decided that it should come from the bridge fund.

 

Ms. Devers presented a copy of a letter to Shawn Jeffrey from Extension Director Linda Yoder, addressing misconduct and behavior at the 2009 county fair, as well as a sportsmanship handout for youth and spectators.

 

Mr. Burgess also presented a radon check report for the annex that he had received from Ms. Yoder.

 

The Board reviewed a letter from Lauer, Szabo & Associates, PC, thanking the county for the request that they submit a proposal for auditing the county records, but respectfully declining the offer, as they are simply too busy at this time. 

 

An engagement letter from RFarmer, LLC for the audit of Lincoln County’s financial records was reviewed, as well as an annual program paper from the Colorado Division of Emergency Management, which needed Mr. Lyons’ signature.

 

Ms. Devers said that Pat McHone was requesting that she be allowed to work a four-day week, since she has been putting in overtime on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, which are WIC days.  The Board felt that decision would be up to the new Public Health Director and Mr. Beedy made a motion to deny the request.  Mr. Burgess seconded the motion, which carried unanimously.

 

Mr. Burgess informed the others that Chaffee County has some used snow plows that they would like to sell for $1,500 each.  He felt they should have one on hand, but didn’t think that District One should have to pay for it.  The others agreed to the purchase and that the money should come from the District Four budget.  He also said that the posthole digger in District Two was no longer working, so they would need to get a new one, which may run about $2,600.

 

A letter from the State Board of Equalization regarding a notice of public hearing was reviewed, and then Mr. Lyons called for the County Attorney’s report.

 

Mr. Kimble said that the only thing he had to discuss was the WWII complaint, and that he had found no information other than that which he had provided at the last meeting.  He did say that the county could adopt an ordinance preventing and suppressing riots or disturbances in public and private places, but most information in state statute addresses commercial or industrial areas when concerning noise complaints.

 

A phone call was placed to Paul Jenkins to let him know the county really had no ordinances to cover the problem, and asked him who owned the property where the re-enactment took place.  Mr. Jenkins said they had permission from Barry Seymour and that it had occurred on the Brett Gray Ranch and the old Joe Jenkins place.

After they were finished speaking with Mr. Jenkins, Mr. Beedy suggested contacting the property owners and requesting that they make sure the re-enactment is confined to private property.

 

The decision was made to call Barry Seymour, who told the Board that the group would not be given permission to use the property again, and one of their spokesmen told him that there had been too many problems so they would not attempt to hold the re-enactment again.

 

Another call was placed to Paul Jenkins to let him know what the Board had learned.

 

The Board reviewed a letter from Stan Kimble to the Lincoln County Assessor, informing her that it was his determination that ACS Computer Systems would be required to perform the services associated with the tax roll and tax notices for 2009, according to their rental agreement.

 

After discussing the County Attorney contract renewal for 2010, Mr. Burgess made a motion to renew County Attorney Stan Kimble’s contract for 2010.  Mr. Beedy seconded the motion, which carried unanimously. 

 

Social Services Director Colette Barksdale met briefly with the Board to inform them that they will be requested to vote on the committee proposal regarding social services departments reverting back to state management at CCI, but she was asked to get an informal opinion prior to that.  She believes that the governor will not accept the proposal and will ask for legislation instead, since the topic is so controversial.  Ms. Barksdale explained that fifty-three counties would be back under the state’s control, whereas the big ten counties would stay under local control, and many parties were disgruntled with the fact that they were not all being treated in the same manner.  Mr. Burgess put in that those remaining counties would be strictly monitored, and if they did not follow the laws and rules, then they, too, would go back under state control. 

 

Mr. Beedy said that CCI does allow counties to split their vote, and his opinion was the same as that of Mr. Lyons’; they are not in favor of the state taking over any other programs.  Mr. Burgess disagreed and said he would vote in favor of DSS being administered by the state again.  He added that he did let them know that he felt everyone should be treated the same way. 

 

Ms. Barksdale said that her belief is that the governor will ask for a study of some kind.

 

The Board then worked on the 2010 budget and Mr. Burgess asked if they all felt that giving cost of living raises to the employees would be feasible.  Ms. Devers said the county does have a healthy fund balance at this time.

 

The Board agreed that they wanted to fund the 4-H Assistant position as a full time position, agreeing that there would be no part-time help, even during the fair.

 

Regarding the request for part-time help in the RSVP department, Mr. Burgess said that if Kit Carson County doesn’t agree to fund half of the position, he didn’t feel that Lincoln County could either.

 

The request for a laptop computer for the Library fund was approved and the money for fairgrounds improvements was left in the Conservation Trust Fund at this time.  The Board will continue to think about a different vehicle for the coroner, and hiring a person for the Emergency Preparedness Response position was discussed.  They are still waiting for a job description.

 

Mr. Beedy’s final comment was that he felt they need to keep an accurate accounting of the budget for future boards of commissioners, and that they should not continue to carry over unexpended funds in the current year’s budget to be spent the following year, like they have been doing.

 

With no further business to come before the Board, the meeting was adjourned until 9:00 a.m. on October 29, 2009.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

_________________________________________           _______________________________

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