Board of County Commissioners of Lincoln County  

Agenda for January 6, 2010

 

 

9:00 Call to order and Pledge of Allegiance

 

9:05 Public Health Director Marti Wooton to give her monthly report

 

9:30 Interview Kathy Kessler for the Emergency Preparedness Response Coordinator position

 

10:15 Interview Dawn Rine for the Emergency Preparedness Response Coordinator position

 

11:15 Mark Hefta with Hefta Group, Inc. to discuss tying the fairgrounds events building septic into the town of Hugo’s system

 

1:15 The Board will conduct a hearing on the supplemental appropriation to the 2009 Hospital Fund budget

 

2:00 The Board will conduct a phone conference with Sean McGinnis, manager of Buffalo Peaks Enterprises, concerning a Petition for Abatement or Refund of Taxes for their client Paragon Financial Investors, LLC

 

 

 

1.      Approve additional expense vouchers

2.      Approve the minutes from the December 31, 2009 meeting

3.      Review a notice from the First National Bank of Hugo concerning procedural changes in the processing and receiving of direct deposit files

4.      Review the December 2009 report from the Sheriff’s Office

5.      Review comments from Viaero Wireless concerning proposed changes to the emergency 9-1-1 services for emergency telecommunications service providers

6.      County Commissioners’ reports

7.      County Administrator’s report

8.      County Attorney’s report

9.      Old business

10.  New business

     

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Board of Lincoln County Commissioners met at 9:00 a.m. on January 6, 2010.  The following attended:  Chairman Ted Lyons, Commissioners Steve Burgess and Gary Beedy, County Administrator Roxie Devers and Clerk to the Board Corinne M. Lengel.  County Attorney Stan Kimble and Kay Christie with The Limon Leader and the Eastern Colorado Plainsman attended in the afternoon.

 

Chairman Lyons called the meeting to order and led the Pledge of Allegiance, and then Public Health Director Marti Wooton met with the Board to give a monthly report.  She discussed several meetings and trainings she plans to attend, as well as progress she has made familiarizing herself with documents and files in her office.  She went on to mention several new program possibilities within the department, as well as a contract she received from Regis University regarding hosting students from Regis for training purposes.  Ms. Wooton didn’t feel comfortable signing the contract, so the Board said they would show it to Mr. Kimble later in the day.  Mr. Beedy did comment that it might be a good way to peek interest in rural areas, if Ms. Wooton felt like she had the time to monitor the students.  However, she wouldn’t want to be spending all of her time doing that.

 

Ms. Wooton asked about the immunization issue, stating that she had found where the county website shows that Lincoln County offers immunizations for adolescents up through adults, and provided a copy of the page she was referring to.  She asked if PMC and Gorden Clinic have the program where immunizations are given to infants and toddlers.  Mr. Beedy said that the reason many residents take their kids to the Public Health office is because it is so much cheaper there, even with insurance coverage.   Ms. Wooton said that since there is also an RN in Karval, if it were acceptable to the commissioners, she might possibly be able to supervise her in giving shots to the younger children.  Mr. Lyons said he had not yet had the opportunity to speak with Mr. Schreivogel about the problem, but would do so.

 

At 9:30 a.m., Kathie Kessler was interviewed for the Emergency Preparedness Response Coordinator position.  Mark Morrison with Lincoln Community Hospital and Public Health Director Marti Wooton also attended the interview.

 

Although Ms. Kessler had no experience with grant writing, nor was she NIMS or ICS certified, she felt that it would not be an issue to learn or to be trained, and sited her greatest strengths as being a leader who is well organized, proficient with forms and computers, and has an excellent work ethic.  She also commented on her ability to give inoculations as an LPN and felt the position was made for her, as she has the skills and time to devote to the job.

 

Further discussion included travel time and meeting attendance, salary and benefits, and an estimated start date should Ms. Kessler be offered the job.  The Board let her know they would try to make a decision later in the day and will contact her as soon as they do so.

 

At 10:15 a.m., Dawn Rine was interviewed for the Emergency Preparedness Response Coordinator position.  When asked why she was interested in this particular job, Ms. Rine said she was particularly interested to the administrative portion as she has been involved with emergency preparedness and response for the past five years.  She has some experience with EMS grants, RFPs and other administrative paperwork, but has not actually written grants herself.  She has some NIMS certification, but Mr. Morrison wasn’t sure if the classes she had taken in Connecticut were compatible to Colorado certification.  She added that she also has experience working with various agencies to pre-plan for emergencies that might arise.

 

Ms. Rine said the only familiarity she has with Public Health is that she worked with group homes in regard to infectious diseases, but she didn’t have any extensive knowledge of the department.

 

Ms. Rine was also asked if she could give vaccinations, which she cannot, and if she would have a problem working with large groups of people.  She said that would not be an issue, and when asked if she considers herself a leader or a follower, Ms. Rine responded that it depends on the situation.  If she is knowledgeable or confident with the content of the material, she is quite capable of being a leader.  On the other hand, if she is in training or learning from someone else, she has no problem stepping back and letting someone else take the lead.

 

Information regarding benefits, flexible hours, travel and meeting attendance was discussed and Ms. Wooton asked if Ms. Rine had any experience in developing an All Hazard Plan.  Ms. Rine said she had never had the lead role, but that she has been on committees and been involved with groups that developed them.

 

The Board thanked Ms. Rine and told her they would make a decision later today.

 

Additional expense vouchers for the month of December, 2009 were approved, and then Mr. Burgess said he had not yet found anyone interested in being a member of the Tourism Board, as Jodi Schifferns has resigned.

 

He also commented that he’d spoken with Kit Carson County Commissioner Jim Gwyn about the tower at Cedar Point, and since Sheriff Nestor was unavailable, Ms. Devers said she would have him meet with the Board on January 12 to discuss it further.

 

At the department head meeting on January 5, County Treasurer Jim Covington requested that the courthouse obtain a mail box, as the Hugo post office will not put mail addressed to 103 3rd Avenue in a post office box, and several important foreclosure or release papers have not been delivered to him because of that.  Mr. Burgess commented that the county would probably have to pay for a mail box if the post office will deliver the mail to it, and Ms. Devers said she would speak with Linda Ashmore about it when she goes to the post office.

 

At 11:15 a.m., Mark Hefta with Hefta Group, Inc., met with the Board to discuss tying the fairgrounds events building septic into the town’s system.  Fairgrounds manager Mike Mosher and Chris Monks attended as well.  Mr. Lyons said he’d spoken to Travis Miller with CDOT about a survey, and the state had already done one.

 

Mr. Beedy explained that they would need to try and keep the cost down as much as they could, but that the property owners would like for the new line to be kept as far to the south of their properties as possible.

 

Mr. Hefta said he would try to put together a preliminary layout and then they will meet again and discuss it.  Mr. Lyons told him the existing manhole needs to be either rebuilt or replaced, so that cost would also need to be added into his estimate.  Mark felt it would probably be cheaper to replace it with a pre-cast manhole.  Mr. Lyons and Mike Mosher also commented that there is a private water line and some fiber optic cables along the west side of the fairgrounds property that they will need to be aware of and Mr. Hefta responded that he would be sure to locate all the utilities.  It would also be helpful if he had some soil samples, which he may be able to get from W.W. Enterprises or CDOT, and he said that the biggest issue is finding out where the groundwater is, and that it may be cheapest to use some casing on the pipe and a directional bore since there is quite a bit of water underground out there. 

 

Discussion also included removing the current septic system, the most likely path to take across the creek, adding an additional manhole upstream of the lift station for future expansion if necessary, and whether or not the county will do a lot of the actual labor.  Mr. Hefta did inform the Board that the Department of Health now charges a $1,935 site application review fee and a $1,200 design review fee, which were not included in his original estimate.

 

After discussing the fact that the GOCO grant application is due March 1 and that the funding can only be used for actual construction, not engineering costs, Mr. Burgess made a motion to sign a contract with Hefta Group, Inc. in the amount of $36,635 for engineering costs on the fairgrounds sewer line project.  Mr. Beedy seconded the motion, which carried unanimously.

 

Chris Monks stayed to discuss the purchase of a slide-in sander and said he’d found an advertisement for a 1996 International truck that had the slide-in sander with it for $30,000.   The truck is a four-wheel drive with seventy-one thousand miles on it, and Chris said he’d priced the sanders alone, which are anywhere from eight-to-ten thousand dollars.  He did ask that Chris inspect the truck and sander to make sure it is operational before buying it.

 

Mr. Burgess made a motion to purchase a 1996 International truck with a slide-in sander for $30,000, upon inspection and approval by Chris Monks.  Mr. Beedy seconded the motion, which carried unanimously.

 

Mr. Burgess had purchased five sets of keys for the breaker box and gate at the county shop, as Ms. Barksdale had said at the previous day’s department head meeting that her employees have to go to the office every time they want to get gas at the shop, which is why they charge at Farm Gas sometimes.  Mr. Monks suggested that he let Ms. Barksdale know those new keys should stay on the county vehicle key rings, as he didn’t want to have to worry about having so many keys floating around.

 

Mr. Burgess asked for a correction to the minutes from the meeting held on December 31, 2009, and after changing, “didn’t feel comfortable committing to an amount,” to “thought that the projected amount could be approximately $20,000”, Mr. Burgess made a motion to approve the minutes, as amended.  Mr. Beedy seconded the motion, which carried unanimously.

 

At 1:15 p.m., the Board conducted a hearing on the supplemental appropriation to the 2009 Hospital Fund Budget.  Herman Schreivogel was in attendance at the time to discuss the matter of the EPR Coordinator position.

 

Mr. Beedy made a motion to adopt a resolution approving a $650,000 supplemental appropriation to the 2009 Hospital Fund budget.  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 January 6, 2010 there were present:

 

                        Ted Lyons, Chairman                                                               Present

                        Steve Burgess, Vice Chairman                                                  Present

                        Gary A. Beedy, Commissioner                                      Present

                        Stan Kimble, County Attorney                                                  Present

                        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 #744             It was moved by Commissioner Beedy and seconded by Commissioner Burgess to propose the following resolution:                                         

 

            WHEREAS, C.R.S. 29-1-109 (1) (b) allows supplementary budget appropriations by the governing body when unanticipated revenues not assured at the time of the adoption of the budget are received from any source other than the local government's property tax mill levy; and

 

            WHEREAS, funds of $650,000 were received as increased general operating revenues from utilization of Lincoln Community Hospital; and

 

            WHEREAS, these funds were used to pay general operating expenses of $650,000; and

                                

            WHEREAS, this income was not anticipated at the time of the preparation of the 2009 budget; and

 

            WHEREAS, whatever increases were made in the expenditures, like increases were added to the revenue so the budget remains in balance as required by law;

 

            NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED by the Board of County Commissioners of Lincoln County that $650,000 be appropriated into the 2009 Lincoln Community Hospital Fund budget;

 

            BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the 2009 Lincoln Community Hospital Fund budget be increased by $650,000, thus making the total Lincoln Community Hospital Fund budget $11,259,500.

 

Upon roll call the vote was:

 

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

 

After discussing the hiring of Kathie Kessler for the EPR Coordinator position and what salary to offer her, the decision was made to offer eighteen dollars per hour with a performance review on July 1, 2010.  Ms. Devers said they will have to draw up a contract with her and the hourly rate will be split evenly between the hospital and the county.

 

A call was placed to Ms. Kessler, who accepted the job offer and the terms of the contract.  She will start work on January 25, 2010, will work a forty-hour work week, and will be paid eighteen dollars per hour with full county benefits.

 

The Board reviewed a notice from the First National Bank of Hugo concerning procedural changes in the processing and receiving of direct deposit files beginning February 1, 2010.  Ms. Lengel said her office had received the notice in mid-December, but had chosen to finish out the year using the other procedure.  She felt that it was unprofessional of the bank to demand the change without first discussing it with the county, stating that she did not believe there is an internet site in the world that is one hundred percent secure, and was uncomfortable with sending personal payroll files via e-mail.  Ms. Lengel also felt that it would be more time-consuming for her department to make sure the files had been received by the bank, and also didn’t like the fact that there was no mention in the letter of a back-up plan should the internet provider go down or the files not get to the bank for any other reason because of electrical or computer problems.  She said she simply wanted the Board to be aware of the change in the event something should happen to employee payroll.

 

The Board reviewed the December, 2009 reports from the Sheriff and the County Treasurer, as well as comments from Viaero Wireless concerning proposed changes to the emergency 911 services for emergency telecommunications service providers.

 

Mr. Burgess reported attending the department head meeting on January 5.  He also received another letter regarding the terminated employee, which he gave to Ms. Devers.  He also gave a copy to Stan Kimble and said that they must respond by February 1, 2010.  Mr. Burgess said he’d also spoken with Linda Ashmore at the Hugo post office about putting a mail box at the courthouse for the delivery of street addressed mail, and he also talked to Kit Carson County Commissioner Dave Gwyn about the tower at Cedar Point.

 

Mr. Lyons reported speaking with Travis Miller about the state boundary lines along Highway 40/287 on the evening of December 31, and Mr. Beedy reported participating in a conference call over the lunch hour with the Strategic Allocation Committee in regard to the State Strategic Use Fund.

 

At 2:00 p.m., the Board conducted a phone conference with Sean McGinnis, manager of Buffalo Peaks Enterprises, concerning a Petition for Abatement or Refund of Taxes for their client, Paragon Financial Investors, LLC.  County Assessor Jeremiah Higgins and Chief Deputy Renita Thelen attended as well.  The conference was recorded and the tape is on file in the County Clerk’s vault.

 

Mr. McGinnis went over the content of the letter from Paragon Financial Investors, LLC to the assessor, stating that the property in question, 350 G Avenue, Limon, Colorado, was acquired by Paragon in the summer of 2008 by virtue of a deed in lieu of foreclosure.  They were basing their request for abatement on their opinion that the property was erroneously valued because, even though the building was originally constructed as a motel, it had been used for long term residential housing for the past several years.  The letter went on to state that they had spoken with the Lincoln County appraiser who explained that the property was classified as a residential use for the past several years, but due to the fact that the property was vacant and under renovation, it was re-classified as a commercial use for 2008.  Paragon contested the re-classification, as their argument was that the property use had not changed since Paragon acquired it.

 

Ms. Thelen then responded that because the property had been vacant for a year, the assessor was required to re-classify it as commercial property, since that was its original intended use and Colorado is a “use state.”  Mr. Higgins explained that “use state” means they are required to take the “highest and best use” of the property, which would be commercial.  Ms. Thelen recommended to the Board that the petition for abatement be denied.

 

Mr. Kimble interrupted by asking Ms. Thelen if property classification is based on statutory requirements or if it is just Lincoln County policy, to which Ms. Thelen replied that the assessor’s office is governed by state statute and according to law, since there was no residential activity at the property from January of 2007 until currently, they had to use the commercial classification.

 

Mr. Burgess made a motion to deny the Petition for Abatement or Refund of Taxes from Paragon Financial Investors, LLC for 2008 taxes on the property located at 350 G Avenue in Limon, Colorado.  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 January 6, 2010 there were present:

 

            Ted Lyons, Chairman                                                   Present

                        Steve Burgess, Vice Chairman                          Present

                        Gary A. Beedy, Commissioner                          Present

            Stan Kimble County Attorney                           Present

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

 

            WHEREAS, the Lincoln County Board of County Commissioners reviewed a Petition for Abatement or Refund of Taxes presented by Paragon Financial Investors, LLC for the 2008 property tax year, specifically for their property located at 350 G Avenue, Limon, CO; and

 

            WHEREAS, notice of this meeting and an opportunity to be present having been given to the taxpayer and the Assessor of said county and Assessor Jeremiah Higgins being present and petitioner Paragon Financial Investors, LLC not being present, but represented via phone conference by Sean McGinnis with Buffalo Peaks Enterprises, LLC; and

           

            WHEREAS, the Lincoln County Assessor’s recommendation is to deny the abatement/refund as follows since in January 2008 the subject property, a motel, was vacant and not eligible for the residential assessment rate because there was no residential use.

 

                                                            Tax Year 2008

 

                                                          Assessed Value                   Tax

            Original                                    $19,094                       $1,685.88

            Corrected                                 $19,094                       $1,685.88­­­­­­      

            Abate/Refund                           $    0.00                       $       0.00

 

WHEREAS, the said County Commissioners have carefully considered the within petition, and are fully advised in relation thereto;

 

            NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Board of County Commissioners of Lincoln County agrees with the recommendation of the Assessor and the petition is denied, with the assessed value remaining $19,094 and the taxes $1,685.88 for property tax year 2008. 

 

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 reported that she had stopped at the Hugo post office to inquire about the mail box for the courthouse, and Linda Ashmore told her that 103 3rd Avenue is not on a mail route, as they do not start until 109 3rd Avenue.  She also said that the county would need to fill out a form and go through the Denver office in order to get the courthouse onto a mail route and that it required a lot of paperwork.  Mr. Burgess said he would stop by and get the form, and Mr. Beedy commented that he felt the county should file a complaint against the post office.

 

Mr. Kimble’s report consisted of some information regarding the notice and letter received in the terminated employee case, and he felt it might be better discussed in executive session.  Mr. Burgess made a motion to go into executive session, per 24-6-402 (4) (b) C.R.S. to discuss possible pending litigation.  Mr. Beedy seconded the motion, which carried unanimously.  Those remaining for the session were Mr. Lyons, Mr. Burgess, Mr. Beedy, Mr. Kimble, Ms. Devers and Ms. Lengel.  The session was recorded and the tape is on file in the County Clerk’s vault.

 

After coming out of executive session, Mr. Kimble went on to say that he had reviewed the Nursing Affiliation Agreement between Regis University and Lincoln County Public Health and it appeared to be in order.  His only concern was that it was a five-year contract and they may want to add a “ninety-day opt-out” clause of some sort in the event the program didn’t work out.

 

Jim Breakey with Randall and Richards phoned the meeting room to discuss an unpaid bill by Lincoln Community Hospital.  Mr. Breakey said he was hired by Pitney Bowes to collect a bill for a maintenance contract on some equipment at the hospital and that Herman Schreivogel and offered a settlement of $10,000 on November 5, 2009.  According to Mr. Breakey, it took thirty days for Pitney Bowes to accept the settlement offer, but then only $5,000 was paid by the hospital on December 2, 2009. Mr. Breakey said he called Mr. Schreivogel and asked why he had only paid half, to which Mr. Schreivogel said he couldn’t pay the other half at that time.  Mr. Breakey said the original, signed, contract was for $22,735 and since Mr. Schreivogel will not return anymore of his phone calls, he did not know what else to do, which is why he called the commissioners.

 

Mr. Lyons informed Mr. Breakey that Mr. Schreivogel runs the hospital and that the commissioners do not review every contract that may be made there.  Mr. Breakey responded that Pitney Bowes can certainly litigate for the $22,735, plus cause, but that all they really wanted was the other $5,000 that was promised them.

 

Mr. Lyons said the Board would contact Mr. Schreivogel and discuss it with him and Mr. Breakey left his name and phone number and gave the Board until close of business on January 7 to call him back.

 

Since the Board also wanted to discuss the Regis contract with Mr. Schreivogel, Mr. Lyons called him to ask that he come back to the meeting.  While waiting, Mr. Burgess commented that his Verizon bill is again showing that the tax on his wife’s cell phone is being sent to Elbert County.

 

As for other new business, Ms. Devers said she’d received the contact information from the Limon Area Fire Protection District, as well as an Equitable Sharing Agreement and Certification form from the Department of Justice that required a signature.  Mr. Burgess made a motion to sign the Affidavit attached to the Agreement, and Mr. Beedy seconded the motion, which carried unanimously.

 

When Mr. Schreivogel joined the meeting he explained that they had pulled the contract on several copiers that Pitney Bowes had leased to them, as they had never once done any maintenance or service on them.  Mr. Schreivogel didn’t feel they should have to pay the full amount of the contract since Pitney Bowes had never done any work, so he had agreed to pay them $10,000.  Mr. Kimble asked if there was a written agreement for the $10,000, but Mr. Schreivogel said it had been verbal and that there had never been a date mentioned as to when it had to be paid by.  He had spoken with Mr. Breakey and told him the remainder would be paid by January 20, 2010, but Mr. Breakey had wanted the money sooner.  Mr. Schreivogel said he would overnight a check the following day but that it couldn’t be done today because the accountant was gone.

 

A phone call was placed to Jim Breakey again, and Mr. Lyons told him a check would be sent by overnight mail on Thursday, January 7, 2010.  When Mr. Breakey said he expected it to be there Friday morning, Mr. Beedy informed him that since Hugo is in such a rural area, the Board would not guarantee that.  It was decided that the air bill and a copy of the check would be faxed to Mr. Breakey to show that the check had been sent.

 

A brief discussion regarding the contract from Regis was held, but Mr. Schreivogel didn’t think it had anything to do with the hospital.

 

When James Adams with CTSI called the board room, Mr. Beedy made a motion to go back into executive session, per 24-6-402 (4) (b) C.R.S. to discuss possible pending litigation.  Mr. Burgess seconded the motion, which carried unanimously.  Again, those remaining for the session were Mr. Lyons, Mr. Burgess, Mr. Beedy, Mr. Kimble, Ms. Devers and Ms. Lengel.  The session was recorded and the tape is on file in the County Clerk’s vault.

 

After coming out of executive session, Mr. Burgess made a motion to go into executive session per 24-6-402 (4) (f) (I) C.R.S. to discuss a personnel issue of which the employee in question had been informed.  Mr. Beedy seconded the motion, which carried unanimously.  Those remaining for the session were Mr. Lyons, Mr. Burgess and Mr. Beedy.  The session was recorded and the tape is on file in the County Clerk’s vault.

After coming out of executive session, Mr. Burgess made a motion to accept the bid from Tri-Me Spraying for weed control chemicals for 2010.  Mr. Beedy seconded the motion, which carried unanimously.

 

Mr. Beedy said he was still having a problem with not being able to take the tax off of agricultural chemical sales and wondered what the recourse would be if the county was to go ahead and just stop collecting the county portion.

 

Ms. Lengel suggested putting it on the November ballot if there was any concern, as it shouldn’t cost as much as an off-year election since the ballot content will be quite large again.

 

Mr. Beedy also stated that his other concern is that if the county sales tax is removed from chemicals, there may be pressure to do so with all agricultural products.

 

Since there had been no word from Ojukwu Abiakam with CDOT regarding meeting with the commissioners about the bridges, Ms. Devers said she would send him another e-mail.

 

Mr. Burgess said that he had contacted Harold Yoder to see if he would still be a member of the Land Use Board and had been told that he would prefer not to.

 

Mr. Beedy asked what role the other commissioners saw the Weed Board playing in the county now that most of their work had been accomplished, and wondered if there was really a need for the board anymore.

 

With no further business to come before the Board, the meeting was adjourned until 9:00 a.m. on January 12, 2010.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

________________________________________                  _____________________________

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