Monday, February 28, 2011

Riley County Commission Feb. 28, 2011

Joan Strickler, observer

All Commissioners present, McCulloh presiding.

Commissioners agreed to allow the Court Appointed Special Advocate group (CASA) to place a pinwheel display at the Courthouse Plaza on April l in recognition of child abuse prevention awareness. The display must be removed after one day.

Commissioners heard a report on the housing market in the County. The overall market has remained flat in that it has varied little from last year. While most home sales are in the $159,000 to $187,000 range, there has been an increase in sales of houses priced in the $200,000 to $275,000 range. Real estate valuation notices have been mailed and 57% of the evaluations remain within $100 of the previous year. While comparable sales data of houses is normally accessed only by subscribers to the County’s on-line appraisal information system, during the period of February 18th to March 21st anyone can access the information either online or by going to the County Appraiser’s office. Property data can be accessed through the County’s website at: www.rileycountyks.gov/parcel. To access individual properties’ sales go to: E-Gov Services>On-line Appraisal Data and log-in. The temporary User Name is informal and Password appeal.

The Riley County Police reported a large number of accidents occurred during the snow on Thursday. Planning currently is underway to deal with problems that arise during the Fake St. Pat’s Day celebration. All personnel will be on duty and additional inspectors are being brought in. Officers will be prepared to shut down streets if necessary. Last year cars were parked all over City Park. Plans are to rope off non parking areas and to tow cars in violation of parking restrictions. The event results in heavy drinking and draws many people from areas well beyond the Manhattan area.

County Counselor Clancy Holeman reported HB 2294, which would place heavy restrictions on a city’s annexation abilities, has passed the House and is now in the Senate. The Commissioners expressed concern about the potential impact of the bill.

Planning/Special Projects Director Monty Wedel asked the Commissioners if they wish to consider developing a Building Codes Implementation Plan for the County. Concerns have been expressed about poorly constructed properties sometimes causing dangerous situations in rural areas. Such a plan would require hiring or contracting with someone to perform the inspections. Commissioners agreed that such protections are needed and asked Wedel to develop some proposals for consideration.

Public Works Director Leon Hobson called attention to brick deterioration in front of the County Courthouse. He is worried that someone could trip and fall. Commissioners asked him to come back with options to consider in making repairs.

Friday, February 25, 2011

Health Board

THE RILEY COUNTY-MANHATTAN BOARD OF HEALTH
February 23, 2011
Observer Report

Condensed report of the January meeting gleaned from the minutes.

I was unable to attend the January Board meeting because of the weather.
However, I’d like to include some information from the minutes of that meeting in
this report. Dr. James D. Gardner spoke about the continuing need for prevention
of smoking in young people. The Board approved continuing this effort despite the loss
of the tobacco grant money.
Two new members have been appointed to the Board. Barbara Sollner will
take the nursing position and Dr. Rick Fulton will represent the dentists. The officers
for this year will be the same as last year: Brady Burton as President, Dr. Paul Hesse as
Vice President, and Doug Finney as Treasurer.
Charles Murphy, Administrator reported that a case of cholera had been confirmed
in a person recently returned from Haiti and that head lice had been reported in the schools
and was believed to be under control. Mr. Murphy also reported that the city has decided to
keep the grease trap management program with the public works department. (See previous
reports for background).
Mr. Murphy, concerned that the Health Department would be unable to enforce the
their food service code without a local ordinance giving them that authority, passed
out two examples of food codes adopted by other cities. The Board wondered if a local
code would be a duplication of services since the State is also doing food service inspections.
Mr. Murphy stated that one state inspection is insufficient to protect the public from unsafe
conditions in food establishments in the City and County and was the reason local inspection
was sought and given to the Department by the City. Further discussion produced the request
to have the Kansas Department of Agriculture send someone to explain the state inspection
program to the Board.
Lastly, the Board considered accepting Medicaid patients in the Primary Clinic at
the Health Department and directed the administration to seek the possibility of including Medicaid patients.


Actually Observed Report of February Health Board Meeting.

Charles Murphy, Department Administrator, reported that next year’s funding appears to be at risk as the State Budget may potentially remove all Family Planning funds, the remaining County Inspector for sanitary code enforcement funds, and 28% cuts to Emergency Preparation funds. The only remaining State funds, called Formula Funds, are also being considered for reduction. This will necessitate starting the budgeting discussions later than normally and until things are more clear.
Deb Nuss reported that the Administrative Evaluation and Job Description Committee had met and are working on a draft description of a plan for hiring a replacement for Mr. Murphy. She expected it to be ready for the March meeting.
There was no report from any supervisory departments. Karen McCulloh requested that this plan be continued for the benefit of the education of the Board members.
Discussion of the proposal for a Manhattan Food Service Code was next on the agenda. The planned meeting with the Department of Agriculture concerning their food service inspection program did not materialize. It was decided to request their
appearance again. There was some suggestion that there was some anxiety involved in the decision not to appear so Dr. Hesse suggested that some specific questions be developed to help them understand why the Board wanted to hear them. Discussion continued with some disagreement between Mr. Murphy and Lauren Palmer, Assistant City Manager and member of the Board, as to the need for a local ordinance. Deb Nuss, who represents the County on the Board, noted that the whole issue began when the Board and the City felt that food service inspections in Manhattan and Riley County should be held to a higher standard. This issue had been complicated by the grease trap issue which has now been resolved. The Board decided that they still needed to hear from the Department of Agriculture before determining any action.
The Board then went into executive session which lasted until 2:00 PM so the Board decided to table the rest of the agenda until March due to the hour.

Sue Cohen, Observer

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Riley County Commission Feb. 24, 2011

Joan Strickler, observer

Commissioners McCulloh and Johnson present, McCulloh presiding. Commissioner Lewis was representing the County at an event in Topeka.

Register of Deeds Debra Regester reported revenue figures are up for the County. Total year-to-date revenue for 2011 is $136,660 over the 2010 figures which amounted to $100,570. Mortgage registrations this year total $42,877,372 compared to $31,541,843 last year. Seven mortgages are over the $1 million amount. These include plans for construction/renovation of one sorority house, a managed care facility and the rest are apartments. Estimated 2011 revenue to the County now stands at $756,000.

Robert Nall, Information Technology Director, said he is crunching numbers to come up with estimates of what it would cost to integrate the Health Department’s information technology system into the County system. Due to equipment differences and the Department’s requirements in dealing with medical data, it might take five years to complete the process. Commissioner McCulloh said, since the current director of the Health Department is retiring, it would be wise to have the new director involved in any planning process.

County Counselor Clancy Holeman discussed bills proposed in the Legislature affecting counties. SB 40 would allow counties to avoid the delay of the competitive bid process when dealing with emergency repairs. That bill will be heard in a House committee next week. SB 207, which would allow counties to accept credit card transactions, has been pulled at the request of the League of Kansas Municipalities. It is hoped the agreement to pull the bill for this year will give time to work out agreements to allow passage next year. HB 2294 has cities up in arms. It would require the approval of the local county prior to a city initiating an annexation process. A bill concerning restrictions on sexually oriented businesses continues to cause concern in terms of the impact on counties. It appears any amendments to that measure will have to be dealt with in the Senate.

There are concerns that funds may be cut or eliminated for county health departments to conduct sanitary code inspections. It was felt the inspections need to be conducted in a timely fashion, something that could not be expected if performed by a handful of inspectors traveling from Topeka to cover the State. Commissioner McCulloh was particularly concerned about the impact on real estate. Such inspections are required to complete building code requirements and could negatively impact building activity.

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Riley County Commission mtg 2-17-11

All Commissioners present. After routine business, Clancy Holeman Discussed allowing beer at the Rodeo at the County Fair.Current Resolution prohibits consumption, possession or sale of any alcohol in CiCo park. The revised resolution suggested would allow beer only, for three hours, three days in a year,i.e. during the Kaw Valley Rodeo and only in the arena area. The vendor would be responsible for insurance and agree to "indemnity and hold harmless" for County.The agreement would be for only one year, cancellable annually. Consensus was to accept the change on a trial basis for one year. In other business, Holeman said Senator Reitz will introduce a bill to allow Counties to have the same authorities as Cities to accept credit card payment for services. The House bill concerning sexually oriented businesses would possibly pre-empt local authority, which some oppose. Farm Bureau will not pursue legislation this year in regard to soil erosion oversight of County Commissions. The Commission does not to judge matters they are not expert about. This portion of the law may be dealt with.
Jennifer Wilson, County Extension, discussed the Take Charge Energy Challenge. Manhattan and 16 other Kansas towns will compete (friendlily) to save the most energy. The competition between Manhattan/KSU and Lawrence/KU will run simultaneously. This latter runs through September. Westar will measure wattage use between the two cities. The winner will receive a prize of $100,000 (half to city, half to University). Wilson mentioned four ways to save energy: 1) have a home energy audit (currently $100, as against the usual $300-800), 2) change light bulbs to compact fluorescents, 3) enroll in Westar Enegy program (described in MERCURY), 4) attend a Take Charge event. There will be booths at Garden Show and Home Show.
Brad Schoen, Director, RCPD, said the PD had changed insurance coverage to Sunflower Insurance Group recently and saved $60,000. The insurance company would like to discuss division of responsibility for facilities between RCPD and the County. There are various issues of liability. (Police departments have high liability.) Commission said the insurance company should start discussions with Rich Vargo, County Clerk, and probably consult Johnette Shepek, Budget and Finance Officer, Clancy Holeman, County Counselor, and Leon Hobson, County Engineer, in charge of facilities. Schoen inquired if County was at all interested in joining a pool for self-insurance for Workers Compensation. PD recently lost coverage when the insurer became financially unsound. They have interim coverage, but since City is already self-insured, Schoen felt he should propose the possibility of City, County and PD to form a large pool and self-insure. Commissioners agreed by consensus to look into the matter. Schoen reported a recent low crime rate, probably due to the cold weather. They have already begun to make plans for police activity during "Fake Paddy's Day" which will probably attract many many drinkers from all over Kansas and beyond. They will continue to handle the crowds in more-or-less friendly manner this year i.e., no fencing, gates, closing off Aggieville, etc. If things get out of control, they will have many officers, including detectives patroling. Next year if they feel it necessary they might try the "ton of bricks" approach. Schoen commented that he was told of an Irishman who came with a family from Omaha last year and commented "You guys sure do drink a lot of beer."When asked, Schoen said PD could handle beer at the Rodeo just fine. Rodeo security (with whom he has consulted) is confident of their ability to control it.
Eileen King, Teasurer, gave monthly report. Year to date investment and interest income is at 12.26% of budget: $24,521.55. She receives 1.05% rate on CDs (more than other counties). November sales tax collections were $21,573.19 higher than November 2009. In calendar year 2010 there were 70,590 motor vehicle transactions. There are more than 50,000 vehicles registered in Riley County.
Leon Hobson, Public Works Director/County Engineer, conducted a work session on University Park water and sewer district rate increases. There were no representatives of University Park present. The last raise in rates was in December 2004. Hobson apologized for not seeing into the future at that time that rates would need virtually annual increases. Capital outlays were very heavy in the last few year, because of aging infrastructure. The capital reserve fund is depleted. Even fixed expenses have steadily increased. All portions of the charges will be increased in the proposal Hobson brought to Commission. There was consensus that the increases were necessary and not unreasonable. Hobson will go forward with implementing the changes. Commission will take no formal action on rates until Clancy Holeman draws up a Resolution to be discussed on Thuirsday, Feb 24. (NO MEETING ON MONDAY FEB 21--Presidents Day.) Adjourned. Submitted by Lyndal Nyberg

USD 383 Board of Education

Feb. 16, 2011
Kathy Dzewaltowski, observer

Regular meeting:
Dr. Bob Shannon, Superintendent, reported to the board that 512 teachers had signed the negotiated contract and 12 had not. The twelve who did not sign will be working from the 2009 contract.

Carol Adams, Exec. Dir. of Teaching and Learning, reported that the professional development school partnership that the district has with KSU to prepare future teachers (i.e. the student teacher program) had been recognized with the 2011 NAPDS Award for Exemplary Professional Development School Achievement.

The board approved 7-0 a contract with Gould Evans, the architectural firm that designed the MHS construction project, to help with the selection and layout of new furniture for MHS. The board also approved 7-0 the construction documents for Bluemont Elementary. In other construction news, board members expressed concerns about the project at Lee Elementary being behind schedule. A representative of Ferrell Construction, the contractor working on Lee, addressed the board and said they have had weather delays and delays getting permits from the city to account for some of the time lost, and the crew is working hard to catch up.

The board discussed options for making up school days lost to inclement weather. Administration had developed options that included adding 14 min. to the school day for all grade levels, a combination of having school on a professional development day and adding 7 min., and the option of adding 14 min. to the school day only for grades K-8 because the high school already has a longer day and doesn't need to make up any minutes. The last option would create additional problems with transportation schedules. The current school calendar includes May 31 and June 1 as optional make-up days, but the district already has contracts for asbestos abatement projects to begin on Memorial Day. Members of the public addressed the board and expressed preferences for using the scheduled make-up days of May 31 and June 1 over adding minutes because the current school day is already 10 min. longer than past years and because adding an additional 14 min. would make the school day very long for younger elementary students. Pete Paukstelis and Doug Messer agreed with the comments but said they didn't want to delay any construction projects and preferred adding minutes to the school day. Curt Herrman didn't want to add minutes to the high school schedule and said the high school shouldn't be penalized just because the other schools are short on minutes. The board approved 6-1 to add 14 min. to the school day for grades K-12, with Herrman dissenting.

Monday, February 14, 2011

Riley County Commission mtg 2-14-11

All Commissioners present. Rich Vargo gave Year to Date Budget and Expenditure reports. Overall spending is well under control. He commented that the new professional health management organization contracted by the County is already proving its worth in managing health services to jail inmates.
Cameramen from Channels 13 and 27 (Topeka) arrived and began setting up for the big news to come.
Chris Welchhans, GIS Director, reported on his department's activities. They added only one new subdivision; They have updated center-line roads. aTa Bus starts tomorrow (2-15). At a meeting with Township officers, someone suggested they would like individual maps of townships for the graders. Welchhans complimented the person on an excellent idea and they will now provide such maps on PDS access.
Leon Hobson announced what had already been covered in the MERCURY, that the completion of the K-18 project (last phase, Wildcat Creek Road to Scenic Drive) is one of the first three projects now to be immediately done. Work can probably begin by April. The other three projects in preferred status are I-435/69 interchange in Overland Park and work on US 50 in Reno County.
Gregg Eyestone said the Manhattan Area Garden Show is Feb 26-27 at Pottorff Hall. They will have ten seminars on garden interests, give away free gardening gloves, sell plants, and have a silent auction that ends at 3:00 on Sunday.
Andrea FeldKamp, 4-H Extension Specialist, announced that Wildcat 4-H Club has been selected to receive a $2,500 award from Monsanto--America's Farmers Grow Communities. The Club will use the funds to contribute to their local community, Keats. Ceremony is tonight at Keats United Methodist Church in Keats.
Rich Vargo discussed the election on April 5. No primary is necessary. Advance voting by mail begins March 6. In-peerson advance voting voting begins March 22 and closes noon April 4.
Ms McCulloh and Jennifer Wilson, Extension, proclaimed America Saves Week. Focus this year if on saving. Theme:Is your lunch eating your lunch? They encourage brown-bagging once a wk and depositing what is saved in a bank account.
About 30 people had arrived to witness the important event of the day: proclamation of today (2-14-11) as Jordy Nelson Day. This event will undoubtedly be shown on Channels 13 and 27 tonight. Much applause. Nelson briefly spokethanking Commission and people who had helped him. A long line of autograph seekers was accommodated in the adjoining room.
Mary Jo Harbour, President of the Board of RC Council on Aging, reported on the meals provided in Riley County. Each of the cities in RC has a program for seniors, some only once a week, others every day. Between 14 and 30 eat at the Manhattan Senior Center every day. between 100 and 125 meals are delivered to seniors in their homes every day. They have a good cook, who works hard in spite of low pay. They need drivers to deliver the meals. CHANCE TO VOLUNTEER! Call 587-2462.
Leon Hobson updated Commission on projects.The natural gas backup generator system for IT has been tested and works well. Maximum delay would be 10 seconds.
Clancy Holeman discussed two Legislative issues and the petition to rescind the City's amendment of the Civil Rights (discrimination) policy. His office is charged legally with checking such petitions for legality of wording and format.
Cheryl Collins, Historical Museum, said the sesquicentennial celebration of Kansas Statehood continues. There will be broadcasts on local radio. She said that in 1917-18 there were 50,000 soldiers living mostly in tents at Ft Riley. It was a major training station. Young and healthy males were prime victims of the flu epidemic because of peculiar function of the immune system. Collins said Riley County has benefited a lot from the Kansas Arts Commission ($36,000 directly , much more indirectly last year). Travel and Tourism is moving from Commerce to Wildlife and Parks. This may not affect the promotion of Tourism very much. The State Historical Museum, after losing 40% of its staff last year,is now cut 5% more.
Dennis Peterson, Noxious Weed Director, gave his annual report (2010). Their ending balance was $11,970, which was returned to General Fund. Kansas has 12,355 acres with noxious weeds in them. The four worst weeds are musk thistle, bind weed, Johnson grass, and ceresus lesperis (sp?)Peterson said herbicides are tightly controlled. Any purchaser is listed with type of poison, where applied, and weed targeted. Commission approved his report (by law submitted to the State) 3-0.
In absence of Johnette Shepek, who is ill, Rich Vargo presided over discussion of the costs of consolidation of dispatch services. Among those consolidating are EMS, Rural Fire, City Fire and Police Department. Five alternative plans for paying for the consolidation were presented, mostly a question of percentage paid by City and County. County prefers 80/20, at least eventually. Everyone is in agreement that it must be done regardless of who pays. Representatives of the services were present. All are concerned that staffing for dispatch needs to increase to cover emergencies.
Adjourned. Submitted by Lyndal Nyberg

Monday, February 7, 2011

USD 383 Board of Education

Feb. 2, 2011
Kathy Dzewaltowski, observer

Regular meeting:
Dr. Bob Shannon, Superintendent, reported that the district has had 5 "snow days," which is 2 days more than the 3 days already built into the calendar. Administration will bring options to the next meeting regarding how the time can be made up.

Dr. Bob Seymour, Assoc. Supt., presented a report to the board on the district's mid-year enrollment. "Bricks and mortar" enrollment had increased by a net of 7 students, but enrollment was down 64 students when students enrolled in the virtual school program are included in totals. Some students only enroll for the first semester in the virtual program, and the state has also cracked down on truant virtual students, which accounted for some of the decrease in enrollment.

The board was presented with a report on the district's career and technical education program. Board members expressed interest in aligning middle school courses with high school courses, which could bring additional funds to the district and could be accomplished with existing staff.

Board members discussed dividing the director of maintenance and transportation position into two separate positions when the current director retires in June. Administration recommended eliminating the assistant transportation director position to help fund the salaries of two director positions. The board approved 7-0 to separate the director positions.

The board had a preliminary discussion of the budget. Gov. Brownback had proposed to reduce per pupil state funding by $75 for this year and reduce it by $157 next year. The reduction of $75 per pupil equates to a reduction of $562,000, and the reduction of $157 per pupil equates to $1.2 million for the district. Bruce Stiles, district budget director, said the district will have to examine several factors to determine the bottom line. The district's enrollment has increased, which will bring more per pupil funding to the district, and new facility weighting from the construction projects will also bring more funds to the district. However, increased enrollment means the district needs to hire more staff. Board members recommended to administration that the Budget Advisory Committee should be re-organized and begin meeting as soon as possible.

Board members were presented with a recommendation for summer 2011 programs. The recommendation was to keep the programs offered the same as summer 2010, which had been greatly reduced compared to other years due to budget constraints and construction projects making schools unusable. Programs that will be offered will include credit recovery, driver's education, and special education programs. Many of the programs will be funded by student fees or by grants.