Riley county Comission March 28, 2013

Joan Strickler, observer

 

All Commissioners present, Lewis presiding.

Commissioner Lewis reported the same individual who had verbally attacked a City Commissioner in a restaurant recently was verbally abusive over the phone to a County employee.

Commissioners expressed concerns about the effort in the current legislative session to eliminate property tax liability for private for profit health fitness clubs.

Information Technology/GIS Director Robert Nall described the heating and cooling requirements for the room which houses the main computer system for the County. It would be better to have a space built to meet the needs of the equipment.  Problems also arise in that the IT and GIS staff are located in different places.  There was some brief discussion of County space use needs.  When asked about using cloud technology Nall said he would not advise it.  If and when the cloud system goes down, everything goes down.  The current GIS technology being used by the County is out of date.  This means equipment is unsupported so, if and when it should break down, vendor support is unlikely.  Access to GIS on the County website is the most popular and often in demand.

County Counselor Clancy Holeman reviewed a proposed lease for the County with the KSU Child Development Center for space at the Health Department’s facility formerly known as Wharton Manor.  Retiring Director of the Department, Suzie Kufahl, gave a history of the arrangement.  Some concern was expressed about space that might be utilized by County personnel.  The lease will be discussed further at the next meeting.

Holeman reported it appeared the “fixtures” bill, HB 2285, appears not to be holding support but will continue to be monitored for the potential negative impact on the counties’ finances.  SB 109 no longer contains the heavy restrictions on local officials lobbying State Legislators but has extensive and annoying reporting requirements.

Vern Henricks, CEO of the Greater Manhattan Community Foundation, asked for County support for the Kansas Health Foundation Grant.  Budget Director Johnette Shepek noted such funds were not in the budget.  The issue will be discussed at the next meeting.

County Clerk Rich Vargo talked about the County’s Intangibles Tax.  It was initiated in 1986 and currently is set at .530 mils.  The tax is controversial.  It was never adequately monitored by the State and a lot of people simply don’t pay it.  There appears to be no penalty for not paying.  Only 29 counties in Kansas have the Intangibles Tax.  The issue will be discussed further in July.