COMMISSIONERS’ PROCEEDINGS
DECEMBER 27, 2022
The Rooks County Board of Commissioners met with the following present: Chairman, John Ruder, and Member, Tim Berland. Laura Montgomery, County Clerk, was present to write the minutes. Virgie Laska was present to write a report for the Stockton. Ruder called the meeting to order and asked all to stand and recite the Pledge of Allegiance.
Ruder announced that Greg Balthazor had passed away on December 23rd and said a short pray in his memory.
The agenda was accepted as presented.
The commissioners reviewed December 20th minutes. They were accepted with corrections.
Greg Balthazor’s funeral is at 10:30 on Friday, December 30th. The commissioners will meet at 8:30 instead of 9:00 so they can finish business before the funeral. If all employees in the office intend on going to the funeral, then the department head/elected official may close the office.
Ruder made a motion to sign the Preservation Plan Letter in regards to the HTF Grant for the restoration of the courthouse. Berland second the motion.
Berland weekly report: He had a couple of complaints on roads. He visited with Darrell Keller on grading the roads in his area. Amanda Atkisson had been reading in the newspaper about the county giving money to Red Bud Village. Ruder said the county owns the building and if the business closes, then the county is out all of those jobs and the building sits empty. She doesn’t see how the county can justify giving them so much money.
Berland made a motion to sign the minutes from December 20th. Ruder second the motion.
Rich Bouchey, Road Supervisor, was in for his weekly report: It has been a quiet week. He needs new high bay door for the shop. Will contact C & E Doors to have it replaced. All of his employees are back to work today. Discussed the freezing weather over the last week.
Berland said the road from Eldon’s to Mark Lesage’s on 2 Road needs to be graded.
No equipment breakdowns but there are a few batteries that need to be replaced. Bouchey requested raising the rates on the rock to .55 cents leaving the rate the sand the same.
Berland made a motion to pay .55 cents on rock. Ruder second the motion.
Discussed the work done on the dump trucks by Midwest Truck out of Wichita. The County Attorney still has the paperwork to file against the company. She thinks they will fight it. They didn’t have permission to cut the frame on the trucks. I-70 had to repair the trucks. Bouchey is waiting on the County Attorney to know what the next step is. The cost to the county to fix the damage is about $40,000.
Kim Northup, County Treasurer, was in to have the commissioners approve and sign small fund vouchers. Ruder made a motion to sign the small funds vouchers for the Treasurer. Berland second the motion. The vouchers are for the airport and 911 funds. 911 funds are funded by a user tax.
Heather Poore has requested purchasing a pre-paid cell phone so the public can call her on it instead of her personal cell phone. Ruder will talk to her and suggest using the office phone number only.
Notice: Some county offices will be closed at 10:00 on Friday to attend the funeral for Balthazor.
Heather Poore was in on November 20th and requested one of her employees be allowed to carry over her comp time. The employee thought she would be allowed to carry over any unused time. Because of the misunderstanding, Montgomery requested to allow the employee to carryover an additional 25.5 hours of vacation time. Ruder made a motion to allow the employee to carry over an additional 25.5 hours of vacation. Berland second the motion.
Ruder made a motion to review and sign the weekly vouchers as follows. Berland second the motion.
FUND WARRANT # AMOUNT
County General 79614 – 79640 25,052.98
Sheriff Equipment 79641 40,229.00
Health Department 79642 – 79650 10,229.52
RCED 79651 – 79655 1,416.80
GRAND TOTAL 76,928.30
New County Commissioner Kayla Hilbrink will be sworn in on January 9th at 9:00 a.m.
Montgomery said the end of the year expenses look like they are coming in lower then estimated. She asked if the commissioners still wanted to transfer funds out of both the ARPA Fund and Ambulance fund. Ruder said not to transfer any funds from the ambulance reserve if it isn’t necessary.
With no further business to transact, Ruder made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Berland second the motion.
Adopted this 3rd Day of January, 2023
ROOKS COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
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John Ruder, Chairman
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Greg Balthazor, Member
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Tim Berland, Member
ATTEST:
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Laura Montgomery, Certified County Clerk