Submitted by Dawn Boyles

County Clerk

The Board of Brown County Commissioners met in regular session Monday, Nov. 7, with the following members present: Chairman Lamar Shoemaker, William Pollock and Richard Lehmkuhl. Also present was Brown County Clerk Dawn Boyles. County Attorney Kevin Hill was present for a portion of the meeting. Shoemaker opened the meeting at 8:10 a.m. All recited the Pledge of Allegiance. Commissioner Pollock led the meeting with a prayer.

Department Reports

District 3 Road Foreman Rodney Allen presented the board with bids for the replacement of the 2016 disc mower. Commissioner Shoemaker would like to table the discussion until we obtain a third bid.

Pete Quinlan and Megan Miller of Bettis Asphalt discussed the services their company has to offer.

The commissioners approved the Local Emergency Plan Committee.

Brown County Election Officer Boyles reported there had been 382 in-person early voters and 183 advance mail-in ballots received as of 8 a.m. Monday, Nov. 7.

Also at the meeting:

The commissioners approved the Oct. 31 meeting minutes with the following corrections:

“County Attorney, Kevin Hill, requested a 5 minute executive session. Motion by Richard Lehmkuhl for a 5 minute Executive Session to discuss attorney client privilege, with the three commissioners, County Attorney, Kevin Hill, and County Clerk, Dawn Boyles, present to discuss attorney client privilege. Seconded by William Pollock. Closed 9:01 a.m. Opened 9:06 a.m. No binding action was taken.”

“Brown County Clerk, Dawn Boyles, requested a 5 minute executive session. Motion by Richard Lehmkuhl for a 5 minute Executive Session to discuss personnel matters of non-elected personnel with executive session necessary to protect privacy interests, with the three commissioners and Brown County Clerk, Dawn Boyles, present to discuss personnel matters of non-elected personnel with executive session necessary to protect privacy interests. Seconded by William Pollock. Closed 9:38 a.m. Opened 9:43 a.m. No binding action was taken.”

The Nov. 2 payroll was approved as follows: General, $94,635.17; Road and Bridge, $17,151.25; Election, $1,494; Technology, $255.75; Appraiser, $8,340; Noxious Weed, $3,747.97; ACC, $8,447.53; JJA Core, $7,230.70; Reinvestment Grant, $1,138.07; Services for Elderly, $3,277.50; Solid Waste, $6,010.86; Special MVT, $4,120.01; Employee Benefit FICA, $10,289.65; and Employee Benefit KPERS, $12,030.79. After State Unemployment/Workers Compensation of $178.89 and Insurance/Vision of $2,459.55 were taken out, the total was $175,530.81.

The board approved the contract with Equitable Solutions LLC for $18,700.

The commissioners discussed the possibility of a letter to the Kansas State Treasurer Lynn Rogers in regards to investments for KPERS. The board has tabled the discussion until next week.

Boyles presented a letter of support on behalf of KANZA for the Kansas Department of Transportation grant, and the board signed the letter as presented.

Boyles discussed different options to make the employee benefits package more attractive to potential employees.

The commissioners held a five-minute executive session to discuss personnel matters of non-elected personnel with executive session necessary to protect privacy interests, with the three commissioners present. No binding action was taken following the executive session.

Boyles discussed a 50¢ Cost of Living Raise for 2023.

Boyles discussed the response from the Loyd Group on the six American Rescue Plan requests the county had submitted for the Loyd Group’s review. The board approved payment/reimbursement for the following: Reimburse Emergency Management – COVID Tests, $5,250; Reimburse Commission – Sheriff Office Security Cameras, $80,000; Reimburse Sheriff – Sheriff Office Security Cameras, $57,644.14; and Reimburse Road and Bridge – IworQ Program, $5,000.

The next regular meeting will be held Tuesday, Nov. 15. These minutes were not available at The Herald’s press time.