Submitted by Nicole Lee, County Clerk

The Board of Brown County Commissioners met in regular session on Monday, July 13, with the following members present: Chairman Lucas Heinen, Commissioner Richard Tesoriero and Commissioner William Pollock. Also present was Brown County Clerk Nicole Lee. County Counselor Austin Parker was present for a portion of the meeting. Chairman Heinen opened the meeting at 1 p.m. All recited the Pledge of Allegiance, followed by a prayer led by Commissioner Pollock.

Sheriff John Merchant requested a 10-minute executive session on non-elected personnel matters. The board recessed into a 10-minute executive session for the purpose of discussing the duties and performance of non-elected personnel, to protect the privacy interests of the employee, Sheriff Merchant remained present. The meeting returned to regular session with no action taken following the executive session.

The commissioners discussed the following topics: Solid Waste backhoe purchasing options, purchasing fuel, Railroad crossings, bridge approaches, and potential meeting with Sac & Fox Tribal Council.

Brett Waggoner, Governmental Assistance Services, and Karen Wilson, Northeast Kansas Area Agency on Aging, were present to request a project completion extension for the NEKAAA CDBG project. The commissioners agreed to authorize the chairman to execute the letter and form requesting a five-month extension for the completion of the CDBG project 23-PF-012.

The board approved Buried Cable Permit No. 26-04 for Mercury Fiber fiberoptic cable installation.

Parker requested an attorney-client executive session. The commissioners recessed into a 10-minute executive session for the purpose of discussing potential legal liability and protecting Attorney-Client privilege with legal counsel. Parker remained. The meeting returned to regular session with no action taken following the executive session.

The board agreed to extend the executive session for an additional 10 minutes. The meeting returned to regular session with no action taken following the executive session.

The commission approved the July 6 and July 9 meeting minutes as presented.

The commissioners again recessed into a five-minute executive session for the purpose of discussing potential legal liability and protecting Attorney-Client privilege with legal counsel. Parker remained. The meeting returned to regular session with no action taken following the executive session.

The commissioners approved the July 8 payroll as follows: General, $99,973.97; Road and Bridge, $12,597; Technology, $333; Appraiser, $8,666.20; Noxious Weed, $1,960; ACC, $11,105.14; JJA Core, $8,893.96; Services for Elderly, $3,478.25; Solid Waste, $6,916; Special MVT, $3,513.75; Employee Benefit FICA, $10,111.87; and Employee Benefit KPERS, $13,987.26. After State Unemployment and Worker’s Compensation of $177.22 and Insurance of $3,081.93 were taken out, the total was $178,277.85.

The July 13 claims were approved as follows: General, $36,115.72; Road and Bridge, $51,269.28; Employee Benefits, $80.25; Election, $595.48; Capital Improve Fund, $1,393.72; Appraiser, $877.72; Noxious Weed, $732.74; Diversion, $1,124.86; 911 SB50, $4,055.02; ACC $2,241.60; JJCR, $2,157.34; Services for Elderly, $199.95; and Solid Waste, $691.94. The total was $101,535.62.

The board approved signing the Environmental Review Exemption for the Continuum of Care (CoC) Program.

Tax change orders 2025-92 through 2025-104 were approved and signed.

The next regular meeting was held Monday, July 20. These minutes were not available at The Herald’s press time.

Work Session

The Brown County Commissioners convened at 3:18 p.m. at the Brown County Courthouse for a work session with Chairman Heinen, Commissioner Tesoriero and Commissioner Pollock present, along with County Clerk Lee. The proposed 2027 Brown County budget was discussed. No action was taken. The work session adjourned at 3:50 p.m.