The Regular meeting of the Kiowa County Commissioners was called to order on December 14, 2023, at 9:00 a.m. by Chairman Donald Oswald. Commissioner Robertson opened the meeting with prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance. Those in attendance were:

• Donald Oswald, Chairman
• Howard “Butch” Robertson, Commissioner
• Mike Lening, Commissioner
• Delisa Weeks, County Clerk
• Tina Adamson, County Administrator

Members of the audience: Cindy McLoud, KCEDF Director and Joshua Cousey and Natasha Piler with Invenergy were present as members of the audience.

McLoud, Director of Kiowa County Economic Development reported that she would be meeting with the architect for the Legion Hall. They will be discussing the current restrooms and how they will need to be ADA compliant.

Robertson moved, and Oswald seconded the motion to approve the November 30, 2023 minutes as presented. Motion carried.

Vouchers: Lening moved, and Robertson seconded the motion to approve the vouchers as presented. Motion carried.

Lening moved, and Robertson seconded the motion to approve the agenda as presented. Motion carried.

Oswald moved, and Lening seconded the motion to recess for the Public Hearing for the 2024 Budget at 10:01 a.m. Motion carried.

Robertson moved and Lening seconded the motion to come out of the 2024 Budget Public Hearing at 10:03 a.m. and move back into regular session. Motion carried.

NEW BUSINESS:

Cindy McLoud, Director of Kiowa County Economic Development came to the table to discuss the grants she had applied for and their status.

McLoud discussed the bathroom issues at the Legion Hall and the ADA requirements with the architect that will be here on December 15^th.

McLoud is to be notified if two grants that have been applied for were approved or not. The two grants she applied for are websites for the three municipalities and KCDEF, the other is the State Historical Grant that will be used for the Town’s building the County Library is to occupy. She will be notified on December 15^th whether they were approved or not.

McLoud thanked the BOCC and returned to her chair as a member of the audience.

Marta Castano, A Flood Mapping Consultant with the Colorado Water Conservation Board requested a ZOOM meeting in regard to a Flood Plain Study for this area. Shellie Engelhardt, Kiowa County Emergency Manager also joined in with the presentation that Marta and associates provided. Castano provided information of how this study could aide in community development and mitigation planning if ever a flood situation was to arise. McLoud questioned as to how this would be funded. Castano replied the funding would come from FEMA. Castano also said insurance rates could also have an effect if they did complete this study. There were questions as to whether or not this area is considered for floodplain management.

Castano thanked the BOCC for their time and ended the ZOOM meeting at 10:20 a.m.

Michael Yearman, Multi-Housing Authority Board member, entered to discuss the Regional Intergovernmental Agreement that he was presenting to the BOCC today. Yearman explained what was all in the agreement after Proposition 123 passed. He recommended that the County needs to allow the grants to cycle to serve their purpose and that way they could leverage the funding for this area. 

Lening moved and Robertson seconded the motion to approve the Regional Housing Authority Intergovernmental Agreement for Kiowa County. Motion carried. Yearman thanked the BOCC and exited the meeting at 12:30 p.m.

Oswald moved, and Lening seconded the motion to recess the meeting for lunch break. Motion carried.

The regular meeting reconvened at 1:30 p.m.

DSS Report: Dennis Pearson entered the meeting at 1:30 p.m. to provide a monthly report for the Department of Social Services.

Pearson reported that there have been 70 plus families apply for LEAP.

Pearson reported that Child Welfare had been staying very busy.

Pearson exited the meeting at 1:50 p.m.

Sheriff Williams entered the meeting to visit with the BOCC in regard to Cordant Sentry Lab who processes the urine analysis that the Sheriff’s Department collects on behalf of the 15^th Probation Department. Williams explained that the lab had changed wording in their contract and after reviewing it further he said he would not sign it. Williams went on to say that other local jurisdictions were not going to sign the contract presented until the Probation Department reviewed and made corrections to it. The BOCC agreed it needed to be reviewed and corrections be made before signing.

Sheriff Williams discussed further on the 10:33 Program and the items that are in question. He will provide further information to the BOCC as he gathers his information.

OLD BUSINESS:

Grants Updates: Administrator Adamson reported that the County had been approved for the Underfunded Grant. This grant will be used to replace the current sidewalk around the courthouse.

Landfill/Recycling Update: Administrative Adamson will be updating the job descriptions for Road & Bridge, Landfill Operator and a Land Use position. These positions will be advertised in the local papers.

R & B Update: A letter has been sent to the local farmer who had built fencing on a county Right Of Way.

Rowdy Reddi Mix road damage was addressed and taken care of.

Courthouse Update:

Upcoming Meetings and Reports:   Meetings and Reports were reviewed and signed.

Robertson moved and Lening seconded the motion to set Mill Levies at 46.553% which will generate $1,899,641.00. Motion carried.

Robertson moved and Lening seconded the motion to approve the 2024 Budget. Motion carried.

Courthouse A/C Update: The new air conditioner compressors will go on the roof and the piping will go down the side of the courthouse. There are issues with piping and the way it has been installed. Adamson said the Maintenance Foreman would be speaking with Plains Heating in regard to this.

Planning and Zoning Update/Variance Board –Board of Adjustment: Oswald moved, to have the Planning and Zoning Board to operate as the Variance Board under land usage and the BOCC will operate as the Board of Adjustment. Lening seconded the motion. Motion carried.

NEW BUSINESS:

No time off requests were made.

Veteran’s Office request for payment: There was discussion over the part time position in the Veteran’s Office. The County will request payment from the State for this position. Oswald moved to sign the application for payment. Robertson seconded the motion. Motion carried.

Pinnacol-Workers Comp Estimate: The BOCC did not vote on this due to the fact that it was too expensive.

Oswald moved to set the Public Hearing for the Towner East and West Projects for February 13, 2024 at 10:00 a.m. Motion carried.

Oswald moved, and Robertson seconded the motion to appoint Commissioner Lening as the proxy for the CCI Steering Committee.  Motion carried.

Attentive Master Service Agreement: The County will move to Manhattan Life but it will still go thru Attentive. This will give each employee a little more in retirement. Lening moved and Robertson seconded the motion to sign the service agreement. Motion carried.

Public Health SLFRF Grant Agreement: Oswald moved, and Lening seconded the motion to sign the SLFR Agreement. Motion carried.

The next regular Commissioner’s meeting will be held December 28, 2023 at 9:00 a.m.

With no further items to be discussed, Robertson moved and Oswald seconded the motion to adjourn the meeting at 3:35 p.m. Motion carried.