The regular meeting of the Kiowa County Commissioners meeting was called to order by Richard Scott at 9:05 a.m. on December 30, 2015. Commissioner Oswald opened the meeting with a prayer and Pledge of Allegiance. Those in attendance were:

                                                  Richard Scott, Chairman of Board

                                                  Cindy McLoud, Commissioner

                                                  Donald Oswald, Commissioner

                                                  Delisa Weeks, County Clerk

                                                  Tina Adamson, County Administrator

Discussion over one voucher with Mike Ellsberry, Engineer was discussed. The engineer was to access the bleachers at the fairgrounds and the structural poles in the grandstand area. Oswald moved to pay Mr. Ellsberry half of the bill that was submitted and McLoud seconded the motion. All Commissioners voted Affirmative.

McLoud moved and Oswald seconded the motion to approve the minutes of the last meeting with two corrections: Adding Prowers/Kiowa County Public Health and the party in executive session had a choice of an open meeting or an executive session. The party chose executive session. All Commissioners voted Affirmative.

Scott moved to approve all the vouchers as presented except for MKE Engineering, McLoud seconded the motion. All Commissioners voted Affirmative.

Scott added two additions to the agenda. The additions were:  the meeting date with DOLA and Teresa Witte with Emergency Management, in reference to extra computers.

McLoud moved and Oswald seconded the motion to approve the agenda as presented with the two additions. All Commissioners voted Affirmative. 

Clerk Weeks visited with the commissioners in regards to the Uniform Voting System that Secretary of State, Wayne Williams approved. Weeks said she will get a better understanding of the cost of the new voting system when she attends conference in mid January. Weeks explained the HART Voting System the county has now is working fine and is concerned of the cost the county is facing with the new voting system. Weeks said she would like to wait till 2017 before purchasing the new equipment due to the Presidential election and the possibility of holding  two special district elections. Scott moved and McLoud seconded the motion to use the HART voting system for the 2016 election.  All Commissioners voted Affirmative.

Chris Sorensen entered the meeting at 9:45 am. The commissioners spoke with Sorensen in regards to the Kiowa County Press. They first thanked him for serving Kiowa County with a newspaper all these years. Sorensen said he will have the Kiowa County Press on the internet. Sorensen went on to say there will be a printed product that can be purchased from the office. There will be no general mailings to the public. The county will still have the capability to have the legal notices published in the paper production through Sorensen. 

Sorensen reported according to C.R.S. there must be a continuous paper production in order to have legal notices published. Sorensen stated one could view for free, the Kiowa County Press by going to kiowacountypress.com. Sorensen said people could submit news items by going to Kiowacountypress@yahoo.com.

Betsy Barnett, Kayla Murdock and Pricilla Waggoner entered the meeting. Barnett said she needed clarification from Sorensen as to the status of the Kiowa County Press. Barnett said she has the opportunity to start a new newspaper. She said this newspaper will be published weekly and it will be called “The Kiowa County Independent.”

Mr. Sorensen was questioned about paid circulation for his products and he said yes he will mail at least one publication so he would be in compliance with the Associated Press.

Barnett questioned how many publications will be available through the Kiowa County Press. Sorensen said maybe 100 publications. Scott said he feels Sorensen is trying to stay in compliance so Kiowa County will not have to depend on an adjoining county’s newspaper to publish Kiowa County’s legal notices. Sorensen said a newspaper has to be in production for a full year or 52 weeks in order to publish legal notices. Barnett said she was working on the permit that is required to have a newspaper. Barnett asked the commissioners if they would support the new newspaper by allowing “The Kiowa County Independent” to print all the county’s legal notices. Barnett said she would need this kind of support in order to make the business more successful.  After further discussion, Scott said they would have to present this information to the county attorney and wait for clarification. Barnett, Murdock and Waggoner exited the meeting.                                  

Anne Marie Crampton with Lamar Community College entered the meeting to discuss the COSI Scholarship. Crampton said this scholarship was directed toward people that are in the low to middle income criteria. This is a grant that the county would have to match but they could also specify what kind of career they would support. The Commissioners agreed they would like to support this.

The Fair Board entered the meeting to discuss the status of the new Event Planner. The Board members present were: Tearle Lessenden, Nancy Walker, Weston Crow-Tucker, Areta Laird, Andrew McCracken and Scotty Engelhardt. After lengthy discussions the commissioners agreed that the Event Planner and the Fair Board would have to work together. The Event Planner is to coordinate all events  at the fairgrounds. There will be one calendar that will be kept for all events at the fairgrounds and the Event Planner will have it. The Fair Board extended an invitation to the Commissioners to come to their next meeting. 

Dennis Pearson entered the meeting at 1:10 pm to provide his monthly report.  Medicaid paid $65,179.03 for the month of November to Kiowa County.

Pearson reported the Christmas Project provided 36 kids with gifts and an additional 26 families were provided gift baskets which made for an extra special Christmas for these people

Pearson said the van that has been ordered for child welfare has not been delivered. 

Mr. Pearson exited the meeting at 1:30 pm. 

Teresa Witte, Emergency Manager entered the meeting to discuss the laptop computers that she has in storage. She would like to donate them to the Library and the Museum. 

The Commissioners agreed that the older laptops should be put to use.

McLoud provided information on the Jail Diversion Program and a Resolution has been drawn up. McLoud went onto say the Mental Health Administrator, Jail Administrator Randy Morris, and Cindy McLoud would be going to Washington D.C. in regards to the Jail Diversion Program.

Oswald moved and McLoud seconded the motion to adopt Resolution 2015-1 regarding the Stepping Up Initiative. All Commissioners voted Affirmative.   

The Sheridan Lake Water District was discussed. The Commissioners asked Administrator Adamson to get in contact with the County Attorney and the Water Board District to see if they are ready for the commissioners to proceed with a public hearing.

The commissioners agreed to continue to use The Kiowa County Press to publish the county’s Legal Notices until they get clarification from the County Attorney.

The LCC Scholarship was discussed further. Oswald moved to submit a Letter of Intent to Colorado Department of Education for the Colorado Opportunities Scholarship and McLoud seconded. All Commissioners voted Affirmative.

Elise Crockett, the Event Planner for the Kiowa County fairgrounds entered the meeting at 2:20 pm to discuss her new job and the responsibilities she will have. Commissioners agreed in the near future there will be a meeting with the Extension Office, Fair Board, Event Planner and themselves to discuss how each entity will coordinate with one another to make sure the events at the fairgrounds run smoothly.

NEW BUSINESS:

Upcoming Commissioners Meetings: January 12, 2016 and January 28, 2016.

Reports were reviewed and signed.

No time off requests were made.

Oswald moved and McLoud seconded to sign the APHIS Agreement with the Cooperative Agreement No: 16:7308-5504-RA. All Commissioners voted Affirmative. This is the DOW Work Agreement and Financial Plan for the 2016 Calendar Year. 

The Barlow Subdivision Application was reviewed and approved by the planning and zoning board and forwarded to the Commissioners for final approval.  Rex G. Barlow applied for an Application for Exemption from Subdivision Approval Regulations to sell 9.98 acres to Amanda Morgans. McLoud moved and Oswald seconded the motion to approve the Subdivision Application from Rex G. Barlow. All Commissioners voted Affirmative.

The Budget Supplemental Appropriations were reviewed and discussed. Oswald moved and McLoud seconded to adopt the Resolution to accept the Supplemental Budget and Appropriations of $450,000 to Road and Bridge and $35,000 to Department of Social Services. All Commissioners voted Affirmative.

Oswald moved to approve the Intergovernmental Agreement for the provision of public health services with Prowers County Public Health for Kiowa County Public Health. McLoud seconded the motion. All Commissioners voted Affirmative.

January 18, 2016 will be a work session for the formation of a county fire district at 9:00 am.

Heating for the bathrooms were discussed and Adamson will have Parker Heat and Air come in and provide an estimate.

The next commissioners meeting will be January 12, 2016.

                                                                                                                                            Oswald moved and McLoud seconded the motion to adjourn the meeting at 5:15 pm.

All Commissioners voted Affirmative.