The Mitchell County Commissioners met Monday morning with an exceptionally short agenda to cover. Dan Streit, Noxious Weed Department, brought in the results of the review K-Works did on his department for the commissioners to look over and sign off on.
The inspector noted personal safety and eye protection as areas that need correction. These are both minor infractions that will be easy to correct and have already been looked at. The inspector also noted Streit needs to go to a class to get certified to run a forklift.
Chairman Mike Cooper reminded Streit that other departments have said the State Inspector will not be nearly as particular as the K-Works Inspector. So he should be in good shape. Cooper noted that many departments such as his have a lot more employees covering the work that Streit does on his own. The commissioners complimented him on his efforts over the years.
Streit asked for a 15-minute executive session with Commissioners Tom Claussen and Jim Marshall and County Clerk Chris Treaster also present. Following the meeting Streit announced that after 41 years at this job he would be retiring at the end of this year. Commissioner Claussen complimented Streit on a job well done and said he will be missed and never forgotten. Commissioner Marshall thanked Streit for his years of service.
Chairman Cooper noted they need to get an ad in the local paper and asked for suggestions as to other places to place an ad. Commissioner Claussen said the High Plains Journal would be a good choice. Steit said his department does the newsletter for the statewide weed departments and he will place an ad in that to further get the word out. The Chairman said applications need to be in to the Mitchell County Commissioners by the end of June to be considered for the position.
Commissioner Claussen noted the Kansas Legislature is now out of session following ninety-nine days and a little over on the job. The sales tax bill was passed setting the tax at 6.15, which is a little higher than the 6.03 Governor Brownback requested.
The issue of settling the funding for higher education in the state is still a big deal at this time.
Commissioners Marshall and Claussen attended the "Affordable Health Care Act meeting last Wednesday night and offered information they gained from it.
Commissioner Marshall presented a Neighborhood Revitalization Tax Rebate application for a residential building at 115 W. 15th St, in Beloit for Lynne Hanson in the amount of $23,722. The application was approved.
Chairman Cooper told the other commissioners the County Disaster team met last Wednesday night. During the Beloit City Council meeting last Tuesday evening he invited the council members to attend the meeting and was happy to say three council members and two or three department heads, as well as, Beloit Mayor Tom Naasz attended the meeting.
Cooper said the team is still in the designing stage at the present time. The water rescues team met last week and there are eight listed on the diving team so far. They will be setting up meetings over the coming summer. They have asked the Plainville Team, who are a certified team used by many in emergencies throughout the state, to meet with the Mitchell County rescue and recovery team. Cooper said at the time of the drowning emergency at Waconda Lake some time ago they had problems communicating with the actual divers who were assisting in the search and rescue that took place. This is dangerous to the divers when they have no communication with those in charge of the above water operations. This makes a real safety issue for the divers, he said.
The Disaster Team has been discussing buying equipment. Since they have no budgeted funds the money will be taken out of the general fund for 2014. Cooper would also like to use some of the funds allotted to the County Commissioner's in an account for use at their discretion. They have $3,200 in the account at the present time. He would also like to see if they could get some Government funding or grant money to help out on this expense. The Plainville team will be at the lake sometime in July to work with the members of the Disaster Team and present information about this.
Commissioner Claussen reminded Cooper that the Mobile Disaster Truck now stored in Asherville would be available for their use in these situations. It only has thirty-two thousand miles on it, is fully stocked, and is ready to go whenever it is needed.
"We have a long way to go on this project but we need to practice and get prepared for it. While we hope nothing like this ever happens again we need to be prepared in case it does," Cooper said.