The Atchison County Commission met Thursday, July 11, 2019. Present were: Presiding Commissioner Curtis Livengood and South District Commissioner Richard Burke. North District Commissioner Jim Quimby was absent. Susette Taylor, Clerk of the Commission was attending the signing of HB 220 in Jefferson City, Missouri.
Minutes of the previous meeting were read and approved.
Bills were reviewed and approved.
Commissioner Livengood and Commissioner Burke went to inspect flooded areas.
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The Commission met Tuesday, July 16. Present was: Presiding Commissioner Curtis Livengood, South District Commissioner Richard Burke, and North District Commissioner Jim Quimby. Susette Taylor, 2nd Vice-President of the Missouri Association of Counties, was attending the National Association of Counties Conference with the Missouri delegation.
Minutes of the previous meeting were read and approved.
Bills were reviewed and approved.
At 10:00 a.m. the commissioners met with representatives from Ameren and Enel. Present from Ameren were: Ajay Arora, Lucas Klein, Tim Schulz, and Jami Stone. Each one introduced themselves, told how long they had been with Ameren and their role in the project. Present representing Enel was Reed Bartels.
Mr. Klein stated that they wanted to meet with the commission prior to the public hearing, which will be held at the Velma Houts Building at 12:30 p.m. today, to open the lines of communication. He stated that they are very excited about the passing of legislation to keep tax dollars local.
An update on the Outlaw Wind Farm followed. All the land has been acquired and they are still working on a few easements for the transmission lines. The target date for having all the approvals to proceed is October of 2019 then construction can begin.
Plans are for Ameren to take ownership as soon as everything is complete and tested, hopefully within 12 months of the beginning of the project.
Don Woodin will be the primary Ameren representative on site. North District Commissioner Quimby inquired about the location of the laydown site. They stated that it was not yet determined but should be decided and ready to go by October.
Presiding Commissioner Livengood inquired about the Brickyard Hill Project. They reported it is behind schedule so the Outlaw project may be going before it. They stated they should be able to confirm schedules within the next few weeks.
Mr. Klein asked how often the commission would like to be updated. Presiding Commissioner Livengood stated the commission does not need to be involved in their daily business, but would appreciate being updated if there is something major to pass along.
North District Commissioner Quimby inquired about who the county’s main contact should be in the event an issue did arise. Mr. Klein stated he would be their point of contact and to call him directly if they had concerns.
Presiding Commissioner Livengood asked who would maintain the turbines. Mr. Arora said Vestas will maintain the turbines but Ameren will be contact point. Ameren stated that they will have an office in the county, and are looking to either buy an existing facility or purchase land and build a facility. It needs to be an 8,000 square foot facility, preferably with the ability to pull trucks up to and house the office. They all discussed a few potential sites around the county.
Presiding Commissioner Livengood attended the Public Hearing of the Public Service Commission at 12:30 p.m. at the Velma Houts building to testify on behalf of the county.
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The Commission met Thursday, July 18, 2019. Present was: Presiding Commissioner Curtis Livengood, South District Commissioner Richard Burke, North District Commissioner Jim Quimby, and Susette Taylor, Clerk of the Commission.
Minutes of the previous meeting were read and approved.
Bills were reviewed and approved.
Additions and abatement to the tax books were approved as follows:
PERSONAL PROPERTY June 2019
Additions to the tax books: 2018, $2,151.77; 2017, $525.66
REAL PROPERTY
June 2019
There were no additions to or abatements from the tax books.
Emergency Management Director Rhonda Wiley was in to meet with the commission to discuss concerns with FEMA and SEMA and the Individual Disaster claims and present the following amendment to the Floodplain Management Ordinance. She stated that in Article 6 Penalties and Violations – SEMA requires a minimum and maximum in the language. This amendment will meet their requirements.
Amendment to Atchison County’s 60.3(b) Floodplain Management Ordinance 02-2019, dated May 30, 2019:
ARTICLE 6 PENALTIES FOR VIOLATION
“Violation of the provisions of this ordinance or failure to comply with any of its requirements (including violations of conditions and safeguards established in connection with granting of variances) shall constitute a misdemeanor. Any person who violates this ordinance or fails to comply with any of its requirements shall, upon conviction thereof, be fined not less than $100.00 nor more than $10,000.00, and in addition, shall pay all costs and expenses involved in the case Each day such violation continues shall be considered a separate offense.
Nothing herein contained shall prevent Atchison County or other appropriate authority from taking such other lawful action as is necessary to prevent or remedy any violation.”
Following presentation and review of the Amendment, the commissioners voted to approve the amendment as presented.
Director Wiley went on to discuss continued concerns related to the railroad and the manner in which they are making repairs. She stated that the ring they built on G Avenue where the bridge collapsed was a violation of their 404 permit. The construction of the ring forced excessive amounts of water to back up after it had been receding. Director Wiley will report the violation to the DNR and the Army Corps of Engineers, as well as contact Ivan Schraeder, the county’s legal counsel, to see if additional action should be taken.
Richard Oswald met with the commission and Director Wiley with questions about how high a levee could be raised on his property north of the Kirby Bridge and along 250th Street. Director Wiley stated that it could be raised to one foot below the beam that holds up the floor of the bridge. Mr. Oswald was given a Flood Plain Permit that would need to be completed if he intends to move forward with raising the levee.
Maintenance Supervisor Greg Beck and Nick Dixon with TNR Construction met with the commission to discuss long-term plans for replacement of the handicap ramp on the west end of the courthouse and stairs on the east end, as well as improvements to drainage away from the building. Supervisor Beck will work with Mr. Dixon on some long range specifications that can be used to bid the projects.
Collector Diane Livengood was in to report that the tax sale process for delinquent property has begun and a list of property was published in this week’s paper and will continue to two more weeks, followed by the Delinquent Tax Sale at the end of August.