The Atchison County Commission met on Tuesday, November 8, 2022. Present were: Presiding Commissioner Curtis Livengood, North District Commissioner Jim Quimby, South District Commissioner Richard Burke, and Susette Taylor, Clerk of the Commission.
Presiding Commissioner Livengood called the meeting to order.
Minutes of the previous meeting were read and approved.
Bills were reviewed and approved for payment.
Month end department reports were reviewed and approved.
Chad Ottmann with the Langdon Special Road District was present to discuss the replacement of Bridge #4210000 on 285th Street (Sharp Road) over Rock Creek Drainage Ditch. Road and Bridge Supervisor Kamron Woodring was also present for the discussion. This is a shared bridge with the county. The county was awarded a grant for bridge replacement and the local match will be a total of $82,390.00. Mr. Ottmann stated that the Langdon Special Road District agrees to pay their share of the replacement. Supervisor Woodring stated that soft match credits may also be used to pay for the local share and the county is looking into purchasing the necessary soft match from Taney County for 50¢s on the dollar. This would reduce the cost to the Langdon Special Road District and the County by 50 percent. MoDOT will draw up the agreement for the transfer of the soft match credits.
Raymond Gebhards with the Tarkio Special Road District has also contacted the county to state that they agree to move forward with Bridge #2320008 on 225th Street over Cow Branch that was also awarded a grant through the local bridge improvement plan. The local match will be a total of $79,970.00. The county is looking to secure soft match credits for the match at 50¢ on the dollar from Taney County and MoDot will draw up the agreement for the transfer.
The county will prepare an agreement for both road districts outlining the cost share program for the bridge replacements.
Clerk Taylor reported that the polling locations are open, and the election was running smoothly with a large turnout.
There being no further business, the commission adjourned.
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The Atchison County Commission met Thursday, November 10, 2022. Present were: Presiding Commissioner Curtis Livengood, North District Commissioner Jim Quimby, South District Commissioner Richard Burke, and Susette Taylor, Clerk of the Commission.
Presiding Commissioner Livengood called the meeting to order.
Minutes of the previous meeting were read and approved.
Bills were reviewed and approved for payment.
Month end department reports were reviewed and approved.
Road and Bridge Supervisor Kamron Woodring was in to discuss department matters and he and the commissioners went out to look at a road.
Atchison County has joined Operation Green Light for Veterans promoted by the National Association of Counties. By shining a green light, county government is letting veterans know that they are seen, appreciated and supported.
There being no further business, the commission adjourned.
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The Atchison County Commission met Tuesday, November 15, 2022. Present were: Presiding Commissioner Curtis Livengood, North District Commissioner Jim Quimby, South District Commissioner Richard Burke, and Susette Taylor, Clerk of the Commission.
Presiding Commissioner Livengood called the meeting to order.
Minutes of the previous meeting were read and approved.
Bills were reviewed and approved for payment.
Month end department reports were reviewed and approved.
The commission reviewed the 2022-2023 CART Rock Conservation agreement. Road and Bridge Supervisor Kamron Woodring reviewed the map with the commissioners and stated that approximately one mile of road has been added to this year’s agreement. The Conservation Department will pay 100% of the cost for rock placed on roads labeled as conservation. The commissioners voted to approve the 2022-23 Conservation Rock agreement.
Road and Bridge Supervisor Woodring presented addendums for road improvements made on 150th Street West, 150th Street East and 120th Street following construction of the Rock Creek Wind Farm by Ameren. Supervisor Woodring reported that all roads have been inspected and back in as good as condition or better and upon approval of the addendums they will be maintained by the county. The commissioners voted to approve and sign the addendums as presented.
Road and Bridge Supervisor Woodring presented an agreement drawn up by MoDOT for Atchison County to purchase 300,000 soft match credits from Taney County for 50¢ on the dollar to be used for the local match on the three bridges that Atchison County was awarded grants for replacement. The $150,000 to purchase the soft match credits will be taken from the county’s ARPA Funding that must be used on infrastructure projects. The commissioners voted to approve and sign the agreement to purchase the soft match credits.
The commission met with Larry Gibson, an independent insurance agent, who presented some additional health insurance options for 2023. Mr. Gibson had requested health apps from all employees over the past month and submitted them to GBS, Legacy and Midwest Public Risk. Legacy came in with a 22% increase over the county’s current rates. GBS declined to provide a quote and Midwest Public Risk. Mr. Gibson explained that Midwest Public Risk is a pool of public entities from Missouri and Kansas and each entity in the pool is allowed one vote whether they will accept a new entity or not. He presented two options with a $2,500 deductible, one being an HAS with a fully funded rate of $670.00 and the second a $2,500 deductible with co-pays at $760.00. He also presented rates for Delta Dental and VSP Vision. Both were comparable to current rates. There was a lot of discussion about how the network would work in Atchison County and if all our doctors and facilities were in the network. He stated if the county decided to switch, he would educate the employees on the changes. The commission thanked Mr. Gibson for his time and stated they would review the policy and get back to him after they meet with their current broker.
The commission then met with the county’s current insurance broker, Randy Arnold, and Linda Shelby. Randy reported that he requested bids from Aetna and United Health Care, as well as the county’s current company Blue Cross and Blue Shield. Aetna declined to bid. Randy was able to get Blue Cross to hold with a zero percent increase for 2023 and United Health Care rates came in very close to the county’s current rates. Randy stated that all plans were fully funded plans. The commission thanked Mr. Arnold and Mrs. Shelby for their work on getting the 2023 rates and said they needed to review and compare all options.
Clerk Taylor, along with HR Deputies Deanna Beck and Amy Meinecke, reviewed all the plans and compared benefits. After review, it was the consensus that with a zero percent increase with the current plan it would be best to remain with Blue Cross and Blue Shield. The county will offer three options, with the county paying 100% of the 5,000/6,500 plan and letting the employees buy up to the lower deductible if they choose.
Following their review and discussion with the commission, the commissioners voted to remain with the current plans in place through Blue Cross and Blue Shield, VSP Vision and Ameritis Dental with the added carryover provision for 2023 all through the current broker.
Clerk Taylor then presented the newly drafted agreement with the new owners of the Pleasant View Nursing Home facility. After reviewing the updated agreement, the commissioners voted to approve and sign the agreement. After signing it was forwarded to Robert Gibson for the transfer of ownership on December 1, 2022.
There being no further business, the commission adjourned.
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The Atchison County Commission met Thursday, November 17, 2022. Present were: Presiding Commissioner Curtis Livengood, North District Commissioner Jim Quimby, South District Commissioner Richard Burke, and Susette Taylor, Clerk of the Commission.
Presiding Commissioner Livengood called the meeting to order.
Minutes of the previous meeting were read and approved.
Bills were reviewed and approved for payment.
At 9:00 a.m. the 2023 rock hauling bids were opened and read. Road and Bridge Supervisor Kamron Woodring and Dan Smith with WSD Hauling, LLC, were present for the opening. Three bids were opened and read for hauling a minimum of 32,000 tons of CART rock to three separate county barn locations. Bids were read as follows: Hendrickson Trucking, $10.50 per ton; Holt County Ready Mix, $10.50 per ton; and WSD Hauling, LLC, $10.00 per ton. After reviewing all the bids for specifications, Supervisor Woodring recommended the cheapest bid of $10.00 per ton from WSD Hauling, LLC. The commissioners voted unanimously to accept the bid from WSD Hauling for 2023.
At 9:15 a.m. Mandy and Trevor Whipple with Connection Counseling were in to give their monthly update on the programs they are offering. They reported on Celebrate Recovery, grief support and anxiety/depression groups, anger management, parenting class and Getting Ahead in a Just Getting By World. They reported the certified peer specialists are very busy, seeing a total of 31 clients in all areas of the county. Mandy reported that the clients are seeing improvement in their lives. The commission inquired about funding and how the services were being paid for. Mandy explained that current services provided are through a grant they received, which will run out in May 2023. They will continue to search for grant opportunities and ways to provide long-term funding.
Phil Graves and Troy LaHue with the Nishnabotna and Mill Creek Drainage Districts met with the commission to discuss funding needs to complete a pump project on Ditches 3, 5 and 7. The Corps of Engineers has held their permits, causing the project to linger on and cost additional tax dollars that they do not have. They explained that when the Corps built the new setback levee, they did not plan for the drainage system, leaving it totally to the district to fund. A CDBG grant they applied for and were counting on expired due to the Corps holding up permits. Presiding Commission Livengood agreed to make some phone calls to see if the county could assist with getting some issues resolved.
Road and Bridge Supervisor Kamron Woodring addressed the commission about selecting a preliminary engineer for the three bridges awarded to Atchison County. He stated that after reviewing documents and speaking with David Earls, Sr., Transportation Planner with MoDOT, it was his understanding if the preliminary engineering would be under $100,000 per bridge, the county could select a consultant in accordance with Local Public Agency Manual Section 136.4.2.4.3 “Using the 2020-2023 LPA Consultant On-Call List” on their website, which satisfies all state and federal regulations including the Brooks Act. Woodring reported he had spoken with Melissa Massar, project manager with Great River Engineering, who assisted with writing the grants about the cost and she was confident each bridge would be under the required amount. The commissioners voted to engage in a contract with Great River Engineering for preliminary engineering.
There being no further business, the commission adjourned.
