Barton County Commission meeting at a glance
Here is a quick look at what the Barton County Commission did Wednesday morning:
• Approved 2023 cereal malt beverage licence renewals.
According to state statute, no retailer shall sell any cereal malt beverage without having secured a license for that business, County Clerk Bev Schmeidler said. When a business is located in the unincorporated portion of the county, the commission must approve them.
Included were Corinthian Hills, Miller Time in Beaver (two licences - one for consumption on premises and for for carry-out sales), Kiowa Kitchen, Lake Barton Golf Course, Odin Community Club, Odin Store and Prosser Arena, and Small Town Service in Hoisington (two licences).
• Approved two County Facade Improvement Grant project extensions – one for WHB Inc. and one for Randall Polzin of Hoisington.
• Approved a procurement policy resolution.
The county has operated with purchasing standards for several years, Operations Director Matt Patzner said. That practice eventually evolved into the current procurement policy.
First adopted in 2020, the county continues to refine its language. The latest revisions to help improve transparency.
• Approved a memorandum of agreement between Barton County and Rice County for use of 800 MHz radio towers.
• Held the annual Solid Waste Plan review and approved the Solid Waste Plan.
According to state statute, Barton County is required to form and maintain a Solid Waste Planning Committee to develop and perform an annual review of the Solid Waste Management Plan, Solid Waste Director Jennifer Hamby said. This is then approved by the commission and submitted to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.
The committee has reviewed the plan and it is recommended that no changes, she said.
• Approved a revision of tire disposal rates at the Barton County Landfill.
• Approved the continuation of the independent contractor agreement for county counselor with Patrick Hoffman for 2023.
• Held two executive sessions totalling over half an hour to discuss the performance of non-elected personnel. The commission, along with commissioners-elect, were in the first session, and they were joined by Operations Director Matt Patzner and County Counselor Patrick Hoffman for the second.
After reconvening in open session after the second closed-door meeting, no action was taken.
In what District 1 Barton County Commissioner Kirby Krier called a “no brainer,” the commission Wednesday morning approved a memorandum of agreement between Barton County and Rice County for shared use of 800 MHz radio towers.
Barton County and Rice County have developed an agreement for joint use of county-owned 800 MHz radio towers, said Barton County 911 Director Dena Popp. This agreement would improve the emergency communications coverage for both counties.
“For the last six months or so, Barton County has met with the Rice County 911 director to work on details and agreement to utilize each other’s towers on our radio systems,” she said.
Currently, there are problems with Barton County’s coverage in the eastern part of the county with the emergency paging network, she said. This is especially noticeable in the Claflin area.
Basically, she said the pagers struggle finding and pinging off 800 MHz towers. This creates dropped or delayed messages to first responders, she said.
“The agreement before you should solve this issue,” Popp said. “It will benefit Rice County as well. It will provide additional coverage to emergency responders in Rice County on the west end and in Barton County on the east side.”
It also provides some coverage redundancy for the east side of Barton County.
“In this agreement, there is no financial obligation to either county, as well as no liability in the event of any man-made or natural disaster,” she said. “I’m very appreciative for the opportunity to work with the Rice County director and come to an agreement on this.”
Now, the Rice County Commission will take up the matter when it meets Monday.
After that, Popp said it go to radio provider Mobile Radio and the Kansas Department of Transportation, which operates Kansas State Interoperable Communication System (KSICS) to program the changes.
“We’ve had problems from the beginning with the pagers not receiving the calls,” said Doug Hubbard, fire chief of Claflin-based Fire District Number 1. Hubbard has worked with Popp, the Rice County director and the Ellinwood Fire Department on the arrangement.
“This is awesome when government works together,” Krier said.
