ST. JOHN — These are the minutes from the Stafford County Board of County Commissioner meeting.
The Stafford County Board of County Commissioners met on Wednesday, May 20, in the Commission Room in the Annex. Chairman Garner called the meeting to order at 8:30 a.m. Present: Bryce Garner, Todd Wycoff, and Jim Stanford.
Cheryl Budge, Appraiser, presented her 2027 budget request. She highlighted the changes for 2027. She updated the current activity in her department regarding continuing education and making the 17% data collection more uniform. Cheryl also advised that she will be hiring a part time person for the summer to assist with the data collection. Commissioner Wycoff moved, and Commissioner Stanford seconded, to approve the annual contract with McCulley & Associates. Motion carried 3-0.
Commissioner Wycoff moved, and Commissioner Stanford seconded, to approve the agreement with the Barton County Health Department for WIC dietician services. Motion carried 3-0.
Brandy Loomis and McKinley Phillips with Sunflower Diversified Services, met with the commissioners to discuss their 2027 budget allocation request. They highlighted the services they provide in Stafford County.
Commissioner Wycoff moved, and Commissioner Stanford seconded, to approve the minutes of the May 13 meeting. Motion carried 3-0.
Commissioner Wycoff moved, and Commissioner Stanford seconded, to approve the tax roll corrections. Motion carried 3-0.
Beau Rebel, GBT General Manager, met with the commission to discuss a new grant opportunity. Beau advised that GBT was able to privately fund getting fiber to St. John, Stafford and Macksville. He updated the status of current available grant funding. The latest opportunity is the BAG 6.0 program which is a 50/50 match program through the state transportation department. GBT will be focusing on fiber installation from the Hudson to Seward area, which will improve the reliability of wireless service in the area. Beau asked if the commission would be willing to a write letter of support and possibly make a monetary contribution. Commissioner Garner moved, and Commissioner Stanford seconded, to write a letter of support for the Broadband Acceleration Grant 6.0 (BAG 6) that GBT will be applying for and to contribute $1,000.00 if the grant is awarded. Motion carried 3-0.
Leslie Tanner and Marceline Mastin with the Stafford County Historical Society met with the commission to discuss what the historical society does and the types of records they keep. They presented financial information with their 2027 allocation request.
Robert Murrow, Sheriff, presented the 2027 budget request for his department. He explained that the budget total has not changed but he has moved some items around. The only additional item would be a new router for their server.
Commissioner Stanford left the meeting at 10 a.m.
Upon the request of Mike Robinson, County Attorney. Commissioner Garner moved, and Commissioner Wycoff seconded, to recess to executive session pursuant to the attorney-client privilege to discuss a confidential matter. Motion carried 2-0. Those present: Commissioners, County Clerk, Sheriff, County Attorney. Returned to open session at 10:15 a.m.
Lisa Weber and Nicole Petty, County Clerk’s Office, presented information for a new county website. Municipalities with populations of 0-49,999 must meet compliance requirements by April of 2028. Discussion was held regarding what the website would offer and how it could be utilized. If a new website build was initiated in 2027 it would be ready for compliance in 2028.
Meeting adjourned at 10:40 a.m.
