LEPC members approved
On Monday, the Barton County Commission named several people to the Barton County Local Emergency Planning Committee.
They included: Reappointments, Gaila Demel of United Way of Central Kansas, Scott Flemming of Hoisington Emergency Medical Services, Brittney Glenn of Ellinwood EMS, Barton County Solid Waste and Operations director Phil Hathcock; Linn Hogg of RSVP/VIA of Central Kansas; Sarah Krom of Sunflower Diversified Services, county Risk Management Director Amy Miller, Great Bend Municipal Airport Manager Martin Miller and retired Red Cross Volunteer Don Halbower; and new appointments included Kelly Bachar from Great Bend Regional Hospital, Great Bend Fire Chief Luke McCormick and county 911 Director Dena Popp.
Miller said the names will now be forwarded to the Kansas Division of Emergency Management for final approval. The KDEM oversees the LEPCs in Kansas counties.
The Barton County LEPC dates back to 1990.
A Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) is a voluntary organization established to meet the requirements of the Federal Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA), also known as the Superfund Amendment and Reauthorization Act (SARA Title III), for emergency response planning, according to the KDEM. It is comprised of representatives from the following groups: state/local officials; law enforcement; firefighting; emergency management; health; hospital; broadcast media and/or communications media; transportation; local environmental group; community service/civic group; emergency medical services; and facilities/industries regulated by SARA Title III.
Nominations were sought for appointment according to LEPC bylaws, Miller said.
These are two-year terms. Only half of the committee is up for renewal every year.
The Barton County Commission Monday morning approved replacing aging devices serving Barton County law enforcement.
First, commissioners approved the purchase of a new copier for the Sheriff’s Office. Having made almost a million copies over the last 10 years, the current Sheriff’s Office copier needs to be replaced. Sheriff Brian Bellendir said.
He recommended the current unit be traded for a Canon ImageRunner Advance C5535i from Office Products Inc. in Great Bend. With trade, the delivery price of the updated copier is $9,400. In addition, there will be a $60 monthly maintenance agreement charge. The initial cost will be paid through equipment replacement, with the Sheriff’s Office being responsible for the monthly maintenance.
Bellendir said was surprised by how many copies the machine had made over the years. But, the copier makes copies of cases that go to attorneys, copies of accident reports that to go to victims and insurance companies and copies requested by the general public.
The sheriff said they looked at renting a machine. But, this still required the service agreement.
Besides, with the heavy use, the copier — which has a 10-year life expectancy — will pay for itself in about four years, he said. “We’d be money ahead.”
Domain servers
Next, the commission approved the purchase of new law enforcement domain servers. It has become apparent that the domain servers are not adequate to provide for the needs of the officers, Information Technology Director John Debes said.
The current servers are at least five years old, and probably older, Debes said. In addition to routine usage on the existing system, the upload of in-car video and installation of the visitation video kiosks require updated equipment.
“These are the backbone of the law enforcement network,” Debes said. Although they don’t store information, they are responsible for the flow of data and its security.
Debes researched options. He suggested that HP ProLiant equipment from Nex-Tech be purchased at a cost of $20,424.48. Funds are available in the Equipment Replacement Fund for the purchase.
The other bid came from Office Products Incorporated and it was about $1,900 lower. But, Debes said he has had good luck with Nextech products and service in the past and was already familiar with them.
