The County Commissioners’ meeting was called to order on this date at 9:01 a.m. with Chairman Patrick H. Wade, Vice-Chair John Midkiff, Commissioner Elaine Griffith, and County Clerk Becky L. Freeman, present.
Chairman Wade led the group in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Road and Bridge- Foreman Fred Thomas met with the Commissioners to discuss road and bridge business. He updated them on the progress of the 2019 Road Rehabilitation Project as well as gravel pits. He said he hadn’t heard anything from BenchMark of Torrington regarding the SLIB post-construction easements, but knows they are working on them. He also said that the road and bridge crew had been busy rebuilding plows and adding shoes due to the heavy wear and tear on them because of the recent storms. Commissioner Griffith asked which areas he felt had been hit hardest, and he said Kirtley, Stage, S Bar, Lund, and McConaughey Roads as well as some out west. He said the snow is hard and packed down and making it hard on equipment.
Kurt Gaukel joined the meeting
In addition to the above roads, he said he had had requests for snow plowing up north as well as some requests for no snow plowing as landowners are afraid that fences will inadvertently get damaged.
He said he might need to look at purchasing a new plow as well as an angle blade.
Next, Foreman Thomas discussed the road crossing permits and said if the permits are going to be revised, he would like to see that all roads are bored instead of some of them only being trenched. He would also like to do away with the map and just use township, range, and section references.
Jackie King, Deputy State Director for Congresswoman Liz Cheney, joined the meeting.
Old Business – Chairman Wade said there was no new information on Tri-County Joint Powers Board for broadband.
County Attorney- County Attorney Anne Wasserburger met with the Commissioners and discussed county business. She presented a letter to the Commissioners regarding the Jordan Automotive towing discussion held at the last meeting regarding the towing of vehicles involved in a criminal investigation.
She discussed her new office and said she has plans for making the building ADA compliant in the future.
Deputy County Attorney Doyle Davies joined the meeting and presented a lease agreement between Double A Properties, Inc. and Niobrara County for rent for the County Attorney’s Office.
Executive Session- Vice-Chairman Midkiff moved to enter into Executive Session at 10:15 a.m. with Attorney Wasserburger to discuss personnel matters. Commissioner Griffith seconded, motion carried. Vice-Chairman Midkiff moved to leave Executive Session at 10:26 a.m. Commissioner Griffith seconded, motion carried. No action taken.
Jackie King updated them on the activities of Congresswoman Cheney.
Vikki Nunn, CPA with Porter, Muirhead, Cornea and Howard, met with the Commissioners to review and discuss audit items of interest. Also in attendance were Treasurer Keri Thompson, Clerk of District Court Chrisanna Lund, Sheriff Cary J. Gill, Extension Office Secretary Erin Smith, Sheriff’s Office Secretary Gail Santistevan, and Detention Lieutenant Gwen Riter.
Elected Officials and Department Heads- Treasurer Keri Thompson, Assessor Teri Stephens, Emergency Mgmt Coordinator James Santistevan, Clerk of District Court Chrisanna Lund, Sheriff Cary Gill and Extension Agent Denise Smith met with the Commissioners and discussed county business and office operations.
Sheriff Gill said he is using Randy Stensaas and James Frye as backup deputies until Deputy Applegarth is finished at the Law Enforcement Academy.
Extension Agent Smith talked about the upcoming Wyoming Business Council meeting that will be happening in Greybull. She also talked about 4-H Fridays and that the fair schedule has been set for July 24th – July 31st.
Treasurer Thompson said it is business as usual in her office.
Clerk of Court Lund said she had attended her association meetings. She will also be sending out juror questionaires and people will be able to complete these online.
Assessor Stephens said all of the field work has been entered and is done. They are now working on personal property oil field exemptions.
Emergency Management Coordinator Santistevan said he will be applying for a Homeland Security Grant to aid in costs for wiring at the fairgrounds. He also mentioned that there will be a meeting with health care providers regarding the corona virus.
Commissioner Griffith thanked everyone who has been helping revise the employee handbook.
Treasurer Thompson remained after the elected officials’ meeting and asked if the Commissioners would make a motion authorizing her to open a new bank account at Lusk State Bank for the segregation of federal funds. She stated the reason for this request is so federal funds can be held in a non interest bearing account. Commissioner Griffith moved to authorized Tresurer Keri Thompson to open a new bank account with Lusk State Bank, the purpose of which is to segregate federal funds into a non interest bearing account. Vice-Chairman Midkiff seconded, motion carried.
The Commissioners received a bid estimate from Miller Construction for work on the west doors of the Courthouse for $500.00. Vice Chairman Midkiff moved to approve the bid of Miller Construction to work on the west doors of the Courthouse. Commissioner Griffith seconded, motion carried.
County Attorney Office Lease Agreement- Commissioner Griffith moved to approve the lease agreement between Double A. Properties, LLC. and Niobrara County spelling out the terms of the lease and monthly rent payments of $1,000.00 per month. Vice-Chairman Midkiff seconded, motion carried.
Letter of Support- Vice-Chairman Midkiff moved to approve the Letter of Support of the Niobrara County Extension Office’s application for NEAFCS “Innovative Youth Development Award” for their work on the STEAM program (f/k/a/ 4-H Fridays.) Commissioner Griffith seconded, motion carried.
Consent Agenda- Vice-Chairman Midkiff moved to approve the consent agenda. Commissioner Griffith seconded, motion carried. Items on the consent agenda were the minutes of the February 18, 2020 meeting and receipts for the month of February from the County Clerk for $4,531.94, from the Sheriff for $926.25 and from the Clerk of Court for the months of August 2019 – February 2020 for $9,546.45.
Payroll and the following vouchers were approved for payment:
8999.96 Aflac Insurance; 335.83 Alsco; 1.61 Anna Foreman; 2187.55 Barco Municipal Products, Inc.; 631.80 Barnes Law, LLC.; 297.87 Becky L. Freeman; 3787.50 BenchMark of Torrington P.C.; 97.00 Benzel Pest Control, Inc.; 380.84 Black Hills Chemical & Janitorial; 1830.47 Black Hills Energy; 15150.00 Blue Cross Blue Shield of Wyoming; 628.15 Bob Barker Co., Inc.; 664.26 Bob Ruwart Motors, Inc.; 84.50 Boldon Welding & Repair, LLC.; 850.01 Buckaroo Motor Company; 2207.92 C & H Tire & Trailer Repair, LLC.; 500.00 Cally Lund; 446.80 Canon Financial Services, Inc.; 3278.40 Carrie Stanley; 2732.86 Century Link; 97.02 Century Link Business Services; 5048.00 Chantry Filener; 165.60 Chrisanna Lund; 178.89 Connecting Point Computer Centers; 100.00 Cory Wilcox; 26.85 Crook County Public Health; 200.00 Davies Law; 43.50 Decker's Market; 1037.05 Delta Dental of Wyoming; 1000.00 Dennis C. Meier; 1610.00 Falen Law Offices, LLC.; 354.91 Frank Parts Company; 921.91 Fusion Cloud Services, LLC.; 1300.00 Geographic Innovations; 1705.00 Goshen County Sheriff's Office; 16920.00 Great-West Trust Company, LLC.; 328.00 GreatAmerica Financial Svcs.; 1988.52
H & H Electric, LLC; 400.00 Herbert K. Doby; 239.16 Herren Brothers True Value; 61.73 Hiway Brake & Alignment; 273.40 Ideal/Bluffs Facility Solutions; 6800.00 Jameson Cleaning & Maintenance, LLC.; 30.00 Jub Jub, Inc.; 2576.67 Kerry Steward; 7.00 Laramie Range Water; 1507.00 Lusk Herald; 2481.83 MasterCard; 20.00 Midwest Connect; 500.00 Monika D. Davies; 1266.57 Niobrara County Circuit Court; 32581.56 Niobrara County Hospital District; 1725.00 Niobrara County Library; 287.15 Niobrara County Public Health; 10.55 Niobrara County Sheriff's Office; 90.35 Niobrara County Treasurer; 53.01 Niobrara Electric Association; 51.10 Office Depot; 1230.00 Palen Law Offices, LLP; 4700.00 Pine Ridge Enterprises, LLC.; 355.29 Rawhide Drug Company; 1085.00 Sashanna Miller; 1248.63 Schindler Elevator Corporation; 75.00 Solutions For Life; 100.00 Sylvestri Customization; 93.00 Team Laboratory Chemical, LLC.; 700.00 The Master's Touch, LLC.; 154.50 Thomson Reuters-West; 98773.47 Timberline Services, Inc.; 434.39 Torrington Office Supply; 2859.24 Town Of Lusk; 82.69 Tyler Technologies; 154.64 Valley Motor Supply; 357.68 Verizon Wireless; 484.24 Vision Service Plan - (Wy); 633.39 Visionary Broadband; 704.83 Walt’s Lathe & Machine; 216.00 WEBT; 2415.15 Westco; 2363.29 Whitaker Oil; 14.00 WY Dept. of Health Public Health Lab; 14.11 WY Enterprise Technology Services; 1364.00 Wyoming Behavioral Institute; 200.00 Wyoming County Treasurer's Assoc.; 10876.45 Wyoming Machinery Company; 400.00 Wyoming Network, Inc.; 3593.55 Wyoming Women's Center; 130.91 Xerox Corporation
There being no further business, the meeting adjourned.
NIOBRARA COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
Patrick H. Wade, Chairman
Attest:
Becky L. Freeman, County Clerk
Public Notice No. 5411. Published in The Lusk Herald on March 25, 2020.
