Board of County Commissioners - Regular Meeting

Thank you so much. Thank you.

Well, good morning, everyone. Welcome to the Sedgwick County Board of County Commissioners meeting. Welcome to those joining online, Facebook, YouTube, and everyone joining us in person. We're glad you're here today. When you walk in, we encourage you to grab a meeting packet agenda that allows you to follow along with all the items we'll be discussing on the County Commission. If you're ever curious about supporting documents, you can have access to those at sedgwickcounty.org. Now, let's get to work. We've got a great meeting today for September 9, 2026. Madam Clerk, first item.

Invocation to be observed by a moment of silence. Please remain standing for the Pledge of Allegiance.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Next item, please.

Roll call. Commissioner Meitzner. Present. Commissioner Beatty. Present. Commissioner Howe. Present. Commissioner Wise. Present. Chairman Blubaugh.

Present. Next item.

County Announcements.

Morning, Nicole.

Good morning, Chairman and Commissioners. Nicole Gibbs of Strategic Communications. Sedgwick County Zoo is again hosting Wichita's wildest fundraisers, Zubilee, this Saturday, September 12th. Director of Marketing and Communication, Jennica King, is here to tell you more about it.

Good morning.

Good morning, commissioners. Thank you for having me. I'm Jennica King, director of marketing and communication. And like Nicole said, we're sharing some good news, upcoming events from the zoo. So this Saturday, September 12, from 6 PM to midnight, we'll be hosting Zubilee, our annual fundraiser, Wichita's wildest fundraiser. And it is the signature fundraising event for the zoo. So we're really, really excited. We've been doing this for nearly 50 years now, getting very close to 50 years. So we'll have a big anniversary to celebrate here pretty soon. But ticket sales are going really well. We've sold out of our VIP tickets, so that is very exciting news. And we're right on track with our regular ticket sales that we're getting. So this is a big deal for the zoo. This is a good percentage of our annual operating budget. So roughly a million dollars gets raised for the zoo in just that one night. So we're excited. It's a big night, and we hope to see everybody there.

Okay. I know myself and Commissioner Wise are planning to attend, so we're looking forward to it.

Good, good.

Anybody have any questions or comments?

All right. And then put a little plug in for the next event coming up is Wild Lights. This is the sixth year that we're doing Wild Lights. It runs October 14th through December 20th. Tickets will be on sale in the coming weeks after Zubilee wraps up. So we'll do a week of a member presale that starts on September 14th and then September 21st. Tickets will go on sale to the public. So we hope to see everybody there as well.

I think they're forecasting a little bit of a cool front Saturday. So anything you can help us out with that, we'd really appreciate it.

My fingers are crossed. I think it might even rain. And at this point, I wouldn't even be mad about a little rain as long as it's not 112 degrees. So I think we'll be happy with whatever we get, though.

All right. Thank you very much.

Thank you for having me.

Okay, yesterday, Treasurer Brandy Bailey opened a satellite tag location in western Sedgwick County with a full-service station inside the Lubbers Chevrolet Chimney. The office will operate on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 a.m. to noon and then have a lunch break and will open again from 1 to 5. And appointments are now available for scheduling if you want to go online. In addition to the Sedgwick County Tag Office at Douglas, Sedgwick County residents can complete their tag business at multiple satellite locations. For those addresses and more tag office information, visit our website, sedgwickcounty.org. Have you been negatively impacted by the ongoing drought? If so, you may be eligible for drought disaster loans from the Small Business Administration. This working capital loan helps eligible small businesses, agricultural cooperatives, aquaculture businesses, and private nonprofit organizations pay ordinary and necessary expenses they cannot cover because of the disaster. Applications are open now and available until March 10th of 2027. And you can also find this information and how to apply online at our website. Reminder that Sedgwick County Fire District 1, its member cities, and multiple cities around the county have implemented an indefinite burn ban. This is necessary due to the dry conditions, high temperatures, strong winds, and potential dangers to area fire services should a grass fire occur. No outdoor burning is allowed and all active burn permits are suspended until further notice. Residents are encouraged to contact their respective fire departments with questions about their burning status. And the Sedgwick County Election Office is actively looking for election workers for the upcoming 2026 general election on November 3rd. Election workers are essential to maintain the integrity of our elections. And for more information and to apply, visit sedgwickcounty.org slash elections. That's all I have for today and I'll stand for any questions.

Commissioner, do you have any questions? All right. Thank you very much, Nicole.

Thank you.

Next item, please.

Consideration of minutes. Item A, regular meeting minutes of August 12, 2026.

Does anyone have any questions about the minutes from August 12th meeting or the August 19th meeting? If not, I'll go ahead and make a motion to approve both items A and B.

Second.

We have a motion and a second. Madam Clerk, please call the roll.

Commissioner Meitzner. Aye. Commissioner Beatty. Aye. Commissioner Howell.

Aye.

Commissioner Weiss. Aye. Chairman Blubaugh.

Aye. Motion passes 5-0. Next item, please.

Appointments.

Yes, Chairman, Justin Wagner, County Councilor. There's only one item under appointments, which is item C, which is the resignation of David Paul from the Wichita-Sedgwick County Food and Farm Council. The recommended action is to accept that resignation. Okay. I'd like to go ahead and make a motion to accept the resignation.

Second.

I have a motion and a second. Madam Clerk, please call the roll.

Commissioner Meitzner. Aye. Commissioner Beatty.

Aye.

Commissioner Howell.

Aye.

Commissioner Weiss. Aye. Chairman Blubaugh.

Aye. Motion passes 5-0. Next item, please.

Public agenda.

We do not have anyone signed up on the public agenda. Is there anyone who would like to speak today? Okay. Next item, please.

Consent agenda.

Good morning, Chairman and Commission.

Tom Stills, County Manager's Office, recommending approval of consent items D through H on the agenda today. Okay. Commissioners, does anyone have any questions about items D through H? If not, I'd like to make a motion to approve items D through H. Second. I have a motion and a second. Madam Clerk, please call the roll.

Commissioner Meitzner? Aye. Commissioner Beatty? Aye. Commissioner Howell?

Aye.

Commissioner Weiss? Aye. Chairman Blubaugh?

Aye. Motion passes 5-0. Next item, please.

New business, item I, report of the Board of Bids and Contracts regular meeting on September 3, 2026.

Good morning, Mr. Chairman and Commissioners, Joe Thomas, Purchasing Director. The Board of Bids and Contracts, our regular meeting of September 3rd. We have two items for you this morning. Our first is Journal Technologies, the adult program build-out for the Department of Corrections. This recommendation is to accept the contracted rates listed from Journal Technologies Incorporated, and it will be a total cost of $235,025, and this is good through September 30th of 2027. Final item is journal technologies. This is for the software license maintenance and support agreement for Department of Corrections and The recommendation is to accept the quote from journal technologies incorporated and it's for the contract period as shown I'll be happy to try to answer any questions you have and recommend approval Commissioners do you have any questions?

If not, I'd like to make a motion to approve the recommendation of the Board of Bids and Contracts.

Second.

A motion and a second. Madam Clerk, please call the roll.

Commissioner Meitzner. Aye. Commissioner Beatty. Aye. Commissioner Howell. Aye. Commissioner Weiss. Aye. Chairman Blumenthal.

Aye. Motion passes 5-0. Thank you. Next item, please.

Other.

Commissioner, do you have anything on other? Okay, next item, please.

Executive session.

We do have an executive session today.

Okay. Chairman, I move that the Board of County Commissioners recess into executive session for 40 minutes until 9.50. for consultation with legal counsel for the county regarding matters deemed privileged in the attorney-client relationship in order to discuss legal considerations on matters under Kansas law, including legal advice with respect to such matters, and that the Board of County Commissioners return to this room from executive session at 9.50.

And I'll second that motion. We'll have a motion and a second. Madam Clerk, please call the roll.

Commissioner Meitzner. Aye. Commissioner Beatty. Aye. Commissioner Howe.

Aye.

Commissioner Weiss. Aye. Chairman Blubaugh.

Aye. The motion passes 5-0. We'll be back here at 9.50. We're returning from executive session, and no binding action was taken. Next item? Okay. Meeting's adjourned.