Commission - Regular Meeting

Mhm.

Mhm.

Mhm.

We need that music from Jeopardy. You say so. All right. Bring this meeting to order. We'll start with 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. Good morning, everyone. Welcome to the Shawnee County Board of County Commissioners. It's April 2nd, 2026. And on my immediate right is Commissioner Kevin Cook, who represents District 2. On my left is Commissioner Aaron Mays, who represents District 3. I'm Bill Ripon, and I represent District 1. On my far right is our County Counselor, Rich Eckert. And on our far left is Chris Miller, who's filling in for our County Clerk today. So, good to have you here.

you. Good morning. Uh Chris, what's first on the agenda? The first item is item three, consent agenda. Um no questions or comments, I'm going to move that we approve the consent agenda. Second. Motion's been made by Commissioner Ripon, second by Commissioner Mays. All in favor, say I. Those opposed? Motion carries 3-0. Next item. Item four, new business. A, County Clerk. Number one, consider all voucher payments. Commissioners, this morning we have vouchers that total $4,224,539.15. The highlights out of the voucher report we have our payroll employee costs, that was $1,409,058.34. We also had health insurance for our employees, that was $230,725.01. We had holding accounts with the state of Kansas of $243,359.72. At the jail, we Department of Corrections, we had Vital Core Health Strategies, that's the health care at the Department of Corrections, $493,872.79. With the Elections Office, we had Election Systems and Software LLC, that was for contracted services, and that was $213,616.94. With the Axon Enterprises with the Sheriff and federal grant, that was $407,179.67. And finally, with RCI Adventure Products, this was a progress payment on the Gage Park aerial trail, paid for by the Gage Park sales tax funds, $128,000. I do not have any questions regarding the vouchers, but move for their approval. Second. Motion's been made by Commissioner Cook, second by Commissioner Ripon. All in favor, say I. Those opposed? Motion carries 3-0. Next item. Number two, consider correction orders. I would

move that we approve the correction orders. Second. Motion's been made by Commissioner Ripon, second by Commissioner Cook. All in favor, say I. Those opposed? Motion carries 3-0. Next item. Item B, Public Works. Number one, consider a request to issue an RFQ for design and construction engineering services relating to a project involving the removal of a bridge on Northeast 46th Street over abandoned railroad and the replacement of a nearby bridge on Northeast Shaffer Road over Little Muddy Creek. Good morning, Commissioners. Courtney House, Director of Public Works. Um these two bridges are not presently on our five-year plan, but we hope to add those uh during the upcoming budget cycle. We'd like to get a head start on the design work. Um But uh there's two bridges there, they're relatively close together. Uh they're, you know, just northeast of Topeka, the city limits of Topeka. One is um a bridge over an abandoned railroad. We think it's time to get rid of that bridge. Uh KDOT has done the same thing on US 24. Uh it's it's uh constructed of weathering steel, which has it has some details on it that might uh be a maintenance headache going forward into the future. And then the smaller bridge over Muddy Creek, again, it's mostly we want to package it with the removal because they're so close together. So, with that, I could provide a lot more information, but with that, I look forward to your questions. Mr. Mayse. Uh Kurt, the abandoned railroad, are is there any risk if those tracks get reactivated at some point? I know that railroads sometimes will stop a route and then start one back up 20 years later. Yeah. These tracks have

been gone for probably 15 or 20 years. tracks are actually gone. They're not just old embankment. Uh yeah. Yeah. So, uh we're not replacing that one at all.

No, that would remove a bridge from our inventory, which is always a good thing. Obviously, a bridge rail and a guard rail at the approaches are a hazard because they're in the clear zone, so we take that away. Uh we would lower the grade slightly, which would uh I think be a benefit for sight distances. And and I think um it would be a a great improvement. So, how is this road terminating now? I mean, if it a bridge there, is it Well, we would just uh you would essentially remove part of the embankment and fill in the hole, so to speak. Flatten out the grade. Uh we may not be able to flatten it out completely because of the existence of some nearby driveways, but we would do what we could uh to lower the grade on the road and uh and completely remove the bridge. Yes. Commissioner Mayse. And is this one of those things where we have to get railroad approval that might take a couple years? No, I don't believe quite certain it would not. Okay. You're being optimistic there. All right. I'll make a motion to approve the request. Second. Okay. Motion's been made by Commissioner Cook, second by Commissioner Mayse. All in favor say I. Those opposed. Motion carries 3-0. Next item. Number two, consider a request to issue an RFQ for design and construction engineering services relating to a project to repair six county bridges. Kurt Neis, director of public works. You know, it's uh we can't always have the glory of replacing a bridge. Sometimes it's best to um repair uh and rehabilitate what we already have. We have six bridges here from dating from the mid-to-late '70s all the way to um the late '80s. It's time to do a various repairs and fixes

uh including uh bearings, deck patching, maybe encasing the abutments. And so, we would like to do that under one project uh at least from a design standpoint. It would han- it would be handled under one contract. And then as we move forward into the design, we would decide how we wanted to package these projects for construction. With that, I'd look forward to your questions. Once again, tell me, how many bridges do we have in the county? We have 261. 261. So, I know we do a lot of bridge projects, but that's the reason why. We have 261 and we can't get behind. That's right. And the sales tax program has been a wonderful resource to prevent getting behind. Mr. Mayse.

Well, it sounds like at the end of next year, we'll have two less, right? Yes. Yeah. So, um the I'm looking at the condition report that you included with your agenda item here, and most of these have a sufficiency rating of in the in the '90s out of 100, but one has a 66. Mhm. Um but then when I look at the NBI rating, all of them say fair except for one says good. So, I guess maybe explain to me what that means and how we've decided that these are ones that need to be upgraded if they're rated pretty good.

I'll I'll try to be brief. The sufficiency rating really is an indication of the bridge ability the bridge's ability to carry loads. Uh so, the the ones you know in the '90s, that means they're in pretty good shape for load carrying capacity. The one that's at 66.2, you will notice over to the right that it is load posted. But the ratings, the NBI ratings, they take into account more than its structural capacity. They take into account, okay, what's the approaches like? What's the bridge deck like? Is it in pretty good shape? What's the bearing conditions? Is the guardrail or the the bridge rail in good shape? Does it come does it meet the latest standard? So, uh the NBI rating goes beyond the sufficiency rating to account for some details on the bridge that are beyond load carrying. So, so with like a re-decking, that's not going to change that. It won't change the generally on a lot of bridges, when we replace the deck, sometimes we can increase the load carrying capacity by making the deck composite with the girders. And I know I I don't want to get in too much detail here. Sometimes that's already occurred and we can't take advantage of that, so we can't improve the load carrying capacity, but generally speaking, we can always do things to a bridge to improve the NBI rating. Okay. And then I guess my last question is on on the one that has the load rating on it now, Mhm. is there a reason why we're fixing it and not replacing it? Cuz I mean, it it would seem it's 62 years old. Yeah.

Uh it seems like that one might might actually need to be replaced instead. Yeah, um that's a good question. When you look to the right at the load posting and at below that table, there's a the legal limits for bridges. You will notice that it's really not significantly lower than the legal limits. So, it's it really does it's a bridge that really carries quite a bit of weight. It's just that again, there's some details on that bridge that we can improve or upgrade. Okay. Any other questions? If not, I'll move for approval. I'll second. Motion's been made by Commissioner Rippon, second by Commissioner Mayse. All in favor say I. Those opposed. Motion carries 3-0. Thank you.

Thank you, Kurt. Next item. Item C, Audit Finance, number one, request to reclassify an existing vacant accountant one position to auditor one and post the open position. Good morning, commissioners. Jennifer Sauer, financial administrator. Um just as Chris stated, um we are looking to do a reclassification on our vacant accountant one position. It's an existing position we have. Um we're looking to reclassify it to an auditor one just uh that is a better descriptor of the job skills that we're looking for for the duties that need to be done in our office. Um and I can answer any questions that you might have. Questions? I'll move for approval. I will second. Motion's been made by Commissioner Rippon, second by Commissioner Mayse. All in favor say I. Those opposed. Motion carries 3-0. Next item. Number two, request to reclassify the procurement specialist position to procurement administrator. Good morning, commissioners. Jennifer Sauer, financial administrator. Um this is another uh request to reclassify a position we have. This should finish up all of the um uh reclassifications that have fallen under under my um taking over the audit finance department. Um this position has grown in the duties that it handles. It actually is the position that uh administers the full procurement program for Shawnee County. They it's this the position that handles and coordinates with all the departments, all the RFPs, um all of the awards. They work with the counselor's office on any of the issues that we have as they pop up. So, um this is a we work with HR, and this is a better representation for what this person actually does for us.

Questions? I'll move for approval. Second. Motion's been made by Commissioner Rippon, second by Commissioner Cook. All in favor say I. Those opposed. Motion carries 3-0. Thank you.

Thank you. Next item. Item D, Commission, number one, acknowledge Commissioner Cook reappointing Fred Patton to the Topeka Shawnee County Public Library Board. Fred has served one term, and this would be the start of a second term at the library board. And I'm nominating him for re-nomination to that board. I'll second. What is it Oh, do we need to vote? I mean, it says acknowledge, but No, it's an appointment. I just Okay. All right. Done. Okay. Number two, acknowledge Commissioner Mayse reappointing Shawn Leisinger to the Topeka Shawnee County Public Library Board. Uh Shawn reached out and asked to be reappointed, so that's what we're doing. Okay. All right. Number number three, appointment of Ronald Holler to the Civil Service Board by Commissioner Cook. Uh my appointee, Matt McGivern, had stepped down from his Civil Service Board appointment. I want to thank Mr. McGivern for his time on the Civil Service Board. Uh, the Civil Service Board reviews promotions within the Sheriff's Office. Also deals with grievances. And so, I am appointing Ronald Haller. He is a 29 veteran of the Topeka Police Force and he's currently with Highway Patrol and semi-retired. So, appointing him to that board. Very good. Okay. Matt Matt had done that for quite a while. Now, that one we have to vote on, I believe. Okay. I will second. Motion's been made by Commissioner Cook, seconded by Commissioner Ripon. All in favor, say I. Those opposed, motion carries 3-0. Next item. Item five, public comment. All right. Today, we have the Kansas Children's Service League here. I think they want to do a quick little presentation here. Good morning, Commissioners. I'm Amber Miller. I'm the director of Kansas

Children's Service League. Thank you for the opportunity to recognize April as Child Abuse Prevention Month. Kansas Children's Service League is the Kansas chapter of Child Abuse Prevent Child Abuse America. It's the the nation's oldest and largest organization dedicated to preventing child abuse and neglect. Each year, KCSL coordinates statewide prevention efforts and supports local communities in raising awareness, strengthening families, and promoting the safety and well-being of children. At KCSL, we believe every child deserves to grow up safe, supported, and full of possibilities. Our work focuses on providing support before challenges turn into crisis, partnering with children and families in the areas of health, safety, and education to help break cycles of trauma, neglect, and abuse. This year's theme is pinwheels of possibilities and I you have your pinwheels right there in your lapel pins. Um, it celebrates the limitless potential of children and families when communities come together to support them. So, we invite everyone to join us in April and throughout the the year in raising awareness, taking action, and helping keep the pinwheels of possibilities spinning so that every child has the chance to grow up supported and loved. Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you. Can we do a photo? Okay. We're going to do a little photo shot here. Yeah, we're going to go right here.

Okay? Okay. Thank you. Thank you. Okay. Uh, I don't have anyone else signed up to speak, but uh, if there's anyone here who would like to speak, uh, please come forward. Good morning. Henry McLure, Topeka, Kansas, Shawnee County. I think we need That was a good presentation, but I think we need a group about taxpayer abuse. Taxpayer abuse. I'm here to talk about Excuse me. Two things. One thing I love about the real estate profession is we police our own. We're actually [snorts] obligated to report um, misdeeds, misdoings, misconduct. And I kind of wish that was the same in the legal profession cuz it must not be. Um, I filed one complaint and uh, the guy lost his license. I've just had filed another complaint over This is over, you know, my lifetime. But, one of the most interesting days in court yesterday was at the MTAA hearing. Now, the guys that got sued by MTAA would rather not have his name listed. He's a client of mine. I've done work for him. I've made money with this dude. So, we're going to call him Mr. Long-Term Lease. So, Mr. Long-Term

has got a lease. He's paying rent. He's current. Clipping along. He had had a sub-lease and he lost the tenant. But, Mr. Long-Term's refinancing some stuff and with his personal life and he has to the banker needs to see the lease because it's an asset, because it's got all this term and there's value in that term. So, Mr. Long-Term's lawyer's out of town, so he calls the MTAA and MTAA sends over lease to the bank. Mr. Long-Term Now, this is going back to like 2018. I don't know the exact time frame, but it's long. And you know, I could put the chrono- chronological together, but you'll get the gist. So, Mr. Long- Long-Term's lawyer comes back and he just goes ahead and sends a lease, too. Whatever. So, the banker's looking at the two leases, MTAA, Mr. Long-Term. Well, wait a minute. MTAA This These are two different leases. And it creates a problem. And real briefly, that problem then turns into MTAA had altered the lease. So, then MTAA finding out they get their hands in the cookie jar caught, MTAA sues Mr. Long-Term to terminate his lease. Well, he's paying rent. So, in the infinite wisdom of MTAA, they alter a lease, they get caught, they sue the guy. Now, we the taxpayers are paying both legal bills cuz

yesterday, Mr. Long-Term's lawyer got his legal bills approved. But, it's going to end up being So, right now, we've got a judgment. Now, hang on. So, real quick, then MTAA didn't want this to come into the public, so they settled. They make a settlement. Hey, all right. We're wrong. We'll settle. [laughter]

And then they don't pay. So, they sue, they settle their own lawsuit, and then they don't pay. And then any of you guys think there's a problem with this? And you guys are appointing people to MTAA board. This is a bad deal. Anyone else wishing to speak? Morning, Commissioners. My name is Jack Calcutt. I'm a resident of Shawnee County. I live on 600 Northwest Valencia Road. I'd like to speak briefly today about property taxes. Um, it's fairly uncontroversial that citizens right now are concerned about rising property taxes, rapidly rising property taxes. As one example, one of my own properties in Topeka, so I compound annual growth rate in taxes of about 6.9% over the last five years. And so, that's over 35% increase in property taxes. That rate has exceeded inflation, population growth, and also the increase in property values for that particular property. Um, this past week, state legislators continued to debate property tax reform in the State House. Um, on March 12th, two competing proposals to try to limit local spending failed. This The Senate's plan was to amend the Constitution to cap property tax assessments at 3% growth annually. Um, and that proposal may have given homeowners some relief, but it failed to pass. The House's plan was to give the residents additional lever of protest for property taxes. Under their proposal, residents can petition 10% of the voters to veto an increase in local spending above

inflation. Um, this bill did pass. It now sits on the governor's desk and if she decides to sign it, that gives the public a lever to control spending. So, given all this as a backdrop, I just want to make a suggestion to the Board of Commissioners today, as well as others like public libraries, school boards, um, that we've seen some appointments today to those boards. Take note Take note of the landscape um, as you consider going into your budget seasons this year. People do not want to see their tax taxes go up. They want to see them go down. Um, and so, I'd say that this is not the year for especially for nice to have spending projects, anything that seems non-essential um, is not going to go over well this year. Uh, this is the time for discipline. Um, the county, uh, the Board of Commissioners could get ahead of this and, uh, take leadership now um, in controlling budgets. So, the the county budget as well as the other boards, um, where you have appointment power. Um, or, uh, could run the risk of further frustrating the people who might go ahead and sign that protest petition to limit local spending um, or even, uh, lobby, uh, members of the state legislator legislature to pursue other proposals, uh, to limit local spending. Um, so, I I I really believe that now is the time for leadership and hard decisions and discipline and that's the opportunity that we have before us. Thank you for the time. Thank you. Anyone else wishing to speak? All right. Next item. Administrative communications. Here we go. Good morning, Commissioners. Amanda Monhollen with the Commissioner office. I'm just here [clears throat] today to

remind everyone, um, county employees and their families, um, that Wednesday, um, April 8th is our bingo night fundraiser to support Helping Hands Humane Society. Um, and if you have not gotten your advanced purchase tickets, um, please do so. Um, uh, we're available in all of the facilities. And so, if you do purchase one, you do get a free blackout card in advance. But, you always can also definitely pay the night of. So, thank you. Thank you. Good morning, Commissioners. Teresa Fissure, Director of the Health Department. And I am here to announce that next week we will be celebrating National Public Health Week. Uh, this is an opportunity that we, along with lots of other health departments throughout the state and the nation, are celebrating the work that our staff does in the communities. The theme for this year is ready, set, action. So, I encourage everyone to follow along our various social media channels to learn more about public health, the ways that you can get involved. There's really no, um, wrong door that an individual, an organization, or a business can learn more about public health and the way that it impacts our community. Um, we all want Shawnee County to be a healthy place to live, work, and play. And this is a great week to spotlight that. Thank you. Thank you. Anyone else? All right. Chris, what's next? Did you guys have anything? Oh, excuse me. Do you have anything to add? Aren't you making a speech later today? Or presentation at the, uh, annual meeting? The the Chamber of Commerce isn't the annual meeting. I don't think I'm making a speech. Okay. Are you attending the annual meeting later today? It's going to I am going to be attending.

All right. All right. Do you want to announce that you're going to be at the annual meeting? I will be at the annual meeting today. And Commissioner Cook will be making a speech.

Yes. Yes, I'm making a speech. No one said anything to me about it anyway. I guess I can, though, if I have to. Uh, Commissioner Mayes? Nothing for me. Okay. Uh, I just want to say that next Monday, uh, we're taking our work session on the road. We're going to be at Kos Over Tennis. Uh, there was a lot of new, uh, additions made to the tennis facility out there and, uh, we'll be, uh, we'll be, uh, taking a look at that. See what it looks like. Uh, that's all I have. Okay. Uh, executive sessions. We do have a need for executive session. So, I'm going to move that we recess into executive session for a period not to exceed 45 minutes for the following. Uh, one is a consultation with an attorney for the public body or agency which would be deemed, uh, privileged and attorney-client relationship specifically to discuss contract negotiations regarding the Manor Conference Center. And two, uh, to discuss, uh, data related to financial affairs or trade secrets of corporations, partnerships, trusts, and individual partnerships. Uh, and then three, uh, we need, uh, another executive session for personnel matters of non-elected personnel for the purpose of department head evaluations for a period not to exceed 75 minutes. So, Second. You second? Uh, motion's been made by Commissioner Rippee, and second by Commissioner Cook. All in favor, say aye. Those opposed, motion carries 3-0. And just for just to be clear on the first two motions on the attorney-client and the financial information, there will be different people in each one of those sessions. So, I want to make sure that when we're in the attorney-client part, it'll just be the four of us. Okay.

me to say it like that? All right. So, do I need to say we're in executive session at this point? No, you're you're right. We are in executive session. Are we starting now? Uh, no, let's start at, uh, let's say 10:40. Or 9:40, I'm sorry. 9:40. Going to take me a long time to sign all these.