Just as residents have been hit in the wake of last year’s tornado with insurance coverage shortfalls and gaps, so does the cold water of reality affect government in the same manner, as explained by Emergency Preparedness Director Ray Stegman at last week’s county commission meeting.
   Stegman told commissioners the County had lost $87,000 worth of Homeland Security-related property stored in a shed a year ago May 4, though he was able to pare that total value down to $67,543 by eliminating equipment “not needed.”  The County’s share of the materiel will come to a little over $10,000 after FEMA and the State have paid their respective shares.
     The County, however, will need to chip in its portion first in order to trigger the government payments.  The equipment had not been insured.
   Commission Chair Gene West said the $10,000 would likely be taken out of either the commissioners’ or capital outlay fund.  Stegman said care would be taken in the future to more regularly “do inventory of stuff like this and make sure our coverage is more current.”
   County Health Nurse Mitzi Hesser asked commissioners permission to shave hours for her department by 30 minutes, suggesting staff open at 8:30 rather than 8 a.m.
   “We don’t see anybody at 8 in the morning,” Hesser said, going on to explain the shorter hours could have the added benefit of saving the County “a little money.”
    The commissioners, however, were not in favor of the shorter hours, West telling Hesser, “I think it’s important we’re available to people when they can come in.  I know the treasurers’ office, and the register of deed and county clerk also are swamped.  Let’s continue on as we are.”  It was also mentioned the County had received a letter from Governor Sebelius okaying Marilyn Brown to fill the Register of Deeds position, which will be up for election later this year. 
In other matters…
   nPaul Conners, who serves on the advisory board of the Southwest Regional Juvenile Detention Center, gave an update for Kiowa County, presenting a spreadsheet showing the county’s budgeted 2008 expense for participating in the 18-county program is $2,798, which pales in comparison to the amount paid by larger counties using the facility more heavily.  Examples are $520,539 expected from Finney County (the facility is located in Garden City), $300,540 from Ford County and $224,691 from Seward.
   For the five-year average of 2003 through 2007 Kiowa County used the facility an average of eight days a year, the high being 30 days the County had at least one juvenile referred to the facility in 2003, the low being five days in 2006.  Conners told the commission Kiowa County has “not had a single kid sent so far this year (2008).”
   nRoad and Bridge Superintendent Doyle Conrad reported having recently hired Duane Maas, Andy Huckreide and Roger Harris to work in his department.
   West repeated to Conrad his suggestion at the April 30 meeting the roadman begin “cleaning up” his department’s lot on South Grove and arranging for an auction of unneeded items in preparation for beginning construction of new facilities.  After entertaining notions earlier this year of relocating the highway yard near the north landfill the County has decided to rebuild on the site used before May 4, 2007.
   nIn another matter at the April 30 meeting West discouraged Conrad’s suggestion the County charge a nominal fee for readying and supplying dumpsters on current and future construction sites in town—such as BTI and business incubator—for contractors to use to collect waste to be recycled in compliance with LEED standards.  “I don’t think it’s worth it,” West said of the effort to collect Conrad’s suggested $20 a month from each site.  “The fact they’re going to haul it off (to the north landfill) is good enough.”  Conrad said he’d “make it clear” contractors “need to sort and separate materials before hauling it off” to the landfill.  The County has three storage pods already at the landfill to store recycled material until it can be transported.  The reconditioned cardboard baler will be located there as well to aid in the effort.
   nAlso at the April 30 meeting Commissioner Earl Liggett disputed the consensus from an earlier meeting to use $51,000 from the Phillips Fund to bridge a funding gap to secure the in-town BTI property for a site to construct the new Kiowa County Memorial Hospital.  West, however, maintained money from the Phillips fund could be used “for the benefit of the county hospital” and that securing land for the facility should “surely be considered as benefiting them.”
   Liggett, however, refused to vote for approval of minutes of the previous meeting indicating the consensus for using the Phillips money, maintaining “there’s restrictions on using that money and I want to look at documentation” to that effect—documentation he believes is currently in the possession of former Greensburg attorney Charles Herd.  Liggett said he planned to “visit” with Herd about the matter.