The Greenwood County Commissioners held a brief routine meeting on Monday, Dec. 23.
During new business, the commission heard from Nathan Knobloch, Madison City Fire Chief, who requested the county’s assistance in purchasing a rescue truck. Knobloch shared that last spring, the Madison Fire Department (MFD) went to the City of Madison to update their trucks. At that time, the City of Madison and the MFD entered an agreement for the purchase of the truck. Knobloch noted that the unit was purchased and is up and running.
County Counselor Paul Dean, who also serves as Mayor of the City of Madison, said the City of Madison paid approximately $45,000 for the rescue truck, with MFD firefighters putting in approximately $30,000 to outfit the unit through fundraiser efforts. It was approximately three weeks after the unit was purchased that Knobloch learned the county had assisted the City of Eureka with their rescue truck. With learning of the aid, Knobloch wanted to request assistance for Madison’s unit.
It was noted that the dual- purpose pumper truck in Madison was equipped with an AED and went on 10-15 total calls during the year, with one or two of them being rescue calls. Following the meeting, Eureka Fire Department (EFD) Chief Luke Westerman shared with The Eureka Herald that over the past two years, EFD has responded to 23 rescue calls, 18 calls on Highway 54, 400 and 99 South of Eureka, one between Hamilton and Eureka and four north of Hamilton on Highway 99.
The overall consensus of the commission was to assist the City of Madison with the purchase, however when discussion of how much was posed, the commission elected to evaluate funds available during their final meeting of 2024, on Tuesday, Dec. 31.
County Counselor Dean shared that all departments within Greenwood County have mutual aid agreements.
With Road and Bridge Superintendent Allen Greenwood being unavailable at the time of the meeting, Greenwood County Emergency Management Director Levi Vinson shared a pay increase for road and bridge employee Marvin Patchett. It was noted that Patchett had completed his 90-day probation period and acquired his CDL. The commission approved a $1/hour increase, moving Patchett to $17 per hour, effective Jan. 10, 2025.
The commission approved the special payables, totaling $4,756.63; payables, totaling $234,418.41 (with the correction of one receivable’s name); payroll, totaling $150,881.83 and the Dec. 16 meeting minutes as presented.
Members of the Fancy Mustangs 4-H Club presented cookies to the commissioners and department heads in attendance, in appreciation of their support this year, as well as wishing all a Merry Christmas.
Greenwood County Clerk Deann McCaffree shared that a new informational piece had been added to the county’s website for Kansas Open Records Act (KORA) requests. The website, www.greenwoodcounty. org, shares frequently asked questions regarding the KORA, as well as a link to the form to submit requests.
The commission approved a cereal malt beverage license for Hamptons 2.0 L.L.C.
Counselor Dean stated he had been in contact with Coffey County Attorney Wade Bowie II who asked if Greenwood County would be willing to submit a letter of support for a computer chip manufacturing facility that will soon be undergoing construction near the BETO intersection. Dean felt the new facility could bring residents to Greenwood County. Although commissioners would prefer growth directly in Greenwood County, they were in favor of submitting a letter of support for the Coffey County business.
Greenwood County Sheriff Heath Samuels presented proposed pay increases to take effect in 2025 for his department. The commission then gathered other documentation as shared with Clerk McCaffree and held a 10-minute executive session to review employee evaluations. No decisions were made after returning to open session. The commission planned to review further at their next meeting.
Two separate five-minute executive sessions were held for legal matters. The first was with Vinson and Dean and the second was with Dean. No decisions were made after either session.
As the county continues with a road re-alignment project, Vinson stated that Register of Deed Marsha Ramsey would be retiring mid-January and the commission may want to discuss having Ramsey serve as a consultant. Counselor Dean stated that the resolutions for the project were close to being complete and should have been shared with Ramsey last week.
Maintenance Supervisor Greg Rawlings stated that he had hired a company to do a sewer inspection and, after reviewing the videos, noted that there were no offsets or holes in the sewers and the blockage was located. A short discussion was held regarding the lack of cleanout locations and the possibility of adding one in the future.
The commission held its last meeting of the year on Tuesday, Dec. 31, which was followed by the yearend dinner. Their next meeting will be held on Monday, Jan. 6, at 9 a.m.
