The County Commissioners’ meeting was called to order on July 5, 2022, at 9:02 a.m. with Chairman Patrick H. Wade, Vice-Chairman John Midkiff, Commissioner Elaine Griffith, and County Clerk Becky L. Freeman present.
Road & Bridge- Foreman Fred Thomas reported on road and bridge business. He said he had talked to Westco and Sinclair about contracting dyed diesel for six months. He hopes to have a contract to sign by the end of this meeting.
BenchMark of Torrington Engineer Josh Harkins joined the meeting and presented pay request # 3 for the 2022 North Lance Creek Road Rehabilitation Project. He also submitted Change Order #2 for the same project, in the amount of $8,682.64. This change order reflects the actual quantities of gravel placed on the road versus the estimated quantities.
Vice-Chairman Midkiff moved to approve Change Order #2. Commissioner Griffith seconded, and the motion carried.
Ed Tirado met with the Commissioners on behalf of the VFW and invited them to a dedication ceremony for Major Virgil Olds, a former resident of Node, WY. Major Olds was shot down over Taipan in 1945 during World War II and was declared Missing in Action. A year later the war department declared him Killed in Action. Major Olds was honored in Hawaii, but never received a headstone. Eventually, the VFW was able to obtain a headstone for him with the help of congressional leadership. The dedication ceremony will be held September 16, 2022, at Node at noon. Mr. Tirado also noted this is POW/MIA Remembrance Day. He asked the Commissioners if they would deliver a proclamation recognizing Major Olds and the Commissioners said they would.
Mr. Tirado also noted that the American Legion in Van Tassell has secured the state convention next year for the 15th – 18th of June 2023. He estimated that there would be approximately 150-170 people attending. He asked if the Commissioners would deliver a welcome letter and they said they would.
Planning & Zoning Request for Proposal Bid Openings- The Commissioners received RFP bid packets from BenchMark of Torrington, Y2 Consultants, AVI Engineering, and Ayres Associates, Inc. The bids ranged from $45,579.00 to $119,501.02. These packets will be submitted to the planning and zoning board for review as well and the group will award the bid at the August 2, 2022, meeting.
Elected Officials and Department Heads- Darcy Cowardin, Keri Thompson, Chrisanna Lund, Teri Stephens, James Santistevan
Emergency Management Coordinator James Santitstevan said he had been busy with storm watching. He said he took empty sandbags to Goshen County to help them with the flooding due to the canal breach.
Assessor Teri Stephens said she had a meeting last week with the State Board of Equalization and they approved her abstract.
Treasurer Keri Thompson said she was busy working on fiscal year end procedures.
Extension Educator Kellie Chichester discussed the upcoming fair.
Clerk of Court Chrisanna Lund said she was back up and partially running. She is still blocked from sending emails to anyone with a courts.gov email address and still cannot process child support payments in her office because the State has not granted her access to that program because of the last cyber incident.
County Clerk Becky Freeman discussed the upcoming elections and noted she too, is processing the fiscal year end.
Commissioner Griffith talked about resolutions for the handbook and the roof at the fairgrounds.
Public
Health Nurse Supervisor Darcy Cowardin said she didn’t have much to report on for public health. They have been doing some COVID testing. She noted that Michelle Kremers has completed her mom and baby testing and has a full client list. This program allows a mother to pair up with a nurse during and after pregnancy to get screenings and overall support.
She noted that the public health contracts which the County Attorney requested changes on are now with the Attorney General’s Office.
County Attorney- Deputy County Attorney Doyle J. Davies met with the Commissioners and discussed county business.
He said that the employment policies at the Sheriff’s Office and the County were reviewed, and issues with the Sheriff’s Office policies need to be corrected so the policies line up and say the same thing.
Fuel Contract with Westco- Vice-Chairman Midkiff moved to accept the Westco fuel contract for dyed diesel at $4.549/gallon with a 21,000-gallon cap. Commissioner Griffith seconded, and the motion carried.
Lusk Police Office Jake Gordon, Undersheriff Kelly Dean, and Emergency Mgmt. Coordinator James Santistevan met with the Commissioners to discuss how to handle the placement of audience members at the Legend of Rawhide Pageant in the event of inclement weather. It was suggested that an announcement be made before the start of the pageant that there are options.
Undersheriff Dean remained after, and the group discussed the dispatch communications schedule.
24-Hour Malt Beverage Permit- Commissioner Griffith moved to ratify the 24-Hour Malt Beverage Permit for Tinette Hales to provide malt beverages for the Clayton and Trisha Williams wedding reception held July 2, 2022, at the fairgrounds. Vice-Chairman Midkiff seconded, and the motion carried.
Resolution 22-07- Vice- Chairman Midkiff moved to approve Resolution 22-07, abolishing the Niobrara County Management Policy of November 1, 1996. Commissioner Griffith seconded, and the motion carried. A complete copy of the resolution is on file in the County Clerk’s Office and is available on the County’s website at https://www.niobraracounty.org/_departments/_commissioners/Resolutions.asp
Resolution 22-08- Commissioner Griffith moved to approve Resolution 22-08, revising the Niobrara County Employee Handbook, Title: Diversity, Section: Disability Accommodation. Vice- Chairman Midkiff seconded, and the motion carried. A complete copy of the resolution is on file in the County Clerk’s Office and is available on the County’s website at https://www.niobraracounty.org/_departments/_commissioners/Resolutions.asp
Resolution 22-09- Commissioner Griffith moved to adopt Resolution 20-09, adopting the Niobrara County Drug and Alcohol Policy No. 22-1. Vice-Chairman Midkiff seconded, and the motion carried. A complete copy of the resolution is on file in the County Clerk’s Office and is available on the County’s website at https://www.niobraracounty.org/_departments/_commissioners/Resolutions.asp
Consent Agenda- Vice-Chairman Midkiff moved to approve the consent agenda. Commissioner Griffith seconded, and the motion carried. Items on the consent agenda were the minutes of the June 21, 2022 Regular Meeting and the June 24, 2022 Special Meeting. Also on the consent agenda were receipts from the Clerk of Court for June for $882.00.
Payroll and the following vouchers were approved for payment: Bills are listed in the following format: Vendor- Department- Description- Amount- June Payroll- $107651.24, Aflac- Various- Supplemental insurance- $6891.34, Allbright’s True Value- Various- Parts, supplies- $69.83, Alsco- Road & Bridge- Shop towels & coveralls- $347.98, AMBI Mail & Marketing- Prevention Grant- Prevention Svc. Implementation- $918.32, Anne Wasserburger- County Attorney- Supplies- $26.49, Ashley Clark- Sheriff- Alcohol & tobacco compliance checks- $196.78, Axon Enterprise, Inc.- Sheriff, Detention- New equipment- $3397.98, Barnes Law, LLC. - Clerk of Court- Court appointed attorney- $389.54, Becky L. Freeman- General Co. IT- New equipment- $439.88, BenchMark of Torrington- County Road Fund- Engineering fees- $1003.36, Black Hills Chemical & Janitorial- Various- Cleaning & maintenance supplies- $604.17, Black Hills Energy- Various- Utilities- $888.38, Canon Financial Services, Inc.,- General County- Copier service agreements- $330.00, Century Link- Various- Telephones, E911 - $1815.11, Century Link Business Services- Various- Telephone- $91.12, Chantry Filener- General Co. IT- Cyber incident expenses- $10,912.00, Chrisanna Lund- Clerk of Court- Travel expense- $90.68, Clark’s Tires- Sheriff- Tires- $202.13, Connecting Point Computer Centers- Various- Copier service agreements- $261.00, Cory Wilcox- Coroner- Deputy coroner stipend - $120.00, Coveware, Inc.- General Co.- Cyber incident mitigation- $27615.00, Decker’s Market- Various- Supplies, inmate medical- $62.00, Delta Dental of WY- Various- Dental insurance- $1209.70, Dennis C. Meier- Circuit Court Magistrate- Office rent- $1000.00, Double A Properties, LLC.- County Attorney- Office rent- $1000.00, Fusion Cloud Services, LLC.- Various- Telephones- $1776.26, Geographic Innovations- Assessor- Professional mapping- $1300.00, Great-West Trust Co., LLC.- Various- Deferred compensation contribution- $17610.00, Goshen County Detention Center- Detention- Inmate housing and medical- $1682.41, Great Western Tire Co.- Road & Bridge- Parts- $100.00 GreatAmerica Financial Services.- Sheriff- Copier service agreements- $103.00, Herren Brothers True Value- Road & Bridge- Parts- $639.33, Hiway Brake & Alignment- Various- Vehicle repairs- $418.44, Honey Badger Towing & Recovery, LLC.- Sheriff- Abandoned vehicles- $175.00, Jameson Cleaning & Maintenance- Facilities- Fairgrounds cleaning contract - $6800.00, Jub Jub, Inc.- General Co.- IT- $220.00, JW Services, LLC.- County Road Fund- Pay Request 3- $37203.61, Katie Krein- Prevention Grant- Phone, IT expense, Operational Supports- $110.87, Kellie Chichester- 4-H Educator travel- $406.49, Ken Brown- Clerk of Court- Court appointed attorney- $230.00, Kroll Associates, Inc.- General Co. – Cyber incident 1 mitigation- $8158.90, Long Building Technologies- Facilities- Justice center maintenance (HVAC)- 7445.00, Lusk Herald- Various- Publications- $2114.25, Lusk State Bank- Various- Payroll taxes & supplies-$31844.79, MasterCard- Various- Supplies, travel, postage, computer expense, IT expense, new equipment- $4632.66, Matthew Gordon- Public Health Response Coordinator- Phone - $40.00, Michelle Kremers- Various- TANF, supplies - $263.67, Mountain States Lithographing, LLC.- Elections- Publications- $72.92, NCIC Inmate Communications- Detention- Inmate phone- $205.20, Niobrara 4-H Council- Extension- Supplies- $37.97, Niobrara County Hospital District- 1% Option Tax - $12691.63, Niobrara County Library- General County- Library deferred compensation- $1725.00, Niobrara County Public Health- Prevention grant- Indirect costs- $153.15, Niobrara County Search & Rescue- Various- Schools (CPR training)- $216.00, Niobrara County Treasurer- Treasurer- Postage- $59.30, Niobrara County Weed & Pest Control District- Facilities- Fairgrounds maintenance- $804.30, Niobrara Electric Association- Various- Radio tower electricity- $52.16, Office Depot- Various- Supplies- $838.69, Rawhide Drug Company- Detention Center - Inmate medical- $212.24, Roetman Enterprises, LLC.- Facilities- Justice center maintenance- $102.35, Swanson Services Corp.- Detention Center- Inmate Commissary- $426.27, Team Laboratory Chemical, LLC.- Facilities- Fairgrounds supplies- $220.48, Thomson Reuters-West- County Attorney- Law library- $163.91, Torrington Office Supply- Various- Supplies- $116.25, Town of Lusk- Various- Utilities- $2342.96, Traci Bruegger- Facilities- Cleaning contract- $4500.00, Tyler Technologies- Various- Computer expense- $165.38, USPS- General County- Postage- $3000.00, UW College of Ag & Natural Resources- Extension- UW car expense- $756.00, UW Extension- Extension- Co’s quarterly share of 4-H educator salary- $6205.50, Valley Motor Supply-Road & Bridge- Parts- $102.40, Verizon Wireless- Various- Cell phones, computer expense & base fee- $259.78, Vision Service Plan- Various- Vision Insurance $430.42, Visionary Broadband- Various- I T expense- $790.35, Wyoming Dept. of Workforce Services- General Co.- Quarterly worker’s comp- $12,556.16, Wyoming Educator’s Benefit Trust- Co admin- Health & life insurance- $21321.76, Westco- Road & Bridge- Dyed diesel- $5488.01, Whitaker Oil- Various- Fuel- $3908.00, WLEA-ADV Trng- Sheriff- Schools- $700.00, Wyoming Child Support- Payroll- Child Support- $766.04, WY Enterprise Technology Services- Various- Computer expense- $17.79, Wyoming Lawn & Tree- Facilities- Lawn treatments- $110.75, Wyoming Network, Inc.- General County- IT expense- $200.00, Wyoming Women’s Center- Detention- Inmate meals- $3831.38, Xerox Corp.- Co admin- Copier service agreement- $128.54, Payroll Deductions & Accounts payable total- $268836.50, Grand total for June- $376487.75
There being no further business, the meeting adjourned.
NIOBRARA COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
Patrick Wade, Chairman
Attest: Becky L. Freeman, County Clerk
Public Notice No. 5804. Published in The Lusk Herald on July 27, 2022.
