The regular meeting of the Niobrara County Commissioners commenced on November 7, 2024, at 9:05 a.m. Present were Chairman Patrick H. Wade, Vice-Chairman John Midkiff, and Commissioner Elaine Griffith. Also present were County Clerk Becky L. Freeman and Undersheriff Kelly Dean. Phil Collins with the Lusk Herald was also in attendance.
Road & Bridge- Foreman Fred Thomas updated the Commissioners on road and bridge matters.
He said the contractor should be ready to pour concrete next Thursday for the head wall portion of the 2024 Road Rehabilitation Project. Mr. Thomas is hopeful the project will be completed by the end of the month.
He told the Commissioners he had visited with Art Boatright, owner of Mobile Concrete, and was told that Mobile should be here soon to begin blasting at the Manville Pit.
Brian Wakefield with BenchMark of Torrington joined the meeting. He discussed the pay request from the contractor for the road rehab project and noted it was for the cattle guards and can be paid.
The group discussed the penalty phase of the project and according to the contract the contractor is currently five days into that phase. Mr. Wakefield said the Commissioners could extend the contract completion date or wait to see if he gets the project completed soon. They chose to wait to see how the project proceeds.
County Attorney- Attorney Anne Wasserburger met with the Commissioners and requested to enter Executive Session.
Executive Session- Vice-Chairman Midkiff moved to enter Executive Session at 9:31 a.m. to discuss potential litigation in which Niobrara County may be a party. Commissioner Griffith seconded, and the motion carried. Vice-Chairman Midkiff moved to leave executive session at 9:45 a.m. Commissioner Griffith seconded, and the motion carried. No action took place.
Elected Officials- Assessor Teri Stephens said her office is working on entering summer reviews and transfers. She noted there has been a lot of interest and applications for the long term homeowners’ exemptions.
Treasurer Keri Thompson said her office is busy with tax payment and continued preparations for the upcoming audit.
Undersheriff Kelly Dean said the jail is full, and that it is business as usual.
County Clerk Becky Freeman reported on the elections, and said she is preparing for the audit as well.
Old Business- Because there was nothing new to report on the fairground property, or the old jail and there had not been for some time, they were removed from old business until such time more information is available on either matter.
Cleaning at Public Health Building- Commissioner Griffith discussed a conversation she had with the Public Health Nurse Supervisor regarding the cleaning of the public health nurse building. Now that there are more people working there and there is more public foot traffic, it was decided that more cleaning should be done beyond what the office staff does. Mrs. Pearce suggested cleaning a couple of times a week would be sufficient. Commissioner Griffith said she had contacted Traci Bruegger regarding the matter and said Ms. Bruegger was interested. Commissioner Griffith will discuss the matter further with public health.
Consent Agenda Vice-Chairman Midkiff moved to approve the Consent Agenda. Commissioner Griffith seconded, and the motion. Items on the consent agenda were the minutes of the October 15, 2motion Items and receipts for September from the County Clerk for $3,371.50, and the Clerk of District Court for $896.00.
Payroll and the following vouchers were approved for payment: Bills are listed in the following format: Vendor- Department- Description- Amount- October Payroll- $145,855.96, 3 Sister’s Truck Stop- Road & Bridge- Fuel- $268.04, Aflac- Various- Supplemental insurance- $8,591.73, A. Keeler Family Dental- Detention- Inmate medical- $297.00, Alsco- Various- Supplies, shop towels, coveralls, floor mats- $167.38, Amazon Capital Services- Various- Supplies- $904.10, Anne Wasserburger- Various- Supplies- $257.96 Becky Blackburn- VOCA- Schools- $113.23, BenchMark of Torrington- Various- 2024 Road Rehab Project engineering fees, Land Use Plan Update- $4,006.42, Black Hills Chemical & Janitorial- Various- Supplies- $410.06, Black Hills Energy- Various- Utilities- $317.40, Bob Barker Co., Inc.- Detention- Commissary account- $119.11, Boldon Diesel Service, LLC.- Road & Bridge- Repairs- $1,368.00, Budd-Falen Law Offices- Commissioners- Land use plan update review- $2,965.71, Canon Financial Services- General County- Copier Service Agreements- $330.00, Capital One Trade Credit- Road & Bridge- Parts- $39.99, CenturyLink- Various- Telephones- $1,375.73, CenturyLink Business Services- Various- Telephones- $63.82, Connecting Point Computer Centers- Various- Copier service agreements - $320.27, Cory Wilcox- Coroner- Deputy coroner stipend- $150.00, Dash Medical Gloves- Detention- Commissary account- $163.04, Decker’s Market- Various- Supplies, Inmate medical- $17.65, Delta Dental of WY- Various- Dental insurance- $898.90, Dennis C. Meier- Circuit Court Magistrate- Office rent- $1,000.00, Dept. of Health- Various- Co. quarterly share of PHN salary- $5,479.90, Double A Properties, LLC.- Various- Office rent- $1,500.00, Election Systems & Software, Inc.- Elections- Test deck, programming, ballots- $4,414.42, Empower Trust Company, LLC.- General Co.- Deferred Compensation- $20,555.00, Frank Parts Co.- Road & Bridge- Parts- $2,007.01, Fusion Cloud Services- Various- Telephones- $1,183.62, Geographic Innovations- Various- Professional mapping services- $1,500.00, Grainger- Justice Center- Maintenance- $18.16, GreatAmerica Financial Services- Sheriff- Copier service agreement- $103.00, Heartland Embroidery, Inc.- Emergency Mgmt.- New equipment- $150.92, Hiway Brake & Alignment- Sheriff- Vehicle repairs- $1,062.62, Intab- Elections- Supplies- $459.93, Jameson Cleaning & Maintenance- Facilities- Fairgrounds cleaning contract, fairgrounds event booking contract- $8,600.00, Jub Jub, Inc.- General County- IT expense- $60.00, Jyl Abbott- Assessor- Mileage- $43.26, Kassidy Miller- Prevention Grant- IT expense, travel expense- $378.73, Kellie Chichester- Extension- Travel expense- $152.51, Ken Brown- Clerk of Court- Court appointed attorney fees- $660.00, Lexie Painter- Extension- Contract labor- fair board bookkeeping- $600.00, Lusk Herald- Various- Publications, annual subscriptions- $3,060.05, Lusk State Bank- General Co.- Payroll taxes- $42,192.07, McKesson Medical Surgical- Public Health- Building improvement grant- $1,912.86, Medico-Mart, Inc.- Public Health- Vaccines- $4,033.68, Melanie Pearce- Various- Supplies- $222.44, Michael Harberts- General County- IT expense- $220.00, Michelle Kremers- Various- Travel, TANF grant, supplies- $114.57, Mobius Communications- General County- New phone system- $10,142.89, NCIC Inmate Communications- Detention- NCIC Tablets- $405.68, Niobrara County Circuit Court- Payroll- Garnishment- $685.52; Niobrara County Hospital District-1% Option Tax - $22,960.91, Niobrara County Library- Deferred comp. reimbursement & quarterly allocation- $43,984.63, Niobrara Electric Association- Various- Radio tower electricity- $67.78, Office Depot.- Various- Supplies- $103.91, Pittman Electric, LLC.- Public Health- Building improvement grant- $803.29, Quadient Leasing- General County- Quarterly postage meter lease payment- $1,202.19, Rawhide Drug Co.- Detention- Inmate medical- $407.30, Rawhide Fabrication- Facilities- Library handrail repairs- $212.00, Schindler Elevator Corp.- Facilities- Quarterly elevator mtnc. Payment- $1,514.97, Swanson Services Corp.- Detention- Inmate commissary account- $549.73, Team Laboratory- Facilities- FG supplies- $286.00, Thomson Reuters-West- County Attorney- Law library- $194.75, Torrington Office Supply- Various- Supplies- $25.51, Town of Lusk- Various- Utilities- $2,559.50, Traci Bruegger- Facilities- CH, Library, Justice Center cleaning contract- $4,300.00, Tyler Technologies- Various- IT & computer expense- $952.69, UW Cooperative Extension Service- Extension- Co. quarterly share of 4-H educator salary- $6,846.00, Verizon Wireless- Various- Phones, base charge $434.18, Visa- Various- Supplies, travel expense, postage, new equipment, computer expense, IT expense, TANF grant, inmate medical, commissary account, maintenance, fuel - $4,367.32, Vision Service Plan- Various- Vision Insurance- $404.77, Visionary Broadband- Various- IT expense- $469.14, Westco- Road & Bridge- Fuel- $3,44.76, Wex Bank- Road & Bridge- Fuel- $814.18, Whetsell Carpentry, LLC.- County Road Fund- 24 Road Rehab pay request #3- $81,583.38, WYDOT- Financial Services- Sheriff- Fuel- $2,105.30 , WY Assoc. of County Officers- County Clerk- Dues- $250.00, Wyoming Dept. of Transportation- Motor Vehicle Services- Road & Bridge- License plate transfer- $16.00, Wyoming Educators’ Benefit Trust- Co Admin- Health & life insurance- $26,758.90, Wyoming Dept. of Workforce Services- Various- Quarterly workers’ comp.- $5,735.13, Wyo Lawn & Tree- Facilities- Lawn care- 204.00, Wyoming Clerks of District Court Assoc.- Clerk of Court- Dues- $300.00, Wyoming Law Enforcement Academy- Detention- Schools- $971.00, Wyoming Lawn Sprinklers- Facilities- Winterizing sprinkler system- $300.00, Wyoming Machinery Company- Road & Bridge- Parts, equipment repairs- $1,958.46, Wyoming Network, Inc.- General County- IT expense- $200.00, Wyoming Office of Guardian Ad Litem- Clerk of Court- Co. share GAL fees- $491.79, Wyoming Women’s Center- Detention- Inmate Meals- $3,188.10, Xerox Corp.- Co admin- Copier service agreement- $129.11, October Total- $507,287.02.
There being no further business, Commissioner Griffith moved to adjourn the meeting at 11:59 a.m. Vice-Chairman Midkiff seconded, and the motion carried.
NIOBRARA COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
Patrick Wade, Chairman
Attest: Becky L. Freeman, County Clerk
Public Notice No. 6170 published in The Lusk Herald on November 27, 2024.
