BOCC Oct. 7th: Budget Hearings Scheduled,
Airport, OEM & HR/Finance, More on Recycling Loss

Custer County Board
of Commissioners (BOCC) Meeting
October 7, 2020
by Laura Vass
The meeting started with the Pledge of
Allegiance and roll call. All Commissioner were present.
Attorney Items: Mr. Smith said he wrote letters for Planning and Zoning (P&Z) and is beginning a lawsuit for the county on a no-septic case of non-compliant landowner.
Mr. Flower asked if he was able to speak on the ongoing improper disposal case and Attorney Smith said that Jackie Hobby had planned on reporting on the that next Wednesday but there are also some other agencies which are still investigating. She may not be in a position to do that and the BOCC may have to go into executive session to cover that. Chair Tom Flower suggested they add an executive session at the end of the meeting.
Public Comment: Joanie Liebman asked if recycling was scheduled for today. At this point, the buzzing sound heard by listeners was noted.
Staff Reports
Airport Report: Mr. Canda said Sangre de Cristo Electric started digging the ditch for power at the airport and there was a septic field (infiltrator) in the way so they’ve stopped and are consulting Jackie Hobby/P&Z. Bob Jolley gave the report with the new Airport Manager, Bob
McDonald, attending. Fuel sales were 700 gallons in September and 100 gallons so far in October. A fuel delivery is scheduled for today, 2,000 gallons.
The county is working on taxi lanes and will finish today. Bob commended Road and Bridge. There are two private hangers going in currently. There are five more in planning stages. AWAS civil cite work is planned for the end of the month. There was a short discussion on the apparent two leach fields at the airport. The airport sign is getting repaired and there are plans to polish the plane up. Bob joked about needing a 3000-foot extension cord. It was noted that Bob Jolley gave the report as a guest of the airport. He has served as airport manager for nine years and was thanked for his service.
HR/Finance: Donna Hobby presented handwritten checks for September which included the $57,942 down payment for the new
program which will be used by the accounting offices of the County; HR/Finance, Treasurer and Assessor
offices. The Board approved handwritten checks.
There was a long discussion was about the proposed county employee credit cards and how those charges will be submitted, documented and paid. It was suggested by Mr. Printz that Dawna Hobby work on procedure and policy research and present at the end of the month meeting.
The preliminary budget for 2021 was given in hard copy to the Board. The budget hearings will be held as workshops and will be live-streamed for the public since there is still no public attendance allowed. There will be no public comment, however. These were scheduled for October 13-16.
Treasurer Report: a written report was submitted and approved.
IT Report: Vernon Roth reported that the county offices are actually turning a profit by using fiber for the phone systems. The voting ballot box in Wetmore has to be under 24-hour surveillance which he is taking care of with an electrician.
Transferring MSAG responsibilities: The Master Street Address Guide (MSAG) is a component of the 911 database.
Vernon reported talking to the Sheriff about a move of that data to FRECOM since all the dispatch is there. He said it is a process and he will report back next month if that transfer goes through. MSAG information requires security clearance (which Vernon has.) He said the transfer includes security precautions.
The county website security: Vernon is working with a worldwide training program with other attendees who manage big cities and large corporations. He said that it is interesting that other cohorts in the group face the exact same security issues.
He installed new cameras at the Sheriff’s Office. He discussed hiring an intern who  currently works for the county and has some training and has gone through all the security required. He would be paid as contract labor for 8-12 hours a week. The Commissioners moved to authorize the IT Director to hire an intern at $12 for 12 hours a week.
OEM Report: Director Adrian Washington reported his office currently has five volunteers and will have two more in October.
He talked about air quality in the county which has not been good due to smoke from the fires. On the day that air quality was at 61, OEM put out an alert, noting that an air quality range of 61-110 is of concern to the health of our elderly population in the county. The air, due to the fires, contained particulates (ashes) that were visible. Bridge alerts will be limited because people become desensitized to the importance of the information. The air quality reports have been posted on the OEM/Public Health Facebook pages.
Mr. Printz asked where the information about air quality comes from. (This was also a question last month.) Mr. Washington repeated details on tower locations and said the county has some equipment donated to them but not in use as it needs to be set up in standard with the EPA. He and the Health Director are looking into possible grant monies to get a station installed here which would be helpful to other entities as well.
In response to a question from Flower, Washington explained the job title Plans Section Chief (Plans Meetings, Operational meetings and response to emergency) and that those titles come from both Incident Command System (ICS) and FEMA and are used interchangeably. The volunteer for the title in question, is Glen McNitt who has experience as a forest ranger.
Mr. Flower then asked if any of these individuals have had background checks (also a repeated question which was asked last month.) HR completes background checks necessary for insurance (Workman’s Comp) purposes. Mr. Flower asked if these volunteers were temporary. Mr. Washington said at this point, only two work regularly. After the next two volunteers are trained, he is going to take a pause and then get any other volunteers through MS training and NCS training so that they are familiar with OEM terminology.
The emergency signage locks have been addresses as well as right of way permissions. Adrian thanked Tom Flower for getting the signs moved over to Road & Bridge.
Mr. Washington asked about county staff meetings and county safety committee meetings, (the first is quarterly, the second hasn’t been active for some time,) noting that many of the responders come from other county positions and he would like to see them all have at minimum – a first aid card. Also, the CARD system needs an update with county employee qualifications. Some information in the Salamander database isn’t current.
Another concern is lack of storage for OEM, Public Health, and IT to both protect equipment and have easy access to it.
Adrian mentioned an article that was in the Sentinel on fire mitigation for homes. (Protecting Your Home from a Wildfire: The Home Is the Ignition Problem.) He said educating homeowners/builders about things that reduce fire danger for structures, such as metal roofs, is important.
Jay asked if he was talking about building codes. Adrian said he was not, but, there will come a time when, (for mitigation grants and insurance) a change to building code/regulation will be necessary.
Emergency signage: Printz asked who would be writing the messages for the signs. After discussion, the OEM director will write a policy and bring it to the Board and will be responsible for having the messages placed on the signs. The Board passed a motion to make the messages signs the responsibility of OEM.
New Business
Discussion regarding the loss of recycling: Joanie Liebmanm, coordinator for High Country Recycling (HCR) was present via phone. She sent a letter to the Commissioners about possible ways to keep some recycling going. Upper Arkansas Area Council of Government (COG) terminated their recycling program effective October 6th. The program received $.79 per capita from the county for rural county residents. The dumpsters were purchased by the county (at the county dump,) Silver Cliff town (The Dome,) and Westcliffe town (by the Fire Station.)
Joanie said that HCR is offering its service to find a way to renew/continue with a recycling for the county. The council of governments (COG) is willing to relocate the bins upon request.
High Country Recycling got the grant for the bailer, solar power and building for recycling and a salary for Dennis Sprecher, who has indicated that he is willing to transport recyclables but he has no bins for drop-off or a truck or trailer for hauling them.
The Board, after listening to her information, suggested that HCR continue to work on a viable and sustainable plan, including the cost for recycling and then present it to the county and the towns. The BOCC is willing to revisit the issue and attempt to support the program.
The meeting adjourned after nearly three hours.