by George Gramlich,
News and Commentary
The January 10, 2023 Custer County Board of County Commissioners meeting started at 9 am. All three royal musketeers were present: Chair Kevin Day and members Bill Canda and Tom Flower.
There was the usual dribble from all three muskies under Commissioner Items. Day said he wanted to bring back the Invocation at the beginning of the meeting. Canda and Flower said that was good.
Under New Business, the first topic was the annual county board appointments. The muskies had reports from the various boards on who they wanted and Day went through them. Of note was the Board of Zoning Adjustment recommended that Mary Mallory not be chosen. Also, the Planning Commission said they did not want the failed county commissioner candidate, Deb Adams, on their board. After some banter, the muskies voted to accept the recommendations.
Flower then talked about another grant he wants to get to help build a barn for the baled cardboard at the recycling center. After a bit, the muskies approve the grant application.
Next item was whether the coroner’s position should be full time or part time. It currently is part-time. Our newly elected coroner, Brad Baltzy was present and he said he just finished a week long coroner training course in scenic Denver. He then said he was on call 24/7. 365 days a year and the job should be considered full time. (The current part time pay is $33,340 per year.) The muskies voted to keep it part-time.
The Upper Arkansas Coalition of Governments (UACOG) “Self Help Housing” project was the next subject. Flower said they wanted to build some houses in Custer County and if the muskies donated seven lots the county owns in Silver Cliff it would be a big help to getting them built. The muskies pondered this item for a bit and then decided to give the county property to UACOG.
The muskies then went over the county’s Organizational Chart. They made a few changes then deemed it good. (This chart shows who works in each position and who they directly report to.)
Canda then brought up the county maintenance contractor proposal that was talked about a while back. He wants the muskies to enter into an agreement with a contractor to supply/fix any electrical, plumbing, or general contractor work issues that might arise re the county’s buildings. This company would be the sole contact point for this work. Currently, the muskies have to bid out each project that comes up and that takes time and hassle. Canda wants a “bidders conference” and have several contractors present proposals. The muskies agree.
And that was that.