Board of County Commissioners update

More information including official minutes, votes and videos on all items is available at boccmeetings.jocogov.org.

The Board of County Commissioners resumed meeting in the Hearing Room on Thursday, June 11, 2020 at 9:30 am. To prevent the spread of COVID-19, social distancing will be observed, and limited seating will be available in the hearing room, with additional limited seating in the adjacent lobby with audio available. A live broadcast will still be available at boccmeetings.jocogov.org and on Facebook Live. Public Comments will be accepted. Persons wishing to speak during Public Comments will need to sign in by 9:25 a.m. before the meeting begins and will be called upon to speak in the order in which they signed up. Anyone wishing to speak to a specific item on the Business agenda will need to sign in before that item is read into the Record.

Persons who may need assistance, the use of a sign language or oral interpreter, or who require special accommodations, should contact us at [email protected], via the Kansas Relay Operator at 800-766-3777, or by phone at (913) 715-0430 at least two (2) business days prior to the meeting.

BOCC actions for Sept. 24, 2020

The meeting began with the following recognitions:

• Human Services director and Gold Star mother Debbie Collins accepted a proclamation to recognize Sunday, Sept. 27 as Gold Star Families Day. Tomorrow, Friday, Sept. 25, 2020 will be the Gold Star Families Memorial Monument Dedication Day at 11 a.m. at Veterans Memorial Park in Olathe. The campaign to fund and install a Gold Star Families Memorial Monument at Olathe’s Veterans Memorial Park was announced and launched at the 2016 Johnson County Veterans Day observance.
• The BOCC proclaimed Sept. 13 – 19 as Direct Support Professionals Recognition Week. Direct support professionals, or DSPs, serve as the backbone of the publicly funded system that allows more than 1600 individuals with disabilities in Johnson County…and millions around the nation… to live, work and participate in the community.

BOCC actions:

• Reappointed P. Brian Miller – Certified Master Plumber representative to the Board of Code Review through May 31, 2023.
• Reappointed Mike Hey – Recycling Industry representative and Anne Melia – Citizens Organizations representative to the Solid Waste Management Committee through July 8, 2023.
• Approved the District Coroner's appointment of Christine James, D.O. as deputy district coroner for the Tenth Judicial District of Kansas, pursuant to K.S.A. 22a-226.
• Approved City of Gardner Application No. FDP-20-02, final development plan, and FP-20-02, final plat, for Prairie Trace Meadows, First Plat, for 27 single-family lots on 13.2 acres; located in the vicinity of the southeast corner of 175th Street and I-35 Highway; within 1 mile of the New Century Airport.
• Approved City of Gardner Application No. FDP-20-03, final development plan, and FP-20-03, final plat, for Prairie Trace Estates, First Plat, including 27 single-family residential lots on 19.39 acres; located in the vicinity of 178th Street and Clare Road; within 1 mile of the New Century Airport.
• Conducted a public hearing and approved the proposed Streamlined Annual (2021) PHA Plan for submission to the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
• Conducted a public hearing and authorized funds to construct the Mill Creek No. 1 Contract 3 Sanitary Sewer Improvements Project in an amount not to exceed $861,700, increasing the total project authorization to $1,034,000.
• Authorized a contract with Site Rite Construction Co. to construct the Mill Creek No. 1 Contract 3 Sanitary Sewer Improvements Project in an amount not to exceed $610,000.
• Created the Wastewater Development Advisory Committee as an advisory committee to the Board of County Commissioners and Johnson County Wastewater on matters related to wastewater development of policies, procedures and standards.
• Authorized the disbursement of funds as indicated on the Coronavirus Relief Fund Reimbursement Report dated Sept. 24, 2020.
• Authorized a disbursement of $35,324,000 of Phase 2 Coronavirus Relief Funds as recommended by the Community Reinvestment Review Committee on Sept. 24, 2020.
• Approved a four percent salary increase for the County Manager effective with the first payroll period of 2021 and authorized the Chairman to approve and execute an Amendment to the Employment Agreement with the County Manager providing for the continuation of the retention bonus, increasing the amount of deferred compensation by $5,000 per year, and authorizing a payment for KPERS credit. The following amendment was added and approved: The County Manager will prepare and present within 30 days, her 2021 strategic goals and objectives, which shall establish expectations for her performance review and compensation.

Weekly Manager’s Memo, Penny Postoak Ferguson, County Manager

Johnson County Election Commissioner Connie Schmidt presented an update on the 2020 Presidential Election. Her update is available here.

Staff has prepared a new report regarding transit designed to be a monthly, high level summary that illustrates activities, trends and updates. This report will be sent directly to the BOCC moving forward. Read the August 2020 Transit Update.

The July 2020 edition of the Economic Indicators for Johnson County has been provided by the County Economic Research Institute (CERI). The unemployment rate for Johnson County was 6.6% during the month of July 2020, compared to 3.3% in July 2019, a 3.3% increase. Year-to-Date (YTD) the unemployment rate is 5.9%, compared to 2.9% the previous year, a 3.0% increase. More information is available in this memo and in this report.

COVID-19 Funding and Expense Report and CRF Phase One Reimbursement, Maury Thompson, Deputy County Manager.

The weekly COVID-19 Operating Report, detailing COVID-19 specific expenditures and funding received is available here. To date the organization has identified $11,304,302.19 in costs which are eligible for CARES act reimbursement and received $131,603,797.47 in federal funds.

The Board heard a report out on the committee work done for the Community Reinvestment Process for the disbursement of Phase 2 CARES Act funding totaling $35,324,000. This funding is for 14 proposals to reinvest into the community in the following areas: small business assistance, workforce, housing, digital access, aging and mental health. More details on these proposals and the benefits they will have on our community, as well as the process, are available in this report.

PPE update, Dan Robeson, Johnson County Emergency Manager

Details on our PPE procurement and distribution is available at this link.

COVID-19 update, Dr. Sanmi Areola, director and Elizabeth Holzschuh, director of epidemiology Department of Health & Environment

The weekly report is available at this link.

The Board sat as the Committee of the Whole to hear a presentation on the New Century Airport Master Development Agreement.

Items planned for the Oct. 1 agenda:

• Consider a request from Jeremy Lee Toynbee, applicant/landowner, for Conditional Use Permit Renewal to operate a haunted house/stage performance venue, (Toynbee House of Horrors), on 5 acres located at 35753 W. 146th Street, on property zoned RN1, Residential Neighborhood 1 District.
• Consider a request from Todd Allenbrand, Payne & Brockway, PA, applicant, and Ronald and Ruth Goff, landowners, for Rezoning from RUR, Rural District, to RLD, Residential Low Density District, and an associated Preliminary and Final Plat, with plat exception, for 1 residential lot, to be known as Big Sky Acres, on 3.8 acres located at 21000 Clare Road.
• Consider a request from Kirk Harlow, applicant, and Kirk A. and Lori J. Harlow and the Harlow Family Investment Trust, landowners, for Rezoning from RUR, Rural District, to PRUR, Planned Rural District, an associated Final Development Plan as a final plat for 2 residential lots, to be known as Harlow Farms II, on 21 acres located at 21285 and 21365 Moonlight Road.
• Consider increasing the Stormwatch System Maintenance project account by $115,000 and approve the purchase of equipment and ancillary supplies necessary to upgrade the Brush Creek flood warning system to Alert 2 telemetry protocol.
• Conduct a public hearing and consider approving an enlargement to the Consolidated Main Sewer District for a tract of land at 18365 Aberdeen Street.
• Conduct a public hearing and consider authorizing funding for the Lagoon Biosolids Cleanout Program in an amount not to exceed $1,172,000.
• Consider authorizing a term and supply contract with Customized Environmental Solutions, Inc. dba Telum to perform services for the Lagoon Biosolids Cleanout Program at Johnson County Wastewater treatment facilities for a total annual amount not to exceed $2,000,000, with the option to renew annually for up to four (4) additional twelve (12) month periods.
• Consider accepting funding and increasing budget authority in the amount of $500,000 awarded to Johnson County Department of Health and Environment (JCDHE) through the Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity Cooperative Agreement (ELC), funded through the federal Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act, distributed through the Kansas Department of Health and Environment for the purpose of providing expanded COVID-19 testing to vulnerable and underserved populations.
• (This item will be requested to be removed and placed on the 10/8/20 Action Agenda.) Consider accepting funding and increasing budget authority in the amount of $158,953 awarded to Johnson County Department of Health and Environment (JCDHE) through the Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity Cooperative Agreement (ELC), funded through the federal Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act, distributed through the Kansas Department of Health and Environment for the purpose of providing care resource coordination to address the needs of those impacted by COVID-19.