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

To reduce the spread of COVID-19, for the Board of County Commissioners Meetings, the County Commissioners will not be physically present in the Board Hearing room and will be using Zoom, an online meeting tool, to conduct the meeting. Please watch the broadcast of the meeting from our link at boccmeetings.jocogov.org or on Facebook Live for a live feed or later when the video is posted.

During this time of health emergency, we will also be prudent with our business agenda, deferring action when feasible, and we will not be accepting Public Comments during the meeting. If you have information or comments related to any item on our agenda that you would like to have presented to the Commissioners, we encourage you to submit that information in writing. If you wish to submit information, please email those comments/statements to the BOCC-Clerk@jocogov.org before noon on the Wednesday, before the Thursday BOCC meeting. Please include your Name and Address. Comments received by noon will be shared with the entire Board prior to the meeting. If you are unable to email the comments, you may call the following number, and we will record your information. (913) 715-0424.

BOCC actions for May 21, 2020

• Authorized a contract with Independent Salt Company, in an amount not to exceed $150,000, for rock salt, per City of Overland Park cooperative bid for 2020.
• Authorized the revised MED-ACT Ambulance fee structure, as shown in attachment 1, to be effective June 1, 2020
• Authorized an increase in the amount of $400,000 to the exemption from competition to SeaChange Print Innovations, LLC for the Election Office to purchase election-related printing and mailing services for a contract total amount not to exceed $750,000 in FY 2020 per Administrative Policy and Procedure #110.175.A.4.
• Authorized a contract with Election Systems & Software, LLC for additional voting equipment in the amount of $1,020,500 per Sedgwick County RFP 15-0078, a multi-county request for proposal; and authorized the reallocation and expenditure of fund balance (reserves) for FY2020 for the county’s general fund in an amount not to exceed $1,020,500 with reimbursement of $488,750 from the CARES Act funding available through the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) distributed by the Kansas Secretary of State’s Office, and $496,950 reimbursed through the county’s CARES Act funding.
• Authorized a contract with Heritage Environmental Services, for Household Hazardous Waste Disposal, at a cost not to exceed $200,000 for a one (1) year period with the option to renew for an additional four (4) twelve (12) month periods with any extensions to come back to the board for approval.

COVID-19 updates

Continuity of Government – Johnson County Government Recovery Planning Update, Joe Waters, Assistant County Manager
The board received an update on the reopening of county buildings to the public including the Johnson County Library and Johnson County Park and Recreation reopening plans.

COVID-19 Funding and Expenses Report, 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 expended $790,336 and received $118,365,620 in federal funds.

2020 CERI Indicators – March Edition, Maury Thompson, Deputy County Manager
The March 2020 edition of the Economic Indicators for Johnson County has been provided by the County Economic Research Institute (CERI). Please note due to the time lag in available data and implementation of stay-at-home orders the March indicators are not yet reflecting the impact of COVID-19.

Updates from Penny Postoak Ferguson, County Manager

• A board retreat to discuss the 2021 budget will take place next Tuesday, May 26 from 1-3 p.m. It will take place via Zoom with more details to come.
• Postoak Ferguson participated in a National Association of Counties media call that took place during a portion of the board meeting. National and local media including CNN, USA Today and the Kansas City Star were on the call. The goal was to increase understanding that counties are on the front line of the COVID-19 pandemic. Discussion included how counties have responded to the pandemic, budgetary impacts and the flexibility they would like for the use of federal funding. 

Dr. Sanmi Areola, director, Johnson County Department of Health and Environment

Johnson County currently has 679 positive cases, 14,075 negatives, 59 deaths and a 4.6% positive percentage. We have 422 presumed recovered. More information is available on our dashboard.

Appointment testing began on Monday. JCDHE tested 46 people on Monday, 51 on Tuesday and 46 on Wednesday. Today they have all 60 slots filled. Due to logistical issues JCDHE has decided to have testing clinics only at the Olathe location, and will increase the number of slots available to 90 per day from 60.

Next Friday, JCDHE will have a drive-thru testing from 9 -2 at College Boulevard Activity Center in Olathe. Anyone can attend and JCDHE hopes to test 750 – 1,000 residents. More information on that is to come.

Dr. Areola gave an update on testing at Salvation Army, Good Shepherd Catholic Church, FedEx and Long Term Care Facilities. Dr. Areola’s full presentation is available at this link. He also recommended that people continue to follow CDC guidelines on physical distancing and hygiene.

Dr. Joseph LeMaster, Johnson County Local Health Officer

Governor Kelly is moving Kansas to Phase 2 of her Ad Astra reopening plan on Friday. The gating criteria in Johnson County is trending in the right direction and we continue to see a decline in cases. Dr. LeMaster recommends Johnson County move with Kansas into Phase 2. More information on the Governor’s plan is available here. Dr. LeMaster referred to the state’s Safe Memorial Day Guidance and a reminder on the strong encouragement to wear barrier masks in public when physical distancing is difficult to maintain.

Items currently scheduled for the May 28 BOCC agenda.

• Consider adopting Resolution No. 023-20 submitting as a ballot question for the November 3, 2020 general election the proposition of allowing the sale of alcoholic liquor by the individual drink in public places without a requirement that any portion of their gross receipts be derived from the sale of food.
• Consider approving an agreement submitted by the City of Overland Park, Kansas and Johnson County Fire District No. 2, and ordering the detachment of land from the boundaries of the Fire District, and the transfer of such land to the City for fire protection services.
• Consider authorizing a contract with PCI Roads, LLC for repairs to the De Soto River Bridge in an amount not to exceed $612,210.40.
• Consider authorizing staff to, within sixty (60) days, report to the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) progress made relative to a proposed new organizational structure, identification of needed facilities, other additional resources required, and a proposed budget consistent with such plan, for the remainder of the 2020 and the 2021 budget years for aging services.