Board of Sedgwick County Commissioners

Documenter name: Sharon Ailslieger

Agency: Board of Sedgwick County Commissioners

Date: May 22, 2024

See more about this meeting at Documenters.org

Notes

Board of Sedgwick County Commissioners

Wednesday, May 22, 2024

9:00 am-2:15 pm.

Meeting was held at 100 N. Broadway, Lower Level–Wichita, Kansas

Notes taken by Sharon Ailslieger, Documentor

Chairman Ryan Baty called the meeting to order, followed by the invocation and the flag Salute and roll call. Commissioner Sarah Lopez was attending the meeting via Zoom.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

1. It is Asian/Pacific Islander month. A short video on Philippine Americans was shown.

2. There will be a Budget Roundtable, Tuesday, June 4, 2024 at Campus High, 5:30-7:30pm. This is an opportunity for citizen input concerning the Sedgwick County Budget.

Public Agenda

Nate Davis spoke about his health problems due to Lyme Disease. He wanted to remind everyone that it is National Lyme Disease Awareness Month. The County Commissioners agreed that next year there should be a proclamation.
Robert Longhoffer, who represents a firm that consults with government entities, expressed his concern about the upcoming contract for health care for County employees. Mr. Longhoffer urged the Board of Bids and Contracts to look at different plans, specifically Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs). Commissioner Howell was concerned about the transparency of insurance companies and who owns PBMs. This question was answered by Trey Nichols, Assistant County Counselor, that most of the PBMs are owned by insurance companies. This issue came up later, when the new Health Benefits plan was presented to the Commissioners.

Consideration of Minutes

The minutes of the May 1, 2024 meeting were approved.

Proclamations

Proclamation declaring Emergency Medical Services Week. Adopted

Proclamation declaring National Public Works week. Adopted

Appointments

Accepted resignations and appointments to Township and Board positions. There were eleven such resignations and appointments.

Presentation of the 2024 Mini MPA Certificates. This is a 16 week program on Administration taught by the Hugo Wall School of Public Affairs. Sixteen County Employees received the certificates.

Recommended Action (Receive & File)

A zone change request, in the county, District 5, to change SF20 Single Family Residential to TF3 Two Family Residential and MF-18 Multi-Family Residential. This plot of land is located on the west side of South Greenwich and one-quarter mile north of East Harry. It is totally surrounded by the city of Wichita, but has not been annexed–which presented a major problem. There were three homeowners that were protesting against it. There was much discussion and questions from the Commissioners. These three homeowners owned enough land around the plot being sold, that they made up 54% of protestors. Their concerns were 1) Density of homes being built–duplexes, fourplexes, apartments, height of apartments, and traffic. The Commissioners were concerned that they were making decisions that the City should be making because the land needed to be annexed. Plus, the County could not, adequately (if at all) provide water, electricity, etc. After much discussion, a recess was called in order for the builder and the homeowners to meet and see if they could achieve some common ground. The other problem was that the sale of the land hinged on the zoning change and needed to be finalized by the end of the month. Finally, the zoning change passed, but with conditions. This was presented by Scott Wadle, Director of Planning and the Metropolitan Area Planning Commission had initially approved it.

Fire District Meeting

This meeting was called at the end of the recess. It included approval of minutes of the last meeting and approval of equipment purchases.

Presentation of the 2023 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report

This was presented by Hope Hernandez, Accounting Director, Division of Finance. She went over the 2023 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, following the audit. Following discussion and questions by the Commissioners, it was received for filing.

Consideration of a Grant Application

This request was presented by Dr. Shelley Steadman, Director, Regional Forensic Science Center. The grant is in the amount of $302,018 from the Bureau of Justice Assistance for the FY2024 Formula DNA Capacity Enhancement of the backlog reduction program. This grant is applied for and received every year. It is the main financial source for the lab. She explained how the robotics that the lab now uses have increased efficiency, but it is more expensive than doing things by hand. She stated how important and excellent her staff is and that, in the future, the County may need to increase her budget. The Commissioners seemed impressed with her presentation and approved the request.

Accept a Donation

Kevin Lanterman, Director of Emergency Medical Services, asked that a donation, in the amount of $500 be accepted, of EMS from the Williams Companies. It was approved but also noted that donation policies may need to be updated within the year.

Resolution to Change Parks, Lakes and Recreational Facility Rules

Chapter 20, Article 20 as it applies to Lake Afton, Northeast Sedgwick Park, and Sedgwick County Park, with the goal to focus on making them more recreational. Changes include time that campers can stay at Lake Afton. The lake should not be residential. Guidelines and trash, location of tents & tarps will be more definite, along with an increase in fees and fines. Also, changes will be made to the use and cost of the Shelters. The large event policy will be more in line with the County policy. It was adopted on the first reading.

Resolution to Create New Policies and Procedures Regarding Community Funding Requests

Tom Stolz, County Manager, presents the Commissioners with two choices, one of which included setting aside money for such requests. The Commissioners, following a short discussion on budget concerns, passed the choice that did not set aside money.

Report of the Board of Bids and Contracts May, 2024 Meeting

The subject of this presentation by Joe Thomas, Purchasing Director, Division of Finance, was the upcoming contract for Health Care Benefits for Sedgwick County Employees. The company chosen is United Health Care and it will be a three year contract which will include the Pharmacy Benefits Managers owned by United Health Care. There followed discussion and questions on how the decision was made to choose UHC and was a three year contract a good decision. They also discussed what criteria was used, who was involved in the decision making and why the Commissioners were not given enough time to study it. Some Commissioners noted that that is the reason for county departments and staff. In the end it was approved.

The second subject for discussion was approval for the cost of maintenance of the Sheriff Department’s airplane. It was approved.

Consent Agenda

Seventeen items were approved,

There were no committee reports.

Meeting adjourned.

If you believe anything in these notes is inaccurate, please email us at documenters@citybureau.org with "Correction Request" in the subject line.