KENTON COUNTY FISCAL COURT

M I N U T E S

November 22, 2005, 7:00 P.M.

The regular meeting of the Kenton County Fiscal Court was called to order at the Independence Courthouse.  Present at the meeting were Judge Executive Ralph A. Drees; Commissioners Dan Humpert, Barbara Black and Adam Koenig; Deputy Judge Executive Scott Kimmich; County Attorney Garry Edmondson; County Treasurer Ivan Frye; Human Resources Director Joe Shriver; Parks Director Scott Gunning; Grants Administrator Wayne Spiegel; Fleet Management Director Roger Wells; Police Chief Bill Dorsey; Emergency Management Director Ed Burk; Jailer Terry Carl; Public Works Director Joe Murphy; Animal Shelter Director Dan Evans; Assistant County Attorney Brandon Voelker; Court Reporter Cathy Johnston; and Guests.

Invocation and Pledge of Allegiance

The invocation was given and pledge of allegiance led by Commissioner Barbara Black.

Approval of Minutes

Judge Drees asked for approval of the minutes for the last meeting.  Commissioner Black moved for approval with a second from Commissioner Humpert.  The minutes were unanimously approved with the vote of aye.

Delegations

Judge Drees introduced Eric Vandervert of Abitibi Paper Retriever to talk to the court about recycling efforts as it pertains to the animal shelter.  The program started approximately two and one-half months ago in this area and he wanted to say thank you to all of the participants in Kenton County.  He said their bins which are bright yellow and green are located at schools, churches and nonprofit organizations that are paid to recycle their paper.

Commissioner Black said he would be getting additional paper with the county administration offices joining the effort.  Mr. Vandervert said they had been working closely with Dan Evans and the animal shelter to help them in the building of their new addition and a couple of other locations in the county will help to sponsor the animal shelter.  Businesses that are nonprofit can also sponsor this location.  Commissioner Black asked how other entities could go about setting up sponsorship for the animal shelter.  Mr. Vandervert said they could contact the animal shelter or go onto the website which is paperretriever.com and request information to be sent to them or leave a phone number and address.  There is no contract to sign for the paper retrieving service.

Judge Drees thanked Mr. Vandervert for his report and said he would be getting more paper.

General Business

No general business items were brought to the court's attention.

Resolutions

There were not any resolutions to come before the court.

Ordinances

No ordinances were presented to the court.

Consent Agenda

Claims List-County Treasurer Ivan Frye:  There were no questions asked so warrants will be issued and bills will be paid.

Administrative Actions

Handout No. 05-71

Approve award of direct recording voting equipment to Harp Enterprises, Inc. for the sum of $601,895.00:  Commissioner Humpert made the motion for approval followed with a second from Commissioner Koenig.  The motion unanimously passed with a roll call vote.

Handout No. 05-72

Acknowledgement of audit for the Kenton County Golf Course:  Mr. Frye said the high points of the audit are that the cash position had been improved as of June 30 from the preceding year.  If you take into consideration that we are paying off half a million dollars a year in debt, our golf course is still paying for itself and did increase its cash position in this year.

Commissioner Black asked how many more years were left to pay and Mr. Frye said it would be paid off in 2010.

Judge Drees asked for a motion to acknowledge receipt of the audit.  Commissioner Humpert made the motion to accept the audit; seconded by Commissioner Black and the motion unanimously passed with the aye vote.

Handout No. 05-73

Acceptance of letter of resignation of Dr. Christopher D. Caggiano and authorization to rebid for medical director for emergency management and fire services:  Mr. Frye said this is the doctor that has been providing the direction for all the EMT units in the county, and perhaps there have been some misunderstandings on what should be provided.

Judge Drees asked what Dr. Caggiano should be doing and Mr. Frye said he provides guidance and oversees the EMT units because they require certification each year and a doctor has to sign off that they have complied with the training requirements, etc.  Judge Drees asked how much the contract cost per year and Mr. Frye said it was for $25,000.00.

Mr. Kimmich said the fire departments are probably the single largest user of this service because all of the basic life support services the ambulances provide are required by the state to be certified by a medical physician.

Chief Dorsey said that the dispatchers in the dispatch center are trained to give medical advice when it is needed immediately on a call.  Sometime after one of these calls, they have to be signed off on by a physician and this is part of the certification process.  The doctor continually reviewing these calls is how we guarantee that the quality stays good   Second, there are defibrillation units that have to be certified on an annual basis.

Mr. Burk said the advanced life support units in the county have to have a medical director sign off before they can get any of the supplies they need.  Judge Drees asked if these services were being supplied by the county to all the support units, and Mr. Burk said all of the basic life support units do not have medical direction with paramedics.  Covington, Independence or Erlanger does not but the rest of cities have it.  Mr. Kimmich said the doctor could not be a general practitioner but must have a degree in emergency medicine in order to be able to sign the reports and provide for the medications and other needs.

Mr. Kimmich said that Dr. Caggiano said that there were other priorities he needed to be moving toward in his practice and the county and he reached a general agreement to terminate the contract and go forward with hiring someone else.  There is a 60-day termination clause in his contract and he has basically exercised that option through this agreement so we have a 60-day window of opportunity to advertise for a new medical director.

Judge Drees asked for a motion to acknowledge the resignation and authorize the advertising for the service.  Commissioner Koenig made the motion; seconded by Commissioner Black and the motion unanimously passed with the vote of aye.

Executive Orders

Executive Order No. 05-108

Accept resignation of Madonna Minter from the animal shelter, effective October 23, 2005:  Commissioner Black made the motion to accept with a second from Commissioner Humpert and the motion unanimously passed with an aye vote.

Executive Order No. 05-109

Employment of Lisa Sipple and Cheryl Peterson as part-time workers for the animal shelter, effective November 14, 2005, and November 17, 2005, respectively:  Commissioner Koenig made the motion to accept; seconded by Commissioner Black.  The motion unanimously passed with an aye vote.

Executive Order No. 05-110

Termination of employment for Jared Perry from the animal shelter, effective November 22, 2005:  Commissioner Humpert made the motion with a second from Commissioner Koenig and the motion unanimously passed with the aye vote.

Executive Order No. 05-111

Accept resignation of Mike Sullivan as systems administrator from information technology in the Kenton County Treasurer's Office:  Commissioner Black made the motion for acceptance; seconded by Commissioner Humpert and the motion unanimously passed with the aye vote.

Executive Order No. 05-112

Reorganization of Kenton County Treasurer's Office:  Mr. Kimmich said the county wished to incorporate into the functions of the treasurer's office the position of a grants administrator who would be Wayne Spiegel.  It has become very clear that there are a number of options for the county to apply for funds in many areas and someone is needed not only to apply for the grants but to manage the application and administration process.  The second phase of this is to terminate the contract with the area development district for the mental health and retardation and senior citizens funding bringing that back into the operation of the treasurer's office.

The county is also recommending the promotion of Scott Gunning to the office of parks director making this a revenue mutual transfer and over the long haul this will save $13,000.00 as a result of the ADD contract and moving Scott up and Wayne over.  This is a cost saving move for the county and it is believed that when the mental health and retardation and senior citizens funds are looked into, some monies will be recovered for services the county did not really receive.

Commissioner Humpert asked what the ADD was paid for these services on an annual basis and Mr. Kimmich answered that it was $16,000.00.  Commissioner Humpert asked when that contract would be cancelled and Mr. Kimmich said January 1 was the effective date of the termination.

Commissioner Black made the motion for approval; seconded by Commissioner Humpert.  The motion unanimously carried with a roll call vote.

Citizens Address

There were not any citizens present to address the court.

Administrative Reporting

DEPUTY JUDGE EXECUTIVE-Scott Kimmich:  Nothing further to report.

COUNTY TREASURER-Ivan Frye:  Nothing else to report.

HUMAN RESOURCES DIRECTOR-Joe Shriver:  Nothing to report.

COUNTY ATTORNEY'S REPORT-Garry Edmondson:  Nothing to report.

Commissioners' Reports

COMMISSIONER BARBARA BLACK-Wanted to thank the citizens for their participation in the recycling efforts at the animal shelter and talked of the advantages of adopting a pet from the animal shelter.

COMMISSIONER DAN HUMPERT-Nothing to report.

COMMISSIONER ADAM KOENIG-Nothing to report.

Judge-Executive's Report

The Judge asked Roger Wells to come forward to report on the fall cleanup.  Mr. Wells reported on the amount of trash that had been picked up in the county and said the total amount was 127.21 tons.  Mr. Wells also said he thought that computer components picked up last weekend would be over the 54,000 pounds that was picked up last year.

Commissioner Humpert asked if anything was done at public works for the recycling effort and Mr. Wells answered that there would be a paper bin there the middle of December.

Commissioner Black said that at a conference she attended in Louisville the solid waste coordinator for the state of Kentucky said that our state is number one in the nation in recycling tires.

Judge Drees said he was still very interested in looking at the placement of dumpsters at locations in the county, perhaps at water hauling stations, to provide people with an opportunity to drop off items that would otherwise wind up along the roadside.  Roger Wells advised that he is looking into the judge's request.

Executive Session

There was not an executive session called.

Adjournment

There being no further business to come before the court, Commissioner Humpert made the motion to adjourn; seconded by Commissioner Black.  The court adjourned with the unanimous vote of aye.