Board of County Commissioners update

The Board of County Commissioners resumed meeting in the Hearing Room on Thursday, April 8, 2021 at 9:30 am. To reduce the spread of COVID-19, physical distancing will be observed in the Hearing Room, with 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 are being accepted for those who preregister.  Live public comments will be accepted either in-person or via Zoom, audio only. Individuals wishing to speak in-person or via Zoom may register by completing the registration form link at https://boccmeetings.jocogov.org/onbaseagendaonline. Registration opens Tuesday afternoon/evening (coincides with publishing the agenda) and closes at noon (12:00 p.m.) on the Wednesday before the Thursday meeting. If you complete the registration, you will receive an email notice later in the day on Wednesday regarding the status of your registration. Instructions on joining and speaking at the meeting via Zoom will be included in the email notice for individuals who register to speak via Zoom. 
Individuals registering to speak in person at the meeting will receive email confirmation of their registration. The BOCC has established a limit of 50 speakers for general public comments or for a specific agenda item. If more than 50 individuals register, the 50 speakers will be determined by a random process. Speakers will be limited to 2 minutes each.  Speakers who have registered to speak via Zoom will be called upon to speak first, followed by speakers who have registered to speak in person.  Registered speakers using Zoom will be called upon to speak in the order in which they signed up. Speakers who have registered for in person public comment will be admitted into the Hearing Room in the order specified by the Deputy Clerk.  The Chairman may modify these procedures as needed to conduct an orderly and efficient meeting.

If you would like to make a WRITTEN public comment for the meeting, please use this link, WRITTEN Public Comments and complete the form. Written comments received by noon Wednesday will be shared with the entire Board prior to the meeting. Written comments will not be read into the record during the meeting. If you are unable to use this internet link, you may call the following number, and we will record your information. (913) 715-0424.

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] or contact us 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.

The Board of County Commissioners proclaimed April 18-24 as National Volunteers Week and National Crime Victims’ Rights week. In addition, the BOCC presented a Certificate of Recognition for Geraldine H. Mason’s 100th birthday.

BOCC actions for April 15, 2021

• Authorized a contract with Facility Solutions Group, to perform lighting upgrades for multiple County buildings as part of the Energy Retrofit program in an amount not to exceed $337,237. 
• Authorized and approved certain airport improvements in the amount of $6,500,000; authorized the issuance of general obligation bonds to pay for these improvements plus costs of issuance and other related financing costs as authorized by K.S.A. 3-301 et. seq.; and authorized the publication of notice of intent to issue general obligation internal improvement bonds in an amount not to exceed $6,500,000 in the official County newspaper. 
• Authorized contract change order authority with Infrastructure Solutions, LLC for pavement repair work in Mission Road under the Dykes Branch Force Main Replacement Project in an amount not to exceed $400,000, and authorized the Wastewater General Manager to sign change orders up to $400,000 in total, including any project change orders over $100,000, for pavement restoration work.
• Authorized the Chairman and County Manager to extend an offer of employment for the position of Chief Counsel consistent with the discussions and policies of the board and, as necessary, conduct negotiations as authorized by policy, and, if the offer is accepted, to present the candidate for appointment by the board. 
• (Sitting as the Special Public Building Commission) Approved a sixth amendment to the JE Dunn Construction Design/Build contract to move a portion of existing owner’s budgeted contingency dollars in the amount of $500,000, funding additional cooling tower screening, exterior window treatments, security screening modifications, and unanticipated costs, for the new Johnson County Courthouse the total amount not to exceed $178,586,810, per Request for Proposal (RFP) 2017-004.

Manager's Memor, Penny Postoak Ferguson, County Manager

KERA Programs – Housing Services/Wastewater 

On March 15, Kansas Housing Resource Corporation opened the Kansas Emergency Rental Assistance program, using Federal funds allocated through the COVID Relief program. On the first day, KHRC responded to over 1,300 phone and email messages, and committed more than $4 million for rental assistance Statewide. Aging and Human Services is continuing to work with United Way to refer people in need of rental assistance for help filling out the application for the program. Anyone interested in getting information about eligibility for the program, or assistance with the application process should call United Way’s 211 line. More information is available in this news release.

Sheriff’s Office and Department of Corrections – Adult Residential Center Study 

The Johnson County Sheriff’s Office and the Department of Corrections believe the environment and programming provided at the Adult Residential Center (ARC) could be beneficial for low and moderate-risk individuals ordered to await trial in detention because they cannot post bond. Inmates housed at the ARC have access to services like on-site mental health programs, employment assistance and training, substance abuse education and counseling, and educational opportunities. To determine the program’s efficacy, the Department of Corrections and the Sheriff’s Office have partnered with the University of Notre Dame’s Wilson Sheehan Lab for Economic Opportunities. They have set out to determine the impact of staying in a community-based work-release facility pretrial, instead of a traditional jail setting, on a person’s reentry, success on probation, and recidivism likelihood. 
 

Legislative update, Maury Thompson, Deputy County Manager

The Kansas Legislature ended its session on Friday, April 9, and will return for the veto session on May 3. Over 130 pieces of legislation were combined into 50 bundles and advanced into conference committee reports.  You can view information on bills we are monitoring in this report.

COVID-19 Funding and Expense Report and CRF Phase One and Phase Three 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 $129,833,075.18 in costs which are eligible for CARES act reimbursement and received $154,859,503.83 in federal funds.  

COVID-19 update, Dr. Sanmi Areola, Director and Elizabeth Holzschuh, Director of Epidemiology

On Wednesday, April 14, JCDHE administered its highest number of doses at a clinic, which was 3,120. There are 11,000 first doses available for the next two weeks. According to WEB IZ, as of April 14 40% of the eligible populations has received at least one dose. After several weeks of a plateau, both the incidence rate and percent positivity rate have seen a slight increase.  Read the full report.

Items currently on the agenda for the April 22 meeting

• Consider approving the appointment of Emily Coleman Hidalgo - Third District Representative of the Southeast Consolidated Zoning Board through December 31, 2021.
• Consider authorizing the County Appraiser's Office to make an appraisal correction to the 2020 tax roll for Commercial Real Estate pursuant to K.S.A. 79-1701a. 
• Consider appointing David Boisvert as County Appraiser for a term commencing July 1, 2021 through June 30, 2025, pursuant to K.S.A. 19-430. 
• Consider entering into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Johnson County District Attorney’s Office to allow the hiring of three staff attorneys and one trial assistant on a temporary basis to address the large number of backlogged court cases caused by COVID-19, to authorize a reallocation and expenditure of fund balance (reserves) for FY 2021 for the General Fund in the amount of $148,665 and to authorize a temporary increase of four District Attorney FTE’s. 
• Conduct a public hearing and consider authorizing Johnson County Wastewater to utilize the Construction Manager at Risk (CMAR) alternative delivery method for the Nelson Wastewater Treatment Facility Improvements project. Also consider designating the Selection Committee, composed of members from Johnson County staff and City representatives to act on behalf of the Board to oversee the CMAR firm selection process and designate Johnson County Financial Management and Administration staff to oversee and evaluate the CMAR bidding process for self-performed work.