Bo Co Committee Minutes, July 22 – Fort Scott Biz

The north wing, east side of the Bourbon County Courthouse.

July 22, 2024 Monday, 5:30 PM

The Board of Bourbon County Commissioners met in open session with all three commissioners and Deputy Clerk Amber Page in attendance.

Vance Eden, Michael Hoyt, Leroy Kruger, Jason Silvers, Clint Walker, Bonnie Smith, Bo Casper, Kyle Parks, Mike Wunderly, Deb Martin, Jean Tucker, and Christina Kruger attended some or all of the meeting.

Jim opened the meeting with the flag salute.

Jim said he wanted to take the approval of the June financials off the agenda because he had not been able to review them. Clifton made a motion to approve the minutes from 7-15-2024. Brandon seconded the motion and everyone agreed. Patty Love, treasurer, said the financials needed to be approved tonight because the quarterly report needed to be published to avoid audit violations. Jim asked why they were receiving the financials later than normal and Patty explained that Jennifer had been sick with COVID and that was the reason there was a delay. Patty said she does not ask them to approve and sign anything without reading it and asked the commissioners to take some time at the end of the meeting to review the financials before approving them. Jim made a motion to approve the June financials. Brandon seconded the motion and everyone agreed.

Mary Pemberton stated that there is a lot of confusion surrounding zoning and what it is, what it cannot do, how it should be implemented and whether it is good or bad for the county. Mary stated that zoning does not apply to land that is used for agricultural purposes, including the construction and maintenance of buildings on that land that is used for agricultural purposes and is located in KSA 19-2921. Mary briefly outlined the zoning regulations that Labette County recently implemented, which covered all of the unincorporated areas of their county which they divided into four zoning districts. Mary stated that there was A1 and A2 which would cover areas outside of the city limits that would be considered suburbs, V1 for small towns within the county and the fourth for the large industrial park outside of Parsons. Labette County only has 11 restrictions for specific land uses and she outlined them, explaining that they require a conditional use permit, which means that certain guidelines must be followed. Mary stated that under state law, any use that was in existence at the time the zoning was passed is written into the zoning. Mary said the commissioners directed the public to petition to get the zoning on the ballot, and then a letter from an attorney, and then a setback committee was formed, and last week there was talk of citizens filing a lawsuit or requesting a cut. Mary said the only way zoning can be implemented is by a resolution passed by the commission, which would then form a zoning and planning board and from there zoning policy would be written and there would be multiple public hearings where the public would be allowed to provide input before the final plan is adopted. Mary asked why the commissioners keep insisting that residents are jumping through hoops that aren’t really necessary? Jim asked if Mary thought the commissioners should put together a book before it was put on the ballot. Mary said in her opinion yes, that there should be some public meetings where zoning is explained so that people understand what you are talking about because zoning can be pretty basic or it can get pretty detailed. Clifton asked if Linn County was committing a crime then since they require all new homes to have a permit. Jim said that the commissioners could require building permits for a home or a special use permit for commercial purposes. Brandon suggested that they put a resolution or wording on the ballot that if the zoning was passed, it would take the entire Board of Commissioners to add or remove the regulations.

Michael Hoyt said he is leading a petition to increase the number of commission districts from three to five. Mr. Hoyt said he has received the required number of signatures from the clerk’s office, which is 621, and that state law requires that this be 5% of registered voters. Mr. Hoyt questioned the number of registered voters in Bourbon County compared to the population at the last census. Clifton said he will contact Jennifer, as she is the elections official, and she will work to resolve the situation.

Justin Meeks, County Counselor, requested an amendment to the agenda for a closed session for active pending litigation and acquisition of real property. Clifton made a motion to amend the agenda to add a closed session. Brandon seconded the motion and all concurred. Clifton made a motion to hold a 7 minute closed session under KSA 75-4319(b)(2) for consultation with an attorney for the public entity or agency that would be considered privileged in the attorney-client relationship and KSA 75-4319(b)(6) for preliminary discussion of the acquisition of real property, including the three Commissioners and Justin Meeks, and will return at 5:58. Brandon seconded the motion and all concurred. Clifton made a motion to resume regular session without action on either justification at 5:59. Brandon seconded the motion and all concurred.

Brandon said this is his first year doing budgets and asked for another open work session. Jim said they have two scheduled in August and he will be out of the office next week. Brandon said he will be in on Monday as usual and if a department head wants to meet with him to go over their budget he will. Brandon explained that he can’t make decisions but they can help him understand what they need and why they need it. Jim said they will have a work session on August 12th and 19th and possibly a third in August. Jim said he is glad to see the committee here tonight to prepare for another meeting. Jim said he liked Mary’s presentation and that she had a lot of good information. Mary thanked the commissioners for giving her the extra time to speak tonight.

Jim moved to adjourn the meeting at 6:02. Clifton seconded the motion and everyone agreed.

THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

FROM BOURBON COUNTY, KANSAS

___________________, Chair

___________________,Commissioner

CONFIRMED: ___________________, Commissioner

Jennifer Hawkins, Bourbon County Clerk

7-29-2024 Approval Date