Highland County Board of Supervisors Work Session August 21, 2024
The August 21 meeting of the Highland County Board of Supervisors was quieter and quicker than usual. Supervisors stuck with the agenda, with a few additions which included the introduction of the new EMS Chief Peter Kosenko who will officially start to work on August 25. Kosenko took a few minutes to thank the board and give his hopes for the department:
“I just want to thank the board of supervisors for giving me the opportunity to serve the citizens. I’m looking forward to working with career and volunteer staff to provide the best care for the citizens and visitors of Highland County,” said Kosenko.
Moving to Old Business, the board revisited Bolar Volunteer Rescue Squad’s Designated Emergency Response Designation or DERA status, which was tabled at the last meeting. Supervisors Paul Trible and Henry Budzinski were in favor of returning Bolar VRS to DERA status to allow them to meet requirements for inspections in October. Matt Ratcliff of the Bolar Volunteer Rescue Squad outlined his reasons in an email sent to the supervisors, stating promises had been made that were never delivered.
County attorney Melissa Dowd said that no one knew of these promises until the email, as they were made by former EMS chief Nick Fialo. Dowd urged the board to wait in making the decision allowing time for new chief Kosenko to make the situation a top priority. In the end, Budzinski and Trible pushed forward voting to return Bolar to their former DERA status. Supervisor Harry Sponaugle voted against.
County Registrar Abby Wimer then asked the board to approve an ARPA grant to implement a ballot on demand system for the main registrar’s office. This request was also tabled at the last meeting. The grant would cover the cost of two units, training, installation, and three years of annual fees associated with the new equipment. The estimated cost is $16,230, and while the county would initially pay the bill, the funds would be reimbursed using the grant. After the three years, costs to run and maintain the annual license for the equipment would be $500 per year. This passed unanimously.
Under New Business, the board quickly passed items pertaining to the personal property tax relief act and the Highland County Humane Society’s request for a vaccination and microchip clinic to be held on October 5 from 10 a.m. to noon at the Highland County Volunteer Rescue Squad’s Administration Building. Both of these were unanimous board decisions.
Dowd then gave updates about the improvements being made to Highland County solid waste sites. The Vanderpool trash site is complete and providing the efficiency the board had hopes, she stated. The bills did come in higher than expected, however. The Blue Grass site will be finished in two weeks, then the landfill site is next. The sites at McDowell and Headwaters will need new bids, as they are expected to go over the $200,000 allotment for the five-site project.
The supervisors then accepted the appointment of two new members to the Highland County EDA board, Laura Warner and Janice Deem, at the request of Betty Mitchell.
Interim County Administrator Jerri Botkin was named as the Freedom of Information Act, or FOIA officer. This position has been vacant since the former county administrator resigned. Botkin has already completed the training and is ready to take on this extra work.
The board went into closed session to discuss personnel and legal matters. After the closed meeting, the Board of Supervisors reconvened in open meeting and made the following motions:
Trible made the motion to ratify and accept the EMS Chief’s Employment contract, and the vote passed unanimously.
Trible then made the motion to authorize County Staff to work on the bidding paperwork for the McDowell and Headwaters Collection sites. This motion also passed unanimously.
Being no additional business, Trible made a motion to continue to the Regular meeting on September 3, 2024. This motion carried by unanimous vote.