Harrison County Supervisors Meeting February 13, 2025 Chairman Brian Rife called the meeting to order with members Tony Smith and Rebecca Wilkerson in attendance. Motion to approve the tentative agenda with removal of Justin Wagner was made by Smith, second by Wilkerson. Motion carried. Minutes from January 14th were approved motion by Smith, second by Rife. Motion carried. Minutes from January 28th were approved motion by Wilkerson second by Smith. Motion carried. Minutes from February 6th were approved motion by Wilkerson second by Smith. Motion carried. Attendance: Auditor Megan Reffett, Paul J. Rhoten, Susan Bonham, Michele Stirtz, Jack Jones, Anita Mether, Deb Mether, Sarah Delanty Discussion on Health and Human Services drug testing Discussion was held on allowing Health and Human Services to conduct drug testing in the County Annex building. The board discussed it with the County Attorney and she agreed she would talk with the other county departments in the building to see how they felt it would impact them. Discussion/Action on amendments to County Compensation Board Resolution The board approved the presented amendment to the County Compensation Board Resolution. Amendment to Resolution of the County Compensation Board This Amendment is entered into as of the 13th day of February 2025, by Harrison County Board of Supervisors. This Amendment shall apply retroactively to July 1, 2024. The Harrison County Board of Supervisors agree as follows: 1. The Harrison County Board of Supervisors will appoint their Compensation Board Representatives by majority vote, for a 2-year term. 2. The Compensation Board will act in an advisory capacity to the Harrison County Board of Supervisors. 3. The representatives of the County Auditor, County Attorney, County Recorder, County Treasurer and County Sheriff shall serve staggered terms of two years and four years. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, we have hereunto affixed our signatures all as of the date first written above. Motion by Smith, second by Wilkerson. Motion carried. Appointment of Board of Supervisors Compensation Board Representatives The board discussed that Beth Fouts and Jason Sherer had served as members for the compensation board in the past and felt that they should be reappointed. Motion by Wilkerson, second by Smtih. Motion carried. Discussion/Action on policy requiring bank reconciliation on all County bank accounts Member Wilkerson stated that she hadn’t had time to prepare the policy yet. Chairman Rife requested to wait until the county audit comes back. The board agreed to table the item until a future meeting. Consider video recording for Board of Supervisors meeting Member Wilkerson brought up the option of having the Board of Supervisors meeting video recorded. Chairman Rife stated concerns about the requirements and wanted to look into the options further. Member Smith is attending a meeting later this week with other supervisors and would ask what their counties are doing. Discussion/Action on filling County Engineer position The Board discussed how to proceed with the posting and hiring for the new County Engineer position. The possibility of sharing an engineer was discussed and options on who would be a good candidate for sharing. The board discussed the option of using a firm to help with hiring. A motion was made to have Steve proceed with requesting RFP and looking for a firm to help with the process. Motion by Smith, second by Wilkerson. Motion carried. Budget FY26 Flood and Erosion- Anita Mether presented for the soil and water conservation board. Many of the watersheds in the county have not been inspected in the past few years. They have contacted someone to inspect all these watersheds by the end of the year. They are also anticipating costs that could come up for repairs during these inspections. E911 – Auditor Reffett presented the E911 budget and explained to the board that Director Flaherty needs to spend down the budget because the fund balance is above where the State would like to see it. Sheriff – Sheriff Doiel presented his updated budget to the board. Increases in fuel, training, vehicles, and building maintenance were discussed. There were also increases in the revenue budget beyond what had been originally submitted for the 911 Directors salary reimbursement from EMA and an increase in Sheriff fees. County Engineer County Engineer Struble presented updates from the department. L43 overlay has been finalized and signed by the DOT Engineer. Struble is working on the request for Pottawattamie County to release their portion of the costs to Harrison County in the amount of $92,046.13. Agreement with Pottawattamie County Discussion on having an interim engineer from Pottawattamie County was held. Struble advised that the engineer would not be able to do letting or Farm to Market funding due to new state requirements. Member Rife asked what the benefits of this agreement would be. He stated that it would be necessary to sign off on projects, sign claims, and help with management. The current proposal is to have the engineer come to the County one day a week at a rate of $150 per hour. Chairman Rife requested the agreement be approved by Pottawattamie County prior to Harrison County approving it. Request for Payment on Final Voucher for Morgan #3 Bridge The final payment for the Morgan #3 bridge was approved with a motion by Wilkerson, second by Smith. Motion carried. Review FY2026 5-Year Construction Program Struble presented the 5-year Construction Program. He discussed a few of the upcoming projects and projects that were being pushed back to the 2030 plan. Member Rife requested that he bring this back next week for approval to allow the board additional time to review it. With business of the day completed, the Board adjourned on a motion by Wilkerson, second by Smtih. Motion carried. ATTEST: Megan Reffett, Auditor Brain Rife, Chairman NOTE: These minutes are as recorded by the Clerk to the Board of Supervisors and are subject to Board approval at the next regular meeting. MVTN 2-19-25 TDR 2-20-25
