Lyon County and Health Center to discuss details of contract on center’s building
By Brandy Nance
Friday, April 3, 2009
Discussions could take place soon regarding the contract between Lyon County and Flint Hills Community Health Center, following discussions between commissioners and counsel during Thursday’s Lyon County Commission action session.
Commissioners discussed the contract between Lyon County and the Lyon County Health Department with County Controller Dan Slater and Assistant County Counselor Mike Halleran during Thursday morning’s meeting.
Slater said the Flint Hills Community Health Center is the finest health department in Kansas and provides many services to the community. The center occupies a building owned by the county. He said this puts the county in the position of being landlords.
“There are some terms on the contract that needs to be worked out,” Slater said.
October is the date for automatic renewal of the contract or the contract will need to be revamped. Halleran said the contract was entered into several years ago and has been largely unaltered at that time.
“The simple way would be to not renew this contract but to find a way to renegotiate with the health department,” he said.
Slater said the health center pays its own utilities in full and does its own janitorial work. The county is responsible for maintenance with the exception of cosmetic work on the center.
During the discussion, County Counselor Marc Goodman talked about the option of using mill levy funding to offset the county’s maintenance costs on the health center’s building. It would mean, however, an increase in the county’s mill levy, something county commissioners are not endorsing at this time becauses the promise made to citizens when the sales tax increase was passed, said Commission Chairman Scott Briggs.
Commissioners voted 3-0 to allow Halleran and Slater to seek information regarding the contract including talking to health department representatives.
In other business, commissioners:
• did not approve work on the Lyon County Jail and the Lyon County Health Department. The work includes cosmetic work patching up concrete and an awning at the health department. The motion to approve the work died for lack of a second. “We were informed a couple a weeks ago that our multi-year budget line is going to be lean and we don’t know what is going to happen in the coming months anyway,” Commission Vice-Chair Rollie Martin said.
• approved zoning for a rock quarry;
• passed a resolution relating to the Solid Waste Management Plan of Chase County, the City of Emporia and Lyon County;
• passed a resolution allowing a change in zoning from agriculture and agriculture special use single family dwelling by request of Harry Haag;
• passed a resolution that raises the speed limit at Roads U, S and 200 to 55 miles per hour. Signs stating the limit is 35 mph will be removed. The signs were placed during the construction of Westar Energy's Peaking Power Plant.
• approved signing the contract between Johnson County and Lyon County for housing inmates in the Lyon County Jail.