By Rich Wicks | Times Vedette
During the Feb. 6 meeting of the Guthrie County Board of Supervisors, the main topics of discussion were the ongoing efforts and challenges to find a countywide EMS services plan. Guthrie County Health Director Jotham Arber shared the status of proposals and negotiations.
“The only way to push forward here is to get a proposal and then to start working on it,” Arber said. “We’ve gone around about and we’ve done all kinds of things… It’s going to take a collaborative effort.”
Supervisor Brian Johnson voiced a concern about the timeline. He said if there is anything that will need to be on the ballots in the November election, the process needs to start moving soon.
“I would propose we set up a smaller committee,” said Johnson. “We have some really talented people in this county. If we get the right people at the table — and it being five or seven at the max — we can try to put together a proposal to work with the cities to move forward. Because otherwise, I don’t see any way that we can be successful at the ballot box. It’s getting awful late.”
Supervisor Mike Dickson voiced a concern that a smaller committee might be perceived as not having representation from all interested areas and organizations. No formal action was taken on the issue at this time.
Other news
Brian Hoffman provided an update on the Information Technology (IT) department. He discussed the option of paying for a five-year license extension on both the Verkada door and Verkada panic system that were recently installed. The cost of these extensions would be $2,217 and $2,060. After discussion, the supervisors voted unanimously to purchase the extended licensing.
Jotham Arber provided a budgetary review of the expected revenues and expenses for the Transfer Station budget.
The supervisors unanimously voted to appoint Brenda Dudley to the Enterprise Board.
The supervisors canceled the budgetary meeting originally scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 8.
The next meeting of the Board of Supervisors will be a regular meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 13 at 9 a.m. The public is welcome. Attendees may participate in person or by calling 323-792-6123 and inputting conference ID 547029216#.