FORT SCOTT, Kan — The Bourbon County Commission voted Monday night to halt all rock quarry operations at Elm Creek Lake following public concern over recreational access.
Elm Creek Lake
Resident Mike Wunderly opened public commentary by urging the board to reconsider turning the Elm Creek Lake area into a quarry. He argued that rural families rely on the lake for recreation and noted that other area lakes such as Lake Fort Scott are already overcrowded.
"I personally would hate to see that turned into a rock quarry around there because where... are the rural people like my family going to put a boat?" Wunderly said.
Later in the meeting, the commission voted unanimously to cease operations and notify Public Works Director Kenny Allen to stop all activity. Commissioner David Beerbower stated that he preferred developing the area as an RV park to attract campers.
Payroll Debate
The board continued a contentious debate over corrections of employee vacation and sick leave balances as well as changes made after a recent audit of employee records by commission Executive Assistant Laura Krom. Commissioner Joe Allen encouraged the board to move forward rather than focusing on past bookkeeping discrepancies.
"The only way to do that is we're going to have to swallow our pride and make these where we're going forward, not going back years and changing things," Allen said.
Commissioner David Beerbower brought a revised version of the resolution he introduced at the previous commission meeting, which would return the county to a "front-loaded" award system for employee vacation and sick leave. He said that changes implemented after the audit of employee records by Krom were creating unnecessary confusion and hardship for staff.
Commissioner Mika Milburn-Kee defended the audit process, presenting documentation of inconsistent hire dates in past records. Milburn-Kee maintained that only two employees were adversely affected by the policy transition.
Commissioner Beerbower challenged this, stating he continued to receive complaints from multiple staff members.
"You keep saying that, but I keep hearing from other people that their time was ripped off," Beerbower said.
Chairman Samuel Tran summarized his position by stating that the issues stemmed from data discrepancies rather than a faulty system. He expressed a desire to give the current process a chance to work.
"I have not found one [affected employee] yet that leads me to believe that the system is faulty," Tran said. "Is it perfect? No... but we need to work to continue to give it a chance."
Commissioner Gregg Motley said that he wanted leave hours from the end of 2025 restored regardless of documented errors. He maintained that past bookkeeping mistakes were not the fault of the employees.
“I just want one thing. Whatever anybody thought they had on 12/31/2025, I want that restored. I don't care how it got there,” Motley said, “I'm not interested in looking back. Some things were done by resolution in there and not documented. That's not the employee's fault… I don't care how it's done. It just needs to be done because it's not their fault.”
While the broader resolution was tabled for one week, the board unanimously approved a handbook amendment to fix a "gap in service" issue affecting two specific employees. This change ensures that employees moving from salary to hourly status do not lose their original full-time hire status for leave purposes.
Public Comment
Todd Miller, a county EMS employee who said he was speaking in his capacity as an ordained elder of both the Nazarene and Wesleyan churches, used the public comment time to request a public apology from Chairman Samuel Tran.
While Miller said he was grateful that the Commission said a prayer of invocation before every meeting, he was disappointed with Tran for “using the Lord’s name in vain” at the previous week’s meeting.
“And I saw last week's council meeting where Chairman Tran used the Lord's name in vain twice and I was discouraged, very much discouraged,” Miller said, "You invite that Holy Spirit here and then you use his name in that way. And my question, I guess, or my concern is, are we just praying just to get the prayer over with and then to move on?”
Tran ended the discussion once Miller reached his time limit.
"I already gave you a minute over." Tran said after cutting off Miller's commentary.
Juvenile Detention Discussion
Sheriff Bill Martin and Sixth Judicial District Director Angie Eads presented data regarding the rising costs of juvenile detention services. Director Eads noted that daily rates at facilities range from $150 to $263 per day.
Martin argued that paying daily rates for beds might be more cost-effective for the county than continuing to use a flat-rate contract with one facility.
"I’m all about saving money... this is taxpayer's money and we got to find ways of saving money," Sheriff Martin stated.
County Attorney James Crux said that while detention center use is necessary, historical data shows many billable days are tied to a small number of specific juveniles.
Commissioner Motley questioned the feasibility of the county’s current $134,000 flat-rate annual contract with the Southeast Kansas Juvenile Detention Center in Girard.
"I was just computing the number of youth [served] and the number of days you'd have to have in Girard to consume $134,000 - [it’s] 765 billable days, which we've never been close to," Motley said.
Other Actions
- Authorized the Planning Commission to move forward with interviews for three firms—Confluence, MPC, and Foster & Associates—to develop a new comprehensive plan.
- Accepted two sealed haying bids totaling $605 for county properties.
- Approved accounts payable totaling approximately $293,216.27 across three payment dates in April.
- Approved the minutes of the April 13 meeting with one correction.
- Voted to “continue the precedence that was set with this employee on his time to end in this one week" for a non-elected employee following two back-to-back executive sessions regarding non-elected personnel.
- Approved Resolution 2026, a local disaster emergency proclamation following storm damage on April 17 .
- The Treasurer announced that 2026 property taxes are due by May 11 to avoid penalties.
- Heard a presentation from SEK-CAP regarding a housing voucher application and local transportation ridership.
- Held an executive session to discuss data relating to financial affairs or trade secrets of corporations, partnerships, trusts, and individual proprietorships for fifteen minutes with the five Commissioners and County Counselor Bob Johnson, who joined by phone. No action was taken.
