A big spike in the cost of software licensing was addressed at Tuesday’s meeting of the Barton County Commission. While the commissioners ratified a $16,856.64 expenditure from provider SHI to allow the IT Department to continue seamless operations, they were assured by Information Technology Director Dereck Hollingshead that he’ll be looking for other options going forward.
Hollingshead said VMware software (which the county gets from SHI) is necessary for virtualization computing, which allows businesses to run multiple virtual machines (VMs) on a single physical server.
“VMware software allowed us to build 10 additional servers on top of the three physical boxes,” he said. The renewal cost was $1,100 in 2023. In 2024 it jumped to $3,200 and for 2025 the renewal was going to cost over $17,000.
Hollingshead negotiated to get the price lowered to $16,856.64.
The reason for the spike is that VMware was acquired by another company “who has essentially eliminated a lot of the mom and pop licenses like what Barton County utilizes and they are focusing on enterprise licensing,” Hollingshead said. “I reached out to four local vendors here in town and they’re not able to sell the software anymore.”
He said the county found itself “between a rock and a hard place,” with only a few weeks' notice. He will look for other options moving forward.
Lease agreement for Road and Bridge
In other business, the commission renewed a lease agreement with James Murphy of Murphy Property for 2.4 acres located 1.75 miles west of Heizer, for $1,500 a year until October of 2030. County Works Director Chris Schartz said this is a pit where the county stores sand and equipment for the road and bridge department.
The county works on its blacktop roads by tackling a quadrant each year. Road and Bridge has similar sites near Odin and Ellinwood, and one in the northwest corner of the county.
“It does help alleviate travel time and costs,” Schartz said. He noted that the expense would be drawn from the Road and Bridge Fund, which is offset by savings associated with hauling, maintenance, and staffing that would otherwise be incurred without a nearby storage location.
The county has used this location for many years.
Additional reporting on the land lease was provided by Barton County.
