The Cook County Board of Commissioners meeting lasted a brief 2 hours and 15 minutes on Tuesday, June 9, 2015, but it was packed with business from biomass to budget planning.
Biomass resolution is “moot”
Saying the point was moot, four of the five Cook County commissioners declined to vote for a motion that would keep the county from ever entering into the biomass district heating proposal as presented to the board over a month ago.
Commissioner Garry Gamble submitted the resolution.
The proposal was for the county to sign a 25-year contract with the Grand Marais Public Utilities Commission (PUC), which would supply heat for some, but not all of the county’s buildings. The proposal was similar for 17 other entities in Grand Marais.
The project lost its steam when the Cook County North Shore Hospital and Care Center—which would have been almost one-third of the heating district’s business—decided not to enter into a 25-year contract with the PUC.
Commissioner Frank Moe said the final paragraph of Gamble’s resolution troubled him. In that paragraph Gamble wrote, “Therefore, be it resolved, the Cook County Board of Commissioners, on behalf of the health and welfare of the citizens of Cook County, elect not to contract with the Grand Marais District Heating Biomass Project (GMDHBP) in the heating of County-owned facilities and, furthermore, determine, herewith, not to enter into future consideration or negotiation for such an agreement.”
Moe asked if that statement would preclude the county from ever entering into an agreement with the GMDHBP in the future on a smaller project. Gamble said no, his resolution was specific to this agreement.
Commissioner Jan Sivertson said some of the language in the resolution might hurt people’s feelings, especially those who had worked long and hard on getting a biomass district heating plant in Grand Marais.
Because the numbers would have to be redone to reflect the new cost to the other 16 potential customers—and that cost per customer would be quite a bit higher—the Cook County Local Energy Project biomass committee elected to stop pursuing the project for Grand Marais, ending a six-year quest that saw over $1 million spent in studies, grant writing, engineering, and consulting fees.
Commissioners Ginny Storlie and Heidi Doo-Kirk concurred that because the contract proposal was void, there was no reason to make a motion against the now defunct heating district.
New Aquatic Invasive Species Coordinator for county
Soil and Water District Manager Kerrie Berg asked the board to approve the hiring of Amanda Weberg for the contract position of Cook County Aquatic Invasive Species Coordinator and to approve the Cook County Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) Task Force bylaws, both of which the board agreed to do.
Weberg, who will be paid through funds secured through the State of Minnesota AIS prevention funds for a period up to three years, will be in charge of overseeing the Aquatic Invasive Species prevention efforts including the planning, implementing and evaluating the prevention plan.
The task force will include six members from partnering organizations listed in the AIS Prevention Plan, one county commissioner, one soil and water conservation district staff member and the Aquatic Invasive Species Coordinator.
Position reviews equal pay raises for two staffers
The personnel committee recommended that the Environmental Health Officer position currently held by Mitch Everson receive a year round Level 2 working conditions designation which will result in an additional 60 cents per hour for six months of the year.
Currently Everson receives a Level 2 designation during May-October, but sometimes he has had to inspect a construction site outside of that timeframe.
In addition, Everson (or anyone working in this job) can potentially experience hazardous situations yearround when investigating communicable disease outbreaks, public health nuisances, and animal bites.
While Commissioner Storlie noted the raise was small, she questioned the timing, noting that Everson is still under some scrutiny following complaints from septic installers last winter.
But Janet Simonen, who has come out of retirement part-time to help with personnel matters until the new county administrator begins, said Everson wasn’t being given a raise. It was a change in the classification of the job— regardless of who held the job—that was being changed, she said.
Once Simonen explained how the personnel committee had made its decision, Storlie, along with the rest of the commissioners, voted for the new classification.
Due to reorganizational staffing and additional job duties given to Alison McIntyre in Public Health & Human Services (PHHS), the Personnel Committee jumped her classification from a B32-1 level to a C42-1 level, retroactive to June 1, 2015. This will result in a $1.90 per hour raise for McIntyre.
Budget review begins
Commissioners Doo-Kirk and Sivertson were appointed to the budget committee. Commissioner Gamble asked to serve again this year on the committee but Doo-Kirk said that because they were both up for reelection at the same time, it was important to bring a new commissioner on board to gain experience in case they both lost bids for reelection.
“If I’m not on the committee I will be on the ground floor,” said Gamble, noting that he would keep a close watch on the proceedings throughout the process.
Auditor Braidy Powers and the board went over the 2016 budget process, naming some budget priorities and setting preparation guidelines. The board authorized Powers to send out budget materials, instructions and hearing dates to the department heads, including a capital request form, personnel change form, and a five-month revenue/expense report and the 2016 budget worksheet.
Powers said the deadline to request non-mandated (discretionary) funding was July 10.
Gamble said he could continue drafting guidelines for the board to help decide how much to give programs that request non-mandated funds if the board would like him to.
Moe said he liked the concept of guidelines, but didn’t feel the board should be tied to following them.
“Having a uniform scoring mechanism, as a tool, would be great, but as a commissioner I would like to use my own judgment,” said Moe.
In other business
. The board approved a resolution to support an application for the Tofte Town Park to be designated by Greater Minnesota Regional Parks as a regional destination and recreation facility. By getting this “designation of regional significance” the township will be eligible to receive Legacy Parks & Trails funding for future improvements.
. The board approved an agreement with the Cook County North Shore Hospital whereby the hospital will be paid $25 per coroner case for transcription, compilation and maintenance of coroner records
. Authorization was given to purchase Microsoft Surface Pro 3 for Assistant County Attorney Jeanne Monson, along with cover/keyboard and docking station .
. A tax abatement for lakeshore property on Tom Lake owned by Richard and Sandra Phillips was granted. The land wasn’t “tiered,” according to the new assessor/auditor office practice established in 2014 and was valued higher than it should have been.
. A public hearing was held to make a small change in the county’s travel trailer permit renewal fee, dropping it from $300 to $100. Tim Nelson, director of Planning and Zoning, brought the request forward. He said the cost reflected the time it would take to inspect property where trailers were kept and used for housing. “We’re looking for human waste. Because these trailers are mobile and can be moved around the property we sometimes do a quick site visit,” Nelson said.
No one from the public attended the meeting. The board approved the change.
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