IT Director Rena Rogers and Valerie Marasco, director of Emergency Management/Public Information, came before the county board on Tuesday, March 14, with a request for the board to approve the proposed branding and draft communications plan, and communications policy.
Last summer Rogers suggested the county should look at re-branding, to customize and standardize its communications tools to give the public a consistent visual identity. This would help the public, said Rogers, in recognizing and accessing the county’s policies, programs, services, and initiatives.
Work began in November when a County Communications Committee was formed. That committee worked on a branding policy and to outline protocols for public and internal communications for media relations for Cook County government, and to support strategic directions of the county.
The new county website logo that depicts sky and water will now serve as the official logo for the county and will be placed on all county websites, paper and vehicles as time and money allow.
Rogers said the first goal is to have the brand installed electronically and on paper. Vehicles, she said, may be equipped with a county logo sticker in the beginning, and when the vehicles are replaced the new ones will have the county’s new logo placed on them.
Marasco said Cook County communications, including social media, are public records and must be managed in compliance with public records law.
Goals of the new communication policy include providing relevant, timely information while promoting core services and alerting the public to key events.
In the case of an emergency, Marasco said it was necessary to build confidence in the public that “we are a trusted source for information.”
Employees and department heads using county social media sites and departmental media plans will review and act consistently with the Cook County Communication Policy. That policy will establish guidelines to facilitate communications that are coordinated and consistent, as well as open and responsive, said Rogers.
Those recommendations will then be forwarded to the administrator’s office for final review and approval.
So far there has been no cost to the county for the work to make these new policies, said Administrator Jeff Cadwell. “This is pointing the needle to becoming a more professional organization without spending any money, so it will take some time to be completed.”
Road work
The Maple Hill Pit Road and County Road 7 have long needed repairs, said Cook County Highway Engineer Dave Betts, with plans and specifications for those repairs completed.
However, “The cost to repair 7 has escalated from what we originally planned. Some drainage problems weren’t accounted for, and there is far more sidewalk, curb, and gutter that needs to be replaced in the urban section than we planned.”
Those additional costs will add $269,700 to the job, bringing the total to $1,780,452. The extra funds to pay for the added work will come from the county’s municipal account that is financed by the gas tax.
Most of the financing to pay for the County Road 7 project will come from regular and municipal County State Aid Highway funds, and the Maple Hill Pit Road will be paid for with Transportation Sales Tax (TST) funds, Betts said.
Work will take place on County Road 7 from the intersection of County Road 6 to the intersection of County Road 15, a distance of 2 ½ miles. The job will entail replacing culverts, storm sewer upgrades, bituminous surfacing, grading, curb and gutter, concrete sidewalk and aggregate shouldering.
The Maple Hill Pit Road will also be rebuilt, costing $76,494 with those funds coming from the Transportation Sales Tax. Some of the work will entail laying aggregate base class 5 as a base and placing aggregate surfacing class 1 gravel on top.
At Betts’ request, commissioners approved the highway department to solicit bids for crushing and stockpiling aggregate in three gravel pits. Bids must be sent to the county auditor/ treasurer by 2 p.m. April 19.
Motions approved
. At the request of Ilena Hansel, department head of Cook County Soil and Water Conservation District, commissioners signed an agreement letter acknowledging that state funds were spent to complete the rain garden at the Cook County Community Center.
. Commissioners made a motion to support the grant application and approved building the rain garden on August 28, 2012. Cook County Community Center Director Diane Booth submitted a rain garden application to Cook SWCD on May 31, 2013, with the support of Cook County Master Gardeners supporting the planting and maintenance, and the rain garden was completed in September 2014.
Under terms of the agreement, Cook County is responsible for operation and maintenance of the rain garden for a minimum of 10 years.
Should the county fail to perform the maintenance, the county will be liable to the State of Minnesota for up to 150 percent of the amount of financial assistance received to install and maintain the rain garden.
. Commissioners approved Stan Tull to be re-appointed to serve another three-year term on the Cook County Comprehensive Water Plan Advisory Committee (WAC).
. A motion was made and passed that will allow machine signed signatures for the Board Chair, Vice-Chair, and Auditor-Treasurer at Grand Marais State Bank, which is the county’s designated depository.
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