Josh Beck
A scant two week after the county highway engineer resigned, Cook County commissioners were faced with another departure of a department head at the board’s July 25 meeting.
Cook County Board of Commissioners accepted the resignation of Joshua Beck, Cook County Health and Human Services, with regret.
Beck has accepted a job in another county.
Beck notified the county in an email on Friday, July 21, his last day on the job.
Commissioner Storlie said she would like to thank Josh for his work on the child care initiatives that are now being explored in the county.
County Administrator Jeff Cadwell said he had several meetings with the Public Health and Human Services Department heads and employees in the wake of Beck’s leaving. Cadwell said he encouraged the staff to “take care of themselves and each other,” adding that it was important to continue to provide the services to the public in this difficult time. “It’s been a tough week for them,” noted Cadwell.
As far as going forward until a replacement can be found, Cadwell said “Josh was very good about making sure I knew what he was working on.”
Commissioner Myron Bursheim thanked Cadwell for taking on all of the extra work and duties during this transition period.
Highway engineer search begins
A search committee made up of two county commissioners Bobby Deschampe and Myron Bursheim, will join with John McDonald, District 1 state aid engineer; Stan Tull, cook county highway advisory board; Lisa Storlie road and bridge accountant; Jeff Cadwell, county administrator; and Judy Hill, human resources generalist to find a replacement for Mr. Betts.
Some changes to the job description were made in light of filling the position, said administrator Jeff Cadwell. Two of those changes included that the new county highway engineer will be under the direction of the county administrator and the new engineer will formally be recognized as the county agriculture inspector, a duty now performed by the engineer but not identified in the contract.
A motion was made and passed to open the search for the county engineer.
In light of Dave Betts’ recent resignation as Cook County highway engineer, commissioners approved a job description that will be used in the selection process to hire a replacement. A bachelor’s degree in civil engineering with a minimum of seven years of professional civil engineering experience involving design and oversight (or an equivalent combination of education and experience) is part of the requirements to fulfill the job.
The county is looking for someone with a minimum of seven years of professional civil engineering experience that involves the design and oversight of civil engineering projects to fill the job. Also, that person should have a minimum of three years of supervisory management experience or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
Pay will range from $75,500 to $102,000 commensurate with experience, and that salary will include the county agricultural inspector duties.
According to John McDonald, said Cadwell, our county engineer was paid $1,400 less per month than the statewide average and $800 less per month than other regional county engineers. But McDonald wasn’t aware of the $500 per month additional pay Mr. Betts received to act as the county agricultural inspector, added Cadwell.
Cadwell noted that two job postings currently on the AMC website for Redwood and Steele counties listed county engineer pay between $87,0000 to $125,000.
The search to find a replacement for Betts is expected to take six to eight weeks.
Until a replacement is found, Kyrsten Foster, Lake County highway engineer, will spend one and one-half days per week working with the county highway staff and crew to make sure planned projects and upcoming road work will get done. The county has a contract with Lake County for Foster’s work at $145 per hour. Foster isn’t being paid at that rate as stated in last week’s newspaper, but Cook County is paying Lake County that hourly amount for her work.
To keep the commissioners informed, Foster is providing a written weekly update of the progress on county road projects.
Lodging tax
In a year-to-year date apples to apples comparison through May 2017, the county is up 2.3 percent in collecting lodging taxes.
The Lutsen-Tofte-Tourism Association collected $34,608.45 in May, just down from the 2016 May collection of $34,783.71 last year.
The Grand Marais Area Tourism Association took in $16,596.86 this May and $19,246.96 last May. Gunflint Trail Tourism Association was also a little down this May from last, collecting $5,192.27 compared to 2016’s mark of $6,018.38.
Other action taken by the county board:
. Christopher Fenstad was hired to fill the vacancy at the recycle center created by the resignation of James (Jim) Anderson who retired. Six people applied for the opening, but Fenstad was the only one with direct work experience at the facility. He is in his second year working as a seasonal temporary employee, and Land Services/Recycling Director Tim Nelson said Fenstad’s knowledge of the job and the overall county recycling program helped to move him to the top of the list.
Following the recommendation of the planning commission and Land Services Administrator Bill Lane, commissioners approved a conditional use permit to allow camping at the Hungry Hippie Hostel. In its second year, Jeremy and Kate Keeble’s Hungry Hippie Hostel’s business has grown phenomenally. In their application to the planning commission, the Keebles stated, “Our business has grown to the point that has us 100 percent occupied (mainly on weekend nights) and during the summer months we are turning guests away.”
. The Keebles will add 10 camping sites and a 24 x 32-foot shower/bath house to their business. The campsite will be open from May to November.
Leave a Reply