At the September 8 meeting, the Cook County Board of Commissioners agreed to hire CR-Building Performance Specialists, Inc. (CR-BPS) to provide an asset and energy management program for the county’s YMCA facility.
CR-BPS will collect and review all available background information including, but not limited to drawings, utility data, water use/cost, past studies, etc.
Saying he understood that to the public it might look odd to have the new Cook County Community YMCA building assessed for energy efficiency, County Administrator Jeff Cadwell said the Y will be like a dry run, and the county will have a preemptive plan to get ahead of depreciation that can be based on the results.
CR-BPS has been working with the City of Grand Marais to assess the city’s long-term facility needs and the county contacted them to discuss the possibility of providing a similar service for county buildings. The assessment of the YMCA would be a first step towards a long-range facilities plan.
“If we are satisfied with their services we could ask them to provide a plan to evaluate other county facilities as a whole,” said Cadwell.
Commissioner Frank Moe said he supported Cadwell’s request and he added, he wasn’t opposed to being proactive. However, he said he felt a little bit frustrated that the Y was already being considered or a project like this. “I hope we can do a comprehensive review of the county’s buildings.”
Cadwell said they weren’t going to address mistakes (at the Y) but plan for the future.
The duties CR-BPS will provide for their fee of $6,820 will be to provide development of budgetary and capital reports, monitoring and verification of energy performance projects, energy modeling, cost estimating and establishing design guidelines (basis of design) for future projects.
Sheriff funding and requests
Cook County Sheriff Pat Eliasen came before commissioners to seek approval to use allocated funds from the state off highway vehicle enforcement grant program.
The money, which comes from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) off highway grant program, funded by off road vehicle registrations, would provide enough funds to cover approximately 400 patrol hours, plus all-terrain vehicle (ATV) training for deputies and the purchase of new helmets.
“We get $14,116 allocated to us for 2016 and 2017,” Sheriff Eliasen said, noting this was a formality but needed board action. The board unanimously approved his request.
Next Eliasen requested approval to purchase an insert for the Search and Rescue (SAR) truck for the transport of bodies recovered in SAR operations.
Currently, said Eliasen, bodies are transported in the back of a pickup due to the fact that an ambulance isn’t used to transport them.
“This is quite a common occurrence but it needs to be changed,” Eliasen said. “Obviously a deceased person cannot bet transported to the hospital morgue in an ambulance so the Cook County SAR is tasked with this duty of transport to the medical examiner for autopsy. We need a better, more dignified approach for this duty.”
Commissioner Heidi Doo-Kirk said interim sheriff Leif Lunde had made a similar request to purchase an insert for a truck last year, and she said it was time for the county to make this purchase.
Cost of an insert and long bed aluminum sliding bed tray is $11,875.5. The board wasted little time in approving this request, and Commissioner Moe said he hoped this would alleviate some of the pain felt by families who were already grieving.
Eliasen also asked the county board to approve a motion that would give Jonathan Baumann the right to receive his public employee retirement association (PERA) benefits.
Baumann works part-time as a bailiff/transport officer for the county and has been paying in to PERA, but until the county board passed a motion allowing him to get police certification, he wasn’t eligible to receive these benefits. After a short discussion the board passed a motion granting Baumann his right to collect PERA when he is eligible to receive them.
In other business
. Betty Schulz, assessor/land commissioner, asked permission to hire Judy Shire for six weeks to work in the Assessor’s Office to fill in for an employee who is on medical leave, which the board approved. Shire will perform assessment duties for 35 hours per week for a total of $4,200. At an earlier meeting in August, the board approved the hiring of Lisa Kerr for the position of appraiser B32-2, at a wage of $19.32 per hour.
. The board approved the posting of position for deputy auditor-taxation specialist/payroll clerk following the announcement that Aimee Luick was retiring after years of service to the county. The board thanked Luick for her many years of valued work to the county.
. The county received $26,816.17 from 2015 Superior National Forest Title III f]unding. The proposal for use of these funds is to use $10,000 to reimburse the county for money spent for emergency services in the Superior National Forest and $16,816.17 for a coordinator to work towards creating and sustaining Firewise communities in the county.
Following publication, the public will have 45 days to comment on how the county plans to use this money with comments to be directed to Cook County Auditor Braidy Powers at 387-3656 or braidy.power@co.cook. mn.us.
Leave a Reply