Cook County IT Director Rena Rogers came before the Cook County commissioners on Tuesday, October 23 with a request for the commissioners to approve three tower contracts with WTIP Radio and a second request asking the county to waive the annual WTIP lease amount rate of $10,416 for the first five years in exchange for the public safety services provided by the station.
WTIP agreed to pay for the utilities on the towers located on the Old Ski Hill Road North, Gunflint Lake and Grand Portage.
Rogers said the request to waive the WTIP lease is based on the significant role they play in Emergency Management. Backing her request was the Cook County Sheriff ’s Department and Emergency Management Services.
“One of the fundamental principles of emergency management, preparedness and effective emergency response is getting the right information, to the right people, at the right time to make the right decisions – potentially life- and property-saving decisions.
“WTIP North Shore Community Radio plays an integral role in the delivery of public safety and community awareness information and news coverage…
“On any given day during high seasons, the population of Cook County can skyrocket from 5,400 to 75,000 thanks to being a premier tourist and outdoor recreation destination on the North Shore. WTIP is one of the most effective ways to reach the population and has reliable coverage across the whole county. WTIP is one of the only local live media outlets in the county, which is also public and not-for-profit, and can reach the entire area and provide a direct medium for public safety officials on demand if needed.”
Cook County Sheriff Pat Eliasen also noted that the annual lease rate of $10,16 “is significant to the operations of WTIP and could strain the medium’s ability to produce programming and dedicate space to public safety programing.”
The lease will be reevaluated every five years by the Cook County Sheriff ’s Office, the Office of Emergency Management & Public Information, and the Radio Communication Division, and will be renewed if required.
SHTA update
Cook County Land Services Commissioner Lisa Kerr came before the board with a request from the North Shore Superior Ski & Run Club (NSSRC) to re-route a portion of the Superior Hiking Trail that is on a section of cross-country ski trails the club maintains.
The NSSRC, who has maintained ski trails on Pincushion Mountain for more than 30 years, said the re-route would alleviate maintenance, grooming and user conflict issues currently happening on the ski trail caused by hikers.
All in all a total of two miles of trail would have to be built and maintained by the Superior Hiking Trail Association with oversight by the United States Forest Service to complete the re-route. Of that, approximately .3 miles would be located on land owned by Cook County.
Commissioners passed a motion to approve work on the reroute. Once the re-route and legal description are finalized a new easement agreement will be created with help from the county attorney’s office and then brought before the commissioners for approval.
Kerr also told commissioners work on the Sawtooth Bluff Master Plan was going well, and she will present the plan to the Grand Marais City Council in the near future and then present it formally to the county board for adoption. Following that approval a joint powers board will be formed to help with decision-making about the 640-acre city/ county park. . Julie Berglund, administrative office assistant for the county, submitted a letter of resignation with her last working day to be November 30, 2018. In her letter to the county board Berglund said, “I have enjoyed working here for the last 24 plus years.”
Berglund’s position will be posted to fill the vacancy. . Commissioners approved the Cook County Community Center curling club lease agreement for the 2018-2019 year. The curling club pays $13,750 for the 5½ months of curling. . Posting for a permanent part-time bailiff position at the courthouse was approved. Since her retirement, the current bailiff has been working on temporary assignment. The position is approximately four days per month and requires relevant law enforcement training or bailiff experience. . Administrator Jeff Cadwell announced that board chair Ginny Storlie had been voted to serve as the Minnesota Counties Intergovernmental Trust (MCIT) voting delegate and commissioner Bobby Deschampe was selected as the alternate. . Cook County Assessor Todd Smith was appointed to his position in September of 2016, but not officially sworn in until January 2017. At the time of his appointment Smith didn’t have his Senior Assessment Certification, but he was given two years to attain the credentials. Because he was sworn in during the month of January, 2017, Smith thought that was the start of his two-year period to get his licensure. Turns out the state started counting from Sept. 27, 2016, so his temporary license has now run out.
However, through authority granted by the Department of Revenue, Cook County auditor/ treasurer Braidy Powers has the authority to appoint Smith to do the duties of county assessor while he completes his certification.
Revolving loan committee
Commissioners received a report about the revolving loan committee, its history and purpose, from board members Hal Greenwood, Pat Campanaro and Auditor/Treasurer Braidy Powers. The revolving loan fund, which was started by grant dollars from the state and has not been funded by the county, has so far loaned over six million dollars to Cook County businesses.
Non-mandated funds
By a 4-1 vote, with Commissioner Deschampe voting against, commissioners approved three grants totaling $15,200 to support local arts and culture for 2019. The Grand Marais Art Colony will receive $9,200, the Grand Marais Playhouse $4,000 and the North Shore Music Association $2,000.
Following the vote, one of the citizens serving on the budget committee, Nick Burger, stated, “Just to be perfectly clear, the decision to fund the art grant requests in the amount of $15,000 does not reflect the views of all of the members.
“At least three of us early on stated that if the county does not have sufficient funds to cover basic operating costs, we should not be making grants to the arts.
“I commented on at least two occasions that these organizations have other fund raising opportunities other than the county. My impression was the word was out to the arts community before the first budget meeting that the county was going to fund up to $15,000 for fiscal year 2019.
“The remaining members felt strongly that we need to support the arts. It should be noted that unlike other committees, the budget committee has never voted on any proposed cut or spending issue.
“It was my request that we address the grant issue next year in February, so we can resolve the grant issue early on so as not to unrealistically raise potential recipients’ hopes that these type of non mandated grants will continue in the future.
“I reiterate my view that if the county needs to increase the levy to cover its basic operations, grants to non mandated programs should be eliminated.”
Another citizen that serves on the budget committee, Liz Wagner, also thought the process was lacking.
“I am disturbed by the lack of information presented at the commissioner’s meeting yesterday,” said Wagner. “There was no formal vote on funding the arts grants at the advisory budget meeting, it was very informal and of no value for presentation to the rest of the commissioners.
“I feel that there was also lack of knowledge for the decision to fund the use of the county towers for WTIP. No one knew that the FCC requires radio and TV stations to be part of the Emergency Alert System, this is a basic operating requirement. The decision to fund this agreement on the terms presented are unfounded and appear to be emotional rather than factual.
“The lack of knowledge caused confusion among the commissioners and influenced their decisions,” added Wagner.
Legislators pay a visit
Senator Tom Bakk, Rep. Rob Ecklund and IRRRB commissioner Mark Phillips came before the board and gave an annual update of legislative and IRRRB activities over the last year.
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