In the middle of the Tuesday, August 16 county board meeting, several cell phones in the commissioners’ room sounded an alarm and an announcement was made over the courthouse intercom that the building was in “lock-down.” Staff was instructed to follow protocol. County Administrator Jeff Cadwell and commissioners directed members of the public in the steps to take as they exited the building. After a few moments, it was announced that the duress alarm was only a drill and the county board meeting resumed. Citizens interested in receiving alerts in emergency situations are encouraged to go to the county website at co.cook. mn.us to sign up for CodeRed notifications.
Following the lead of the Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior, Cook County commissioners passed a resolution Tuesday, August 16 asking the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service not to list the moose as an endangered or threatened species. The resolution was unanimous.
Commissioners Frank Moe and Garry Gamble worked on the resolution, which notes that the Grand Portage Nation “has been a leader in researching the moose population and has shown that minimal tribal subsistence harvest of moose is not detrimental to the moose population.”
In its resolution, the board also notes that “listing the moose as endangered or threatened may preclude the very activities— forest harvest management and controlled burning—that create primary moose habitat.”
Name change for Planning and Zoning approved
As directed at the August 9 board meeting, Planning and Zoning Director Tim Nelson returned to the board to present the costs associated with a name change for the Planning and Zoning department. The proposal changes the department name to the Land Services Department, to better reflect the work done by that department, especially because a Land Services Commissioner is being added to that department.
Nelson told the board that existing stationery would still be used because Planning and Zoning will continue to be a subsection of the Land Services Department, as would Environmental Health. In fact, Nelson said, those departments already have different letterheads.
The cost is further lessened by the fact that the departments use a computer letterhead template and print business cards themselves as needed. The only printing cost would be for envelopes.
Nelson gave an estimate of $100 to $500 to update stationery and to change the signage at the front foyer and department door. He added there may be some staff time involved in these changes and some time in the Information Services department while changing the website information.
Commissioner Gamble said the process to get to this point was well reasoned.
The board agreed the cost was minimal and a motion passed to approve the change. The other change—the addition of a Land Commissioner to that department—was also discussed. Board Chair Heidi Doo-Kirk said work is under way with a cubicle being added for that new staff member.
Commissioner Moe said the changes were something he strongly supports. He said this is probably the beginning of a larger restructuring effort. “I want to be clear, if we are going to succeed with this, we need to involve all of our staff,” he said.
Commissioner Gamble said when making changes one has to look at potential risks and benefits. He said the personnel committee feels that a lot of opportunities had been missed when the responsibilities of Land Commissioner were in the Assessor’s Office. He said he believes the county will be better stewards of the land with this realignment.
In other business
. The make-up of the county personnel committee was discussed and the board agreed that employee representation is needed on that committee. A motion was made to add at least two staff members to that committee, one from the Cook County Employee Association.
. Information Services Director Rena Rogers came before the board with a draft of a policy on how to handle requests for use of county tower facilities, created by a working group consisting of Commissioner Moe, County Attorney Molly Hicken, Administrator Jeff Cadwell, Radio Communications Analyst Rowan Watkins and Rogers.
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