At the county board of commissioners’ June 13 meeting Valerie Marasco, chair—Communications Committee and director of Emergency Management & Public Information and Rena Rogers, director of MIS brought forth a draft of the county’s strategic plan that includes mission, vision, values, and key strategic pillars as a framework for the county board to consider.
A group of county employees led by Marasco and Rogers began working on the project in late 2016 and met with an AMC facilitator on Jan. 31, 2017. Four meetings were held with the County Communications Committee, which represents about 35 county employees, said Rogers.
“This identifies goals for the next five years, it’s a living document, a guide,” said Marasco.
The strategic plan will help with decision making for budget, operational and staff decisions.
Commissioner Heidi Doo-Kirk said she needed more time to look at the draft before making a decision on it. Fellow commissioners Myron Bursheim and Bobby Deschampe agreed, and the strategic plan will be discussed at the county board’s next Committee of the Whole meeting.
Out of class appointment
Melissa Rexrode, an administrative specialist in the Cook County Sheriff ’s Department, was given an out of class appointment because, outside of her regular duties, she has also been implementing the Zurcher Records Management System Project which replaces old technology with up-to-date technology at the sheriff ’s office. Her pay increase will be retroactive to April 1, 2017.
Rena Rogers told commissioners the project was massive, but Rexrode has the capabilities to perform the necessary duties to complete the work. She added, “Melissa is really good at herding cats. She does a real good job over there.”
In addition to putting in the new systems, Rexrode has to teach all of the employees at the law enforcement center how to operate the new technology.
“This is a significant amount of work and responsibility that she has taken on in addition to her regular work duties,” wrote Sheriff Pat Eliasen, who couldn’t attend the meeting.
“This process involves many conference calls, on-site training, development of the process, staff training, implementation, and coordination with four other counties,” Eliasen wrote.
Rexrode is currently at a C41-2, Step 2 level and Eliasen recommended that she be “placed at a C43-2 (step) due to the coordination, training and implementation responsibilities.”
Rexrode’s temporary salary increase will be paid out of the 911 fund and will not affect the county budget, said Eliasen.
Rogers said the project would be completed sometime next April. Because out-of-class appointments last only six months, the board will have to renew Melissa’s appointment when her current new appointment runs out.
CUP approved
Bill Lane, Land Services, brought a unanimous approval by the planning commission for a conditional use permit (CUP) for a 20-dog kennel that will be adjacent to Camp 20 Road in Hovland. Commissioners approved the CUP so that John and Judy Vitek could establish a 20-dog kennel and home on their property. Viteks have had a 20-dog kennel in Isanti County since 2001. They plan to make their permanent home in Hovland.
John Vitek was at the meeting, and he said he and his wife now have seven dogs; one is a golden retriever and is a house dog. The other six sled dogs are getting old, he said, and wouldn’t be replaced when they died. “We have a yard full of limpers and gimpers,” he said, adding that he and his wife had raised the dogs since they were puppies and both felt they would give the dogs the best lives they could provide them until they passed away.
Commissioner Ginnie Storlie noted that 14 letters had been sent to nearby residents and only one complained about the Viteks having a dog kennel on the property, while others had written letters asking for the CUP to be approved.
After a short discussion commissioners unanimously approved the CUP for the Viteks.
New custodians hired to clean the YMCA
County Administrator Jeff Cadwell brought forth two proposals to hire two new custodians to clean the YMCA.
Commissioners approved the hiring of Rollin (Rollie) Baird and Lisa Wahlers as custodians for the Cook County YMCA. Baird started on May 22 and Wahlers will begin on July 1.
Baird replaced Tanner Hoskins, who moved to the school for a custodian position. Wahlers’ full-time position is new. The county was attempting to hire a person to clean 8-10 hours on the weekends but didn’t have any applicants after the last temporary worker left the position. Additional staff was necessary, said Cadwell, because Brian Silence, head custodian at Cook County and his team were being run ragged trying to keep up with the additional cleaning and maintenance at the Y. “We couldn’t find a 10-hour person to cover weekends at the YMCA and the additional staff will give us the flexible workforce needed to meet the increasing demands on the county maintenance department,” he said.
Commissioner Doo-Kirk said it was hard to get people to stay in parttime positions when she worked as a dispatcher in the sheriff ’s office, and she made a motion to approve hiring an additional full-time maintenance worker at the Y. Her motion was seconded and adopted unanimously by the board.
In other business
. Pat Strand, Cook County Veteran Service officer, was approved to travel to the National Association of County Veterans Service Officers annual training conference in San Diego, California. The conference ran from June 10 to June 16.
In the request Strand stated, “Due to my hours being so few in this job I do not receive the training I need to keep the changes, best practices, networking, etc. If I go to one training, this means that I am away from the office for more than a week most times. This is pretty intensive training, and I am connecting with other VSOs for support and their expertise. The attendance of this conference is always highly encouraged by the Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs Leadership.”
The cost to pay for transportation, lodging, meals, and conference fees is paid by the grant from the CVOS Operational Grant that is issued yearly.
. Elissa Smith was approved for hire as Public Health and Human Services (PHHS) case aide, at B22-2 Step 1, and Reed Schmidt as a PHHS social worker, at C43-2 Step 1.
. The Minnesota High School League was given permission to hold a one-time raffle at Lutsen Mountains on June 24, 2017.
. Karen Blackburn was temporarily hired to provide up to 50 hours of training for her replacement in the Auditor/Treasurer’s Office. Karen recently resigned to accept the position as administrator of Cook County Higher Education. When a replacement is found Karen will be paid $41.65 per hour to provide training.
. James (Jim) Anderson’s resignation from the Recycling Center was accepted, and his position will be advertised until a replacement is found. Jim’s last day will be July 7.
. Commissioners approved a change to the policy regarding both insurance premiums and flexible spending accounts for probationary employees. The change will allow probationary employees to contribute to flexible spending accounts starting after 30 days. Most employers allow new hires to start the flexible spending accounts on the day the new employee’s health benefits start. The new change will also be easier for the county’s payroll department, said Judy Hill, Human Resource generalist.
. Administrator Cadwell said the county would send out letters to homeowners who would be affected by proposed work on the old school house road purchased last year by the county. Located on Maple Hill, the county purchased a small sliver of property that causes a V in the current road. The old road will be eliminated to improve sight lines and improve safety, said Cadwell. The people who will be affected by the change will be given 30 days to comment on the proposal, Cadwell said.
. Ilena Hansel, Soil & Water district manager, brought forth a housekeeping matter before the board. She presented a resolution that would clarify the Cook County sub-surface treatment systems (SSTS) loan procedure, delegating the authority to Auditor/Treasurer Braidy Powers to sign documents on behalf of the program.
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