Twenty-three thousand eight hundred sixty dollars may seem like a lot to pay for a telephone system, but according to Rena Rogers, it’s a bargain.
Cook County’s communications director told the county board Sept. 16, 2014 that it is past time to replace the outdated system that was installed at the courthouse in 2003 at a cost of $33,000.
“The phones are falling apart, we are experiencing a number of outages, and the phones we have cannot take advantage of broadband or any of the features available to the new Voice Over Phone service,” Rogers said. Most recently, Rogers said, the phones on the second floor of the courthouse went out for several days. “It’s time…it needs to be replaced,” she said of the old system.
The proposed system from the State of Minnesota’s Office of MN.IT in St. Paul will not only offer more and better features, such as remote access, the ability to link with broadband and integrate and save e-mails, but it will save the county money. Rogers estimated that a monthly savings of about $900 will be realized from the $2,200 monthly phone bill.
The savings will come from elimination of many long-distance toll charges to state agencies and some counties (estimated at about $400 monthly), and inclusion of regular updates to keep the system current, so “we will never have to rebuild it again,” said Rogers. Furthermore, the contractor will manage and update the system, thus eliminating the county’s operational responsibilities.
“We will see a big overall reduction,” commented Rogers.
The money needed for purchase and installation is available from a fund that’s been collected from each department over the years for phone replacement.
Rogers said the new system of 85 phone accounts will be installed at the courthouse, recycling center, community center and highway department, but not the Law Enforcement Center. In an effort to cut down confusion and disruptions, Rogers said all of the phone numbers will remain the same as they are now.
But just in case there is confusion or unexpected problems with the phase-in, Rogers said she is waiting until the first week of December to make the switch – after election day.
The board voted unanimously to purchase the new VoIP system.
In other actions:
. Sheriff Leif Lunde was granted permission to purchase three tasers to equip the courthouse security staff and dispatch supervisor/jail administrator at a cost of $4,000. Lunde’s original request was for $6,000, but he said he found the weapons at a better price, and will remove the $6,000 he included in the department’s 2015 budget for the purchase. Commissioner Garry Gamble questioned the policy and use of the non-lethal weapons, and cast the lone vote against the request. Lunde said that to his knowledge, local deputies have used their tasers about a dozen times since 2006.
. Lunde also gave an update of his department, stating that the staff is one deputy short but a job offer is pending to a qualified candidate; a dispatcher/jailer position is open but a job offer will be made within 30 days; two new patrol cars ordered at a cost of $64,000 by former sheriff Mark Falk have arrived and are being equipped for duty; and a new 130-foot-tall tower that is being put up near the Law Enforcement Center to enhance emergency response and radio communications throughout town is expected to be online before winter.
. County Engineer David Betts was authorized to hire LHB Corporation of Duluth to provide design services for a lighting project at the Gunflint Trail-Devil Track Road intersection at an hourly cost not to exceed $6,211 for the entire job.
. County Administrator Jay Kieft reported that he has invited state lawmakers David Dill and Tom Bakk to the board’s Oct. 21 meeting and advised the commissioners to prepare some topics for discussion.
. At the urging of local resident Dave Klett, the board reversed its decision from the prior week when the Highway Department was authorized to use asphalt millings on Clearwater Landing in an effort to control erosion. Following a nearly hour-long discussion during which citizens and commissioners expressed concern about the experimental and temporary nature of the plan, and its possible toxic effects on the lake, the matter was referred to the land commissioner for more research. In the meantime, the millings from the Gunflint Trail project will be used elsewhere.
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