At the close of the Tuesday, September 14, 2010 county board meeting, Personnel Director Janet Simonen quietly informed the commissioners that former Veterans Services Officer Richard McKenzie had passed away after an extended illness. Grand Portage Veterans Services Officer Clarence Everson had been filling the position at no charge since March.
Earlier in the meeting, Simonen told the board that the state had proposed that it contract with Cook County for 16 hours of service a week, to be provided by Everson on an ongoing basis. In addition, the state would send a substitute when Everson uses personal leave.
The board passed a motion approving the contract with the state.
Everson will be in the courthouse one day a week and will be traveling to homes or transporting vets to appointments during the rest of his time on the job. Simonen said Everson is “very enthusiastic” about his work with vets, and she has heard positive comments about Everson’s work.
Simonen mentioned that Native Americans enlist in the military at a higher percentage than others but have traditionally received fewer veterans services.
Veterans memorial repair
The commissioners gave Maintenance Director Brian Silence the go-ahead to get quotes on repairing the stone veterans memorial located on the courthouse lawn. Rocks are falling off, he said.
Commissioner Fritz Sobanja said that the memorial could be preserved with some epoxy and mortar if repairs are done soon. “If we let it go another three or four years,” he said, “it’s going to start falling apart.” He also recommended applying a sealer every other year to make it last even longer.
Silence agreed, saying that if it were re-tuck-pointed, it could last many more years.
Personnel changes
The board approved the hiring of Kerrie Fabius as the new Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) manager. Her full-time job will encompass many of the responsibilities Rebecca Wiinanen and Tristan Beaster had carried out before leaving their jobs this summer.
The Soil and Water Conservation District will pay the cost of Fabius’s salary and benefits, but the county will administer the benefits.
Fabius has a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering and has been working as a registered civil engineer in Thunder Bay. Her job as SWCD manager does not require civil engineering certification, however.
No local residents applied for the position. Four people were interviewed, and Fabius was the one living geographically closest to Cook County.
The board approved keeping Assistant Planning and Zoning Administrator David Demmer’s position at 40 hours for the time being. It had been raised from 30 hours a week to handle a large workload. Building permits had been fewer than average last year, Planning and Zoning Director Tim Nelson told the county board, but they were back up to normal levels again this year.
Demmer is a geologist by education and experience, Nelson said, and he does a lot of work related to septic systems.
Commissioner Bob Fenwick told Nelson that to justify continuing the position at 40 hours, they should find out if permit application fees are covering the cost of Demmer’s time.
Sixteen-year county employee Paul Peterson resigned from his job at the Recycling Center. He had a perfect driving record at the site, with over 100,000 miles of driving with no damage to persons or property.
Theboard passed a motion authorizing Personnel Director Simonen to advertise for his replacement. They accepted his resignation with regret. “Thanks, Paul,” Commissioner Fritz Sobanja said, “for your good work.”
Legislation proposal
At Commissioner Bruce Martinson’s urging, the board passed a motion directing Board Chair Sobanja to send letters to State Senator Tom Bakk and State Representative David Dill requesting that they introduce legislation that would reduce the likelihood of closing down the Cook County courtroom and court administration department.
The Minnesota Judicial Branch gets a lump sum from the legislature for court services, and in light of severe reductions in funding, it has been considering consolidating court services and shutting down courtrooms across the state.
Cook County is so remote that transporting defendants, witnesses, law enforcement, the county attorney and assistant attorney, county social workers, guardians ad litem, and those involved in family court would bring significant cost and hardship to citizens and the county budget. “We’re way out in the middle of nowhere,” County Attorney Tim Scannell said.
The legislation the board is proposing would state that the county courtroom shall be adequately funded and not located more than 75 miles from the constituents it serves.
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