The Cook County Board of Commissioners starts the year with three new members. Judge Michael Cuzzo administered the oath of office to the new commissioners (L-R) Frank Moe of Commissioner District 1, Jan Sivertson of Commissioner District 3, and Ginny Storlie of Commissioner District 5.
Because previous Board Chair Jan Hall did not run for reelection, the Cook County Board of Commissioners convened its first board meeting of 2015 without a board chair. A toss of a coin determined which of the sitting commissioners— Heidi Doo-Kirk or Garry Gamble—would serve as board chair until the three newly elected commissioners were sworn in. Commissioner Heidi Doo-Kirk won the toss and opened the meeting.
The Girl Scout Northern Lights Flag Corps conducted a flag ceremony and led the Pledge of Allegiance. Then Judge Michael Cuzzo called forward the individuals who would be taking the oath of office—Commissioners Frank Moe, Jan Sivertson and Virginia Storlie; Auditor- Treasurer Braidy Powers; Recorder Dusty Nelms; County Attorney Molly Hicken; and appointee Assistant County Attorney Jeanne Monson.
The new board members took their seats at the commissioners’ table and Acting Chair Doo-Kirk asked for a nomination for county board chair. A unanimous motion passed to elect Doo-Kirk as board chair. Another nomination was requested for vice-chair and Commissioner Gamble was elected for that seat.
Judge Michael Cuzzo administered the oath of office to government officials on Tuesday, January 6. Auditor/Treasurer Braidy Powers took the oath for the fifth time. He was appointed to his position in 2000 and then reelected in 2002, 2006, 2010 and 2014.
The commissioners then tackled the tedious task of meting out committee and board assignments for themselves and citizen representatives. Chair Doo- Kirk asked her new colleagues if they wanted to just assume the duties of the commissioners whom they replaced or if the board should go down the 11-page list to determine who was interested in serving in those now vacant positions. The consensus of the board was to go through the list item-by-item.
In most cases the new commissioners did assume the roles of their predecessors. Each commissioner ended up with about 20 committee or board assignments. The meeting commitments vary—some entities meet monthly; others quarterly. Each commissioner also agreed to serve as alternate on a number of committees and boards, to attend if the primary representative was unable to attend.
Assistant County Attorney Jeanne Monson takes the oath of office. Monson has been the acting assistant county attorney since October 2013.
Commissioner Jan Sivertson agreed to represent the county at meetings such as the Public Health and Human Services Advisory Committee, Northeast Waste Advisory Council, Northeast Minnesota Regional Radio Board, Grand Marais Library Board, Local Water Management Plan Advisory Committee and more.
Commissioner Ginny Storlie will serve on the Arrowhead Regional Development Commissioner Transportation Committee, Broadband Commission, Cook County Health Care Planning Committee, Gitchi- Gami Trail Association Committee, Poplar River Management Board and others.
Commissioner Frank Moe agreed to serve on the Arrowhead Transit Committee, Community Health Board, Cook County Wetlands Management Committee, Cemetery Association, Forest Service/County Road Committee and several others.
As county board chair, Commissioner Heidi Doo-Kirk picked up a few new responsibilities. The board chair serves on the County Emergency Information Team, the Emergency Preparedness Committee, and the Land Records Committee. Doo-Kirk also will continue to serve on the Airport Advisory Commission, Cook County Local Energy Project, Firewise Community, Gunflint Trail Scenic Byway Committee, the Cook County/ Grand Marais Economic Development Authority and more.
Another longtime county employee, Recorder Dusty Nelms also took the oath of office once again. Nelms has worked for the county since 1979, first in the Planning and Zoning Office. She started working in the Recorder’s Office in 1989 and was elected to the position of Recorder in 1999.
Commissioner Garry Gamble also picked up several additional boards in his new role as county board vice-chair, on the County Emergency Information Team, the Emergency Preparedness Committee, and the Land Records Committee. Gamble will continue to serve on the Active Living Steering Committee, Arrowhead Regional Corrections Board, Cook County Historical Society, Community Center Board of Trustees, Northeast Minnesota Office of Job Training Program and others.
The new commissioners also learned that all commissioners serve on a variety of boards, such as the Association of Minnesota Counties and the Human Services Board.
The county board decided to once again assign county commissioners to serve as liaison for each county department. Commissioner Doo-Kirk explained that this was the policy before the county hired an administrator in an effort to keep communication open between the county’s department heads and the county board. Last year, with the late Jay Kieft on board as county administrator, the board did away with department liaison positions. However, Doo-Kirk said, without an administrator, “our department heads are kind of just floating out there.”
Judge Cuzzo congratulates County Attorney Molly Hicken after administering the oath of office. Cuzzo has been working with Hicken since he started serving Cook County. Hicken has been acting county attorney since October 2013.
Commissioner Gamble agreed it was important to have department liaisons, noting that the policy could be revisited if and when the county hires another administrator.
Acting as department liaison for the Attorney’s Office, Court Administrator, Sheriff ’s Department and Information Systems Management is Commissioner Doo-Kirk. Liaison for the Personnel Office, Planning and Zoning and the Assessor is Commissioner Gamble. For the Auditor’s Office, Extension, Community Center and Recorder’s Office the liaison is Commissioner Moe. Commissioner Storlie is the liaison for the Maintenance Department and Highway Department. Commissioner Sivertson is the liaison for Public Health and Human Services.
The remainder of the meeting was primarily housekeeping, with the Cook County News-Herald being named the official newspaper of record for public notices, with notices to also be posted on the county’s website at www.co.cook.mn.us.
A resolution passed to designate the Grand Marais State Bank as the official depository of Cook County’s funds for 2015.
In other business
. The board passed a motion to approve an increase in the mileage reimbursement rate for county travel. The county follows federal guidelines, which are now 57.5 cents per mile, up from 56 cents in 2014.
. There was lengthy discussion on how to proceed with the hiring of a county administrator. The firm that helped with the previous hiring, Springsted Incorporated, is available to assist the county in another search for a cost of $13,000. The previous consulting fee was $15,196.72. The estimate from Springsted includes a menu of options the county could use, such as updating the current profile, targeted recruitment, interview design and so on. The board questioned whether the county itself could do some of these things.
Before making a decision to hire Springsted, the board agreed to talk to county staffers about their experience with a county administrator. Department heads will be asked to attend a work session or write a memo to give their response to several questions, such as: Given this experience with a county administrator, what is it you’d like to keep? What, if anything, would you like to change in the profile of that position? What is missing in that position?
. Commissioner Gamble expressed appreciation to former Commissioner Bruce Martinson who attended the organizational meeting and offered answers to some questions while the board went through its agenda.
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