The Cook County Board of Commissioners approved a request from Sheriff Mark Falk Tuesday, June 23, 2009 to outfit Sheriff ‘s Department vehicles with computers.
The computers will allow officers to access information from the state directly without having to go through dispatchers. Theywill also be able to write a report at the scene of a call instead of waiting until they return to the office. The funds are in the department’s budget.
“I think we’re behind quite a bit,” Sheriff Falk said. “We need to start moving in the direction of the future, and this is one of those steps.”
The computer system will interface with other agencies and is the same one used by other law enforcement agencies throughout the region, Falk said.
The board approved the request with the contingency that Information Systems Director Danna MacKenzie approves of the new system.
Saving money
Planning and Zoning Director Tim Nelson reported that because RT Vision, a company hired to provide permittracking software, did not have a product developed well enough to easily adapt to Cook County’s needs, another company was sought.
Black Bear Systems will provide the software at a savings of $10,000, although an outlay of $1,915 for the software will be required. Ten years ago, the county had trouble using a product made by Black Bear Systems, but the county’s current computer system will interface well with the software the company is offering now, Nelson said.
Theprogram will allow the Planning and Zoning Department to obtain information from the Assessor’s Office.
Nelson said he is working with RT Vision on a mutually agreeable way for the county to recoup the money it spent on the company’s product. Part of the money might be reimbursed in the form of goods and services the Highway Department is getting from RT Vision.
The board approved the purchase.
Gas tax decrease
The county’s share of gas tax collected in Grand Portage decreased from $72,000 last year to $8,000 this year, Auditor- Treasurer Braidy Powers reported.
Thecounty gets 10% of the total gas tax collected. Thisrepresents a 90% decrease from last year, which means the state is getting $500,000-600,000 less than they got last year, Powers said. Powers does not know why the amount decreased so much.
The Minnesota Department of Revenue has told Powers it is looking into the matter, but Cook County has not received any information from the department.
Early payoff on golf course bonds
The Lutsen-Tofte Tourism Association (LTTA) has requested that the county front the money needed to pay off Superior National golf course bonds, which could be paid off as early as this August.
Lodging taxes collected by the LTTA are being used to pay the debt, but the county doesn’t have enough set aside from that tax to pay the $200,000.
Braidy Powers said the LTTA must have the needed money in hand before the county can notify the bonding agencies that the money will be paid off early. The county could take until 2013 to pay off the bonds.
Sprinkler system set-aside money
The county board will be setting aside $500 in FEMA grant money for each new sprinkler system and $250 for each system upgrade in lieu of requiring vendors installing the systems to be bonded.
George Carlson of Wildfire Sprinkler Systems requested that the bond requirement be removed because it would require vendors to set aside a large sum of money upfront. The vendors will receive the set-aside money, which will be capped at $20,000 for each vendor, after the grant period expires.
Property owners have not requested the FEMA grant dollars as fast as expected, Braidy Powers said. Those wanting top priority for the grant have until August 20 to notify the county they would like to be part of the grant.
Few complaints on digital TV
Bruce Martinson told fellow commissioners that some people are getting no TV reception even with digital TVs now that all TV programming has gone digital.
None of the other three board members at the meeting (Jim Johnson, Bob Fenwick, and Fritz Sobanja) had heard complaints from constituents. Commissioner Johnson said he figured most people either have satellite or cable or don’t watch TV.
Board Secretary Janet Simonen said local channels often don’t come in, even with cable. Holly Nelson, who runs the local PAC-13 cable channel, said local satellite channels often cut out, and it is happening in Cloquet, as well.
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