Commissioners took another step toward improving countywide emergency radio communications when they approved the lease of county tax-forfeiture land to the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) on August 11.
MnDOT will build a 180-foot ARMER (Allied Radio Matrix for Emergency Response) tower near the end of Sawbill Trail on the property. The tower will be part of the county’s and state’s shared public radio communication system. MnDOT owns, builds, operates and maintains the network of radio towers, which it says is the backbone of communication for emergency responders including the State Patrol, the MN Department of Natural Resources, MnDOT, local police, search and rescue, ambulance, local fire fighters, and Homeland Security, among others.
Representatives from MnDOT, the Cook County Sheriff ’s office and the county’s MIS/Radio Communications department came before the board on February 24, 2015 to present information about the ARMER coverage and the impact of the towers being built under 200 feet versus 330 feet.
Towers over 200 feet tall must be lit continuously so airplane pilots can see them, but that also causes concern for people who are attempting to get a wilderness experience. MnDOT has been working with the county to keep the towers under 200 feet while retaining the capability of improving emergency response communications. No timetable for building the tower was given at the meeting, but a similar tower in the east end of the county at the Devilfish Lake site will be put up this fall.
Art Colony appeals for discretionary fund increase
Grand Marais Art Colony Director Amy Demmer came before the board with a request to discuss discretionary requests over $20,000. Last year the art colony received $5,000 from the county’s non-mandated discretionary fund, but this year, with a big commercial rehabilitation project on the horizon, the art colony hoped to receive $20,000 or more from the county to help pay for the work.
Demmer said she has spent “hundreds of hours” over the last two years working on capital requests for the repair/replacement project, adding that the building will turn 100 next year. She said volunteers have filled every single gap with putty and a new furnace has been installed. Still, the building is not energy efficient, with the windows on the north side needing replacing and the walls ballooning out.
“We had an energy audit in 2006 by Chris Norman. It was a big help. We did every small project we can.
“We have had incredible, exponential growth over the last couple of years,” said Demmer. “This will be a major investment by the art colony. We have big goals to grow into a nationally recognized art colony,” she said.
The board asked Demmer several questions and thanked her for her presentation.
For the first time the county board has developed a “Discretionary Funding Format” in an attempt to streamline the process and take some of the emotion out of making non-mandated funds available to nonprofit organizations requesting money from the county.
Personnel committee reviewing positions
County Administrator Jeff Cadwell said he had worked with the personnel committee on a current Social Worker 1 position, which was rated at a C42 job classification. After a comprehensive review, the personnel committee recommended the position be ranked at a classification of C43.
Cadwell said the committee talked about the potential of changing a job classification, but based on the process used by the county, a job reclassification seemed necessary. “The classification wasn’t fair or reflective of what they [the employee] were doing,” Cadwell said. He also said that one of his ideas coming in as a new county administrator was to look at the way the county comes up with job classifications.
Commissioner Frank Moe, who also serves on the personnel committee, told Cadwell that when a method is in place and is applied consistently by the personnel committee, “It’s almost unanimous. The system itself works when we use it as it is supposed to be used.”
County agrees to be fiscal agent for tennis association
Cook County Tennis Association (CCTA) Board Member Rod Wannebo came before the board with a request for the county to act as the fiscal agent so the tennis association can apply for a United States Tennis Association (USTA) facility grant. The three-part grant, said Wannebo, could garner as much as $29,400.
Cadwell asked Wannebo about a clause in the application calling for the county to offer programming, but Wannebo said, “We have a memorandum of understanding with the county that the CCTA is responsible for programming.”
The tennis association is attempting to secure grants to cover much of the costs to refurbish the two county owned courts. The county has given $60,000 from the 1 percent recreational funds to go towards this project. The tennis association is hoping it can secure enough money to hire a contractor in the fall and then start work on resurfacing the courts next spring.
The commissioners authorized Cadwell to sign the USTA grant application and five-year programming and maintenance commitment on behalf of the county board. Commissioner Moe asked Wannebo if the city of Grand Marais “took any responsibility to maintain these facilities?”
Wannebo replied that the city had written a letter of support for a grant and agreed to be a fiscal agent for an Iron Range Resources Rehabilitation Board grant, but no, the city hadn’t given any money to the project. Moe suggested that CCTA ask the city if it intends to give funds to this project.
Septic concerns quieted
During commissioner concerns, Moe said feedback to the septic advisory committee from septic installers indicated that the county’s new rules on design, inspection and procedures were helping. He said installers were, “happy with the progress we have made.”
Mitch Everson, the county’s septic installation inspector, will present information at a meeting this fall about grey water systems and what is—and is not—allowed, said Moe. That meeting time, date and place haven’t been set yet, said Moe.
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