HomeMy WebLinkAboutExecutive Committee - Minutes - 8/13/2002Executive Committee Minutes
August 13, 2002, Bayfield County Board Room
Members Present: John Blahnik, Kenneth Jardine, Brett Rondeau, Dee Kittleson, Harold Maki, Marco
Bichanich
Others Present: Pat Thornton, Tom Gordon, Mark Abeles-Allison, Kris Kavajecz, Millie Lindsey
Meeting was called to order at 10:00am by chairman Rondeau.
Motion by Blahnik, Second by Bichanich to approve the minutes of the July 9, 2002 meeting.
Maki read a motion made at the previous Executive Committee meeting regarding the purchase of
snowmobile groomers. Maki was under the understanding that the approval was supposed to come back to
the Executive Committee prior to being presented to the County Board. Maki stated that he felt that the
Resolution supporting the purchase of the grooming equipment was rushed through and that the proper
procedures need to be followed when presenting items for county board review. Abeles-Allison stated that
there was a mis-interpretation of the motion that was made and that it was assumed that the Executive
Committee had made a recommendation to forward the resolution to the county board without further
review by the Executive Committee as long as the Corporation Counsel approved the agreement. Maki
intended the motion to state that the reviewed agreement and opinion of Corporation Counsel be brought
back to the Executive Committee. Abeles-Allison stated that more advance notice and documentation will
be provided in the future when being presented to the county board.
Motion Approved.
Discussion of Coroner Per Diem Adjustment Request for FY2002. Abeles-Allison reviewed the 2001 and
2002 budgets for the Coroner. Provisions were made to increase the Coroner per diems in the budget for
2002, however, the payment was not increased. The proposal included a raised cremation fee from $35 to
$50 and per diem from $50 to $75 per occurrence..
Motion by Maki, Second by Bichanich to accept the proposal for increased per diems from $55 to $75 per
call-out and increased cremation fees from $35 to $50 per creamation.for Coroner's office. The per diem
increases will be retroactive to the beginning of 2002. Motion Approved.
Dicussion and Possible Action regarding payment to BART. The request from BART in 2002 was $7000,
however, only $6500 was budgeted. Motion by Blahnik, Second by Bichanich to approve the payment of
$500 to BART and that the money be taken from the county contingency fund. Motion Carried.
Barnes Dam Report: Abeles-Allison reported that he and Gordon had made a site visit to the Barnes Dam a
couple of months ago. The seals on the doors to the locks are faulty. The town crew has been taking care
of the dam and has been called out to the dam several times per month. The county is billed for repairs
made each month. Gordon reported that he visited the dam a couple of weeks ago with the engineer Dan
Carthel.
The town road/bridge travels over the top of the dam. The bridge is in need of repair as well as the locks.
Dan Carthel suggested that temporary repairs would cost approximately $15-$30,000. The bridge and road
over the top of the dam is the town responsibility and the dam and locks are county responsibility.
Maki questioned how the bridge came to be in the county's possession. Bayfield County built the dam in
1934. Per the DNR, the county was issued the permit to construct the dam and there is not proof to show
that the county ever transferred ownership of the dam to the Town of Barnes. Bichanich commented that
he thinks we have a responsibility to maintain the dam, but that we should not consider an expansion to the
dam. Kittleson questioned what the cost of the maintenance of the dam is. Blahnik agrees that repair is in
order and that expansion is not in the best interest of the county taxpayers as it would benefit only a small
number of citizens. Gordon suggested that the county set aside dollars for the future repair of the dam
(when the bridge is repaired). Motion made by Bichanich second by Maki to authorize repairs on the lock
as is, without any expansion. It was further moved that cost considerations regarding the 2003 budget be
made after estimates for repairs are received. Motion Approved.
Discussion regarding office relocation during law enforcement construction process. Abeles-Allison
explained a proposal to move the health dept as well as the WIC offices from Ashland to the existing
Sheriff’s Dept office area in the Annex building. Blahnik commented that it is appreciated that the
committee is provided with an update where offices may be relocated, however, the Administrator should
use his judgement and input from the Depts as to the location of the new offices. A brief discussion of how
the elderly will be affected by the move of any offices followed.
Abeles-Allison stated that one of his main responsibilities as County Administrator is to compile a county
budget. He intends to present a preliminary budget at the next Executive Committee meeting.
Blahnik stated that in the past the board has not supported ITBEC. He personally has concerns with the
lack of results he has seen from BCEDC and ITBEC in the past.
A brief background on ITBEC was provided by Abeles-Allison and Pat Thornton. Currently 13 counties in
the Northern Region are participating in ITBEC, the only 2 counties not participating are Bayfield and
Barron. ITBEC stands for International Trade & Business Economic Council. Abeles-Allison reviewed a
list of some of the projects that ITBEC has been involved with. Thornton reviewed several projects that
ITBEC has been involved with and the dollar impact of these projects in Bayfield County, even though the
county is not currently a member. Blahnik commented that he does not support all of the money that has
been spent for Economic Development because he has not seen any notable results.
Abeles-Allison stated that it is his responsibility to bring requests and information regarding the requests to
the committee and that he was asking for input regarding what to include in the budget.
Comment again by Blahnik that he does not see any results from the BCEDC. Gordon stated that when
BCEDC was formed, BCEDC was asked how long Bayfield County would be the primary funding source
for the Corporation. Kittleson supports contributing to ITBEC for one year on a trial basis. Thornton
stated that the larger businesses in the county will be impacted if participation in ITBEC is rejected. Maki
stated that many organizations ask for money, but he has never seen anyone come to his business and asked
how they can help him. Maki stated that the non-local persons that enjoy our area are opposed to logging
or other businesses because of their ideas of how the area should be.
Suggest by Gordon to gather all outside interests that are requesting funding and dedicate a specific
allotment of money for all outside interests. Ask the interests to determine how the money should be
allotted.
Discussion regarding specific budget requests for 2003:
The Forestry department is requesting an additional employee. Currently there are 2 foresters, 1 sale
administrator, 1 equipment operator, office manager, and the forest administrator. Abeles-Allison reviewed
cord cuttage history statistics. Comparisons were made of counties with respect to number of employees
and acreage. There are 2 primary reasons why the Forestry Department is requesting a new employee.
1) To form a comprehensive inventory. Currently, 36% of inventory data is 30 years old. The goal is to
have 100% of inventory data less than 10 years old. Review of harvest trends. The trends show that the
acreage needed to be harvested is increasing over the next several years in each of the 3 categories of
woods. Review of the harvest and income trends. Review of timber sales in dollars over the last several
years. Jardine stated that the plan of forestry is to create a computerized tracking system for a self-
sustaining forest.
2) The support from the DNR has decreased significantly since the early 90's when the large stands of
Aspen were cut. Blahnik asked if a contract employee has been considered. Forestry Administrator is not
supportive of this idea because the quality of work is anticipated to be much less.
Comment by Maki that there are 168,000 acres of county forest. It is difficult for him to believe that the
county does not have a somewhat accurate record of the inventory because the records of the past timber
sales should provide a good record of inventory. Maki asked if the state regulates the amount of forest that
can be cut. Maki is concerned that productivity could be greatly improved in the forestry department. Maki
commented that the crew in the forestry department has only been working together for a short time and
that they need to have more time to figure out what they are doing before we consider hiring an additional
person.
Jail community service officer: The Judge and District Attorney are interested in this program, but want to
make sure that it is an organized program. The community service officer would oversee a program that
would be another alternative to jail. Maki asked for clarification on how many additional person it will
take to run the new jail and dispatch once they are constructed.
Abeles-Allison handed out a copy of budget requests that have been received to date. Informational only.
Discussion regarding the impending phase out of the main frame computer for the county clerk and
treasurer functions: In the next couple of years the existing main frame computer will no longer be
workable. Several counties are considering creating a software program that will be designed specifically
for our requirements rather than purchasing an off-the shelf software program. This topic was brought up
only for future budget consideration.
Mid year financial report: Abeles-Allison presented handouts of 2001 -vs- 2002 revenue and expense
comparisons for the first 6 months of the year. Specific line items that will be over budget in 2002 and a
brief explanation of the overages were presented.
Jail Expansion project: September bid letting is anticipated.
Joint Dispatch: Public hearing at NGLVC on Thursday at 6:00pm. Abeles-Allison explained that a request
for the formation of a 10 person Ad-hoc committee will be made at the upcoming board meeting. In
addition, several resolutions and documents will be presented regarding the final application for CDBG
funding for the joint dispatch effort.
Trail Grooming Financing: Bids to financial institutions for the financing of the trail groomers should be
mailed today. It is anticipated that the bid will be awarded at the county board meeting.
Land Use Plan: The Land Use Planning Committee is evaluating a proposal to convert the nearly final
County Land Use plan to a Comprehensive plan. The next meeting of this committee will be August 20,
2002 at 3:00pm in the County Board Room.
Maki commented concerning all of the dollars that are being requested for the 2003 budget. Maki
commented that we are holding departments to zero increases and the county board should do the same for
outside interests as well.
Kittleson commented that we need to evaluate the feasibility of Home Health as it is an expensive program.
Abeles-Allison clarified that Home Health had made a presentation to the Executive Committee and that
the committee approved funding for the program in 2003.
Motion by Jardine, Second by Maki to adjourn. Meeting adjourned at 12:15pm