Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutExecutive Committee - Minutes - 1/17/2006L:\COMMITTEES AND BOARDS\EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE\2006\Executive Committee Minutes 011706.doc Page 1 of 3 Minutes of the Bayfield County Executive Committee Meeting Tuesday, January 17, 2006 4:00pm Bayfield County Board Room Members present: John Blahnik, Verne Gilles, Harold Maki, Neil Paulson, Kenneth Jardine Members Absent: Brett Rondeau Others Present: Mark Abeles-Allison, Kris Kavajecz., Kay Cederberg (briefly), Judge John Anderson (briefly) The meeting was called to order by Vice-Chairman Blahnik at 4:00pm. Motion by Jardine , second by Gilles to approve the minutes of the December 1, 2005 Executive Committee meeting. Motion carried. The committee discussed a resolution designating the County Administrator as the person authorized to sign contracts on behalf of the county and also as the contact person for Aegis Corporation with regard to legal matters than do not typically fall within the county’s policy. Motion by Gilles, second by Paulson to approve the resolution as presented. Motion Carried. Discussion regarding property that the Bayfield School District will be offering for sale. A map created by the Land Records Department was reviewed, which identified the property that is available for purchase. Motion by Gilles, second by Paulson not to consider the purchase of this property at this time. Motion carried. Discussion regarding County Strategic Plan. Abeles-Allison asked the committee for feedback on the plan presented by the offices included with the packet. He hopes to review a handful of department plans each month for comment by the Executive Committee. Comment from Paulson that the plans should more clearly identify a strategy for the future. Other comments suggested that the format for the plans submitted should be consistent. Abeles-Allison explained that the goal is to finalize the Strategic Plans prior to the April elections so that the plan can be used as a tool for the incoming Board of Supervisors. Ag Research Station Contribution. The city and county of Ashland are also considering contributions. Two meetings are currently scheduled for the near future to finalize the plans for oversight and use of the station. Abeles-Allison provided an overview of the status of discussions with the University of Wisconsin. The current issue is related to the lease of the property. Discussion regarding structure of county committees. Specifically, regarding the Health committee and Human Services committee, Jardine explained that the Health Board opposes the combination of these two committees. Abeles-Allison explained that he is in discussion with the two Department Heads regarding this topic. The committee also discussed the potential combination of the Development and Land Sales committee with another committee. This topic will be further discussed at a future meeting. L:\COMMITTEES AND BOARDS\EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE\2006\Executive Committee Minutes 011706.doc Page 2 of 3 Discussion regarding Regional Revolving Loan Fund. Abeles-Allison provided an update that the Block Grant committee met last week and made a recommendation to the full county board that the county participate in a Regional Revolving Loan program. This is a pilot program in the state. If it does not work out, the Department of Commerce will go back to the county based system of revolving loan funds. The county will have a representative on the Regional committee. Northwest Regional Planning Commission will be making a presentation at the County Board meeting on January 31st. Abeles-Allison explained that 0 dollars were budgeted for contingency in 2006. The Executive committee agreed, during the construction of the budget, that if the HRA program were implemented, the Contingency fund could be amended. The committee agreed that a contingency fund was important and considered various methods to fund the contingency. Abeles-Allison reviewed the health insurance utilization summary that was provided with the packet. As of the date of the report, the county’s premium payments surpassed the amount of claims by approximately $240,000. All claims from 2005 have not yet been received, so that figure will change as further claims are received. Blahnik reviewed some claim statistics he had received. The committee discussed the courtroom renovation project and courtroom security. Abeles- Allison explained that six proposals were received from architectural/engineering firms to provide project oversight for the courtroom renovation project. The proposals were reviewed and a recommendation to the Executive Committee was made to narrow the firms to three and that the Executive Committee interview the three firms. Jardine left the meeting at this time due to other commitments. The committee held a lengthy discussion regarding courtroom security and the options that are being considered for repairing or replacing the failed panic button system in the courtroom. Maki commented that he feels the I/T department should be the ones correcting this problem. KKE, PTD and OMNI Assoc will be interviewed beginning at 5:00 on January 24th. The firms will be contacted to confirm the interviews and will be asked to make a brief presentation. Abeles-Allison reviewed the county financial report as of December 31, 2005. Hwy 2 & 13 correspondence from Senator Feingold’s office was reviewed for informational purposes. A lighted stop sign as well as an additional set of rumble strips were added at the intersection. Maki asked why the speed limit on this portion of highway isn’t reduced. Paulson commented on the effort that Dave Lee put into the Aerial Photography collaboration. He stated that this is an example of the type of work that should be recognized by the County Board, in some form. This discussion will be an agenda item for the next meeting. Paulson asked for an update on the status of the Washburn Forestry building and the discussions with the City of Washburn regarding a building location. Abeles-Allison provided an overview of the City of Washburn’s comments to date. Another meeting with the City of Washburn will be taking place later this week. L:\COMMITTEES AND BOARDS\EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE\2006\Executive Committee Minutes 011706.doc Page 3 of 3 Motion by Gilles, second by Maki to adjourn. Motion Carried. Meeting adjourned at 5:55 pm.