HomeMy WebLinkAboutExecutive Committee - Minutes - 6/11/2020 (2)1
Minutes of the
Bayfield County Executive Committee Meeting
4:00pm, June 11, 2020
Meeting was held in the County Board Room and Remotely, with phone
and/or video access for members and the public.
Members Present: Jeff Silbert, Mary Dougherty, Dennis Pocernich, Brett Rondeau, Fred
Strand
Members Excused: Larry Fickbohm
Others Present: Mark Abeles-Allison, County Administrator; Kristine Kavajecz-Human
Resource Director (remote); Mike Carriveau-Waypoint, Marty Milanowski (remote), Chad
Young-Norvado (remote), Jaron McCallum-WI Broadband Office (remote), Jeremy Oswald
(remote), Kim Mattson (remote), Paul Houck (remote), Pat Anderson-Charter/Spectrum
(remote), Kirsten Sersland-CenturyLink (remote), Kim Lawton-District Attorney (remote), Mike
Hill-Charter/Spectrum (remote), Mike Yulevek-Charter/Spectrum, Adam-Charter/Spectrum
(remote), Sheriff Paul Susienka (5:00pm remote)
Meeting Called to Order at 4:00pm by Rondeau.
Public Comment: None Received
Motion Strand, Pocernich to approve minutes of the May 14, 2020 Executive Committee
meeting. Motion Carried (5-0)
Public Health COVID-19 Update, Bayfield County Health: No new cases. Red Cliff
COVID Testing event is occurring now. Bayfield County COVID plan has been rolled
out.
Broadband Discussion, State Broadband Director, Jaron McCallum and
representatives from area Broadband Providers. Centurylink, Norvado, Bayfield
Wireless, Charter/Spectrum:
Jaron McCallum, Director with the State Broadband office as part of the Public Service
Commission, thanked the committee for the opportunity to help facilitate collaboration in
the Bayfield County. McCallum provided an overview of the initiatives of the Broadband
office and reviewed grant awards that have recently been announced. 2021 Broadband
Expansion grant will be accepted this Fall. Emphasis will be unserved/underserved areas.
Awards are anticipated in the Spring of 2021.
2 questions were asked of the providers present: What can your company do and what
can Bayfield County do to improve Broadband in Bayfield County?
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CenturyLink: Participates in Broadband Grant program and are constantly looking for
ways to partner with the WI Broadband Grant program to expand broadband services.
Norvado: Serves 2/3 of Bayfield County, expanding to 100 percent of the county. The
state Broadband Expansion Grant program has been instrumental in expanding fiber
services. Rural Digital Opportunity Fund may be an opportunity to expand services later
this year. Have seen a great uptick in internet subscribers due to COVID.
Bayfield Wireless (Waypoint): Reported that they have just over 100 customers at this
time, serving extreme rural customers that do not have access to traditional broadband.
Charter-Spectrum: Involved with the WI Broadband Grant program. Applied for 22
grants in the last round. Would be interested in working with Bayfield County on
expansion in the county. Actively looking to expand service area and service levels. No
specific plan in place in Bayfield County.
Carriveau reported that he would like the county to consider another agreement similar to
the one that is currently in place to expand service.
2021 Budget Review with Departments:
District Attorney Office: Lawton reported that Bayfield County held the first jury trial in
the state of WI under the COVID pandemic. Capital Improvement addition of a door
from the jury room to the victim/witness room has worked very well. Assistant DA was
funded through the state and has been a wonderful addition. The office has transitioned to
a paperless system, which made the impact of the pandemic fairly seamless. Significant
collaboration with the Criminal Justice Program and Sheriff’s office. Lawton stated that
she is extremely proud of how our local Sheriff’s Office handles de-escalation situations.
Will be adding additional anti-racism training for law enforcement. Anticipating the
budget to be the same in 2021 as 2020.
State CARES “Route to Recovery” Grant: State is making allocations to counties.
Bayfield County is anticipating around $250,000 for eligible expenses.
COVID-19 Purchases: Abeles-Allison explained that the county put out an RFP for
cleaning/sanitizing solutions for Jail/Courthouse facilities. Four proposals were received,
using different methods/equipment. The proposal that is most favorably being considered
involves an ionization system that attaches to the air handling system and would be
effective for all viruses. Net cost for all county air handling systems is estimated at
approximately $72,000. The committee inquired about installation costs and warranty.
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Abeles-Allison explained that the bulbs on the unit are projected to be effective for
approximately 2 years.
Motion Strand, Pocernich to approve the acquisition of an ion system for the annex, jail
and courthouse building with funds coming from contingency. Motion Carried (6-0)
UPS: $36,500 was included in the 2020 budget for this project. Batteries for the existing
system are at the end of their useful life. These provide critical back-up for jail, dispatch
center, data center, and radio system power services. The system is over 15 years old.
The proposal being considered would mean no down-time for installation and a new
equipment cabinet. $49,150 is the estimate.
Motion Silbert, Dougherty to accept the proposal for the UPS up to $49,150, authorizing
the use of up to $12,650 from contingency funds for the additional cost not currently
budgeted. Motion Carried (6-0)
Bayfield County Procurement Policy: Examples of procurement policies were provided
for the committee to review. Procurement policy is an item that the county’s auditor has
recommended that the county consider implementing.
Health Dept. Fees Discussion: The Board of Health did not recommend pro-rating
licensing fees as suggested by the Executive Committee at the May meeting. The
committee was updated on the reasons for the concerns related to pro-rating license fees.
Update on Construction Projects: Potential tour of projects at the next meeting.
a. Human Services: Completed
b. DA Office: Completed
c. Human Resources: Completed
d. Jail: Continuing. Booking room is nearly completed. Moving on to the next phase
where new holding cells will be created.
Reports:
e. Regional Refridgerated Truck: Ashland County is advocating to obtain a
refrigerated truck for body storage to be used for the counties in our region.
f. Pigeon Lake Camp update: Small group meeting was held. State was asked for a
2-month extension to their deadline for the sale of the property.
g. 2021 Budget Planning: Budget direction letters were distributed.
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h. Financial Report, end of May: Revenues are very similar to this same time last
year. Forestry revenues are down about $150,000 from this time last year. Overall
expenses are down from the same time last year in the general fund.
i. Treasurer’s Report, end of May: Balances are up slightly from this time last year.
j. Revenues and Expenditures impacted by COVID-19: Primarily the Health
Department. The Health Department is anticipating significant funding to assist
with their expenses related to testing and COVID related expenses.
Motion Pocernich, Silbert to move into Closed Session pursuant to §19.85(1)(e,g), for the
purpose of
k. approving closed session minutes of May 14, 2020
l. Business Development Opportunity
Motion Carried (5-0) Kavajecz, Abeles-Allison, Oswald and Milanowski were allowed
to remain in the meeting. Entered closed session at 6:00pm.
Motion Strand, Silbert to return to open session. Motion Carried (5-0 ) Returned to open session
at 6:33 pm
Meeting Adjourned at 6:33 pm