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HomeMy WebLinkAboutExecutive Committee - Minutes - 5/13/20211 Minutes of the Bayfield County Executive Committee Meeting 4:00pm, May 13, 2021 Meeting was held Remotely through Microsoft Teams and in person in the Bayfield County Board Room, Washburn, WI Members Present: Brett Rondeau, Jeff Silbert, Dennis Pocernich, Fred Strand, Larry Fickbohm, Mary Dougherty Members Excused: Others Present: Mark Abeles-Allison-County Administrator, Kristine Kavajecz-Human Resources Director, Lynn Divine-County Clerk, Craig Parks-Maintenance Supervisor, Paul Houck-Information Technology Director, Taylor Pearson-Washburn Iron Works, Jim Crandall, Jeremy Towles-Landmark, Chad Young-, Jeremy Oswald, Adrian Weydeven-, Paige Terry Meeting Called to Order at 4:00pm by Rondeau. Public Comment: None Received Minutes of April 8, 2021: Motion Silbert, Pocernich to approve minutes of the April 8, 2021 Executive Committee meeting. Motion Carried (4-0). Landmark Tower Lease Options: Jeremy Towles with Landmark Dividends presented information on a potential purchase of a tower lease. He provided two options for the committee to consider. Abeles-Allison reviewed the 15-year proposal, which he felt is more attractive for the county. There are 23 years left on the existing lease. Verizon has the ability to exit from the tower every 5 years. Concern expressed about the requirement for a non-disclosure agreement. Clarification was provided that Bayfield County would still control the tower itself. American Recovery Projects: County has received further guidance on what the ARP funds can be used for. Several topics will be discussed at this meeting, but are not all- inclusive. A) Broadband commitments (Chad Young): CEO of Norvado, Chad Young, explained that norvado is currently serving 70% of the county with broadband. Norvado is proposing 3 projects that would impact Bayfield County residents: Lower Eau Claire Lake This project would be contiguous to our existing service area and would serve 219 locations (37 in Bayfield County, 181 in Douglas County). Total project cost is estimated 2 to be $1.4M (this would be more detailed/accurate should we submit a Broadband Expansion Grant Program application for this project). Norvado would be seeking 10-15% of the total project cost from the impacted counties. Norvado would be looking for Bayfield County to fund 1.7%-2.55% or approximately $23,800-$35,700 of this project. South Washburn (To be submitted to the Broadband Expansion Grant Program in 2 parts) Area #1 This project would serve 262 locations within Bayfield County. Total project cost is estimate to be $1.2M. Norvado would be seeking 10-15% of the total project cost from Bayfield County. This translates to $150,000-$180,000. Area #2 This project would serve 210 locations within Bayfield County and is contiguous to Norvado’s current ILEC serving area. Total project cost is estimated to be $1.2M. Norvado would be seeking 10-15% of the total project cost from Bayfield County. This translates to $150,000-$180,000. B) Washburn Iron Works (Taylor Pearson): Pearson provided a brief background of the 3rd generation company in Washburn. The company desires to expand, but requires a sewer extension. They have investigated various funding sources. The expense for the sewer relocation/extension is estimated to cost about $300,000. C) Bayfield County IT (Paul Houck): Houck explained that the county’s priority for 2022 will be to replace the storage network, which is at end of life. All county documents including law enforcement and health records are stored here. The current back up system is also due for replacement and has reached capacity. Ballpark cost for the storage network and two switches would be estimated at $150,000 and the back up in the range of $75-$100,000. D) Bayfield County HVAC (Craig Parks): Parks explained that there are two areas of the courthouse that do not currently have air exchange systems. All other areas have fresh air exchange with ionizers. The project would include installation of 2 air handlers and ductwork. To accommodate the ductwork, ceilings and lighting would need to be lowered. Lighting would be replaced with more efficient equipment at the same time (installed in the 1960’s). Each office would have individual controls. Hot water pipes 3 would also need to be installed. An air handler would also be proposed to be installed in the annex building and connecting ductwork in areas not currently served. The existing air handler on the annex can be used to replace an aging air handler on the jail. NWRPC legislative resolution: NWRPC is asking for support for a resolution Adding a Specific Reference in WI Stat 70.11(2) to Property Owned by Regional Planning Commissions as Exempt From Real Property Taxes. This is a result of an assessor assessing taxes on property owned by a planning commission. This resolution is intended to clarify the tax exempt status. Motion Silbert, Pocernich to recommend that resolution to the full County Board for approval. Motion Carried (6-0) Budget 2022 Planning Session: Survey has been distributed. Responses will be tabulated and reported to the County Board at the March planning meeting. Suggestion was made to compile a list of the proposed ARP funding topics/requests for the count board to review/discuss. Ordinance Updates: Abeles-Allison reported that an amendatory ordinance is being proposed that will correct some mis-numbering and will include an ordinance that was missing, which will result in some re-numbering. Divine reported that all of the ordinances were properly noticed. Motion Pocernich, Dougherty to approve the corrections to the ordinance and forward to the full county board for approval. Motion Carried (6-0) Resolution supporting USDOT RAISE / County Highway A / N project Submittal and Funding Commitment: In 2019 the county submitted, but was not awarded a grant for road improvement. The resolution proposed would be used for a revised submittal under the new funding opportunity. Motion Pocernich, Silbert to recommend the resolution supporting the USDOT RAISE application to the full county board for approval. Motion Carried. (6-0) WCA Resolutions 2022: Resolutions will need to be approved at the May County Board meeting in order to be forwarded by the WCA deadline. Resolutions for consideration were included in the meeting packet. Resolutions being considered include: • Medicaid expansion support • 2 Chronic Wasting Disease related resolutions (research and regulations) • CAFO regulation • Wolf Conservation Motion Pocernich, Dougherty to forward the resolutions to the full county board for approval to submit to the WCA. Motion Carried (6-0) Comprehensive Planning and Focus Areas: At the beginning of the County Board meeting, a discussion will be held regarding recertifying/modifying the county’s Comprehensive Plan. This is recommended to be reviewed every 10 years and is due for review. Suggestion was made to 4 include a discussion about geriatric population in the county. NWRPC may also assist with the comprehensive planning process and it may also include town participation. Reports: a. Financial Report, end of April 2021: Overall, revenues are looking good in comparison with this time last year. Forestry revenues are looking very strong. Expenditures are at 36% for the year, up about $400,000 over last year. b. Contingency Report: A summary of year to date contingency allocations was reviewed. c. Treasurer’s Report, end of April 2021: Balances are about $2.1 million over this time last year. d. Delta Landfill Update: FEMA is now in the compliance consultation phase. e. Superior Days: Mini virtual Superior Days was held. Strand, Silbert and Abeles-Allison participated along with several representatives from Ashland County. Positive connections were made. The committee did not go into closed session. Meeting adjourned at 5:35pm. Respectfully submitted by Kris Kavajecz.