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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSheriff’s Emergency & Veterans’ Services Committee - Minutes - 4/17/2023 Sheriff’s, Emergency Management, Veterans, Child Support Committee of the Bayfield County Board of Supervisors Minutes of the: Bayfield County Sheriff’s Committee Meeting April 17, 2023, 4:00 p.m. Meeting Held in the Bayfield County EOC, Washburn, WI The meeting of the Bayfield County Sheriff’s Committee was called to order at 4:01 p.m. by Bayfield County Chair Jeremey Oswald. A roll call was taken by Chair Jeremey Oswald, as follows: Dennis M. Pocernich-present virtually; John Rautio-present virtually; Jeff Silbert- present virtually. Absent: Vice Chair Larry Fickbohm Total: 4 present, 1 absent. A quorum was present to conduct business. The following were also present for today’s meeting: Sheriff- Tony Williams; Veteran’s Services Director- Kevin Johnson; Emergency Management Director- Meagan Quaderer; Chief Deputy- Andy Runice; present virtually: County Clerk- Kim Mattison; GLIFWC Warden- Jim Stone; Emergency Management Assistant- Maria Renz. 2. Approval of Minutes of March 20th, 2023 Motion by Silbert, seconded by Rautio to approve the Minutes of the Monthly Bayfield County Sheriff’s Committee Meeting held on March 20, 2023. Motion carried,4 -0. 3. Public Comment: None. 4. Veteran’s Service Office a. The Budget Summary presented by Kevin Johnson, Director for Bayfield County Veteran’s Services. Johnson states the department is doing well. b. Department Overview: The department applied for a couple of grants and has received some of those grants at this point. The grant information was in the February packet. Johnson recently spoke at the monthly District 10 meeting earlier this month on what’s new for VA. Packers presented a check for $24,000 to the DVA at the Bong Center. DVA is a program funded through donations to provide transportation services to vets. Crisis Intervention Team Training is currently happening in the EOC with 20 attendees. Johnson was invited to present on vet mental health on Wednesday afternoon. Some events to be aware of include a presentation at the Ashland band shell on Memorial Day; Across the Pond will occur on May 27th at 1 pm at the park, and on June 24th is the Vietnam memorial dedication. Johnson reports the homeless shelter is full, there are no options specifically for Veteran housing. It would be great to have an organization to help. 5. Emergency Management a. The Budget Summary was presented by Meagan Quaderer, Director for Bayfield County Emergency Management. Currently the budget is sitting at 30% for both revenues and expenses. Grants will cover some of the upcoming expenses. b. Department Overview: Emergency Management has taken on damage assessment from the flooding. The office has also taken on damage reports for Ashland County since they do not currently have an Emergency Manager. Skywarn Weather will be here on the 26th for training. Larry Fickbohm joined 4:16pm c. April 2023 Spring Flood Update: Bayfield County had 10 townships declare a state of emergency with roughly $200,000 of damages. They will be applying for the WI disaster fund. Both counties declared a state of emergency to cover the towns that did not declare. Our office is helping Ashland’s declarations for free because our position does not allow us to be compensated by another county. d. Discussion and Possible Action regarding the Civilian C.E.R.T/Search and Rescue team: The SAR Bylaws are in the Dropbox for review. Jim Stone, the Chair of the SAR Team formation group presented to the committee. The goal of the SAR team is to assist Ashland and Bayfield County, including the tribal governments, by providing more services under the direction of the Sheriff’s Office. There have been several incidents over the last couple of years that showed the need for this team. It would bring more professionals on the ground. CERT needs a governing body’s liability insurance. This team will help to augment the missing indigenous people. One thing SAR is stressing is incident command training, and calling the specific people needed, because they can be sent back. The plan is to have corporate counsel to double check the bylaws after full approval. Motion by Silbert, seconded by Fickbohm, to forward to the executive board for review in support of the creation of the cert team with the corporate counsel reviewing the bylaws. Motion carried, 5 -0. 6. Sheriff’s Office a. Budget Summary: Budget Report included. Jail over anticipated budget due to boarding. b. Department Overview: Sheriff Williams shared the incident chart which shows 693 incidents. Some of the incidents include several domestics, three pounds of marijuana seized, and Investigator Dawson worked on a warrant with the DEA and seized a pound of meth. There was an abandoned car at the Visitor Center for a month, walkers recently found the body nearby, currently thought of as a suicide. 12 people went from the County for the Officers funeral in Chetek. CIT training began for responding and talking to people dealing with different mental health crises. The AEDs have not been received yet, but AED and CPR training will occur in May. Current open positions include a deputy position and several part time dispatchers. c. Discussion and Possible Action regarding body camera and dash purchases and move to issue a request for proposal. Sheriff Williams explained that the Sheriff’s Office does not have many body cameras and currently has a hodgepodge of systems but both body and dash are necessary. The purchase of body and dash cameras would help promote transparency and safety in the Sheriff’s Office. The Sheriff’s Office currently has a bid out for Axon and Watch Guard for 18 body cameras, with two assigned to the investigative unit, and eight dash cameras this year. Dennis left the meeting at 4:50 Motion by Rautio, seconded by Fickbohm to approve Sheriff Williams’ request for body and dash cameras to be presented to the County Board. Motion carried, 4 -0. d. Jail Overview: Did not present. 7. Next Meeting Date, May 15th, 2023, at 4 pm in the EOC 8. Adjournment: There being no further business to come before the Sheriff’s, Emergency Management, Veterans, Child Support Committee of the Bayfield County Board of Supervisors, Chairman Oswald adjourned the meeting at 5:17 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Maria Renz Bayfield County Emergency Management