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HomeMy WebLinkAboutExecutive Committee - Minutes - 5/11/20231 Minutes of the Bayfield County Executive Committee Meeting 4:00pm, May 11, 2023 Meeting was held Remotely through Microsoft Teams and in person in the Bayfield County Board Room, Washburn, WI Members Present: Fred Strand, Dennis Pocernich, Brett Rondeau, Jeff Silbert, Jeremy Oswald, Mary Dougherty Members Excused: Others Present: Mark Abeles-Allison-County Administrator, Kristine Kavajecz-Human Resources Director, Kim Mattson, Marty Milanowski, Mark Ehlers, Jason Bodine, Ian Meeker, Bill Bailey, Larry Fickbohm, Madeline Rekemyer, Scott Galetka, Kelly Westlund, Gail Reha, Jim Stone-GLIFWC, Amy Hoay, Maria Renz, Meagan Quaderer Called to order at 4:00 p.m. by Rondeau. Motion Pocernich, Oswald to approve minutes of the April 13, 2023 Executive Committee Meeting. Motion Carried (6-0). Forestry and Parks Department Accepting the NOAA Grant for the Sand River Acquisition Project and 2023 Budget Amendment Resolution: Forest Administrator, Jason Bodine explained that this funding will free up pre-authorized ARPA funds for another land acquisition project. Motion Strand, Dougherty to approve the resolution and forward to the full county board for consideration. Motion Carried (6-0) Public Comment: None Received. Youth Council Establishment: Marne Foya, Bayfield School student recommending the creation of a county youth council based on the concept of the Tribal Youth Council. Ian Meeker, UW Extension explained that there are a handful of counties that currently have Youth Councils. He has also been involved with the youth delegation for the Superior Days even in Madison for several years. He supports the concept of youth involvement in local government. Meeker is willing to put together and outline/proposal of how this could be formulated. Consensus of the committee is to authorize Meeker to develop a concept. Tax Foreclosed Properties and Housing Needs in Bayfield County: Galetka reported that there may be ways that tax foreclosed properties could potentially be used to address housing needs in the county. Westlund reported that she is working to evaluate models 2 that are currently in use in other counties and researching other considerations that may need to be evaluated. EV Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Grant Resolution; Bill Bailey: Bailey explained the grant opportunity, which is due May 30. Multiple sites throughout the county have been identified for inclusion in the grant application. The grant will pay 80% of the cost. Xcel offers program credits to offset the additional 20%. Bayfield County would be the applicant and would administer the grant, with grant funds to pay the administrative costs. Bayfield County would not own the equipment. It would be owned by either the municipality or private business where the sites are installed. The total cost of the project is estimated at $3.2 million. Motion Strand, Oswald to approve the grant application and forward to the full county board for approval. Discussion. Motion Carried (5-1) Pocernich opposed. Northern Lights Services Presentation: Mike Bailey, Northern Lights Board member. Reported that the board would like to see a continuum of care model implemented. Anticipating an increasing worker shortage. Suggestions include: shared purchases and collaborative services such as IT, contractors. Suggest developing a team to create a comprehensive plan for capital improvements and maintenance. County assume all costs for structural improvements and maintenance over a designated period of time. Mark Ehlers, Treasurer of Northern Lights Services, reports that there are a number of revenues outstanding. If they are not received this Fall, the county may need to be asked for temporary financial support. Abeles-Allison explained that the county levy’s the maximum allowed. The levy lid may be exceeded for borrowing. Dougherty and Silbert were recommended to serve on a working group with Northern Lights. Civilian C.E.R.T/Search and Rescue Team: Stone expressed that the Sheriff is responsible for search and rescue efforts. Ashland and Bayfield Counties could work together to develop a CERT team. Nearly 500 search and rescue situations have occurred over the . Initial proposal is to include vetted team members, already trained, approximately 60-65 persons, with eventual expansion to include interested civilians. Funding to be provided through grants, fundraising and donations. Sub-teams within the CERT may include: water, mounted posse, drone, K9, ground search etc. CERT requires a local government sponsor for FEMA. Motion Oswald, Silbert to recommend approval to sponsorship of the CERT program and forward the recommendation to the full county board. Quaderer reported that Bayfield County would be responsible for liability. Long term goal of the organization is to become their own stand-alone non-profit organization. Motion Carried (6-0) 3 Intergovernmental Agreement for Joint Dispatch: Bayfield County is indicated as the lead agency. Initial draft of the agreement was included in the meeting packet. LATCF Funding for Highway Garages: Bids came in approximately $200,000 over budget for each building ($400k total). Abeles-Allison reviewed options: postpone one of the projects, using some Highway Fund Balance and General Fund balance. Building plans will be shared with committee members. Cable garage contract has been signed and will be constructed in 2023. Discussion regarding whether to proceed with the GrandView garage in 2023 or wait until 2024. Suggestion to bid out the GrandView garage and make a decision when bids are received whether to proceed or wait. WCA Resolution Topics: Strand reviewed several resolutions recommended to be forwarded to the WCA. A list of resolution topics was included in the meeting packet. A handout was provided related to the LCO -v- Evers. Motion Silbert, Oswald to forward all suggested resolutions to the Full County Board for approval. Motion Carried (6-0) Pigeon Lake Camp Lease: Looking into a possible feasibility study. State has indicated that they will deduct the cost of a feasibility study from the cost of the property. There is also discussion about a possible 1-year lease. GASB 87 Lease Policy: This is a requirement by the county’s auditors. One of the key provisions of the policy is a multi-level approval process for multi-year leases. The policy would also increase the Capital threshold from $500 to $5,000. Recommendation was made to forward the policy to corporation counsel for review. Reports: a. Financial Reports end of April 2023 : Reviewed b. Treasurer’s Report, end of April 2023: Reviewed c. Revenue Sharing Letter from Wisconsin Legislature: Review of correspondence from the state with proposed funding to be included in the upcoming state budget proposal. d. Washburn Housing Development Update: Project was not funded by WHEDA. Additional funding sources are being investigated. e. Child Care Updates: Continuing to work on this issue. f. Budget Planning 2024: May 30th planning session. Lunch will be provided. 4 g. LCO v. Evers Decision: Previously discussed during the WCA resolution topic. Motion Pocernich, Silbert to move into Closed Session pursuant to §19.85(1) (e) Deliberating or negotiating the purchasing of public properties, the investing of public funds, or conducting other specified public business, whenever competitive or bargaining reasons require a closed session: April 13, 2023 Minutes, Business Park Lease Negotiation, Corporation Counsel Agreement, Pigeon Lake Field Station Lease. Motion Carried (6-0). Entered Closed Session at 6:26pm Motion Oswald, Dougherty to return to open session. Motion Carried (6-0). Returned to open session at 6:35pm Meeting adjourned at 6:35p.m. Respectfully submitted by Kristine Kavajecz.