Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Special Meeting of the County Board

A Special Meeting of the County Board was held; this first meeting of the year is often thought of as the County Board Organizational Meeting.  Board Chair Jan Hall called the meeting to order.  Also present were Commissioners Hakes and Martinson, newly elected Commissioners Doo-Kirk and Gamble, Personnel Director/Board Secretary Janet Simonen and Auditor-Treasurer Braidy Powers.

The Board of Commissioners was honored by a local Girl Scout Troop when the Scouts presented the colors for the Pledge of Allegiance and for the Oath of Office recitals.  It is my understanding that Commissioner Doo-Kirk is one of the Leaders for these Scouts.  And, Board Chair Jan Hall is the proud grandmother of one of the color-bearing Scouts. The Girl Scout presentation of the colors made this first meeting of 2013 very special.

Oath of Office
Newly elected County Commissioners Heidi Doo-Kirk and Garry Gamble recited the Oath of Office as administered by Kim Shepard of Court Administration.  Betty Schulz, also took the Oath of Office for her new position of County Assessor.

Elections
Jan Hall was re-elected to the position of Board Chair; Bruce Martinson was re-elected to the position of Vice Chair.

Public Comment
No member of the public opted to come before the County Board.

Miscellaneous Organizational Actions
-  The Cook County News Herald was designated as the Legal Newspaper for 2013.
-  The County Website was named an official publication for 2013.
-  Security State Bank of Aitkin was designated as the Cook County bank depository for 2013.
-  Travel and Mileage Reimbursements were set for 2013.
-  Dave Betts was designated the 2013 County Agriculture Inspector.

Citizen Appointments to Board, Committees, and Commissions
The County Board made several citizen appointments to Boards, Committees and Commissions.  A complete list of these appointments and the respective organizations will be made available as soon as it is compiled by calling Janet Simonen at 387-3602.

County Commissioner Appointments to Board, Committees, and Commissions
The County Board negotiated and agreed upon Commissioner appointmentes to Boards, Committees and Commissions.  A complete list of these appointments and the respective organization will be made avaiable as soon as it is compiled by calling Janet Simonen at 387-3602.

Commissioner Hakes expressed concern over the redundancy and added expense created by having more than one County Commissioner serve on the same board, committee, or commission and requested the Board address this issue immediately.  Hakes recommended the Board assign a single Commissioner except in the rare circumstance when more than one is necessary.  The Board was mixed on this issue and agreed to review it again.  

Commissioner Hakes will be serving on the following:  Communications/E-911 Committee, Arrowhead Counties Association, Arrowhead Economic Opportunity Agency, Arrowhead Health Alliance, Arrowhead Regional Development Commission, Arrowhead Transit, Association of MN Counties, AMC Futures Advance Leadership Academy, AMC Safety Policy Committee, Broadband Commission, Children's Justice Initiative/State Supreme Court, Cook County Family YMCA Steering Committee, Cook County Family YMCA Owners Meeting, Community Center Board of Trustees (alternate), Cleveland Cliffs Annual Meeting (alternate), Cook County Health Care Planning Committee (alternate), Heart of the Continent Partnership, Human Services Board, Law Library Board, Local Water Management Advisory Committee (alternate), North Shore Collaborative (Chair), NE Minnesota HOME Consortium, NE MN Office of Job Training Program (alternate), NE MN Regional Radio Board, Western Lake Superior Sanitary District, Northern Counties Land Use Coordinating Board (alternate), One Percent Coordination Committee, Public Health and Human Services Advisory Committee, Region III Social Service Redesign, Solid Waste Committee, Courthouse Security Committee

The County Board also determined the Department Liasons:

Heidi Doo-Kirk:  County Attorney Office, Court Administration, Law Enforcement
Garry Gamble:  Extension, Community Center, Assessor/Land Management
Sue Hakes:  Public Health & Human Services, Information Systems Management, Security
Jan Hall:  Personnel Office, Office of Planning & Zoning, Recorder, Security
Bruce Martinson:  Auditor/Treasurer Office, Maintenance, Highway Department

WTIP Interviews
Commissioners Doo-Kirk, Gamble, Hakes and Martinson will rotate being interviewed on WTIP the Wednesday following each regularly scheduled County Board Meeting.

Gitchigami Express Sled Dog Race
The Board approved (after the fact) a Special Event Permit for the Gitchigami Express Sled Dog Race as recommended by Highway Engineer David Betts.

Cook County/US Forest Service Land Exchange Update
Assessor Betty Schultz provided the Board with an update on the land exchange between the County and the US Forest Service.

Child Support Officer Resignation
The County Board accepted the resignation of Child Support Officer Wendy Danielson with regret.  Danielson will continue to work 8-10 hours/week for 6-8 weeks until she can be replaced.  Best wishes to Wendy!

One Percent Projects
ORB Management Owners, Tom Wacholz and Kim Barse, sent a written thank you to outgoing Commissioners Jim Johnson and Fritz Sobanja, and the rest of the County Board and Staff for working closely with ORB on the Cook County Family YMCA Project.  Wacholz and Barse also congratulated Commissioners Doo-Kirk and Gamble on their elections.

Commissioner Sue Hakes reminded the Board that the notes from the Cook County Family YMCA weekly construction meeting will be included in the Board packets and posted on the County website.

County Board Meetings and Agenda Topics
In an effort to meet last year's request of the Highway Department to improve communications and understand the work of the Highway Department through Work Sessions, the Board decided to meet with Highway Engineer David Betts and Superintendent Russell Klegstad on a quarterly basis for ~1 hour at 8:30 am just prior to the regularly scheduled Board Meeting the 2nd Tuesday of every 3rd month.  Janet Simonen will schedule these meetings.

The County Board will meet with Dyan Ebert on Tuesday, January 15, to discuss non-public data. Ms. Ebert is an attorney that was recommended by the MN Counties Intergovernmental Trust (MCIT) and assists counties with various specialized civil issues.  Non-public data can include:  active criminal investigative data, data that identifies alleged victims or reporters of criminal sexual conduct, health and mental health data.

Meeting Minutes
A copy of the official meeting minutes for this meeting will be made available and a copy may be obtained by calling Janet Simonen at 218 387 3602 or by going to the Cook County Website.  A video of the entire meeting may be viewed on Boreal.TV