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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAdministration 03-07-07 1 NOTICE OF MEETING AND AGENDA ST. CROIX COUNTY ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE March 7, 2007 9:00 a.m. St. Croix County Government Center Room 1281 1101 Carmichael Road, Hudson CALL TO ORDER ROLL CALL APPROVAL OF AGENDA ACTION ON PREVIOUS MEETING MINUTES: January 3, 2007 DATE OF NEXT MEETING — April 4, 2007 OLD AND NEW BUSINESS 1. Review of County Fair Structure 2. County Board Goal Setting Preparation 3. County Board By -Law Article VI, Section E re: Emergency Communications Director Department Head Vacancy" ADJOURN (Items may be taken in different order) ** Additions /Changes /Corrections Items for County Board approval must be submitted to the County Clerk's office by Wednesday morning preceding a County Board meeting. 2/27/2007 2:13 PM I OFFIC AL M INUTES ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE MARCH 7, 2007 Meeting called to order by Chair Caflisch at 9:00a.m. MEMBERS PRESENT: Roll call. Present: Ron Raymond, Don Jordan, Tom Caflisch and Daryl Standafer. Absent: Dick King OTHERS PRESENT: Administrative Coordinator Chuck Whiting, County Board Chairman Buck Malick, Julie Speer, Chuck Mehls, Sheriff Dennis Hillstead, Chief Deputy Bob Klanderman, Patrol Captain John Shilts, Emergency Communications Director Gary Kollman and Amy Geurkink. ADOPTION OF AGENDA: Motion by Jordan, 2 by Standafer to adopt the agenda. Carried unanimously. DATE OF NEXT MEETING: April 4, 2007 at 9:00am. ADOPTION OF MINUTES: Motion by Raymond, 2nd by Standafer to approve the minutes of January 3, 2007. Carried unanimously. COUNTY BOARD BY -LAW ARTICLE VI, SECTION E RE: EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR DEPARTMENT HEAD VACANCY: Caflisch commenced discussion regarding the forthcoming Emergency Communications Director vacancy and briefly outlined the three options adopted by the Emergency Management and Communications Committee. Caflisch explained the role of the Administration Committee is to be certain the parent committee is following proper procedure concerning the vacancy. Hillstead outlined his reasons why the communications center ought to be managed under the Sheriff's Department. He reported in most counties the center is under sheriff department control and indicated the cost savings would be considerable. Hillstead reported his main concern is public safety for every aspect of the county and indicated nothing would be taken away from the dispatch center as it is the hub for all communications. Speer reported the Public Protection Committee's view is to leave the communications center structure as is. Mehls questioned the ability of one person effectively heading up both departments and commented it may be relatively easy to consolidate the position but it is difficult to consolidate the work and summarized one position could not handle it. Kollman outlined his reasons for keeping the Communications Director position as is. He reported no two departments should be governed by one; fire and law enforcement have always had difficulty getting along; there could be unrest among emergency personnel; there may be temptation of the governing department to use more than its share of resources at the expense of other agencies; finances will suffer as one department may become secondary to the other. Kollman summarized he has seen what these effects are. 1 Discussion regarding differences of opinion and how centers are managed in other counties. Hillstead reported there are approximately four or five counties in the state that have independent communications centers and most operate under the sheriff's department or the city police department. Hillstead reported his concern is law enforcement creates 80% of the workload for the communications center; he reported he wants to make sure it continues to function and support all the entities it serves and summarized he has the management skills to handle it. Discussion whether there is a need for two supervisors; whether others are capable of doing the job under a different supervisor and the aspect of one supervisor reporting to two separate committees. Kollman indicated operation of both departments under one manager would mean control of the delivery of service by one agency. He reiterated his stance that one agency should not dictate and reported he has seen what the sheriff or police chief can do to a communications center. Caflisch summarized the Administration Committee is satisfied the position vacancy issue is being handled appropriately and asked that the Emergency Management and Communications Committee continue to look into the three options, get as much consensus as possible and report back. Discussion regarding County Board approval; Malick reported if there are changes in the structure of a department it would warrant County Board approval. REVIEW OF COUNTY -OWNED FAIRGROUND PROPERTY: Standafer reported there is no new information to bring forward concerning the issue of the county -owned fairground property and summarized there is no intention of immediate conclusion as the issue will need continued review. Raymond reported there has been approval for the removal of the run -down house on the property and clarified it has nothing to do with land ownership; discussion regarding if the Fair Board owned the property they could operate as they wish. Raymond indicated he has reported to the Fair Board, the information concerning the ownership boundaries, etc., and reported there is not reluctance by the board to own but it is currently not a huge topic of discussion and summarized the Fair Board's priority is the continued operation of the county fair. Discussion regarding continued support/funding for the county fair. Malick reported it is clearly a benefit for the Fair Board to own the property as long as the County Board continues to support the fair; Raymond reported there has been no concrete indication the county is planning on offering the property. Jordan expressed concern that this is not a clear real estate deal and it needs some cleaning up regarding ownership of the individual parcels. Discussion concerning issues of liability; Malick clarified the lease clearly states the county is not liable for incidents that may occur on the fairground property. Raymond briefly described the utilization restrictions of some of the buildings. Raymond summarized there is not enormous movement on behalf of the Fair Board concerning this issue but they certainly are not uninterested; discussion regarding the Fair Board ought to consider the possibility of fairground property ownership and report back. COUNTY BOARD 2007 GOAL SETTING SESSION: Whiting suggested going through the list of goals and have department heads prepare a report for the goal setting session. Discussion regarding the report being a short synopsis on what has been done and where things are headed. Discussion regarding the time segment for each report and assessment from the board on satisfaction and/or adding additional goals. Discussion concerning an informal seating arrangement for the session. 2 Discussion regarding the department heads and committee chairs determining who will convey information; encourage them to prepare a written report or power point, keep it short and allow time for board member reaction. Whiting will notify department heads; department heads will need to discuss with the parent committee. Discussion regarding time restrictions, focusing on priorities and keeping the agenda clear and concise. Caflisch summarized the structure of the goal- setting session will be discussed at the next meeting. FUTURE AGENDA ITEM: Speer provided a letter requesting the topic of open meeting law violations be an item for discussion at the next Administration Committee meeting. Motion by Raymond, 2 nd by Jordan to adjourn; meeting adjourned at 10:14am. Submitted by: Amy Geurkink, Recording Secretary Minutes approved ziprit 4, 200 3