##VIDEO ID:I7I9Mzexoc0## e e e e e on Tuesday afternoon December 17th 2024 and I call this meeting of the Bel try County Board of Commissioners to order please stand stand for the pledge I pledge aliance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all uh at this time I'm going to take the chair's prerogative and take a few minutes to thank my fellow Commissioners for all the help and support this here for uh I and for your patience in my learning curve to be chair um I know I've had a couple missteps and stepped on some toes and I apologize for that um hopefully everything went smooth after a while um and so thank you for that also want to thank Tom and Diane um for all their help um guidance and I don't know what we do without Diane do you Tom no I don't yeah uh so shout out to and thanks Tom for all your help uh and also want to thank all the department heads for all their uh help and support this year they do a great job and I just really appreciate how they attack the budget and try to do the best they can with the tax dollars that we have and we're it's a tough place to be in when you're the second Forest County uh but so thanks to the department heads uh I want to thank all the employees all the staff and employees we have a really great group of employees uh and I just very appreciative of of all of them so thank you you for your work for Bel tramy County we appreciate you uh we've had a couple big projects this year the jail project is proceeding nicely um and I'm very appreciative of again our our excuse me our administrator without the background that he had this would have been a tougher project to handle so again uh all the Commissioners for all the work that they did on the various committees uh were moving along nicely and hopefully in a couple years we'll have a a great jail and we'll be out of that situation where we're having out accounting placements and uh getting back to saving some money so I that's great and and the wage and and the wage study and Compensation Plan I think that was well it was very much needed it it was a long time coming and uh I think as we get that implemented I think we're going to be hopefully uh that'll be to help actually show our appreci appreciation to our employees by having done that and and putting the wages up where they where they should be so thanks again to all the staff and for their understanding so thank you with that is there any citizen that wants to address the board on an item not on the agenda Patricia miss Patricia Hart welcome do I really have to say address just because I want to thank you guys all right I'm Patricia Hart of Pine Breeze Trail uh in Cass Lake and you know I gave you the plants like I give you the flowers to say thank you for your service I didn't even used to know that there were County Commissioners and all the other staff who run the county so these are to say thank you and I only brought a few because well I don't know everybody and you are the ones I see and hear the most I do appreciate all your work thanks Patricia thank you Patricia is there anyone else I would like to address the board on an item not on the agenda seeing none then I will ask for a motion to approve the agenda Mr chair I'd like to make a motion we approve the agenda with the following um changes we will have uh item 10A will be the administrator's performance appraisal and we are pulling items 7D and 7e from the consent agenda and those will become item 10B will be the 2024 audit services and item 10 C will be the three-year audit contract and that I make that motion thank you is there a second second uh any discussion all those in favor say I I opposed motion carries uh and then I will entertain a motion to approve the consent agenda the chair so move with the corrections with the corrections yeah okay so commissioner Anderson moves the consent agenda as written minus 7D and 70 which have been moved to the regular agenda is there a second I'll second that uh I need any discussion all those in favor say I I oppos motion passes all right moving on to item eight in the regular agenda the public hearing for local option Transit sales Tech project list at this time I'll request a motion to open the public hearing make motion we open the public hearing uh is there a second second any discussion all those in favor say I I opposed all right so at this time we'll have Bruce hasbargen our County engineer open the public hearing with some with a presentation so I do not have a big presentation I have a project list um maybe I'll start with does anybody would like the the project the big presentation would have been uh at the last board meeting where we uh went Through The Five-Year Plan and the County board approved that new Five-Year Plan uh this is kind of a part of the funding source for that Five-Year Plan is our local option sales tax for transportation projects um that was first adopted by the County Board in 2013 um it put that sales tax in place and the board would have approved a list of projects we quickly went through that list of projects and in 2016 the County board at that time approved another list projects and and we are here again with a a third list of projects that hopefully the the board will approve um but the with this local option sales tax it is allowing us to make improvements to our road system um we are bringing in just about you know around $5 million now on the sales tax and so it is helping us get through those projects um that we never would have been able to or would be able to without that without that sales tax um the list that you have is a list of approximately 10 years of projects all of the projects that were're in the 5year plan that you adopted last uh meeting are in here plus a kind of a long range another five years on top of that of kind of outlooking at some other additional projects that we would uh be able to fund with that local option sales tax and so there is you know over 80 million dollar worth of projects on this list um this list will not just be completed with only the local option sales tax we will use other funding sources like our County State a highway funding that we get and any federal dollars we may get or state grants will help um complete these projects but by including everything in the fiveyear plan in the five you know another five years after that it gives us that flexibility of the allowing us to use the local option sales tax on these projects and any other funding sources that we may have and so it's kind of a a nice big big list of projects that we uh have on our our future list of to-do here but uh I guess that's kind of the presentation I had for you and maybe I'll just make a comment just to remind folks that the sales tax is collected by almost 50% of people that don't live in the county same as with the jail um and so uh that's pretty fortunate for us to be able to take advantage of of that of those tax dollars coming from other than County uh residents uh to pay for the Improvement of those roads I think that's important to note okay at this time we'll take public comment is there anyone that would wish to speak to uh this topic okay I have to do this three times now so is there anyone that would like uh to make a public comment uh regarding the um local option sales tax to fund um our roads okay is there anyone else that would like to make a comment seeing none is there any final comments any questions that the Commissioners have all right then I'll request a motion to close the public hearing don't move is there a second second discussion all those in favor say I I oppos motion passes all right at this time then I would entertain a motion to approve the local option sales ta project list resolution Mr chair yes I would like to make that motion remember when we first I remember when we first started this uh idea and when it went through and I I've seen all the improvements that has happened over this this time frame and I feel that this is uh very worthwhile as I told Kev Jackson today on chat about uh when I was a Township officer it was roads roads and Roads and since I've uh been a commissioner the same thing has happened it's roads and Roads when I get phone calls I most of the time it's because of a need in a road so thanks appreciate Bruce that you brought this forth is there a second here I'll make I'll make a second and I'll second his comments too I had the same thing being on the town board for 12 years prior to being a commissioner and and that's the primary thing is roads and so this is a huge benefit to our County to have this additional Revenue source for getting our roads into better shape quicker so thanks for your effort Bruce any further discussion all those in favor say I I opposed motion carries all right the that takes care of that moving on to public transit board dissolution Tom did you want to take that one for us or I can take it Mr chair uh so after years of inactivity uh the bamy County city of B miji public transportation board met in Quorum on October 9th of this year uh this was in large part due to questions surrounding what that board does uh why it hasn't been meeting uh what is its purpose does it have life still left in it uh and a mission and those sorts of things uh once the board came together and talked about those items and gained a bit more knowledge about the history and its purpose and those sorts of things it was recommended um that they dissolve themselves and so that recomendation came to the board our County Board that is and it also went to the city council uh in a special meeting held on November 18th 20124 this item was discussed with uh the city of buiji meeting and Joint session with the County Board of Commissioners and it was at that meeting that the city and the county uh passed a motion at the special meeting to have staff uh develop a joint resolution for the dissolution of the Beltrami County city of buiji public transportation board so that is what's in front of you this evening for your consideration is the resolution it talks about uh the termination uh and uh how to uh essentially consummate the termination of the joint Powers agreement and the board uh it also talks about alternative uh Transit options that are now in place uh primarily through Paul bunan Transit that were not in place and were some of the founding reasons for why the board uh was developed in the first place it also uh talks about the discharge of debt and liability as well as the distribution of any existing property uh none of which we're aware of at this time but we put those Clauses in there just in case you know we found something we had Direction on what to do with those assets um so that's what I have before you I appreciate our county attorney's uh time and his staff in drafting this resolution and uh does need to be approved by both the city of buiji city council and also this board to become effective uh if either one does not choose to uh take affirmative action on this uh it'll be essentially nullified it won't it won't matter uh there is a potential for either entity should that happen to also uh or to actually withdraw but they would have to follow a separate process which is a notice uh and 180 day period uh that would have to uh expire before the actual withdrawal so this is the more expedient way uh and it is something has been talked about with the city of the miji a few times uh and so it's in front of you for your consideration this evening okay at this time I'll entertain a motion to approve the joint resolution to dissolve The Joint Powers agreement for operation of the public transit system and the bill trammy midy B trammy County Transit board Mr chair I'll make a motion we approve the the resolution of dissolution is there a second all second discussion Mr chair Joe um I just want to share uh some facts and figures from a 2020 Paul bunan Transit report uh a Paul bunan Transit writer survey was conducted in 2016 as part of the Greater Minnesota Transit investment plan of the writer surveyed shopping and work were the most common trip purposes survey respondents indicated that 71% use the bus two or more days per week 42% are between ages 25 and 44 years old and 63% are female major funding sources for Paul bunan Transit approximately three quarters of trips were public passenger trips which operate with Federal 5311 State funds Fair boox revenue and a local match the other one quarter of trips are supported through contracts local match funding comes from Fair fairs and contracted Services cities and counties provide the 20% matching funds for Capital expenses like new buses uh some of the partner agencies are Beltrami County Human Services occupational Training Center Boys and Girls Club of bigi senior housing facilities and habilitation programs for adults with devel development Al disabilities coordination uh uh mot developed the Greater Minnesota Transit investment plan in 2017 which set a legislative Target of meeting 90% of the Statewide rural Transit Demand by 2015 part of this plan included addressing gaps between current services and needs and opportunities to improve efficiencies in delivering including consolidation of rural systems uh some challenges uh that I think a lot of folks are aware of Staffing of course uh competition for employees with other large local employers makes finding drivers difficult uh perhaps a financial incentive such as a signing bonus could help Recruit new drivers uh Slash routes or buses uh a new bus costs appro approximately $50,000 the support of the State Department of Transportation has been key to the success of the Paul bunan transit system a 5-year Transit development plan was comp completed by mot in 2019 for each rural transit system which would not have been conducted otherwise due to lack of local resources overall the value of Transit is recognized by local officials in the service area the local match for buses comes from municipalities in the Paul bunan Transit service area who continue to support Transit uh unfortunately uh the city of bigi uh passed their budget last night without any uh new dollars for PA bunan Transit I would like to encourage the city of buiji to invest $20,000 in new funding uh as soon as possible and I would like to see the county contribute as well this funding could either provide an additional bus SL route or money to pay drivers thank you Mr chair any further discussion Craig yeah thank you Mr chair I just want to make sure the public is clear that this resolution of dissolution is not getting rid of paan Transit it is getting rid of a board that was formed back when we created Paul bunan Transit between the city and the county and uh technically that board is still in existence however it has not been meeting for several years and due to the bylaws of that board it would actually be in competition with PA bunan Transit uh we used to have to have this board for the fiscal responsibility for Paul bunan Transit and now that they are 501c3 that is not required anymore so um we are dissolving this separate board but p and Transit is still going on and going strong and um certainly commissioner G um thank you for all the information you just provided for people um showing that there is a need for Paul bunion Transit and for more Transit options I know hrdc is the regional transportation coordinating Council is working to complement some of the things that public transit is not allowed to do like having fixed stops and so on um they're working with public and transit to uh to come up with new U new funding and new ways of getting more transit to our community so just wanted to make sure that the public was clear about that that this is this the resolution of desolution is not getting rid of public in transit thank you any other discussion those are all great points thank you very much commissioners uh with that then all those in favor of the um motion say I I opposed no motion passes moving on to the administrator performance appraisal earlier at the work session we went into close session as Commissioners to discuss the performance of our administrator Mr Tom brry uh and upon evaluating our County Administrator we find that his performance exceeds expectations his exceptional knowledge skills and abilities have helped Advance critical and complex projects and initiatives above and beyond his normal duties and has helped us avoid recover or earn almost $10 million in equivalent savings for the county over this past year I think that's pretty amazing uh so thank you Tom we appreciate that um and as a result of that at this time Mr chair I'd like to make a motion that we approve uh we move forward with Amendment two to the employment agreement for our County Administrator all right is there a second to that second all right discussion again Tom thank you very much um another great year and um we really appreciate the the huge savings you've helped the county attain so uh with that uh all those uh in favor say I I opposed motion passes uh let's move on to item 10B which would be the uh9 the 2024 audit Services I think commissioner G had a question yeah um I just am a little confused with the um layout of the packet here if uh auditor tree could kind of just explain uh briefly the differences between the two agenda items and if if we're currently in this contract right now this year or or if it means we're going to be starting it next month okay Jody sure Jody treat Bel try County auditor treasure good after good evening Commissioners um I don't remember which one is 10A or 10B um the audit statement of work that says a three-year contract is a contract track starting the audit ending December 31st 2024 then also for 25 and 26 the statement of work for 2024 audit Services is a part of this contract it's the first year of this contract it will be the audit of our year-ended December 31st 2024 financial statements Joe did you have question yes um and it looks like there was an RFP that went out um but only one uh the one lifted listed here Clifton Larson Allen responded was there a um a request from the state auditor uh for an RFP um we contacted the office of the state auditor they did not submit a prop proposal okay this is the only group that did this is the only group that submitted a proposal we did have questions and contact from other firms but this is the only firm that submitted a proposal okay and we've this is our current provider as well correct thank you any any other questions I I I was just going to ask so then even though you have a three-year contract each year do we have to approve like next year we have to approve the 2025 audit service you that you would kind that's kind of how it goes yep that's it's it used to be called an engagement letter and I bring that every December for um the next year's audit got it okay Greg did you have oh just the the the one is for the contract with them and the other is approving the services that they did for that for year okay good Rich anything no it looks good to me thank you for clarifying that uh so then what I would be looking for is a motion to approve um the 2024 audit Services well do them as one or separate or uh does it matter to anyone does it can we combine them I'll make a motion for both okay so commissioner G has made a motion to approve the 2024 audit services and the three-year contract is there a second second any discussion all those in favor say I I I opposed motion passed es thank you very much uh moving on to the legislative lobbying issues anybody have anything there otherwise uh commissioner reports Richard I'm good with the reports but I would like to uh just mention that my wife uh joined us tonight for see what what really what I did uh if I was busy or not so I just want to recognize my wife van yeah she's been behind this whole uh time that I've been a commissioner and I appreciate a lot so thanks for coming thanks uh Craig thank you Mr chair um got a couple things uh I attended the timber auction on December 5th and I chained our new nrm manager did a great job there and I think that the bids came in really well was well attended and and I think we should look forward to some decent revenue for our Development Fund and for uh you know our replacement of the u tree planting and that kind of thing um so that was good um hrdc we had our meeting a little earlier um than normal last week and uh we decided we voted to postpone appointing of the new officers that I briefly mentioned because uh there just wasn't enough time to do a proper soliciting of candidates um from for some of the new positions that were being discussed uh for aging and agriculture that are actually in our our bylaws and and uh and so we're uh going to have a nominating committee put together and and look for and for the veterans and and try to make sure that we uh are more encompassing looking for um people to represent you know those those different areas and so we're putting that off till at least February or March uh time frame we don't have a meeting in January so um we had a solid waste committee this morning and that was the last one that commissioner Anderson will attend with us and like to thank him for all of his service on the County Board it's been a pleasure serving with him and in that committee as well as on the board and and very thankful to his his long tenure here I believe 12 years uh if correctly and so thank you commissioner Anderson got a couple more meetings coming up airport meeting tomorrow night with commissioner Carlson and couple of meetings for BL duck ambulance on on Thursday they got a regular one on Thursday morning then truth and Taxation um on Thursday evening so in a busy week so that's uh that's it for my report thank you Jo excuse me just one one question is it tomorrow that uh I will be doing the zoom in oh if you can yeah I didn't know that you that you were going to be able to but yeah okay I'll for as for that yeah I've got it okay perfect thank you dang we're all doing a little bit of juggling um I'm going to go to the solid waste instead of Craig I'm going to ride over with Brian he's going to take me early so I can do a tour yeah and I'll I get to learn about it on the way and ask him questions but anyway Joe go ahead you'll know what a murf is after tomorrow okay Smurf no a murf not a Smurf material recycling facility um mostly Association of Minnesota counties meetings uh recently we set our legislative policy priorities um at our conference um including uh funding for solid waste property tax levy and mandate relief HR policy clarification Paid Family and Medical Leave um modifications uh including earned safe and sick time modifications Human Services System modernization uh a lot of Technology computers and software needs help on that front uh mental health funding child well-being Community super supervision funding uh Emergency Management and response systems Investments and uh bonding Bill are uh the legislative priorities for AMC which I think uh match up nicely with with our uh uh County legislative platform and uh there's been a couple of uh uh bcap meeetings recently as well that I've attended nothing really coming up until our next County board meeting uh next month for me sounds good thanks Joe um just want to give a shout out to all those that helped with the uh United We chili cookoff photo is great um remember what I had I supposed I was supposed to go to oh jod and I were supposed to go to con con and that was the day that the weather was just awful and so she called the folks up in kellier and they said do not go out on the roads so I got to go to the chili cook off and it was great so shout out to all those that had a hand in helping with that that was super um been I've had a number of meetings with Northern Township uh on the Wastewater project trying to do whatever I can to to help them um and uh airport Affairs committee meets um and I I sit in on that what the airport Affairs committee uh does is it gives suggestions and um to the airport Authority on things that as users of the airport that they might see that maybe we don't always see as the airport Authority and and maybe U make suggestions on how we can make the airport the best it can be that sort of thing uh and so I sit in on that um and then uh I filled in for Joe on the land Review Committee that was that was interesting I've never set in on one of those before and as Tom indicated it was a two-hour meeting that went to three and uh so you're probably glad you didn't go plan that yeah no that's okay it was it was educational so that was helpful um I have it's like Craig said it's a busy week tomorrow I'll be with Brian olssen until we get back about 1 and then I'll go to as many of the recognitions I can then Craig and I have Airport from 3: to 6 um and then uh so I think that's about it um then let's just talk about the upcoming schedule next uh commission meeting next commission next work meeting will be January 7th a Tuesday at 3:00 uh and then the regular board meeting at 5 at 5:00 we will have the uh swearing in of all five of the Commissioners because we all had to stand for election so it'll be Joe and and Craig and myself and Tim and uh commissioner elect Scott Winger will get sworn in at the five o'clock meeting um and then let's just review quickly January 8th uh so that'll be so now we're going to move chat about sessions to the day after instead of before so it'll be a review of what happened instead of review what's going to happen they'll actually give us a little more more information to be able to talk to Kev about what what happened instead of what's going to happen so I so I got you schedule a January 8th Craig um and I've got Scott uh our commissioner alect Scott Winger is going to attend the management team meeting on the 2nd and that's his full day of indoctrinate I mean orientation see that was I didn't mean that and then January 15th I've got Tim attending the commissioner uh the uh management team uh that's what I see coming up any questions about that if not then I will entertain a motion to adjourn a mooved second second we are adjourned thank you very much --------- ##VIDEO ID:0LXI9fJMgJw## e e e e on Tuesday afternoon December 17 2024 and I call this work meeting of the bill trammy County Board of Commissioners to order at this time I'll will accept a motion to go into close session pursuant to Minnesota statute 13 d05 subdivision 3A for the purposes of conducting the County Administrator annual performance evaluation I make motion me go close s at this time second uh discussion all those in favor say I I I we are in closed session e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e at this time I'll accept a motion to end close session and return to the open meeting we move is there a second second discussion all those in favor say I I opposed motion passes we are back at the work session and do we have any new employees out there I see one new employee with a red suit on with a really honest to God real beard so that's awesome how you doing Scott great um identify future work meeting topics seeing none we'll move on to Tony University of Minnesota extension memorandum of agreement the floor is yours Tony good afternoon Commissioners Tony Hansen Regional director with the University of Minnesota extension uh have before you for the work meeting this afternoon uh a copy of the proposed memorandum of agreement between Beltrami County and extension to cover 2025 through 2027 uh just little context for this agreement um this agreement draft is put together in coordination with the association of Minnesota counties extension subcommittee uh and so forth uh they met uh in late 2023 and early 2024 to put forth their recommendations in terms of the uh position package prices for our different types of POS uh extension educator positions across the state as well as minor language updates uh that are understandable for every time we work through this agreement with all the counties in the past year extens has been working to renew these um agreements with all of the 87 counties in Minnesota um in particular for Bel tramy County I initially presented the draft agreement to the extension Committee in April and we reviewed it again with some additional detail in June uh in connection as well with my 2025 budget proposal this document uh seeks to outline the responsibilities for each party uh of the agreement so it not only identifies what are the pieces that extensionist responsible for providing in terms of extension Staffing and programming and supervision uh but also the pieces that will'll rely upon Bel trammy County to provide such as an extension office out at the fairgrounds where we're currently situated uh an extension support staff which we currently have a part-time position out there that's a County employee um and other pieces related to that in terms of how we navigate our annual budget process office supplies small things of that nature um the 2025 expenses for the extension educator in particular are 4 educator position um are already built into the 2025 budget the memorandum of agreement document notes what that position package price will be for 2025 2026 and 2027 the position cost will go up 3% year-to year for 26 and 27 uh the package price that is presented for the full-time 4 educator position in the memorandum of agreement is the same price uh that is provided for all of the counties in Minnesota who have a similar full-time educator investment one of the other details that's acknowledged in the memorandum of agreement is our two snaped health and wellness coordinator positions that are uh now based at the extension office those positions are not funded by belamy County they are funded through the federal uh SNAP program U but they do have assistance from the extension office some office supplies and a a base of operations for their work in serving the county there are plenty of other things to note within the agreement but it's really the the resource that we'll go back to as we have questions that might come up regarding Staffing or other support that's needed to sustain extension operations in the county and so with that I'm happy to answer any questions you all might have about the memorandum of agreement Craig yeah thanks thanks Tony for coming today and explaining some of this to us the person that you mentioned that's a halftime currently person out the fairgrounds um where do they fit in in this um that that's not the full-time person or is it it's just that their currently halftime instead of full-time or how or is that one of the P people that even though you said they're an employee they're one of the nonp paid for people can you explain that so right now we have a County employee who works 29 hours a week her name is Kim tingum she's been with the team since about February of 2023 um she is reflected in our annual belamy County Extension operating budget and so she's a County employee part-time in there um and we enjoy that support position at the County's discretion um so as long as it works within the County's budget um if Beltrami County were to choose to to change that level of that position at any time uh we' work to continue to sustain operations since it is not a University of Minnesota employee it's not directly reflected in this agreement I do have some counties where just based on the location of the office or other logistics uh counties may elect to actually have the university also hire an employee who serves in a similar capacity but they're technically an extension employee directly supervised by myself um but currently we have a County employee and so that's hopefully a helpful context in how that fits okay yeah so that that's in addition to this extension educator 4 development position that we're talking about in in the memorandum of agreement and even though we're funding it this position is actually an extension employee not a County employee that is correct it is uh the position is a University of Minnesota extension employee and also supervised by Regional program leader within extension that is correct and then the the other the other two so we're getting we're getting that person for the for that amount of money but we're also getting the two snaped people and the 4 youth development person um and it's all for that initial dollar amount plus a couple of computers and some office space and and so on is that accurate that is accurate um and we're happy to be able to be able to place two snaped health and wellness coordinators in the county um certainly they do provide it's a nutrition education programming um and so that is not a an additional cost for those inqu positions it's really just as you mentioned small peripheral items right and that was to my point basically we're getting a pretty good bank for a buck that is correct so thank you Tony appreciate it no further questions Joe anything Tony I think that's it good job thank you that is on on the consent agenda 7 that is correct y thank you very much thank you thanks Tony and you got down here just in time we're running a little early so uh personel policy updates all right good afternoon um I'm here today for some personal policy updates um that reflect some recommendations from our classification and compensation workg group some changes that have come up just during the course of the year and then also some input um changes that were recommended by mcit during a risk management Essentials meeting that we had earlier this fall so the first ones I'll kind of just review quickly are the class and comp workg group recommendations so to ensure our Personnel policy encompasses the same factors for consideration um used in the study that we just completed we added that same element of factors um to the basis for requesting every job evaluation so this is going to expand on those safe evaluations that you heard us talk about a lot during the classification and compensation study so it's going to incorporate all of those factors um so if any substantial change within those factors come into play that would be a time that a requests can be made for a position to get submitted for re-evaluation and the course for that is going to go like we've done in the past to Baker Tilly directly um for that re-evaluation we also wanted to acknowledge that if any of the employees wage um and this was all you know we had these conversations before the study was completed but if we had an employes wage that came back for their position if their wage fell above what the position came back as we would freeze their wage so they'd stay at that higher rate which is above their position grade currently we don't allow for any colas to go on top of that freeze and that was something that the work group had discussed to change and allow for colas to go on top of that freeze um that would be for an an effort to you know acknowledge that you know we have an employee who's been doing the job they're doing it well and accurately um and then also we want to retain that employee so by putting a CO on top of it um we still allow them to you know acknowledge that inflation happens we want to keep them as an employee so that was a change that we're recommending um going on to the overtime change that was recommended in the Personnel policy this is Shifting the overtime calculating for eight hours for nonunion hourly employees to go to 40 hours per week and then the overtime would be calculated from there so this is aligning our office nonunion hourly employees to align with the Union office hourly employees so it's kind of just putting them all at the same field for that there is a Code of Ethics session section that we've already already had in the personal policy but it didn't contain like a general ethics statement so we just thought that was a good thing to add in there to just had have a general ethics statement within our Code of Ethics in the Personnel policy for the key card replacement when a key card is lost uh an individual needs to purchase a new key card they get the first one free the second one would be purchased there are times where the individual then finds their key card and there is an option to get a refund on that but there was no clear we just had a past practice that it's three days so just as an effort of transparency we just added in that three days to the policy and sorry to interrupt but how much does it cost the employee if they have to buy that second card I believe it's $15 yep so it's not like a lot of money no okay but just to make it easier so everyone knows how what the time frame is um then moving on to some of the bigger changes that you'll see in this update is in the expense reimbursement section so most recently the cell phone reimbursement relied on a single page form that we had just with some stipulations listed on it and then also the use of a County vehicle just relied on a staff memo that we gave to employees um during their orientation on their first day so both documentations just over the course of the Year some different things came up you know we go to those documents to see you know what what's been our past practice or you know what's the guidelines for that and we realized that both of them could use an update so we went through that process of going through um using some of MC's recommendations as well to make some changes within those documents and then in an effort to kind of keep those available for employees to know what to do in the event of an accident or supervisors know knowing what to do when something comes up um we're going to include those in the Personnel policy so they just become part of the bigger document that employees receive and a place to go to for you know different information along those two items um just noting in the vehicle use one of the big things that you know we wanted to highlight was the what an employee would do and a supervisor would do in the event of an incident or accident just making it clear that you know well emplo an employee maybe doesn't remember what the policy says just knowing like oh I remember seeing that I know there's something I have to do you know they can contact their supervisor or you know another co-worker at any point just to find have some reliable structure on like okay I got in an accident now what am I supposed to do so just having that available for people to easily find that and get the information they need and then then for the wireless device again this isn't something that is new it was just something that was historically done just on a form that would be filled out so this one we just wanted to add the clarity as it relates to cell phone use and then also we wanted to make sure employees knew that there are data practices surrounding the use of a wireless device so just making that clear and upfront with employees um that that that is a possibility finally kind of going into some general adjustments to the Personnel policy you know during the comp and class or the class comp study we had some job title changes so I'll go through and update all those we wanted to capture any article number updates you know when we add in these bigger changes into the policy it's going to kind of change that a little bit and just for some general organization that will happen once those are added in uh and I think that's all I have to share at the moment do you guys have any questions Rich no wow good job right thank you guys yeah thanks an all right moving on that's on consent on S R correct policy Review Committee discussion Joe I think that was your request did you want to kick that off at all or maybe administrator okay sounds good okay yeah if you want to uh sure ahead thanks commissioner gold so uh sorry about that Mr chair uh uh the last meeting uh commissioner gold had mentioned that uh he wanted to bring up as a future agenda item discussion around the potential for developing a policy Review Committee um the board seemed favorable at that time to add it to a future agenda uh which is why it appears on your work session for today uh as part of that work uh there had been some conversations behind the scenes uh which encourage a development of some sort of scope of work document or some some sort of guidance document that would help convey uh the opportunity the issues um and and maybe some of the scope around uh what this policy Review Committee would essentially do um fortunately commissioner gold kind of took the lead on this and he developed the document that just handed out to you uh he and I have discussed it behind the scenes and uh I offered a few comments which uh he's he's taken into consideration and so the the document that's been handed out there uh I think reflects those and uh does identify uh the intended scope of activities uh even suggests a committee membership uh by um commissioner gold uh identifies potential for deliverables and additional goals uh and such uh and then uh also he's included some criteria for prioritization of these policies uh during discussion and potential movement so um so I think this is a great starting point for the board to uh evaluate the potential for policy Review Committee um I don't want to steal any Thunder from commissioner gold this sort of his brainchild so uh I hope I haven't done that but uh I'll I'll maybe turn it back to you for any additional clarifications or sub yeah no I think that uh sums it up quite well so I appreciate your uh your feedback and and uh um edits as I worked on this document so um I guess I'll just kind of read the purpose uh for the board and for the public uh the purpose of this policies Review Committee would be to oversee systematic review revision and creation of policies related to County Business and oper ational policies procedures excluding the Sheriff's Office and excluding Personnel policies found in the employee handbook this will ensure that all policies are clear relevant and reflective of the County's needs and legal obligations um you can kind of see the scope of activities uh I suggested policy review and revision policy creation compilation and documentation committee operations and stakeholders engagement um I suggested a committee membership of the County Board chair or vice chair and one other commissioner uh the County Administrator County Recorder County attorney or his design uh for a total of five members um you can kind of see the deliverables and the goals listed on the bottom there um and one of the main goals uh hopefully a comprehensive policy booklet or resource um compiled by the end of 2026 um I kind of foresee this committee meeting quarterly Andor as needed uh and on the back I just put together a draft um suggested um way to prioritize What policies to look at um so you can kind of see one through six on the back there starting with legal and compliance requirements and then a suggested criteria on how to priori tize um these policies based on relevance feasibility frequency of use and alignment with overall County goals um you know the whole purpose of this committee was to um you know um ensure that work focuses on areas with the greatest need and impact uh while achieving long-term objectives so um there you go there it is there's the idea on paper and I'll turn it back over to you Mr chair anybody have any questions for Joel when I guess just the question is when would this be discussed in B that be down the pike of a place when person has a chance to barage well um my thinking was uh we could kind of um read through the document at our work session today have a discussion answer any questions I was going to suggest that we add it to the agenda when we get further down in our work session today um for adoption or modification the only reason I asked that commissioner is that it's been kind of a policy that will be brought up at a work session and then time that kind of goes on before we vote on and I think with especially with commissioner especially with the commissioner that isn't here uh two of them will be new or one will be new and one is missing tonight so I I I would just think that might be best yeah I'm open to the next meeting or two meetings from now Craig yeah Mr chair I just U I really think it's beating a beetle with a sledgehammer we I don't uh I think it's a uh solution looking for a problem personally and I don't think that we need to put this much additional overhead and stuff it's entering into um you know micromanagement in my opinion um you know I think that certainly there are policies and as they come up in a department we get those people that are closest to it to work with the entire County Board to review it at a work session at as each policy that we potentially need to address comes up and we all work on it together um not just a separate little committee um of people so I I just think that this is overkill for the situation the board would still have the final say of course obviously but I just don't know that we need this extra layer in there the committee would only be able to make recommendations to the board and and those key staff people would be involved in the committee process to um I'll I'll just chime in I Joel I think uh you did a great job putting this together I think you put a lot of thought into it and I appreciate the time that you put into it um I might be somewhere between you and Craig on this I'm thinking that maybe I like the way you you know as we work through the outline um and and maybe we make a tweak here or there what if we do after we have all the new members and everybody's here um and maybe use that as uh as things come up as opposed to uh and but then our already have this in place so that we are following the same um the same format each time we reviewing a policy as a need arises um but I I I I commend you for the work that you did on it's a great job um I agree with Richard I think that we probably should maybe wait until maybe not even the first one in January maybe the second one in January once and then hopefully Tim would be here and uh Scott would be seated and then we can kind of but I think this is great that we can get this in our hands um and again good good job putting that together thank you you're welcome sounds good all right anybody else on that all right then let's move on to oh my gosh we're already at administrators update don't try to fill the time I was going to say there's there I don't know that we've had this happen but uh but I'm prepared to fill the time I I I can give you quite to go on there uh no I I won't keep you any longer and give you a nice break between meetings uh for once so uh just a couple brief updates for you um I want to let you know that we did um hold our land commission meeting last Friday this is the first one we've had under our new nrm director uh Shane Foley uh so well done and uh we have nearly two dozen or maybe slightly more somewhere around that uh number of properties that were discussed uh we went an extra hour long actually because we had so many properties um there's going to be a lot for the board to look at here at an upcoming meeting we're hopeful to try to get you the uh land commission's recommendation by the first meeting in uh January I I believe we'll be able to hit that timeline as possible might be the second uh a couple behind the scene things that we're we're still doing but wanted to let you know that that is coming uh want to let you also know that I've been working with Northern Township on their sewer project uh a couple of things are happening there met with leadership to discuss the potential purchase of some County State and Trust land um there is a process actually that we have to go through in order to uh you know transfer that property and that process starts with them sending a letter of intent which I encourage them to do we did receive that last week uh that also allows us to then SE uh to identify that Pro uh that property and put it on the land commission for analysis which we did so we're sort of in the process right now it doesn't obligate the county to a sale at all it just allows for the potential process um to move forward and the county will still have the ultimate say uh in the near future here but I want to let you know that that process is moving Tom sorry to interrupt but it's just sort it's sort of like it starts the clock it does because there are some things that the DNR saw the weigh in and some other things that that so without having done that sending their notification it it would just otherwise delay the project it it absolutely would thank you uh Mr chair it would delay the project and of course we are under some pretty tight constraints now particularly given the County's a receipt of about a million and a half dollars for funding for the roadway Improvement that does have a clock that that ticks with it as well so we do need to break ground um you know on major Milestones uh starting this next spring and summer and this uh allows for that property to be in play to meet those Milestones uh sooner than later so uh what we'll be likely doing is uh working on a purchase and sale agreement sort of behind the scenes in the event that this does move forward and I'm assuming given the board support to date that there is still support for this project uh that purchase and sale agreement would come to you uh and of course you you would uh uh be able to opine on that um we have done a market analysis of the property and that's what we're recommending uh as the as the sale price um again we'll share more about that with you as we go through the process uh but this will take a little bit of time to move through um we're also working on revising the resolution of support for the project as you know Northern Township has been pretty good about getting uh finances for the project they've got over about $6 million or so I think they'd like to go after some State funds as well uh the resolution we have on file with them is one that uh shows support for the sewer Lagoon concept and the land swap with the DNR of course those two things are no longer right they're not doing a sewage Lagoon uh they're doing actual treatment facility and uh they're no longer looking at DNR property so uh what I'll likely do is in the next board meeting bring a resolution that has those couple of changes to it and and uh with their request ask that you uh favorably consider that resolution so that that'll likely happen that resolution at the next meeting um also wanted to uh let you know that our onboarding for commissioner-elect uh Scott Winger is going to take place on Thursday January the 2nd uh he has agreed with great enthusiasm to spend the day with us uh on that day but we won't need him that whole day uh we'll save him the pain and torture of that we we will have a a fairly long meeting with the management team he'll meet all the department heads they'll talk with them about their Department's uh goals and accomplishments and and certainly the challenges that uh they're facing uh and then uh he and I will meet for a little bit of time after that and kind of go through our onboarding manual and and some of those kinds of things uh so uh I think he'll be ready to go and up to speed by uh by The Day He swore in uh which leads me to the next thing uh the January 7th Commission meeting I just wanted to run through a couple of logistics uh with you in case there's any questions uh as you know we're going to be losing sadly commissioner Anderson um and uh he will be participating in the work session uh as as has traditionally been done with the board because the swearing in comes in at the regular session so because the work session precedes that he would go through the work session uh I believe uh commissioner elect Winger is also going to be here as he's been for the last six months or so at meeting so he'll be fully aware of what's going to be discussed in the work session I think ready to go as it Rel to any items that make it on the regular session later that afternoon uh but uh after the work session uh then we will have uh essentially uh recognition for commissioner Anderson at the start of the regular meeting um and uh we'd like we have a small parting gift for you uh and we'll say a few nice words and then uh give you the opportunity to do the same and then with that we'll have commissioner-elect um Winger be sworn into office and then he'll take his seat and then the the board meeting will continue as it normally does so uh that's kind of just so you all are aware what's going to happen at the next meeting at least what we're planning for um lastly I'll just give you a couple reminders we are doing the years of service awards for the staff on Wednesday and Thursday of this week I did hand out or I should say distribute a flyer in an email update uh and so you are welcome to attend any or all of those um meetings uh there'll be at various locations around again the staff really seem to appreciate us kind of coming to them so to speak uh does make it a little bit tougher for Commissioners who are looking to go to kind of one event we are aware of that and and apologize for that inconvenience um but hopefully that all works out uh and then lastly two other small reminders uh our offices will be closed on Wednesday December 25th in observance of Christmas Day and the same uh for the following week Wednesday July or January 1st um for New Year's Day with that I'll stand for any questions you might have questions for Tom Tom um that parcel that uh that we're looking at selling to Northern Township are we going to subdivide that are we selling the entire parcel or a great question uh commissioner gosig So currently the um there are two 40 acre parcels and one well actually the the bicycle trail Cuts between the two and the old railroad grid yeah right right or the old railroad grade right it cuts between the two so the um Township is concerned obviously about the price of the the property and of course the price gets less when you purchase less uh we're concerned about some of the you know holding property that essentially would be unusable or unsalable so we've we've negotiated essentially uh the Eastern portion of the land from the railroad grade and they are interested in a first rer refusal on the western portion for potentially future um growth or that sort of stuff that that'll be something the board will have to eventually determine if it wants to do um and and we'll probably be talking about this in more detail in a in a um in a session where we'll work the terms out before we go to a purchase and sale agreement um there is some infrastructure structure that they intend to Traverse the Southwest portion of that carel they're not interested in right now so that'll likely be um a purchase as well so there'll be couple of lines that'll have to be adjusted here uh with that you know we're likely to require them access to the parcel the remaining parcel that isn't going to be um purchased uh so that we have access to the forestry assets and and uh and just land in general uh but that's what's being contemplated at this point in time I think the amount that it comes out to be is about 51 or 52 total Acres okay thank you just kind of sort of assuming that that might be the case that they would want this the eastern part of it and not the entire entirety of it but I didn't know where that was sitting or how that if we'd have to have um you know survey done and re redo the parcels or we will need to do that and they'll be doing they'll be doing that work I mean they'll be paying for it they'll be paying for that work okay and uh I I believe they may even have a portion of that done because they've got they've got survey lines with where the infrastructure is going to go right now okay that might already exist great thank you Joe any questions for Tom I think that's all of our questions for you Tom Greg um M uh Tom I actually have meetings the next couple of days that I'm not going to be able to attend those I really would like to but I've got you know other obligation for one outside the county tomorrow and and then several County meetings the next day that I'm not going to be able to attend the conflict with the the appreciation so please extend my my best wishes to those staff thank you thank you I'm going to be coming and going on those I'm gonna with Brian Olsson over in fost and filling in for Craig on the PO County nine County Solid Waste but he said we'll be back by one so I might be able to make the 150 but then we also have Airport meeting starting at 3 tomorrow right so then that takes that out but anyway but so we'll get to as many as we can no I I'm grateful and I will definitely give the sentiments on behalf of all the Commissioners I know that you have been so extraordinarily supportive of our staff and I believe they know that as well but we'll just make sure to remind them thank you if there's nothing else then let's look at the agenda coming up and I guess just to remind everyone there was a uh an updated agenda that included uh in addition to the consent agenda um included uh number nine so we had number on the regular agenda public hearing for the local option sales tax project list and then the addition of number nine public transit board dissolution so after they put out the original agenda then we did get the um resolution so it was great we could we could take that on and um but other than that does anyone and then Mr chair we'll be adding the uh item so that'll actually become item 9A the public transit or not public excuse me public transit board dissolution will be item 9A and then item 9B would be the administrator's performance approval we could make that 10 or 10 10 sure sure or just 10 let's go 10 a 10 a okay yeah so okay so we want to add item 10 a um be the ad the administrator approval or performance approval performance appraisal okay y appraisal y all right 10 a all right any other additions or Corrections to the upcoming agenda Mr chair yes um I got a couple of questions yep for auditor treat 7D and 7e so would you like to pull 7D and E off yeah okay so we so then we could make um item 7D could be 10B okay and item 7e could be 10 C is that son right yep okay anything else which two uh 7D and then 7e 2024 audit Services would be set 10B yep and 10 C would be the the three-year audit St uh contract okay very good anything else if not then we are adjourned till 5 o'clock right thank you e e