MINUTES OF THE INFORMAL MEETING OF THE JOHNSON COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS:
MARCH 8, 2006
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Discussion: Update of Johnson County Strategic Planning:......................................................... 1
Jail............................................................................................................................. 1
Budget update – Budget Coordinator position update..................................................... 5
Medical Examiner Administrator position...................................................................... 6
SEATS facility........................................................................................................... 6
Trails......................................................................................................................... 7
Rehearse budget presentation...................................................................................... 9
Chairperson Lehman called the Johnson County Board of Supervisors to order in the Johnson County Administration Building at 9:00 a.m. Members present were: Pat Harney, Mike Lehman, Sally Stutsman, and Rod Sullivan; absent: Terrence Neuzil.
Executive Assistant Mike Sullivan said that the next Jail Facility Subcommittee meeting is March 22, 2006 at 9:00 a.m. Stutsman asked when the next joint meeting is. Administrative Secretary Casie Kadlec said the joint meeting is scheduled for April 5, 2006 at 4:00 p.m. M. Sullivan said that since they have not yet had a facilities subcommittee meeting, he does not have any updates. Harney said that they are doing some contact work in terms of sites. He said that the Sheriff has looked at some prospective properties, and they are still doing some follow-up with the GSA and that is looking positive. Lehman said that they will be looking more carefully at the locations and narrowing them down in terms of space, availability, and cost. M. Sullivan said that he did speak with the GSA again to make sure that they are aware that the location could be named as possible site. He noted that the school district is aware of that as well. He said that the last time the CJCC met, it was unanimous that they need to quickly locate and establish a site and establish a time line soon. All of the subcommittees are working on setting up a time line for their work.
County Sheriff Lonny Pulkrabek said that he was gone last week, so he has not yet had a chance to meet with Jail Diversion Coordinator Malinda Lamb about the number of people in the jails who were diverted due to mental illness. He said that he thinks the count is in the twenties now.
Pulkrabek said he has information about some of sites discussed at the Elected Officials Meeting. Lehman thought that it might be premature to discuss this. He said that Pulkrabek was going to try to schedule a visit to a Missouri facility. Pulkrabek said that he is still waiting to get information back on a particular facility that was built a couple of years ago. Lehman said that one of the purposes of such a visit is to learn how much space Johnson County might need for the jail and how design might work. M. Sullivan noted that the cost of the project is what surprised him; he said that the cost is much less that he expected for a facility that size. R. Sullivan said that he and Facilities Director David Kempf are on the Courthouse Security Committee, and they have been getting emails in which Carol Edmundson is scheduling a trip to Story County to look at the justice center there. R. Sullivan asked if it is a jail/courthouse combination. Pulkrabek said that that is his understanding. He said that Edmundson is wanting to do the visit really soon, but Pulkrabek said that he thinks it would be best to hold off a little bit since Johnson County is still in the very early stages of planning. He stated that the judges have been really persistent that they really think Johnson County ought to take a look. The justice center could be a good model if Johnson County chooses the GSA site, but a different location further away may not be a good fit for a justice center because the whole courthouse would have to move. He said it depends on the direction that the Board wants to go. Stutsman said that she thinks it is worth looking at the justice center in Story County. She said that she knows that their center is not anywhere near their Administration Building. She said that the reason it would be good to look at the Center now is that that needs to be in the mix when the County starts to look into renovations to the courthouse or a new jail and so on. She noted that the more they know about it, the better. Pulkrabek said that they are talking about going in May. Stutsman asked if all of the Supervisors should go. R. Sullivan said that at least one should go. Pulkrabek said that maybe only two should go, otherwise Administrative Secretary Casie Kadlec would have to go. Kadlec said she can go if they want her to.
Harney asked if the security portion is the issue or if the facility itself is the issue. He said that they have been silent for the most part other than on the issue of courthouse security. He thinks the judges would prefer to keep a low profile even though their thoughts are very important. Pulkrabek said that he thinks they want to take a more active role. R. Sullivan said that is what he got from the last meeting as well. Stutsman said that she does not know much about how the joint justice systems work, so she would like to see the facility, though it would not have to be in May. She said that she thinks all of the Supervisors should go at some point. She was at the courthouse after 5:00 p.m. on Monday. She said she thought how easy it would be for someone to slip into the Courthouse and hide on one of the rooms or in the bathroom. Pulkrabek said that it is less dangerous than Stutsman might think because the Sheriff’s Department is very aware of what the staff is doing in the morning and when they are doing sweeps. Stutsman said that makes her feel better. Pulkrabek said that the County sent one of their deputies to a proactive security course in Des Moines, and next year, they will send the other deputy there. He said that Stutsman is right that the building is big and that there are only two deputies there, so someone could easily sneak something in. He said that until they have a courthouse that has a secure entryway that everyone as well as their bags have to go through, there is the possibility of getting something through.
Stutsman said she thinks the judge’s chambers should not be accessible as they are in the current courthouse. Pulkrabek said that maybe the whole Board should consider going to Story to County even if they have to take more than one vehicle. R. Sullivan said that they should make a point of having one or two of the Story County Supervisors there. Lehman said they need to look at jails and justice centers since the Board does not know yet which one they will go with yet. Pulkrabek said that he has never been to the Story County facility either. Lehman said that when they visit, Stutsman may think of a question that he does not think of, so it makes sense to go as a group. Pulkrabek asked if this is something that the Board wants to organize. He said that they have access to a large van for ten passengers. Kadlec said that she can work the M. Sullivan about the logistics of the agenda because there are two ways the Board could do the agenda. She said they could have agenda start at the point when they get there, but that would require them to ride in separate vehicles to the location. Also, according to County Attorney J. Patrick White, they would have to have room in the van for any members of the public or media who might want to attend, said Kadlec. M. Sullivan asked the Board to let them know what days work for them.
Harney said that the ice coming off of the courthouse roof makes vehicles and pedestrians vulnerable to being hurt, so he thinks if they are looking at new facility, they need to ask Kempf to take a good look at what it would take to rehabilitate that. Or, they will have to look into an entirely new facility, said Harney. Kempf said that he knows that tuck-pointing at the courthouse will probably cost between $125,000 and $150,000. Stutsman said that they have budgeted for that. Kempf said that for roof work, the cost would be 30-40,000. Kempf said that the moisture that got in was caused by an ice dam that built up. To fix that, it will be between $1,000 and $1,500. So, that damage looks worse than it is. He mentioned the retaining wall on the south side and the drive that is on the south, the cost will be around $120,000. The front steps also need to be done one way or another and these will cost 25-30,000. Stutsman expressed surprise. Kempf explained that the landing also needs to be done and this is part of the cost. Smaller issues include the boilers. Stutsman said that all of that equals around $406,000. Kempf said that some of the funds have already been set aside. Harney said the only problem he has is with the wall. Kempf said he is exploring using keystone blocks or large limestone blocks. That way, if the County does make a change in the future, they can pull the blocks out and reuse them in a later project. He said that he won’t pour a cement retaining wall there or anything. He will use something that can be recycled. Pulkrabek said that he noticed that area is in bad shape. Stutsman said it was a problem even twelve years ago. Kempf said it is important to look at the courthouse as a historical site. Kempf said is hard to prevent things like the ice falling especially when that kind of thing happens once every ten or so years. They could move the parking back away from the courthouse. Harney said that he is not as worried about the vehicles as he is about the people walking around the area.
Space Needs – Campus plan-HHS Building
M. Sullivan said that the acquisition for three parcels has not yet been complete and is still being negotiated. He said that the relocation and re-establishment for all of the properties have been completed. R. Sullivan asked if that includes the two that haven’t been settled with yet. M. Sullivan said yes. He went on to say that he is still working with Mr. Larsen and his attorney regarding the property and the two cars and the mobile home. He stated that they are close to getting that stuff rectified. He said that there might be another small offer made to Mr. Larson as far as moving the mobile home. He said that he and Kempf went over to look at the home again, it is clear that the structure of the mobile home at the brace points has been fractured. The home is starting to break apart, so it may not be moveable. The County’s difficulties now are in contacting Mr. Larson to have a meeting and getting him to make a decision. M. Sullivan said that this is a high priority.
M. Sullivan said that he and Kempf have also been meeting with contractors including Septigon. They also had a meeting with Point Builders that Harney and Stutsman attended as well. There, the Builders gave a presentation on the model called construction, management, design-build. He said he thought it was a good presentation. Tomorrow, the Durant Corporation will come in to discuss this model as well. This contractor offers resources through Durant Capital Resources regarding lease purchase options for construction. And this is something that M. Sullivan would like the work group to see as well. He said that Durant does any kind of project including commercial building and government projects ranging from jails to schools. It is a nationwide, large company that is local in the Cedar Rapids area. Regarding Point Builders, M. Sullivan said that he went ahead and talked to the general manager for that business. M. Sullivan said that they needed to have him develop a preliminary site master plan that shows the building footprint, the parking, and the entrances. The manager is also going to conduct a review of the proposed site plan and street entrances with City officials regarding traffic patterns. That is something that the City is very interested in doing, said M. Sullivan. The manager will also do a development of the preliminary building elevations, he said. This is not an architectural design but a concept that gives them something to work with. It is merely an idea. The fee will not exceed $1,850 and that is already in the budget. Stutsman said the more information the better. Kempf said that that document will be something that the County will own and can use later. M. Sullivan said that the County is getting calls from a lot of contractors. Once this process is done, M. Sullivan said that the RFP will be written depending on how the County wants to finance it and the model that the Board wants to use. The process is very competitive.
M. Sullivan said that he and Kempf met with White, Assistant County Attorney Andy Chappell, Johnson County Council of Governments Executive Planner Jeff Davidson, and City of Iowa City Planning and Community Development Director Karin Franklin to talk about traffic patterns. They did a cursory review of the plan and took the group’s recommendations. M. Sullivan said that discussion was primarily about traffic patterns and entrances. The group suggests that using south Clinton Street as access and egress would be appropriate. They also recommend that Benton Street should have a drop-off point for taxis. They also like idea of a skywalk so that traffic would not have to be interrupted with crosswalks and so on. He said that 17,000-19,000 cars drive on Benton Drive per day, said M. Sullivan. Stutsman said she would really like to see a skywalk because crossing Benton can be scary. The group is very excited about this project with the County. Kempf said that he and M. Sullivan have talked about getting together and walking the property to number all of the buildings and make a recommendation on how to dispose of the buildings. He thought that some of them need to come down, some might be able to be given to Habitat for Humanity, and so on. He said that specific parts could be recycled as well. M. Sullivan said that he and Kempf will be making an inventory of everything in that Benton area. Lehman said an aerial map with numbers would be helpful.
Lehman said that some people have talked to him about having warning about when their leases might be up in the area where the County might be building. Kempf said he would be happy to review those. Once they know what kind of process like design-bid-build, they will have a much better idea of the time line of the project. Lehman said that he wants to make sure they are in communication with the renters. M. Sullivan said that he will review the leases. Stutsman said that she and Harney went to talk to City Council Member Dee Vanderhoef and two representatives about the shelter care. Vanderhoef had some interest in considering the upper floors of the Human Health and Services building for a location for the shelter house, said Stutsman. She thought that no one seemed interested in pursuing that location. She said that the people representing the shelter house seemed to think that they would be better off in a separate location. M. Sullivan said that this would be a building that would be tough to access after hours, so there would be security issues. R. Sullivan said it may not work, but he appreciates that Vanderhoef is looking at possibilities. Stutsman agreed.
Kempf said that government building sometimes over build by 40 or 50% and lease out the space and then take over the area as they need it. R. Sullivan wondered if it might be easier to build the structure up higher now. Kempf said that it would. They would build the shell of it but not complete it. Stutsman asked if the City mentioned that the County building is limited in the number of floors. Kempf said that he rule of thumb is that government buildings are always larger than the other buildings around. Lehman said that they will need more parking and that the Armory building might become available. Kempf said that the site evaluation will really help with questions of parking and so on. Harney said that there are two arguments for building another floor. He said he knows that City did that with the police department; they left the top floor vacant, but the windows began to deteriorate. Kempf said that is something that they would have to consider. He said that maintaining a minimum heat in the unoccupied area would help. Kempf said that one of things that they need to do with this building is look to the future so that in twenty years, they are not sitting in a place where they are landlocked. He said that they do this through footing designs, stubbing all the HVAC plumbing and piping, and so on. This can be done to the point where a building does not have to disrupt their services during expansion. Stutsman said that she thinks they have enough of a history of not planning ahead and the consequences of that that the voters will understand the need for these alternatives.
M. Sullivan said that he and Budget Coordinator Rich Claiborne are meeting at 2:00 p.m. with Springsted and Associates Representative Tony Roetlin to discuss and finalize the bonding issue. Lehman said that the budget hearing is set for 5:00 p.m. at the public library and will be televised live for one hour. Also, the library will give a copy to reply on the City channels. Kadlec said that the notice for the public hearing showed up in all of the local papers. Lehman thanked Kadlec. M. Sullivan stated again that Claiborne has done a phenomenal job. Lehman said that Claiborne has been very prompt in getting back to him.
M. Sullivan said that Medical Examiner Mike Hensch is doing well. Stutsman said that she met with him and things seem to be going well. M. Sullivan noted that Hensch’s six month review is in May and he will learn more about the budget aspect of the job because he did not previously hold that responsibility. M. Sullivan said that one of the hardest things about the budget is trying to predict the number of autopsies and such that the County will have to do because such things cannot be foreseen. He said that they have some strategies though and will meet with the Medical Examiner Steve Scheckel. R. Sullivan asked if this is something they can take off the agenda for the budget. M. Sullivan replied that he thinks it is. Claiborne agreed. M. Sullivan said that once the budget is finalized, he and Claiborne will incorporate a monthly report at the Board of Supervisors Budget meetings. Harney said that Hensch has to maintain a good relationship with the University Hospitals and Clinics and with Mercy Hospital, and he thinks that is working really well. Harney also mentioned that Hensch has found some areas that have not been billed for autopsies in outlying areas.
Lehman said that he and Stutsman went to Washington D.C. He said that Bill Hoster who used to be the SEATS director in Johnson County said that he thought the County would eventually get the money that they requested even if it takes a few years. Stutsman stated that this issue should be put on the agenda for next month and have SEATS Director Tom Brase to decide whether or not they should continue to pursue Federal funding or try to do something like partner with Coralville. She said that it is getting more and more competitive to be granted Federal dollars. M. Sullivan agreed. Lehman said that if their request is one million dollars, 20% of that would go to site development, where they might be further ahead using their own money. Stutsman said that the Federal dollars need to go through ECICOG or JCCOG, and one of these groups will own the property.
R. Sullivan suggested having a work session with other entities on this. Lehman said that they might be able to get more said and done at a separate session. Stutsman said that she knows it is difficult to schedule work sessions, so she thinks they may as well use this time and take care of the issue for thing so that people don’t have to wait. Stutsman said that they can discuss the pros and cons and decide which direction to take. Harney said that State might get involved and they think that their transportation dollars suffer when the County gets federal money, so they resist the idea of federal money. Harney added that that money comes from separate pocket. Kempf said that he met with Brase and Parker about what kind of building that might need for the services. He said that Point Builders came in and did a presentation on using the construction, management, design, build, model. He said that his concern is that the County needs to pick a direction on this. He thought that taking the Federal dollars requires three possible site selections which means that the facility might not end up at Secondary Roads. Lehman said that this also plays in with the lease arrangement of the facility that they are currently using. Kempf said that they have a year option on the current location. He noted that if the County chooses to build something themselves, they will probably need to exercise that year option. But, if they are going to shoot for the Federal dollars, the County will have to extend that lease four of five years. Stutsman said that would be a lot of rent. Lehman said that the building owner might find someone interested in renting the space and that would leave the County out in the cold. Kempf said that Brase is investigating the wording on the $100,000 grant that the County already has to see if it could be use for SEATS equipment. Both Brase and Parker would prefer to build the facility out at Secondary Roads, said Kempf. Harney said it would be advisable to keep in mind the National Guard armory and the design that they had come up with. Kempf said they are not quite at that point yet but that they certainly will.
Lehman said that JCCOG Transportation Planner John Yapp is going to wait to talk to the Board until they pass the new 5-Year Road Plan. M. Sullivan said that Yapp will be here at the meeting on March 30 ,2006 at 9:00 a.m. M. Sullivan said that Yapp hopes to clear up any questions regarding the trails, like how to manage them. He said that this next meeting will be a presentation and then approval will be at a later meeting. R. Sullivan said that one thing he thinks they need to discuss is that he doesn’t want the Board to paint themselves into corner as they might with the 5-Year Road Plan. If circumstances change, R. Sullivan would not want them to have to do a big amendment. He said that if a farmer gives some land to the project or if there is money that comes from the State, he wants to be flexible enough. R. Sullivan said that he does not want the Board to be so administratively hog-tied that they cannot do something just because it is not in the plan. Harney said he things they need to have flexibility that they also need to keep the plan in place. Stutsman said that her experience on the Board has been that they spin their wheels until they have a focus. She worries that they will have a trail that does not go anywhere and not a trail that has connectivity. R. Sullivan said that he thinks they ought to prioritize a couple of trails within the four trail legs that they have already marked as priorities.
Terry Dahms presented a map of what Linn County Trails Association is doing. He showed the Cedar Valley Nature Trail, which used to come into Hiawatha, but now extends all the way to Cedar Rapids and goes under Highway 30. He said that there are two little gaps, one in Linn County. He said that the line toward Ely and then to Solon are the lines that everyone is working toward. Dahms brought out another map, this one of Johnson County. He pointed out Polk Avenue and said that they can get to Highway 282. He noted that someone owns a little triangle that could potentially block the trail from going north. So, Linn County is going to trade a parcel that they own for an easement. Then, they can get through. He said that Hoover Nature Trail has some land that can get them to the dotted line, which is the MacBride trail. He explained that that gets into Solon and then to North Liberty. M. Sullivan asked how long Linn County has had their trail association. Dahms said for a while. He added that they are very organized. Stutsman said that if the Board comes up with a plan and says that they want to fund it, then people will get behind it. Dahms said that he just wanted to show the Board the maps, especially the one that they had not yet seen. He said that there may be some advantages to putting in a separated trail, but there is not connectivity to the north. R. Sullivan said that the senator from Coralville and the one from Cedar Rapids said that if Linn County and Johnson County are going to do this trail, they thought it was important to note that when people talk corridor, they don’t talk Ely to Solon. They talk Cedar Rapids to Iowa City. So, the senators suggested that the two counties do something that connects Cedar Rapids to Iowa City. He said that the nice thing about Highway 965 is that adequate right-of-way exists the whole way between the two communities. Dahms said that they were somewhat blindsided by the 965 idea because they had been concentrating on the other. He said that they have been working for years to go into the smaller communities. R. Sullivan said that the nice thing about the 965 route is that they don’t have to have a relationship with anyone except the two boards to do it. R. Sullivan said that they have control over 965 and could begin on it tomorrow if they wanted to. Dahms said that he is trying to get some coordination so that they won’t be working in separate directions. Harney said that he talked to the Department of Transportation this week and found out that they plan on paving the shoulders of Highway 1 in a few years and putting turn lanes at Newport and Prairie du Chien and Morse Road.
Lehman thanked Dahms for all the work that he has done and said that it will be good groundwork going into this project. Dahms said that he is optimistic about funding. Lehman noted that they need to identify a plan, fund it, and then maintain it. Dahms said that if they focus on just a couple of the trail legs as R. Sullivan suggested, Dahms thinks that the two are going north. He said that Johnson County has the support of Linn County and Johnson County has an IOU with them by transferring this money that they could collect on now. Lehman said that there are factions within the Johnson County trails meeting of some who want a straight shot to their location for commuting and others who want a more leisurely route. Dahms said that the tourists will come to use separated trails. Lehman said that they have a chance to do a separated trail on 965, but the scenery isn’t quite as attractive. Dahms said that it doesn’t match up with the informal plan that they are now trying to formalize.
Harney said it is neat that on Highway 151 to Wisconsin, there is a separated trail all along there. R. Sullivan said that he doesn’t want to get too hung up on the maintenance issue. He said that once they start to build, they have plenty of time to figure out who is going to maintain it. Harney noted that he disagrees. He said that is the issue that comes up all of the time in that people say there is rock on the trail or it is washed out and so on, and they won’t use it. R. Sullivan said that they don’t hear that about north Dubuque Street. Harney said that they do all the time. Stutsman said that it may be an option to hire someone to take care of the trails. Dahms said that he isn’t sure if the trail is viable, but he thinks it could be viable. He wondered if a trail group could adopt the trail and take care of it. Lehman said that the bicycle has gone from a narrow tire to a thicker tire and appreciates Dahms bringing this kind of information to the Board. Harney asked if they have the right-of-way for the road out by Solon before the level B road. Lehman said that just south of the Linn County line, the railroad right-of-way has been graded off and is being farmed over, and he wondered if that is reclaimable. Harney noted that is south of 380 though. Stutsman said that working through all of these details would be a great project for the entire committee. R. Sullivan said that there are also some wetlands out by Ely.
Lehman said that Claiborne has given the Board a colored version of the budget and the sections that each member is to go over. Each member should go over key changes in the designated area in order to let the public know that the Board is up to speed on what they approved and did not approve, said Lehman. He also noted that members can go over things that have not been approved for this year but will be considered later. Stutsman asked if there is a power point for each of these. Claiborne said yes, and he has given the full presentation to each Board member. He said he is happy to add to the slides or to the narrative portion if the Board would like. Harney mentioned that he would like to add some things to his portion and that he will get together with Claiborne to discuss that. Stutsman indicated that she thinks she is first up. Claiborne said that Lehman is second and R. Sullivan is third with MH/DD. He added that Harney is fourth and Neuzil finishes up. Lehman asked if Claiborne or M. Sullivan wants to do any kind of introduction. M. Sullivan said that he thought Stutsman was going to do the introduction. Claiborne said that he took last year’s presentation and customized it to this year. He said it seemed that last year there were a number of personnel changes and that the courthouse was a big issue, but this year, there is just the additional Sheriff and Public Health person. He noted that he is happy to add to those if the Board would like. Lehman said that maybe they could cover where the County is at in the rural fund and so on. Stutsman stated that that is covered in her section.
Recessed at 10:25 a.m., reconvened at 10:31 a.m.
Lehman said that R. Sullivan has offered a handout with a list of items to be covered and quite a few are specific items. R. Sullivan said that these are things that came up during the budget sessions that the Board said they would like to talk about later. So, he made a list of those things, some of which came under M. Sullivan and some that came under Claiborne. Lehman said he thinks R. Sullivan’s point is that they aren’t going to solve any of these problems today, but they can decide to whom to assign the projects and how they fit in with the strategic plan. R. Sullivan noted that he wished Neuzil could be here because several of the issues are ones that he brought to the foreground. He said maybe they want to put M. Sullivan and Claiborne on future agendas and they could talk about these things. Stutsman said that she figured that when they completed the budget, they would have a wrap-up session in which they discussed what worked in the process and what did not. She thought that in previous years they had such a session that included department heads’ reactions as well. R. Sullivan said that most of the issues are budget-related, but some are not. For example, he noted that Stutsman mentioned performance benchmarks and the Iowa State Association of Counties (ISAC) magazine that just came out had an article on that. Lehman said that they are doing the debt service levy and have moved the line item for Judy Perkins and have addressed rural patrol and such. He said that some of these things, the Board just didn’t have enough knowledge on to make a move. For next time, Lehman said, they would like to be prepared. Claiborne said that the family resource centers have already been moved out of Department 45.
Stutsman said that when former Budget Coordinator Jeff Horne was here, the County had a Finance Committee that eventually fell by the wayside. She thought it was a good committee to have to discuss these kinds of issues and make recommendations to the Board. She said that it was hard for Horne to schedule such meetings especially with the Auditor and his staff. She wondered if the Board might want to look into such a committee. She also mentioned a citizens’ advisory committee on the budget who could offer ideas. She thought they could meet once a year before or after a budget. R. Sullivan said that the Treasurer and the Auditor would have a lot to offer in this process. Harney said that he has received feedback from the public that the County is doing a good job of not raising taxes and trying to manage within. He said this the first time the County has bonded, but the public feedback indicates that they think this is a good idea as long as it is controlled.
Lehman asked where the Board would like to go from here. M. Sullivan said that Stutsman had a good point earlier in the discussion that the Board and Claiborne and himself meet every second Wednesday of every month to talk about strategic planning, so they could just turn one of those into a work session to talk about these things. He said that R. Sullivan has a point on the handout about performance measures. He noted that if they have a chance to read the March ISAC newsletter, they should because it deals with performance measurements. He said Scott County and Linn County are highlighted in the article. The article discusses what these counties do with their budgets. M. Sullivan said that his peers who work in a similar position to his except for the cities have a budget committee that is made up of their department heads. This group reviews the budget, not their own but other departments. M. Sullivan said that the concept is efficiency in performance measurements and having the right kind of measurements for the right kinds of things in the right departments. He noted that Mike Van Miligan, who is the City Administrator in Dubuque, had a real budget problem several years ago when they were going to have to layoff firefighters and police officers and others. M. Sullivan said that he ended up bringing his department heads and explained the cuts that they were facing. According to M. Sullivan Van Milligan clarified that if the City of Dubuque gives money for one thing, then there are consequences in other areas. M. Sullivan said that everyone had ownership of the budget and worked it out. The department heads realized what it takes to run a Sheriff’s Department or a Fire Department or Roads, said M. Sullivan.
M. Sullivan suggested April 12, 2006 as a work session for the things that R. Sullivan is bringing up. R. Sullivan said that they could have a focus and allocate a certain amount of time for a small number of items. M. Sullivan said that narrowing the focus would give him a chance to do research on a particular topic. He mentioned that he will do a better job of grouping Kempf’s issues in one block. Stutsman said that she would like to have a logical process for viewing the strategic plan without getting that mixed up with key issues. She explained that her idea is that they do the strategic plan in the spring and come up with some things they are going to work on, and then review those under the strategic planning process. Other things, she said, may come up, but they can be viewed under key issues. If the Board confuses these, then they tend to lose sight of the direction they should be going, said Stutsman. M. Sullivan said that they may find that some of the key issues become part of the strategic plan. Stutsman agreed. R. Sullivan said that in his mind, a strategic plan gives the Board a framework through which to approach every issue. Stutsman said that she views the strategic plan as the designated things that the County wants to work on like jail needs, and then they have an update on where they stand in meeting those goals.
M. Sullivan said that as a Board, they made a commitment to incorporate the strategic plan into the budget. Lehman said that if the jail comes under the strategic plan, then is purchasing land a key issue or still part of the strategic plan. Stutsman said that she thinks all of that would be part of the strategic plan. R. Sullivan said that part of the strategic plan is to ask why the jail is part of that plan. He said it is there because it is a big expense that they can somehow lower. He thought it might be helpful if Claiborne could say what all of the big expenses. M. Sullivan said that he always viewed the strategic plan as a longer-term vision of what needs to be done and a plan for how to do it.
Claiborne said that he did a work up showing the use of the rural basic fund and what a nickel increase means to the County. He stated that every nickel increase in the levy results in $51,777 more revenue to the County. This eases the general basic fund and everyone benefits from that, said Claiborne. Lehman asked the Board if there is a consensus on what to do. R. Sullivan said that they have some key issues that they have been working on, and he assumes that they will want to keep the jail on that list. Lehman asked if R. Sullivan wants to discuss some of the key issues today. R. Sullivan said no, he is thinking of setting future agendas. Lehman said that they could go down the list of key issues and see what is important. R. Sullivan said that he thinks they could keep Health and Human Services Building and SEATS and Jail Alternatives and Trails since the Board just discussed those today. Lehman said that these are definitely ongoing issues. R. Sullivan said that couple of these things are big issues but they fall into specific departments. For example, the Land Use Plan and fringe area agreements need to have department heads come in and update the Board. R. Sullivan asked what the Board thinks of taking the Land Use Plan and fringe area off of the list of key issues and just making sure that Planning and Zoning Administrator Rick Dvorak reports to the Board. He also suggested taking Department 20 off and making sure that Social Services Coordinator Amy Correia reports to the Board as well. Harney asked what R. Sullivan was looking for specifically when he put the Land Use Plan on the list. R. Sullivan said that it is such a big deal, so he thought it was a key issue.
Harney said that they need to make a decision as far as picking people for the citizen’s advisory committee for the Land Use Plan. Lehman said that they need to give their choices to M. Sullivan soon. Stutsman said that she needs more time because there are people on this list whom she does not know and would like to contact. Harney said he doesn’t think the committee should be over 15 members. M. Sullivan said that Planning and Zoning provided the Board with a map with a broad location of all of the applicants and where they live in the County. Lehman said the map was of Planning and Zoning’s choices. M. Sullivan said that is right and that is what the Board had asked for. M. Sullivan explained that if the Board needs another week, he could add it to the 15th meeting or to the 23rd. Harney said he would prefer to have it on the agenda at the earlier meeting. Lehman asked if M. Sullivan meant that the Board would just have discussion on it. M. Sullivan said that they could discuss the committee or appoint it. He said they do not have an informal meeting planned for that day. They just have a formal meeting to approve claims and the budget, M. Sullivan noted. Lehman said that he didn’t think that they would be ready. Stutsman said that she would not be ready. M. Sullivan said he would put it on the 23rd agenda.
R. Sullivan said one of the problems is that they will be having a public meeting in which they discuss the pros and cons of citizens, and they might want to individually vote for their top sixteen. M. Sullivan said that he would happy to do that and tabulate that information. Lehman said that they might want to discuss what the top choice for a farmer or for a developer is because they could end up without one of those positions on the committee. R. Sullivan said that he would be happy to change his vote to get a farmer on if one did not initially make it on. Stutsman thought that she thinks they could put this on the formal agenda on the 30th. She said that there might be some administrative legwork with M. Sullivan before then. Stutsman asked when M. Sullivan needs the votes by. He responded that if the Board wants this on the 23rd’s formal agenda, then Friday the 17th would be great. R. Sullivan asked if they should agree on a specific number. Stutsman said that they could try for 15 and make an exception if necessary. Harney said that he had asked Dick Schwab if he would be interested, and Schwab was out of town when the request was made. So, he got his application in late. Harney wondered if they could accept that. Stutsman mentioned that Larry Wilson also got his application in under the deadline. She said that her only concern is that if some people have eliminated themselves because they missed the deadline and might have submitted the application late had they known it would be accepted. She said they could send out an email saying that the deadline had been extended. Lehman said that even if people are not picked for the committee, they can still provide input.
R. Sullivan said that the Board agreed that they will not appoint someone from the Board of Adjustment or from Planning and Zoning. Stutsman said that she heard that for Planning and Zoning but not for the Board of Adjustment. R. Sullivan said that a person put in an application and is certainly qualified. Harney said he doesn’t think they discussed the Board of Adjustment. R. Sullivan said that not having those two officially on the committee means that two more spots could be opened, the idea being that the Planning and Zoning Commission and Board of Adjustment would automatically be involved since the project concerns their departments. Stutsman said the other to think about is gender balance. R. Sullivan said that geographical balance is important as well. M. Sullivan said that it is his understanding that the Board wants this on the formal agenda for the March 23, 2006.
Stutsman said that something that is not on this list is how they are going to handle strategic planning this year. She wondered if they will use a consultant again this year and include elected officials in the process, or, will it just be the Board, asked Stutsman. Lehman said that it seems that the Board is looking at a decision today. M. Sullivan said that at this point, it is his impression that the majority of the Board wants to go with the consultant, so he has been in communication with him. M. Sullivan said that he is going to meet with the consultant in a couple of weeks and then meet with the Board. Stutsman wondered if the public is interested in that. She wondered if a work session would be better. M. Sullivan said that he can see if the consultant is available for the next work session.
R. Sullivan suggested that they take Land Use Plan and Fringe Area Agreements and have liaisons. Then, they can take review Department 20 and senior services funding and have liaisons emphasize these with Correia. Finally, they take assistants rather than deputies and make sure that is on the elected officials’ agenda. These could all cut down the list of key issues, said R. Sullivan. He said they would still have to handle the strategic plan. Stutsman said that she thought that list was what the Board decided from the strategic planning process and that these were going to be key issues until they reviewed the strategic planning again. R. Sullivan said that he thinks they cannot control when things come up. So, if there is a tornado that tears down Secondary Roads, then rebuilding Secondary Roads becomes a key issue. Stutsman said they could have everything under strategic planning. R. Sullivan said that maybe the consultant could help them figure out where to deal with what.
Stutsman said that she thinks that she and R. Sullivan have different ideas of what strategic planning is. Lehman said that strategic planning is more long term, whereas if Secondary Roads gets torn down, that is a key issue. Stutsman said that for her, strategic planning is more of a planned approach to what they are doing in County government. R. Sullivan said that a strategic plan might include increased revenue, decreased expenditures, create performance benchmarks, and other huge global issues. Then, when they discuss key issues, the Board would discuss how they relate to the strategic plan. Stutsman said that there is the problem. She said that he has not been involved in the strategic planning in the past. She thought that they need to get on the same page as far as what strategic planning is. M. Sullivan said that key issues are ones that going on internally, but strategic planning involves global Countywide issues that involve all the County departments and even other entities. The key issues are about what is going on inside Johnson County government like performance measures. Stutsman said that wild dogs are a specific issue that has come up but are not a strategic issue. R. Sullivan agreed.
M. Sullivan said that they started key issues to figure out things like hiring a new budget coordinator or a medical examiner. Strategic planning deals with things like the campus plan and the trails plan and the budget, said M. Sullivan. He added that some of the strategic planning involves a multi-year process. R. Sullivan said that obviously the strategic plan has changed in that trails was not on the list when he first started. M. Sullivan said that is right. It was a key issue and now that it has become increasingly important in relation to the budget, it has become a strategic issue involving enhancing citizens’ lives. He said the idea is that they don’t get bogged down in small internal things. R. Sullivan said that he doesn’t really care what they call it. He said that the meeting that they are just finishing up has included important topics, and he thinks it is important to figure out what things should be on that list. Stutsman suggested sticking with what they have now, and then getting on the same page when they meet with the consultant. Lehman asked M. Sullivan to emphasize to the consultant that the Board is having a dilemma as far as what is included in the strategic plan or as key issues because they seem so connected. R. Sullivan asked what is on the agenda for April. M. Sullivan said the consultant would come in and discuss what is a strategic plan and what is a key issue. M. Sullivan said he will address Jail, Human Services Building, SEATS facility, and Trails. He said he can add anything else the Board wants. M. Sullivan said that he would let the Board know if the consultant is not available.
Harney said he does not know who the consultant is. R. Sullivan said that Dick Schwab recommended the consultant who does strategic planning and core values. M. Sullivan said that he has written books on these issues and does this nation wide. He lives in Solon, said M. Sullivan. M. Sullivan said that he has been a lifelong County resident and has traveled everywhere. R. Sullivan added that his price was good for the County. It’s an entire program he puts together that is tailored it to the customer’s needs, explained M. Sullivan.
R. Sullivan said one thing that Stutsman brought up is some kind of incentive for people to not park at the building, such as park and ride, or an incentive for taking the bus. The penalty part hasn’t worked very well because the enforcement is hard. Harney said they haven’t imposed penalties. He said that once there is a lot next door they will have a fee and that would be plenty of incentive not to drive and pay. M. Sullivan said that they should involve Human Resources in this discussion, because Shramek has some interesting perspectives on concerns like this. Stutsman said that they will discuss wild dogs, parking, the budget coordinator issue, and the executive assistant issues. R. Sullivan said it’s all on hold until the consultant comes. Stutsman asked if they are not going to do any key issues next time. M. Sullivan said that the Board was going to have a strategic planning meeting and that they could have a key issues meeting after that to address things like the wild dogs. Lehman said they could be on both agendas. M. Sullivan said they can have a key issues meeting, and put the wild dogs on that.
M. Sullivan asked if the Board has anything else to add to the key issues. Stutsman said they talked about having a budget wrap-up session regarding the budget coordinator issues. M. Sullivan will have Claiborne prepare a response to the questions that R. Sullivan prepared. M. Sullivan said that the Board has a lot on their plate, so it may seem confusing, but he thinks the Board is doing a good job of staying on top of the issues.
Adjourned at 11:14 a.m.
Attest: Tom Slockett, Auditor
By Casie Kadlec, Recording Secretary