MINUTES OF THE INFORMAL MEETING OF THE JOHNSON COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS:
MARCH 14, 2007
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Strategic Planning and Key Issues Work Session...................................................................... 1
Johnson County Ag Association Request for Comments from the Board of Supervisors Regarding the Ag Association Considering Adopting a Policy to Allow Alcohol at Rental Events at the Johnson County Fairgrounds 1
Soil and Water Conservationist Position........................................................................ 2
Smoking Policy........................................................................................................... 3
Administration Building Space Issues........................................................................... 4
SEATS/Secondary Roads Building Update................................................................... 5
Chatham Oaks Lease and Capital Improvements.......................................................... 5
Health and Human Services Building........................................................................... 6
Internal Processes, Expectations, and Other Operational Issues of the Board of Supervisors Office 7
Animal Shelter Costs and 28E Agreement and Rural Animal Ordinance......................... 7
Employee Misconduct Liability.................................................................................... 8
NACo 2008 Presidential Election Project Update.......................................................... 9
Celebrate National County Government Week April 22-28, 2007................................... 9
Preparation for Des Moines County Legislative Day and Washington DC Chamber Trips and Follow-Up on ISAC District Day at Capital......................................................................................... 10
Mental Health/Developmental Disabilities Audit.......................................................... 10
Joint Communications Center Update......................................................................... 11
Criminal Justice Coordinating Committee Facilitator.................................................... 12
Evaluations............................................................................................................... 13
Strategic Planning..................................................................................................... 13
Phone System........................................................................................................... 14
Open Meetings Law and Board Attendance at Public Meetings................................... 14
Chairperson Harney called the Johnson County Board of Supervisors to order in the Johnson County Administration Building at 9:01 a.m. Members present were: Pat Harney, Larry Meyers, Terrence Neuzil, Sally Stutsman, and Rod Sullivan.
Johnson County Ag Association President Bud Stockman introduced himself and Ag Association Board Member Brent Wears. They would like to rent out the new Building C for events like wedding receptions. At this time their policy doesn't allow alcohol. They would like to put an alcohol policy in their code that would allow beer, wine, and possibly champagne. There would be no hard liquor. They have checked with organizations like South Slope, Cosgrove, and the Parish Council in Oxford. Everyone's policy is generally the same. When there is alcohol involved, there would be a law enforcer there. They will not sell alcohol. There will also be no alcohol present during Fair week. Wears said that they might like to allow people to bring in beer to a specific event. They are looking at a policy switch. They wanted to know if the Board has any concerns about adopting a policy like South Slope's with definite limitations.
R. Sullivan asked if they need to have dram shop insurance. Wears said that if they bring in their own beer, they can dispense it but not sell it. Harney said that the caterers bring in alcohol, and wondered if they sell it. Stockman said that they will not allow people to sell alcohol but they can dispense it. Wears said that he isn't sure if caterers are allowed to sell at South Slope. Neuzil said that they might want to check how the Regina Fall Fund Festival does this. Wears said that if it is a licensed caterer, they might want to change. Stutsman said that some people have cash bars for weddings, but maybe that is for hard liquor. Neuzil said they should keep that option open. Wears said they haven't gotten all of their questions answered yet. They simply want to be sure at this point that the Board does not have any disagreement about this possible change. Meyers confirmed that there would be law enforcement present. He asked if that person would get paid for their time. Stockton said whoever is renting pays for the patrol. Stutsman asked if they are limiting this to Building C. Stockton said yes. Stutsman asked about the music festival that is outside of the building. Wears said they could adopt a policy for the grounds in general. Meyers said they would have to say that people cannot leave the building with the alcohol.
Harney said he doesn’t have a problem with the change as long as there is a good, firm policy in place. Stutsman and Meyers agreed. Neuzil said that in a sense, it is Stockman’s and Wears’s Board and their fair ground, so they can decide. R. Sullivan said that he has heard a number of people who want to take weddings there and the no alcohol policy was the deal breaker. He said that the Board is always telling the Fair Grounds to do all they can to lift their revenues, so it would make sense that they would do this. Wears said that they were asked six times in one week to rent out the facility. Stutsman said that she appreciates them coming in and running it by the Board. Stockton said that they do rely on the County for support. They might be able to ask for less money in the years to come if they can increase their revenues. The Board agreed to have a letter written up from the Board to confirm that this new policy is acceptable. That way a new Ag Board member five years from now would know that this policy has been affirmed by the Johnson County Board of Supervisors.
Meyers said that Human Resources Administrator Lora Shramek said that if the person in the Soil and Water Conservationist position became a County employee, then they were going to have to post job openings in compliance with the EEOC. Harney said that is the case with any job. Meyers said that if they just give them $12,000, they wouldn’t to be a County employee. Executive Assistant Mike Sullivan said that he tried calling but has not yet talked to Soil and Water Conservation Director Wendell Jones. Stutsman said that if they hire the person as a County employee, they would have to supervise them. Also, they have consistently said no to other contractors entering into Johnson County insurance. Neuzil asked what is in the budget. R. Sullivan said that it was $43,000. Executive Assistant M. Sullivan explained it was less, by they added $12,000 to it. Neuzil said it is just cleaner to say that whatever they have budgeted is what they have available. R. Sullivan said that the Soil and Water Conservationist has IPERS.
Stutsman said they have the $12,000 for health insurance, but she isn't interested in adding another employee. Neuzil agreed and added that he doesn’t think that Planning and Zoning Administrator Rick Dvorak would want to supervise another employee. Stutsman said that she would support just giving the person the money that can be applied to insurance. R. Sullivan said they should have a conversation with Jones about this. Meyers asked if they will bill the County for the time the person spends on the Sensitive Areas Ordinances. Stutsman said that is part of what the County is paying for. Harney said he doesn't have a problem with him being a County employee, but is fine if the Board feels otherwise. Stutsman said it would be better for the employee to be supervised by Jones. Harney said that Linn County does the same thing. Neuzil said that until he hears from Dvorak that he wants the position, he doesn’t think they should do it. The Board agreed not to make the new position a County employee. M. Sullivan said that he will call Jones to let him know of the situation. Stutsman said that the Soil and Water Conservationist called to ask where this was at, and they should clarify that this is scheduled to start on July 1, 2007. Meyers said if he remembers correctly, this is what the employee wanted. Neuzil said that he wanted the County insurance but not necessarily to be a County employee. M. Sullivan explained that he has to be a County employee to get County insurance, but he could buy Wellmark insurance on his own.
Neuzil said that there was some discussion about consolidating the three smoking policies and about operable windows. The three resolutions in place give supervisors the authority to designate smoking areas, except at the Sheriff’s Office. The second one designates that the Public Health Department has authority over their building and land. The last one passed in December puts the smoking areas 50 feet away from public entrance and exit ways. The proposed new one would put all of these into one document and add in the phrase about operable windows. Facilities Director David Kempf said that the Courthouse will probably adhere to the policy. Courthouse employees will smoke by the garage. R. Sullivan asked how the new policy would affect the proposed SEATS building. Neuzil said that the policy states that smoking isn't allowed on the grounds of new buildings. R. Sullivan asked if it would affect Secondary Roads. Kempf said it will affect the parking and the building directly around that building, but it probably won’t affect the existing structures. Stutsman said that it would affect the people in the SEATS building. Stutsman asked if they want to put this on the next agenda.
Harney asked why they would designate 50 feet from a door but 10 feet from a window. Kempf said that if they go with any operable window, there would be no smoking location anywhere near the building. Neuzil said they were also trying to avoid the sidewalk issue. Kempf said that the designated area is technically within 10 feet of an operable window, but the furniture is set up in such a way in the Auditor's Office that it prevents that window from being used. Harney said the policy isn't working because every day there are people smoking in the door by the Auditor’s Office. Neuzil said they are only referring to public entrance and exit ways. Kempf said that the Auditor would be the one to say that his staff cannot stand in the garage door and smoke. Stutsman said that there must be heat getting out. She asked if the garage is open. Kempf said occasionally yes, when they are moving equipment. Kempf said that people are going to need to police themselves.
Neuzil said that the time for Kempf to let the Board know where the designated smoking areas are is when the policy moves through. Kempf said they need to have signs made. He added that 98% of the staff have been really good. Harney said that he doesn't like the 50 feet rule because it goes right back to the original problem that they had with the Sheriff's Department. Neuzil said that it is not a public entrance and exit. Kempf said that with the Sheriff, that is where the designated smoking area is. Harney said that is what generated all of the complaints at that facility. Kempf said that he made the mistake of once asking them to close the back door, and former County Sheriff Bob Carpenter was upset because that area was the designated smoking area. Neuzil said the Sheriff used to have the right to do that, but this resolution changes that. Harney said he doesn't think that 10 feet is far enough away from an open window. Kempf said there are operable windows all the way around the building. If they go with 50 feet, people will then go to the sidewalk which is only a few feet away from a public entrance.
Stutsman said that they should dissolve the previous ordinances. Kempf asked about changing the wording from operable to open windows. Harney said they would just ask people to close their window. Neuzil said that the new Justice Center will have no smoking areas. Kempf said that and facility constructed after January 1, 2007 will not allow smoking. R. Sullivan asked if there is an exception for Kent Park. Kempf said they are referring to enclosed facilities. Kempf said he will provide a list of designated areas to the Board in the next couple of weeks. Neuzil said that County Attorney Andy Chappell still needs to review the consolidated policy. The Board agreed to go with the new policy.
Kempf said that there used to be a Space Needs Committee, and he thinks the Board needs to resurrect that committee. R. Sullivan said he thinks the Board needs to be meet and not just the committee. Harney agreed. Stutsman said that the committee used to make recommendations to the Board. Kempf said that gave the chance for department heads to give their perspectives. Harney said he doesn’t mind having their opinion, but the final decision is the Board’s. Neuzil said he would be okay with a committee getting together, resolving some of these issues, and coming to the Board with what they are thinking. He said it makes sense that whoever is designated as the architect should sit down with the Board and make these space decisions in a couple of hours and stick with it. Kempf thought it would be best that when they partner with the firm, the Board knows who they want in the new building and in the Administration Building. The Board scheduled a work session on Wednesday, March 28, 2007 at 9:00 a.m. Stutsman asked if Kempf has a good idea of what the departments want and need. Kempf suggested that they need to get input from the other departments but that the Board also needs a chance to discuss what they want.
Kempf said at the last meeting with Neumann Monson, they discussed the idea of geothermal heating for the SEATS/Secondary Roads Building. There is a natural prairie area there that is ideal for putting in their well fields. They should have some floor plans and designs for the Board in the near future. Harney asked where the Federal government land starts. Kempf said they are far away from the Armory property. Stutsman asked what they are paying. Kempf said they are moving forward as if they have the money. Meyers said that they have $800,000 in the upcoming budget for this coming fiscal year. Kempf said he doesn't know where they are with federal money on this. Harney said that Coralville might be able to give money for the project or provide support in some other way. Stutsman said they should at least communicate that they are still interested in working something out.
Neuzil said they talked about enhancing the ambulance facility. R. Sullivan said he thought they were going to do that anyway. M. Sullivan said that SEATS Director Tom Brase has $100,000 to spend, but he isn't sure if there are limits on what that money can be spent on. Kempf said Brase won't let that money go away. M. Sullivan said that they could use the other portion of $400,000 or $500,000 to apply toward finishing the SEATS Building. Neuzil said they are talking about two projects, the garage and the office. He said that Budget Coordinator Rich Claiborne is looking into the possibility of letting the County pay for it and then borrowing back using the Debt Service Fund next year. Stutsman said that they need to include this building in future contracts. Neuzil agreed.
Harney said he has a problem with the location of the facility. He thought the traffic pattern would be difficult for the drivers. Kempf said the majority of the traffic will be coming in the west gate. This will include the SEATS busses. Meyers asked if they are going to look at traffic patterns. Kempf said that County Engineer Greg Parker has looked at traffic flow and has concluded that the west side is the best. Harney said that isn't what Parker said yesterday. Stutsman said they can work that out in the future.
R. Sullivan said that they met with the Board Executive, President, and Attorney for Chatham Oaks. Kempf is going to go out there and take a look at the conditions of the buildings. Then, they will have some idea of what they can continue negotiating. The trouble is that no one is putting aside any money for this. Neuzil asked why Chatham Oaks hasn't been. The Board agreed that the day-to-day maintenance is Chatham Oak's responsibility. Meyers asked if the lease says anything to this effect. Kempf said no. R. Sullivan said that it doesn't do any good to do more negotiation until they get a sense of the situation. Meyers asked if they make any money at Chatham Oaks. R. Sullivan said a little. Stutsman said the problem is that they contract for those services; they don’t give them a block grant. R. Sullivan said that they are only serving about 50% of Johnson County residents. By putting this on the Mental Health/Developmental Disabilities contract, Washington County and Iowa County also pay. Stutsman said that they have talked about making some changes with their services, yet the County didn’t have any input. Kempf said they are talking about doing some remodeling of the dorm spaces to make them more private. Kempf said they spent $415,000 on regular repair and maintenance from 1992 to 2007. They had an additional $400,000 on other replacements. His main concern is the boiler, which is original to the building.
Kempf said that an RFP has been sent out for the Health and Human Services Building (HHS) regarding Architectural and Engineering services (A&E). RFPs are due back on March 21, 2007. He thought they will have a substantial response. Harney said he is disappointed with the timing of this. It is going to be some dollars they didn't count on. Meyers asked when the leases expire. Kempf said all the leases expire in September or October of 2008. R. Sullivan asked when they are directing the firms to start. Stutsman said immediately. Kempf said he told them they want to be into the building early summer of 2008. Some firms said they cannot meet that timeline, so they didn’t put a proposal together. Stutsman said they need to send the message that this is a priority.
R. Sullivan asked what the process is from here. Kempf said the committee will short list the proposals down to four or five. Interviews will be scheduled around mid-April. Stutsman and Harney are slated to be a part of the hiring process. The hiring committee will give a recommendation to the Board. The short-listed groups will present to the Board. M. Sullivan said this is a good idea because in the past firms have not wanted to present in front of each other. Kempf said the last few will have to present publicly. Meyers requested information of the recommended proposals when they get to that step. Stutsman clarified that the committee will do the initial interviews and then make a recommendation on two or three firms as they did with the jail. Then, the Board will hear those presentations and make a final decision. M. Sullivan agreed and added that an intermediate step is that M. Sullivan will check the chosen firms’ references before they present to the Board. R. Sullivan said that if they do five firms, they should set aside two days, but if they have only three, they can get it done in one day. They will start at 8:30 a.m. and be done by 1:00 p.m. on April 16, 2007 to review RFPs and have A&E interviews.
Neuzil said that as far as using the email, they need to be cautious regarding rolling discussion. M. Sullivan said that they need to be careful when doing group emails. If they are discussing an issue that is going to involve deliberation at a public meeting, then they should not have group emails responded back to. R. Sullivan said that for example, when they have a Board or Commissioners opening and M. Sullivan needs the Supervisors' recommendations, they need to be sure to reply just to M. Sullivan and not the whole group. M. Sullivan said that if there is question about if there are three Supervisors who want to fund an organization to a certain amount, they should not respond to the whole group. Administrative things regarding the department are fine for replying to all. Neuzil said that sometimes he wants people to know where he stands on something. The important thing is that they don’t deliberate back and forth.
Stutsman said that former County Attorney J. Patrick White always told her that the Board does not have to let any members of the public speak at meetings. It is up to the Chair or the Board. M. Sullivan agreed. R. Sullivan said that public hearings are required for some things. At those, the public has the right to speak, but otherwise, the Board has discretion. Stutsman said that the Board has always been really generous about letting the public speak at meetings. M. Sullivan said public comments have been on the agendas ever since he has been working for the County.
R. Sullivan said that now that the budget is just about done, he would like to encourage Claiborne to get together with some of the other budget coordinators in bigger counties. M. Sullivan said that Claiborne is going to meet with Linn County’s Budget Director Dawn Jindrich. M. Sullivan mentioned that he would like Claiborne to prepare a Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR). He would also like to get the bond rating. When they do the CAFR, M. Sullivan would like to have Claiborne submit it to GFOA and to Iowa State Association of Counties (ISAC) for an award. Linn County gets recognized for it. They are the only large county other than Polk County that has a CAFR. He said it would be a lot of work, but it would be a huge plus for the bond rating in the future and for the external audit. Neuzil thought the smoking policy should be submitted as well. M. Sullivan agreed. Stutsman added the Human Rights Ordinance. M. Sullivan noted that he has been receiving calls from large counties throughout the United States wanting a copy of the Human Rights Ordinance. Neuzil said he has as well.
Stutsman said the Board needs to come up with a policy on how long an animal is kept at the Iowa City Animal Shelter. Iowa City has a set policy from which they will not deviate, but the County or Coralville can take the animal back after ten days and do what they want to do. Neuzil wondered if this should be a rural issue. Stutsman said they could contract with a vet. R. Sullivan was interested in opening up bids to local vets for County business. Stutsman said that makes sense. She said it would be a political issue. R. Sullivan thought it would be on both sides of the issue. Neuzil said that by next year’s budget, he wants the small communities such as Hills and Lone Tree to know that the County is no longer paying for this. Stutsman said that in Coralville, a rabbit got lost and ended up costing $2,000. Harney said he has been receiving a lot of calls about animals lately. They still have a problem with the Stemm dogs. There are also three dogs in another area running loose.
Stutsman mentioned that there is a woman who wanted to know if the County would help fund some property to house stray cats. Harney said he would prefer for that person to have a kennel license through the State. R. Sullivan said that people who do rescue have to be a veterinarian. Stutsman wondered what is meant by dangerous animals. She thought maybe exotic would be better than dangerous, otherwise they would want to include, for example, pit bulls. Harney asked if they have coverage in the case of dog bites. M. Sullivan said they can include that language. Harney said some animals have to be quarantined before it has been proven they have had a rabies shot. Stutsman said they could require all animals to have the chips put in them so they wouldn’t have to have collars. M. Sullivan said there is still the issue of puppy farms out in the County that should be addressed in the ordinance. These are many of the animals that end up in the animal control center. Stutsman said she would like the County to have a spay or neuter program funded from the Rural Fund. R. Sullivan said that is a great idea.
Recessed at 11:35 a.m. and reconvened at 1:01 p.m.
R. Sullivan said the Cedar County Sheriff’s conduct and the issue of the Housers document not having gotten from the Recorder to the Assessor have brought to light the issue of employee misconduct liability. Many places have insurance in case people didn't do their job. He asked Human Resources Administrator Lora Shramek about this, and she said that White had always said that they want to self-insure for that. R. Sullivan said that County Attorney Janet Lyness said that she does not yet have a policy on this yet. He wondered if they want to continue with this. Stutsman said the premiums are pretty expensive, and they've agreed through the years that they are saving money by not getting liability insurance. Harney said he is okay with this policy unless Lyness comes up with a rationale for why that is not a good idea. Meyers asked if there is a limit to what they can get on liability. M. Sullivan said that if they lose a case, they would have to pay. He said chances are they won't have a judge who would award $40,000,000 but they can count on anything in between. Stutsman thought they had to prove negligence. Harney said there are many factors that go into that. If they know an employee has done something and the County takes action, this decreases their liability. Stutsman said that the Human Resources Department did a good job of educating people about sexual harassment through training.
Neuzil said that at Iowa State Association of Counties (ISAC) Conference, Kim Rogers worked with Vilsack and was just hired by National Association of Counties (NACo) to coordinate this project. The idea is to get Supervisors from Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, and South Carolina to consistently give a message card with four key County issues. He said that they also talked about hosting a party to discuss County issues. R. Sullivan added that they were encouraging them to send a letter to the 15 or so candidates saying that the Board would be interested in a visit. Neuzil said that Barak Obama was in Dubuque and Des Moines. He was asked the same question at various events to emphasize County issues. Meyers asked about the four key issues. Neuzil said he can send around a copy of those. Stutsman asked if they want to send a letter to all the candidates. The Board agreed this would be a good idea. R. Sullivan said they could have M. Sullivan write up a formal letter and send it out. Neuzil said they could ask ISAC for a form letter.
R. Sullivan said that the Communications Committee wants to get some feedback from the Board on celebrating National County Government Week from April 22 to April 28, 2007. Prior years have had a State of the County address that was not well-attended. Stutsman said that Linn County gets good media coverage. R. Sullivan said that Linn County works with the League of Women Voters and that he contacted the League about working with the County on this. Neuzil said that the reception they had downstairs was nice. R. Sullivan said that White and County Assessor Bill Greazel did something during County Government Week. Neuzil asked what the theme is this year. R. Sullivan said it has to do with conservation. Stutsman suggested they have a picnic at Conservation. R. Sullivan asked if the Chair wanted to do a speech. Stutsman said that she thinks it is a good tradition. Neuzil liked the idea but thought it was up to the Communications Committee and the Chair about how to go about it. R. Sullivan said they could do it as part of a Board meeting so that it can be televised. Neuzil said it would be a lot of what was presented at the Compensation Board. Stutsman added that they do some of this at the budget hearing. Neuzil suggested they have refreshments. R. Sullivan said they should get out a press release if they are going to have something.
Stutsman said that NACo has a pamphlet about ideas for what County governments can do to celebrate. Stutsman said that she can provide Harney with a copy of a similar speech that she gave if that would help. R. Sullivan said that the League of Women Voters has a dinner and all of the elected officials give a little spiel about what they do. Stutsman said they could have a dinner. R. Sullivan said they have to pay to attend. R. Sullivan said that question and answer is a part of it. Neuzil said they can do a lunch following the Board meeting. Harney said he doesn't know what to do if people don't show up. Neuzil said if they don't want to do a speech, they could have a thank you for the staff. Neuzil said the presentation they give the Compensation Board already lays out what County government is doing. Harney said that County Government Week is about all the elected officials, department heads, employees and everyone. R. Sullivan said Human Resource Assistant Susan Vileta is available to do some leg work, but they need to have some direction and warning. Stutsman said they could just not do anything. Harney said that he will let R. Sullivan or Meyers know later.
R. Sullivan said that they ought to discuss whether the ISAC District Day at the Capital was successful or not. Neuzil said he liked the arrangement. He said that he would want something to hand to their legislators. Stutsman said that it seems that every year they go unprepared and they need to have something specific to communicate. Meyers said that they don’t get much time to say what they wanted to say. Stutsman said that Linn County was prepared. She thought they need to do a better job of coordinating in the future. Neuzil said that the Joint Communications Center is a big issue and it would be more professional if they had a better presentation. Harney said that because Linn County was better prepared, they got most of the floor time. He noted that the same thing happened in Washington D.C. Stutsman suggested at in the future they have a work session a couple of weeks before they go to get their act together. Neuzil said they can put it on the Key Issues agenda. R. Sullivan said that the number one thing he should've gone to Des Moines to discuss was the Communications Center, but he forgot that until the last minute. Neuzil said that ISAC needs to do a better job of communicating the top issues. R. Sullivan said that they need to be sure to discuss issues specific to Johnson County. The Board agreed to begin preparing for next years legislative day in the fall.
R. Sullivan said that in meeting with Mental Health/Developmental Disabilities Director Elaine Sweet, they talked about the fact that the decision has been made to take the disputed amount of money from the audit off the books, but he isn't sure it is clear to all of the providers that that has happened. He said that there needs to be some communication about that. Sweet has not done so yet; she is waiting for direction from the Board. Harney asked if they ever sent out letters asking for the money back. M. Sullivan said that White did not do that. Stutsman said it would make sense to send the letter for closure. R. Sullivan agreed. Harney said they can send out a copy of White’s letter. Neuzil said the letter is not confidential. R. Sullivan said that the letter from County Auditor Tom Slockett saying that it has been officially taken off the books should be included. The Board decided to write a cover letter from either Sweet or the Board about the item being taken off the books. Stutsman said the letter should come from the Board and Sweet. The other Board members agreed. Stutsman said that her hesitation is that Sweet would spend hours getting ready for having this on the agenda. Neuzil said that they can just provide documentation of the change. R. Sullivan said he will let Sweet know what the Board has decided.
Harney said everything seems to be coming along nicely with the Joint Communications Center. They just got notification about the closure of some contracts. The issue they are struggling with is location. The City would like to have the old bus depot, but the Sheriff and some of the City Council members are dead set against it because they feel it is too far out of the way. Also, if the City builds it, they want to have storage for evidence. The Sheriff wants the Communication Center to manage the warrants where they would be filed and put into the computer, and housed at the center. The Sheriff would also like a drive-up warrant pick-up that is kind of like a bank window, but the Iowa City Police Chief is against this because he doesn’t think dispatch personnel should be spending their time on warrants. The Sheriff’s argument is that there is a lot of down time, so why not continue to do this, especially since they are already used to this. The Sheriff would also have to hire new staff if they don’t let the people on dispatch do the warrants.
Harney said that they are also looking at some extra ground that they have around Melrose Avenue and Camp Cardinal Road. Neuzil asked if the Center would fit there. Harney said the problem with that location is security. They will be looking at some additional locations, but it is not for public disclosure yet. R. Sullivan said the fiber out to Secondary Roads goes right along Melrose Avenue as well. Harney said that this location is going to be the deal breaker as far as whether they do this or not. Stutsman said she doesn't think the community will go for it unless it is a joint project. R. Sullivan said that he heard that the City Manager wants the Wilson spot and wondered where the City Council stands on that. Harney said they want to save that site for something else later. R. Sullivan said that it seems they are not all in agreement. Harney agreed. Stutsman said many of the City Councilors are aware that all of that property is off the tax rolls. R. Sullivan said that he has heard many more people talk against that spot than for it. Harney said that location is going to be eliminated in the future. R. Sullivan said the Board needs to send the message that they want to work this out. Harney said that the City has ideas on how they can help with money, but then it gets really complicated.
Stutsman suggested that the City might be willing to reconsider where they locate their storage. Harney asked about parking. Neuzil said the University has a high interest in that property. Harney asked if there is employee parking there. He was interested in selling the old gas station they rent for parking, but that isn't enough space. Neuzil asked about building across the street from the Administration Building. They are going to be looking at a new Ambulance Facility, so they could tear down the Fisher Building. Stutsman said that Ambulance does not want to move; they want to expand. Harney said that is the trouble; they are trying to avoid political ownership. Neuzil mentioned the new SEATS Building as well. R. Sullivan said he doesn't know the pros and cons of each particular spot, but he does think they would be making a serious mistake not to work this out. Stutsman asked about the old Winebrenner Ford dealership.
Harney said he talked with the Clark brothers about the property that White wanted them to buy across from the Courthouse. Clark is willing to build that to the County’s specifications because they are required to have commercial property on the bottom. Meyers asked if it is the one hit by the tornado. Harney said yes. Neuzil mentioned the former Falbo's Pizza location on the corner of Benton Street and Gilbert Street that they were talking about moving Juvenile Court to. He noted that the building is still for sale. Stutsman said it would be really hard to lease a space for the Communications Center. The Board agreed to send a clear message to the Joint Communications Center Committee that the Board want the future communications center to be a joint facility. Meyers said that seems to be the only thing that everyone agrees upon. R. Sullivan said that both the Police Chief and the Sheriff might have to give a little on this. Harney thought that they surely will.
Harney asked if they are ready to hire someone to be the Criminal Justice Coordinating Committee facilitator. Neuzil said he missed the last meeting, but they will have the location study within six months. He asked what the next step will be after that. He said that Pulkrabek brought in several items to discuss. M. Sullivan said the work itself for the study will take about three months. Neuzil said the other issue is who is going to pay for the facilitator. He said they are looking at $30,000 to $50,000. Stutsman said she wants to know what exactly the person's responsibility would be. She asked if it would be a facilitator or more of a clerical person. She mentioned M. Sullivan as an option. Neuzil said that until the Health and Human Services Building is done, M. Sullivan will be busy. R. Sullivan worried about creating a person who would be left at loose ends at the end of the project. Stutsman said she envisions a contract person. R. Sullivan said it is important that the person work for the Board and not for the Sheriff. He said that this isn’t a knock on the Sheriff, but the Board is ultimately the ones who have to make the decisions and be held accountable for them. Neuzil said that they need what the Chamber of Commerce used. The new people came in for eight months and reorganized what they need to do. This kind of restructuring is what the facilitator could do. They can look at what to do next.
Harney said that he agrees with the Sheriff's concerns and suggestion. Harney said it is fine for him to be a participant, but, at the last meeting, it seemed that the Sheriff was running the meeting. Harney felt that the Sheriff was trying to push something down their throat that they weren’t ready for. Once they do the study, then they need the leadership to take control of that and sell it to the public. Stutsman said the trouble with having Maggie be the coordinator is that the person needs to be familiar with how the whole criminal justice system works. Plus, it is hard to get so many opinionated people to go in the same direction. Neuzil said they need someone who is organized. He said she had worked for the City of Iowa City for ten years, so she knows government. Harney said she might be someone who can remain neutral. R. Sullivan said they have already done the FY 08 budget and this person is not in it. Stutsman said it might be able to come out of the Sheriff’s budget. R. Sullivan said if this person is going to work for the Board and not the Sheriff, then the position should be paid for by the Board. R. Sullivan said that when they were looking at Howard R. Green to facilitate the meetings that are now facilitated by the East Council of Iowa County Governments (ECICOG), the prices were outrageous. Stutsman said there are many people who do this kind of work.
Stutsman said she isn’t happy with the form for employee evaluations. She said it is really confusing about where things go on the form. Neuzil said he thought they were going to keep the 11 questions but change them a little. R. Sullivan said they were going to change the descriptions a little. Neuzil said that Shramek was going to create a chart regarding the employee’s use of the budget, skill development, and so on. The liaisons agreed to talk to Shramek about reworking the form. Neuzil said they really need to get a line in there about the budget. R. Sullivan said that Human Resources will have a new employee on July 1, 2007. The new person or someone else could work on this. Neuzil said they could start fresh with the new form in January 2008.
Stutsman wondered if they had decided this was the year to start with an outside facilitator for strategic planning or if they wanted to include department heads and elected officials. Neuzil said Joe Tye would work if they were looking for a big picture strategic plan. Other than that, the strategic planning session with Joe Tye didn’t go anywhere. Stutsman said they have a strategic plan but they need to figure out if they want to update it. Harney said they need to start setting their target on something specific such as the jail. Neuzil said that Claiborne could talk to the departments about where they want to be three to five years from now. This is now a down time for Claiborne, so he could do that, said Neuzil. Stutsman said they talked about that for years and never got to it. Neuzil said that is different that the issue of thinking big picture. He has a list of 40 items that could be part of the plan. Stutsman said they have never done a retreat. R. Sullivan said the session with Joe Tye at South Slope was a retreat. Stutsman said maybe they should be thinking about doing something out of the Board room. She said they used to do this with Tim Shields. She thought there was a replacement for him at the Institute of Public Affairs.
Neuzil said the strategic plan seems to have two parts: figuring out where departments want to be as well as measurable outcomes and figuring out the bigger picture. Stutsman mentioned that Maggie does this kind of envisioning and then breaking down that vision into smaller steps. R. Sullivan said that the day-to-day work of the employees is so much that they don’t have time to think about larger questions like where the County is going to be in five years. R. Sullivan said that Information Services Director Jean Schultz usually has a really good idea of what the trends are in Information Services and what to expect in two years. He said he doesn’t necessarily get that from every department, which isn’t the employees’ fault because the Board hasn't necessarily set the tone to do that. Neuzil said that former Budget Coordinator Jeff Horne had started this, but then left.
M. Sullivan said that the Board needs to decide what they want strategic planning to do for them. He said that it is really important that the strategic plan be tied in with the budget. Some of the departments plan out their budgets over five years to make sure the money is there when it is needed. In relation to the global issues, the Board may want to have someone come in and help them organize that. Neuzil said the third Wednesday of the month is set aside to discuss this. Stutsman clarified that is for when the plan is already in place. R. Sullivan said that the plan is pretty common sense. Stutsman said that they need to come up with how they are going to accomplish the goals in the plan. For example, they can say that they are going to develop a recruitment program to address diversity as a way to create a positive work environment. Stutsman said they need to evaluate their progress toward these goals as well. M. Sullivan said the key is that the Board knows what they want.
R. Sullivan said that sometimes an outsider’s eyes help them clarify their goals. Stutsman said that regarding the strategic planning at the Highlander, they heard what every elected official’s vision was for the County. She suggested doing something like that again. She said the good thing was that the elected officials and department heads had a voice and were in unison with the project. R. Sullivan said that White said the same thing. White had said that in 1999 the Board decided that the number one priority is the justice center. She said this is why this planning should be done every year or every other year. Neuzil said that strategic planning was the start of a County campus. M. Sullivan agreed. He said that they used to meet once or twice a month on the Space Needs Committee. R. Sullivan wondered how to pick someone. Neuzil said they can forward names to M. Sullivan to look into. Stutsman mentioned Maggie. Neuzil said she used to be at the Housing Authority. M. Sullivan said they sound like strategic envisioning sessions.
Stutsman asked what the status of the phone system is and if callers are getting a person’s voice when dialing the Board office. M. Sullivan said the phone now rings into the office without the voice mail. Now, the entire seven digit number has to be dialed to call another department. In order to not miss calls that are rolling over, they have a night button that is turned on at 4:30 p.m. and turned off around 7:30 a.m. It will make the phone go into voicemail after four rings. These voicemails can then be transferred if needed. M. Sullivan said that the caller will also have the option to push other buttons to get the Supervisors. Stutsman said she has been getting complaints about the phone not being picked up. R. Sullivan added that the Auditor’s Office is complaining that they were number one on the system, so they were getting a lot of extra calls. M. Sullivan said the problem was that the Office couldn’t put the call on hold, so it tied up their telephone and staff. This was not the intention. Now the phone will be answered.
Stutsman said she is frustrated with the issue of not being able to go to a meeting if there are two other Board members there. She said that it would be a terrible misuse of Administrative Secretary Casie Kadlec's time to have to go to have to post agendas and attend any meetings where there might be three or four Board members present. R. Sullivan said that he wants some clarification regarding the Chamber wanting to do a meeting regarding sales tax. He understands that all the Supervisors cannot go and speak, but he wondered if they can have three people sit at that. Stutsman wished that they could say that they can all go but figure out who the designated speakers are. Meyers said that Lyness said that three can’t be there at the same time even if not all of them are speaking because it is considered deliberation. He said he disagrees with Lyness’s interpretation. Neuzil said that the Attorneys always play it safe rather than sorry. M. Sullivan said that he would rather they hear directly from Lyness herself. He said he thinks they can all go, but the issue is what requires an agenda and minutes. Neuzil said there is a different rule at ISAC. Neuzil said there might be a difference between meetings that the County is hosting versus outside meetings. Stutsman said that getting into deliberation is the problem. R. Sullivan said that it seems that at some meetings agendas and minutes are taken but they aren’t the County’s minutes. M. Sullivan said they don’t have to be for open meetings; it depends who calls the meetings. M. Sullivan said he can ask Lyness to speak at an upcoming meeting. The Board agreed to put this issue on a future elected officials meeting agenda.
Adjourned at 2:21 p.m.
Attest: Tom Slockett, Auditor
By Mimi VanAusdall and John Deeth, Recording Secretaries