MINUTES OF THE INFORMAL MEETING OF THE JOHNSON COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS:
NOVEMBER 6, 2008
Business from Linn County: Resolution Supporting Regional Long-Term Economic Redevelopment Planning....................................................................................................................................... 1
County Engineer Greg Parker: 120th Street NE through the City of Shueyville in Johnson County, Iowa 2
Human Resources Administrator Lora Shramek: Progress Report....................................... 11
Human Resources Administrator Lora Shramek: Amend Long-Term Disability Insurance Benefit with National Insurance Services to Increase Maximum Annual Covered Salary from $71,642 to $100,000 Effective July 1, 2009............................................................................................................................. 14
Human Resources Administrator Lora Shramek: Renewal of Synchrony Employee Assistance Program (EAP) Contract Effective November 15, 2008 to November 14, 2009................................... 15
County Treasurer Tom Kriz: Update on Collection of Old Real Estate and Mobile Home Taxes 16
County Treasurer Tom Kriz: Investment Outlook............................................................... 16
Information Services Director Jean Schultz: Approval of GIS Project Specialist Classification 17
Executive Assistant Mike Sullivan: Public Assistance/FEMA Project Worksheets.............. 18
Board of Supervisors: Disposal of County-Owned property on Camp Cardinal Road........ 19
Board of Supervisors: Appointments to Johnson County Council of Governments Cool Cities/County Advisory Committee.................................................................................................................... 21
Board of Supervisors: Appointments to Various Boards and Commissions........................ 21
Chairperson Sullivan called the Johnson County Board of Supervisors to order in the Johnson County Administration Building at 9:15 a.m. Members present were: Pat Harney, Larry Meyers, Terrence Neuzil, Sally Stutsman, and Rod Sullivan.
Recessed at 9:16 a.m.; reconvened at 9:24 a.m.
County Engineer Greg Parker said there are several individuals present who are going to help him introduce the topic of 120th Street NE through the City of Shueyville. He said proposal is for 120 Street through the City of Shueyville, east of I-380 by the bank all the way to Curtis Bridge Road intersection. Four years ago the State changed legislation so cities with less than 500 population were no longer responsible for maintenance of farm to market routes and the responsibility shifted to the counties. The County receives $13,000 annually to maintain the section of road in addition to Curtis Bridge Road which runs south of Shueyville to Sandy Beach Road. They will be focusing on 120th Street because residents are calling to complain about the current shape of the road. The road receives a lot of traffic and the City of Shueyville approached the County to try to work collaboratively to accomplish a reconstruction of the roadway. A year ago Shueyville and Johnson County contracted with JCCOG to do a study. They came back with a recommendation for a plan of action that the road should be rebuilt based on the growth activities in Shueyville leading to higher traffic volume. He stated he looked at a patching program with Shueyville City Engineer Dave Sleshinger and Veenstra & Kimm, Inc. Transportation Engineer Leland Belding. Parker said he was going to hand over the discussion to Sleshinger.
Sleshinger said he has been working with Shueyville for a long time to come up with solution to the issue 120th Street presents. He introduced Mayor Tim Carsen. He said they have tried to collect information on the existing conditions and they looked at the maintenance program Parker had referenced. Sleshinger said once they checked out the patching program but the costs were very high and money would be better used to do a proposed road improvement. He said they put together some options with cost estimates. Sleshinger stated they addressed the background issue of the transfer of jurisdiction bill. He said once the City reaches population of 750 the jurisdiction reverts back to the city. He stated the County is aware of this fact and will help with the decision of whether they want to move forward with the project. Sleshinger said they are looking at funding options Shueyville has along with trying to incorporate some of the money spent on patching to be put towards a project to fix the road.
Belding (referencing a slide show presentation) said the project limits are shown on the slide going from the driveway of the convenience store to the west and through the Curtis Bridge Road intersection to the east. R. Sullivan asked if the area from the gas station to the interstate is the purview of the DOT or the County. Parker said (referring to a slide) this slide shows the property lines from the County GIS website. He said there is a house near the City boundary and it runs down the center line of the road through the first interchange. He stated the north side is County and south side is City. R. Sullivan said when considering the scope one area that gets damaged is off the exit of the interstate. Parker said regarding the intersection the current 5 Year Road Program they have 120th Street from 965 East and the project would carry through to just before the convenience store. R. Sullivan stated that between the two projects the road would be taken care of. Parker said they would approve this to their 5 Year Road Plan because these are pavement issues needing to be addressed.
Belding said the existing road is an old rural section of 24-foot wide asphalt with no shoulder and deep ditches. He stated this type of road has not been built in a long time and is considered a little unsafe. He said the road does not accommodate bicycles or pedestrians. Belding said continuing from the east the slide picture is looking from James Street east, which shows the road conditions and general design. He said the DOT website reported in 2006 existing traffic numbers. He stated the road is very busy with a lot of pass through traffic. Belding said the number was 6,700, 4,590 at Curtis Bridge Intersection, and coming out of there is 1,140 going north. He stated there was 2,270 heading down south and 1,530 heading east showing a lot of traffic around Shueyville. Belding said there has been 21 accidents between 2001-2007. He said the majority of the accidents are near the bank and the truck stop which shows the need for a left turn lane or some sort of improvement in the area. He stated the accident data shows 2001 was a big year for accidents with a subsequent decline for the next couple of years until 2005 when the number jumped again. Belding said some business may have opened in 2005 that triggered more accidents. He stated there were no fatalities and only minor injuries were reported for accidents with most being property damage. He said there is a wide range of different accidents from driving too fast to failure to maintain control to animal distractions.
Sleshinger said there is an Excel spreadsheet handout that summarizes the patching programs. He said they walked the streets and visually identified the areas that were failing. He stated they used a rating system of A-D (A being the worst shape possible and D being in need of repair but is still drivable). Sleschinger said when the program was formulated he went out with Assistant County Engineer Ed Bartels and they identified areas, drew boundaries, tabulated the boundaries, and came up with some areas of immediate need that they gave to L.L. Pelling where they received an estimate. He said they gave them an estimate of cost for type A sections of $153,000. Parker said these were dollars expected to be expended this summer. Stutsman asked if the patching had been done. Parker said the patching had not been done because they looked at the numbers and due to cost the City is interested in proposing something else. He said if they patched A areas only for $153,000 they would have to add 20-30% costs because of increases in construction costs.
Sleshinger said if they wanted to do sections of patching for B-D the total cost will be $147,000. He said the total cost is $300,000. R. Sullivan asked if Sleshinger could clarify the A-D classification system. Sleshinger said category A means a failure of pavement. Parker said category A is effectively where the pavement has rubbilized and/or has failed. He said the system tries to break it down so they can address areas that need to be immediately fixed. R. Sullivan said they really cannot wait on category A areas. Belding said the pictures are small and it is hard to see unless onsite but the area in poor shape is in a depression that is cracked so water can get under the road which will cause it to deteriorate very fast. He said this is also a problem for snow removal because they cannot get all the snow out of the depression causing the road to be slick. Belding said the moisture can cause the cracking payment to pop out as it is not secure to the underlying pavement anymore. He said they tried to identify areas that would be problematic very soon with category A. He stated category B is rutted but not as bad cracking and category C is less severe than category B. Belding said they did not do any cores to determine pavement consistency. He said they have looked at the road several times in the past and were able to determine which areas of the road were deteriorating quickly.
Sleshinger said the sheets are a graphic representation of the tabulation they have distributed. He said when looking at the areas they would be patching it extends to many areas. He stated they are looking at down to intersection on the lower one there is a big area needing to be replaced. Sleschinger said as they move up the roadway, in front of the community center, there is a large area needing to be fixed. He said there are short stretches in between the two areas and when considering the three R’s too much maintenance is reconstruction. He stated that once it is considered reconstruction they have additional guidelines such as shoulder widening to adhere to. Sleshinger said they consider the money involved and the manner of the repairs and the end result seems to indicate there is a better way to go than patching up year to year. He said they looked at other proposed improvements and they came up with four options.
Belding said they reviewed the JCCOG report recommendations and looked at the site themselves and came up with an urban, an urban/rural combination, and a straight rural section. He said the JCCOG recommendation was going to an urban three lane section through Shueyville. He stated he is showing some typical sections; the rural section road width would remain the same but shoulders would be added on the sides and the ditch slopes would push farther from the roadway. Belding said the urban section would wind down and add the curb and gutter along with installation of a storm sewer. He said this eliminates part of the ditch but the other part lends itself to a combination use of storm sewers and ditch drainage. He stated the south side of the road really wants to have pipe and the north side of the road carries the water. Belding said the JCCOG section shows a three-lane section so there will be a 14 foot center turn lane with an eight foot sidewalk on one side and a four foot sidewalk on the other. He said the rural/urban combination divide was James Street and they suggest using the divide to be the place to begin the rural or urban plan. He stated the cost opinion for the four different plans are $2.3 million for urban, $1.88 million for rural/urban, $1.5 million for rural, and the three lane is $3.36 million. Stutsman asked if the price was for each section or for the whole project. Belding said the cost was for the whole project depending on which option is decided. Stutsman said the plan was for the stretch from Curtis Bridge Road to the Interstate. Belding said there is one piece in the County, the north half of the road from the gas station to the one piece of property. He said they looked at the cost for option 2 (rural/urban) which is what they are recommending and it would come to a total of $238,000 for the County’s portion making up a total of 13% of the total cost for the project.
R. Sullivan asked if the total was just construction or if it includes acquisition. Belding said it includes all immediate costs, construction, and engineering expenses. R. Sullivan said different options require different land acquisition costs. He asks if it is a better or worse idea to acquire land now that they might need later. Belding said they are recommending the urban section through the City of Shueyville because the area through there is where they would run into the most property acquisition. He said with the urban section they are recommending would take most of their needs. He stated putting in a bicycle path at a later date than that would require additional acquisitions. Belding said the curb and gutter and some retaining walls will take care of most needs.
Belding said the eminent population growth will result in a change of jurisdiction to the City. The only question is when this will happen. He said he went into the state census data site to pull in their estimates. He stated in 2000 there were 307 people and than varying growth took place so from 2000-2007 the average growth rate was 5.8%. Stutsman asked if they were taking into consideration the development of land that has been annexed. Belding said they are looking at two different things; one is what has been growing and the other is how many lots are plotted out and ready to go now. He said the question is when these lots will sell. Stutsman said a new road would be a big selling factor for selling the lots. Belding said this is typically the case.
Neuzil said he has heard 500 or 750 for transfer of jurisdiction. Parker said the transfer took place for cities with less than 500 population but the road jurisdiction transfers when the City hits 750 population. He said the population level must be maintained by cities for one to two years. He stated a major concern is a dip in population will cause the jurisdiction to be bounced back and forth. Belding said they are roughly trying to guesstimate when the City will reach this point. He said they are estimating based on the growth rate that the City will reach the population level in 2016. He stated the code has the stipulation that the population numbers must be according to the census (every ten years) or a special census that is certified by the Secretary of State. Stutsman said many communities choose to do a special census. Sleshinger said the benefit cost has to be there in order to do a special census and it may be an option for the County to consider in the future. Stutsman asked if they could call a special census. Schechinger said he does not procedurally know how it works but the County could encourage a special census through financial means. Belding said the 1990 census found Shueyville had 223, 2000 census 310, and projections for 2010 of 539, and 2020 of 950.
Sleshinger said they provided a handout that shows the debt service for a $2,000,000 bond. He said they went up to the $2,000,000 number because fluctuations of construction costs and some contingencies. The payments are $165,000 to $175,000 per year. Shueyville has a constitutional debt limit of 5% of the overall property value. The City does not have the bond capacity for a $2,000,000 project. Sleshinger said they need someone else to take the bond out and the City will repay them. With the immediate cost to patch the roadway, they looked at the portion that is considered County maintenance. The City has a TIF district on some existing development in town and they have a current debt obligation they need to pay. TIF revenue coming in unclaimed must go towards the current debt; the first ten years the figure is in between $40,000 to $60,000. The money could be applied to the project but they do not have any funds beyond that to use for the project because the Road Use Tax Funds already go directly to the County for maintenance. The remainder of the money brought in from property taxes not in TIF districts is used in the annual operating budget and regular maintenance on roads. Stutsman asked Parker how much they receive from Road Use Tax Funds. Parker said it is about $13,000.
Sleshinger said the current debt obligation is ten years. After ten years, the City has enough money to cover the bond payments with the TIF district taxes. Shueyville has two additional developments with TIF districts and they cannot estimate tax revenues because it is based on housing and increased property value, which remains largely unknown. Stutsman asked if TIF money would be used for roads. Schechinger said the money would be used for roads and other improvements in the city such as repairing the Water Street Bridge and James Avenue. The payment schedule for the County’s part of the costs is about $837,000, the 13% included on the north side of the project. If they pull out the 13% County commitment, the cost is $216,000 with the other money being the County payment of the bonds. Sleshinger said when the look at routine maintenance $153,000 is allotted for category A and $147,000 for categories B-D. He said this money would be spent in the first couple of years and he anticipates routine patching because the roadway is in poor shape. He stated the rough analysis is $750,000 and looking at County bond payment and maintenance payment the difference is $87,000.
Neuzil said around 2020 there would be no more County obligation. Sleshinger said it is contingent on whether the city population reaches 750 and all of their figures are estimates for analytical purposes. He said the proposal is that the City is willing to spend any unclaimed TIF dollars for the project with the money growing at a 2% inflation rate per year. Neuzil asked roughly how much of the project Shueyville is willing to fund. Parker said the City’s proposal is based on the County taking a $2 million bond over a 20 year period with the first year ten years the City contribution being between $40,000 to $60,000. He stated from year 11-20 the City is aiming to pay the bond payments with TIF money. Stutsman asked what happens if they do not have TIF revenues. Schechinger said the City currently has TIF revenue coming in and the analysis is based on that fact. He said as long as property values continue to rise the TIF revenues will also increase. R. Sullivan said the revenue to the County does not go up because properties are in TIFs. He said during the time the property values are rising in Shueyville, the amount for the County stays flat. Stutsman asked if TIF dollars could be diverted to other projects. Schechinger said if they sign an agreement with the County saying they will pay the bond payments, the City has the obligation to do so. Neuzil said the project is $3.2 million and the City of Shueyville is willing to pay that but wants the County to assist them in the bonding process. Parker said Neuzil is correct but from year zero to 10 the City only has between $40,000 to 60,000 to pay towards the $175,000 annual debt. He said the city is asking the County to help pick up the difference until the whole TIF is released after the community center is done and at year 11 they would begin paying the full.
Neuzil said the County is going to invest $873,000 in the project. Belding said the County currently retains responsibility and will maintain responsibility for the road. Parker said the County receives $13,000 in maintenance for the roadway that includes snow removal and patching. R. Sullivan said a portion of this would remain the County’s throughout the duration. Belding said the County has a certain amount of dollars for maintenance a year and the question is whether they apply the dollars to maintenance or put the money directly towards the bond and have reconstruction now. R. Sullivan said this assumes that not only Shueyville but Swisher doesn’t annex a portion to the County. Harney said he likes the whole process but there are some issues in maintenance costs. Neuzil said it comes down to prioritizing what roads need to be upgraded. He said it is not in the 5 Year Road Plan and they are looking at large amounts of money going toward maintenance costs that are not budgeted. Harney said the only reason it was not on the road plan was because of the issue of the 750 population and if they put money into the project it went directly to Shueyville and now they have the opportunity to work with the City which will benefit all parties involved. Neuzil said they are looking at a situation where it is inside the city limits and it is the rural tax base that will be footing the bill.
Carsen said his understanding was there was more County money budgeted. Parker said they did not specifically budget money towards the road and last winter was very hard on roads. He said they need to be realistic and realize that even though money was not allocated towards patching of this particular road it will need to be done. Stutsman said they need to discuss bonding because the County is reaching their bonding capacity to a point where it will cost them a lot of money to try to take care of all the potential that is out there. She said they have a $10 million limit and if they go over then they pay premium dollars to borrow money which is an additional cost to the County they need to keep in consideration. She stated she is uneasy about going ahead without knowing all the ramifications of what they are agreeing to. Neuzil said the County bonds to $4 million on the normal infrastructure and now they have the Joint Communications Center who are requesting between $18-20 million plus the Conservation Bond which may be another $20 million. He said they will have to have a frank discussion about what they want to do in consideration of all the upcoming projects. Neuzil said it is not part of the 5 Year Road Plan but every year that goes by makes the project more expensive.
Carsen said he wanted to respond to statements pertaining to rural residents and their share of tax dollars for the project. He said many rural residents take the road through Shueyville in addition to school buses and emergency vehicles. He stated the estimate of $152,000 for total failures the County was not able to sustain the cost but looking at issues of jurisdiction the city is not obligated. Carsen said they made an effort to meet with County engineers and Supervisor Harney to look at cost sharing. He said when they looked at cost sharing, the maintenance costs to sustain total failures, it seems like an easy choice to him. He stated this road is the main way to travel through the city and the road is frequented more by County rather than City residents. Neuzil said the way the Iowa legislature sets up the funding stream is the whole issue. He said a similar argument could be made for every city in the County. Carsen said he cannot help how legislation is run but he wants to argue that few communities have one main road that is their lifeline. R. Sullivan said previous Boards had allowed all the development to take place on Curtis Bridge and Sandy Beach Roads whose residents drive through Shueyville. He said it is safe to say there has not been enough attention to improving the roads while development has taken place. Neuzil said Lone Tree, Oxford, Tiffin, Swisher, and Shueyville are all cities that have one main arterial road leading into it. He said the way its set up requires County government to make the investment. He stated the request will be questioned because the project is within a city with the money coming from rural taxes so he anticipates rural residents being unhappy with the proposal.
Carsen said he is aware of those facts but he feels there are plenty of rural residents whom would be happy to speak to the Board of their approval of the project. City Council Member Brian Redman said he hears from his neighbors the same thing about the large number of cars coming from the County on the road and why should the city have to pay for all the traffic. He said there was discussion about how the County should have updated the road south of town when all the building was taking place. He stated Shueyville could not sustain the road because they simply do not have the budget for the project. Stutsman said there is another option to raise taxes. She said the reason many people move to rural communities is because the taxes are less. Redman asked how much they would have to raise taxes on the 300 or so residents of Shueyville to raise $2 million. Stutsman said they will have to raise taxes on the rural side as well and how do they determine how much they raise taxes to accomplish different County projects.
Harney said the only difference here is that Shueyville is planning on paying the County back so it is a loan. He said Neuzil is correct in the fact they will have bonding issues, especially the Conservation Bond that is $20 million over 20 years. He stated all the projects are adding up to around 40 million budget bonding that is adding up quickly. Harney said the only positive he sees is that the loan will be repaid. R. Sullivan said they have a Key Issues meeting to really discuss the bonding issues and until they have a meeting to thoroughly discuss the issues all talk today is a little premature because there is not a full understanding of the implications. He said everyone has a handle of the needs but it is a financial rather than an engineering issue and they must approach it as such when it is revisited in the future.
Parker said as part of their funding stream he asked the engineering staff to update construction budget and project costs for projects outstanding. He stated they have completed in FY 2009-2010 and in 2009 the costs are down $4 million and for 2010 the costs are up just under $1 million. There are currently many projects sitting in the funding stream and they will be short $2 million. They are feeling the crunch and the fund sources are increasing and they have lots of activities that need to be addressed meaning they need to prioritize. Neuzil asked for reiteration that the project cost was $3.2 million. Parker said the construction costs are less than that but the total bonding costs of the project is $3.2 million.
Meyers asked if the total figure took into consideration the fact the bonding may cost more if they start taking on more bond debt. Belding said the figure is looking at the debt service schedule for a $2 million bond. Neuzil asked if it is a bond of $3.2 million of which how much would be the anticipated costs of the County obligation. Belding said the city will put in $2.4 million, the County will be obligated for $416,000 for 13% of the north side of the road, and County payments above and beyond would be $837,773. Neuzil said the reason he asks is when he adds up the $2.4 million along with the $416,000 for the County and the $837,773 it goes beyond 3.2 million. Schechinger said the reason for that is the difference between bond dollars and unclaimed TIF dollars the City has more than enough to cover the bond payments. He said they tabulated the unclaimed TIF dollars and not the payments so they have that much available but they are only be required to cover the bond payment. He stated looking at the last couple years the City has unclaimed TIF of $175,000 and the bond payment is only $170,000 so there would be a $5,000 surplus. Schechinger said they drop down the TIF revenue increases and the bond payment will stay relatively the same so the last year they will have $210,000 and will only need to pay $170,000.
Neuzil asked how much the County is obligated under the proposal. Belding said the $416,000 for 13% of project plus the $837,773 for a total of over 1.2 million. Meyers asked about the 13% ownership in the portion of the road and he is interested in when they got to the end of the bond and things are taken care of he doesn’t see the logic of the County owning 13% of the road. Parker said the 13% is what the County currently has jurisdiction over meaning a portion of the road from the gas station east of the houses to the north side of County comprising the County portion which would be paid upfront for construction costs. Schechinger said it does not look like 13% of the overall project cost but the reason it is high is because there is a box culvert underneath the roadway in the deep ravine that is in poor shape and needs to be replaced. He stated it is not 13% of the roadway but rather 13% of the costs. He said the items included in the stretch of highway the higher cost can be accounted for. Neuzil said in a nut shell the City of Shueyville would put $2 million and the County would put $1.2 million towards the project. Stutsman said they are basically financing the project. Parker said if the bond rates change up or down the total cost of the project will change.
Belding said the one thing to compare to is the maintenance costs projected at $750,000 in the County’s jurisdiction. Neuzil said only if Parker identifies the project as a greater need to move it up the priority list. Stutsman said she agrees with R. Sullivan that they need to sit down and discuss the position this puts the County in and will they limit other services to fund a project. Sleshinger said there are some differences between other communities in Johnson County and Shueyville because Shueyville was the only City affected by the transfer of jurisdiction. He said the City is the only one in the county that the County has an obligation to do maintenance on roads making it unique. R. Sullivan said he thinks Oak Crest Hill Road goes through Hills which is another County obligation. Parker said they have farm to market routes that connect to the city limits and run through it but they are referencing the fact that Shueyville is the only incorporated city with a population of less than 500 affecting the County because all other cities were not in the County’s jurisdiction.
Schechinger said according to the numbers, if the County is responsible for doing maintenance and the expected maintenance costs are $750,000, the bond payment of $837,000 does not take into account the fact that certain costs could be removed or added. There isn’t a significant increase in what would be responsible if the County fixed the road or decided to do maintenance. The other item he discussed earlier is if they do a lot of repairs on the road and someone says they are reconstructing instead of repairing, all the repairs down are insufficient and the road will need to be widened to standards. The cost for repairs is significantly under the estimations if the project requires widening the road and adding shoulder and the ending monetary figure is closer to the actual construction cost of fixing the road. The unclaimed TIF dollars will stop after this year and if they do not start the project soon, the City will certify its debt and starts the 20 year period next year. Pushing the project back could result in not having the proper funding available.
Stutsman said part of the unintended consequence points to how important it is for cities and counties to work together. She said for years the County Planning and Zoning Department has worked with the City of Shueyville over a long period of time to try to plan for that strip of road. The City continually ignored all inputs and requests and now they have major issues of the driveways being too close to the road, etc. and the County is expected to come in and solve the issue. Sleshinger said in 2000 they started working with the City Engineer and one of the first steps was to enact subdivision and zoning ordinances. From that time on, they have tried to take the advice of the County from Planning and Zoning but he agrees with Stutsman that this has not always been the case. Carsen said he is looking to the future to partner with the County on the issue because he is worried about the safety of the road because there are no shoulders. He said if the maintenance column was to be ignored, they know this year alone the $153,000 of necessary maintenance costs will not be invested in the road. As a City, they are investing in the services seen here today to try to partner with the County. They will do everything they can to try to cover as much cost as possible and they need to invest dollars to rely on those who have the knowledge to guide them in this project.
Neuzil asked where Shueyville put its most recent TIF dollars. Carsen said they put the dollars towards the Community Center. Neuzil said they must have decided that the Community Center was a higher priority than the road. Carsen said they have one building in the community that belongs to the City, which is their community center/city hall that has holes in the roof, rodents, and odor. He said something needed to be done about the Community Center issues but actions started before he came on board as mayor. R. Sullivan said in terms of moving forward for the future the County needs to discuss bonding capacity and interest rates and also talk with Parker about the priorities for roads. After having those two conversations he would like to have the Shueyville people come back to talk in greater detail of the project specifics. He wants Parker to stay in touch with everyone so the meeting can happen sooner rather than later. Harney said he has been the liaison to Shueyville for the last four to six years and they have been great to work with. As he has attended several of their meetings, he feels Shueyville has come a long way working with Planning and Zoning staff with problems such as subdivision and road issues. What has happened in the past is behind them.
Meyers said this is not a new problem and it has been a standoff to this point. He said this is some sign of progress to get to a solution. Parker said the legislation change one or two years ago allowed counties to bond for construction projects making it something possible for County consideration. R. Sullivan said they will try to have a meeting with Parker regarding road priorities and get back to Shueyville. Stutsman said it is part of the 5 Year Road Plan that is discussed in November. Parker said as they are preparing for their budget now, they want to gather additional information about the projects for the next couple of years. Neuzil said it is good to have a spirit of cooperation between Shueyville and the County but it all comes back to prioritizing because taking this project means another project will be taken off the 5 Year Road Plan. He said residents need to start talking to the Board of Supervisors so they know this is a priority. Carsen said Neuzil is right but residents, both rural and residential, have communicated how important the project is to them. He said he will invite these residents to the next meeting to express their opinions. Harney said he agrees with prioritizing and relooking at current projects to weed out what does not require immediate action. Stutsman said they are having a Finance Committee meeting next Thursday at 2:30 pm. She said bonding is on the agenda. R. Sullivan said they need to have a meeting with the whole Board in the next couple of weeks.
Recessed at 10:41 a.m.; reconvened at 10:51 a.m.
Human Resources Administrator Lora Shramek said she would like to thank her coworkers Human Resources Coordinators Dana Winkowitsch and Vanessa Wierman, and Human Resources Assistant Geri Owen for all their dedication and hard work. She said under policy and development administration, HR spends a great deal of time helping 22 departments on contract and policy interpretation. The Employee Handbook Committee did a comprehensive re-write of the employee handbook effective November 1, 2007. The financial wellness benefit policy was introduced. HR recommended a water emergency policy during the flood pertaining to the emergency closure of County buildings and addressed employees who were able and available to work. On July 1, 2008, they initiated the Smoke Free Workplace Act. They recommended an increase in mileage reimbursement from $0.34 to $.49 and collaborative work with the Board tied it together so they average the State and Federal rates. She has attempted to initiate the GASB 45 RFP for actuarial services.
Shramek said they negotiated four collective bargaining agreements with Ambulance, SEATS, Sheriff, and Social Services for FY09 and they are negotiating three for FY10. She addressed four union grievances, one went to arbitration and another was a non-bargaining grievance that resulted in a settlement. She participated in the Labor Management Committee where they currently have two active seats for MH/DS and SEATS. Owen produced three Johnson County Employee Newsletters and is also a member alum (along with Wierman) of the County Communications Committee that is active in the Johnson County Fair coordinating schedules, organization of booths, and prizes for children. They coordinate and help with the Employee Appreciation lunch. Owen helps launch the United Way and Iowa Shares campaign for charity. Human Resources coordinates the Chow Hounds for Charity and the Holiday Treat Week for the building. They participated in seven meetings with the County Engineer at Synchrony. Shramek said she is involved in all terminations and over the past year there have been six retirements. Additionally, they conduct exit interviews and share information with department heads and the Board when necessary.
Shramek stated that under management practices, Wierman has processed 30 unemployment claims with four going to fact finding and one went to an administrative law judge. The intense four hour hearing was stopped and recessed for the next day for another half hour. Johnson County, with Wierman’s help, prevailed in 28 of the claims, two of which they did not protest. Winkowitsch and Shramek completed a tedious EEOC complaint. Shramek said in the year, she drafted several PIPS, disciplines, and provided input for performance evaluations for departments throughout the County for a dozen management professional employees including the HR department. She followed up on several requests from the Board of Supervisors by having Winkowitsch follow up on FEMA flood hours, Owen helping with employee thank-you notes, and personally working on departmental exceptions to the handbook. They hired a new part-time HR Office Assistant making two new employees in training over the last year. The FY08 budget for HR finished at 95%.
Shramek said under compensation and benefit administration, she assisted Mental Health/Disability Services Director Kris Artley with new hire compensation guidelines for case managers. She and Wierman calculated the Merit Budget Amendment. Winkowitsch has calculated hundreds of payroll authorizations with new positions numbers in GEMS verifying the longevity amounts and COLAs. They renewed the benefit contract and addressed proposed changes in chiropractic and free standing ambulance providers coverage change. Human Resources ensured compliance of 509A and 513C.10 which is the Iowa Individual Health Benefit Reinsurance Association and Medicare Part D compliance requiring notification with CMS and distributed Credible Coverage Disclosure to all former employees. She recommended starting a 2% charge for administrative fees for COBRA and 509A as allowed by law going into affect July 2008. She coordinated compliance with new dependent legislation for young adults to age 25 for health care coverage (medical and dental) and managed a self-funded health care pool. She coordinated the leave of absence (LOA) and long term disability (LTD) benefits for employees with significant and serious illnesses. Shramek said that Winkowitsch has processed 51 FMLA requests, which are for absences of three weeks or more. They completed a job evaluation for a Sheriffs Office Secretary II reclassified as Field Investigator and Information Services Director Jean Schultz will be presenting another presentation later on. She also completed the flexible spending RFP resulting in a new flexible spending administrator, introduction of flex debit cards, and transportation account form for employees to be emailed out this week.
Shramek said they have created new and updating existing job descriptions working with department heads. She said they recruited 27 positions, which entailed advertisements, interviews, reference checking, and applicant communications. They also headed a Search Committee for the Public Health Director.
Shramek said Winkowitsch posted 22 OSHA logs for each vocation coordinating recordkeeping for 35 work related injuries and illnesses under the Safety and Worker’s Compensation Coordination. They also chaired five Safety Committee and five Incident Review Committee meetings. Winkowitsch coordinates the safety audits and walk-throughs with insurance carriers ICAP and IWCA and the net results of those efforts have decreased the work comp modification factor from .79 to .77 resulting in insurance savings.
Shramek said under Training and Development they have processed 73 new employee orientations and conducted handbook review sessions for 443 employees with all but 8 employees having not yet attended. She said she presented six Department Head Meeting topics. Wierman coordinated wellness activities for the Financial Wellness benefit that has been well received by employees. They have offered Kirkwood START courses and also accountability and customer service sessions taught by Terry Whitson. She attended the NPELRA national and state conferences and all HR employees attended SHRM state conference and encouraged and supported staff training. Shramek said Wierman became Professional Human Resources (PHR) certified.
Shramek said much progress and accomplishment has been made for their goals. The first goal is working with department heads and elected officials to tweak the employee evaluation form and process. She gathered several examples from other public entities and a committee has been formed to review the performance evaluation forms for Johnson County. Winkowitsch leads the committee and their first meeting was last week. The second goal is to continue to provide training for management and supervisory staff on union contracts. She collected input of educated managers in the administrative unit. They met individually prior to a meeting collectively with Collective Bargaining Negotiator Judy Perkins. They provided training for supervisory staff and emailed out a comprehensive list of all contract changes. HR also tried to sit down with new management that has been hired. Shramek said, for example, she sat down with Artley and the MH/DS management team for over three hours to discuss collective bargaining agreements. They also held special handbook sessions for managers. The third goal is to provide the Board with summaries on changes and recommendations made during negotiations. HR provided the Board with Labor Relations updates. She said the updates were not as good as last years because of a FMLA absence. They additionally provided the Board with summaries of contract changes.
Shramek said her fourth goal is to attend a certified labor relations specialist programs and evaluate the County negotiation team. HR attended Labor Academy II – The Grievance Arbitration Process. She has evaluated the County negotiation teams, which included review of Perkins per the Board’s request as well as evaluation of individual negotiation team members. The fifth goal is to do a salary survey for non-bargaining employees. Wierman put in the request for proposal and the RFP Review Committee recommended Austin Peters who was approved by the Board today. The sixth goal was to develop strategies for improving County hiring in regards to Affirmative Action and Equal Employment Opportunity initiatives. She said she has educated her managers on an individual basis. Within the last year they have increased the minority status professionals by two. They worked with the Public Health Department in updating Affirmative Actions goals, strategies, and progress but there is more work to be done in this area. The seventh goal is to ensure that the Human Resources Office is open during regular business hours. Shramek said this goal is a free-bee to the department. HR continues to be open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. They close for approximately one hour to celebrate each of their birthdays but they notify the Board in advance. They were closed Monday and Tuesday of flood week and opened with full staff as soon as Facilities Manager David Kempf gave clearance on June 18, 2008. On June 16, 2008 and June 17, 2008 Winkowitsch and Wierman were operating out of the Secondary Roads department while Shramek worked at home. In addition, Owen, Winkowitsch, and Wierman covered absences for the Board Office. The eighth and final goal is to continue to meet with two Board members, starting with Stutsman and Sullivan and now with Stutsman and Harney. She meets monthly with the two liaisons.
Shramek said Johnson County provides long term disability (LTD) benefits for all full time employees excluding elected officials. Employees may also purchase voluntary buy-up options. After participating in the joint purchasing agreement back in 2001, they switched their carrier from Addison National Life, also known as National Insurance Services for a substantial premium decrease. Since that time, the rates have not increased but they need to review increasing the maximum covered salary cap. They currently have 26 employees whose salary exceeds the cap of $71,642. When looking at comparability of other counties of the LTD cap they are all over the board. Black Hawk County had a $90,000 LTD cap for department heads and $65,000 for other employees. Dubuque County does not provide LTD benefits and Linn County has a cap of $140,000 with no employees earning over the mark. Scott County has the same cap as Linn with only one employee earning over the amount. The City of Iowa City has a cap of $200,000 with no employees earning more than the amount. The reason for her request at the current time is so the benefit can be budgeted for. She spoke to Deputy Auditor Chris Edwards a few months ago and although the premium rate would not decrease if the cap is increased, they would be paying slightly more for the 26 people to cover their full actual salary. Based on the rate of $.275 cents per $1 of likely benefit, she estimates the increase to be $1,500 dollars. The recommendation is to propose the Board amend the LTD benefit by increasing the maximum coverage dollar cap effective July 1, 2009 to at least $100,000.
R. Sullivan asked what the potential downside of a person that makes $102,000 and the cap is $100,000. He said he assumed it would pay up to $100,000 and anything additional the County would have to find elsewhere. Shramek responded that the left-over amount would not be covered. She said they do have maximum annual, plus monthly benefit maximums that are tied in together. She said the company recommends that the County start doing this every couple of years. She said they will have to amend the contract accordingly. She said if they were to go to $115,000 that would take at least two years. She said they only have one employee that is currently over. Harney asked if that fee varied by the number of people with that problem. Shramek said that it could and that is why they can’t just make it $200,000 because then the rate will be affected, and it will have to go through underlining regardless. R. Sullivan asked why she is recommending $100,000. He said it sounds to him like $115,000 would be better. Shramek responded that she said at least $100,000 would be better. She said $100,000 takes care of the vast majority of employees but she would like to make it $115,000. R. Sullivan asked if $115,000 would cost the County much more. Shramek responded that it wouldn’t. Neuzil said this is a benefit that the County doesn’t have to provide. Shramek agreed and said the long-term disability benefit is payable after somebody has been off work for 126 calendar days that is payable at 67% of their income up to the maximum benefit. Stutsman asked if she is suggesting that this be an automatic increase or to just come back every time she thinks that it needs to be increased. Shramek said she would have to come back to get it reapproved by the Board. R. Sullivan said as there is turnover in the departments the County could potentially drop the cap. Shramek said some of this might have some effect with the salary survey as well. R. Sullivan said they will talk about a $100,000 cap and put that on the formal agenda for next week.
Shramek said this is the tenth year with Synchrony. Synchrony provides confidential services for the employees as well as their families, with six counseling sessions per incident with a rate of $24 per employee. She said the annual fee would be $10,368. That does not represent an increase from last year. Shramek said Synchrony also provides training services; they do customized training for the County on teambuilding and generation differences within the work place. She said the utilization rate for general services was at 3.32% and that represented 13 new cases. Synchrony also handles any disciplinary counseling sessions and conflict mediation resolution. The Board agreed to put the contract with Synchrony on a future formal agenda for approval.
County Treasurer Tom Kriz said through this point they have collected a little over $700,000 in back taxes and interest. He said they have worked through many properties. He said they have created a list to prioritize the properties that they want to clean up in the next six months. He said the properties range from a little over $6,000 to up to $178,000, with Mid-River Marina and Marina 218 owing the most taxes. Mid-County Water is a utility company with water lines. He said Johnson County shares the problem with Linn County so they may collaborate with them on this issue. He said they are continuing to work on this, but it is extremely likely that the Board will get involved in legal action to collect those taxes.
R. Sullivan asked if the totals are taxes and interest. Kriz responded that it is both and in many cases it is about half interest and half taxes. He said in all of these the unpaid taxes go back for a long time, they may have been written off but will be helpful in times of economic struggle. Neuzil said that it seems advantageous to pursue these. He said asked how the tax sale works. Kriz said most of these cases are buildings on leased land, and tax sale law keeps the County from selling the taxes on buildings on leased land. He said every June they sell unpaid taxes on the regular parcels, the acres of land, and homes, and the County has investors come in and pay those taxes. He said they are not seeing a carry over of anything along that line, but when they get into buildings on leased land there is no mechanism to collect the taxes without going through the County or legal action. He said that is why they are where they are now to collect these taxes and the burden is on the County to do that. Harney asked if the Marina was on Corps of Engineers land. Kriz said yes. He added that collecting the taxes from the marina will be extremely beneficial to the County because it is not something they have budgeted for.
Kriz said after the financial meltdown there were a lot of questions coming in about the County’s investment of dollars, what the County invests in, and how safe the tax dollars are. He said the institutions in the State of Iowa are all covered by a state sinking fund. He said if a financial institution in Iowa fails that is on their list it will be covered by that sinking fund. He said they are fortunate to be in this community because a majority of the investments are within very sound financial institutions so there really isn’t a problem with that. He said they do have a very conservative financial picture. Kriz said he has very tight restrictions on what the County does and doesn't invest in. He said most everything the County does is completely covered by the State sinking fund. He said the County only invests in local entities and does not get any mutual funds or stocks, bonds or anything like that. He said everything is 100% sound within that sinking fund. He said the financial policy that he wrote and that the Board uses is good and very safe. He said over the period of time the return on that has been fine compared to other things. He said it is important for the public to know that there is no jeopardy.
Kriz said as the County looks at budgeting this year, what this leads to is the investment received on the money the County holds through collection of taxes and those sorts of things. He said right now that is starting to plummet at new low rates. Kriz said the County is going to be earning about 1% on some money because the Federal Reserve lowered the rate. He said that impacts the County budget and the interest revenue is likely to drop half a million dollars this year.
Kriz said they met and talked about flat appraisals and flat values of houses. He said nation-wide financial advisors are telling cities and counties that if they are ever going to have financial discipline, the next 18-24 months are critical. He said the County has been proactive and started to look at that already. He said a decrease to $2 a gallon for gas translates into over a hundred billion dollar economic stimulus to the economy. He said that is not just in Iowa City but everywhere. He said the County needs to continue to watch the interest revenue decrease and budget for that accordingly.
Information Services Director Jean Schultz said in 2005 Information Services added a GIS Technician and a GIS Specialist position. She said the GIS Technician position was made part of the Administrative Bargaining Unit. A bargaining meeting was held with PPME union representatives in August of 2005 regarding the new classification. She said there was discussion of the duties of the GIS Technician and how those duties compared to a Map Delineator in the Auditor’s Office and the Zoning Aide in Planning and Zoning. She said both the County and the union acknowledged that it was a new position and that the duties might change over time and there might be a need to re-evaluate those duties.
Schultz said in November of 2005 and July of 2006 two of the Auditor’s Office Map Delineators were classified as GIS Technicians. She said the job description still needs to have the specific duties customized for the Auditor’s Office. She said the position of GIS Technician at Information Services performs duties that are more advanced than the duties of the other two GIS Technicians from the Auditor’s Office. She said for example the one in IS does user training on GIS software and GPS technology in the various offices, makes technical presentations at conferences and performs duties that require advanced problem solving. She said some examples of this are the GIS atlas produced a few months ago, the maps for the Iowa City Fire Department with their imported data and response times for various areas in Iowa City, also there is the GIS roadmap which was sent to the printers this week. She said the duties of the other GIS Technicians are more routine and recurring. She said they researched GIS positions and they determined that the position would more appropriately be classified as a GIS Project Specialist.
Schultz said that GIS Coordinator Rick Havel and Human Resources was involved in the reclassification. She said HR personnel conducted the job evaluation and determined that the appropriate pay range for the Project Specialist position would be 17 on the non-bargaining pay scale. She said that would be a range from $37,340-$47,301. She said the current GIS Technician range is $33,529-$38,677. She said if the IS position is reclassified the annual cost would be approximately $500 plus benefits and IPERS.
Schultz said they are part way through the fiscal year so for this current year it wouldn’t be as much. She said the position would be included in the upcoming compensation and classification study also, and that is one of the primary reasons they are doing this now so that it can be included in that study. She said she recommends the creation of the GIS Project Specialist job classification at pay range 17 on the non-bargaining employee pay scale. She said then the County would no longer have the GIS Technician position but instead the GIS Project Specialist position.
Executive Assistant Mike Sullivan said the current public assistance/FEMA project worksheets are going to be for the Conservation Department and it is the last department under the public assistance application that he completed on behalf of the Board. He said the debris cleanup reimbursement from FEMA is going to be $3,899.66. He said the Cedar River Crossing was an area of six acres that was affected. He said it had eight species of grasses, brushes, and fifty-two species of blackbirds. He said the FEMA related reimbursement cost to repair this specific area to its pre-disaster condition is $1,185. He said there is a caveat in that FEMA does not cover the cost for reseeding or the equipment use for reseeding on any flood-related damage in any green space. He said Conservation Director Harry Graves is aware of that and he has a plan in place. He said Graves will probably go through the Department of Natural Resources and will re-seed this through that process. He said the total cost for the reseeding work is $2,266. He said the next area was River Junction, most of that was silt and debris removal. He said FEMA’s reimbursement will be $4,726.57 for the work they did on River Junction and in the camping area, which was non-electrical. He said the last area was the Hills Access. He said that had the electrical aspect, which had recently been put in before the flood. He said the material, labor, and equipment for that project, and the administrative cost reimbursed by FEMA is $12,694.23. He said with the exception of the seeding, this puts those areas back into the pre-flood position for Conservation.
M. Sullivan said now they are at this point in the public assistance application, the next step is the State Public Assistance Office will be sending him material to confirm the worksheets. He said he should have a close out process with the State Homeland Security and FEMA for the public assistance application for the Board. He said County Engineer Greg Parker would be doing that as well. Neuzil asked if the dollars M. Sullivan is talking about are requested dollars or dollars they have approved for repayment. M. Sullivan said that is what he requested. He said FEMA will reimburse 90% and when the close-out happens the other 10% percent for each of these areas will come from the State of Iowa back to the County. He said that all of the money will go back to the General Fund.
Assistant County Attorney Andy Chappell said he wanted to remind the Board that a year ago they discussed a remnant piece of land at the intersection of Camp Cardinal Road and Camp Cardinal Boulevard that was in the city limits of Iowa City. He said it is a triangle piece that is heavily wooded. He said the property to the north is owned by South Gate development or one of their other entities. He said the part immediately north is pretty close to being developed. He said they are putting some mixed use stuff in there such as townhouses and that sort of thing. He said a year ago the County discussed selling this property but didn’t get past the preliminary stage because shortly there after they discovered that the plan to put the Joint Emergency Communications Center on the City’s property by the water plant was not going to work. He said this had been an alternate site considered for that center so they decided to hold off at that point to see what would happen.
Chappell said the question was raised whether they should sell that property now. He said his recollection from when they discussed this before is that there was some discussion with other County departments and there is no interest in the land. He said they have owned this land for a long time. It is actually part of the County farm property that was cut off when 218 went through. He said it is approximately three heavily wooded acres with pretty steep slopes and a pond area on the southeast portion. Chappell said they had an appraisal done in September of last year and the appraiser said that the property does have some value with a potential building site in the northeast. He said it is currently zoned P1 because the County owns it, but the appraisers think that the best purchase would be to have someone purchase it for a single family residence. He said it is not far from Walnut Ridge, and across Melrose there are some new developments such as Galloway Hills. He said this might be a site someone could put a nice house on. He said they think there is building space to do some kind of condominiums but that would require some improvement to Camp Cardinal Road which is currently a chip seal surface.
R. Sullivan asked what figure the appraiser came up with. Chappell responded that the apprised value was around $115,000. Stutsman said she is interested in moving ahead with selling this property. She asked if it would be best to list it with a realtor. Chappell said that he thought that is where they were headed last year when they discussed this. He said a lot of the properties the County sells have a ready buyer or someone who has made an offer or expressed an interest. He said he thinks this is more of a unique property and he said the appraiser assumes that there is a fair amount of exposure to the market for the property. He said that would be several months to a year depending on what happens in the market but at least they are moving down that process. He said he thinks listing it probably wouldn’t be a bad idea. Harney said he is in favor of moving forward with the disposal of this property because this is just sitting there and it is costing Secondary Roads to clean the sidewalks and keep the grass cut back and raked. Meyers said he doesn’t see any point in just sitting on this because there is no use for it, and the Board might as well put it back on the tax rolls.
R. Sullivan said he agreed with what was said but his concern is that it doesn’t sound like the County has had a similar property for sale for quite some time and he wants to think about process and make sure they do this in a way that makes the most sense. Chappell said ultimately in order to sell it the County would still have to follow the requirements in 331.3.6. He said one way the Board could do that would be to move forward with their proposal to sell the property and have the proposal be listed with the real estate agent and then to secure the best price and then set a low dollar amount. R. Sullivan said then the public hearing process would be laid out. Chappell said the Board would lay out their proposal and if there was a public hearing on that proposal and there are people who are willing to make an offer the County can step back and take a look at it again. He said there may be people who think that the County should keep it or use it a certain way, and they can again look at it.
Harney asked how the process for this property would be different from the portion the County is trying to sell on Prairie du Chien Road. Chappell said the Prairie du Chien property was acquired as right-of-way so there is an initial notice period that the County has to give in order to sell. He said the County has to give the prior owner notice and give her an opportunity to offer to purchase the property for what the County's bid was. He said the County has a ready buyer for that property. He said they do not have to worry about that with this property because this is an old right-of-way. He said this is property that the County owned that was of the 40 acre piece of the County Farm that was cut off when the State put in the 218 right-of-way.
Harney said his thoughts are if the County is going to have a realtor on this one it would be advantageous to have a realtor on the other one. Chappell said it was something that the Board could have done but they didn’t decide to go down that path. He said they have sent out the notices as to what that process would be. He said it is different because they have the ready buyer. R. Sullivan said he is comfortable with the way they proceeded on the other property. He said in terms of this one he is fine with the realtor suggestion. Neuzil said that he is too, but he would like someone watching this and spread the word to see if there is someone that has some interest and go through the process like they would anywhere else. He said it would be nice to have a willing buyer. Harney said he agrees as a whole, but he has concerns that they perhaps are not getting the best price out of it or the other one if there are only two people interested. R. Sullivan said that people do still have a right to bid on the Prairie du Chien property. Chappell said the proposal on the other one is if the prior owner, who is entitled by law to acquire it at fair market value, she wants it, she gets it. If she decides she doesn’t want it the County would then have a public auction on that property and set the minimum at the offer that the County has. He said with that particular property there wasn’t anyone else who stepped up and said they would like to buy it.
R. Sullivan said he and Stutsman are the Johnson County Council of Governments representatives. He said the Cool Cities Initiative signed up Iowa City, Coralville, North Liberty, and Johnson County to become a Sierra Club Cool County. He said in that process one of the things that is required is a Citizens Advisory Committee. He said they talked about the fact that it didn’t make much sense for each of those entities to have their own committee as a single committee could serve all of them. He said the suggestion came from the Board and the City Council that perhaps JCCOG take some kind of role. He said JCCOG has discussed that and they are willing to take up that taskforce. He said their suggestion is that each entity would appoint a staff person and a member of the public. He said if the Board decides to go forward with this they would make an appointment of one staff person and then also advertise per the usual process to get a member of the public, which would then be appointed to the JCCOG Committee. He said in terms of the staff person he recommends Assistant Planner Josh Busard. He said they will go ahead and do that advertisement.
R. Sullivan said on the Compensation Commission, owners of city and town property, they have several folks who would like to be reappointed. He said owners of farm property they have several applicants and folks to appoint. He said licensed real-estate brokers and other occupations need to be appointed. He said they also have a term on the Conservation Board and they have received several applicants. Stutsman said she wanted to suggest something different for appointing this individual. She said everyone knows that the bond issue passed and the primary responsibility for allocating those dollars will be with the Conservation Board, which is an appointed board. She said for her, it puts more emphasis on who they select for this position. She asked if the Board would be interested in conducting interviews with all the individuals so they have a very clear understanding of who they are, and where they are coming from, what their views are on the bond issue and the allocation of those dollars. She said the Board usually goes by the application forms but she doesn’t think that will give them a clear understanding of who these people are. Neuzil said if the Board does that for this appointment, they will have to do it for every appointment. R. Sullivan agreed and said that even though the budgetary responsibilities are substantial for Board of Health members, the Board has never done individual interviews. Stutsman said the Board of Supervisors has never given an appointed board responsibility for $20 million, which is what makes this different for her. Stutsman said she feels strongly that the Board has an responsibility in appointing these people now that the $20 million bond issue has passed.
R. Sullivan said the people who decide to take on appointed jobs understand that it is important. Meyers said the interesting thing about this one is that for a lot of these boards and commissions the Board has a hard time getting enough applicants to fill the positions and there is one opening for the Conservation Board and there is an unusual amount of applicants for the spot. Stutsman asked when these people will be appointed. R. Sullivan said typically it would be the next formal meeting. Stutsman said she understands that but the Board doesn't have to appoint until the end of December. Neuzil suggested waiting a couple of weeks for the Conservation Board appointment. R. Sullivan agreed. He said for the appointments to the other ones he has mentioned thus far he is comfortable with doing that next week. He said they have applications to make for Historic Preservation. He said they have appointments to make to the Integrated Roadside Vegetation Management Committee.
R. Sullivan mentioned the Iowa Valley Resource Conservation and Development Board. Meyers said with that board they changed their bylaws and his understanding is that they actually make the appointments and the Board makes a recommendation. M. Sullivan agreed. Meyers said they have a nominating committee so they could possibly come up with a name themselves, he said he thinks they have a name already.
R. Sullivan said they have a lot of applications for the County Trails Advisory Committee. He said some terms are coming up there. He said they have applications for the Judicial Magistrate’s Commission and they have an appointment to make to the Johnson County/Iowa City Airport Zoning Board of Adjustment. He said they have an appointment to make to the Zoning Board of Adjustment as well as the Planning and Zoning Commission. R. Sullivan said that all of the appointments will be on a next week's formal agenda, except for the Conservation Board appointment.
______________________________________________________________________
Rod Sullivan, Chair, Board of Supervisors
______________________________________________________________________
By:
On the _______ day of _____________________, 2009
By Nancy Tomkovicz, Recording Secretary
Sent to the Board of Supervisors on February 20, 2009 at 1:00 p.m.