MINUTES OF THE INFORMAL MEETING OF THE JOHNSON COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS:
JULY 23, 2009
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Sons of Union Veterans of The Civil War Treasurer Les Weber: Resolution Renaming Highway 6 Bridge Over the Iowa River the General John Corse Memorial Bridge..................................................... 1
Emergency Management Coordinator Dave Wilson: Siren Rebanding Project for County Tornado Sirens 2
Social Services Coordinator Amy Correia: Enter Into a Department of Human Services Decat Contract of $52,000 to Support the Focus on Youth Fund, With $10,000 Set Aside for Administrative Support 3
Social Services Coordinator Amy Correia: To Utilize the Above $10,000 Administrative Support to Create a Non-Bargaining Grant-Funded Position – Program Assistant – Within Johnson County Social Services to Administer Focus on Youth Fund Applications and Vendor Relationships....................................... 4
Executive Assistant Andy Johnson: Request from the North Liberty Community Library for Letter of Support for Grant Application to Iowa Network Services Charity Grant Program for Two Barcode Scanners and One Computer........................................................................................................................ 5
Executive Assistant Andy Johnson: Update on I-JOBS Grant Application For Razing of National Guard Armory Building, Installation of Parking Lot and Green Space.................................................... 6
Executive Assistant Andy Johnson: Reports and Inquiries................................................... 6
Board of Supervisors: Appointment to the Johnson County Building Code Board of Appeals 6
Reports and inquiries from the Board of Supervisors........................................................... 7
County Attorney Janet Lyness: Amending the 28E Agreement with Child Support Recovery Unit of the Department of Human Services to Eliminate the Position of Assistant County Attorney................... 7
Chairperson Neuzil called the Johnson County Board of Supervisors to order in the Johnson County Administration Building at 09:43 a.m. Members present were: Pat Harney, Larry Meyers, Terrence Neuzil, Sally Stutsman, and Rod Sullivan.
Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War Treasurer Dr. Les Weber said he is asking for the Board’s support in memorializing the Iowa River Bridge on Highway 6 by permitting the organization to post signs. The organization would like to memorialize this bridge in honor of one of the native generals from the State of Iowa who served in the Civil War, General John M. Corse who was from Burlington. The project is supported entirely by the Sons of Union Veterans of Iowa. They will purchase the signs and the Iowa Department of Transportation will mount the signs with no cost to Johnson County. The Board’s role is to adopt the resolution in order to memorialize the bridge in honor of General Corse.
Harney asked if the Board has the authority to approve the request, because the highway and bridge are State owned. Weber replied they are Federal property. Stutsman said from Weber’s letter it appears the request has been approved, and they only need resolutions from the City and County. Weber said the Sons of Union Veterans have undertaken this as a project, and nothing has been approved at this point. They are requesting the Board’s approval for this bridge, and similar requests will be made for bridges located along Highway 6 in other jurisdictions. Neuzil asked if they will be presenting this request to the Iowa City City Council. Weber replied yes. Neuzil said Highway 6 is a State Highway but designated as a Federal Highway. Weber said it is a Federal highway, but the State maintains it.
Weber said the memorial will consist of mounting a plaque on both ends of the bridge, and he passed around a preliminary design for the Board’s review. The dimensions will be in keeping with other signs that are posted; however, the design may change at some point. Stutsman said she thinks it is a good idea and asked if Weber knows anything about General Corse. Weber replied the people of the City of Burlington are quite proud of the General and placed a statue of him in Crapo Park. He was not actually born in Burlington but spent the major part of his life there. He became a member of the Union Army during the Civil War and rose to the rank of Major General. He served well under General Sherman and participated in the battle of Allatoona Pass. Neuzil said he seems like a worthy General, and this sounds like a neat project. Weber agreed and said the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) highway, Highway 6, has been memorialized since 1938. It extends from Province Town, Massachusetts to Bishop, California and is one of the longest highways in the Country. Neuzil received consensus from the Board to add this item to the formal agenda for July 30, 2009.
Emergency Management Coordinator Dave Wilson shared with the Board the need to reconsider how the 52 emergency sirens are activated throughout the County. There is a Federal Mandate to reband all sirens by 2013. There is also a drastic need to reconfigure siren activation. With the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Weather Polygon, they can give tornado warnings and sound tornado sirens throughout the County, but it is an all or nothing system. For example if Swisher is threatened and the warning is sounded, it will be perfectly clear in Iowa City, Coralville, and surrounding areas. This is an inefficient and ineffective process and causes a great deal of problems for private industries such as hospitals that have to move patients.
Wilson said as they focus on opening the Joint Emergency Communications Center (JECC) in July 2010, they are considering how best to redesign the two-way communication system, which is currently a one-way system. The goal is to be able to activate the sirens by quadrants of the County, by metro area, or by city. Additionally, they are looking at software that would allow them to eliminate the human factor and do it through the NOAA Weather Polygon. When the weather service issues a Polygon, the system would look at the Geographic Information Systems (GIS) database where the sirens are located and only turn on the sirens that need to be activated.
Wilson added that they are presently looking at a number of ways to fund the system. The price would not exceed $100,000. They are looking at simply purchasing two-way narrowband compliant transmitters to place in all 52 sirens. It would be a one-time cost and would probably be covered through JECC or Emergency Management. The interest seems to be to do it under the bonding structure so it is equally spread through the tax increment financing (TIF) areas. The plan is to do this as a one-shot deal, and they would not assume any maintenance of the devices once they are installed. They would not be replacing any sirens. This would simply allow them to fix a big problem that affects all areas and to complete it by the deadline of July 1, 2010. Presently, the request for proposal (RFP) they agreed to with Tyco-Raycom-Harris only allows them to be activated in the fashion they are now, which is all or nothing. As they move forward with the new center, it does not make sense to stay that way. It is in the County’s best interest to take this opportunity to fix it and fix it properly, while not assuming any responsibility for the municipalities. Wilson said he wanted to present this information to the Board to see if there are any concerns. While the exact costs have not been identified, it appears that the project would cost about $50,000.
Sullivan said he thinks this will be a positive change, because he fears people are becoming inoculated to sirens. For example, if the siren goes off in Shueyville and they are in Hills; they think they do not need to worry about it. Having a more accurate system will help people respond the way they need to. Wilson agreed. Sullivan added that Planning and Zoning has been working with people in Sutliff, and one of the complaints from that area is that they cannot hear the sirens from surrounding towns. He suggested it may be a good area to put a new siren in the future. Wilson said this is the first year they have installed County sirens, because it was previously handled by the municipalities. Their desire is to place sirens in the unincorporated areas.
Social Services Coordinator Amy Correia stated they created the Focus on Youth Fund in February 2009 with grant dollars from Linn County Community Services, which originated from the State Mental Health Block Grant. These dollars were used to replicate Linn County’s program that has been operating for approximately three years, within the four surrounding counties, in preparation to apply for the Federal Systems of Care for Children’s Mental Health Grant. It was started in March 2009 and has been very successful. In an effort to continue that fund during the planning process to apply for the grant, the Decategorization (Decat) Board considered supporting the Focus on Youth Fund with carryover dollars that were designated from the DHS Service Area Manager. A committee that was organized by the Decat Board met to look at recommendations for funding.
Correia added there will continue to be some mental health block grant dollars from the State. The amount that was recommended for funding and was passed by the Decat Board was $52,000. That would be a contract with Johnson County. Through Department 45, the County would pay the expenditures and receive reimbursement from the State. Part of the funding is allowed to be used for assistance in administering the fund. The program is very family- and youth-need driven. Parents apply to receive funding for services or activities that are not funded by any type of insurance or third-party payer to support their child who has a mental health diagnosis. They are funding a lot of summer camp activities. It can also be used to cover assessments. They are keeping data, and the Decat Board is overseeing the fund.
Harney said this sounds like a good program and asked if the County is expected to pick it up after the grant runs out. Correia said there is no expectation that the County would be picking up this program. She and others are involved with making a grant proposal in January or February 2010 for the Systems of Care for Children’s Mental Health Grant. It would be a multi-year grant so the funds would continue. Decat funds could certainly continue to support this fund, but there is no expectation that the County would provide ongoing support.
Stutsman said she is confident about this program’s ongoing funding from the State, because she believes the Legislature recognizes the mental health needs of kids and is committed to providing funding for that purpose. Correia agreed and said the State is involved with the grant planning process and has hired the Center for Disabilities and Development (CDD) to do the grant writing. The CDD would be the applicant requesting funds from the Federal Government, because it needs to be a State agency. The State has been supporting the Dubuque Area Systems of Care effort so it is definitely a priority for the State.
Sullivan said he appreciates that the State recognizes that the process takes a lot of time and are willing to fund it. There are a lot of details, and it is nice that they recognize that fact. Stutsman asked if all the funds they received last year were used. Correia responded they received the money in February and March 2009 and have approximately $7,000 that was unspent but not unallocated. They are allowed to carry it over. For 2009 they approved 39 applications. Some of the services crossed two fiscal years, because they were for Summer Camp programs or for counseling services. Because it is a State grant, they are allowed to carry those funds forward. Stutsman stated the program has been very successful. Correia replied yes and said it has been well received by parents as well as by service providers.
Correia said they want to create a part-time position supported 100% by the Decat Grant. This position would be similar to the Empowerment Administrative Assistant and Empowerment Early Childhood Specialist who are employees of the County but 100% of their salaries and benefits are covered by the grant. Based on current volume, she would still have supervision and oversight of the program. She said Human Services Accountant Kathy Lynch provides fiscal support; however, the part-time position would process the applications and talk with parents. Sometimes the applications are not complete and there are case management issues, because the dollars are paid directly to the service provider. Additionally, there are duties involving working with vendors to accept payment, receiving paperwork, keeping client data in a database, and assisting with evaluation of the program. This position would support all of those activities and be funded by the grant.
Correia said there is an office set aside for student interns and special projects within the Social Services Department. The space can be used by the new employee and has computer and telephone service. She worked with Human Resources and prepared a draft Part-time Social Services Program Assistant job description with a pay grade of 13. This would be $11.70 to $12.53 starting hourly rate.
Sullivan asked if the person would be working 1/3 time. Correia responded they would work approximately 10-12 hours per week. Harney asked if the $10,000 comes out of the $52,000. Correia said yes. Neuzil asked if Human Resources reviewed the document. Correia replied yes and said the document she provided the Board is a result of her most recent discussion with Human Resources. Neuzil said they would add this item to the formal agenda July 30, 2009.
Correia added that the Decat Board passed a resolution to increase funding for Decat coordination services. This was a contract the Board of Supervisors approved in March 2009 which was at a 50% reduction. This helps support her time as well as Lynch’s time. It was at a 50% reduction because of the expectation that the funding would be significantly cut, and it was cut from the State as expected. However, they did not expect the significant transfer dollars that came from the Juvenile Court office and DHS, so they are back up to about $500,000 for Decat for this year. The Decat Board recognizes that coordination takes a lot of time and voted to add an additional $9,000 to that contract so it is up to $17,000. She asked the Board to add this item to a future meeting agenda to amend the contract. Neuzil said they would add it to the formal agenda July 30, 2009.
Executive Assistant Andy Johnson said they have a request for a letter of support to Iowa Network Services that offers small grants to nonprofit organizations. As the letter indicates, North Liberty is interested in updating their technology and would like a letter of support from the Board. Neuzil said this item would be added to the agenda for July 30, 2009.
Johnson reminded the Board that Facilities Manager Dave Kempf updated them on this project during the Key Issues session on July 22, 2009. It was added to this agenda, because the application deadline is August 3, 2009, which will be ready for approval at the formal meeting on July 30, 2009. The application is to apply for funds to assist with the raising of the National Guard Armory building, possibly adding some pervious concrete for parking. The application provides extra points for green items that are included in the application, and Kempf is looking into adding some rain gardens and additional green features. The plan right now is to raise the building and convert the other space to grass. This grant would assist in adding some additional features.
Stutsman asked if Kempf is working with the Soil and Water Conservation District regarding the rain gardens and pervious concrete. Johnson replied he does not know but can ask him. He added that for the grant application it may not be necessary to have the entire design for the space completed. Because there was a short turn around time for submitting the application, he anticipates there will be some additional time to submit the final designs. The grant application is flood related and, if awarded, would cover 75% of the costs. This is a project the County has already budgeted for so receiving this grant could save significant dollars.
Johnson reminded the Board that the Johnson County Fair is July 27 to July 31, 2009, and there will be an abbreviated formal meeting on July 30, 2009.
Johnson said there is an opening on the Johnson County Building Code Board as a result of a resignation, and they received two applications. Polling results indicated the choice of Randy Lackender to fill the position. This is a committee with six males and one female, although this would not be covered by State Legislation until 2012. Assistant County Attorney Andy Chappell said this is a committee that has additional restrictions. He said of the seven members, only one or two are considered ‘at large’. They are always in search of qualified members and have had difficulty finding qualified females. They are certainly out there, but they may already participate in the municipality where they live. Neuzil said they would add the item to the formal agenda on July 30, 2009 for approval.
Meyers had a liaison with Correia and attended a Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors meeting.
Stutsman attended the ECICOG Local Food Tour. Stutsman also attended a liaison meeting with Correia, a liaison meeting with Johnson, and a liaison meeting with Planning and Zoning Administrator Rick Dvorak.
Harney made site visits with Planning and Zoning staff. He had a liaison meeting with SEATS Director Tom Brase. He attended a Military Affairs meeting and the Sixth Judicial Department of Corrections Board of Directors meeting.
Neuzil participated in We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution on the University of Iowa campus and traveled to Des Moines to attend the Rebuild Iowa Coordinating Council meeting. He encouraged everyone to enjoy the Johnson County Fair and said the County will set up many great educational booths.
County Attorney Janet Lyness said one of the county attorneys will be leaving the department, which will open up the position for Child Support Recovery. There is no longer a 28E Agreement but rather an Intergovernmental Agency Agreement with the Department of Human Services for this position. This has been the practice for a long time where they have an agreement between the Department of Human Services, the Collection Division for Child Support Recovery, and Johnson, Iowa, Benton, and Jones Counties. With the new structure, the County will provide three Child Support Recovery Unit Officers, a Secretary I, and a Clerk I. Twenty years ago approximately 50% of the Child Support Recovery work around the State was done by Assistant County Attorneys and the other part was done by Assistant Attorney Generals. Over the years the number of Assistant Attorney Generals doing the work has vastly increased, and very few counties have an Assistant County Attorney handling this work.
Lyness said due to the opening in this position, it is a good time to talk about whether to continue this arrangement. It is a position that is 100% reimbursed by the State so there is zero impact on the budget. What was believed in the past is that it is important to have someone in Johnson County government specifically dedicated to Child Support Recovery. With changes over the last year, the case load has increased for the four counties, and there is an Assistant Attorney General handling some of the smaller counties. Lyness said the current system is working; however, it is a little awkward at times because the attorney is based in Cedar Rapids. The State is interested in having this become an Assistant Attorney General position, because it would give them more flexibility to determine where they most need help with Child Support.
Sullivan asked if the people of Johnson County would lose services if the State chose to put resources in Polk County. Lyness responded no. When she brought this up with them, they said the service will not change. They will still have an attorney assigned to Johnson County who will do the work that the Assistant Johnson County Attorney does. They may lose some local control over the position, because the person would report to the State rather than to Johnson County. She spoke with the Regional Officer of Child Support Recovery who does not feel the service will change.
Lyness said she has mixed feelings and questions why they would try to fix something that is not broken. She can also understand the interest of the State in trying to utilize that person in the best place. Right now the Assistant County Attorney can work in Johnson, Jones, Benton, and Iowa counties but cannot help in Linn County. There are three Child Support Recovery officers two floors down in the same building who cover Linn County and now are assisting in Jones and Iowa counties, but Johnson County’s Assistant Attorney cannot help them in Linn County. There is an interest too, for that attorney, if they wanted to stay in Child Support and continue to perform that work, they could move up to Assistant Attorney General II and III. Potentially they could do that as an Assistant County Attorney within Johnson County, but it is a little bit different. As an Assistant County Attorney III, they would not have any additional authority. However, if they moved up to an Assistant Attorney General II or III, they would have an opportunity to do more with policy issues and change their job. As an Assistant County Attorney I, II or III, they will be doing relatively the same thing at each level.
Lyness said she brought this discussion to the Board to get their input. She has not talked with the other three counties and does not believe the Department of Human Services has either. If the Board feels strongly that it is better to have an attorney dedicated to Johnson County to refer individuals to that office to be sure that Child Support issues are being dealt with, she is fine with saying they will not change anything right now. Harney said he does not want to see diminished services and asked if Johnson County will lose shared computer information if the position goes to the State level. Lyness responded that part of the 28E Agreement gives Johnson County access to the databases that State Child Support workers have and that would not change. Stutsman asked if the County receives a portion of the funds that are recovered. Lyness responded the State reimburses for the support staff positions. Stutsman said it seems organizationally better to have the State handle the process. Neuzil said he agrees with both Harney and Stutsman’s comments. He does not want to lose the service; however, there could be efficiencies created if the State had authority over the individual they are paying for. Lyness said she can work with DHS to maintain that contact. She has not checked with the other three counties, and currently the agreement is with all four counties and DHS. If one county says they absolutely do not want to change anything, she will honor that request.
Adjourned at 10:35 a.m.
______________________________________________________________________
Attest: Tom Slockett, Auditor
By:
On the _______ day of _____________________, 2009
By Nancy Tomkovicz, Recording Secretary
Sent to the Board of Supervisors on August 20, 2009 at 4:00 p.m.