MINUTES OF THE INFORMAL MEETING OF THE JOHNSON COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS:
OCTOBER 15, 2009
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
US Census Partnership Program Representative Abbie Peterson: 2010 Census Partnership Activities 1
Public Health Director Douglas Beardsley: Changing the Fee for Well Water Sampling Services by Johnson County Public Health.................................................................................................................. 2
Human Resources Administrator Lora Shramek: Progress Report......................................... 5
Entrepreneurial Development Center CEO Curtis A. Nelson and Entrepreneurial Development Center Consultant Charles Stein: Funding Request Beginning in FY2011 for Entrepreneurial Development Center 17
Executive Assistant Andy Johnson: Planning for October 19, 2009 Meeting for Public Input on Sutliff Bridge..................................................................................................................................... 18
Reports and Inquiries from Executive Assistant Andy Johnson.......................................... 19
Board of Supervisors: Recommendation from the Criminal Justice Coordinating Committee to Send a Letter to the General Services Administration Offering to Trade Parking Space for Property........... 19
Board of Supervisors: Resident Request Regarding Invoice for Work Done at 1194 James Avenue NE, Shueyville..................................................................................................................................... 19
Reports and Inquiries from the Board of Supervisors......................................................... 20
Chairperson Neuzil called the Johnson County Board of Supervisors to order in the Johnson County Health and Human Services Building at 9:40 a.m. Members present were: Pat Harney, Terrence Neuzil, Sally Stutsman, and Rod Sullivan.
US Census Partnership Representative Abbie Peterson said they are asking the Board for their assistance to spread the census message. That message is that it is important, safe, and easy. $400 billion of Federal money is allocated annually based on census data. Peterson said the partnership would like the Board to form a complete count committee. They want to make sure that County interests are taken into consideration when joining a city complete count committee. They have a team of four people working 29 counties so they aren’t able to get to every city, so by going to Boards of Supervisors they try to reach everyone. Peterson said they are working with a number of groups in the area and the University. Johnson County US Census Partnership Assistant Darren Burch said they are mainly looking for the networking aspect in Johnson County. There are many small townships in Johnson County and it is hard to get the word out with a complete count committee.
Neuzil asked what kind of expectation they are looking for. He said the Board has assigned Planning and Zoning Administrator Rick Dvorak as a point person for census information. Peterson said he is probably doing more operational things and their job is to get information out to the public. They would ask for someone to sign a partnership agreement form that would show partnership. She said they have resolutions and proclamations available if the Board would be interested in doing that to show Johnson County they support this. Peterson said for the complete count committee they would have the option of serving on the Iowa City one or developing one for Johnson County. That would be a monthly meeting of a group representing the different communities within the County. Executive Assistant Andy Johnson said he has been working with the Iowa City committee and they have a meeting on October 29, 2009. Stutsman asked if Dvorak could attend. Johnson said he would discuss that with Dvorak. Sullivan said a way the County could help is with their GIS system. Burch said when he was doing address canvassing he utilized some of the County’s maps. He doesn’t know when they would have to use that but it would be something they would take advantage of.
Peterson said that is on the operational side where they organize groups to follow up with the numeration. The partnership part is to encourage people to fill out the form. Neuzil said they will want them to communicate with Johnson in regards to the resolutions and proclamations. He said they will find a County representative to attend the meeting with Iowa City. Sullivan asked how foster children are counted. Peterson said they are counted wherever they are on April 1, 2009 and they do a group quarters counting. Harney asked how they count the student population. Burch said if they live with their parent’s then the parent will fill out the information. If they are living on campus housing then they fill out the form for themselves. Harney asked if resident voters make a difference. Peterson said it is whoever lives in a community nine months or more out of the year.
Public Health Director Douglas Beardsley said currently they offer different water sampling constructs. People can buy kits from Public Health to do their own water sampling. He said sometimes they do get the results when a person does their own sampling. In order to get better data and if Public Health is going to be involved they would like to take their own sample. He said they currently do that for most of them. Beardsley said they would like to make it a fee of $25. For that someone from Public Health will take the sample and send it to the lab. The homeowner as well as Public Health will get the results so they can consult with them. He said if a homeowner does not want Public Health involved they can go directly to the hygienic lab and order kits. Beardsley said this is an increase from either $14 or $17 currently to $25. The Board of Health is concerned if they increase the price then people won’t use the service. Staff felt this was a price range that would not deter people from getting the service. He said right now the fee covers what they have to pay the lab. Beardsley said for the County’s program they get State funds that pay for sampling of wells. Harney asked if it would cost extra to test for nitrates. Beardsley said all of these tests are for bacteria and nitrates. Stutsman asked how long it has been since the fees have been raised. Beardsley said it has been more than five years.
Human Resources Administrator Lora Shramek said she has information from November of last year through today for her progress report. She said a lot of their time is spent in contract and handbook interpretation for the County. There are 22 departments that take a lot of time on a daily basis. She said they updated the Wireless Telecommunications Policy in the Employee Handbook. Now they have a $20 data plan allowance as well as $40 for the cell phone on a monthly basis. Shramek said they developed a formal hiring policy and procedure. They negotiated three collective bargaining agreements for FY2010 which are the PPME contracts for the Administrative, Secondary Roads, and the Sheriff’s Office unites. They are negotiating all six for this year. She said they answer questions and provide daily consultations and advice to employees. They also provide input and answer questions for the public.
Shramek said they had three union grievances for the past year that were settled prior to arbitration. She participates on four labor management committees including SEATS and MH/DS. Human Resources Office Assistant Geralyn Owen produced four employee newsletters called the Keeping Up With the Johnsons. Both Owen and Human Resources Coordinator Vanessa Wierman serve on the County Communication Committee. Owen coordinates the booths, children prizes, and volunteers for the Johnson County Fair. Wierman was instrumental in the Health and Human Services Open House and the Employee Appreciation Lunch. Owen is responsible for all the charitable campaigns.
Shramek reported that she participated in eight meetings with the County Engineer at Synchrony and conducted a dozen retirement meetings. She conducts exit interviews on a regular basis sharing information with department heads and the Board of Supervisors as appropriate. Shramek said they implemented a bargaining sick leave provision in SEATS. Owen worked for a week to cover the Board of Supervisor’s phones.
Shramek said Wierman handled 36 unemployment claims. Of those, seven went to fact finding, and two to an administrative law judge for hearing. Johnson County prevailed in 33, lost one, and did not protest two as part of an agreement. Shramek said they coordinate evaluations and draft performance improvement plans. She has provided input on performance evolutions for about a dozen management, professional, and HR employees. She did a presentation to the Board of Supervisors on strategic cost saving considerations, participated in strategic planning, and responded to Key Issues Meeting topics.
Shramek said they hired a new part-time HR Office Assistant and have one employee in training. She coordinated the Kirkwood Summer Job program that was funded through grant monies. They had students working for the Medical Examiner, County Attorney’s Office, and MH/DS. Shramek said they had one 80A accommodation she facilitated this year. Shramek said that she is currently serving as the temporary HIPPA Compliance Officer. Human Resources Coordinator Dana Winkowitsch led the committee to revise the performance evaluation form. Wierman worked closely with Program Analyst Elaine Okeefe Geiger to refine several repots for employment. Shramek said the HR budget finished at 95%.
Shramek said that the non-bargaining compensation and classification study has taken a significant amount of time. She said they selected a vendor and they facilitated the project with Austin Peters until they terminated the contract, and they are now working with P.J. Greufe & Associates. Shramek said they calculated the merit budget amendment which was $85,000. Winkowitsch processes all the payroll authorizations and GEMS. She verifies longevity and COLAs. Both Shramek and Winkowitsch served on the GASB-45 team by helping with the RFP, checking vendor references, recommending a vendor to the Board, and assisting with the data request for the actuarial opinion which affects the County’s bond rating and implicit liability.
Shramek worked on the benefits compliance with the Iowa Supreme Court decision regarding same sex marriage. She said they are in the process of implementing vision care coverage. Shramek said there have been several employment law changes in the last year. Those include FMLA being extending to the military, SCHIP for children health insurance, and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act involves a COBRA subsidy of 65% through the end of this year. There is the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, GINA and the ADA. Shramek said they implemented the adult child health care coverage including the tax implications. She said every year they comply with the 509A and the 513C.10 which is the Iowa Individual Health Benefit Reinsurance Association Compliance. They also handle the Medicare Part D compliance which involves notifying CMS and making sure participants are sent a notice of credible coverage disclosure. Shramek is in charge of managing the self-funded healthcare pool.
Shramek said this year they are looking at increasing deductibles and out of pocket maximums for health care coverage that will go into affect January 1, 2010. She said they are also going to increase the annual benefit maximum and orthodontic coverage for dental are. Flu vaccinations come out of this fund. Shramek said she addressed an issue of double coverage within the County’s Health Care Plan. She processed 38 requests for FMLA and Winkowitsch is responsible for those. She has coordinated leave of absences, long term disability, and life insurance benefit claims for employees with illnesses. Shramek implemented a new flexible spending administrator for the flex debit plan and the transportation accounts. She worked with the JECC providing input into the recruiting process, job descriptions, and researched and answered questions regarding benefit administration.
Shramek said they ruled out a revised employment application that Wierman was in charge of. They created several new and updated several existing job descriptions. They assisted in the recruitment of 22 positions including advertisements, interviews, benefit explanations, checking references, and applicant communication. She said they have been receiving in excess of 100 applications for openings. Shramek said they assisted in filling the Executive Assistant position. She said they began assisting the Sheriff’s Office with recruiting, including their civil service positions.
Winkowitsch is responsible for the safety and worker’s compensation program coordination. Winkowitsch posted 20 OSHA laws and coordinated record keeping for 25 OSHA recordable injuries and illnesses. Winkowitsch also chaired nine Safety Committee Meetings and five incident review meetings. She facilitated the safety audit with the insurance provider. Shramek said the County’s worker’s compensation mediation factor increased from .77 to .9 which is almost a $37,000 increase in worker’s compensation insurance coverage. Shramek said their recommendation is to include a safety component on the performance evaluation form. They are also going to participate in IMWCA's online university which offers 30 different training courses. Sullivan asked if .9 is still very good. Shramek said anything under one is good because they are receiving a discount.
She said they conducted 60 orientations for employees, reviewed contractual changes with department heads and elected officials, and coordinated several trainings. Shramek said they conducted a respectful work environment training in conjunction with individual discipline sessions. They arrange financial wellness offerings including credit score and getting out of debt. She presented six department head meeting topics and attended the NPELRA national and IaPELRA state conferences. Shramek said she encourages staff training. The HR department attended the SHRM State Conferences. Winkowitsch attended the OSHA training for regulation compliance, the PRIMA training, and the H1N1 training. Wierman attended Grievance, Arbitrations, and Past Practice for Public Safety.
Shramek said HR goals this year were to complete the updated performance evaluation form. A recommendation to the Board of Supervisors for adoption of the new form is planned for next month. Neuzil asked if that form is going to be for the Board to use for department heads. Shramek said it is for all. Shramek was to complete the certification as a Certified Labor Relation Specialist. She has attended all of the required trainings but she has not written the research paper required for certification. They had a goal to complete the salary survey for non-bargaining employees. They started the non-bargaining compensation and classification project with Austin Peters in January but are now working with PJ Greufe and Associates. They had the results July 1, 2009 and upon achieving censuses from the Board they hope to go forward with that project.
Shramek said they wanted to develop strategies for improving County hiring in regards to affirmative action and equal employment opportunities. Since starting with the County, Shramek has completed affirmative action EEO opportunity efforts. They have satisfied the State Auditor’s from the Public Health Division. Within Public Health they have expanded the action steps such as increasing places they advertise to recruit more minorities, and they planned on attending the Building Blocks Job Fair but there are no openings at this time. Wierman has been working on taking the County’s plan to the next level. Shramek said the voluntary information from each application was logged into a newly created tracking spreadsheet that Wierman did. They hired five minority candidates this past year. Shramek developed a hiring policy and procedure which directs hiring managers in affirmative action equal employment opportunity compliance processes.
Shramek, Wierman, County Attorney Janet Lyness, and Sullivan attended the Diversity Climate Study Results meeting this summer. Shramek said they wanted to provide the Board with training in the preparation and administration of employee evaluations. She last did that in July of 2005 and they will do that again when the new form is available. Shramek said on May 20, 2009 she presented several cost savings for the personnel contingency plans in light of the current economic conditions. Johnson coordinated a ranking of those. The ones with the highest rankings are currently being pursued through collective bargaining. Shramek has continued to meet with liaisons Neuzil and Harney.
Stutsman said that having only three union grievances is fantastic and is a pretty remarkable accomplishment. She asked if the retirement meetings are one on one. Shramek said those are done individually. Whenever someone is looking at retirement they go through all the benefits, especially the healthcare and IPERS. They contact her if they are interested. Stutsman asked if the financial wellness offerings are well attended. Shramek said they are very well attended.
Recessed at 10:13 a.m.; reconvened at 10:16 a.m.
Entrepreneurial Development Center (EDC) Consultant Charles Stein said in previous discussions there were two recurrent themes. Those were delineation of separate duties of ICAD and the Entrepreneurial Development Center. For this he said ICAD is the arm bringing outside business into the corridor and the Entrepreneurial Development Center will work with start-up high tech businesses engaged in interstate commerce. Stein said they have been able to quantify the economic estimates. Taking the total number of wages, sales, and capital attracted in these companies in 2008 the total economic impact is $43.5 million. He said they anticipate that to grow over time because they have entered into an agreement with the University. The University wants some help commercializing intellectual property that has grown here and build more companies around that intellectual property to stay in the corridor. Stein said this is a one time five year funding request. EDC has put together a plan for self-efficiency and this campaign is to allow EDC to develop internal revenue streams.
Entrepreneurial Development Center President and CEO Curtis Nelson said the EDC was founded in 2003 to find a way for the corridor to be more effective at growing businesses, both those that were started here and new businesses. He said they focus on the corridor and not just Linn County. They have invested roughly $500,000 in Johnson County that has come from Federal and State funds, and through fundraising outside of Johnson County. Nelson some companies in Johnson County are Asoyia and Bochner Chocolates. They are also working with the University to get better at creating companies and not just licensing technology. Nelson said EDC used to be funded by the State and Farm Bureau but they have both pulled back funds. In order to continue to provide the services they provide in Johnson County they need some more support. That is why they are requesting $25,000 a year for five years, which is reviewable every year. Nelson said they can review it as often as the Board would like and provide any reports. They track all activities on an hourly basis for every client.
Sullivan asked if the Board could give them less than $25,000. He asked if they paid less how it will change the proposal. Nelson said anything they can get is wonderful and they will still be able to provide services. Stein said the further they are away from their goal the less capacity they have to continue to do what they have been doing. Nelson said they have to cut staff at the end of the year. Sullivan asked who else they have gone to in Johnson County, both private and public. Nelson said the University has committed and they are still working on a proposal. He said they are also going to get some funding from ICAD. Stein is also meeting with many different manufactures and municipalities in the area. Nelson said the request to a private business is in more of the $1,000 range. Stein said the City of Cedar Rapids committed $100,000 a year, but cities like Marion are in the $15,000 a year range. Sullivan asked how frequently they will report results. Nelson said they tally results every month so it would be what the entity wants.
Stutsman said they have talked about reporting for the different block grants they do and asked it they could consider minutes from Board meetings. Nelson said the Board would have to approve that, but he would consider it. Stutsman said many of their Board members are from the north part of the corridor and asked if they are going to change that. Nelson said the Board is wide open to it and when they finish fundraising they will figure out who will want representation on the Board. He said they would like to do more networking events in Johnson County. Stein said their association with the University will lead to more visibility in the community. Harney said they will get a large return on this investment in this area in the way of jobs and wages. Nelson said the Board could give them money based on performance and in more than one payment. Sullivan asked if the $25,000 figure is similar to what has been proposed to Iowa City and Coralville. Nelson said that is what they are trying for.
Stutsman said she thinks this would be a good opportunity. She wants to make sure that the southern part of the corridor gets equal representation. She asked how that will happen as businesses get involved. Nelson said usually they get a referral. They have helped raise almost $4 million for clients this year. They would be happy to do more marketing. Nelson said they created the Corridor Business Alliance to make sure there weren't overlaps in services and that holes were covered. Stein is making a presentation to the International Economic Development Council on regional innovation systems. Sullivan said to fund this type of request they would have to go through their regular budget process so they would make a decision around February. Neuzil asked for how many years they would be asking for the $25,000. Nelson said they are asking for five years but the Board can review it on an annual basis based on performance.
Johnson said October 19, 2009 at 6:00 p.m. the Board is holding a public meeting to receive input on the future of the Sutliff Bridge project. The Board wanted to start with opportunities for informal conversation. The Board has mock-ups for posters that could be displayed in different areas of the room. Johnson put together a handout for people to pick up as they walk in with what will be going on during the meeting. It has an agenda, a survey, and informational points. Johnson said informal conversations would start at 6:00 p.m. and they would come together as a large group at 6:30 p.m. County Attorney Janet Lyness said they could call the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. and then recess until about 6:30 p.m. That way if people need more time to look at the options they can reconvene later. Sullivan asked if someone from the County Attorney's Office would be at the meeting. Lyness said she can have someone come but they don’t need to have someone there. Neuzil told Johnson to talk with the Physical Plant to move tables out of the room and bring in more chairs. Stutsman said it would be helpful to have name badges.
Johnson said the budget meetings start October 19, 2009 at 9:00 a.m. discussing capital projects and the Physical Plant budget. That will also include an opportunity to meet representatives from the auditing firm that have been hired. The Sutliff Bridge meeting is on October 19, 2009 at 6:00 p.m. October 20, 2009 at 11:00 a.m. there is a work session with the Human Resources Director and at 1:30 p.m. a Department Head meeting. October 21, 2009 at 9:00 a.m. there is a Key Issues Meeting that will focus on the County's legislative agenda on a State and Federal level. Representatives from the Iowa City area Chamber of Commerce are going to join that discussion. On October 21, 2009 at 1:00 p.m. is a budget work session for Ambulance and the Medical Examiner's Office. There is a Board meeting October 22, 2009 at 9:00 a.m. Neuzil asked if they cancelled the Strategic Planning meeting on October 28, 2009. Johnson said yes.
Neuzil said the County Attorney's Office has been working on a letter. Lyness said it is a fairly generic letter. The first paragraph is what the needs are. The second is what they have done thus far in terms of determination that everyone's preference would be to have a joint justice center downtown and that would require obtaining the Federal parking lot. The next point was that there has been discussion and her understanding is the GSA wants to guarantee that the employees that work at the Federal Building will have parking close to the building. She said the next paragraph is an offering that an exchange would include 150 parking spaces within two blocks of the Federal Building. Once the justice center is completed they can provide additional parking spaces for Federal Building Employees. She put in the letter that they would like to meet to discuss the terms of the acquisition of the Federal parking lot. Lyness put down Johnson as the contact to set up a meeting with the Board of Supervisors. Neuzil said the Board members can review the letter and communicate changes or anything of that nature with Johnson. He asked if a majority of the Board wants to send a letter to GSA. Sullivan asked if this will be on the next Formal agenda for the Chair to sign. Harney told Lyness he had the addresses for her and exactly what they wanted depicted in a request. The Board agreed to put the letter on a future formal agenda
Neuzil said a resident contested a bill regarding work the County had done on 120th Street for a driveway removal. The County Engineer sent a bill to the individual for the work done. He asked if there was any interest to adjust or make any changes to the invoice that was sent to the individual. Harney asked if they were going to remove that driveway in the first place. County Engineer Greg Parker said the request from Secondary Roads was for the resident to remove the access. Typically, during construction, they may allow a temporary access. The correspondence was that he was always responsible for removing the access once the construction was done. Parker said the driveway was never removed and they sent a final notice to the resident. Secondary Roads crews were in the area so they removed the driveway.
Harney asked if that was an existing ag driveway at the time. Parker said the access is in the City's jurisdiction but the County is over sighting safety activities which would include access for specific purposes. He said this access used to be an agriculture access that was never removed and went to a driveway three lots north. In discussion with Planning and Zoning they decided that when a home or something was constructed on that access the agricultural access would go away and the property owner would be responsible for removing it. Harney said since Parker didn’t give the resident a firm price in the beginning they should accept the price Parker first told him. Parker said the resident said $250 and for that he couldn’t even move his equipment. He thinks he was quoting him a number between $400 and $600 but he did tell the resident he would have to pay actual expenses. Since this was a high traffic road they had to have traffic control come out and shut down a lane.
Stutsman asked how much the bill was. Parker said it was $1,200 to $1,300. Sullivan said he looked at the plat and it says that all other accesses will be removed and the property will be accessed via James Avenue. Stutsman said since she has been on the Board they have tried to manage the accesses on 120th Street. She thinks this is an individual who chose not to remove the driveway hoping the County would forget about it. She thinks they need to stay consistent with the policy of limiting access onto high traveled roads. Stutsman said she would be in favor of lowering the cost to about $1,000. Parker said the actual costs are what they are and they did include some management staff time into the cost. If they take that out they would be in the $900 to $1,000 range.
Sullivan said a lot of time has been put into this by the Secondary Roads Staff and the Board so he is not in favor of lowering it. Harney said there was some confusion with the City of Shueyville. Sullivan said they approved a plat that says all other accesses shall be removed, so it is very clear. Neuzil said he is not interested in changing the invoice. He said that since a majority of the Board isn’t interested in lowering the invoice the next move would come from the resident. Parker said it was his understanding if the resident refuses to pay the invoice, the price would be added to his property taxes. He said he can draft a letter to the resident explaining what happened at the meeting, send another invoice, and request that payment be made.
Harney reported that he had a liaison meeting with SEATS Director Tom Brase. He attended the grand opening at the remodeled Sheraton Hotel in downtown Iowa City. Harney also met with residents discussing road, fence, and Sutliff Bridge issues.
Stutsman had liaison meetings with Parker and Johnson. She attended a Livable Communities Transportation Committee Meeting, a Chamber of Commerce Bio Sciences meeting, and a Department of Human Services phone conference.
Sullivan attended a United Way Reception that was hosted by University of Iowa President Sally Mason, the SEATS Labor Management Committee meeting, and a meeting at the Cosgrove Institute.
Neuzil attended the Rebuild Iowa Coordinating Council meeting, and the JCCOG Regional Trails and Bicycle Committee meeting. Neuzil has a Listening Post at Café Iguana’s in Hills at 4:00 p.m. on October 20, 2009.
Adjourned at 11:18 a.m.
By Nancy Tomkovicz, Recording Secretary