County Engineer Mike Gardner said their first goal is to complete work on construction projects that they have scheduled for FY 2002, listed in the current 5-Year Construction Program. He said they’ve had a couple of meetings on that trying to nail down the rest of the program. He said 2002 is fairly well set already and their well along on the design process and right-of-way acquisition for those projects. He said their second goal is to reduce the number of miles of chip seal or oil surface roads in the County. He said these are all the same goals that they had last year, just updated. He said reducing the number of miles of chip seal road for 2002, they’re upgrading a couple of miles of Mehaffey Bridge Road to pavement. Overall, he said they’re moving along decently on that goal. He said over the last 2 or 3 years they’ve probably eliminated around 6 miles of oil out of the program, upgrading it into pavement. Gardner said their third goal is to reduce the number of structurally deficient and/or functionally obsolete bridges in the County. He said they try to replace 4 or 5 bridges that may have height or weight restrictions on them or be too narrow. He said there’s approximately 230 bridges in the County overall and if you figure an average 50 year life span on them, they’ve got to do about 5 a year just to keep up.

Stutsman asked if Gardner is tracking maintenance cost on reducing the number of chip seal to oil surface roads. She asked if they are going to be able to look down the road 10 years and say by taking out X number of roads, they’ve saved X amount of money. Gardner said they hope to. He said that in the long run he thinks they’ll be able to look back and see that trend. Lehman said Gardner was monitoring gravel with how many tons per mile it was taking on the roads. Gardner said they’ve just recently completed working with Information Services and some of their in-house staff putting together a program. He said all of their trucks are tracking where each load of rock is going. He said over time they’re going to be able to say, this mile of road’s taking this much rock and then they’ll be able to relate it to traffic counts or whatever. Jordahl asked if the same thing was true of grading and other maintenance pertinent to those same gravel roads. Gardner said yes, they’re working towards that. Jordahl said that Secondary Roads payroll is linked to the Road system so the new financial software may help track this. Horne said Secondary Roads is one of the departments that are being asked to participate in the work group. Jordahl said GIS will help too.

Gardner said the fourth goal for their department is to reduce the amount of brush problems within their right-of-way through competitive seeding of native prairie on 40 or more acres. He said he just checked with Roadside Vegetation Manager Chris Henze recently, that was the same goal from last year, and he believes they seeded 43 acres with prairie last year. He said that was in addition to another 89 1/2 acres of other seeding that was done throughout the County. Jordahl said he and Terrence Neuzil were the IWV road, which they’ve talked about before not wanting to do the project. Jordahl stated it’s not mentioned in the chip seal oil because it’s paved, but it has serious problems because there’s no shoulder. Jordahl then asked about the heavy traffic roads with no shoulder. He wondered if they deserved a goal. Gardner stated he didn’t break it out but that was part of the planning process for the 5-Year Construction Program. He said that was how they set up their future projects list because those roads would need attention and when the surface needed to be rehabilitated, it could be done all at one time so they didn’t work on the same roads twice. Jordahl mentioned the existing work that was done on the Iowa County border a year ago that needed fixing. Gardner stated that road was oil at the time and the only section that was left on the IWV Road.

Gardner said that decision package one is a request for an additional licensed engineer on staff. Gardner listed several reasons that they need an additional engineer: the amount of new construction and the associated public involvement has placed an increased demand on the staff, the design process is much more involved than in the past, the public hearings, the 5 Year Road Plan preparation, cost estimates, informational meetings, preliminary planning designs, then they submit all that to the various agencies. He stated the whole process takes longer and is more involved now, an there are more stringent permitting needs with the Corps of Engineers and the Iowa DNR and the DOT. He mentioned the right-of-way acquisition has become more complicated because of the informational meetings and negotiating with the landowners and making adjustments and starting the process over again. He stated the engineer would be more involved with the project management once they are out doing construction. He stated the engineer would be involved in feasibility studies, when they are considering doing a project. They would also be involved in the budgeting process for the construction. He stated the other thing that adds to the need for the new position is the larger involvement with Planning and Zoning Department, dealing with all the access issues for the subdivisions. Gardner said they have also been involved with contributing to the new policy of the Road Performance Standards, Right-of-Way dedication and Road Maintenance Agreements.

Gardner stated they are doing more construction now and when it first began 3 years ago, he remembered thinking that it might be more than they could handle with the existing staff. He said Assistant County Engineer Al Miller had assured him it wasn’t, and he’s convinced now after several weekends and evenings of his time that perhaps it was a little more than they thought would be involved. Gardner said they requested this last year and it wasn’t approved, and it is their top priority this year. Thompson stated that one of the alternatives was to hire consultants and asked him to explain why the additional engineer was better than that choice. Gardner said his past experience with consultants has been that when you hire a consultant you spend nearly as much time reviewing their design and revising it. He said that by the time you’ve done all that, you’ve probably invested 80% of the time that it would have taken you to do it in the first place. Thompson asked how the cost compares. Gardner stated that it’s expensive to hire a consultant and they haven’t done a lot of it in the past. He said you would hire a consultant by the project and they did have a consultant design the Mehaffey Bridge, but he didn’t recall what that cost the County. Thompson stated that if they hired a consultant for 40 hours a week, it would be significantly more than a full time engineer. Gardner agreed. Miller stated they would be looking at $125 an hour.

Jordahl stated that one thing not represented on the sheet is the ordinance that they passed about right-of-way dedication. Jordahl continued that to implement that ordinance, Gardner will have to be able to tell people within some kind of a degree of certainty where they can build. Gardner stated they have a map that is referenced in the ordinance. He said they have designated roads that they are fairly familiar with and have decided how much right-of-way they would ask for on those roads. Gardner stated that each one of the plats that come in will have some exceptions to them and they will need to be reviewed on an individual basis. Jordahl stated his point was that it isn’t represented in their budget, but the action the Board has taken recently created a lot of work for the new engineer and maybe even Miller. Miller stated the process they are talking about is what they have been doing the last couple years. Gardner stated what they is going to be a little more expensive but it is more permanent than a graduate engineer starting out and learning the trade, who would move on when they get licensed. Gardner said that if they could get somebody who is licensed, they could probably keep them on staff and gain quite a bit through that. Gardner said they have 2 licensed engineers now and Jinyeene Neumann is an Engineer Intern who will be at the point where she will be taking her professional exam and deciding whether or not to move on. Stutsman asked how their number of engineer’s compares with other counties. Gardner stated that Linn County has at least 3 and Miller thought Polk County has 4 or 5. Stutsman asked if Gardner does any engineering work any more. Gardner said very little. He does most of the administrative things.

Thompson asked why it takes four pages of personnel line items for a department that has 46 employees. Administrative Assistant Linda Keiser stated it was because they have so many line items. Keiser said that’s how they determine what job a person was doing on a particular day. Thompson asked if they get paid out of the line item for what they worked that pay period. Gardner said yes. Lehman stated it goes back to what they were talking about in trying to track materials and person hours per mile, and it’s halfway set up there. Gardner stated it’s the DOT’s codes. Thompson stated it seemed like there would be an easier way to do it. Keiser stated there may be full time, part time, and benefits. Thompson asked if they then code in from the payroll sheet. Keiser stated that every bridge and culvert has it’s own line item because it has it’s own number. Thompson stated it was a clever system.

Horne asked if County Auditor Tom Slockett had talked to them about GASB 34 reporting requirements. Starting June 30th of FY03, anything new that they do is going to have to be assigned a value, they will have to get a depreciation schedule and incorporate all of their maintenance functions. Gardner stated he was talking about bridges, roads, right of ways and things like that. Horne said by 2006 they would have to do the retroactive ones. Horne said this was thought of by the Government County Standards Board. Thompson stated that the way some of it was divided out would help with that. Horne stated that he wanted the Board to know about that in the future it is important that the Secondary Roads Department is involved in this project over the next 5 years.

Gardner said Decision Package II is almost as important as Decision Package I. He said Integrated Roadside Vegetation Manager Chris Henze has done a great job with the Roadside Vegetation Management Program and they would like to say their program is the best in the state. They are requesting another Road Maintenance I person whose primary duties would be to work with Henze on the Roadside Vegetation Management Program, which would free Henze to do additional things that he can’t do right now. Gardner stated they would like to train Henze to do wetlands identification for the department because they have a consultant doing that which is very expensive. Gardner said that everything to do with the new Brush Policy, and the Weed Policy that they are working on right now including burning, cutting, spraying and competitive seeding they want to be done by Henze because he has the credentials and training to do that. Gardner said that with all the new construction, there is a lot of seeding to be done. Gardner said they may see savings with a full-time person because they would be able to do year round work and they may be able to reduce the summer hires once they get caught up. Stutsman stated that getting caught up was the important thing, they had a program that wasn’t working very well and she hoped they could see some savings in what they’ve been doing with the labor intense areas. Thompson asked if this would increase the number of acres that they can plant every year. Gardner stated it hopefully would. Thompson stated they are not showing any decrease in other expenses in the first year. Gardner said no because he doesn’t know that there would be any. Jordahl asked if the Conservation Naturalist could help Henze with training schools. Gardner said that was a possibility.

Gardner said Decision Package III is one the Board asked for as a result of the last 5 Year Road Plan meeting. He said it is a feasibility study to look at alternatives to Newport and Sugar Bottom Roads to provide an arterial surface for that area. He said they feel it’s a good idea to look at all the different alternatives in reconstructing those two roads to determine whether or not there is a feasible alternative that is less controversial, less expensive or both. He said the price tag is $50,000 and that is a shot in the dark. Jordahl asked if they were primarily talking about connecting Prairie DuChien with Anchorage. Gardner stated that would be one alternative. Thompson stated that looking at the other road further out than Sugar Bottom as an alternative. Gardner stated they were attempting to take a look at that area north and east of Sugar Bottom Road and north and west of Newport. He said they were looking at the best way to take care of the traffic problems out there. Thompson asked if one option would be going cross country with the new road. Gardner stated that one option might be to draw a straight line between the intersection of Newport and Prairie DuChien and straight up to Solon. Stutsman said a consultant wouldn’t have any vested interest in the area and would be able to give suggestions to the Board.

Gardner said pointed out that they are coming in with their budget and the bottom line is down $356,000 without the decision packages. Thompson stated they were down on revenues also and wondered why. Gardner stated that was from the bridge replacement funds, Federal matching monies for STP projects and bridge replacement projects. Miller said this year they will have revenues coming back from the Kansas Avenue Bridge and Caulkins Avenue and Sand Road. Miller said that in FY 02 the only revenues they will receive are from the Dubuque Street Recreation Trail.

Lehman asked if they were budgeted the same for equipment replacements. Gardner said it had increased a little bit. Lehman asked how they replace equipment on an ongoing basis: whether it is a certain age or certain hours of the vehicle. Gardner stated the equipment reaches an age where it has to be replaced. Lehman asked if they track maintenance on each vehicle so they can tell how many dollars they put into it. Gardner said Maintenance Supervisor Kevin Hackathorn will be replacing a bulldozer, two dump trucks, snow equipment for those trucks, an excavator, a tractor, two $17,000 GVW pickups, one half ton pickup and one S series pickup, as well as an eighteen ton trailer that he had budgeted in the 2000 budget but wasn’t able to acquire because other items had gone over budget. Gardner stated that all of these are replacing existing equipment. Thompson asked if they just approve the number and let the department figure out what they’re going to get for that amount of money. Gardner stated that number is based on what Hackathorn has projected his needs will be that year. He said the list shows around $531,000 and he’s put in $500,000. Jordahl stated he didn’t think they were asking for near enough money in technology. Gardner stated they hoped it could be worked out with the GIS Director when they come on board. Jordahl asked if they requested a computer for their requested engineer in Decision Package I. Gardner stated it was in the engineer decision package.

Lehman asked if there was anything about the Roads trust. Gardner stated they were projecting $30,000. Gardner said they eliminated the Weed Eradication budget last year.

Recessed at 12:00 p.m.; reconvened at 1:05 p.m. with Jordahl and Duffy absent

Public Health Director Graham Dameron said they have the same strategic planning goals as last year. Dameron added another line on his expenditures worksheet to show that they estimate each person in the County pays roughly $8.56 for County Health Service. He stated the County is getting $22.01 per capita as a result of the grants they have generated for the County. He said the County is getting somewhere around $14.50 of extra service based on the $8.56. Dameron said that Decision Package I is related to ICARE space. He stated that was to be included this year as an ongoing expense for the department. Dameron said they are pleased to remove $1,841 from their budget for a direct phone line to ICARE because they were able to purchase a wireless computer system that will communicate. He said they would use that out of the Space Needs Committee and it’s about $4,000. He said they won’t have that ongoing expense every year. He stated the other $7,400 will still be valid with the custodial services and the rent. He said the rent was very cheap, at about $4.10 per square foot. He stated that was a good deal for the County and has helped for ICARE. Dameron moved on to part two of the decision package, and it is a monitor and hard drive and software package for the MCH division as a replacement for one of the computers they have there. He said they try to keep up as much as possible. Dameron introduced Decision Package II which is $16,000 for a replacement vehicle. He said they have two vehicles, either of which could be replaced, and it’s a question of what should be replaced first.

Dameron stated that Decision Package III includes the paper clip for the document management that was approved by the Document Management Sub-committee. He said document management is needed and it would follow what the Board has been doing this with Planning and Zoning and the Auditors Office. Dameron said they also need to replace the parking lot because the asphalt is breaking up, which will cost $15,000. He said if that’s not included this year they should at least set aside for next year. Dameron said that in the past they had set aside money for all of their vehicles but the Auditor’s Office recommended them to combine that money. Thompson asked how many vehicles they had and Dameron said 9. Dameron said that the Health Building improvement, and carpet and painting at ICARE are included in the budget amendment. Dameron said they were able to cut the request for a telephone system from $5,000 to $2,250 because they got a refurbished on the Press-Citizen.

Dameron said they are asking for a budget total of $2,399,393. He said they have $121,856 that they readjusted, but they also have $177,000 worth of revenue projected. Thompson asked if that comes from the Medicaid claiming. Dameron said that and the tobacco settlement money. He increased the revenues and expenditures in Empowerment by about $30,000. He said they budget total of $1,558,746 with revenue for this with the readjustment of $177,468. Dameron said in Decision Package II they had the Board of Health and the department discuss having an Information Specialist. He said they are requesting a quarter time person on the premise that public health is for everyone, everyday, and everywhere. He stated the County has requests for information all of the time and they try to put out timely notices on a number of issues such as mosquito control, rabies or scabies, but while they are doing that they could improve that significantly. Dameron said the Board of Health has made a concerted effort to raise the visibility of the department.

Dameron said they are asking for $38,584 less than what they asked last year because of the revenues they were able to generate. Dameron said that 52% of their department is funded by State grants, 6% by Federal grants and entitlements, permits and fees are about 6% and the County funds 35%. They also get donations from groups and issue checks to individuals in need of essential services like soap and toiletries, in the amount of $25 a month. Lehman asked if the people came to them for the specific reason or if they’ve dealt with them in other programs. Dameron stated in the HIV consortium, they have about 150 cases and if they are in need of the services, they ask the same person. He stated they know they are HIV positive and therefore they can provide that to them. Stutsman asked if that is a grant. Dameron stated it was a $115,000 grant and they cover 20 counties with that grant. He stated most of it is in Johnson County and Scott County. He said that has stayed fairly steady. He said for a while they had the drug assistance and that was a major undertaking, and the State took that over. He said they still do a lot of case management and provision of services to HIV individuals until they are eligible for Medicaid or other funds they can draw on.

Thompson asked if the Public Health Department still does an extra inspection of daycare centers. Disease Prevention Manager Kot Flora said they have County regulations governing daycare centers, not preschools. She said that in the last fiscal year they conducted a new baseline inspection and they are looking at violations to identify areas where they need to refocus their energies to see what the problems are. She stated they get there once a year to look at the facility and they are also there once a year to audit immunization cards, which is a separate program.

Jordahl asked if there has been a discussion of the Empowerment Board Director increase was doubling annually. Dameron stated they started about a year and a half ago with the Empowerment Board but didn’t hire the employee until a year ago July, so they’ve been building up for providing the program. He said that the fund within the counties, they have about $700,000 right now. He stated the expenditures have been increasing, but the Board of Health is still looking at the expenditures and are still trying to get a handle on that. Dameron stated there is money corresponding to the amount of time he has been spending for that purpose, although they are not getting money out of it, he is just accounting for it. Dameron stated he wants to be accountable for the hours he’s putting into that service and the County is contributing that time for that task. Dameron said the Empowerment Board cannot provide monies for administration, but he still keeps track of how much time he spends on Empowerment. Jordahl said that was good to know. Stutsman said if Dameron didn’t do it they would have to pay someone else to do it.

Thompson asked if some of the excessive revenues of the Health Department shouldn’t be directed back into the Health Department or Empowerment rather than going into the General Fund. Lehman stated Empowerment is Department 92, and there were claims against that. Stutsman asked for Dameron’s thoughts on that. Dameron thought they would be very pleased to do that and maybe the Board of Health and the Board of Supervisors could help determine where they want the emphasis to go with that. Dameron said they could use money to work on the land use issues that are under the direction of the Board of Supervisors and with their struggling food program. Stutsman cautioned that would be a real change in Board policy, to let departments use their revenues back in their department. She said if they do it for Dameron then they have to do it for other departments.

Dameron stated that one thing they haven’t done yet is implementing the full time person to take care of the Medicaid claiming because they were concerned about making sure they have enough money to provide for that person. Thompson asked if that would eat up all the revenue when they do that. Administrative Assistant Becky Mills said a lot of the extra revenue is the money that is earmarked for that person and a little bit of that was carried over from last fiscal year. She stated she was very careful about what the Health Department would generate because it is Federal grant money. She stated they have also gone through a lot of personnel changes in the department and a couple people left her division, with a couple being added. She said they have been able to absorb what they have been doing so far. Dameron stated they have a half time person now. Stutsman asked if the revenues aren’t as much by the time they account for expenditures. Thompson stated they were talking about apples and oranges. She said the expenses of collecting the money should be subtracted off the gross receipts and then everybody gets their share out of the difference. She asked if the excess revenue was their share of the difference. Mills said it was. Thompson stated it would be slightly less if they had a full time person to take off the top. Dameron stated they would be happy to entertain that to make sure it’s in there next year. He thought they were showing the $38,000 projection of extra revenue to put on next year. He stated they didn’t include a number of things. He stated the other revenue that has been generated and he’s been trying to balance that out with the WIC and MCH program. He said they do receive that from the Medicaid administrative claiming as well. He said they have not earmarked that. He said basically it is given back to the County to try to balance off it, but they’re not sure about the WIC and MCH grants. He said they haven’t gone out and expended that money. He said there would be an additional part time person for that at $15,000. The Board and Dameron again discussed Empowerment and Administrative Costs.

Duffy and Jordahl arrived at 1:25 p.m.

Dameron said the Community Partnership Grant is $100,000 and they project to get a match of $100,000, so they are talking about $200,000 in 6 months. He said they have $25,000 from the Health Department and $25,000 from MECCA. He said they potentially have $250,000 to work on tobacco in the next 6 months. Jordahl stated it was nothing for administration. Lehman stated it was program specific. Dameron stated they are trying to work out other ways not specifically for administration. He stated it was not possible to run those programs without administrative costs. Jordahl stated they might need to redefine administration. He stated that whatever Wellness Manager Sher Hawn does with the $250,000 isn’t administration, but it is in fact program work. Hawn stated she would be looking at the $25,000 for 6 months. Dameron stated there is some creative work with MECCA. He said they have the $25,000 and they are going to hire a full-time person for the both of them for tobacco control. Dameron stated Hawn is working on senior health and MECCA is working on the general population.

Horne asked Dameron to talk about the Block Grant agencies such as VNA, and the Free Medical Clinic. Dameron stated that he didn’t suggest they put it into the Board of Health budget this year but they ought to consider it next year. He stated the reason is that the Board of Health has a contract with each of those agencies and they have asked them to submit on a monthly basis and they’re able to track those funds rather than having the Budget Coordinator do that. He stated it ought to follow the contract. He said the reason they changed that is because they pulled those contracts out of the Board of Health budget and put it in Department 20 because at the time there were a number of constituents and some of the Supervisors saying they should reduce money. He said it looked like they had all that money which they really didn’t because it was County money so they put it into Department 20. He said now it’s not, in relationship to the other budgets, a significant amount of money. He stated they did request in the budget amendment to move some of the money out of Block Grant 20 and put it in their budget because they had given VNA money from the Senior Health Program. The Board and Dameron discussed what to do with the Block Grant 20 Department next year.

Recessed at 2:20 p.m. Reconvened at 2:32 p.m., with Jordahl absent.

Emergency Management Director Tom Hansen stated his budget has HazMat mixed in with it and sometimes it looks very high, but in reality $25,000 or more he doesn’t have any control over and he just writes the checks. Stutsman stated the only thing the Board of Supervisors does is certify the budget. Hansen stated his commission will certify it and in respect to the County, he gets a grant from them every year at $68-69,000, which covers all of the cities in the County and the rural area. Hansen said he also gets grants from other agencies, and it is his job to make Emergency Management work. Lehman stated it looked like the Hazmat used $500 for cell phones and asked if they were specifically programmed. Hansen stated that is for HazMat’s emergency van and they also have a fax machine. Hansen said that it is his job to pay their bills and do their books. Stutsman stated that the County revenue is listed as $87,500. Hansen stated that is not a correct figure. Stutsman stated it was $69,000 in 2000. Hansen stated that was probably a typo because they pay $69,000 to him. Hansen and the Board discussed the Izaak Walton League Flood Plain buyout and the effect it had on County departments and the budget. There was a question as to whether the County’s grant to Disaster Services was $87,500 or $69,000, and it was clarified that in Fiscal Year 2001 his request was $87,500 but $69,000 was allocated.

Jordahl arrived at 2:41 p.m.

Hansen stated that he takes care of all the rescue expenses in the County. Jordahl said he thought the Sheriff’s Department always took care of the rescue boats and other equipment. Hansen stated they were his and he owns them all and find more things he owns every day. Thompson asked if he owns them and they use them. Hansen agreed and said where that came from, he didn’t know. Thompson stated he should read that part of the Code. He said he has a dozen boats for water rescue. Stutsman asked if they needed a dozen boats because the need was there and they were purchased. Hansen said they own 3 snowmobiles and a hovercraft. He said the rescue vehicle can cost them 10 or 15 thousand a year. He said last year it was $14,000 before he finally broke off and couldn’t afford it any more. He said it wasn’t that he couldn’t afford it, but if it had been the world ending if they didn’t have it, he probably would have found the money. Hansen said the expenditure items other than wages and benefits are estimates. He said if he doesn’t get the money he can’t spend it. Duffy stated he would get the money. Hansen said he doesn’t play with numbers.

Jordahl left at 3:17 p.m.

Hansen said he have interviewed for a part-time assistant who will probably start working in January. Hansen said that today the Auditor was in to audit him and this was the second time this year he was audited. He said everything was kosher and being done, but they don’t realize the headaches and tears that it took to get it that way. Lehman asked if Hansen worked with the numbers when he was an assistant and if that was what his assistant was going to do. Hansen stated he never had any idea what the budget was. Lehman stated that was quite a credit to him for what he absorbed in a year and a half.

Adjourned at 3:19 p.m.

Attest: Tom Slockett, Auditor

By Mark Kistler, Casie Parkins, and Amie Kelley Recording Secretaries