Stutsman: Reports from the public?
Jordahl: Tom you're it. Nothing?
Stutsman: Reports and inquiries from members of the Board of Supervisors? Anybody have anything they'd like to report on?
Jordahl: Well Monday and Tuesday we're going to a conference in Des Moines on sustainable communities. Having to do with forms of development. The whole Board is attending, am I right?
Stutsman: Right.
Jordahl: Instead of just 4 as we had some misunderstanding on Tuesday. So I'm looking forward to that. Also, the What/When Committee is moving forward again. We've got a meeting of all the department heads and elected officials on Friday the 19th, coming up next week. Also public relations, Joe, do you want to talk more about that?
REPORT (BOLKCOM): UPCOMING PUBLIC RELATIONS MEETING
Bolkcom: We're having our first, one of our strategic goals of the Board was to try and improve upon how we communicate with the public and share information and we're going to be meeting Friday morning, the 12th of September to discuss with department heads and anybody else that's interested how we might proceed to highlight some of the things we do in County government.
Jordahl: I also stopped by the Juvenile Probation Office facilities today and was shown around a little bit, it's really nice in there. They've got actual space, they can shut the door, can actually have conferences with people in privacy, it's really a nice improvement so I think we've done a really good thing over there. We have also, let's not overlook a joint meeting with the Iowa City City Council and the School Board. That's 4:00 to 6:00 at the Highlander, am I right about that? The comprehensive plan work session I think was mentioned earlier 1:30 on the 18th. So a lot of stuff going on.
Bolkcom: Busy.
Stutsman: Charlie?
REPORT (DUFFY): CALLS ON TREES HITTING SCHOOL BUSES
Duffy: Oh, not really except quite a few calls, I went out this morning to look at some of our county road sites and schools have started, there have been complaints like when school buses meet another vehicle on some of our roads that they have to go under these limbs of trees, they've been hitting, these school buses are quite tall and the drivers have been doing a little complaining. So I'm glad we have a bucket truck instead of cutting down all these trees. Some of them are on private property too, but we have to protect the kids and our school bus drivers.
Stutsman: Steve?
Lacina: I spent the day in Des Moines with the Tax and Finance Committee and we had some really heated discussion about the proposal of the utility companies and the fast track that they have the property tax alternative plan on. It is going to hit the legislature hard, there is a lot of support from the legislature to make some adjustments, to supposedly make the playing field even with other states as far as economic development and issues. The concern is we have a better educational system, we have better roads, we have a lot of things that aren't the same and to think that we're going to have the same tax base as South Dakota and yet provide all the services is a little bit ridiculous. There's also quite a concern with de-regulation about the potential for brown-outs in rural areas that are not these "plums." Where the big power wheelers will come in. They're going to want a steel plant, they're going to want Iowa City municipality and Cedar Rapids. They're not going to want Moravia, Iowa, not to put them down, but a smaller community that has a good quality of life. They're not going to be the targets of a lot of this service. They're already talking some 80% differentials and some potential rates that could be charged on some of these things. So I think that's something we really want to watch closely. Our committee is going to make a recommendation to expand the ceiling floor that they had as far as adjustment in the fees that they pay given that we lose the argument that this isn't right in the first place and try to come back with 2 or 3 other areas where we can work with the school districts and the municipalities that are concerned as well that this isn't going to be something good for us. So that's going to be something that we'll see in the fall, ISAC school, we had a little input into some of the stuff coming and I think that will be a good session. We have another meeting on October the 9th I'll be going to that. Tomorrow I meet with the Supervisors in Ames for the resolutions process, so if anybody has any Supervisor resolutions, we'll carry that forward. Pretty much what we had last year, I think just some updates. The tax, property tax thing, we're also being warned that if the Counties increase the property taxes this year, the property tax limitation or some form of it will come back to visit us. During this utility discussion, several legislators repeatedly talked about how they're going to cut more property taxes. So some way, some how they're going to continue to try to do that and we'll be the recipient's of the hit. So it wasn't a real good day.
Bolkcom: I guess.
REPORT (STUTSMAN): ATTENDED LUNCH AT PATHWAYS ADULT DAY CARE CENTER
Stutsman: Well I went and had lunch at Pathways Adult Day Care yesterday. That was, it's really doing well. They have a lot of people that attend on a regular basis there, they have tremendous staff and it's a program that's really coming into it's own so it was a good time to see that first hand. Anything else? Anything from the County Attorney's Office?
Assistant County Attorney Janet Lyness: No, nothing yet.
DISCUSSION: POSTPONING OF WORK SESSION TO DISCUSS BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OFFICE STAFFING
Stutsman: Nothing yet, huh? Next on the agenda is work session to discussion Board of Supervisors office staffing. I don't know how the rest of the Board feels, if you want to go into a discussion like that or defer that for a later time.
Jordahl: Maybe we could define it a little bit, so that if we defer it for later we'll know what we're doing. How broad is this discussion?
Stutsman: This is one of the strategic planning goals that we had set up to re-evaluate and look at our office staffing in view of the fact that one of our office person openings has left that position. It's a good time to look and see where we're at. We have done a little, one session to discuss this and it's just been one of those things that we've not been able to get back to.
Jordahl: We do have the question of resolving the present situation. Particularly in view of the question of designing the office space. As we look at hiring a personnel director, we're going to want a place to put that person, or human resources person and we haven't quite defined what that space is. So that's, these are all related questions.
Lacina: I thought that was pretty well defined.
Stutsman: Yes, this deals more with office staffing.
Jordahl: Generally where space, but exactly how that will be configured or how that effects the Supervisors Office configuration is...
Stutsman: Well because of the late hour, I would suggest that we put this on for another time.
Lacina: I think Carol needs to be here to give us some advice, because, actually you guys that function in the office that meet the public need to have some input about where the printers are. I thought they made some good changes, just in some minor things and just in the general flow I think it would be good to have Carol and Joan and Karen here to discuss it.
Stutsman: OK, do we want to suggest a time or should we...
Lacina: I think next Thursday, if it isn't too busy, we just keep it on the agenda and keep it rolling.
Stutsman: Yes, why don't we do that. Karen, can you tell Carol that that we'll just put that on for next Thursday again and hopefully...
Lacina: Now in the mean time for point of clarification, it's my understanding that the Physical Plant Director will start soon...
Stutsman: Right.
Lacina: ...in making some changes to some structures, the wall out here. In other words we've got to cut a door and get something rolling soon.
Bolkcom: Right.
Lacina: So I'm assuming that's going to happen.
Stutsman: We need to get back to...
Bolkcom: We need to see a plan and a cost.
Stutsman: Right, but he can't give us a cost until he has a plan from the Board so Carol had sent out a memo with 3 floor plans and that we were supposed to tell...
Lacina: But that was reconfiguration back here too, as opposed to just out here?
Stutsman: Yes.
Lacina: See I have some concerns about doing, chopping this up as far as fire safety and security. As opposed to that, I think we can...
Stutsman: I think that's what we need to express to Pat. How much we want to do so that he can begin drawing up some ideas.
Lacina: So let's do it in 2 separate statements.
Stutsman: Well maybe we should, we can just talk about it.
Bolkcom: In terms of our vacant position for our Assistant Administrative Assistant, is that the... That's a lot of A words. I think we should consider in the short term re-advertising for that. In terms of the job description I'm comfortable with it. That would be another thing to put on, but...
Stutsman: I think I need to review that.
Bolkcom: OK.
Stutsman: In view of the office staffing.
Lacina: I do too, because frankly I'm very impressed with the job Karen can do with Excel and some of the things and hopefully you'll give us some feedback if we dump too much on you. But... From the greedy standpoint, we're also saving some wages.
Stutsman: Right, and Karen is a temporary employee through Cambridge.
Bolkcom: So, next Thursday.
REPORT (DUFFY): SPACE NEEDS COMMITTEE
Duffy: Sally, can I bring up one thing? Because you are on the Space Needs Committee, I had a call again today from a realtor and this business is moving out of a pretty good building. I stopped by the Hills Bank and Sally said well just send us kind of a letter so we can all say it so... I think it's a pretty good building.
Stutsman: Lot's of real estate available.
Duffy: We're going to look at a lot of them before we're through this building thing, that's why I'm a little tough when it comes to money.
Stutsman: We've got a lot of things to think about.
Duffy: What's the latest, speaking of building, well this isn't on the agenda.
Stutsman: No it isn't.
Duffy: I was going to ask about Juvenile Detention.
Stutsman: Maybe you...
Lacina: It's coming, Linn County Supervisors will be wanting to meet with us to discuss a contract where they will provide beds for us. What they want to do is just sit down and have a conversation with us about... Right now they're catching a lot of flack from an individual saying that they're building a facility for us, and that's not the intent. All we're trying to do is protect some beds so we're not headed for Lee County or in one case where they rejected one of our kids and we had to go down and bring him back and in the mean time we've got a patrol car on the road as opposed on our roads. They do want to discuss a contract with us, we do have money in the budget for that and it's coming.
Stutsman: OK, I guess that takes care of it so we will adjourn.
Adjourned at 8:20 p.m.
Attest: Tom Slockett, Auditor
By Casie Parkins, Recording Secretary
Sent to the Board of Supervisors on October 9, 1997 at 10:30 a.m.