MINUTES OF THE INFORMAL MEETING OF THE JOHNSON COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS:
DECEMBER 8 AND 10, 1998
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Vice Chairperson Jonathan Jordahl called the Johnson County Board of Supervisors to order in the Johnson County Administration Building at 9:03 a.m. Members present were: Charles Duffy, Jonathan Jordahl, Stephen Lacina, and Sally Stutsman; absent: Joseph Bolkcom.
Jordahl: Call to order the informal meeting of the Johnson County Board of Supervisors for December 8, 1998. Chairman Bolkcom is not here today I'm going to fill in. Second in business is review of the minutes of December 3, any comments? Those will be on for approval on Thursday, which will be our evening meeting.
Jordahl: Item 3, there's Mike. Hi Al. Business from the County Engineer.
County Engineer Mike Gardner: Morning. Brought everybody today.
Jordahl: Oh yeah, Kevin hi. We need another chair.
Gardner: I'm going to turn this over to Kevin. We're going to purchase a new Oshkosh truck. I figured he can probably answer your questions better than I can.
Maintenance Supervisor Kevin Hackathorn: I want to replace a 1989 model Oshkosh truck, one of our big horses for the snow removal. It's due. It's kind of wore out. We're not adding anything. It's basically the same thing we had. The only thing we will be adding this truck the other didn't have will be a blade underneath for ice (inaudible) and snow removal.
Lacina: Tandem front-wheel drive Kevin?
Hackathorn: Yes. Four wheel drive. It will have tag axle on it. Of the Oshkoshs we've got, it's the biggest one we have.
Jordahl: A tag axle, huh?
Hackathorn: Basically, you can haul your heavier loads with it down. When you're done you lift it up and it saves wear on the...
Jordahl: That's what that little thing is in the middle. New terminology. Thanks.
Stutsman: What's the list price? You said the trade in is 75.
Hackathorn: What they started out with is 163,793, and then we had to add the tag axle which is $7,500. They're going to give us $96,000 trade. I'm just looking at my notes I made to you and I got my desk (inaudible). So I came up with a trade difference of 75,293.
Stutsman: What year is this? Oh, '89.
Hackathorn: It's an '89. It'll be for delivery in February of 2000. Trucks are getting out for over a year. You have the headway on them.
Stutsman: February of 2000.
Gardner: This is actually included in my budget for FY 2000.
Stutsman: You've got to order it this far ahead. Do you use the old truck all during that...
Gardner: Until its (inaudible).
Hackathorn: They're having a hard time with trying to decide what to give us for them too.
Stutsman: I bet, because that's a lot of leeway.
Jordahl: What are you going to do over the next year and a half with this truck (inaudible).
Hackathorn: I could probably wait a while in order it. Bu the price is going to go up another 3,500 after the first of the year. (Inaudible) on that.
Lacina: Sounds good.
Jordahl: I am personally interested in how this fits into our capital budgeting scenario. Is there a recurring equipment line in Secondary Roads? I need my memory refreshed about that. So that each year we're spending roughly the same amount.
Gardner: Right. We've got all of our equipment on replacement cycles. So that's how we're budgeting for the equipment item, for the line.
Jordahl: That makes sense.
Jordahl: No other discussion, we'll move on to 3B.
Gardner: This item is replacement of reinforced concrete box culvert south and west of Lone Tree. This was one that we had hoped to do this past construction season. But we ran into some right-of-way acquisition problems. It got late enough in the year that we realized that we weren't going to be able to get it done this year and we didn't want to open it up and leave it open through the winter. There was no real urgency in getting the bid-letting set. At this point, we've got the right-of-way all acquired and we've got the plans ready to go. We want to go ahead and advertise the notice to bidders on this and have the bid-letting on January 22nd so they can get started on construction first thing this Spring.
Lacina: This was down by Jim Ronin's?
Gardner: Yes. It's at the intersection of 640th (inaudible) .
Jordahl: I don't suppose it would appropriate to ask you what you think the cost of this would be because it might prejudice the bids?
Gardner: Right. We've got an idea that we use when we were budgeting.
Jordahl: Let's see how well we can do.
Gardner: Right. We will come up an estimate prior to the bid-letting so that we have some (inaudible).
Jordahl: Any questions?
Lacina: So Thursday we'll put this on for formal action to set the public...
Jordahl: This and the truck.
Stutsman: We don't need to take action because it's already in the budget.
Gardner: I don't think so . It's in the budget.
Jordahl: Is and or will be.
Gardner: Right. Exactly.
Jordahl: OK. So we'll approve it when we approve the budget. OK. Thanks for bringing us up to date on that. Other items. I noticed this morning that we have on for discussion for next week the Local Option Sales Tax/965 Extension question. I thought it would be useful to have Mike here to provide some insight into the relationship between funding and 965 and the rest of our road program. I'd like to invite him to be with us next Tuesday. Any thoughts of other Board members on that?
Duffy: Yes, for the roads and bridges.
Jordahl: Probably around 10:30, on the 15th. I got 10:00. The importance of that if for public information is to...the cities of Iowa City and Coralville have had an interest in having us cooperate with them on a project. As part of their local options sales tax language we need to decide what kind of support or if any we are willing to give them prior on that vote on local option sales tax next Spring.
Gardner: I'll plan on attending.
Jordahl: Thank you. Anything else.
Gardner: Don't believe so.
Jordahl: Thanks for coming in.
Gardner: Thank you.
Lacina: Why don't you make some extra copies of the report that we put out October 15th for our study committee. If you'd bring those I'd appreciate it.
Gardner: Oh, great.
Jordahl: All right. Item 4: Business from Mike Boyer and John Fuelling, Mid-America Energy Company. Are they here? Seems not.
Lacina: We're a little early.
Jordahl: Moving along. Graham is not here. I don't think. An attendance problem this morning.
Stutsman: Well we're ahead of schedule.
DISCUSSION: EMPLOYEE COMPUTER PURCHASE PROGRAM
Jordahl: Business from us. We're going to postpone discuss of the employee purchase program until a later date.
Stutsman: Jonathan, can I just say a couple of things about that? There's just a few more details that the small sub-committee would like to work out before we bring it to the Board for final discussion action. So I have asked to have this put back on next Tuesday with action the following Thursday. We had originally put it on for Tuesday with action this Thursday. I'd just like to postpone that for another week.
Jordahl: So that'll be on the 15th then as well.
Stutsman: And the other reason too is Joe isn't here today and I think he needs to be part of the discussion. I'd like to have all 5 supervisors here when we discuss it and make a final decision.
Jordahl: OK. I guess we're ready for that handout you were talking, Carol.
DISCUSSION: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS' BUDGET: SUPPORT STAFF, AND SPACE ALLOCATIONS
Jordahl: We're going to move to item 7a, discussion of Board of Supervisors budget.
Administrative Assistant Carol Peters: I have 2 handouts. I need to step out and get some of my back-up information in case you have any questions. The first handout, the long sheet, is items that I think we need for this area that has kind of considered for area (inaudible). Want to take one of each. I'm going to suggest that instead of placing these expenditures in the Board of Supervisors budget, it be in the capital expenditures with designation from either Department 17 or 18. I did visit with Pat Langenberg, and he has absolutely no problem with it being in 17. But there are a few things we really need to purchase for this particular area. If you look at the first line it will say displays for 2nd floor lobby. And by this Deanna had prepared a memo to everybody talking about some display shelves for public information and also a bulletin board display case to put the agenda that we receive up there. The one downstairs really does not facilitate all the various agendas that we receive. We've been putting them up in your office area. But this means that people have to come into the office, and I know how the Board is interested in sharing knowledge with the public, communication and what have you. This would be a way of increasing the communication with the public. When I say other agendas, I mean like with REAP, Historical Society, Civil Defense or Emergency Management. All the various agendas that we get. This would be something all new. In looking at the amounts of money, that's come to about $1,266.
Stutsman: 66 or ... Oh, OK.
Peters: The next item was conference room chairs. When I say that I'm talking about the conference room back here. I think we've all sat in those chairs many many times. Actually, I'm going to rephrase that, I think we've all sat on the edges of those chairs many many times. They really do need to be replaced. That conference room gets a lot of use. Everybody that sits in there makes a few comments. It's not like these chairs could not be utilized some place else. But downstairs in the conference room there are no chairs. Other than odds and ends from where ever.
Lacina: Folding chairs.
Peters: We would move those down there. The 3rd item... I'm not quite as clear on that amount of money. I need to go over and talk to, well the City of Iowa City and the City of Coralville both have the types of tables that I have in mind. But we really need to get some new folding conference tables to do double duty, and light ones that staff can utilize without having to go round up some more muscle. That's those 3 items. I'm sure you're all familiar with the additional tables that the City of Iowa City and the City of Coralville have. They're rectangular ones, semi-circle ones that you can break down and then put back up either in circular form, oval form, or rectangular. And they are light. Do you have any questions on those 3 items.
Stutsman: Carol, for the display case. That should be 1,266 all the way across. Not 1,216.
Peters: I'm sorry. That should be 1,216. Sorry about that.
Jordahl: So the requested expenditure is 1,216 at the end, too.
Stutsman: Oh, it's 1,216. OK.
Lacina: That's what I've got.
Stutsman: The last total is 1,266. That's what I was confused.
Peters: Right.
Lacina: I see what you're saying. OK.
Peters: Is that OK...
Jordahl: I think what you've got here is certainly OK with me. Anybody else comment on that?
Duffy: (Inaudible) Carol. From now on (inaudible) .
Jordahl: Yeah, really. Let's find out how much this costs.
Duffy: I didn't think those chairs... I suppose compared to this one they're great but I didn't think they were that bad. But they are.
Stutsman: And you're just asking to put this in our budget request. We're not making a decision on it today. We're not making a decision on it today. This will just be considered with everything else.
Duffy: Ours are in the, what budget is this in again?
Peters: This would be in 17.
Duffy: 17.
Peters: One of the items that some Board members and people from the public have discussed is replacing these chairs. But I did not put anything in for that. I really didn't think you'd want to tackle everything at once.
Duffy: We've got chairs right in this building that are a lot worse than these chairs and the ones back there.
Stutsman: Where Charlie?
Duffy: Other departments. You look in some other departments.
Jordahl: Show me duck tap Steve.
Lacina: I have new duck tape by the way. Thanks to Langenberg.
Duffy: Instead of Steve's chair he's got duck tape on his.
Jordahl: We have duck tape on Steve's chair here. They're in fine shape.
Duffy: He's got a mark so I don't...
Peters: One thing in looking at the new conference room chairs is that you'll notice I did have 12 in there, which it'd be smaller but more comfortable so you could accommodate more people.
Stutsman: That's a good idea. It really is a good idea. We use that room a lot yet it is limited because the chairs are so large.
Lacina: And they're too low. They just sink in to this thing.
Peters: It'd be better off if there was just a piece of board across them instead.
Jordahl: Now there's an idea. That'd be lower cost. Have you talked... Oh, kidding.
Peters: I did look in to that Jonathan. But you have to get them reupholstered.
Stutsman: They just don't lend much support. Well no support.
Duffy: We should have one of them in here so we can look at them.
Peters: No, you don't want look at it, you want to sit o it.
Jordahl: For public information if you haven't sat in one, it's sort of a pit in the middle with a board across the front you're kind of sitting down a hole.
Peters: Well, they served us well. They've been here 10 years. They've gotten a lot of use.
Stutsman: I look at the conference room downstairs that for 10 years has not had any chairs. There's not very many public buildings that go that long without having any chairs to accommodate it.
Lacina: Of course, I think they have shorter meetings.
Jordahl: Well now that's a thought.
Lacina: If we had all our meetings on foot, that would...
Jordahl: Back to our board idea here.
Stutsman: So this is out of the Physical Plant budget then?
Peters: Yes.
Jordahl: With regard to these chairs and other accouterments for the Board of Supervisors office. I've thought about a couple of couches or something in there for members of the public who may be waiting to talk to a supervisor that could be sitting around and reading some of the material that we have available, the magazines that we receive about County government, ecology, environment, Roadside Vegetation Management, what various things that we might have out there. I'm wondering if the Space Needs Committee is addressing that question, if that's the kind of thing that we need to defer to them.
Lacina: I think you need to be very careful. The courthouse discovered that the students would go over and smoke and hang out over there and ran into some problems with the alternative school. If you want homeless and other individuals in here as opposed to people conducting business. If you make it too comfortable with sofas and vending machines and the like.
Stutsman: We do have chairs outside the office that I think are as comfortable as any couch. Wasn't Deana requesting a display that we could put outside there that would have that information. We don't have any room to put any chairs inside this office, but out in the hall.
Peters: Actually the display rack and the bulletin board rack are both included in the first line item.
Stutsman: I think with those chairs out there and that display, whatever you call it, where brochures and information could be put, I think that will be accomplished.
Peters: This display rack is one that will be attached to the wall. Not a free standing one (inaudible). We wouldn't let a free-standing that would topple on somebody.
Jordahl: Or on some child.
Lacina: In the past we've had concerns about security. We had an individual that would come up, and had every right to do it, would use our code, but that was not stable. The Sheriff in fact... That was about the time they advised us to put in the panic buttons and things. Wanted to know where we sat, where the Linn County supervisors sat and had a grudge against us. You do need to be careful. I thin instead of spending money for a sofa, you might want to consider the cameras downstairs for protection of the employees.
Jordahl: There are things to be weighed one against another.
Stutsman: Did you have some other items to talk about as far as...
Peters: The other one was just strictly the Board's budget, but as long as these gentlemen are here to ...
Jordahl: We can return to this question later.