MINUTES OF THE COMMITTEE OF COUNTY OFFICERS DESIGNATED TO FILL A VACANCY ON THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS:

OCTOBER 23, 2009

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

Interview of Candidate for the Vacant Supervisor Position: Michael Lehman.............................. 1

Discussion: Agenda(s) for Next Meeting(s)............................................................................ 12

Interview of Candidate for the Vacant Supervisor Position: Janelle Rettig................................. 13

Interview of Candidate for the Vacant Supervisor Position: Gregory Pickett............................. 24

Discussion: Agenda(s) for Next Meeting(s)............................................................................ 32

Interview of Candidate for the Vacant Supervisor Position: Cami Jo Rasmussen....................... 33

Discussion: Agenda(s for Next Meeting(s)............................................................................. 37

      The Committee to fill a vacancy on the Board of Supervisors was called to order in the Health and Human Services Building, Room 202A at 2:00 p.m.  Members present were: County Treasurer Tom Kriz, County Recorder Kim Painter, and County Auditor Tom Slockett. 

INTERVIEW OF CANDIDATE FOR THE VACANT SUPERVISOR POSITION: Michael Lehman

Slockett: Hi Mike.  We're here to interview you for the vacancy on the Board of Supervisors and we have a number of questions that have been posted on the internet to ask you.  You have a very impressive resume and we’d like you to take a couple of minutes to talk about whatever you would like to open and again to close at the end.  So, if you want to get started off.  I’ve been starting out and then we rotate and Kim will ask the next section of questions and Tom the next, and so forth, so if you want to get started.

Lehman: Okay, I’m going to combine my opening statement with the first question.  I’m Mike Lehman.  I’ve been a lifelong resident of Johnson County.  I served the Johnson County Board of Supervisors for 8 years.  I worked well with all current members of the Board of Supervisors and I feel that I have a good relationship with other county elected officials, department heads, and staff.  I’m familiar with the collaborative nature needed to work with members of the area city councils, state elected officials, as well as federal.  I fully recognize and appreciate the importance of volunteers, service organizations, local business support, and public input in our community.  It is important to appoint someone who has a strong background in addressing budgetary items, public policy, space requirements, and personnel issues.  I feel I have demonstrated these qualities during my two terms on the Board of Supervisors.  I would to address an issue that many feel is an important criteria to this appointment and may be unique to my application and that’s Newport/Prairie du Chien Road.  This was a basic topic of the 2006 primary that received major majority of the time, media coverage, forums, and editorial opinions.  I offered what I felt was an option for the best interest of the taxpayers.  Larry Meyers offered a different opinion and asked that the project not continue.  More voters supported Larry’s opinion than mine and thus won the election.  I have no problem with that as that is the democratic process and I accepted it.  I’d like to state that I have no plans or intentions to bring up this road project if appointed to the Board of Supervisors or if I were to be elected in a following term and ran.  I feel the voters have spoken on this subject and wishes should be respected.  Hind sight is 20/20.  I wish an issue such as this could have been a separate ballot issue but that’s not the way it works.  Larry worked extremely hard and his efforts should be honored.  I’ve found my sword once and that was painful enough.  I don’t plan on doing that again.  I’ve spoken to the four current supervisors, particularly the two that also supported the road issue.  They stated that they have no intention of revisiting this issue.  That was more than three years ago and I have put it in the past.  There are plenty of other projects that can use the funding if available.  I feel that I am most qualified because I have performed the duties of this office, I would not be a trainee.  I was elected to this office twice.  I know the issues as well as the partners involved in answering challenges of Johnson County today and I’m ready to perform those duties again.  Thank you.

Slockett:  Okay, thanks Mike.  So that was your opening statement and first question.  The second question.  What would you hope to accomplish as an individual and as a Board?

Lehman:  I believe there are many issues facing Johnson County that need to be addressed as a group and accomplished as a group, space needs, budgetary concerns, transportation needs, quality of life issues such as human service needs.  I believe, as an individual, I would continue as I have done in the past, be an active participant as a Board’s representative on boards and committees.  I participated in the Iowa City Chamber of Commerce legislative trip to Washington D.C.  That is where we requested funds for the now SEATS/Paratransit Secondary Roads building.  I also supported funding for the new National Guard headquarters that is under construction and also for Coralville’s request for the transit center funding.  Individually, I would continue to make myself available for one on one meetings with residents to help answer their questions and resolve issues that they might have about County activities and functions.  As a Board, there are many things such as space needs, funding requests, human service needs and transportation including trails that the Board needs to reach a consensus on.  This can be done by listening to the public, gathering information from staff, seeking advice of elected officials and department heads that partner in these areas, and also seeking outside professional advice, if needed.

Slockett:  How do you feel view the County’s responsibilities with regard to human and civil rights? 

Lehman:  I was a member of the Board of Supervisors when the human rights legislation passed.  Janet Lyness of the County Attorney’s Office did a very diligent job in preparing this.  We wanted to send a message that Johnson County was going to open up a progressive location for housing, employment, education and entertainment.  I feel that everyone is entitled to quality whether it is legislation or not.  But to help reinforce this made me proud to be a resident of Johnson County and to be a part of the adoption of the Human Rights Ordinance of Johnson County.

Slockett: Second part of that question is how will this influence you as you take on the role of Johnson County Supervisor?

Lehman:  Well, I’ll definitely have that in the forefront of my mind when I’m making any policy decisions that may affect people due to race, color, creed, religion, or sexual orientation. 

Slockett:  I have a follow-up on this question and then Kim will ask the next section.  As you know we are in a historic debate nationwide on the health care issue and health care reform.  According to the findings of Harvard researchers, 45,000 people per year die due to lack of health care, that is one person every 12 minutes.  Current reform has been debated and critiqued and changed quite a bit during the course of the debate.  I think there are three aspects of it that I think impact on human rights that I would like to get your opinion on.  One is the question of universality?  Should we have universal health care?  Comprehensive, should it be comprehensive instead of having preconditions and caps and that sort of thing?  And lastly, it sort of goes with universal but is affordability and access because there has been a lot of debate about something that is universal but there’s still a high price tag associated with it.  So, I just wanted to ask you to comment on this debate.

Lehman:  Well, it is interesting that President Obama was on the Dave Letterman Show and I got a chance to watch that a little bit, and there’s an awful lot of misinformation out there.  But as far as preexisting conditions, I think that needs to be adapted into the system.  A lot of people are afraid to change from a higher poor coverage right now because they won’t be accepted by another carrier.  As far as availability, other countries are making it work not just one form, there’s different forms of who pays for what, how they are included, different levels of coverage and that kind of stuff.  But affordability I think is the biggest key, and everyone should be entitled to it.  Here we are one of the finest nations on Earth and we should take pride in accomplishing something like this and we should be a little bit embarrassed that we don’t have something like this in place.

Painter:  A few questions on County Government Mike overall.  First of all, what are County Government’s strengths and weaknesses?  And how would you enhance the strength and address the weaknesses?

Lehman:  I think one of our biggest strengths is our availability to the public.  You know to the individual citizen.  There are very few layers of government in the County.  We don’t have a county manager.  Residents can come in and see us, they can call us, and they can ask us to come out and take a look at a situation that they want resolved and that is what I felt in my time here.  I enjoyed going out and visiting with rural residents whether it might be a drainage issue, a road issue.  You weren't always able to give them the answer they wanted to hear but if you came out and participated and gathered information and were able to provide them an explanation whether it was in their favor or not.  I think we have an extensive network of collaborative relationships with the Johnson County Council of Governments, East Central Iowa Council of Governments, and we have a tremendous amount of energetic resourceful well-educated volunteers that help as reference groups and support.  I feel that one of the weaknesses is the slowness.  You know they always say the wheels of government turn slowly and sometimes that’s with good reason, that we don’t rush to judgment on a lot of things.  I think that one of the other things that since the Board of Supervisors is the only local representatives of the rural people, I think there is a problem trying to get information to them.  If its really important to them, I guess they do show up for public hearings, but they don’t all have internet access.  They don’t all have cable tv or satellite tv to watch the meetings to keep abreast of information.  You know, Secondary Roads puts out a newsletter as far as their snow policy, their weed applications and stuff like that.  I’m not sure if maybe the Board of Supervisors with their, they have a committee, I'm trying to think of the name of it, but that promotes communication.  It's the Communications Committee.  I don’t know if they can put out some type of newsletter.  There would be quite a cost to that of course, and by the time you get it compiled, it may be old news or the information may have changed by that time, but I think that’s one of the detriments.  Print media only has so much space that they can cover of the meetings, to help people keep informed on the issues that we are addressing.

Painter:  The next question, what do you feel are the greatest challenges facing Johnson County, and how should the Board address those challenges?

Lehman:  The biggest challenge overall is the budget and concerns with the economy.  As Tom Kriz would know, the interest rates for our funds that we are holding until they are expended are at an all time low.  We also have space needs.  I’m concerned with the Human Services, both the children and adults.  The State is required to provide services to persons under the age of 18 and the County to provide to anyone over that age if they establish residence here in Johnson County.  The providers of mental health have been informed of the 10% reduction, but to my knowledge, I don't think a date of enactment has been made.  I really worry about the amount of funding and services that are going to be available and the cutbacks that are going to have to be made in that amount.  We also have to make a fairly immediate decision about the funding options that FEMA has offered for the Sutliff Bridge.  I know there has been a lot of debate and discussion on that.  I think we need to look at the Old Armory site, the former Health Department Building to determine their future.  That’s kind of been in the works.  And also the Ambulance Department is looking for a little bit better location to expand for their vehicles, the central headquarters here.  I don’t think there is any shortage of challenges.  I look forward to working as a team to address them.

Painter:  Do you feel a new Johnson County justice center is needed?

Lehman:  I feel we need to be continuing to look at our options, getting information, talking to the owners of any possible locations.  I feel the Courthouse security and space needs to be a priority.  County Attorney’s Office, they’re stacked on top of each other there.  I know trial dates are backed up because of the shortage of courtroom space.  The Jail situation seems to be a moving target for the number of fluctuations of inmates and availability of out-of-county housing seems to change all the time.  I think we still need to answer the question that was debated or the major issue in the 2000 bond issue of the jail, and that’s what does it cost to operate the jail?  Put the numbers on what it may cost to transport prisoners, we’ve got all that, that’s hind sight, retroactive.  But one of the criticisms even though it’s a larger facility, its probably going to take more personnel to monitor because we are going to have larger amounts of people there so I think we are looking at a moving target but I think that it is up to the voters to decide that issue.  But I think its our duty to provide as much research as we can and I feel that may cause a need to hire an outside consultant, I think that we owe it or that question is going to be asked: Why didn’t you look at this situation?

Slockett:  I have a follow-up on this.  This comes from questions I have had from the public, that I’ve gotten from the public.  As you mentioned, this was last voted on in the 2000 election and it lost two to one by 66% county-wide.  There was a 73% no vote in the City of Iowa City.  It was over 80% no in some of the precincts.  As you referred to some of the issues in that campaign and one of them we haven’t touched on is the size of the jail.  It was a 330 bed jail then.  I’m getting interest and I’ve been asking people about the concept of a 180 bed jail which would be and make it scalable, make it so you can enlarge it, but 180 is more than we have ever needed in a single day so far.  And the idea is to not just keep taking the same large size jail back to people that’s failed repeatedly.  I just wondered if you had any thoughts about that?

Lehman:  I think one of the issues of the current jail was that it was not designed to add on to or build up space or support.  This building here has added a third floor with the intention of expansion.  I do like the idea of building something that suits our near future needs but have the option to add on to it.  I know there is a lot of concern about if you build it, they will come.  And not to the fact that we could rent out space but some people, that judges are maybe being a little bit more lenient because our space is full.  There is some discussion that they would probably sentence more people to time in jail because they don’t have the space where now there might be a consideration that we don’t have the room so they might put somebody out on probation or some type of monitored release.

Painter:  How would you go about selecting from a pool of applicants to serve on the various and numerous county commissions that we have?

Lehman:  Many appointments required, gender balance or political party so that needs to be fulfilled first and foremost.  I would definitely be aware of gender balance.  I think that is something that is really lacking in some of our commissions.  I know in many cases we don’t have interested candidates so we are often asked to ask acquaintances to see if they are interested in applying for it, and I think that’s a good way to help do the gender balance and the political party.  It’s not necessary to go out and hand pick somebody with your viewpoints but maybe somebody that has an open mind, is qualified, interested and will show up and participate.

Painter:  What is your long-range vision for Johnson County?  How would you utilize your past experience in strategic planning to implement and give some architecture to that vision?

Lehman:  I think we are known as what is a magnet county in the State of Iowa.  We're well endowed with a strong basis in education, employment, entertainment and leisure options as well as medical and human services.  We have a population with various ranges of incomes and we need to be conscious of both ends of that spectrum.  We have become an urban county even though we have a larger rural population than Linn County does, but the overall population is quite larger than ours.  The County has periodic joint meetings with the Iowa City City Council, North Liberty and Coralville Councils as well as the School Board.  That helps keep everyone abreast of overlapping situations such as schools, building a new school that might be on the edge of city corporate limits and stuff, it may impact roads for the County so we work together on joint maintenance or possibly funding of improvements of a road in those issues.  There is also a leadership group made up of all the governing bodies in the communities of Linn and Johnson counties, I know they meet at least twice a year.  As far as strategic planning in the past, the Board of Supervisors has hired outside consultants to sit down and brainstorm, think outside the box, not necessary to zero in on one issue but to maybe look at long term intentions.  I know that its been six or seven years ago I think since they have held that, but now they do hold their own strategic planning sessions about quarterly and they also during my time on the Board, they started key issues meetings which they zero in and try to take action steps.  I think for someone to be thinking ahead, not just answering immediate questions, we need to be thinking ahead visiting with people seeing what their ideas might be because you are so focused on the interior sometimes, you don’t see the problem that someone else does.  That is where your volunteers and public input help.

Kriz:  The next section, Mike, we deal with some questions on land use and environment so, the first one:  What criteria would you use in making land use decisions and then followed on what basis would you make the decisions concerning road improvements, maintenance, construction, and roadside weed eradication?

Lehman:  Well, at first, I would use the Land Use Plan, Comprehensive Land Use Plan.  It works well as a reference tool and there are many items on a checklist before changing zoning or platting are allowed.  There are different phases of growth area in the North Corridor that have caused some confusion.  There has been no definition that was required for infrastructure.  I think for criteria for road improvements, maintenance and construction would include traffic counts, accident history, sight distances, the funding availability, Sensitive Areas Ordinance of which we have enacted and people need to have a survey done before anything is approved.  We also have small things like 1,000 foot cul-de-sac limitations where for fire and rescue, you can’t have a cul-de-sac over 1,000 feet long, you need a separate entrance, two entrances to a development.  A lot of those things have come over time and seem to work well.  We have a Roadside Vegetation Committee that is made up of volunteers that’s helped recommend policies in regard to control of weeds, brush and/or chemical and for mechanical control.  Our Roadside Vegetation Manager, Chris Henze works out at Secondary Roads, in the department.  He has worked well with our engineers to provide prairie seedings along new road constructions and rehab.  I think we have installed a pretty good format. 

Slockett:  I have a follow-up to this, it partly relates to your opening statement and I didn’t want to interrupt that but again, its about Newport Road and it comes in this area.  I was wondering, I didn’t hear you mention any criteria that might make a different decision on the Newport Road.  Also I was wondering, you said you visited with the Supervisors who voted in the three to two vote which was reversed with Larry, and I was just wondering, to be convinced that it’s not going to come up again, there needs to be some explanation why they voted the same way after the election and after Larry took the position, it was still a three to two vote and I wonder if you talked to them and urged them to vote no before that vote or if you had any conversations before they repeated the same vote after the election.

Lehman:  I asked them briefly after the election, I think it has taken awhile for it to soak in to them.  My basis of doing the road project at the time, I supported it was for safety reasons.  I think there is still a little confusion why the, I think some people were worried about the addition of a new road would cause development or would allow for development.  There is a road performance road count that comes into play.  The chip seal roads, over 1,000 cars per day, there is no more zoning or platting allowed.  Newport Road and Prairie du Chien both fell into that category.  About six months after Larry took office, they voted to expand that to like 1,800 cars per day.  I didn’t quite understand how that came about, if we were basing our need to improve the road on safety and now you allowed more traffic on the road by allowing more development without making improvements to the road.  My opinion was formed by talking to County Engineers and the County Attorney.  Actually there weren’t a lot of accidents reported up there.  I talked to a lot of tow truck drivers that said they were up there but there was never a Sheriff or State Trooper there so no accidents were ever filed on it.  I think that one of the things I was concerned about is the variety of traffic.  Bicycles, joggers, farm equipment, and recreational vehicles.  I felt that it was appropriate to do at that time.  But since I’m an elected official, I need to represent the majority, my feeling was that the voters spoke very clearly in favor of Larry’s opinion that that road not be either done at that time or at that design.  So until someone comes back to me and it would have to be someone out in that area and a large group of them that came up with an acceptable design for them, I don’t think we have an acceptable design that those people would like up there.  Granted, there hasn’t been a lot of development up there and I think that's more of economic times.  Here about four months ago, the Board approved a zoning request on Sugar Bottom.  That’s not a primary growth area, but since the individual had already developed some houses, they were easily allowed to develop next to them and I think Supervisor Stutsman was the only one that voted against it.  She didn’t think two rights made a wrong and the question was: What are you going to do when somebody next to them comes in just because they haven’t developed before, why did you allow someone else to do it?  I was very surprised that there weren’t any members or residents from up there that came in to address that.  I don’t know if they weren’t aware of it, but they want to preserve ag land, yes, it was marginal ground, but the fact that they were going to add more traffic on to a road that the road counts are already very high on and it was not in the first phase of development, it was a little confusing to me.  Though it’s opinionated, except there are no rules that say yes you have to do it or no you don’t, it’s a statement of opinion.  I guess my bottom line is if the residents aren’t going to support it, I have to really consider that as a factor on whether you are going to do a project or not.

Kriz:  Mike, what do you think should be the County’s role in protecting the environment?

Lehman:  The County needs to be very active and they have adopted a Sensitive Areas Ordinance that comes into play for zoning and platting.  Surveys must be done to qualify for consideration.   These deal with slope and removal of trees, the corn suitability rating.  The County pays a portion of the salary for an employee at the Agricultural Stabilization Conservation.  They go out and help with a farmstead split or residential and help do erosion control.  This person that has had this position, they had some change there, but they have been active in the Lake MacBride Watershed study to move buffer strips and conservation tillage.  The County Farm has several areas that are not conducive to row crops, they have been left in grass.  I think our farm manager has been well aware of that.  As far as environment, Secondary Roads and SEATS, you know they use biodiesel.  Green standards have been used and should be considered in all of the new buildings such as this one here, we weren't able to do it to the full extent.  Sometimes the financial end of it is cost prohibitive.  I think recycling of paper, plastic, and cardboard should be the priority of all departments.  We are two blocks from a recycling center here.  The Conservation Board referendum that passed provided for the purchase of marginal lands for the Conservation Department for the use of conserving land, trails, and parks.  I think we should also lead by example.  I am fortunate enough that our family farm has set aside 20 acres out of our production for drainage areas to help with water retention.  We set a goal to plant at least 20 trees per year.  I think most agricultural producers value their resources and work hard to preserve them but I think the County can be an example.

Kriz:  Mike, describe your approach to balancing economic and business interests with interests in the health and well-being of citizens, and environmental concerns.

Lehman:  Well, I’m all for expanding the tax base of Johnson County but not at the expense of a person’s health or the environment.  We have a great organization locally that Johnson County contributes funds to help promote smart growth and that organization is Iowa City Area Development or known as ICAD and the Board of Supervisors has a representative that sits on that board as a voting member.  We also have a representative on the Chamber of Commerce that helps direct or promote growth in a responsible coordinating manner.  The County hasn’t been very active in commercial zonings because of infrastructure and compatibility with ag areas.  We do have a few areas out there that we have expanded on but we haven’t gone out there and approved, areas out in the middle of nowhere where we are worried about conflicting use and zone, but we have been very conscious of that.

Kriz:  What is your opinion of the current Johnson County Comprehensive Land Use Plan?

Lehman:  Well, its interesting that the plan was revised the day before I took office, the last day of 1998.  I took it pretty much to heart.  It really promoted the preservation of ag land and not the interference of residential.  To the dismay of some of my supporters, they were upset that they weren’t able to get a residence for a member of their family, a farm family, to help them.  So, I worked with Zoning and Planning people along with others to help produce the Farmstead Split Ordinance.  I think this has worked very well.  It gives that one exception to each family to have an agricultural residential siting for a dwelling for a family member that allows the older farm parents maybe to stay on their farm for a little bit longer for medical reasons or economic reasons also.  I think it’s interesting, the question of the election of 2000, was is it a plan or is it a guide?  Well it has some restrictions in it that we need to adhere to or are required, but basically it’s a guide.  Since its not a plan in itself, its only a reference to help make decisions.  I think its going to work very well for us.  I can pick put out three or four reasons why something should be approved and you can pick out three or four why it shouldn’t, but that’s all open to debate.  It's not an iron clad rule of thumb so therefore, I think it is a guide, but I think it has worked pretty well for us.  I think also there has been an effort to promote growth around the villages, unincorporated villages.  I think the Planning and Zoning department has gone out, they’ve done Sutliff, they’ve done Frytown, and they are working with Cosgrove now.  I think there has been a large movement to just allow residential development out from those areas and not development out in the agriculture area.  We have seen some of the conflicts that have come about from that.  This is providing a real sanction to those that wish to be out in a rural area but I think that has worked real well and that’s one of the things because of infrastructure there is usually a decent road going into an unincorporated village.  It doesn’t cause problems or financial impact on Secondary Roads. 

Slockett:  Alright.  We’re on the taxes and budget section.  What do you know about and what is your opinion regarding the impact and incidence of Johnson County taxes?

Lehman:  I am very familiar with the general and rural side of the Johnson County taxation.  We’re currently, we always operate very close to the General Basic levy of $3.50 per $1,000 of valuation.  That’s the valuation that is allowed by Code.  When that point was reached several years ago, the Board with the help of the Auditor’s Office reviewed the Basic Supplemental side of the taxation to see what might be shifted from the General Basic to the General Supplemental.  There are certain items such as insurance, elections, and some personnel that are allowed to be taxed out of the Supplemental.  We transferred some of that from the General Basic to the Supplemental to give us more room to provide the things that are only allowed in the General portion.  The rural side, Rural Basic side has a levy of $3.95 per $1,000, we are not anywhere near that, but any increase would be very noticeable.  We are well below that.  One item that has been discussed in the past was the shift of the cost of the Sheriff’s Patrol from the General Basic to the Rural to allow more items to be covered in the General.  In the past, there hasn’t been any political will to do this shift because it would cause a sizable tax increase to the rural residents.  There is also the General Basic, there is a formula that allows for a minimum to a maximum be transferred from the General Basic to the Rural.  Because of the limited amount that can come from the General, we have always transferred the minimum amount and that came about from the State Code, I think what my understanding was that people that might live in the incorporated villages still use county rural roads so that is there contribution so you can’t say that people who live in cities don’t contribute to rural roads.  The passage of the Conservation Referendum, calls for $1 million to be set aside for land acquisitions for 20 years.  That requires I think currently it is about 17 cents per $1,000 of that $3.50.  That’s an increase over what it has been.  I attended the public hearing this spring, I think I might have been the only member of the public to attend although it was televised.  I think the explanation I heard was they made a lot of consolidations and considerations to allow for that 17 cents per $1,000 to be contributed to the Conservation without a spike because we were already at the $3.50 to fund that, they had to make concessions on something else.  Some people might say its easy to do a government budget.  You know you figure out what you need for expenses and you set the taxes.  But I think a little more serious than that, I am a resident and owner of rural property.  I pay attention to my tax bill.  There are many facets to a tax bill, 55% of my tax bill in a rural area on ag land and a dwelling goes to the Iowa City Community Schools.  Most people in a rural area would assume that all the taxes go to the County.  My siblings and I purchased a home in Iowa City 13 years ago for my parents when they retired from the farm so I pay attention to that breakdown in taxes on that also.  As a Johnson County budget is proposed, I always want to know the impact on the rural farm land, the rural dwellings, and commercial and also those properties also in Iowa City because they are not taxed at the same level whether commercial, ag dwelling, or rural dwelling, commercial in the County area, rural or in the city.  It makes a big… Because of the levy and the valuations, it can have a large impact on one segment and not another.

Slockett:  What, if anything should be done about the nature of County tax options?

Lehman:  I think we have very few options to create new revenue from a purely rural aspect.  You know TIFs are a possibility, but because they would generate little revenue.  I think that’s a little bit like robbing Peter to pay Paul because the only thing that you’re keeping in the rural area is the schools funding and using that along with your own Rural Basic so you’ve got to fund that yourself anyway so I don’t think there’s a lot of options there.  I think we have been very fortunate here with the stimulus money to use for some road projects.  I think that we were able to use on some of our rehabs and those qualified because the engineering was already in place.  FEMA has come forward on such items as the Sutliff Bridge which they are telling us now there are some other options to consider that some of the money can be used for alternatives.  So I think we have some funding available but I think as the nature to create more taxes, I think that is very limited in a rural area.

Slockett:  Are you in favor of implementing a local option sales tax?  If so, for what use?

Lehman:  I don’t support the promotion of local option sales tax particularly for the rural and unincorporated area.  I have said there would be lower revenue generated because there is little commercial property.  I know that somebody with an Iowa City address living in a rural area is expected to support the local community.  If you have a Lone Tree address, you are expected to support Lone Tree and down the line.  I think its one of those things that is a little irritating sometimes that you live outside the community and they expect you to support it and maybe have to pay their local option sales tax but you had no voting rights to impact that.  If there were passage of such a tax in Johnson County, I would prefer it go to tax abatement.

Slockett:  Do you have any experience putting together budgets?

Lehman:  Yes, I do.  I put together an annual budget for the family farm for over 20 years.  This involved projected cash flow, crop, livestock expenses, and revenues and from the sales of the same.  I owned and operated a farm equipment store for eight years.  It was a projected budget based on sales and service revenue versus wages, insurance, utilities, and other expenses.  And for eight years, the County efforts in putting together a budget, working with the Auditor’s Office and Budget Coordinator.  As a Chairperson of the Board of Supervisors, I was the one that proposed the current format that is used in the public hearings.  Previously, the Auditor’s Office did the presentation, now each Board member presents a portion of the budget.  I wanted to let the public know that we had gone over every line item and were involved and informed of all expenditures, and I think it’s kept on today doing that.  As a member of the Board of Supervisors, if you asked them about a certain expense, they should certainly know that they approved it and what it was for.  By the same token with the amendments, they need to be informed and why.  That’s one difference in County budgeting versus a private entity in that, you know, the County can do budget amendments.  In private, your recourse is to go to the bank and ask for a loan, make an adjustment and hopefully you are able to cash flow the repayment on that.  So, I take it very seriously that I’m expending somebody else’s money, as I said before.  That’s my money, also.  In the past few years, I was involved with about $1 million plus in City Carton with equipment sales, service, and labor.  I was responsible for five employees, their billable hours, and their shop rates that were factored into revenue projections.  It was an Excel spreadsheet but I had a breakdown that was pretty friendly, too.  So, I enjoyed doing that and I learned another facet of budgeting through that.

Slockett:  How would you balance spending requests versus increasing taxes?  If it became necessary to reduce the County’s operating budget by 10%, how should the reduction be implemented?

Lehman:  Well, I believe a 10%, across the board cut to all departments is pretty unrealistic because some departments, almost all expenses are for personnel.  If we were to do that, we’d probably have to lay personnel off and cut back on some services and I definitely would be doing that only as a last resort.  I’d probably look to reduce capital expenditures, such items as computers, copiers, vehicles and equipment.  In the past 10 years, I think the County has tried to set aside money for those items, as they’re identified and put money aside for maybe a five year period, three to five year period, rather than coming in and trying to fund them all at once.  They have a rotational basis of vehicles, like Secondary Roads, Planning and Zoning, anyone that uses vehicles is pretty well, the larger items like that.  I think elected officials and department heads are remarkably creative.  Last year they had to answer the bell because it was basically, because of the Conservation Referendum, it was pretty much considered a flat budget and I think it will be again, this year.  Occasionally, departments such as Building Inspections, Health Department and Secondary Roads have reviewed the cost of their services and inspection fees.  They try to recoup those, not make money on them, but make sure they cover their costs, and some of their rates have been raised due to that.  In the past, we’ve also used the performance based budgeting, where someone will come in and ask for an expenditure and we’ve asked them, how are you going to measure that?  Are you going to be more efficient?  I know the Treasurer’s Office has, what’s the waiting line time, are we able to reduce that?  The Ambulance and their call service.  I think that people need to explain savings or offsetting revenue.  Secondary Roads has been pretty limited in the scope of their projects.  Its costs have risen and they’ve only been given the same dollar amount over time, here.  State funding hasn’t increased, either, it could be cut back.  Right now, a lot of the Farm-to-Market funding has been frozen and they’re not sure whether that’s going to be released, so they may be in jeopardy of being able to pay for projects that are underway right now.  So that’s a real dilemma that’s going to have to be faced.  Also, in the past we’ve set aside funding for the capital projects, such as this building.  Hopefully, we can continue to do that. 

Painter:  A few questions on appointment versus election.  First off, if you are appointed and an election is called will you seek your party’s nomination?

Lehman:  Yes, I believe I would.  I would probably want to help vindicate your appointment. 

Painter:  Will you run for reelection if appointed?

Lehman:  I would have to consider that.  You know, there would be some time here to address that but right now I think that I probably would.

Painter:  If you are not appointed, would you petition or would your run as the nominee in an election that was petitioned for?

Lehman:  I’d have to give that some thought.  I mean, this has come up pretty suddenly with the passing of Larry.  There’s a lot of ins and outs that I haven’t really considered.  I’d probably have to confer with a few political pundits.  They’d probably be different people that told me three years ago that one issue wouldn't be a problem, so I couldn’t say on that because I think there’s a lot to consider on that.

Painter:  Thanks, Mike.

Kriz:  Mike, do have any other questions about the appointment process, how it works or anything?

Lehman:  No, I’ve attended all the meetings I believe you've had and I have a pretty good understanding and I appreciate the difficulty of your task and I wish you well.

Kriz:  And this brings up just a point for any closing comments you’d want to make, Mike, based on today’s interview.

Lehman:  I continue to be involved with human services and the needs of our community as a member of the Board of Directors of Chatham Oaks and Melrose Ridge independent living apartments.  It’s important to me to remain active in such programs and ensure that the system works for those individuals who need it.  By serving these boards, I’m well acquainted with the fiscal needs, as well as the delivery and effectiveness of these services.  I’ve tried to stay informed on the issues that the Board of Supervisors that are engaged in, through media, agendas and minutes posted on the Auditor’s website, and occasionally conversations with County employees.  I’m not trying to convince you that I’m up to speed on everything, but I am a quick study and will take a very active part in the decision making process going forward, if appointed.  I’ve tried to impress you with my knowledge, as all the applicants will do, but I think I realize that there is also need for compassion as a policy maker.  You have a dramatic effect on people’s lives.  I believe I’ve demonstrated that in my past service.  I’m quite familiar with the responsibilities of being a member of the Board of Supervisors and I look forward to serving again.  I’ve enjoyed working with the citizens of Johnson County in the past.  I look at this as a means of paying it forward, in a manner of speaking.  I offer you my experience, my enthusiasm and abilities to serve and to partner with you, as fellow elected officials to make Johnson County an exceptional place to live, work, and enjoy.  Thank you for your time.

Painter:  Thanks, Mike.

Kriz:  Thanks, Mike.

Lehman:  Thank you for your consideration and thank you for the opportunity.  Take your time.

Slockett: Thanks, Mike.  What time do we have? 

Kriz: I think we've got a quarter of. 

DISCUSSION/ACTION: AGENDA(S) FOR NEXT MEETING(S)

Slockett: Casie has something she wants to report. 

Deputy Auditor Casie Parkins: Yes.  I left Edgar Thornton a message at both his Washington D.C. numbers just letting him know that the Board had voted to interview him at 2:00 on Thursday and that I would be getting back to him with the meeting room.  But it is on our website, too, what meeting room we're at.  I will call him today when our meeting wraps up. 

Slockett: We don't actually have confirmation for the specific invitation. 

Kriz: Hopefully we'll get it. 

Slockett: Hopefully we will.  He said that he would check into that day.  I would like to get either email or phone confirmation.

Kriz: Some kind of confirmation.

Painter: Right.

Parkins: He's under a deadline today so he might not be available today to respond.

Slockett: Another rainy day.

Painter: Yes.  Do we need to talk about anything else during this period of time?  Then I will be right back.

Parkins: We have fourteen minutes until we can start again. 

      Recessed at 9:46 a.m.; reconvened at 10:00 a.m.

INTERVIEW OF CANDIDATE FOR THE VACANT SUPERVISOR POSITION: janelle Rettig

Slockett: We are here to interview for the appointment to fill the vacancy on the Board of Supervisors.  As you know we have questions on the internet available to everyone.  Our process is that we would like you to have a two minute opening statement and two minute closing statement.  We'll ask questions.  I've been starting and then we just go around the room.  If you'd like to start your statement if its OK with Casie. 

Parkins: We're good now. 

Slockett: We’re good now.  Thank you.

Rettig:  Thank you for getting the privilege to speak with you today.  I hope we'll have a nice conversation about County issues that are wide and diverse.  We come on a somber occasion with the loss of Larry Meyers.  I think we'd be remiss not to recognize the contributions we've made to this County and the issues he brought forward.  Having lost a number of friends to cancer I recognize the struggle he went through and he did it with humility and grace and courage.  So the last time you gathered it was on a celebratory occasion when Joe Bolkcom was elected to the Senate.  The purpose of the ability to fill a vacancy is to put someone in place that is able to make contributions in a quicker manner than waiting until the next election and that would be reflective of some of the votes that have occurred on the Board of Supervisors where the Board of Supervisors has been divided.  My name is Janelle Rettig and I have lived here in Johnson County for 19 years permanently and one year commuting.  Like many people we came to Johnson County for education and decided to stay.  So residents by choice, and regret that we weren't here the first 24 years or so of my life.  I worked for the Illinois legislature, for Congressman Jim Leach, ran a business, dealt with a family illness, and now work for a non-profit.  I've been involved in every level of government through work, through volunteer and through Boards and Commissions and just my own interests in following it.  I am grateful to have a very strong and wonderful partner.  We have worked through a number of issues, some in this general area.  I was reminded of that this morning when we drove here of how different the County is now than it was 19 years ago.  I also have a mother.  We lost my father last year to dementia.  So that constitutes my family, other than my in-laws, one of which is in the room at the moment.  I welcome everybody that is in the room, including Deborah Thornton, Tom Carsner, Jo Hensch, Mary Lou Henley, and Rachel from the Press-Citizen.  Thank you for being here and what's interesting about this process is that its so open and forthright, and that every correspondence, every letter, every resume, every letter of support, and these interviews will be available online.  I think that's a very interesting system.  So thank you for having me and I look forward to getting involved in some of the questions that you have. 

Slockett: What makes you the most qualified person for the job. 

Rettig: It's interesting for someone who is so visible to have difficulty talking about myself.  So this, to me, is the hardest question you are going to ask today but I will delve into it.  I believe that we are stronger together than separate.  And that the us and them mentality that has occurred at times is problematic to our progress.  And as a person who makes decisions in the methodology I do, I think that gathers a stronger basis of support and consensus to move on.  I think you should know how I make decisions.  I make decisions by gathering every bit of information I can get.  Whether it’s research papers, whether it’s opinions, I go to different interest groups of people who are for or against, or have a passion one way or another on an issue.  I do that verbally and in writing, and then I weigh the pros and cons, and in the end I use my own judgment.  And then, I’m perfectly honest and frank about how I came to the decision and why I did.  My involvement in all different levels of government, from the Legislature to Congress to local government, to serving on boards and commissions at the City, County, and State level have given me a rich background of public policy issues and a rich understanding of budgeting and how that fits into the broader picture of peoples’ lives.  I am passionate about open and good government, accountable growth, and fiscal responsibility.  I am a student of public policy and government.  I am the odd sort of a person who likes to read budgets as a hobby and read public policy as a hobby.  I attend boards and forums and budget hearings and stuff, regardless of whether I’m involved just because I find it interesting.  I think all of that contributes to someone who is a nice addition to the County Board of Supervisors.  I believe that I am the best qualified person for this appointment and for the election next year.

Slockett:  What would you hope to accomplish as an individual and as a Board?

Rettig:  As an individual, at the end of one’s life, I’ve often said that what I want to be remembered by is a thoughtful person who is well read and a good person.  And I think that would be the same on the Board of Supervisors, that you’re thoughtful, accessible, open to anyone’s opinions.  You value the ability to have many different views and passions, and find common ground and move on.  I believe that if you do that on issues, even when people disagree with you, they will respect the process that you went through to get there.  So as an individual, what I would like to accomplish on the Board of Supervisors is to be accessible and open, and welcoming of everyone’s opinions, and thoughts, and ideas.  As a Board, I think the County is facing some ongoing issues with growth and we, as a County, the Board and every citizen here, should expect a higher level of strategic planning and a higher level of focusing on our growth, how we manage our growth in a responsible way, and how we budget in such a way that we are planning for the future.  Some of our space needs did not come on us overnight.  They’ve been growing for years.  I think if we’d have had a better strategic plan, and a better capital improvements plan, we might not find ourselves with so many bills coming due at one point.  And so, as a Board, I hope that the next number of years that strategic planning and long-range vision and budgeting are our next set of goals.

Slockett:  How do you view the County’s responsibilities with regard to human and civil rights?  How will this influence you as you take on the roll of Johnson County Supervisor?  Two questions.

Rettig:  I want to tell you about my day yesterday and you might understand how I value this issue.  I went to the Human Rights Awards Breakfast yesterday morning and I think that we’re one of the greatest places on the planet for how we value human rights and civil rights.  That our public officials, our police, our elected officials, our community leaders come together and award people in the community for their human rights work.  I am a recipient of several human rights awards and of everything I’ve done in my life, those are probably the most valuable to me.  I share with my spouse and partner the Rick Graf Award and the Stonewall Award and I have the Governor’s pen from where he signed the civil rights bill expansion.  Later in the day, I went to the Domestic Violence Pat Meyer Vision Award and again we recognize an individual contributing to the better of our society.  And then last night, I went to the Diary of Anne Frank at Riverside Theatre.  I thought, this wasn’t intentional to do all three events in one day, it was kind of an accident, but it was a nice circle around that we can never lose sight of the fact that individuals, human beings are what should drive our policy making decisions.  Human and civil rights are what defines us as a County, but it is also what should define us in our growth and the future of the County and how we manage our issues.  And so, this is an issue that is very passionate for me and one that I am most proud of, our County, and our Human Rights Ordinance, was not easy to get.  But when we got it, we made a difference in so many peoples’ lives by setting an example for the rest of the state.

Slockett:  I have a follow up and then Kim will ask the next set of questions.  As you know, we’re in a middle of an historic health care debate in the country.  It’s a debate that will affect every person.  A study by Harvard researchers found that 45,000 people per year die because of a lack of health care.  That’s one every 12 minutes.  The current health care reform legislation has been criticized for the amount of time that it’s taken to create and it has changed quite a bit over the summer.  I think there are three aspects that relate to human rights, of health care coverage in the reform debate, and I’d like to get your opinion on it.  One is universal coverage, covering everyone.  Second is comprehensive coverage, covering all of their medical needs.  And third, which is related to universal, but because universal has been described in a broad number of ways, affordability and access.  So the three areas are universal coverage, comprehensive coverage, and affordability or access to coverage for individuals.  How do you view those items in terms of human rights?

Rettig:  Some might ask why that question is being asked here in a vacancy for the County Board of Supervisors.  I would not be among those.  If you look at the County’s budget for health care for its employees and for its elected officials, it has been growing and becoming a larger part of our benefits package.  The growth in every employer’s health care costs should be a concern of all of us.  So for the County to have a position on health care, I think, is justified based on the fact that the County has employees and the County has health insurance for the employees.  Having said that, this issue is, people spend their entire careers studying it.  And so, my opinions on it are based on my own personal opinions and not necessarily decades of investigation into it.  We are already paying for universal healthcare in this country.  We pay out more for healthcare coverage and healthcare incidences than other countries pay out who have universal healthcare.  We also have the best healthcare on the face of the planet in many regards, despite our inability to get flu shots out right now.  So, any healthcare policy that we would go forward with cannot lose the greatness of the healthcare we have now, and it also cannot, in the short-term, lose individual choice.  I believe universal healthcare is ultimately where we will be but I don’t think the country is there yet.  So in the short-term I think we should move forward as quickly as possible.  A friend the other day has his cancer back for the third time.  He lost his job in January.  He will lose his COBRA in February, I think.  And he wants to know what he’s supposed to do next.  No job.  No ability to get a job and losing the health coverage he has.  And no ability to buy private insurance and no income to buy anything if he did have.  And so, it only takes a few of those stories to understand that I wished that Washington would stop playing politics and get something done.  And that, I think, is a message all of us should send them.

Painter:  The next section pertains to specific questions on County government.  The first one, what are County government strengths and weaknesses and how would you enhance the strengths and address the weaknesses?

Rettig:  I’m biased but I chose to live here. I believe we are the best County in the State and have to be near the top, if not the best, in the country.  We have made some visionary plans, in our Land Use Plan and our Sensitive Areas Plan.  Our planning has been ahead of its time and we’ve set the standard on responsible budgeting.  Our budget, despite the challenges that we have right now, is in better shape than, if not all the other counties, nearly all the other counties in the state.  I think our planning documents, our budget, are our strengths, but even more than not, our strength is our quality of life.  Our quality of life of our county reflects in our County employees and our County employees are dedicated and great public servants.  Our elected officials, our appointed, and our appointed that serve on boards and commissions and their staff, and you can see that in the degree of the conversations and the depth of the thought process they make and how long they stay in County government.  So, those are our strengths.  Here is a weakness.  We have relied on property values increasing like this and a bunch of new people coming in.  We now are flatlined or slight growth in property values and a little less intensity of people moving in.  And one of our weaknesses or challenges maybe is how we will manage that stabilizing budget and flatlining budget.  At the same time, the people who want to live here want services.  And so, that is a challenge.  And it should be a forefront of everything we talk about, how we handle a county that’s growing and a budget that is slightly flatlining.  The other weakness is that we, as a County, failed to address our space needs as the growth began.  We’ve known for 20 years that this county was growing and growing rapidly and we’ve seen the projections on its growth.  But we as a County failed to address our space needs on a more gradual basis.  One of the other weaknesses is, I think, is not as much transparency in the meetings and materials.  As someone who tries to go to a lot of meetings, they’re not all up on the website.  It’s hard to find some of the meetings, some of the smaller meetings, some of the boards and commissions meetings.  And if you do go to the meetings the materials that are handed out at the meeting were not available to the public.  And I think that that is something that we could address.  I ought to be able to look up the calendar and know every meeting and event that is going on in the County buildings today and be able to push a button be able to get the support materials for that meeting.  That, to me I think, would make us more accountable and accessible to the public.  And you asked how I would address those or enhance them.  I think in every decision that we make, we should keep our eyes on the fact that these decisions affect individuals.  And that we should always keep in mind how this will affect, how it will change the lives, how it will impact the individuals that are involved in that, whether it is a land use or a financial decision.  I would always ask that question.  And the other thing that I would always ask is is there a better way to do this.  Is this the only way?  Is there a better way?  Are there new ideas?  Is there new ability to use technology to make us more efficient?  And I would keep in mind, always, that the quality of life is what drives everything here.  It drives our economic development, it drives why people want to live here and we should make our decisions with that in mind.

Painter:  What do you feel are the greatest challenges facing Johnson County and how should the Board address them?

Rettig:  The Board of Supervisors had a goal setting meeting in November of ’07.  And they earlier had set a five year capital improvement plan.  Both of those documents have expired.  And I think one of the greatest challenges facing our County is to plan, strategically plan, and capital improvement plan, to the same degree that we have land use planned.  In that the planning, every department, every board and commission, should have a strategic plan, and that should be reflected in a broader County strategic plan.  And the timelines and the deadlines and the benchmarks and the goals set in those, there should be a methodology to keep track of them.  And so, to me the greatest challenge facing us is how we plan the general growth in the capital improvements of the County.

Painter:  Do you feel a new Johnson County Justice Center is needed?

Rettig:  I won’t pick on the question but it is an interesting question because it presupposes that there is a definition of a justice center.  The Durrant Study, which the County spent quite a bit of money, a feasibility study on the justice center, came up with the fact that the justice center would range between $67 million and $73 million and that it would cost somewhere between $1 million and $1.4 million a year to staff that jail.  And, what I do know is that we can’t afford that, and if we could, it would be unlikely to pass.  Here is a… I’ve been to both the Jail and the Courthouse and toured the County Attorney’s offices.  I understand that we are to the rafters.  We are using a courtroom in the basement that as an asthmatic, I could not serve in.  So, we clearly have to address our space needs.  But I think we have to ask better questions.  When we ask the Durrant Study to do that, I’m not sure we asked the right questions and that was, what is actually feasible as opposed to what we dream of having?  And so I am against a $70 million justice center that will cost $1.4 million to staff the jail.  I don’t see how we can get there.  My sense is that we will need to address reutilizing the current buildings, saving money up front through a capital improvement plan to start this and finding a cost that is more palatable.  I’m not sure what that cost will be, but I do know that passing a bond initiative that will cost people that much money will be extremely difficult to do.  On the same side of this, we have more public safety issues that we should address.  I think people would be shocked to know that at long stretches of the day, every day, we only have two patrol deputies on duty in the whole county.  We have two major interstates, two major highways, and a handful of other highways, thousands of miles of County roads, and we patrol cities, too, certain cities.  At major stretches of the day we only have two patrol deputies on.  That came to mind this week when there was a bank robbery in Oxford.  During the time, I think, that we might have only had two patrol deputies on.  So imagine a bank robbery in Oxford and a major accident on Highway #1 and a house robbery in Sutliff.  To me, we have to address some of these other public safety issues at the same time that we’re talking about the Justice Center, and I think we have to ask better questions whether we’re reutilizing buildings, whether they should be together or not, if they’re not together, what is the difference of transportation costs, efficiency cost, if you just compare building it here versus building it here and you didn’t ask the other dozen questions that go along with it, I think that would be wasted money on another study.  So I think we have to ask better questions and we have look at the broader plan.  But I do know we have a space problem.

Slockett:  I have a follow up on this question.  We have voted on a new jail a couple of times since the current jail was built.  In the last election, it failed two to one, 66% no in Johnson County, 73% no in Iowa City and some precincts were over 80% no.  We have a public and a population that is very well informed and has a large worldview.  I think one of the issues that came up in 2000 was the point that 5% of the world’s population is in jails and 25% of those jailed are in United States jails.  Just the idea that as a civilized society we need to figure out another way to deal with some these problems.  And there was a lot of criticism in 2000 because it was a 330 bed jail.  I have heard from members of the public who would like to forward the idea of an 180 bed jail which would be just at the level, it would be just above the level, of what we have needed on any single day, realizing that some days we might go over that and have to transport some people.  But given the economic situation, and given the fact that it hasn’t passed, what is realistic, what will people accept, this approach, as long as it’s scalable and you could go back to the public later on and say, yes, we do have additional needs and we need to build on.  I’d just sort of like to get your view of that kind of approach in dealing with what has not worked in the past.

Rettig:  The broader questions about the justice system in general are slightly out of our control, mandatory minimum sentences.  The courts are understaffed and laying off more people and so the timeline of court cases is just going to get longer, not shorter.  Diversionary programs aren’t funded, mental health, substance abuse, alcohol abuse don’t have adequate funding and so some of those problems with the justice system in general, having nothing to do with us, are completely out of our control, other than talking with our elected officials and being engaged with them.  People build jails bigger than they need at the current moment for, I think, two reasons:  one is they don’t want to get in a situation like we’re in where a building was built with basically no ability to expand it and so even though you only need X amount now in the future growth and so they overbuild it and the other thing is that they’re making money on housing other people’s prisoners, just as we’re paying other counties.  Sheriff Pulkrabek has done a wonderful job in negotiating a better per day rate in Marshalltown, which has lowered our costs substantially to transport.  So I think that that concept is good except for the fact that our population growth is growing and we know that and the people who study this can tell us by 2050, how large they think we are going to be.  So it is likely that our jail needs will grow at the same rate as our population grows.  And so I do think that should be taken into consideration.  Whether you build it now or you build it in such a way it can be expanded easily, is subject to debate.

Painter:  How would you go about selecting from a pool of applicants to serve on the numerous boards and commissions within the County.

Rettig:  I’m a strong proponent of gender equity.  I think we have been enriched by more voices on our boards and commissions.  It’s not always easy to recruit people to apply, as society as gotten busier and busier and two people are working and the kids are involved in 14 activities and stress levels are high, it is hard to find people to volunteer to a lot of boards and commissions.  Having said that, I think it can be done.  You just have to broaden the way people hear about it and learn about it.  I would be looking for people that are passionate about issues and that will bring their own ideas and thoughts to the process and have diverse opinions about the board or commission that they’re applying for.  I believe that we are stronger when more voices are heard.

Painter:  What is your long range vision for Johnson County and how would you utilize your experience in strategic planning to implement and provide architecture for that vision?

Rettig:  I believe that we should preserve and embrace our quality of life and our natural beauty.  Our landscape and our people are our number one asset.  Meanwhile, we have to provide quality services at a reasonable cost.  And balancing those two is, I think, the challenge for how I envision Johnson County growing over the next number of years.  We can’t lose sight of what makes us unique and what makes us an interesting place for people to live, at the same time providing a level of services they want and desire and need but keeping track of what that means to the economic situation.  And what I would bring to that, I am a details person.  I like the long-range vision, I like the benchmarks, I like the goal setting to get there and I am somewhat fanatic about budgeting and how you set benchmarks and you make sure you stay on track to achieve it on a certain date.  And I would never lose sight of the fact that the broader strategic plan keeps us on track.  It doesn’t mean that you can’t be flexible but it does keep you on track to where you wanted to go.  Your turn, Tom?

Kriz:  My turn.

Rettig:  I’m noticing a pattern.

Kriz:  That’s what I think.  Our next topic, Janelle, deals with land use and the environment.  What criteria would you use in making land use decisions and what basis would you make decisions concerning road improvements, maintenance, construction and roadside weed eradication?

Rettig:  I think in every land use decision, every planning and zoning of subdivision or dividing, that you have to keep in mind the Unified Development Plan, Sensitive Areas Ordinance, Fringe Area and the village plans we’re creating right now.  And those documents should be referenced and considered on every land use plan.  Additionally, I think you have to keep in mind the level of services, road capacity, water quality, water quantity, septic system load in that area.  We’ve done a great job in putting some plans in place and it would be a mistake to let them get dust.  It doesn’t mean we can’t be flexible, it doesn’t mean we can’t amend them, but they should be considered at every step of every land use decision we make.  The number one threat to our rural family culture, to our rural environment, is urban sprawl.  And we should keep in mind that urban sprawl also is very expensive to maintain.  And in many studies, the level of services required from new developments is not offset by the level of taxes brought in from them.  And so, you have to target your growth in areas where you’re able to provide the level of services, with a pattern that enables us to expand it in such a way that the demands on our system, whether it’s police, or ambulance, or fire, or roads, or septic investigations, isn’t stressed unduly.  And then, the basis of the roadside weed eradication, I think this is an interesting issue and one that a lot of people don’t understand.  There are over 5,000 acres of roadside right-of-way in this County.  5,000 acres.  Imagine how much those 5,000 acres could contribute to our water quality, to our sensitive areas, to diversification of our natural species of plants.  So, handling our roadside vegetation in such a way that we don’t keep track of the environmental impacts of it, and safety impacts, certain plants are not a great thing along the roadsides, but our roadsides, 5,000 acres of drainage system, that’s what they’re meant for, can have a tremendous impact.  We have won awards in this County for our management of our roadsides and I would hope that that would continue, that we would just continue down that path and get better and better and better at managing the sides of the roads in the most environmentally responsible, and safe manner, possible.

Kriz:  What do you think should be the County’s role in protecting the environment?

Rettig:  I think we have an $84 million budget.  And, we should keep in mind the environment in every decision we make in spending.  The County recently adopted a sustainability plan, and there were supposed to be benchmarks on that sustainability plan already coming due.  I think a major one comes due next year.  And that was a 10% reduction in our greenhouse gas emissions.  And, I think, those decisions we should be setting an example and be a driving force in keeping in mind that we are just caretakers of this land and this air and this water for our generation, but someone else will inherit it from us.  So, I think we have to leave it better than we found it and that is a big challenge for a county such as ourselves that is growing.  And so, I think the sustainability plan that the County adopted was a great step.  And we should not lose track of the benchmarks and the targets that are in it.

Kriz:  Describe your approach to balancing economic and business interest with the interests in health and the well being of citizens and environmental concerns.

Rettig:  There is not necessarily a balance.  The health and well being of our citizens should be our primary focus.  And, the environment is tied to that.  People’s health and well being is improved when we have clean air and clean water, when floods are less damaging and when we can live in an environment that is not poisoning us.  So, health and well being has to be our primary.  I mean, I don’t think that in any way contradicts business and economic development.  We are a County of thinkers.  The creative economy, the creative class, wants to be in a county like ours.  And so, our job is to go out and figure out what part of the creative economy would best fit in our county.  And, the creative economy is not necessarily that damaging to the environment, other than the normal inputs of fuel use, and heating, and cooling, and whatnot.  So, I think the two are very much in conjunction with one another, our quality of life, health and well being and quality of life of our being of our people, should drive our economic and business recruitment and expansion.

Kriz:  What would be your opinion of our Johnson County Comprehensive Land Use Plan?

Rettig:  I think it is a great document, with it’s amendments to it and the Unified Development Plan.  I don’t think you can take one without the other.  The Unified Development Plan and the amendments that are in that, Sensitive Areas Ordinance, Fringe Area Agreements, village plans.  All of those together, I think, make us different than a lot of counties, in that, we have thought about where to grow, how to grow, and what it should look like, and how that benefits us all in the long run and allows us to do it in a way that’s fiscally responsible.  So, I’m a big supporter of them, however, they are not stagnant documents.  You don’t just write them and sit them on a shelf and forget that they’re there, they constantly are changing.  They’re almost living documents.  And they change as we grow and as we understand things better.  And so they should be a primary consideration.  I don’t just think you can peel out the land use.  I think you have to keep all of those documents in mind at the same time.  But we shouldn’t be afraid to modify them as things change.

Slockett:  Taxes and budget.

Rettig:  Well.

Slockett:  Let me start with the first question

Rettig:  Sure.

Slockett:  I can see this is an area that you are interested in.  What do you know about and what is your opinion regarding the impact and incidence of Johnson County taxes?

Rettig:  So many elements of our incidence of taxes are out of our hands.  Commercial taxes are taxed at a different rate.  Homeowners have a rollback.  Our caps on our taxing ability are also beyond our control.  The methodology that we tax, certain methods of taxing, we don’t have an option to do.  So, so much of it is out of our control but that doesn’t mean that we don’t have a voice in what we think would be fair, or stabilize, or be more responsible.  I think we should utilize that voice with our elected officials at the State level.  As far as the impact, we are approaching an area that property taxes are nearly what people are willing to pay.  In Johnson County, voters have been very generous for things they believe in.  We’ve seen them time and again support libraries or schools or conservation.  And then they expect you to pay for everything else that drives the machine through what you already had.  So I think we have to be cognizant of the fact that wild fluctuations in property taxes are unlikely to be accepted.  We have to stabilize our budget and understand where we’re going, and do it in a way that’s controlled and responsible, gradually. 

Slockett:  What, if anything, should be done about the nature of County tax options?

Rettig:  We have basically one set of tools available to us and that’s property tax, and a possible sales tax which I think you’re going to get to.  Sometimes, property tax is not the most progressive tax available.  And it’s not so much that I think we should have higher taxes but it could be that we should consider having a diversity of taxes that are less regressive.  But that is clearly beyond our control and clearly a State legislative issue.  In this County, we are at our cap of MH/DD.  And last year, the County Board of Supervisors decided to talk to the legislators to ask them to raise that cap because we’re at a place where we’re telling people who want services, you won’t be able to get them, you’re on a waiting list.  So, there are times when the things beyond our control we should have a stronger voice in advocating for that, and so, whether or not there are inefficiencies we could find in MH/DD, I’m not privy to at this point.  But, having said that, telling people who have mental health issues and disability issues to get in line and wait, maybe, isn’t the most responsible thing. 

Slockett: Are you in favor of implementing a local option sales tax?  If so, for what use?

Rettig: I oppose a sales tax as a funding mechanism for government.  I think it’s regressive.  People with lower incomes pay a disproportionate share.  They have no choice but to spend their money for things.  They spend a higher percentage of their income just for their daily needs.  So, even when I agree with the ultimate outcome of the sales tax I have been opposed to it in the past.  I think our sales tax rate is high enough and I’m not really interested in raising that regardless of the cause.

Slockett: Do you have any experience in putting together budgets?

Rettig: Yes, I’ve owned a business.  I’ve been involved in a lot of non-profits and campaigns.  I’ve also am the Chair of the Iowa City Airport Commission where I manage a $400,000 annual budget and this year nearly a $5 million capital improvement.  And I’m also a Commissioner on the Department of Natural Resources Natural Resources Commission who oversees all of the wildlife, woods, forests, rivers, lakes, streams, hunting, fishing, gaming of the Department of Natural Resources.  We have $110 million General Fund budget, general operating budget.  In that is a very complicated and complex Honey Creek Resort State Park.  This is a story that will show you how I embrace budgets.  My second Natural Resources Commission meeting we had to vote on to whether or not to build the lodge at Honey Creek Resort State Park.  And, I was given six hours, well a little more than that but I had to sleep, notice about this that we didn’t have the money to do that.  And we didn’t have the money to do that and the cabins at the same time.  So, in the course of several hours I was able to study the Honey Creek Resort State Park budget in a way that made me understand things about it that people who had been working in it for several years didn’t know.  I ended up, as you might know, voting against the Department of Natural Resources pet project and the lodge and convention center of Honey Creek Resort State Park.  I voted against it because we couldn’t afford it.  I later voted against the management company of the park because I felt they didn’t understand the numbers and that the numbers they were giving us had a false parameter.  I like budgeting and I like being responsible in budgeting and accountable in budgeting and the details do matter and they do add up. 

Slockett:  How would you balance spending requests versus increasing taxes?  And if it became necessary to reduce the County’s operating budget by 10%, how should that reduction be implemented?

Rettig: The 10% model that is going on in the State was necessary in the short-term because you could make immediate cuts.  It, perhaps, should have been done sooner, but it is a bad and false model to do across the board cuts because you end up punishing departments that are already efficient and already lean.  Those that have voluntarily leaned their budget and become efficient and reduced their full-time equivalent are disproportionately affected on across the board cuts.  The model that the County has done this year to ask for two, basically two budgets, status quo and then a 2% reduction budget I think is more interesting because you allow the departments to show you what they value and want to protect versus what they think they could reduce if they were asked to do it; and would enable a decision by to make decisions that are not across the board.  It can make decisions that are, is this service more important at this time than this service?  Is this vehicle more important at this time than this vehicle?  So, while across the board cuts sometimes are necessary they are, I think, problematic in budgeting if you had a broader perspective we shouldn’t end up in that place.

Painter:  Okay, a few questions on appointment process versus elections processes.  The first, if you are appointed and an election is called, will you seek your party’s nomination?

Rettig: Yes, I will.

Painter: Will you run for re-election if appointed?

Rettig: It would be my intention to run for re-election next year.

Painter: If you are not appointed, would you petition or would you run as a nominee in an election that was petitioned for?

Rettig: I intend on making my case to the voters of this county one way or another, whether its now or in June and November of next year.  So, I would go forward with seeking my party’s nomination in any case.

Painter: Thank you.

Kriz: Janelle, are there are any questions you have for us about the appointment process that has transpired?

Rettig: No, I think you’ve been very clear on the website and thank you for doing that.

Kriz: And this gives you a point where you can kind of bring any of your thoughts together or circle back around now from your opening statement to a closing.

Rettig: I have, my entire life, from the time I was 14, been involved with my governmental bodies.  When my high school decided to cut the only college prep English teacher we had in our high school, I organized the students and petitioned the School Board to not make that cut and to find a different way to balance their budget.  I felt that cutting the only chance we had to get a good education was the probably not the only option they had available to them.  I’ve continued that through boards and commissions, through volunteer, through working for legislatures, to working outside of the government.  I have chosen to attempt to make a difference in the issues I care about every single day.  And, serving on the Board of Supervisors would just be a continuation of that and would be an honor and a privilege; and something that I don’t think is necessarily easy.  Those that think the decisions coming before the Board will be easy probably are not paying attention.  There is a division and because the issues are complicated.  So, I think the person that serves in this appointment should be someone who can hit the ground running and understand the broader picture and how it fits in, and who is a student of government and willing to listen, and be accountable in budgeting, and I think I fit that bill.  But, more so, I want us to keep in mind that this is the continuation and the end of a seat that Larry Meyers would have filled until January, 2011.  I don’t want us to lose sight of the fact that we lost a good man and good public servant and that we come to here on a more solemn occasion than you’ve met in the past.  So, it is with great humility and no ability to fill his shoes that I would ask for the appointment to finish out Larry Meyers’ term.  Thank you for having me.

Painter: Thanks Janelle. 

Rettig: Thanks.  Tom.

Kriz: Thanks Janelle.

Rettig: Thanks Tom.  Thank you Casie.

Parkins: Yes.

Rettig: You have the bad job, keeping everybody on track.

Rettig: Thank you very much Kim.

Slockett: How much time do we have?

Parkins: Can we take a quick break?

Painter: Sure. 

      Recessed at 10:54 a.m.; reconvened at 11:00 a.m.

INTERVIEW OF CANDIDATE FOR THE VACANT SUPERVISOR POSITION: Gregory Pickett

Slockett:  Welcome Greg Pickett.  You are here for one purpose and that is to be interviewed to fill the vacancy on the Board of Supervisors.  We have a list of questions that have been published on the website and we also have a two minute opportunity to start for an opening statement and to conclude and we’ll just kind of go around the room asking questions by section after your opening statement so you can go ahead.

Pickett:  Thank you, Tom.  I thank all of you for the opportunity to interview for the remainder of the term of my friend and neighbor Larry Meyers on the Johnson County Board of Supervisors.  Larry and I were founding members of I-SOARR (Iowans Saving Our Attractive Rural Resources).  I-SOARR is a Johnson County neighborhood group that came together to stop the Johnson County Board of Supervisors from taking land by use of eminent domain and destroying scenic views of Johnson County for what we believed to be extravagant road upgrades.  I’m a firm believer in open and transparent government, to insure that everyone has a voice and that government works for all citizens.  For that reason I was involved in a lawsuit regarding the Iowa Open Meetings Law.  I will always welcome opposing points of view and will work diligently to find sensible common ground solutions.

Slockett:  Okay, what makes you the most qualified person for the job?

Pickett:  Well, for me, having come before the Board many times as a citizen, I know what its like to feel uncomfortable for expressing a point of view that’s contrary to what the majority of the Board feels.  And this insight, is why I feel I will do my best to make sure that anyone coming before the Board is made to feel welcome and to listen to what they have to say.  When I would come before the Board, I’m not a person that typically goes out and speaks in public and, you feel uncomfortable enough and then when you get up there and you feel like there’s antagonism going on, it makes it really difficult for the person coming in to express their point of view.  To me, it’s always necessary to listen to opposing points of view because a lot of times, that’s where I really learn.  I was joking with some friends, I’ll go ahead and watch the Fox News because I look at news from a different viewpoint but I always want to see the other viewpoint and it's important to find common ground in the middle.  And if you work with people, the common ground solutions can always be found.  Both sides may not like this section or that section, but the general overall picture and what everybody wants to achieve together can be done harmoniously.  I've had years of working with other people on projects, years of working with other government agencies because I have done a lot of NASA programs and I have to travel out of state.  We build programs for both domestic and international space programs.  Even when it comes to basic interfaces in electronics, one side has to talk to the other and the whole way to get everything going together is to have the interface circuitry work right and that’s truly in talking with people.  You have to be able to give both sides the same opportunity.  I really learned that and stood out to me in government when I came in to talk about the whole issue when it started with Newport Road.  It just gave me a good background and the other thing that it did was got me politically involved.  In that sense it was a good opportunity and I got to meet a lot of great friends.  I hadn’t been in the neighborhood all that long when everything started and that’s how I met everybody in my neighborhood so there’s always pros and cons to everything and a good common ground can usually be found.

Slockett:  What would you hope to accomplish as an individual and as a Board?

Pickett:  I plan to work with members of the Board to accomplish a Fiscal Year 10 budget that does not put an additional tax burden on the back of citizens and businesses of Johnson County in these trying economic times.  This will position Johnson County to have the ability to continue to attract business and talent when the economy recovers.  I grew up in Wisconsin and I go back on weekends to visit my family up there and that’s one thing that’s happened in the State of Wisconsin as opposed to the State of Iowa in that there was more taxation.  Wisconsin is not in as good as shape as the State of Iowa because if your tax levels are too high, it's tough for businesses to want to come in.  I think that one of the prime examples that me and Johnson County can all learn from is how Dubuque went about bringing IBM in.  I think that was just a big coup for the whole area and they not only worked with people in the city and the colleges there, they worked with the colleges and the technical colleges in the state of Wisconsin because it was in the area.  So, I think that when we’re working as a Board, we have to not only think of rural Johnson County but all the cities within Johnson County and the surrounding counties in the state.  We need to be able to pool our resources.  The other thing that I want to accomplish is a more forward looking land use plan that incorporates the Five Year Road Plan and the school district plans.  The last time that I was at a Land Use Plan meeting, I raised the question about what do the school districts think of this because as we look at the Land Use Plan, we have to keep in mind where the majority of people are and what's going on with all the schools.  Because its like for Solon, even though they have a new school, they really don’t have too much room for any more students right now already.  And the Iowa City School District, they are looking at putting a new high school up more towards the North Liberty area, so I think that we have to really make sure that the school district is involved in our land use decision. 

Slockett:  How do you the view the County’s responsibilities with regard to human and civil rights?  How will this influence as you take on the role of Johnson County Supervisor?

Pickett:  It’s the County’s responsibility as well as my responsibility as a Johnson County Supervisor to protect and to provide fundamental assistance for those who are unable to protect and provide for themselves.  I believe that all people are created equal, all people have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.  I learned along time ago while I was in boot camp that people from all walks of life need to work together, treat each other as equals if you are going to accomplish a common goal.

Slockett:  I have a follow-up on this question, then Kim will take the next section.

Pickett:  Okay

Slockett:  As you know, we are in the middle of a historic health care debate and Harvard researcher findings indicated that 45,000 people die per year due to lack of health care.  That’s one every 12 minutes.  Teddy Kennedy advocated that health care is a right and not a privilege.  During this historic health care reform debate, there has been a lot of criticism of plans, they have changed over time and the major elements that I see I’d like you to comment on are universal coverage, comprehensive coverage and access or affordability which is linked to universal.  But many universal proposals have not had 100% access or affordability so those are the three things that I’d like your view on related to human rights.  Is health care a human right, what do you think about universal, the aspects of universal, comprehensive, and affordable coverage?

Pickett:  Well, I think that it’s the government that should help out with catastrophic health care and I think that would lower the health care for all individuals.  Because this has to be another thing where things are worked together with the insurance companies has been part of the discussion with the government and with the manufacturers of medications.  So my viewpoint on it is that I think the government should help out with catastrophic health care.  I think that would bring down the overall cost for health care for all involved.  Universal health care, I go to the VA at different times for my health care because I have a service connected disability and I also because I work at the University, I can go to a private doctor.  Now, my experience is that the difference is you get very good health care both places but in one case, you are just going to have to wait.  Your appointments are going to come through the mail and its very good health care but that’s the difference.  I think that there has to be a form of universal health care in the fact that it costs more for the rest of the taxpayers when people go to emergency rooms than if they had a small bit of health care so that they could go to doctors and could have choices.  Some of the things that I have seen from the government reports is that there is health care out there for a lot of people who don’t believe they are eligible for health care.  I think that our county here is very good about getting out the word, but that isn’t true all over.  I mean if you look at a lot of the people that are homeless, a lot of the people that are homeless are veterans and they have the right to health care and the VA has opened up that right to more and more people.  So its important to be able to get the word out to people that there are things on the table right now.  Is there anything else more specific, Tom?

Slockett:  That’s fine.

Pickett:  Okay

Painter:  Okay the next section are several questions pertaining to County government.  First of all, what are County government’s strengths and weaknesses? How would you enhance those strengths and address the weaknesses?

Pickett:  I think that the ideological passions of the County is both its strength and weakness.  When ideological passion is harmonious, then it is a strength.  But when it is not harmonious, it is a weakness.  I believe that knowledge can always be gained by listening to opposing points of view.  I think the Newport Road issue is a prime example of that and if you come to talk to the Board, feeling that it’s a confrontational thing instead of something where the ground rule is that we all work together. When things start off on the wrong foot that way, it just causes all sorts of problems and there are good and bad things that fall out of it but I think that government just has to be willing to listen to all points of view.  It doesn’t make any difference what party anybody is in or anything like that, its just part of our equal rights to be listened to equally.

Painter:  What do you feel are the greatest challenges facing Johnson County and how should the Board address those challenges?

Pickett:  The greatest challenge facing Johnson County is the current state of the economy.  No services can be rendered, no program can be run, and nothing can be built without the funding to do so.  I think that my background in program management and financial management allow me to bring years of experience to the budgetary process.  I will work with all department heads during the budget process and line item review the proposed budgets of all departments.

Painter:  Do you feel that a new Johnson County justice center is needed.

Pickett:  No, not at this time.  In the past the taxpayers overwhelmingly voted against spending money for a new jail.  A report by the Johnson County Sheriff showed that in Fiscal Year 2007 it cost us $11.00 more per inmate per day to house people out of county.  In November, 2008 the new 1,500 bed $68 million Polk County jail opened for business.  Larry had told me that this reduced the cost of housing inmates outside of Johnson County because the facilities that were housing Polk County inmates now had beds they needed to fill to pay for their jails.  The Johnson County weekly jail statistics that are listed on the Johnson County website needs to include the weekly listing of the cost per day to house prisoners in Johnson County and prisoners out of Johnson County next to each other on the form so that the general public knows where the moneys going and what the costs are.  For example, if you use the current weekly average of 63 prisoners a day being housed out of county at the Fiscal Year 07 cost of $11.00 a day, the yearly price differential for housing prisoners elsewhere would be $252,945 for the year.  At that rate, if the cost of the jail were only $50 million, we can instead of building a new jail, we could be shipping out of county for the next 200 years.  If the life expectancy of the new jail is say, 25 years, then it would only make economical sense to build the new jail when a yearly delta to house prisoners out of county exceeds 4% of the cost of building a new jail.  Its inevitable, we are going to have to build a jail but these are very trying economic times and if the economics say there is no sense in building one now, it has to become lower priority.  I’m sure that there is going to have to be money put into the jail for fundamental upkeep and safety of all the officers.  So I would rather see the money go for that in the meantime, as with any building, there is always housekeep.  I have an 18 year old house and I had to get the roof redone and I’ve got some siding issues so its just part of any kind of building so I would rather that a lot lesser amount of money be spent on the upkeep of the current jail.

Slockett:  I had a follow-up to that question.  First, I wanted to ask you the numbers you ran indicated that from a financial point of view the cost has to exceed 4% of the cost of a new jail before it’s economically rational to building a new one?

Pickett:  Well, that’s what it seemed to me, to be approximately if you thought the lifetime of the new jail was gonna be 25 years and that’s how I derived that figure was using a 25 year lifetime.

Slockett:  My question was regarding a new jail.  The last time we voted on it in 2000, it failed two to in the county and it failed by 73% no in the City of Iowa City.  There was a lot of criticism of the size of the jail at that time because frankly our people just have a pretty big world view and that the notion of incarceration is world-wide and in the United States it is felt that too many people are in jail.  One of the statistics is that 5% of the population world-wide are in jail and of those people, 25% are in United States jails.  So there was concern about building a large jail and then filling it up.  An idea that friends have proposed to me and they would like input on is the notion of a 180 bed jail instead of a 330 or more bed jail as opposed to accepting that the number of people are going to increase with the population.  The idea would be it would have to be scalable and so if there is a demonstrated need for more than that and realizing that some people on occasion might have to be transported out of the county.  But to respond to the fact that it has been defeated so heavily by lowering the number of beds to 180.  What do you think about that kind of concept as separate from your idea of not building it at all?

Pickett:  I think it’s a good concept.  I think this building kind of follows that concept where the third floor is for expansion.  And with the current County Jail, one of the problems with expansion was it was never built to structurally support it going vertically and that has to be folded in that if your original design for the building, you can lessen the number of beds as long as its designed with the ability to expand when required.  That would be good to bring down the overall cost, yeah, I like the idea.

Painter:  How would you go about selecting from a pool of applicants to serve on the various and numerous commissions and boards that the County has?

Pickett:  Basically, I’d follow what you guys are doing right now.  I think it’s a very good setup.  I realize that there are, for the different boards and commissions, there are certain slots that need to be filled with certain individuals of certain backgrounds but the basic concept of how to go about it I think is a good idea.

Painter:  What is your long-range vision for Johnson County and how would you utilize any of your experience in strategic planning to implement that vision?

Pickett:  Well, for rural Johnson County, I believe that west of the Iowa River and north of I-80 is where the majority of growth both commercial and residential will continue to take place.  Its where the new schools and churches have recently been built and where new schools are projected to be built.  It is where the majority of infrastructure investment will need to take place.  East of the Iowa River and north of I-80 will continue to be mainly farmland and recreational area.  There will continue to be residential growth, but at a much slower rate than west of I-80.  South of I-80, rural Johnson County will continue to be mainly farmland.

Kriz:  Okay, Greg the next section we get into a couple questions about the land use and environment.  What criteria would you use in making land use decisions and on what basis would you make decisions concerning road improvements, maintenance, construction, and roadside weed eradication?

Pickett:  For making land use decisions, my criteria would be that housing developments in the county should be placed near the city limits and on ground that is not being currently farmed.  Before County funds are used for any upgrades necessitated by these housing development, there needs to be a written agreement between the County and the cities so that the cities will not incorporate the housing project.  The County and cities really need to work together on this.  I remember going to a Board meeting where there was a road in the Five Year Road Plan that really needed to be done, but Johnson County didn’t want to do it because they figured that as soon as this is done, its going to be incorporated into the city and we'll have paid for a road that the city is going to take.  I think that the County and City are in the same pool.  They are in the same boot camp together and they have to work together.  If the County is going to put their funding into certain infrastructure the City has to recognize that and be appreciative of it.  I think that road improvements need to be done within the existing right-of-way.  Taking private property through the use of eminent domain for road improvement should not be done.  Staying within the right-of-way can be accomplished by lowering speed limits which decrease the width of the clear zone required.  Now the clear zone required, a lot of times, takes up more width than what the actual road does itself.  The clear zone is a total road side border area starting at the edge of the travel way available for safe use by vehicles.  This area may consist of a shoulder or recoverable slope, a nonrecoverable slope, or a clear round out area.  As we went through the whole thing with Newport Road, part of the study and stuff, we picked up material so that we could study what was going on and that was part of one of the things that I reviewed was flexibility in highway road designs.  That’s one of the things that really stood out because in areas of the county, there are right-of-ways that are only 60 to 66 feet.  In the new areas where new developments are occurring, the County is doing a real good job because they are asking these developers, okay, you got to give up more width in front for right-of-way in case we want to run roads through here.  But there is a happy medium with the areas where there are the more narrow right-of-ways.  If you lower the speed limits, the clear zones are cut down, and you don’t have to cut into people’s property, and you don’t have to take people’s property.  So that’s kind of my viewpoint about the width of the road.  And as far the weed eradication, I think we need to promote and supervise a native species program and the native species will compete and run out the weeds and you don’t have to use pesticides for that and from meetings I have gone to, I know the Roadside Vegetation Manager does a real good job and Connie Mutel is a great resource for anybody in the county that needs a resource as far as roadside vegetation goes.

Kriz:  What do you think should be the County’s role in protecting the environment?

Pickett:  I think that the County should be a lead on protecting the environment and good planning will protect the environment.  I think that’s key to protecting the environment is the planning.

Kriz:  Describe your approach to balancing economic and business interests with interests in the health and well-being of citizens, and environmental concerns.

Pickett:  First of all, all government rules and regulations have always got to be followed.  Then I think that carbon offsetting is a tool that could balance the concerns of all.  Mitigation of carbon footprints to the development of alternative projects, such as solar wind, solar power, wind energy, and reforestation represents ways of reducing the carbon footprints of companies when they come in.

Kriz:  What is your opinion of the current Johnson County Comprehensive Land Use Plan?

Pickett:  It’s a living document.  It's always in need of review.  I agree with what Larry recently said when he stated that he was not sold on the idea of the phasing concept when it was introduced in 2003.  Larry really never liked Phase Two, because there was an implied promise that the Board may not be able to deliver on.  That compounds the '60s problems of vast rezoning.  From its inception has been problems with Phase One because it is a large area and no one has discussed infrastructure needs on an orderly growth pattern from Iowa City.  That the possible extension of Oakdale Boulevard has a vaguely defined corridor and no one in that area knows what they can or can not do because they don’t know exactly where the road will be.  According to the growth estimates from the Department of Planning and Zoning, there isn’t need for such a huge area and permit applications statewide are on a steady decline and we need to have discussions about infill standards.

Slockett:  We're now at the taxes and budgets section.  What do you know about and what is your opinion regarding the impact and incidence of Johnson County taxes?

Pickett:  Well, I pay my property taxes twice a year and it gives me a chance to review where my money is going.  I went back and looked at the numbers and for the last four years my property taxes have gone up about 11%, which is basically in keeping with the rate of inflation.  But, the rate of inflation is now negative.  In Johnson County, just like the University, we’ll probably be getting less money from the State for Fiscal Year 2010.  And that means that Johnson County will need to lower its budget from what it is in this current fiscal year in order to avoid a big tax increase.  Now, I’ve attended various budget meetings over the year.  I know that this is going to be a difficult thing.  My years of experience of doing budgets for programs that I’ve worked on will be a great help in trying to figure out how we go about things because this is not going to be easy.

Slockett:  What, if anything, should be done about the nature of County tax options?

Pickett:  I think in the near term, the County needs to forego implementing any additional taxes.

Slockett:  Are you in favor of recommending a local option sales tax?  If so, for what use?  I guess we got the answer to that.

Pickett:  Yeah, especially when it becomes a regressive tax.  In these economic times, that’s even more difficult on the people who can least afford it.

Slockett:  Do you have any experience in putting together budgets?

Pickett:  I’ve put together budgets and have kept as-spent records for NASA programs that I’ve been program manager on.  I know my way around a spreadsheet.  I’ve had to analyze budgets, go through group spend rates, personnel costs versus productivity.  As our program funding became less and less, you need to use those kind of tools to look at the tough decisions that have to be made about who can stay and who has to go.  It’s not an easy thing to do.  I’ve looked at the viability of hardware and software purchases, selection of maintenance agreements, and have done budget forecasting, projecting average spend rate and the personnel required to do the projects.  I’ve balanced out the budgets.  I get statements every month from the University saying what was spent on a project and I take that and I put it in for what I’ve projected.  So, I’ve got monthly projections running that I turned in when the program started to NASA and I just update that when I get my receipts back for the end of the month from the University, so I can tell if I’m spending at the rate that I thought that I was going to spend at.  If I’m overspending, if I’m underspending, because a lot of time when you’re doing a project, underspending can be as bad as overspending because, a lot of times, if you’re underspending that means work isn’t getting done.  Because, by the time you’ve put in a budget and run it through the University, and it’s been reviewed and okayed by NASA, they’re not going to allow you to have a whole bunch of fluff into your budget.  So, watching your spending rate is a good tracking device on how projects are going.  I’ve been doing it for awhile.  It’s not anything that I ever intended to do but, things happen and that’s how it goes.

Slockett:  How would you balance spending requests versus increasing taxes?  If it became necessary to reduce the County’s operating budget by 10%, how should the reduction be implemented?

Pickett:  Balancing spending requests versus increasing taxes, when economic times are good again, increasing taxes can be an option again.  But in these economic times, I’m against tax increases.  The only increase in spending that I would vote for would be to protect and provide fundamental assistance for those who are unable to protect and provide for themselves.  And then, I would need to look in other departments to decrease the funding elsewhere to balance that out.  As far as the 10% reduction going in, I don’t believe that a flat 10% across all departments is the way to go.  What I would do, and what I will request from everybody when they bring in their budgets, is to bring in your standard budget that is the same as last year, and bring in one that is 15% less.  And on that 15% less budget, to have your priorities that you’ve set as the department head to what has to go first, what you can afford to lose in order to bring down costs, so that if all departments are bringing in what they would have to do to get down 15%, it would give the Board then the chance to decide, okay, one section, you may get hit with your whole 15%.  Another department, you may only have 5%, or maybe there’s some departments that can’t afford very much, if any, kind of a budget cut.  But I think if all departments bring in a 15% cut, and they have set priorities, then everybody, as we work together to try and figure out what we’re going to do, has a list to work from.  And, everybody can be in pool and see what we can make for tradeoffs.  As I’ve stated before, it’s going to be a difficult time in the budget.  I don’t think there’s any doubt about that.

Painter:  A series of questions on appointment versus election.  First, if you are appointed and an election is called, would you seek your party’s nomination?

Pickett:  Yes, I would.

Painter:  Will you run for reelection if you are appointed?

Pickett:  My intention in submitting my name to this committee was to fulfill the remainder of Larry’s term.  And, I really haven’t had a chance to decide further than that.  Basically, I intend to spend my time in office focusing on the budget.  I think that that’s the main issue that’s going to be going on in the short-term, here.

Painter:  If you are not appointed, would you petition or would you run as the nominee if an election was petitioned for?

Pickett:  I have already signed on the petition for the election.  When I came down to the meeting about the Sutliff Bridge and they were collecting signatures out in the lobby, I had an opportunity to sign for it.  I think that there’s a write-up about Larry and it had to do when they first asked him when he came into office about being a one issue candidate, and he said that maybe he was a one issue candidate, but that my issue was not Newport Road.  My issue is a County Government that is not representing the people who elected it.  I always think elections are good.  That’s what the country was founded on and I’m a firm believer in it.

Slockett:  The question is would you run in that election if it were held.

Pickett:  Oh, of course.  Yes.

Kriz:  Do you have any questions on the process that we’re going through right now, the appointment process?

Pickett:  I don’t really have any questions.  I think it’s a very good process and I thank you for doing it.

Kriz:  That brings us kind of to where we circle around, any closing comments you want to make. 

Pickett:  Okay.  These are challenging economic times.  My background in program management and financial management allow me to bring years of experience to the budgetary process.  I will line item review proposed budgets of all departments.  My priority in government spending is to protect and provide fundamental assistance to those who are unable to protect and provide for themselves, without increasing taxes.  I’ll listen objectively to all points of view.  I will research those points of view.  I will use my pragmatic, problem solving capabilities and then I will not shy away from making the tough budget decisions that are necessary.  It would be an honor and a privilege to serve out the remainder of the term of Larry’s.  I’m an option that reflects the viewpoints that Larry was so passionate about, that County government, where the people are viewed as partners and not as adversaries, and the County government which represents the people who elected them.  And the Land Use Plan that reflects the importance of agricultural land and natural areas, the Land Use Plan that emphasized infrastructure planning, not just roads, but waterways, green space and where schools are located within the Land Use Plan.  Thanks again for taking your time.

Kriz:  Thank you.

Slockett: Thanks.

Painter: Thank you. 

DISCUSSION: AGENDA(S) FOR NEXT MEETING(S)

Slockett: Casie, do we have anything else to decide?  Agendas? 

Parkins: I emailed the agendas for the 29th and 30th last night.  John is putting them on the web today.  Did you have any changes for those? 

Kriz: I did not.

Tom Carsner: What is the time and date of the Thornton interview? 

Kriz: Tentatively.

Slockett: We set it for the 29th but he hasn't confirmed. 

Carsner: In this room? 

Slockett: No in 203B and C.  Then we're going to decide at 10:00 a.m. on Friday morning.  I don’t think we have anything else to decide. 

Painter: Shall we adjourn until 2:00? 

Parkins: Recess. 

      Recessed at 11:44 a.m.; reconvened at 2:00 p.m.

INTERVIEW OF CANDIDATE FOR THE VACANT SUPERVISOR POSITION: Cami Jo Rasmussen

Slockett:  We've all met you.  You’re here for one purpose which is to interview for the vacancy on the Board of Supervisors.  We’ve sort of agreed, we don’t have a Chair so we’re kind of going in rotation.  I’m starting out, then Kim, then Tom, and we have a bunch of questions that have been on the Internet.  And we’ve also set a two minute opening talk, approximately two minutes for you, as well as closing, closing two minutes at the end.  So, if you want to start out, we’ll proceed.

Rasmussen:  OK, great.  Well, I’d like to begin by thanking you for inviting me here today.  I’m Cami Rasmussen.  I’ve been a Solon resident for 15 years.  I’m currently on the City Council there.  I’m a mother of four, one grown and three at home, and I have one grandson.  My husband, Terry, works for Toyota of Iowa City.  He’s been doing accounting there for the past 13 years.  I grew up in Polk City, a small town north of Des Moines.  There, my father was the police chief.  He also plowed the streets, and mowed the parks, managed the water treatment plant, was the building inspector, and the dog catcher.  So, my interest in public service runs deep because I grew up with it.  Moving to the area, we really liked Solon because it reminded us of Polk City, close to Des Moines like Polk city was, Solon provided us the opportunities for small town living, with the opportunities and the resources of Iowa City, close by.  So, I’m excited to be here, and I look forward to your questions.

Slockett:  The first question is what makes you the most qualified person for this job?

Rasmussen:  I’m going to try not to read, but it’s hard, because I have a lot of points I want to make.  I’m uniquely qualified for this position because of my 11 years of service with the City of Solon.  As City Treasurer, I worked with departments, I prepared proposed budgets, I researched funding options.  I also was responsible for implementing and monitoring the adopted budgets.  As a consultant, I trained staff and taught the fund accounting principles and the inner workings of a budget.  As a City Council member, I’m responsible for adopting a budget that reflects the needs of the community, while maintaining a levy rate that does not unfairly burden the residents.  My experience in decision making, and my knowledge of government policies and procedure would allow me to step into the vacancy and quickly become a participating and contributing part of the Board. 

Slockett:  What would you hope to accomplish as an individual and as a Board?

Rasmussen:  I hope to use my abilities to work with the Board and all the departments to find solutions to the difficult economic times we’re facing, and make Johnson County the best it can be.

Slockett:  How do you view the County’s responsibilities with regard to human and civil rights and how will this influence you as you take on the role of Johnson County Supervisor?

Rasmussen:  The responsibilities we have to protect the human and civil rights really should be at the forefront of every decision that we make, and also in the implementations of those decisions.  We need to progress with the utmost respect, at all times.

Slockett:  I have a follow up to this question and then Kim will take the next section.  A Harvard research group made a finding that 45,000 people die each year because of lack of health care, because they don’t have health care.  That’s one per minute.  And, Ted Kennedy, who headed the committee, one of the committees responsible on this, contended that health care is a right and not a privilege.  And, to the extent it is a right, I’ve got three questions related to the current reform efforts and just would like to get your view on it, health care coverage, should it be universal, cover everyone?  Should it be comprehensive, cover all of their medical needs?  And should it be accessible or affordable so that it can be universal?  So those three things, universal, comprehensive, affordable.

Rasmussen:  Great questions, Tom.  Definitely affordable, definitely accessible.  I’m still forming my opinions on the first two.  New information is coming out daily, and I’m still forming my opinions without being able to firmly say this is exactly how I feel.  I lean toward universal, at this point, that I can tell you.

Painter:  A few questions now pertaining to County government itself, and your opinion of it.  First of all, what are County government strengths and weaknesses and how would you enhance the strengths and address the weaknesses?

Rasmussen:  Well, I think the existing structure, though not perfect, you have proven is a successful process.  It’s a system that does work.  I’m a person that does not like to debate whether a glass is half empty or half full.  I’d rather focus on how do we fill the glass and how do we make this system be the best it can be.

Painter:  What do you feel are the greatest challenges facing Johnson County, and how do you think the Board should address these challenges?

Rasmussen:  We have large goals and projects and they would be difficult to accomplish in the best of economic times.  We still need to complete these projects and we are going to really need to be creative and consider every resource available.

Painter:  Do you feel a new Johnson County justice center is needed?

Rasmussen:  Absolutely.  I believe our jail is full and our facilities are outdated. 

Slockett:  And I’ve got a follow-up on that.  The last time we voted on a jail bond issue was in 2000, 9 years ago, and in that election it lost two to one.  It was 66% no in the county.  In Iowa City it lost by 73% city-wide and some precincts were over 80% no and I recall in that campaign, one of the issues was a 330 bed jail was on the ballot and we have a university community here, people highly educated with a large worldview.  One of their points of view is kind of summed up by the statistics that 5% of the world’s population is in jail but 25% of those people in jail are in United States jails.  There is the thought that we need to develop other ways to deal with our problems than just putting people in jail.  I’m not saying that’s all we’ve done, I don’t have time to go into all the things that we’ve done since then, but, I have received input from people in the community about taking the approach to just meet our current needs but make it scalable, make the ability to increase it, especially in light of the economic situations and the tough times and given the past history of failure to pass.  And the idea is that a 180 bed jail would be more than we have ever needed in a single day.  What would you think of an approach to have put on, if we put this measure forward, to put a 180 bed jail with the ability to expand it on the ballot?  What would you think of an approach like that?

Rasmussen:  I think that is a real common sense approach especially given the atmosphere and the public position, the past bond issue for the jail.  We are going to be dictated, obviously by our economic needs.  I think that’s going to be our guiding force and we also, its important to when you put a bond issue in front of voters, you have to give them something that they want to support and they’re willing to support and if it takes that for them to be willing to support it, then that’s exactly what it should be.  There is no sense of budgeting the time and the work of a bond issue that’s just not going to be supported especially if we know in the climate of the voters.

Painter:  How would you go about selecting from a pool of applicants to serve on the many boards and commissions throughout the County?

Rasmussen:  Much like you’ve done here.  An application process or some letter expressing their interest.  We just really have a privileged pool here in Johnson County of people who like to be involved.

Painter:  What is your long-range vision for Johnson County and how would you utilize your experience with strategic planning to execute that vision?

Rasmussen:  This is Iowa’s first capital.  We are a leader and should continue to be a leader in Iowa, in the Midwest, and the nation, I feel.  A leader in quality of living with a fair tax system and definitely a leader in the way a government conducts its business.  Strategic planning is essentially future goals and projects with a fiscal management towards those goals.  Solon, I am using this as my example because this is my experience.  Solon is known for its quality school system, its proximity to Iowa City, and just a good quality of life.  People like raising their families there.  We have positioned our self for growth with a controlled and well thought out plan.  We have spent our time planning and preparing for the future.  We have just completed a $2 million wastewater treatment facility and we have just established a new site for a new well, both needed to facilitate this growth.  We have implemented a tax abatement incentive for new businesses and we just started a program for our existing businesses on Main Street which is a matching grant program.  We have worked, we work as a community, the people of the community, the School System in developing one of the nicest recreation areas in the state, complete with a wetland reserve, and the School System is in the first phase of a multi-million dollar sports complex.  Upon completion, people are going to want to come to Solon, they are going to want to live in Solon and we are prepared.  Our infrastructure is in place and we’re excited about that.

Kriz:  Cami our next section deals with land use and the environment.  What criteria would you use in making land use decisions?  On what basis would you make decisions concerning road improvements, maintenance, construction, and roadside weed eradication?

Rasmussen:  Criteria, obviously the tools at hand.  I have worked often with the County’s Planning and Zoning Department over the years.  I know the time and efforts they have put into land use plans.  They utilize those plans.  Ultimately, we always need to respect the property owners.  The decision on roads, maintenance and construction, this is an area that I feel we need to really rely on the people that are out there, the departments that are out there, the department out there working the roads and rely on their feedback and let them help us prioritize our needs and assessments of the different parts of the county.  We’re not all in every part of the county when it comes to the roads and the back roads and such.  We really need to rely on that department heavily to help us make decisions in that area.

Kriz:  What do you think should be the County’s role in protecting the environment?

Rasmussen:  This is really an issue being talked about at every level of government.  As a leader in Johnson County, we need to continue our efforts and being proactive in finding ways to protect our environment for our grandchildren.

Slockett:  Describe what your approach would be to balancing economic and business interests with interests in the health and well-being of citizens, and environmental concerns.

Rasmussen:  Well, that’s it, that’s everything right there.  This is exactly what we all want to do right here.  But, seriously, it is a balancing act.  We have to strive for economic improvements and we have to do that with respect for the environment, with respect for the citizens and take that approach really in everything we do.

Kriz:  What would be your opinion of Johnson County's Comprehensive Land Use Plan?

Rasmussen:  This comprehensive plan has had a lot of time and effort, hours put into it.  The Fringe Area Agreements, the hope to reduce sprawl, the things that the intent of this plan is really an essential and useful tool for the Board to use to make decisions as people come with ideas of projects.  This is the tool that really we need to look to and I know the amount of the work and the time and have been part of that process that has been put into this plan so, it’s obviously used as a strategic planning tool as well.

Slockett:  The next section is taxes and budgets.  What do you know about and what is your opinion regarding the impact and incidence of Johnson County taxes?

Rasmussen:  Well, funding projects and services, we need to strive for the greatest benefit for all of Johnson County.  We can not unfairly burden any demographic or any segment of our tax base, ever.

Slockett:  What, if anything should be done about the nature of County tax options?

Rasmussen:  We need to continue to broaden on our tax base.  We need to promote new business, which will encourage new jobs, which will bring housing, which will bring property tax.  We also need to focus on attracting visitors and tourists because that is what will keep our existing businesses thriving.

Slockett:  Are you in favor of implementing a local option sales tax?  If so, for what use?

Rasmussen:  I’m not against it.  I think it can be a very useful tool.  However, judging by the last votes concerning the option sales tax as a whole, it’s becoming a harder sell.  Families are having a hard time making their family budgets.  And it’s, for what use?  It would have to be something that really everyone in the county benefits, everyone.

Slockett:  Do you have any experience in putting together budgets?

Rasmussen:  I have much experience in putting together budgets, much experience.  Not only do I have much experience, I just have a real natural interest and natural talent and have worked with it for several years.  There are many parts to a budget, I could bore you for hours on budget details but, it is an area I am strong and knowledgeable in.

Slockett:  How would you balance spending requests versus increasing taxes?  If it became necessary to reduce the County’s operating budget by 10%, how should the reduction be implemented?

Rasmussen:  The Board has already begun the difficult work asking the departments to look at their budgets and reducing them by 2%, where they could possibly reduce them 2%.  We need to continue that and take that a step further by also asking the departments to really thoroughly evaluate the way that their departments are run.  We need to look for all efficiencies within each department and working together as departments.  We need each department to prioritize, make a prioritization list so that needs to come from them, they know the inner workings of that department and so that they can provide the Board with that information.  Its also to review all fees and services and charges that the County is currently charging and possibly also services that are available that are not being charged anything right now.  There are several points I’m trying to make here, so bear with me just a minute.  The Board needs to right now begin to look at the budget today and I’m sure they already have in determining what is.  The point I’m making is we need to be proactive and we can’t not be proactive.  We need to look at the budget today, look at our current budget, determine what we are already mandated and obligated to, and then we need to look at everything else, and everything else is where we need to start, you know, the everything else list.  I’m not a person that’s an across the board supporter, across the board budget cuts, each department you know, this percentage.  Looking at the expenditures for the County or 50% are health and human services and public safety, so, I feel that we have to be sensitive that we can’t make across the board cuts because doing that could really affect the livelihood of folks in our county.  We just have to be responsible and go through the process and find out how we can go down the list and figure out where we can tighten up or have to tighten up, it’s really prioritization.  The second part of that plan is to also develop a priority list that is the, as the economy brings an upsweep, what can we bring back?  That same priority list, we have to bring those things back and the reason for the importance of that is because if we don’t have a plan like that, negative times create negativity and we need to be future focused and we need to have a progressive mindset.

Painter: Several questions on appointment versus election issues.  First of all, if you are appointed and an election is called, will you seek your party’s nomination?

Rasmussen:  Yes.

Painter:  Will you run for re-election if you are appointed?

Rasmussen:  Yes.

Painter:  If you are not appointed, would you petition or would you run as the nominee in an election that was petitioned for?

Rasmussen:  No.  I agree with the process that you’re doing here.  I believe in the democratic voice, but in light of the one year term of this position versus the cost of an election, I would not run if I was not appointed.

Painter:  Thank you.

Kriz:  Are there any questions you have about the appointment process or how it’s transpired?

Rasmussen:  I talked to Casie a little before, she said things have been pushed back a little bit, so you’re expecting to make your decision on the 30th. 

Kriz:  That’s right. 

Rasmussen:  Is that correct?  Just kind of a format how you expect to notify the appointee.  Are, have you guys talked about that?

Kriz:  We have not.

Slockett:  We really haven’t talked about that so that is something we need to talk about at some point, but, the logical order is first you contact the person you appoint to make sure they actually want to still take the position. 

Painter:  Yes, exactly. 

Slockett:  Then, my suggestion would be to send emails and a letter to try to contact everyone else because of the nature of this, it becomes public.

Rasmussen:  Okay, so through email or letter to the…

Slockett:  Email, letter and phone and just because normally in a normal hiring process my office just sends out letters, but in this case, because we hate to have people find out from their neighbor or on the media first, but that is still a possibility no matter how quickly.  That’s what I would imagine.

Kriz:  It’s a fair response.  The media is here as they have been through a lot of them, so once that decision is made, it will be public very quickly I think.

Rasmussen:  My other question is in regard to if you receive the petition for the 7,299 numbers requested, if you receive that before the 30th, or do you anticipate?  Can that be?

Slockett:  We don’t know.

Rasmussen:  Okay. What would happen, it would just you know, you just basically let us all know of the petition and so an election process would move forward at that time.

Slockett:  That’s correct.

Rasmussen:  And then from the 30th, there’s 14 days to submit that petition, correct?

Slockett:  Or anytime before that, the deadline is 14 days afterwards.

Rasmussen:  Right, okay

Slockett:  So it could be submitted, it could have been submitted at any point after the vacancy occurred.

Rasmussen:  Okay. Well, I think that’s all my questions.

Kriz:  Well, we have circled around from the beginning to kind of a closing at this point.  We have gone through a number of issues, you’ve seen the questions, you’ve answered those questions and now anything in closing that you would like to go back over or you’d like to hit upon, reinforcement with us or any closing comments you have?

Rasmussen:  Closing, I’d just like to say it would be an honor to continue Larry Meyer’s work in representing the Solon area and Iowa City and all of Johnson County.  I really, you know, hope to bring my experience to work with people of Johnson County for us to reach our full potential.

Slockett:  Alright, thank you very much.

Painter:  Thank you

Rasmussen:  Nice to meet all of you, have a nice weekend.  I’m sure its been a trying week.  I’ve been there, I know what its like.

Kriz:  Four kids at home, you already have a full-time job.

Rasmussen:  I do, thanks so much. 

DISCUSSION: AGENDA(S) FOR NEXT MEETING(S)

Slockett:  Casie has some news for us.

Parkins:  Yes, I got a message from Edgar Thornton saying that he did receive my phone call and looked forward the interview on the 29th.

Kriz:  That’s great

Painter:  Good.

Parkins:  Then I emailed him the agenda, so he would know the room location.

Kriz:  He is aware of the questions?

Parkins: Yeah, I forgot that I had told him that already. 

Kriz:  Good.

Slockett:  Okay, are we ready to adjourn.

Painter:  Alright, I guess so.

Kriz:  Thanks for keeping us on deck

Painter:  Thanks so much, thanks Casie for everything.

      Adjourned at 2:33 p.m.

______________________________________________________________________

Attest:  Tom Slockett, Auditor

By:

On the _______ day of _____________________, 2009

By Casie Parkins, Recording Secretary

Sent to the Committee on October 28, 2009 at 3:30 p.m.