Commissioners Interview for Position of Houston County Environmental Services Director

Lydia Gaunitz and Amelia Meiners interviewed for the position of Environmental Services Director on October 15 during the regular meeting of the Houston County Commission.

The candidates were asked 10 questions and had 45 minutes to respond to all of them. The questions covered various topics, including the role of the director, their leadership style, and their skill set. They were also asked behavioral questions to evaluate their soft skills such as how they handled internal conflict and the outcomes of those situations.

Commissioner Johnson called the meeting to order at 9 a.m., with all commissioners present: Dewey Severson, Eric Johnson, Robert (Bob) Burns, Bob Schuldt and Greg Myhre. 

Chairman Johnson led his colleagues and the audience in the Pledge of Allegiance.

Commissioner Burns moved to approve the consent agenda, which included a competitive search for a full-time deputy auditor/treasurer, the hiring of Jeremy Burt as a full-time environmental specialist, and Michael Stano as a 67-day drop site supervisor at $18.34 per hour. Eliana Babinski was reassigned from deputy auditor/treasurer to PHHS account technician, and the employment status of Social Worker Lauren Solum was changed from probationary to regular. Commissioner Severson seconded the motion, which carried.

Houston County Public Health and Human Services Director John Pugleasa requested the commissioners to approve the renewal of the Toward Zero Deaths (TZD) one-year grant agreement for $13,619 with the Minnesota Office of Public Safety, as well as the two-year multi-county East Hub Regional Mobile Crisis agreement for Goodhue, Wabasha, Winona, Fillmore, and Houston Counties, which ensures that each county will allocate the grant resources into the program. The commissioners also approved the Foster Care School Transportation agreements with the La Crescent/Hokah School District. All the agreements were unanimously approved.

In other business the board,

• Approved the Computer Forensics Service Inc. professional/technical service agreement. County Attorney Samuel Jandt confirmed that it is a $1.5 million contract over three years, and that the county is the fiscal agent and is not getting paid to be the fiscal agent.
• Approved the Juvenile Detention Center (JDC) contract. Jandt noted that the changes requested by the commissioners were made, and each contract will come before the commission for approval.
• Accepted the quote from Loffler to purchase a Canon ImageRunner Advance C3930 scanner/copier for the Recorder’s office. The cartridges are no longer available. The total cost is $8,599.94.
• Approved a $19,000 EDA loan to Root River Market Cooperative in Houston for the purchase of a new freezer.
• Tabled approving the Personnel Policies Handbook until November so commissioners have more time to review the document.
• Approved the payments.

At the end of the meeting, the board went into closed session to discuss labor negotiations. After returning from the closed session, the commissioners chose not to ratify the tentative agreement with LELS Local 415.