At the November 26 County Board meeting, the future of the county jail was again discussed. A contract with Tom Weber, independent contractor, to assist with a jail needs study was approved.
The contract with the consultant/facilitator will run from December 1, 2019, to November 30, 2020. Sheriff John DeGeorge said we need someone during the needs study to ask the right questions. Weber will work at a flat rate of $100 per hour for an estimated 10 hours per month.
Weber will work with the Criminal Justice Coordinating Committee, which consists of law enforcement, the judge, county attorney, and other county officials. DeGeorge suggested that the committee should also include some members from the public. This is a first step in the process. Decision making will be up to the county.
A request from DeGeorge to replace a 2013 Chevy Impala with a 2019 Dodge Charger base model all wheel drive through Enterprise Fleet Management at a cost of $24,846 was approved. The monthly payment will be $465.48 to be paid over five years.
Approval was given for Sergeants Jessy Betts and Derek Fuglestad to travel out of state to Springfield, Ill., for Active Integrated Response train the trainer course, December 16-20. There is no charge for the training as it is funded through state and federal grants. The county will provide for transportation and housing.
Emergency Management Director Don Kullot explained he has worked with Brenda Pohlman, Public Health educator, to update the base Emergency Operations Plan. It is to be reviewed and approved on a four-year cycle. Having the plan in place allows the county to be eligible for disaster aid. The plan was approved.
DeGeorge informed the board that payment of invoices for the Motorola three-year maintenance agreement for years 2018 ($8,466.96) and 2019 ($8,636.28) will be paid out of 911 grant funds.
Approval was given to pay Northland Business Systems for Server 2012 upgrade for local dispatch logger in the amount of $5,480 out of 911 grant funds.
Other business in brief
•County Administrator Bobbie Vickerman recommended and received approval to use CPS Technology Solutions for hosting services. Their hosting will focus on the IBM iSeries. There is a one time fee of $3,800 to set up and go live and a monthly hosting fee of $1,270.
•The 2019 dividend payment from Minnesota Counties Intergovernmental Trust (MCIT) is $79,349. The funds will be put mainly in the Infrastructure Fund with a small portion being used to pay for two people to attend the Safety Conference.
•Approval was given for the county administrator to serve as the clerk of the county board. This is due to the formal change of the county coordinator position to the county administrator position. Language will be changed in county records to recognize the administrator position title.
Vickerman will serve as MCIT voting delegate for the annual meeting, which is held during the AMC Annual Conference. Commissioner Duane Bakke is the alternate. The Association of Minnesota Counties Annual Conference will be held December 9-11. A list of AMC voting delegates and Policy Committee representatives was approved. There will not be a county board meeting on December 11.
•Brenda Pohlman and Kristine Oman put together a packet and a calendar of monthly activities for the 2020 Wellness Program. Vickerman said the challenge is to get people to participate in wellness activities.
•Jessica Erickson, director of nursing, reviewed the grant funding formula. A joint Fillmore-Houston Community Health Board meeting was scheduled for later this day.
•Bakke reported on the Highway Committee. Proposed construction projects for 2020 include a concrete overlay, north and south of Ostrander on CSAH 1, City of Wykoff reconstruction project, chipseals countywide, CSAH 15 and CSAH 5 reconditioning project/CSAH 44 to Iowa line, CSAH 5 land bridge west of Chatfield, CR 101 bridge replacement in Jordan Township, CR 104 bridge replacement in Pilot Mound Township, Canton Township bridge replacement on township road, CSAH 6 bridge replacement Chatfield Township, CR 102 bridge replacement Sumner Township, and CSAH 34 reconstruction project, Highway 44 to Mabel city limits.
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