OSCEOLA COUNTY

BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE

MINUTES

SEPTEMBER 4, 2007

 

Committee of the Whole was called to order by Chairman Larry Emig at 9:00 a.m. for the purpose of reviewing the claims.

 

Present:  Hoaglund, Brooks, Sikkema, Faber, Tiedt, Brock, and Emig.

Also present:  Alan Benson, Justin Halladay, Lance Cornelius, Mike Swales-Right Choice Heating, Loraine McCall, Susan VanderPol and Karen Bluhm.

 

Motion by Commissioner Hoaglund, support by Commissioner Sikkema to approve the agenda with additions.  Motion carried.

 

Brief public comment:  None.

 

Employee comment: Alan Benson commented on the situation with two alpacas recently killed within the County.  Cost of the damage was about $30,000 for the two animals.  He is unsure if these animals will be considered livestock or an exotic species.

 

Motion by Commissioner Sikkema, support by Commissioner Brock to approve the committee minutes of August 21, 2007 as presented.  Motion carried.

 

Recommended by Commissioner Brooks, support by Commissioner Hoaglund to approve the claims in the amount of $46,137.65.  Recommendation carried.

 

Jail Rooftop Heating Unit Replacement Proposals

Lance Cornelius, Maintenance Supervisor was present regarding the proposals received for the jail rooftop heating unit replacement.  Also present was Mike Swales from Rite Choice Heating, he was the only bidder on this project to attend the committee meeting. Mr. Swales explained the bid he has submitted and the reason he bid the project in the manner he did. He believes the bid presented is more applicable for the situation.  Mr. Swales noted there might be possible roof alterations, so the roofer who installed the current roof has been contacted to insure the warranty on the roof is not affected.  Mr. Swales told committee members that the alterations in the roof are addressed in their quote.  Lance went on to review the other proposals received from the other vendors answering questions if he was able regarding the other bids.

 

Russ Wayne arrived at 9:35 a.m.

Carol Halladay arrived at 9:55 a.m.

 

The committee discussed the bids for the heating unit replacement at the jail and decided more time was needed for review.  Chairman Emig asked Building and Grounds to meet and review this further and return with a recommendation.

 

Mike Swales left at 10:00 a.m.

 

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Committee of Whole

September 4, 2007

 

Tustin Sportsman’s Club Update

Lance reported the tree at the new COA facility in Tustin has been removed.  He reported maintenance is ready to begin work on other projects at that site, but had questions about who would be responsible for payment of materials needed. Lance was told to contact Loraine, at COA, prior to expending any money to be sure her budget could handle these expenses. The County Electrical Inspector has advised the Maintenance Department they cannot do the necessary electrical repairs at the Tustin site so he has contacted a licensed electrician, Bruce Williams, to look at the needed electrical repairs at the facility. He also reported electrical problems at the Annex causing a shortage of power.  Consumers Power has been contacted and he will have Mr. Williams also look at the Annex electrical problems.

 

Loraine asked questions regarding the rental agreements at the Tustin Sportsman Club.  She questioned whether we are just following through with this year’s rental commitments and whether we are going to rent the facility out in the future.  Chairman Emig explained that MMRMA is currently looking over the proposed rental agreement as far as liability to the County.  Discussion on liability policies covering the use of liquor within the facility was held. The rental of the facility will be determined at a later date.

 

Mark Watkins arrived at 10:05 a.m.  Russ Wayne left at 10:10 a.m.  Lance Cornelius and Alan Benson left at 10:15 a.m.  Loraine McCall left at 10:25 a.m.

 

In Car Digital Camera

Justin Halladay, Lieutenant from the Sheriff’s Department, was present to review further information he has gathered on the in-car digital cameras for the patrol cars.  He provided a breakdown of information and capabilities of each type of equipment.  He has gone over to the City of Evart’s police department to look at the WatchGuard equipment they are currently using and shared information on that system as well as the others he has presented.  He shared pro’s and con’s on the different systems.  He originally was thinking a quantity of seven cameras, however after reviewing the equipment capabilities he just presented, he feels it would be better to go with the more expensive WatchGuard equipment and do only five cameras.  He then explained the funding options to purchase the equipment through the RAP Grant-two cameras, one camera from the 416 Fund, one camera from Contingencies and one camera from the Drug Fund.  Installation was also discussed with a cost of $100 per camera.  Justin reported the money for installation will be covered in the regular budget.

 

Cliff Youngs and Don Lewis, from the Road Commission arrived at 10:49 a.m.

 

Recommendation by Commissioner Brock, support by Commissioner Faber to approve the purchase of five Watch Guard in-car digital cameras for use by the Sheriff’s Department.  Funding will be as follows: RAP Grant-two cameras, PA-416-one camera, Contingencies-one camera, and 265 Drug Fund-one camera.  Recommendation carried.

 

 

 

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September 4, 2007

 

Justin also addressed the questions as to why the department is planning to sell a 2004 Dodge Intrepid. He gave the committee the details and background information on the vehicle answering their questions.  The vehicle has 114,000 miles and the engine is gone.  He has checked with Edstrom’s Garage and Marco Dodge pricing a new engine somewhere between $5500 - $6000.  He was going to use the vehicle for school liaison officers, but these positions are gone so they do not need the vehicle for this type of use.  The fair value of the vehicle with a good engine is only $3500.  Justin wanted the committee to understand that if we replace the engine there is no guarantee that other mechanical expenses won’t occur and additional costs would then be incurred.  He expressed his concern about the gamble of putting $6000.00 into such a vehicle.  After some discussion commissioners agreed to proceed with the sale of the vehicle.

 

Schumacher Property Update

Carol Halladay, County Treasurer, and Marty Spaulding, from Title Check, were present to discuss the Schumacher property in Orient Township going through tax foreclosure.  Mr. Spaulding handles the tax foreclosure process for some 50 counties in Michigan.  Susan VanderPol shared county counsel’s two separate opinions, which differ as to liability.  Mr. Spaulding advised committee members that he can put the property back on the property auction and attach purchase conditions making it highly unattractive to buyers.  He recommended a performance bond for a couple million dollars to clean up the property within a certain period of time.  If no one buys it at auction, it will revert to the County without the liability.  

 

Recommendation by Commissioner Hoaglund, support by Commissioner Brock to rescind Motion #20 from July 19, 2007.  Recommendation carried.

 

E-9-1-1 Funding

Susan VanderPol reported to the committee that the State Legislature has yet to take action on SB 410 and SB 411.  This means the County Board will have to meet late next week to address resolutions needed after they act on the Legislation. A Special Board meeting was scheduled for September 14, 2007 at 8:30 a.m. for this purpose.

 

Motion by Commissioner Faber, support by Commissioner Hoaglund to recess at 11:14 a.m.  Motion carried.

 

Motion by Commissioner Tiedt, support by Commissioner Sikkema to go back into session at 11:27 a.m.  Motion carried.

 

Quarterly Emergency Management Work Agreement Report

Mark Watkins, EMD Director, briefly reviewed the work agreement report submitted.

 

Recommendation by Commissioner Faber, support by Commissioner Tiedt to approve the quarterly work agreement presented by EMD Director, Mark Watkins and authorize the Chair to sign.   Recommendation carried.

 

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EMD Exercise Update

Mock disaster update from Mark.  He reported that overall the exercise went well, didn’t have the well-experienced regional people this year so there were some adjustments needing to be made.  Alternative facilities were set up during this exercise.  EMD support team took over because lead people did not show up. Very proud of how well they did, because he took them out of their normal areas and had them work in other areas.  The plan and team members worked very well.  Shared areas in the plan where they need to work on further development at the local level.  Regional aspect provided no assistance to Osceola County in this exercise. 

 

Mark Watkins also reported a minor petroleum spill early on Friday morning.

 

Non-union Employee Sick Leave Time Accumulation

Questions have arisen as to a few employees who have more sick time accumulated on the County records than is allowed by current County Policy.  Karen Bluhm, County Clerk, reported the change in policy evidently occurred in the mid 1980’s.  Sara Youngs, from the Clerk’s office, has researched the Board minutes and board packets from that time period and found nothing was written as to why this was done or what to do about the employees who had already accumulated more sick days than were allowed in that policy revision.  She noted this seems to affect three employees, but wishes to have this resolved.  Discussion was held on this issue, as well as to how sick time may be used by employees.  Personnel and Administration Committee will meet to work on these issues.  Karen asked that Sara Youngs be included in these meetings since she handles this type of personnel issues when questions arise.  Discussion was also held on having an employee committee to work with on these types of matters.

 

Budget Amendments & Cash Transfers

Commissioner Brooks offered the following budget amendments and cash transfers for approval:

Line Item                    Description                             Increase                      Decrease

101.890.999.002         Contg. Public Safety                                                     $10,000

101.351.760.000         Treatment of Prisoners  $10,000

265.000.699.001         Approp. Fund Balance $     500

267.000.695.000         Transfer In                                $     500

265.000.999.000         Transfer Out                             $     500

267.000.931.000         Maintenance                             $     500

101.131.899.002         Appeals Atty.                           $  5,000

101.131.860.000         Travel/Mileage              $     500

101.168.899.004         Court Appt. Atty.                                                         $  5,500

Cash Transfer of $500.00 from the 265 Fund to the 267 Fund.

Recommendation by Commissioner Brooks, support by Commissioner Sikkema to approve the budget amendments and cash transfer.  Recommendation carried.

 

 

 

 

 

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September 4, 2007

 

Commissioner Brooks shared information about an invoice submitted for payment by the 49th Circuit Court for a picture frame for Judge Beale.  Commissioners were not familiar with this Judge and wanted more information before approving the invoice.  Chairman Emig will contact Judge Scott Hill-Kennedy about this matter.

 

Community Corrections Contract Amendment

Susan VanderPol, asked the committee to approve the contract amendment for Community Corrections.  This has to do with the education program and housing portion of the contract.

 

Recommendation by Commissioner Brooks, support by Commissioner Hoaglund to approve the contract amendment for Community Corrections as presented and authorize the Chairperson to sign.  Recommendation carried.

 

New Business-Road Commission

Cliff Youngs, Road Commission, was present to share funding information for the Road Commission as the Board looks at the possibility of increasing the Road Commission from a three to five member board.  He reported they are working in a deficit already and have discussed  voluntary lay offs.   He explained their funding comes from three sources: 47% gas tax, 44% registration fees & 7% from diesel fuel sales.  He reported they cannot continue to maintain to the level expected when they continue to fall behind revenues from the state and the increased cost of fuel.   He encouraged Commissioners to share this information with others or have them call the Road Commission for this information.  He noted the funding formula is not being followed by the State under Act 51, and yet the State is allowed to continue with this inequity.  He reminded the Board that both county garages were in danger of being closed by DEQ because of various problems.   They would have needed to put a lot of money in existing facilities to comply with DEQ.  They found it to be more economical to build the new facilities rather than repair the old.  Cliff reported their expenses continue to grow, with revenue staying the same for a number of years.  He also noted the Road Commission is only a policy setting Board and has no control over where the work on roads occur.  He does not believe we have anything to gain by moving to a five member board.

 

Employee Comment:  None.

Extended Public Comment:  Don Lewis, Road Commissioner, talked about Road Commission seats by districts around the County.  He was advised that the current law does not provide for this to happen in that manner.

 

Motion by Commissioner Hoaglund, support by Commissioner Brooks to adjourn at 1:06 p.m.

 

 

 

 

______________________________                                    ______________________________

Karen J. Bluhm, County Clerk                                      Larry Emig, Chairperson