OSCEOLA COUNTY
COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE
MINUTES
JANUARY 17, 2012
The Committee meeting was called to order at 9:35 a.m. by Chairman Brooks.
Present: Commissioners Dave Brooks, Ron Sikkema, Larry Emig, Roger Elkins, Alan Tiedt and Tammy Stoner. Absent: Commissioner Brock.
Also present: J.T. Burgess-Technology Coordinator, Ed Nettle-EMS Director, Pam Gibbons and Regina DeKam-District Court employees, David Eggle-Sherman Township Supervisor, Alan Gingrich-Road Commissioner, Roy Kissinger-Rose Lake Township Supervisor, Elmo Hoaglund-member of the public, Susan Vander Pol-County Coordinator and Karen Bluhm-County Clerk.
Moved
by Commissioner Tiedt, supported by Commissioner Brock to approve the agenda as
amended. Motion carried.
Brief Public Comments: David Eggle,Sherman Township Supervisor, spoke about recent discussion held by the Board regarding building new facilities for EMS and the location of these facilities. He read a statement indicating that although he understands the three (3) current locations want to maintain their respective EMS services, he would hope they would help and support operations for better service to the NW quadrant of the county. He then offered some written statements supporting better service to the NW portion of the county to the committee.
Elmo Hoaglund, Sherman Township resident, sited working previously as a County Commissioner and working toward better service for the northern portion of the County. He believes the County should maintain the Reed City and Evart bases and then build a new facility on the County’s property on 20 Mile Road. He also expressed his displeasure that Winterfield Township of Clare County does not pay millage for the service we currently provide to that community. He also asked that the board take no action on this matter today.
Roy Kissinger, Rose Lake Township Supervisor, supported the Tustin area obtaining better EMS coverage. He also asked whether the Board had made any decisions about the County printing and sending the assessment change notices and then billing the cost to the townships and cities. The committee indicated they will look into this further.
Regina DeKam, District Court employee, asked the committee what they plan to do regarding the safety of employees in the Annex after the recent bomb scare last week. Committee members advised her that conversations with many of the departments and law enforcement have been held, but there is no easy solution to this problem. The committee has not forgotten the issue. Ms. DeKam then spoke about the fact that the employees in the Annex hadn’t had a raise in two years, and she understands they are getting a $500 bonus, but they also raised employee health care costs. Commissioner Brooks told Ms. DeKam the Board’s main concern has been to keep everyone employed. Commissioner Emig commented that the change in employee’s health
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January 17, 2012
care contributions were minimal and if the Board had followed the state’s recommendation, all employees would be contributing 20% to their health care costs.
Alan Gingrich, Road Commissioner, expressed his displeasure, once again, that Winterfield Township residents of Clare County do not pay the millage for our EMS that county residents must pay but still get the service.
Moved
by Commissioner Stoner, supported by Commissioner Sikkema to approve the
committee minutes of January 3, 2012 as presented.
Motion carried.
Recommended by Commissioner Tiedt,
supported by Commissioner Sikkema to approve the 2011 claims for the county in
the amount of $ 12,899.88.
Recommendation was unanimously supported.
Recommended by Commissioner Sikkema,
supported by Commissioner Emig to approve the 2012 claims for the county in the
amount of $ 57,880.06.
Recommendation was unanimously supported.
Recommended by Commissioner Elkins,
supported by Commissioner Tiedt to approve the payment for the tree removal by
Mikey’s Tree service for the Annex Building Project in the amount of $ 475.00. Recommendation was unanimously supported.
EMS Base Update
Ed Nettle, EMS
Director, has spoken with Creative Home Designs regarding the plans they
developed for a new EMS base in Marion.
As directed, he had asked about making them LEED compliant. They are telling him they are not familiar
enough with this to advise us, but could refer us on to someone else. Because
the County has never taken the lead with this project, he would suggest he and
Sue Vander Pol, County Coordinator, be authorized to develop an RFP (request
for proposal) for an engineering architect on this project before moving
forward with this matter. He also
advised he is working with the Evart City Manager regarding the acquisition of
property in that area for a new base location.
Ed also provided an updated on the Evart base renovation, reporting it
is coming along nicely and may be ready by early March.
EMS-USDA Rural Development Grant
Ed Nettle, EMS
Director, asked for authorization to apply for a USDA Rural Development grant
which could help in constructing new EMS bases.
The grants are offered up to $1,000,000,000 and offer long-term
repayment as well as low interest rates.
This is only the application process.
EMS- MMRMA Rap Grant Application
Director Nettle
asked to apply for a Rap grant through MMRMA for CPR Compression devices. He explained how they would be used by the
department.
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January 17, 2012
Director Nettle
updated Commissioners on several issues, including the repayment by EMS to the
County General Fund for the purchase of an ambulance. He also reported the lease purchase for
cardiac monitors has been repaid early.
Director Nettle also
reported meeting with Winterfield Township Supervisor Hammar and Commissioner
Sikkema regarding an agreement for funding of EMS services in their
township. He reported they may be
putting a millage request on their ballot later this year.
Recommended by Commissioner Emig,
supported by Commissioner Tiedt to authorize the EMS Director and County
Coordinator to work on a Request for Proposals for an architect engineering
firm. Recommendation
carried with five (5) yes votes and one (1) no vote. Voting yes: Commissioners Brooks, Sikkema, Tiedt, Elkins
and Emig. Voting
no: Commissioner Stoner.
Recommended by Commissioner Emig, supported by
Commissioner Sikkema to authorize the EMS Director to apply for a USDA Rural
Development Grant for funding for the EMS Base Station and authorize the
chairman to sign. Recommendation was
unanimously supported.
Recommended by Commissioner Tiedt,
supported by Commissioner Sikkema to authorize the EMS Director to apply for a
MMRMA Rap Grant for CPR Devices.
Recommendation was unanimously supported.
Commissioner Stoner
expressed her concern regarding the building of any new EMS bases. She acknowledged not being able to make everyone
happy, but when looking at the actual EMS call volume, it makes more sense to
centrally locate a base on 20 Mile Road for the north portion of the
County. She also felt Winterfield should
pay for EMS services through an agreement and/or millage. This should be determined by the end of this
year, or else service should terminate.
Commissioner Brooks advised that after holding meetings last year
throughout the County, both Marion and Evart communities came with proposals
and that is why we are currently looking at the cost of such buildings. He thinks we should come up with a cost for
these facilities to see if it is even financially feasible to proceed further
with this issue.
Merit Network Service Agreement
Sue Vander Pol,
County Coordinator, told committee members Mr. Grandstaff of Merit Network
contacted her office and due to an emergency he is unable to be present for the
meeting today. He will reschedule at a
later date.
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County Policy Updates
Sue Vander Pol,
County Coordinator, shared a list of policies needing to be revised. She suggested an Ad Hoc Committee be formed
to revise the policies and then bring them to the committee for review.
Recommended by Commissioner Elkins,
supported by Commissioner Tiedt to approve a special Ad Hoc Committee of
Commissioner Emig, Commissioner Brooks, Susan Vander Pol, Karen Bluhm and Ed
Nettle to work on county policies. Recommendation was unanimously supported.
2011 and 2012 Budget
Amendments & Cash Transfer
Chairman Brooks reviewed budget amendments with the committee.
Recommended by Commissioner Stoner, supported by
Commissioner Sikkema to approve the 2011 budget amendments and cash transfer as
presented. Recommendation was
unanimously supported.
Recommended by Commissioner Elkins,
supported by Commissioner Tiedt to approve the 2012 budget amendments as
presented. Recommendation
was unanimously supported.
Criminal History Checks/Sheriff Department
Undersheriff Justin
Halladay, spoke to the committee about time and cost associated with their
staff running criminal history checks.
They currently run these for both the Reed City and Evart City Housing Commissions. Traditionally they have never charged, but
the number of checks has increased over the years and last year was over
400. If the State does the check, they
are charging them $10.00. Since it takes
between 10-15 minutes per check he is asking they be allowed to charge
$5.00/check. He advised he has spoken to
the Housing Commissions about this matter and they have agreed that $5.00 would
be proper. A brief discussion was held.
Recommended
by Commissioner Stoner to charge $6.00 per criminal history checks by the
Sheriff’s Department. No support.
Recommendation died.
Recommended by Commissioner Tiedt, supported by
Commissioner Sikkema to approve charging a fee of $ 5.00 for criminal history
background checks by the Sheriff’s Department for Reed City and Evart Housing
and review the fee annually. Recommendation was unanimously supported.
Commission on Aging Update
Scott Schryer, COA
Director, shared an updated organizational chart for the Commission on
Aging. He explained some of the changes
between the old and new chart. He
advised he will be bringing updated job descriptions to the Board in the
future. He is also looking at some of
the internal policies, and will be making changes as well as additions to the
current policies. He also
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mentioned speaking with the Director at MOTA regarding
the home delivered meals program. He and
Robin will continue with the project. He
noted that changing to MOTA for this service will not necessarily mean getting
rid of the current drivers who perform this service.
He then shared a
contract which has been in place for a number of years with the Department of
Human Services for the reimbursement for the volunteer program. In the past the COA Director signed this
contract, but he understands it needs to come to the Board for approval.
Recommended by Commissioner Sikkema, supported by
Commissioner Tiedt to approve the contract with the Department of Human
Services for 2012 for transportation with the Commission on Aging and authorize
the Chairman to sign. Recommendation was
unanimously supported.
Scott also asked if
it was okay to pursue another grant through the Community Foundation for
additional equipment needed at the Tustin meal site. Committee members told him to proceed with
the grant application and bring it back when it is ready.
Scott then spoke
about a large donation of boxed food made to the Commission on Aging right
before Christmas. He understands we have
four (4) food pantries in the County, but was seeking approval to create a
pantry in their facility specifically for seniors 60 years or older. They do not want to compete with the local
food pantries, but often their workers see a need in the home of some of their
clients for food, and this pantry could assist with that problem. Commissioners advised him to go ahead with
the idea; they did not think the local food pantries would look at it as
competition.
Veterans Home Care of Michigan Agreement
Director Schryer
spoke about a contractual agreement with the Veterans Home Care of
Michigan. He believes that many veterans
are coming into our area to retire and believes there are many things for which
they might qualify, but they don’t know about these programs. He spoke about how the program works as well
as the funding mechanism, and noted it allows for more of these veterans to
stay in their homes for a longer period of time.
Recommended by Commissioner Emig, supported by
Commissioner Tiedt to approve the Veterans Home Care agreement and authorize
the Chairman to sign. Recommendation
was unanimously supported.
Radio Talk Show/COA
Director Schryer
would like to create a one (1) hour talk show for radio discussing senior
issues. WATT 1240 A.M. radio would air
the show on Sundays between 12:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. Hartland Home Care is willing to sponsor the
show. This show will get more
information out to area seniors about programs available to them.
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Recommended by Commissioner Sikkema,
supported by Commissioner Emig to approve the Commission on Aging Director to
do a radio talk show for senior information and services. Recommendation was unanimously supported.
Travel Time Policy/COA
Director Schryer
spoke about the travel policy put in place by Motion #4 of February 23,
2006. This policy sets up two (2)
different rates of pay for travel time, and after speaking with Wage and Labor
in Lansing, he has been advised this is not appropriate. He asked that the policy be changed.
Recommended by Commissioner Emig, supported by Commission
Sikkema to approve change of the Travel Time Pay Policy to read: “to set the
hourly rate of pay at minimum wage for time spent in travel between clients for
Commission on Aging part-time employees, not holding a
grant-paid position.” Recommendation was
unanimously supported.
A brief discussion
was held regarding snow removal for seniors and possible solutions for the
future.
2012 Remonumentation Contract
Sue Vander Pol,
County Coordinator, asked for approval of the 2012 Remonumentation
Contract. It is the same as past years,
but needs annual approval.
Recommended by Commissioner Emig, supported by
Commissioner Tiedt to approve the 2012 contract with LCM Surveying for the
Remonumentation Program and authorize the Chairman to sign. Recommendation was unanimously supported.
Employee/Board
Comment: Commissioner Emig was concerned
that while the Board has tried over the years to keep County costs down, they
have continued to provide employees with a good wage and benefit package. He felt employees should be appreciative of
this effort as well as no loss of jobs overall.
Susan Vander Pol,
County Coordinator, reported finding little information in minutes regarding
the request for assessment change notices to be sent out by the County and then
billed to the local units for reimbursement.
She was directed to contact Director Rosie McKinstry to come up for
today’s Board meeting to see if this matter could be resolved today.
Chairman Brooks
asked if other Board members would be agreeable for him to come
work in the courthouse one day a week for about 2-3 hours. He is often called to the courthouse for
various matters and he felt if he had a set day and time, people would know
when he was available. Since he would be
charging Per Diem for this time, he asked for support from the Board.
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Recommended by Commissioner Emig,
supported by Commissioner Stoner to allow the Chairman to have a couple of set
hours each week with per diem.
Recommendation was unanimously supported.
Extended Public
Comment: David Eggle, Sherman Township
Supervisor, asked Commissioners to be transparent with the public as they
pursue any future plans on EMS buildings and locations. He urged them to select a committee from
people in all four quadrants to assist Director Nettle and Susan Vander Pol in
selecting an architect engineering firm.
Elmo Hoaglund,
Sherman Township, told the committee that when the Board bought that property
on 20 Mile Road, it wasn’t to take the base from Marion, but to make it more
centrally located in the northern portion of the County.
Roy Kissinger, Rose
Lake Supervisor, spoke about a tax tribunal hearing that has been ongoing for
two (2) years. This involves a
$1,000,000 valued property they are trying to reduce to a value of
$600,000. This has been costly for
their local unit of government and would encourage the Board to consider helping
in future costs as the County stands to lose revenue back to 2006 if the
reduction in value is granted.
Commissioner Brooks asked if Mr. Kissinger could possibly bring more
information to their next meeting.
Alan Gingrich, Road
Commissioner, does not believe the Winterfield Township issue is cleared up
yet. He believes those residents are getting a better deal than the taxpayers
of Osceola County. He also wants to know if the voters in the county get to
vote on whether they want new EMS bases built.
Moved
by Commissioner Stoner, supported by Commissioner Sikkema to adjourn at 11:51
a.m. Motion carried.
______________________________ ______________________________
Karen J. Bluhm, County Clerk Dave Brooks, Chairman