Funding Glitch Brings Decision To Postpone County BB Work

Because of some funding glitches, County Board agreed by unanimous vote Tuesday, July 31 that improvements to Marinette County BB will be put off until next year or until funding issues are resolved. Two projects on County X that had been scheduled for 2013 will be done this year instead, at a total cost of $920,000, as recommended by the Highway Committee.

The approval came after a number of questions concerning the future of the planned County BB work and reasons for the decision to delay it.

County Administrator Ellen Sorensen explained there had been two DOT grant applications for funds in the neighborhood of $200,000 to help finance the County BB work. One was technically not correct, “...and we need to determine whether or not the funds are recoverable.” Often grant money cannot be used to pay for work that has already been done on a project, so the Highway Committee recommendation was to put the BB improvements on hold.

“So this project is dead if we don’t get the funds?” asked Supervisor Alice Baumgarten.

“This project will never be dead,” Sorensen assured her. “But $200,000 is a huge part of the project cost, and if we don’t get it, we need to know how it will play out.” She said the recommendation was to swap the money that had been intended for the project this year under the Capital Improvement program and use it for the County X project instead, “and if we get the $200,000, we can use it next year.”

Improvement of the Information Services and Finance departments, in terms of hardware, software and personnel, has been a Sorensen priority, and that continued to be evident at Tuesday’s board meeting.

Board Chair Vilas Schroeder was one of a handful of supervisors “playing with computers” at the meeting. He said they were not really playing, but instead were “trying to learn how technology can improve our lives.” There are some tentative plans to have all County Board members equipped with laptop computers and agendas, meeting minutes, etc. distributed via computer rather than by snail mail and paper in the relatively near future.

After hearing some explanations, the board approved Finance and Personnel Committee recommendations to eliminate a vacant Programmer/Analyst position in the Information Services Department and replace it with a Network Coordinator position, at an annual cost of $102,439 with salary of $61,283 per year and all benefits. IS Director Larry Schultz explained they need someone with this particular skill set, rather than another Programmer/Analyst.

The board also authorized the Information Services Department to purchase CISCO Unity communications manager software and hardware for $27,952.44 from CDW-G, and a snapserver for ims21 imaging at a cost of $5,868. Both purchases had been recommended by the Finance committee during a brief meeting Tuesday morning just prior to the County Board meeting.

The search for a new Highway Commissioner may be nearing an end. County Administrator Ellen Sorensen reported at the monthly County Board meeting Tuesday that an interview panel comprised of herself, Highway committee Chair Russ Bousley, Highway Department foreman Joe Baranek and Sheriff Jerry Sauve will interview some promising candidates on Monday, Aug. 13. “I think we’re encouraged,” Sorensen commented.

The position has been filled on a part-time basis by Interim Commissioner Bill Prue since the resignation of former Commissioner/Public Works Director Mark Desotell earlier this year.

Sorensen very briefly explained to the board proposed changes in the county’s hiring process. She said either she or Finance Director Pat Kass will attend all meetings of standing committees for the next few months and keep them updated on progress.

Recommendation by the MarOco Committee to purchase a new Bomag compactor for the landfill from Miller Bradford Risberg at a cost of $376,304 plus a set of wheels for the machine that cost $16,000. Money is to come from the MarOco Landfill unrestricted cash account balance of approximately $2 million. The current compactor was purchased in July of 2000. The landfill is jointly owned by Marinette and Oconto counties.

The board approved a commitment for $22,000 to be paid to Explorer Solutions for Phase Two of a development study for Twin County Airport in Menominee, which is jointly owned by Marinette and Menominee counties. The action was contingent on Menominee County Board agreement to pay a like amount toward the total cost of the study, but the board was informed their Menominee Counterparts had already approved their half of the study. Three Marinette County supervisors - Ken Keller, Shirley Kaufman and Alice Baumgarten - opposed participation in the study.

Schroeder explained the $22,000 is already in the budget, since it is a carry over of funds committed last year for Phase I of the study which was later financed by a Green Aviation grant. Sorensen explained the $22,000 will be carried over to the 2013 budget for the Phase 2 study.

Plans to rebuild the back entrance on the north side of the original courthouse have been put on hold, according to Building and Properties Committee Chair Mike Behnke. Discussion on how to go forward from here is on the agenda for their meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 14, Behnke said. The project has been in the works for months, but the only bid, from Alfredson Construction of Menominee, had a price tag of $287,900, more than $87,000 over the $200,000 that had been budgeted.

Some changes to the Town of Dunbar zoning ordinance were approved without dissent. The Land Information Committee reviews all Zoning Ordinance changes recommended by town boards to be sure they do not conflict with any county ordinances or ordinances of neighboring towns, and sends them along for approval by the full County Board if no conflicts are found. The ordinance sets 600 square feet on the ground level as the minimum for a dwelling unit in an R-1 district, and sets some new deadlines for the life of a building permit. Basically, a building permit is to be good for one year, with renewal if the work is started but not finished during that year. The Zoning Administrator can issue the first two renewals, but any further renewals will be issued only at the discretion of town board.

After much discussion the board sent a proposed change in Sheriff’s Department charges for remote security system false alarms back to the drawing boards. The plan is to remove fees from the ordinance and let them be set each year as part of the user fee schedule, but there were some technical difficulties that supervisors Gilbert Engel, Allen Mans and Connie Seefeldt in particular felt had to be corrected before the change is approved. Had the change been approved as it was proposed there would have been no board approved user fee until January, when the new user fee schedule will take effect.

Sheriff Jerry Sauve explained the proposed changes were very subtle, but this was one area of his departmental budget where he felt they could and should bump up the cost. Fees kick in at $25 after the fourth false alarm in a single year, and creep up to $200 or more for the 14th false alarm and beyond in a year.

The meeting started with salutes to some fine area athletes, among them the championship Coleman Cougar baseball team, coached by Kent Casper, who is the son of Supervisor Ken Casper, and husband of Coleman High School Principal Kelly Casper. The team and coaches, who have now won two state championships, were introduced to the board by Supervisor Casper, and Coach Casper credited his father for much of his success in coaching.

“I’ve been a sports nut since I was 10 years old,” Supervisor Casper declared, “so I remember quite well most of the events in our school district’s 100-year history, and I can say, arguably, that this is the best team our school has had in 100 years!”

“This is Coleman’s Dream Team,” Casper added, and to the boys he offered congratulations and declared, “Keep up the good work...We’re proud of you.”

Next up was Supervisor Larry Nichols of Porterfield, to present State Pole Vaulting Champion Prestine Perkins with a plaque in honor of his achievements. Nichols added that athletic prowess seems to run in the family. Perkins’ sister Erin took a second in low hurdles and 7th in long jump at the state meet, “so it’s kind of a family tradition here.”

Much of the morning was taken with annual reports for Bay Area Medical Center presented by CEO and President Ed Harding, the Sheriff’s Department by Sheriff Jerry Sauve, Emergency Dispatch by Director Terry Zimmerman, and a health insurance update by consultant Jay Scott.

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