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2003-953-Minutes for Meeting June 09,2003 Recorded 6/19/2003COUNTY TES FICIAL NANCYUBLANKENSHIP,FCOUNTY CLERKDS 4J 2403953 COMMSSIONERS' JOURNAL 0611912003 03;55;10 PM IIIIIII I I IIIIIIIIIIIIIII IIIIIII III 2003-000953 DESCHUTES COUNTY CLERK CERTIFICATE PAGE This page must be included if document is re-recorded. Do Not remove from original document., Deschutes County Board of Commissioners 1130 NW Harriman St., Bend, OR 97701-1947 (541) 388-6570 - Fax (541) 388-4752 - www.deschutes.orQ MINUTES OF MEETING BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS & DEPARTMENT HEADS WEDNESDAY, JUNE 99 2003 Present were Commissioners Dennis R. Luke and Michael M. Daly; Commissioner Tom De Wolf was out of the office. Also present were County Administrator Mike Maier; Dan Despotopulos and Kathy Herringer, Fair & Expo Center; Renee Warner, Building Services; Tom Blust, Road Department; Timm Schimke, Solid Waste Department; Scot Langton, Assessor; Rick Isham, Legal Counsel; Deborah Feffer, Parole & Probation Department; Mike Dugan, District Attorney; and Dave Malkin, Director of 9-1-1. Also in attendance were Jeff Kern, Surveyor; George Read, Community Development; Debi Harr, Commission on Children & Families; Marty Wynne, Finance Department; Nancy Blankenship, Clerk; Mike Viegas, Risk Management; Pat Ross, Veterans' Services; and Anna Johnson, David Givans and Susan Ross, Commissioners' Office. Other attendees were Jenny Scanlon, Juvenile Community Justice; Gary Smith, Mental Health Department; Les Stiles, Sheriff; Tamara Weaver, Health Department; and Dave Peterson, Becky McElrath, Tom Cornilliac and Bob Haas, Information Technologies. No members of the media or other citizens were present. Commissioner Luke opened the meeting at 1: 00 p.m. 1. Introductions. The attendees introduced themselves at this time. Minutes of Meeting Monday, June 9, 2003 Commissioners & Department Directors Page 1 of 7 Pages 2. Advance Look at the New County Internet Website. Becky McElrath, Bob Haas and Tom Cornilliac gave a presentation of the new County website, which contains numerous improvements and enhancements over the current website. They will be working with various departments on special department webpages, and hope to launch the new site within a few months. Tom Cornilliac said the management of the site will be very structured, and proper training would be provided to the individuals in each department who will be responsible for that department's portion of the site. Bob Haas stressed that updates will be very important. Commissioner Luke asked that departments be sure to work through the County's Communications Coordinator, Anna Johnson, regarding all press releases. 3. Update of County Building Projects. Susan Ross explained that the bid for the warehouse/I.T. building project has been awarded, and that the target completion date is March 1, 2004. Archives boxes will only be moved once, directly from the old warehouse to the new one; after which time the old warehouse will be demolished. She said that a position for County Archivist has been approved, and after this person completes training at the State Archives Division, he or she will help departments decide what information to keep, for how long, and so on. However, Ms. Ross emphasized that department personnel should still eliminate those records that can be destroyed now, and as soon as possible should also make arrangements to remove non -records items, such as holiday decorations and old equipment and supplies. Ms. Ross added that the Kidnastics building is now empty and should be demolished very soon. 4. Budget Update. Susan Ross said that the budget newsletter has just come out, and the budget hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, June 18, with the adoption of the budget to occur on Wednesday, June 25. She also said that some budget shortfalls were backfilled as much as the County was able to handle. Minutes of Meeting Monday, June 9, 2003 Commissioners & Department Directors Page 2 of 7 Pages Mike Maier asked that department heads and staff review the proposed budget and advise Ms. Ross of any errors or changes. Dave Peterson asked if the budget reflects changes in health insurance and PERS. Mr. Maier replied that it is unknown what the legislature will end up doing concerning PERS, so the budget anticipates the "worse case" scenario. Marty Wynne added that if this issue ends up going to court, it could take months before the counties have firm numbers. 5. Updates from Communications Coordinator. Anna Johnson said that she has been helping Dan Despotopulos as much as possible with the upcoming Fair. She stated that she will be sending out a booth schedule to departments soon so that employees can sign up to staff the booth. She asked that departments provide her with updated literature to be displayed at the Fair, as well as any drawing prizes to be awarded to the public. She said that a press release would be going out soon regarding "Heart and Sole", a shoe -themed fundraiser for MountainStar children's program. She also has been working on the County's training program, which will include an orientation video that would be used to fill in during orientation when an instructor from a particular department is unable to attend. Various members of the Training Committee are also reviewing possible training programs that can be brought in to the County. 6. Department Updates. Judge Stephen Forte has turned in his resignation as Justice Court Judge, since he will be the new Circuit Court Judge. Judge Forte said that the appointment of a replacement Justice Court Judge has to be made by the Governor, and this is expected sometime in August. Two local attorneys have agreed to fill in for Judge Forte when necessary. David Givans said that he is in the process of conducting an audit of the Solid Waste Department at this time. Tamara Weaver stated that the Health Department has been able to increase collections, adding about $8,000 per month in revenue. Minutes of Meeting Monday, June 9, 2003 Commissioners & Department Directors Page 3 of 7 Pages ■ Nancy Blankenship said that an RFP has gone out regarding the statewide voter registration program. ■ Timm Schimke explained that he, Commissioner Luke and others visited various waste recycling sites in northern California to observe how they operate. Commissioner Luke observed that he felt the Redding site was the best; and also that Oregon appears to be far ahead of California regarding the amount of material that is actually recycled. Mr. Schimke added that work on 27th Street between the Road Department and Solid Waste will begin soon, which will help to eliminate the curve in the road. He also said that the fire reduction program brought in much more plant material than the previous year; and that the hazardous waste recycling event takes place later in the month. ■ Marty Wynne said that the assessment and taxation conversion to the new system is underway, and he hopes it will be in place when property tax bills go out in October. Scot Langton explained that the new A & T system cost about $400,000, including indirect charges. ■ Dave Peterson stated that his department has contracted with a company to conduct a security assessment. They are doing probe -type testing for vulnerabilities. No system downtime is expected during this testing. ■ George Read explained that construction is still up in the County. He also said that the cities would likely be expanding their urban growth boundaries in the near future, which is triggering a type of "feeding frenzy" regarding lands that may end up within the UGB. He stated that the new neighborhood in La Pine is coming right along, and there will probably be around a hundred units built to start. ■ Jenny Scanlon said that her department is recruiting members to serve on the new Juvenile Community Justice Advisory Board, which is to include various members of the public and representatives of businesses. She stated her department has also been selected to participate in a national benchmark project, which is an honor since the other counties selected are very populous — Maricopa County, Arizona; Larimer County, Colorado; and Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. Minutes of Meeting Monday, June 9, 2003 Commissioners & Department Directors Page 4 of 7 Pages Dave Malkin said that with probable future addition of the City of Bend, with whom discussions are now taking place, all local law enforcement entities would be on the same COPS program. They are moving forward on the paging system, with the exception of an issue with the U.S. Forest Service site on Awbrey Butte. Good cost savings is expected once everyone is on line. He added that by this fall, it is expected that Deschutes County will be the first accredited telecommunications center in Oregon. Mike Dugan said that his department is experiencing a baby boom, with several attorneys and staff having had babies, or are soon to have new additions to their families. He stated that there are three interns now working in his department; two are certified students, and one is a second -year law student. He added that the Courts are having a big problem prosecuting quality of life crimes due to the shortened work week and the lack of funds. This issue is also affecting indigent defense. Current cases are now being set out for court in October or later. Les Stiles said that his department is finalizing a customer satisfaction survey; and one big question is whether to contact households or registered voters. The survey is a beginning step in strategic planning for the upcoming Sheriff s levy, since current funding goes away in about a year. His department will be holding a number of community stakeholder meetings during October through December; and the hope is that the Sheriff s department funding can move off a levy and into a permanent taxing district, since as it is now structured it leaves the department in a vulnerable situation. ■ Mike Maier stated that the County has hired a benefits coordinator, Ronda DePuydt, who takes the place of the insurance agent. Having this in-house position should save the County about $35,000 per year, and will provide better service to employees since Ms. DePuydt works just for the County. Mr. Maier also said that Rick Isham would have been with the County for twenty-four years this August. A retirement dinner in his honor is being planned; it will be held at Bend Country Club on Saturday, August 28, and those who are interested in attending should contact Laurie Kendall in Legal, or Susan Ross. Mr. Isham will work for about another month on a part-time basis to help with existing projects and to train his replacement. Minutes of Meeting Monday, June 9, 2003 Commissioners & Department Directors Page 5 of 7 Pages ■ Mike Viegas explained his department is pushing for the training program to quickly be completed, as properly trained employees are much less of a liability to the County. He added that defibrillators have been placed in some buildings, and it is hoped that at least one unit will be installed in all County buildings in the near future. Judith Ure, the County's grant coordinator, is pursuing grant funding in this regard. ■ Deborah Feffer said that Parole & Probation is working on its biennial plan for the State, but that the uncertainty surrounding the State's budget is creating numerous problems. ■ Renee Warner stated that she would be presenting a draft cellular phone use plan to the Commissioners within a week. She added that an HVAC specialist has been hired, as it made financial sense to do so; this will also help to get County HVAC systems repaired more quickly. ■ Susan Ross said that any changes to the fee schedule need to be provided to her this week, as the hearing on the fee schedule is set for Wednesday, June 18. ■ Dan Depotopulos told everyone that tickets for the Fair are now on sale. He anticipates overall attendance will be the same this year, even though the Fair runs one less day. ■ Tom Blust explained that the usual summer road projects are underway, including an overlay in Deschutes River Woods. He added that the legislature is leaning towards the passage of a transportation funding package to help with the repair of bridges and roads; this could bring some revenue into his department. ■ Rick Isham stated that with various vacations scheduled in his department and the overall workload, along with the fact that he is retiring, departments are encouraged to get any documents needing Legal approval to his department as soon as possible. Minutes of Meeting Monday, June 9, 2003 Commissioners & Department Directors Page 6 of 7 Pages He added that the State is cracking down on subcontractor agreements, especially in regard to contracts being signed on time. If State agreements are not processed and completely signed when they are to begin, the State has indicated it will hold up making payments. Being no further items brought before the group, the meeting adjourned at 1:15 p.m. DATED this 9th Day of June 2003 for the Deschutes County Board of Commissioners. Dennis R. Lure, 6hair ._. X Tom DeWolf, Commissioner ATTEST: is ael A Daly, mmissioner Recording Secretary Minutes of Meeting Monday, June 9, 2003 Commissioners & Department Directors Page 7 of 7 Pages