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2001-675-Minutes for Meeting August 20,2001 Recorded 8/30/2001DESCHUTES COUNTY OFFICIAL RECORDSMARY SUE CJ 2001615 ^.AAA COMMISSONERS' JOURNALUNTY CLERK 08/30/200104,35,08 PM Board of Commissioners -< 1130 N.W. Harriman St., Bend, Oregon 97701-1947 (541) 388-6570 • Fax (541) 388-4752 www.deschutes.org Tom De Wolf MINUTES OF MEETING Dennis R. Luke Mike Daly BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS AND DEPARTMENT HEADS MONDAY, AUGUST 20, 2001 Present were Commissioners Tom De Wolf, Dennis Luke and Mike Daly. Also present were Mike Maier, County Administrator; Roger Olson, Road Department; Dan Despotopulos, Fairgrounds; Kelley Jacobs, Juvenile Community Justice; Pat Ross, Veterans' Services; Scot Langton, Assessor's Office; Timm Schimke, Solid Waste; Carol Rooney, Law Library; Mike Viegas, Risk Management; and Randy Wight, Sheriffs Office. Also attending were Marty Wynne, Finance; George Read, Community Development; Jeff Kern, Surveyor; Renee Warner, Building Service; Scott Johnson, Commission on Children & Families; Tiffany Westcott, Clerk's Office; Dan Peddycord and Julie Lyche, Health Department; and Mike Dugan, District Attorney, Also present were Dave Malkin, 9-1-1; Dave Peterson and Joe Sadony, Information Technologies; Mark Amberg, Legal Counsel; Susan Ross and Jenny Scanlon, Commissioners' Office; Mike Dugan, District Attorney; and Jenny Scanlon and Susan Mayea Ross, Commissioners' Office. Commissioner Tom De Wolf called the meeting to order at 12: 00 p. m. 1. Public Records Requests Rules Mark Amberg of Legal Counsel indicated that there is no central policy within the County regarding requests for public records, and a uniform policy is important. The existing information is being circulated to departments for their comments, which will be analyzed and incorporated as appropriate, and will then be brought before the Board. He hopes to do so within the next month. Meeting of Board of Commissioners and Department Heads Monday, August 20, 2001 Quality Services Performed with Pride Page 1 of 6 Pages He further said that it is important for those who are involved in making decisions regarding public records requests to be asked for input in an effort to make sure the policy is practical and workable. Also important is balancing the needs of taxpayers and the media with disclosure laws, and the appropriate amount to charge for County employees' time, expertise and materials. 2. Overview of the United Way Campaign Jenny Scanlon, Communications, said she had asked for volunteers to be a "loaned executive", but that unfortunately no one had stepped forward to do so. Therefore, she will be handling the United Way campaign for the County this year. She will be contacting County employees in the near future with more information. County Administrator Mike Maier said a certain number of contributors are necessary for the County to do payroll deductions. 3. Media Training Jenny Scanlon stated that a class on working with the media has been scheduled for Thursday, September 20, from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., and lunch will be served. This is particularly important to those staff people who currently write press releases and interact with the local media, as there needs to be uniformity on how media releases and announcements are handled. It is also important that everyone work from the same list of media and community contacts so that all appropriate representatives are kept informed. Panel guests will include R. L. Garrigus of KSJJ radio; Ann Aurand, a reporter with the Bulletin Newspaper; Rick Meyers, News Editor of Z-21 TV; and Jim Cornelius, Editor of the Sisters Nugget Newspaper. They will explain what they are looking for in news stories, and what the role of the media is in providing accurate and timely information about the County's programs, events, services and people. The Commissioners indicated their strong support for this event, and encouraged anyone who may be in contact with the media to attend. Those who wish to attend should RSVP to Jenny at 330-4640 (or via e-mail at jennys) no later than Monday, September 17. Meeting of Board of Commissioners and Department Heads Page 2 of 6 Pages Monday, August 20, 2001 4. South County Services Center Mike Maier explained that originally the Sheriff's Office established a small facility in South County - the greater La Pine area - to better serve that area. Since that time other County services have been offered there as well. He said he recently viewed the Midstate Electric Cooperative facility with Tim Edwards. The facility is approximately 8,000 square feet, and Central Electric Cooperative has spent about $800,000 to upgrade and remodel it. It also has a yard, covered sheds, a repair complex, fuel tanks and more. The County is considering purchasing it to expand its presence in the area, and Ron Taylor is studying this as part of the County's long-range plan to establish space needs. Department heads will be contacted at some time in the near future to advise what they feel would be appropriate space for staffing their department in a satellite office in the La Pine area. Central Electric Cooperative is in the process of purchasing twenty acres from the La Pine Industrial Park to build a larger facility. If and when this occurs, the County may be able to expand the Sheriff's Office, Health, Mental Health, Parole and Probation, Juvenile Justice, Community Development, Veterans' Services and other departments into that area. The Road Department could possibly be able to cooperate with the school district or the Oregon Department of Transportation. 5. Internal Auditor and Initial Projects Mike Maier gave a basic overview of the position and time frame for the search for the new auditor. The auditor will be responsible for a full review of indirects, both charged and compute; and will give department heads full information on what they are charged. Commissioner Luke asked what the difference is between an internal auditor and a financial auditor; Marty Wynne of the Finance Department replied that a financial auditor maintains the integrity of the general ledger, and the internal auditor will be doing performance audits and interacting with departments. Meeting of Board of Commissioners and Department Heads Page 3 of 6 Pages Monday, August 20, 2001 6. Health Benefits Funding Mike Maier explained that to fund the health benefits program, 12% has been added, and each department needs to figure out how it should be funded. This situation is particularly difficult for the larger departments. He said that if there appears to a Department Head that there is no way to handle this, the Department Head should contact the Board to see what can be done. He also stated that these figures would be routinely monitored. Commissioner DeWolf said that the main goal of the Employee Benefits Advisory Committee is for this to be the "bad" year, and for these expenses to be more stabilized and predictable in the future. 7. Distribution of Copies of Fiscal Year 2001-2002 Budget Marty Wynne brought some of the newly published Fiscal Year 2001-2002 Budget Books with him for distribution to those Department Heads who have not yet received a copy. 8. Commissioner DeWolf s Comments Commissioner Tom DeWolf gave a brief overview of recent international trips that have kept him away from the office much of the summer. 9. Other Items Kelley Jacobs of Juvenile Community Justice passed out some FAN (Family Access Network) posters and fliers to be posted in an effort to encourage community participation. She said that this is an attempt to diversify funding since previous funding sources are not always reliable. Mike Dugan, District Attorney, explained that he witnessed a crime and therefore no one in his office could be involved in its resolution due to the potential conflict of interest. He therefore asked Mark Amberg of Legal Counsel to assist, and Mark was sworn in as a deputy and even was presented with a badge for his efforts. Dave Peterson of Information Technologies announced that Gateway Computers is offering training classes at $99 per year, per person. This is an annual subscription that offers around 300 different classes that can be taken on-line. Meeting of Board of Commissioners and Department Heads Page 4 of 6 Pages Monday, August 20, 2001 Mark Amberg said that the County Code has been fully updated and is now available on the website and intranet. Loose-leaf copies are available for distribution to departments. Commissioner Dennis Luke said that interviews for attendees of the Legacy Program have been taking place, and all of the candidates are good ones. He stated that three would be chosen for the fall program, and three for the program beginning in February. He is attempting to get this type of training available closer in. Dan Despotopulos of the Fairgrounds and Expo Center explained that the past few months have been incredibly hectic, with the BMW Convention, the Fair and the Family Motor Coach Association Convention. He said that there was lots of community support and volunteer effort involved in all of the recent events. Attendance at the Fair was up 4% even though the cost of a ticket was higher; about 212,000 people attended. Preliminarily, it appears about 20,000 people attended the FMCA convention, and approximately 6,500 motor coaches were there from all over the country. Close to 1,200 motor coaches were on display, and about 500 coaches were sold. The overall impact to the local economy was very positive and no big problems were experienced even with the huge short-term increase in the Central Oregon population. He said that tickets to the Blazers - Kings game scheduled in October became available today, and already 3,000 had been sold. Timm Schimke of Solid Waste stated that a tire recycling event was taking place this weekend. It is meant primarily for individuals and small companies, and not for tire dealers. A computer recycling event is scheduled for September. A hazardous waste event is scheduled for October, when batteries, oil, paint, antifreeze and other hazardous items will be accepted. He said that part of the reason for holding these special recycling events is to address the problem of dumping on public lands. The Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management are volunteering their people to help out. Mike Dugan explained that the Safe Schools Alliance was contacted in regard to taking part in the production of a training video. Five jurisdictions were selected to send teams, and the Deschutes County team was invited to attend at no cost to the County. Meeting of Board of Commissioners and Department Heads Page 5 of 6 Pages Monday, August 20, 2001 Mike Maier said that remodeling is taking place in several County buildings. The computer lab previously in the Deschutes Services Building will be put in the downstairs of the Administration Building, and will become a training room. Personnel has moved downstairs to allow them more space, and the Commissioners' staff is being brought upstairs. Tiffany Westcott of the Clerk's Office reminded everyone that there is a new recording system at the Clerk's Office. Handling of voter cards is also different, which will allow for much quicker processing - for example, from taking three days to just four hours. George Read of Community Development recommended everyone view the new intranet site, which contains a full directory of all employees, as well as a variety of County forms, including the performance evaluation form. This eliminates the necessity of typing the form. Gary Smith of Mental Health said that last fiscal year over 3,800 clients were served, a 27% increase over the previous year. He suggested that the County's elected officials review what the legislature did for Health, Mental Health and the Commission on Children & Families during the last session. Mike Maier indicated that the County's lobbyist would be coming here soon to evaluate the actions of the legislature, the needs of the County, and how to proceed in the future. Commissioner Tom DeWolf introduced Scot Langton of the Assessor's Office, who has been selected as Interim Assessor upon Kim Worrell's retirement in September. Being no more issues presented, Chair Tom De Wolfadjourned the meeting at 1.15 p. m. Respectfully submitted, fc;�nl� ("� Bonnie Baker Recording Secretary Meeting of Board of Commissioners and Department Heads Page 6 of 6 Pages Monday, August 20, 2001