Yeah. >> Good morning everyone. I will call the Cook County Board of Commissioners regular meeting to order on this day, July 28th at 8:31. We begin our meeting with the pledge. Please rise.
I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> Are there any adjustments to the agenda?
Hearing none, I'll hear a motion to approve. >> So moved. >> Support. All in favor? I oppose. Same sign. Motion passes unanimously. >> At this time, we do have an opportunity for citizens to appear before the board
if they have any concerns as they look out into the audience. I don't think there's anyone at this moment. So, we'll proceed with the uh board. Does anyone has anyone received any comments or >> Okay. No. >> All righty. Good.
Moving on to the consent agenda. for a motion to approve as whole. On the consent agenda, we have um claims. We have minutes from the um July 14th regular board meeting. Um July 20th from
a special meeting and the 21st of our special meeting minutes um to approve the 2026 27 curling club lease and then renewal of the annual liquor and tobacco licenses. Would
anyone like to pull anything? >> If not, I'll hear a motion to approve as whole. >> Madam Chair, I'd like to make a motion to approve the consent agenda as submitted. >> Support. >> A motion and a second. All in favor?
>> I oppose. Same sign. Motion passes unanimously. Moving on to item number four. We will have some reports from human resources. Alice and Grace are a duo team this morning. >> Yeah, you're both of us today. >> Yeah. >> At least for the first item.
>> Okay. >> And then we'll let Grace go back on vacation. >> All right. So the first item that we have to present to you to you today um involves some restructuring of our public health and human services department. Uh so
some background. I believe Grace has talked about this quite a bit over the last several months uh in kind of identifying areas within the uh department that could use some restructuring to make the uh department
more efficient and how it serves clients and the staffing um capacity and capability that we currently have. Um we are starting with identifying uh some positions and the makeup of the social services team. So we have worked with
DDA uh on two new job descriptions uh again as part of this restructuring on that side of the department. Uh the two new positions we have are the social services manager and a lead case manager position. So, uh, I believe in the
agenda item I did include, did I include it? I'm just scrolling down. I thought I did. Oh, I didn't. Oh, I think I sent this to you in an email. That's right. I knew I sent it. I just couldn't remember where it was. Uh so to kind of clarify and picture where
these positions will fall, um Grace is proposing removing the three supervisor positions on the adult or excuse me on the adult services team, children and family services and the behavioral health team. The supervisor positions although removed will be kind of
replaced by an overarching social services manager position. Um so that position will effectively supervise take on the supervisory duties of all of the staff within those three teams and then
the um kind of previously the three supervisor positions will turn into uh what are called lead case manager positions. So they will not have any supervisory responsibility but they will be leading the team in kind of the
everyday aspects of the work that they do. So they will provide the leadership, the mentorship, they will be there to consult with uh complex cases. They will still be a case manager themselves. They will still hold uh cases and work on
those independently. But again, they'll take on a lot of the responsibility that the previous supervisor positions did in the fact that they're again leading and mentoring and being that daily go-to person. while the social services manager can be kind of relieved of a lot
of those day-to-day um uh requests and questions and then really just rely on making sure that uh legal regulations, law, statutes um are being received and uh filtered,
educated. I'm trying to find my words today. Um along with taking on the supervisory responsibility. So in a sense we're taking those three supervisor positions and kind of splitting up the duties between that manager and then the lead positions. Uh so the social services manager
position um that description is in the board agenda item that is proposed at a grade 220 and the lead case manager position is proposed at a grade 200. Anything else you'd like to add, Grace?
I'll just add that um while these are new position descriptions, this does not mean that we are adding new positions to the department. So, if you reference the attachment that Allison sent yesterday, there are positions within social
services for case managers that are currently vacant that we are not planning to fill. Rather than filling those positions, we believe that with the current case loads that we have in our department, we can restructure and change those positions to essentially
add that manager level oversight and leadership within our department, which will help make social services more stable, more supportive to staff, and provide a more consistent quality level of service to clients.
Anyone have questions or comments? >> Um, could you explain what would what would be a daily quest question that might be asked daily that a manager could help with like case worker like is it a form to fill out? >> Sure. I would say th those kind of
day-to-day questions about case management practice often might fall to a lead worker that has more of that experience working in the field and can help staff with kind of troubleshooting the day-to-day realities of case
management. Whereas the manager position is really providing a increased level of oversight for departmental policies, procedures, ensuring that we continue to be in compliance with all of the statutes that guide case management. So, it's really
providing a layer of oversight that was a challenge in the current staffing model just because the day-to-day really can be all-encompassing because client needs are complex. every individual situation is unique and so carving out that time to make sure that we had that
additional level of oversight in our current org structure was a challenge which is what I believe this model will help us solve. So those day-to-day questions about how to help someone with um you know eligibility for a certain type of service within the department or
connecting with resources that we don't often utilize so we might be less familiar with that would be an example of the type of question that might fall to one of the lead workers whereas that broader level policy procedure workflow within the team that would be the type
of duty that would fall to the manager position. >> Thank you. That's that's helpful because there are many people that ha have had no firsthand experience with public health and human services and so pretty
naive and do not know exactly how these programs how the system would work to help people. I will say also um to go off your comment, Commissioner White, we while it seems like within the county we are a large department, that is true.
Relative to other counties, we are small. And so what that means in practice is that our case managers rather than specializing in serving one type of client with one type of program often have to be more generalists. And so rather than knowing one program, they might be familiar with five or six
different programs, which actually adds a layer of complexity that you might not see in a larger county. And so that's a reason for having that lead worker to help. These are um roles or individuals who've been working in the social service system for, you know, a for the
state for or for the county for the governmental social service system for a longer period of time. so they can draw draw on that experience to help their colleagues. So >> that's great. And I'll I will probably be asking more questions going forward
because there's a lot that your department does and there's a people can only I'll speak for myself. I can only absorb so much new information at at a time. But I believe that this is essential for the greater community to
understand what we have for the communities. >> Absolutely. And you know, we've the last several PHS board meetings have been very heavy on the director's report, but our hope is that we can provide more of orientation to some of the different functions within our department over
time and in involve more staff and providing kind of an overview of some of the services we provide because it is a lot and it's important to provide that information to the community and to the board. So, I I agree with you and I always welcome questions.
Commissioner Gamble. >> Thank you, Madam Chair. Um I think it's it'd be helpful for the community to be aware that um while this is before us with a recommendation today uh to vote on that this has been a lengthy process and the impetus for this process was the
change that took place within the public health human services department. They gave us an opportunity with the consultation that was provided through the consultant that came in that has years of experience is well respected. And so we've been following this process
which has led to this based upon an analysis an opportunity to step back and take a look and how can we be more effective and as you mentioned given we're a smaller community that we need to have uh the awareness of
responsibilities that's distributed in a different way. So being aware of that and the information that we process and being on the advisory committee, we've discussed this and it's certainly come before us. But just so the community is aware, this has been a lengthy process,
a wellthoughtout process and the recommendation comes well informed both internally as well as externally through the consultant. So >> thank you for that, Commissioner Gamble. In addition to continuing to work with the consultant, Megan Mo, who did an analysis of our department at the end of
last year, I have been working with our staff internally. So, the staff within PHS are all well aware of the changes that we're proposing and continue to have opportunities to provide feedback. I've also been working with Allison and HR and Kristen, our administrator, um,
and and um, with our advisory councils as well. So, there's been a long ongoing process for feedback and engagement and that will continue as this is kind of the beginning of formalizing some of the changes we've been talking about with the reorganization.
>> Commissioner Sullivan. >> Thank you, Madam Chair. I'd like to make a motion to approve the job descriptions for the social social services and lead case manager positions. >> Support. Is there a second? >> Yeah.
>> Oh, sorry. We have a motion and a second. Any further comments or questions? >> All in favor? >> I >> oppose. >> Motion passes unanimously. >> Thank you for your work on this. >> Thank you. >> Thank you.
>> Okay. Great. >> All right. The next item I have to present today uh is uh new policy. Uh we are looking to present our volunteer emergency responder leave policy. Uh so
some background this is actually kind of been in the works for a while now. Um it started while uh previously when we had county administrator Yorkie in place. Uh this was kind of an idea presented by the labor management committee supported by all the unions. Uh of a a benefit. We
have staff um we employ staff that are also ver volunteer emergency responders and to support them in their emergency response to the community especially we've seen that recently with the fires um is that they were having to take their own personal time off. And so a
way that we as an organization could support them in that volunteer service was looking at a benefit to actually cover and provide some additional paid leave um outside of them taking their own personal time off. So through over
the last couple years again uh with the changes in administration we have now arrived at uh the presented policy to you. So, uh, what this policy will do, again, as I mentioned, it will provide a paid leave benefit to those staff that are rostered volunteer emergency
responders. We would cover up to 40 hours of paid leave per year. Um, the policy does set out some specific eligibility requirements. Um, and that's more of oversight to make sure that this benefit is not being abused. Um but we
will after um this meeting pending its approval there is more information that we will send out with implementation of the policy as well on uh the roles for the department heads and supervisors as well as staff to be able to utilize this benefit.
>> Does this uh extend to townships? It extends communitywide for any staff that we have currently employed that serve in a volunteer capacity, whether it's search and rescue, um our volunteer fire departments, um the Minnesota
response for public health emergencies. >> Okay. But within the county, >> well, even with outside the county. So, that question did come up um as to are we confining this benefit to responses within county lines and for what we've
identified in those conversations at at the personnel committee is that it's really hard to set boundaries for emergency response, especially when our neighboring counties rely also heavily on our uh say like fire response. So,
say uh our fire department in Schroeder could potentially be called into Lake County for response and we didn't want to have to necessarily limit and say you we won't provide a benefit because you're helping our neighbors. So, given our remoteness, it's important to be able to also support our neighbors in
the response. >> Okay. Thank you for the clarification. >> Commissioner Gamble. >> Thank you, Madam Chair. Allison, um I know we talked about in the personnel committee, but uh the clarification relative to because this is
um paid time off is an initiative that an individual takes because it's a benefit that is provided. The difference between that is that this is an emergency response. And so an individual how is it managed
that um like in in overtime that's managed through the department head in this situation if emergency comes up all emergency responders that they were all to respond is there some way of regulating the response?
>> Yes. So great question. So within the policy itself, this would still be subject to supervisory approval um given that notice could be very last minute or kind of after the fact. But that's where the education comes in that staff still
need to have supervisory approval because it is also the right of the supervisor to approve or deny the request based on the departmental needs and the services that need to be uh completed and making sure we have personnel on staff to be able to do that. So I think a great instance is the
highway department. There's several volunteers up there, but depending on the work uh taking place maybe at the time of the page for emergency response, it's up to the supervisor to determine whether all staff can respond or some
would have to stay back. And that's again that's employment versus the volunteer opportunity. And so that is identified in in the policy. The policy also identifies that this should be used without incurring uh overtime. So, we
would have supervisors work with those staff that maybe do respond to flex their schedule to avoid that overtime. >> Administrative trouble. >> Thank you, Madam Chair. Um, I just want to add that Allison, as he as she mentioned, has been working on this for
quite some time and has worked with different emergency responders that we have on staff and they've talked through different scenarios um and the likelihood of different different things happening so that the policy is as um concrete as as it can
be. That being said, as we move into this, we might learn new things and so we can always bring it forward to the board if there are changes in the future. But we're really excited to be at a place where we have this before you so that hopefully we can move forward with it. >> Okay, >> Commissioner Silver.
>> Thank you, Madam Chair. Well, this has been a long time coming and um I really appreciate all the work and thoughtfulness um particularly in regard to going out of the county for emergencies because we are all here together in a remote area and need to
work as a team. With that, I'd like to make a motion to approve by resolution the attached volunteer emergency responder leave personnel policy as presented. >> Support. >> We have a motion and a second. Any further questions or comments?
>> All in favor? >> I >> oppose. Same sign. Motion passes unanimously. >> Great. Thank you. Uh the last item that I have to present to you today uh typically well historically um resignations hires used
to be on the consent agenda then we remove them um and on the agenda today at the end is a staff room report. This item is a bit different um because our emergency management directors by law uh by statute are appointed by the county board. So you have approved
when Mike Kipport was hired you appointed him as emergency management struggling I need more coffee emergency management director so uh because he's appointed you also therefore need to approve his resignation so that's what I am presenting today is just formally
approving the resignation of our emergency management director Mike Keapport with regrets but we very much thank you thank him for his uh it will be almost seven years of service um at his uh September 1st date.
>> Commissioner Sullivan. >> Madam Chair, I'd like to make a motion to accept the resignation of Mike Keart, our emergency management director. >> Support. >> All in favor? >> I oppose. Same sign. Motion passes unanimously. Commissioner Gamble, did
you have a comment? >> Yes. Um I think uh fellow commissioners and staff have have seen this, but I think the the request that came from Stephanie regarding the fire chief uh being included in the process of uh
hiring uh for the emergency management position. Fire chiefs have firsthand knowledge of the qualities, skills, and leadership characteristics that are essential for someone to be successful in this position. and including the fire chiefs in this process would demonstrate
a commitment to collaboration and help ensure the county selects the most qualified individual to serve our communities. I think that's a a reasonable request and and in addition I think it's it would be a valuable uh component of the evaluation of
candidates. >> Administrator Treble. >> Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you um Commissioner Gamble. I did respond to Stephanie this morning and asked if I could connect with her later today. I do have some some thoughts about how we could perhaps solicit some of their
input and feedback as we move forward in the process. We do have the first uh round of interviews um scheduled. Um and we are we've we've got a placeholder for the second round as well. And so, um, with that in mind, I want to connect
with her and and see, um, how we can perhaps, um, either include and or, um, solicit some feedback from them as we move forward. >> Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Item number five, we're going to move into a presentation by the Grand Murray
Public Library. information for us. >> Good morning. >> Good morning to you too. >> Chair and Commissioner, thank you so much for having us today. >> I am Library Director Electra Branwin and I'm joined today by the library
board president Sarah McManis. Today, we'd like to accomplish three things. The first is I'd love to present an update about how the library has been serving the Cook County residents as well as responding to changing
community needs. Second, we'd like to walk through the library's 2027 budget together. And the third is that we'd like to begin a conversation about long-term capital planning for the library.
We're also hoping that today's presentation can become a regular practice. The library would love to spend more time here connecting with you in person and also um creating ongoing dialogue.
So, I'd like to start with that library update and first just taking a snapshot of what it's been like in the library for the last couple of weeks. Nature Connect came to the library to present bugs at the library and over 80
people came to learn more about aquatic life and how it plays a significant role in the health of our waterways. If you can imagine, we had multiple tables with water tanks, touch tanks, and everyone could come up and put their
hands in and engage with young dragon flies and stone flies. And children had them wrapped on their fingers. And they left so turned on, so excited that some even went back to their families and asked to explore their favorite lake.
Prior to that, when the wildfire smoke was so bad, the library became a safer space for the public and we provided relief from the smoke in a temperature controlled environment with something for everyone to do.
Children were playing find the mascot. This is a game that we're playing where they take turns hiding stuffed animals in the library that are related to our summer reading program. They want to hide them so good that nobody else can find them. And I have to tell you, they're really good at that.
And we also had groups playing card games. We had adults sitting just reading for hours, finding relief in our space and expressing so much gratitude on their way out. But behind the scenes, we were
not only working to manage smoke intrusion into the building and we were also contacting public health to see how we could help. whether that was disseminating respirators or information or something else.
When it comes to youth, reading engagement throughout the summer helps keep those skills sharp that might otherwise be lost between the school years. And our 10-week summer reading program had reading trackers, live events, and ongoing activities like
Find the Mascot and the Bugs program. We have three weeks left and we've already distributed more than 200 reading trackers. With each of those, the participants have opportunities to build their
personal libraries because we have a community partnership with Drury Lane Books where uh the children take a book voucher and go select their own items from Jury Lane. Cool. On August 14th, we're hosting a
community picnic and parade to celebrate our voracious and joyful readers as well as all of the community members and families that make that support possible. And that includes you. So, I hope that you'll come and you'll be receiving an invitation as soon as our
schedule is finalized. Today, more than half of Cook County residents have a library card. And engagement with the library continues to see significant numbers. Last year, we welcomed over 46,000
people, and that's up from the year prior. This year, we're on pace, and we saw 4,000 people visiting the library in June alone. We don't only measure success by the number of people coming in through our doors. We're also looking at borrowing
trends and community feedback and partnerships that we're building because those help us understand where the needs are changing and where our investments will have the most impact. For example, did you know that about onethird of what patrons borrow from the
Grand Marray Public Library is digital content? And that's consistent with what we're seeing nationwide. Our 2027 budget, which Sarah will talk about in a moment, includes a pilot of a local collection of downloadable
material. It not only expands the ebooks and e audiobook collections that are available from Arrowhead Library System, our regional uh group, it also introduces music and streaming video for the first
time. That investment is especially meaningful for those who live further from Grand Marray and for those who are interested in connecting from the comfort of their own homes. Another priority for us in the library
is strengthening our partnerships. Earlier this month, we welcomed the Cook County Prevention Coalition for a two-day showcase of their amazing work at the library. And it also came with a two-eek display of information and uh
public survey. We extended that display time through the end of the month because of public engagement. Partnerships like these help community organizations reach more people and encourage public engagement and they
reinforce the library's role as a trusted public gathering space. I'm looking forward to August already. We have the Northwoods food project coming and we're going to feature the circulating collection uh the library
collection of kitchen wear and we also are going to be working with um Julie Wilson from Care Partners to become dementia friends and this is part of our contribution to the aging friendly Cook County initiative at the library. We're also committed to
leveraging available funding sources to support library services. The library friends of Cook County, for example, provided over $11,000 to replace our failing staff computers last year. And this spring, they've contributed another
$16,800 to address the public side, the public access computers. Private dollars like these improved our technology both for service delivery and for our visitors while extending public
resources helping them go further. Taken together, these examples are showing a story about the library that it's not only maintaining services, but it is continually looking for ways to expand access across the county.
We're strengthening our partnerships and we're being responsible stewards of both public and private investments. That is the first part of the presentation. Earlier in July, the city council approved the 2027 budget for the
library. I believe you have it attached in your paperwork. The budget reflects a 4.7% overall increase from last year. It supports workforce development, expanded access to digital resources, and the ongoing stewardship of the library
facility. The budget assumes a 10% increase in health insurance. As you're familiar with, we won't have those final numbers until later this fall. It accounts for a 3% cost of living adjustment for staff. And then it does two new things. It
applies library reserves to the replacement of our aging boilers at the tune of 200 of $26,000 and it invests $10,000 to begin a capital fund which we'd like to discuss today a little bit as well. The total 2027 operating budget is just over
$500,000 and the county's estimated contribution is around $260,000 of which about 30,000 is contributed directly to Arrowhead Library Systems in support of regional library service. Did you have any questions about the budget that we could discuss with you
this morning? >> Any questions so far? >> Minister. >> Madam Chair, I don't have a question, but just a comment and that's that I did connect with our facilities director about the capital reserve fund just to see what is best practice in this space
and what he would recommend as well. He has not um I sent the message late last night. He has not gotten back to me yet, but that's some information that I think would be helpful as we move forward as well. >> Absolutely. The more resources we can draw on for information as we figure out
how to best preserve the library would be much appreciated. Thank you, >> Commissioner Gamble. >> Yeah, thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you for the presentation and um also the spirit in which you invited this annually. I think it's helpful to
connect and to understand uh uh the benefits um more substantially than just the numbers on the on the page. Um I did have the opportunity to
sit on the library board my first term and um I don't recall one of the questions I have is is the amount of funding that comes from grants and opportunities that are presented through the regional library. Um, just as far as
other revenue sources, if you could address that, if we have any other revenue sources and and I know that we split between the city and and the county, and I'd be interested in also knowing u the the request for capital
investment moving forward, the response from city council, if that's fair. >> Certainly. >> Would you paraphrase the question? You're looking for what other revenue sources aside from tax dollars? Is that correct?
>> Perfect. So, um, library friends of Cook County can choose to grant the library amounts. They're not guaranteed. We also do receive from Arrowhead Library System approximately $3,000 each year that can be used
towards certain things like furniture, technology, replacement, or programming in the library. Collection development is another piece and we have um in the past used some of those funds to help increase the uh
regional collection of digital content that's shared. >> The other part of the question was the response to the new introduction of the >> capital >> from city council. So they were supportive of this year's budget. Um I
think they would like some further discussion about um how this will look going forward and what the county commissioner's take is on it as well. But overall they were supportive of it and thought that our presentation to plan ahead rather than come forward with
an emergency request was certainly appreciated. >> Yeah. And because it is a partnership that's why the question is asked because I want to be aware of the partners' >> response. So thank you. >> Thank you. Thank you, Commissioner, and also for your service with the library
board. >> Administrator Trouble. >> Thank you, Madam Chair. So, I spoke too soon because Brooke, our facilities director, has now gotten back to me. So, um what he's reported is the boiler replacement looks about right in terms
of cost. Um but the the question that he has is it looks like um there were heat pumps installed in 2022 for about 18,000 and 25 for about 37,000. Um and then also um you're stating that there would be a new boiler in the
future as well. So is that for redundancy purposes or or why the the boiler in addition to what has been purchased in the past few years for um for heat pumps. The library's heating and cooling system
is quite complex and any any of the um plumbers or contractors who have come to the library admit that right now the air source heat pumps replaced our mini split so they do provide cooling. The electricity um generated heat supports
but doesn't replace the base heating system in the library. So right now it's really effective in shoulder season and it does not carry through the coldest year uh months of the year. The boilers, we have two boilers. They um they create a redundancy, but
they are both functioning all the time. If one fails, the other can keep us above freezing, but does not reach temperature. So, that's kind of how they function. The boilers provide a baseline and then the air source heat pumps supplement, especially in our shoulder system.
Is that helpful? >> That's helpful. Thank you. >> Okay. >> The library's been here a while. the new the new library how 20 years 25 >> yeah we were built in the 1980s and we were renovated in 2011 and that's I
think when those boilers were installed >> Commissioner Gamble >> oh you want to >> well my question is if if if the city and the county are partners wi-i which we are why are we not all three sitting
at the table to have rather than having the library, shouldn't we first have firsthand conversations with our partners in the city about uh monies that are being requested? Now, I'm not I'm not being
contradictory or anything like that, but but we're getting information filtered and we have questions that I don't think that the library could answer. So, that's one thing. Well, this is for information only. That's why we're starting here,
>> right? >> And then all of a sudden things bubble up and it's like, sure, but maybe the next step is to do that. So that's this is the first step. >> Yeah, >> Commissioner G. >> Understand? >> Yeah, I I would agree. I agree with that. That's why the question was asked because and it'd be easier if we were
just together having this conversation, but how we move forward to be more effective, it would be a good thing to take a look at. A question I have libraries the history of libraries we've seen um historically
things change given how the population changes and uh what people have interest in the fact that reading is something that our younger generation doesn't do a lot of uh to statistically
I'm wondering how libraries have become created and you alluded to some of those things in your initial presentation um to provide service to the community when you find that you have fewer people that are younger gen generation reading.
So, >> thank you. Great questions. Um the library's reading programs are quite robust and they are gaining lots of engagement and so that's part of what we're doing is maintaining programs that are successful in with engagement and
creating excitement around reading. We're also in the midst of a strategic plan where we are about to begin surveying different community groups including um how we can better serve children and families in the community right now. So we're at the head of a
cycle of learning more about our groups. And I do think it's important to look at it on our local scale. Not only what do children need to engage, but what do our children in Cook County need to engage? What do their support systems need and
how can the library participate and contribute to that? >> Thank you. >> Could you explain I mean I have an good idea but what what is one of your programming like you read x number of books and you get a star two stars or
could you just detail one of them? >> Absolutely. I'll detail the one we're running right now. So um right now we have three different reading logs or reading trackers. They are geared towards different age groups but the
participants can choose any tracker that they prefer. Each one has maybe um 24 to 40 book titles that would create completion and then we right now for this program we offer um prizes at the
completion of a reading log. So every time they complete they get a book voucher to build their personal library and they also get to choose a prize or a treat coupon from any of our um community partners, our business partners. Um the program right now is so
successful that we have kids running through the door to grab their next reading log. That's why uh we have passed out so many already and they are seeing how many times they can complete before the program ends. I have some youth who have completed their reading
logs 13 times. Um, additionally to create engagement, we have ongoing activi activities in the library. One of them is read to a plant. Uh, our theme this year is plant a seed read. And so if they come in, they can
get a t-shirt or a tote bag. They get another free book. And they also get to enter our Friday's Friday raffle drawings or they might win again. So there is so much incentive in this program right now to inspire engagement
and especially play playfulness and having fun. The other day we had a young reader maybe 10 to 12 years old come in and stand at the front desk for quite a long time. This individual requested 81
books be placed on hold for him. And I have no doubt he's going to read every one of them. Um, I hope that helps. >> Um, let's give a shout out to the local businesses who support you. I think
that's really important. It's our community. It's our community. >> Yeah. >> If you can think of some of them. >> Oh, I can think of them. They're thinking of us all the time. Drury Lane Books has had a long healthy relationship with the library. And by
providing a very nice discount on the materials in their store, were able to send children there to go shopping for their own books. And this is again creating that lifelong love and attachment to reading and books and literature. And that ownership as well.
It's very important. And this program has become um a staple. Uh we're hearing that families are looking forward to it every year just the way that we're all looking forward to Fisherman's Picnic. So uh we also uh have regular
participation from Java Moose, Dairy Queen, Hungry Hippie Tacos, Superior Crearyy, and we have in the past had commitments from um Upstate Minnesota and also um Big Lake. And then we do
have I'll just stick with that for now because that is our set for the summer reading program. But in wintertime we reach out and engage all manner of other businesses and they become part part of our prize structure. We do as much as we can to shop locally. >> Thank you.
>> Yeah. One of the ongoing systems I was part of was friends at the library and in the old jail we would go in there and have the donated books. We would sort them out. Each one of us had a cell. the only time I've been in a cell and sort them out. Then things kind of people
left and you know it was it's kind of like now once in a while they have a um a book drive and then the money uh goes all to the to the library and they were all ages um helping to sort books and to be part of the public system. Cool.
>> Any further comments or would you like to continue with anything? We just wanted to talk a little bit about the proposed capital approach. Um the library has some reserves which we would like to apply to the start of a capital fund this year. That's where we're coming up with the money for the
boiler and the initial 10,000 to invest in capital uh expenditures going forward. Um but we would like to see the library budget increase gradually over the next few years to address capital needs as the building ages, as our equipment ages. Uh we just think it's
the most prudent way to plan for things we know we're going to need without having any sharp levy increases, without having any sudden requests for significant funds to either you or the city. Um we do have um private
donations, but the last request was in 2009, so those funds are limited. So we are thinking ahead of what will be needed as we go forward. Minister Trouble. >> Thank you, Madam Chair. And our facilities director, um, Brook Lassard
does agree that that is a good approach and that dollar amount makes sense. >> Okay. Any further questions or comments? >> Just a clarification, the city does the maintenance on the library building. I mean, it's who takes care of the
library. It's not county, right? It's city employees. >> On the ground level, the employees would be taking care of that. But on the on the budgetary end, it I believe the joint powers agreement specifies that it's a contribution from both the county
and and the city. >> Yeah. >> Mr. Gamble. >> Yeah. In my first first term and we had just had the remodel 2011 but we are having flooding into the new area and so
um did reach out to see if we could get some response to fix that but uh I ended up digging the foundation out and putting flashing in and then calling the highway department bring some clay over whatever and put it in and it it fixed
the issue. But I I think this is where the broader discussion about how we handle those things is very important because there is identified need. I also appreciate um the the wisdom and discipline in in a capital contribution
and um not for-profit organizations don't usually track their depreciation but it is good to do it because it is a known cost and if you are setting it up uh even though it there's no tax benefit
to you it is a business benefit from a stewardship standpoint. So I applaud the effort to do it. Um we see in our own facilities and things how we need to address this intentionally and try to balance need with
>> um the impact of levy. So appreciate it. >> Thank you. >> So we're in the midst of our budget session also here >> and so um would you just uh kind of clarify what you're asking of the county? Um, we certainly would appreciate your
support for our 2027 budget which the city council has approved. Okay. >> Otherwise, we're just here for information and to start a conversation and a relationship. >> Okay. >> Any further questions or comments? Well, thank you so much for the
presentation. >> Thank you for your time. >> Thank you so much. >> Good information. I'm reminded of going to my library as a 5-year-old and those little library cards, I couldn't fit my name on it, so I just had to put my initials and after
a while they knew who I was. >> Okay, let's move forward from library to highway. >> Good morning. >> Good morning. All right, we got a few things to go over, but we'll start with a grant uh
from ILR. So, you got to hear me talk for a little bit, then we can hear Matt talk. Um, but what we're dealing with right now down in the West End, we have a lease. I believe it's with Mindot um on their property. That's where we store our salt sand currently down in the whole West End. So, about a third of our
road system is serviced from that uh leased shed. Uh that lease is not being renewed. So, very similar to what happened or what we went through up here to build a new shed on our our main campus property. Um, we're looking at something similar down there in the west
end. And so, talking internally, our long-term goal had always been to put a salt sand shed on our actual Tufty shop location. Uh, this just became rather accelerated and so a little faster than I wanted to. But what's nice is you guys were all familiar with the ITR resource
that exists out there. Um Kristen and I had a great conversation with them um regarding funding supports and would this you know project building a salt sand shed fit their criteria. They agreed and so I've been working through an application with them and this is the
last step in that application um is is uh basically a resolution of support from the board saying yep we all want to build a salt sand shed down in the west end. Um they require a onetoone match and so the current estimate that I have uh is about $300,000.
So 50/50 from ITR, 150 from our local project reserve um gets this built next summer. Uh so does anyone have any questions? >> And that's going to be behind the uh recycle center. >> Yes. Yeah. Where our shop is right now? Yep. >> Okay.
Questions or comments? Commissioner administered your travel. >> Thank you, Madam Chair. So two things I want to point out. The first one is when Mandot uh notified us, they gave us I think it was 30 or 60 days. It was a very quick turnaround time. Um and so kudos to Robbie for working with them
and negotiating a longer time frame. And then my second point is is that he's very much expedited this process with ILR to secure the funding because of the the short notification process. So just want to say thank you to our engineer for the work that he's done on this.
>> Thanks. Any other questions or comments? >> Commissioner Sullivan. >> Thank you, Madam Chair. I'd like to make a motion to approve by resolution support for the ITR application and acceptance upon award of $150,000
for our new salt sand shed at the Tufty Shop. >> Oh, support. >> We have a motion and a second. Any further questions or comments? All in favor? >> I oppose. Same sign. Motion passed unanimously.
>> Thank you. >> I'll turn it over to Matt. >> All right. The next item, we're looking for a authorization to purchase a ripper attachment for one of our graders. And this would be a actually a grant funded purchase. Um we got a grant to produce
what we call a back scratcher, which is a ripper attachment that then uses a mold board that's mounted to the ripper to scarify ice or scarify ice. Um, and that what that allows us to do is, you know, if we have one of these freeze
thaw events in the winter, um, we can scarify the ice, uh, wherever it occurs without taking up a lot of shop time, switching moldboard, cutting edges. Um, and it's been fairly innovative. It was actually developed uh, originally up in
Hovind uh, in conjunction with our shop. they've they've used it successfully up there, but then we uh we were able to get grant funding to reproduce that and then actually um within the local technical assistance program, we'll actually be kind of uh documenting that
process. Um and so potentially getting some more like uh attention regionally from from um the local technical assistance program. So it'll be a cool process. And this is just step one. questions or comments. Commissioner
White, can you trademark it? >> That has been loosely talked about, but uh we haven't gone down that road yet. >> Just curious. >> Yeah, there's potential. >> Commission, >> would it be a personal patent then or
would it be a would be a county patent? >> I don't think it would be mine. >> Oh. Oh, yeah. It would go to somebody else first. I've got a couple innovators up there. I >> think typically there's language in the contract that says you can't personally benefit. So >> check
stuck on the cute name. So >> Commissioner G. >> Yeah. Thank you, Madam Chair. So I'd make a motion to approve purchase of a river attachment using opera grant funds. >> Support. Have a motion and a second. Any further
comments or questions? All in favor? I >> oppose. Same sign. Motion passed unanimously. >> I do have a question, however. What are the cute names? >> Back scratcher. >> That's it. >> That's it. >> Cuz you're scratch I know you're cuz
you're scratching the ice from the back of the >> I understand. >> And you're also helping the community by back scratching. >> Sorry, we'll try harder. Uh the next is we're looking for authorization to purchase a walk-in roll attachment. Now this is nothing new for
the department. We already own four of them, but we have five graders. And what a walk-in roll attachment allows us to do is uh first we cut ideally we cut the potholes and washboard out of the road. You mix the material. The final step is
compaction. And historically, uh, you know, graders a 100 years ago would would skip this step or just allow traffic to compact the roadway, but you get a lot better result if you use one of these walk-in roll attachments uh to compact the material after the fact and
you get that hard crust ideally. Um, so it allows the road to set up better. Um, and this was somewhat of an oversight on our part. We uh when we purchased our last grader, we did not include this in the initial purchase. Um but Robbie and I have had many conversations about how
this will fit into the replacement schedule moving forward. >> We have a few acronyms of morning. >> Yeah. >> Back scratcher, walk and walk and roll. >> Lot to keep track of. >> Any questions or comments,
Commissioner Gavl? Yeah, thank you, Madam Chair. Um, I would make a motion to uh approve or authorize the purchase of the walk and roll attachment. >> Commissioner Sullivan, >> support.
We have a motion and a second. Any further questions or comments? Commissioner Gamble. >> Yeah, thank you, Madam Chair. Just a comment that I I appreciate the highways department approach to purchases. Uh often times public hear the presentation
come in and and maybe don't get the detail, but um if if we're buying things, it just seems like we're buying things and buying things, but the creativity and resourcefulness that goes into making that purchase. So, it's not levy dependent is highly appreciated.
So, >> thank you. >> Yes. >> Um I'm sorry. Um, we're not doing the articulator or accumulator. Is that right? Those are the optional equipment. >> No, the plan right now is to not
>> Okay, we had a motion and a second. >> All in favor? >> I opposed. Same sign. Motion pass unanimously. >> Thank you all. >> Thank you. >> Thank you. Thank you. >> So, now we're going to hear little request about a tower
replacement. >> Yeah. >> And the only unusual word here would be bogus honeymoon. >> Good morning. >> Morning everyone. >> All right. >> Morning, >> madam chair, commissioners. Today we have a recommendation to accept the
proposal from Vinco for the replacement of the Bogus Lake and Honeymoon Mountain Towers. These are uh two of our oldest towers. They're 60 to 70 years old. And what we look at for replacement of
towers is a 50-year life cycle. So they're beyond that. These towers weren't built by the county. They were purchased by the county. And some of the issues that we have with the towers, kind of the why, is we're not worried
about them falling down, but they no longer pass a current structural analysis. And so the standards have changed and without the ability to have a passing structural analysis, it really limits our ability to use that infrastructure to colllocate other
tenants on that tower. So these towers are critical in the sense that they currently hold our public safety armor systems, paging and other things. Um but we're unable to add others. So we can't put cell service on them. we can't uh
put radio or other entities like that. And so uh we've been working for quite some time with our partners at Mandot's office of radio communications who has just been a phenomenal partner over the
years. Um, and I always take the opportunity to to acknowledge Shane Chatlan and his whole crew uh from the Office of Radio Communications, MIDOT. Um, when we were first building out Armor, the plan was that they were going
to build seven towers and they were all going to be 3 to 700 feet tall with lots of lights. And that was going to be a problem for Cook County. and they were such good partners that they went from seven really tall towers to about 16 shorter towers below the threshold for
lights. And that partnership has just continued for years and years. I mean, when I look at the benefits that the community's gotten from that, whether it's the power and fiber that's run to all these remote locations in the community that wouldn't have otherwise because they're putting these
communication towers out there, just to the great partnership on the daily operational, keeping this system important infrastructure working. They're just phenomenal to work with. So, just just add that and this is another really great example of that.
So, the the ask here today um includes that we're looking at roughly a $2 million project. We're looking to replace $2 million of infrastructure and mind is going to contribute 1.5 to that
and the remainder is going to come out of tower capital. And so, if I had to boil it down, what are we doing here? I would say that we're replacing $2 million worth of critical infrastructure and we're funding that's being funded by our partners that we have a great
relationship with by and large and the rest of the funding is coming from revenue that we've generated by managing that infrastructure well. And so that's if I had to boil down the ask, that's what I would I would say. And so when we
put this out for bid, we got three different qualified biders. Um the recommendation for Vinco, there's a a handful of reasons here. They weren't the highest bid, they weren't the lowest bid. We've used Vinco in the past. Uh they're committed to using local workers. They we've seen them do that in
the past and they we know they do good work. Um so the the AT&T tower at Gunland Lake, that was a Vinco job. The Kovville BDA on the east end, that was also a Vinco job. And they they do really good work. And so there's a level
of trust and um confidence that we have within that. And so, um, in summary here, what we're we're looking at is one, uh, 1.999 856
and all expenses over 1.5 will be paid out of the county's tower capital account. And the current balance of that as of 529 this year was 813,000.
And so currently the way that we're running the revenue from our radio communications program tenants that are on our towers, we're taking about 176,000 annually and setting that aside for tower capital and we're taking about
a little over 60 63 65 um and we're using that to offset the operational costs, plowing, brushing, utilities at these sites. Um and so that's the breakdown and with the age of the other towers and this expense and leaving a
good chunk within our tower capital for you know other infrastructure issues we feel really good about the approach here. So this is what we're looking at and and again the the ask is to uh accept the proposal from VCO for the
replacement of the honeymoon mountain and bogus lake towers. We stand for questions. questions or comments? >> Commissioner Mills? >> Uh, do they take the towers then?
>> Yeah. Yep. So, part of it is is the way that we bid this and broke it out. It's removal of the old tower, stand up a new tower, and then swing all the equipment over. Um, we're leveraging Mandot's
purchasing power for equipment shelters. And so that's uh that's the roughly 500 that we're on the hook for is two brand new communication shelters at about 250 a piece. And they're amazing what they
come with. I mean, everything's grounded and the generators are ready and they just they're thermal bond buildings and they just set them there and we hook everything up and they come with everything you need for entry ports into the building that are sealed so that you can run your antenna cables and the
mounts and you know, I could go on and on, but they're it's a big number for a small building, but they're uh they're really right done right and make sure that we're protecting the investment that's inside of that and make sure that the system continues to operate. And so
that's that's the why. Yeah. Thank you, >> Commissioner Sullivan. >> Thank you, Madam Chair. I remember when the Honeymoon Tower was built, believe it or not, and um I'm just really impressed with the work that you've done to put this proposal
together and um am really happy that we have such good partners and that we have such good leases to allow us to collect funds uh to prepare for future needs. So, I want to thank you for that. >> Well, thank you very much. And I should also say Jay Doo, our radio
communication analyst, put a lot of work in on this one, too. And so, he deserves a good amount of credit for that. >> Absolutely. >> Mr. Gav. >> Yeah. Thank you, Madam Chair. I would agree and echo the comments as you're making your presentation. Is often the
case, questions come up in our mind and you seem to answer them just as they came up. So, very thorough presentation. Appreciate that. in in reading our packet uh the existing uh storage units that are on the land to
remove those or not remove those and because I don't have a visual as to the site and and the the cost savings the the financial component is well explained and covered through the revenues generated and and the monies provided but I'm just wondering that
component in your analysis whether to remove or not. Well, couple things. Part of it is timing. We were actually hoping to get this on the other board meeting of the month and we weren't able to get all the information in time to have the packet. And so, um,
the season as part of it, it was also a little hard to get a good feel for what what that was really going to cost. And so there was a good amount of us kind of behind the scenes um talking to Northshore Waste, talking to local
contractors, explaining what the building was made out of and saying, you know, if if we pulled this out of the bid and you did this next year, we're not in a hurry to get it out of the way. It's not going to be a problem. What would that cost us? And so it was really
kind of just the extra time to validate, you know, the pricing that we were seeing and what we were getting. And, you know, the the number that was presented to us by Vinco uh for 56 per shelter to get it completely done and
address any concerns of a bestus or any kind of issues that might be related to that. These towers, we're assuming they have lead paint because of the age of them and and all of that. So there's those kind of factors that add to the cost. Um but specifically to your question, it was it was that we wanted
the flexibility to break out that that's not part of this project. We're going to figure out how and when to remove the shelters on our own based on that additional information we got about could we do this ourselves essentially.
>> Okay. So at this point that that component removing the existing shelters that determination has been not been made. So when we look at that number that number was not included in what you're referring to under the 2 million >> the the 2 million includes the removal.
>> Oh that's what I thought and that's why I'm saying it' be $100,000 roughly savings if we did that. But >> yeah, if we if we didn't, we would have to pay to do it ourselves. And what we came up with with researching this was
that that's a good price and that that's about what it's going to cost us anyways. And they're there on site and so let's just have them do it. And okay, and but the reason why it was structured that way is cuz when we were trying to get this bids out in time for
construction season, we were a little unsure at the time. And so to give us more flexibility there, >> we said put that number in as an optional. Yeah. And and itemize it for us. >> Yeah. Okay. Thank you.
>> Any further questions or comments? >> I'll hear a motion. >> Commissioner Svin. >> Thank you, Madam Chair. I'd like to make a motion to accept the proposal from Vinkco Incorporated for the replacement of the Bogus and Honeymoon Towers.
>> Motion and a second. Any further questions? >> All in favor? >> I >> oppose. Same sign. Motion pass unanimously. >> Thank you. >> Thank you and J. >> Thank you. >> Moving on to item number eight. Um,
appoint election judges. I'll turn that over to Auditor Powers. >> Thank you, Madam Chair. So, every two years for our state and federal elections, the
county board needs to appoint judges to serve at our polling places and to serve for this year. Now, uh uh if we need judges for help with early voting and for early processing of absentee and mail ballots. So, all of
these judges on the list may serve in any of those positions. And uh some will serve at the primary, some will serve at the general, and some may not serve at all. But but this is the list we have. And it says here that they will all be trained. They've all
been trained now. They have their two hours of training. So, we'll make our uh final determinations of where they'll serve. And uh so, I just asked for approval of the list of judges for this year's election.
>> Questions or comments? Mr. White, >> how many judges do we have total on the list? >> Just this is for the public. >> There's a lot. Yeah, I I see the list. I I just want
the information. See, there's about the 37. >> That was 48. >> 48 48. >> I was just guessing. Okay. >> 48. >> Yeah, I saw your fingers moving pretty
fast over there. >> Any other questions or comments? Commissioner Gamble. >> Yeah. Just make a motion to approve the attached list of citizens to serve as election judges for the state primary on August 11, 2026 and for the state
general election on November 3rd, 2026. So support. >> All in favor? >> I oppose. Same sign. Motion pass unanimously. Thank you, Brady. It's a lot to sort out and who's going to do
what and the primary and the general and all of that. So, you have a good list, a good number of people. >> Courtney's got it pretty well in hand, >> right? >> We'll be notifying them and and this year we'll be uh we'll actually be putting them through the hiring process
for the first time. >> Hiring process. Oh, >> now that they're working, it's it's something in statute now. >> Okay. So, >> so they would be a permanent hire for >> No, it's a temporary >> temporary for >> it's a very temporary just for these elections, but they they could serve
also and they have in the past if we have special elections next year anywhere in the next two-year period. They're trained so they could serve at any of the other elections too. But it's just for uh the taxes that they would uh
uh we would collect and remit on their behalf as employees. Well, >> okay. Good that we're always thinking ahead. You know, we have to prepare for our capital improvements. Improvements in election judges, too.
>> Great. Thank you. Okay. At this time, we'll move on to administrator updates. >> Thank you, Madam Chair. I have a couple things today. Um the first one is just some updates around the fire. We did switch over to a new NEMO team yesterday. You might recall from um
prior discussions that the Nemo team works very long hours when they're on site and so they work typically for somewhere between um two weeks to three weeks and then they transition to new members. So we had that transition yesterday. Um they had about two days
worth of training with the new team. Um Steve and um uh Sheriff Halberg met with them at 5:00 PM last night and they will brief me following this meeting today on how that transition went. But just wanted to make sure that you're aware you'll start to see new faces at the
community events and such as they have a completely new team. Um, in terms of communications, I've previously also mentioned that we're working on a new um, site for all of our communications around uh, the fire and it's it's an EZRI site. It's similar to
what we used during the pandemic and so we're working on that. We should have that up and running sometime this week and so I'll make sure to send that out, but we're really looking forward to that as a way for the community to be able to go to one spot to get all of the information. So, we'll have some
integrations from some other agency information and and a lot of information out there. So, I'll get that out as soon as we're up and running. Also want to mention that there is a 700 p.m. wildfire update public meeting at Fire Hall One on the Gunflint Trail on
Wednesday and it will be livereamed by WTIP. And this I think will be our third meeting up the trail about the wildfires and um will like I said just be an update to the community and where we're at with the mitigation and the work
that's happening there. Um next we had a community leadership meeting last Wednesday. This is the second community leadership meeting that we've had related to the fires. two kind of key areas came out of the discussion with that group and that was mental
health um concerns and some grief that that community members are experiencing as a result of the fires and then the economic impact on local businesses. And so we will be scheduling a second meeting in the near future to kind of have further discussion about those two
topics um and how we can better support the community through through the challenges that they're experiencing. Next, um I attended on Friday the Ele community meeting and this was held by their chamber and Senator Hostchild,
Representative Scraba were there as a lot of as well as a lot of community nonprofits and and other agencies and it was really focused on the community economic impact related to the fires in the Ele area. Um it was a great event.
Um very heartbreaking in some ways to hear about the the impacts. Um but also very helpful to have that forum to listen to folks and um and and hear the impacts and also how we can support how they are planning on supporting each
other as they move forward. So we are planning a similar event here this Friday. Um, and we are partnering, it's a a kind of co-hosted event um, with the county and the chamber. So, I've been working with Linda Jurich very closely
as well as their legislative lobbyist John Burns and with Representative Scrabba's office and um, Senator Hoschild and his office as well. So, the senator and representative will be here and what we've also invited a lot of
community partners and agencies to be there as well. So, that will be taking place on Friday from 11:30 to 1 and it will be at Hungry Jack Lodge. Um, and I mentioned Senator Hoschild, Representative Scrabble. We've also been
um in conversation with Grand Portage and in and are hoping that they will be part of the event as well. um United Way has reached out and offered assistance and so we've asked them to participate deed ILB Northland Foundation and some
other agencies and nonprofits. So the press release went out last night and I will make sure that the commissioners get that. Um it was sent to WTIP so I'm hoping that community members who are listening um will seek that out as well. But we're hoping for a
good discussion. Let's see. So, going back to um last week, a couple other things that that took place. Um I shifted my focus last Thursday and Friday to focus more on the
economic impacts of the fire. And so, I've reached out to the governor's office. I've reached out to Representative Scrabba and his office, Senator Hoschild, Senator Smith, Senator Clolobashar, and and Representative um Stabber's office as well to start those
discussions about what we're experiencing here in Cook County. Um I also had a conversation with the Homeland Security and Emergency Management Director for the state um about some of the impacts. So, just really wanted to make sure that we were starting those conversations so that
they're keeping us in mind um as we move forward. I also met with the Lake County and St. Louis County administrators and our legislative liaison for AMC, Matt Hilgart, to talk about how collectively we can support our communities as we
move forward. So, again, just kind of shifting shifting my approach um to that work. Now the last thing I want to mention or actually two more things um is on Thursday I am meeting Linda Jurich and John Burns um the chambers lobbyist
as well as the city of Grand Marray's lobbyist to start our discussion around legislative priorities for this next year. So I will bring more information forward to all of you um following that discussion about how we can connect and collaborate with the chamber visit Cook
County and the city on our legislative priorities as we move forward. So that is it related to the fires. Um the last thing that I wanted to mention is I'm very excited to announce that the Grand Marray transfer station is now officially open. I have not had a chance
to go out to um witness the operations yet. Um but Reena Ro uh Reena Rogers sent me a video and it's just so impressive to see uh see that facility now in full operations. So excited that we're at that place with this. I think
that's it for today. >> Are there still cheese curds there? >> You could probably find some, but I don't know if you want to sort through. Yeah. Commissioner Gamble. >> Yeah. Thank you, Madam Chair. Um,
might I suggest delicate subject the uh when we are meeting with the lobbyists and the chamber or whatever when we're looking at legislative priorities if we're on the same page. >> Yeah, >> it would be good to just have an honest
discussion on how we see what we go to the legislature. And I think that that's also impressive to the legislature when we have mutual support. Yeah, >> thank you for that, Commissioner Gamble. And that's the intent of this first discussion is to talk about how can we
>> make sure that we're all on the same page and support each other as we move forward. And um and so I do anticipate we'll have more discussion with potentially um you know the the council and the commissioners about how we want to move forward, but this is that that
first step in that alignment. >> Continue. >> Yeah. Thank you, Madam Chair. Brady, do we have this is relative to the income that we are incurring with the NEMO at the community center. Um, do we have a
policy that directs or have we practiced in the past when we have revenue, unanticipated revenue that comes in where that money goes? And uh if we do have a policy or practice, and I understand emergencies are not
anticipated, so we might not have anything. But it it would seem to me and we had our um community center board meeting last evening and um uh it just seems to me that there would it would make sense and it'd be fair and
reasonable that there would be a portion of that revenue that we're receiving that would go to the community center to compensate. they've had to cancel 37 events and you know so they're working around it and I think there's I I know
in the discussions that we've had relative to budget for arrowhead regional corrections that in that analysis we saw that revenues that federal government provided for entities that provided a specific service that that money was being distributed equally
amongst the five partnering counties when some of the counties weren't even providing the service and so they made sure that the people that provide the service should receive that revenue and that makes sense and so I think it just it'd be a reasonable thing and there
wasn't any um discussion that was driven by an expectation other than just saying I think it's something we should take a look at. We don't have a specific policy for that but the the amount of the that contract was driven by what are the
costs >> that the community center is uh for use of of things etc. So uh my assumption immediately was well it's got to go to those costs. That's where the that's where the contract came from. So if
anything would go anywhere else, I think that would probably come back to you as to why it would go somewhere else. >> It it'd be good to look at that just from a learning experience to understand and and also to show that that we recognize that it means that there's
things that have to yeah >> happen because we're using that space. So >> thank you, >> administer. >> Thank you, Madam Chair. And that was my assumption as well is because they're not able to collect revenue as a result of Nemo taking over operations of that
facility that those funds would go directly to them because otherwise they would be receiving money in. So I I agree. >> Yeah. And that uh it would go to our bottom line levy um if if it wasn't going somewhere, >> right?
>> Um we would be losing money on that >> building. So that's it makes perfect sense. goes there. >> The other thing I should mention is that um again I have a a meeting with our emergency manager following this meeting to learn more, but it's my understanding
that Nemo will be transitioning most of their operations out of the community center um soon and going up the trail with a lot of the operations. And so um hopefully we will we will be able to reopen the community center um as we
move forward. I I believe they still need some space. I'm not sure what that is going to look like. Um and I should, like I said, I should learn more later today. And the other thing is certainly I think valuable in mentioning is that the
community center staff has said that NEO personnel have been so professional and just really appreciate and uh in in the midst of emergency and the pressures that are there uh maintaining your professionalism is that's a good thing.
So, >> right, >> we are learning a lot of things along the way here >> that when you're thrust into this situation, all hands on deck, everybody has been so >> collaborative.
>> Collaborative, responsive, understanding, you name all the adjectives. It's a good >> We're ready for the next one. >> We're Well, this won't end for quite a while. >> Oh, I know. Anyway, appreciative of everybody stepping in to to be of
service and and help. Anything else, administrator? >> No, thank you. >> Then we'll move on to um employee concerns, commissioner concerns, reports. Anyone has anything to share on that? I had kind of a quiet a July, so maybe
moving into August, I'll be a little busier, and I'm glad because of being involved in all of this other stuff. So that's my reward. Commissioner Sullivan, >> thank you. Well, um I've been very busy because of the fire activity up the Gunflint Trail. I've had eight meetings
up there. I've been there every day with the exception of two in the last 14. Um distributing masks to people in campgrounds that have been displaced from the Boundary Waters. Um up at the airport. Um just getting information
about the different kinds of aircraft that are coming in. what do they need? Making sure they have plenty of portaotties, all of that. Um, participating in the Gunflint Trail volunteer fire department updates. And then there have been some extra meetings that lake and road associations have had
to try to get prepared and to look at firewise needs um that they still have even though they have done extremely well. And I want to share with the board and also with the public that they said they've never seen such good firewise work. Um, and these are people that
travel all over the country. So, we really need to be proud of our Firewise committee and the people that have served on it and the great work that they've done. Um, but anyway, I just appreciate the community support. Today, I'll be going with Paramount Planning up the Gunflint Trail. We're meeting with
31 businesses to help them kind of wade through paperwork and figure out what they need to do. And one thing Paramount has found really helpful is to get a list of businesses. So if you in your district um could put together a short list of businesses, their email address,
their phone numbers, and send it to Steve Vancri or send it to me and I can give it to him. That would be really helpful because we want to make sure we cover everybody that's been impacted um in all the districts. chamber. >> Not everyone belongs to the chamber. And
so that's why we're asking if in your own district you can make a list. For example, I there's 31 that I found in in my district. Um off the top of my head, there's probably a few I've missed. But um anyway, it makes it a lot easier for them as they're going and visiting with
businesses. >> And when would you like that? >> Um >> if you're going up your >> Anytime soon. Today and tomorrow. Um we'll be up the trail. So for 2 days um we'll be doing that but anytime you know tonight, tomorrow night, whenever you have free time.
>> District 2 doesn't have many. So >> well yeah >> well district two actually would be probably more chamber. You might connect with Linda Jurich and just see what her list is for district two and then any you could add on to that. Yeah, if we're
looking at all businesses or if we're looking at business that feel they're affected, but that's subjective to what the business thinks. So, >> yeah. >> I was teasing because there's a lot >> there. There a lot. >> All right. Thank you.
>> Well, I was thinking like in the West End, we have the two outfitters, Sawtooth and Saw >> totally affected, >> right? >> Oh, yeah. Yeah. >> Oh, yeah. I mean even angry trail cafe >> but even even restaurants >> zero >> you know all kinds of businesses are
being impacted so don't think just outfitters >> there I think most of the west end are part of the >> um physical county or the chamber >> but I'll get a list >> great thank you >> and if I can add a plug for start your Christmas shopping now and buy gift
cards for all of those businesses that are >> have had had impacts. Yeah. Oh, thank you, dear. >> Okay, anyone else? >> Um, like you fairly light and that's good because of all the
>> other emergency meetings, but um one I just wanted to touch on was the EDA and got an update regarding the um irrigation connection uh and the water district. We had conversation around that. Um what's being proposed is uh
what they call option 3A, which is uh connecting down at the pump house uh right at the lake there. Basically, another uh thing that was looked at was hole lucky number 13. Um and it's
underneath there, but that would involve basically tearing up that hole and really um impacting operations of the golf course. So, um got a um uh engineering firm to to design that and a little bit of frustration. Um
maybe that's a strong word, but just because it would have been nice to know some of this beforehand. Um but I was pleased to learn that the buyer, the hope hopeful buyer is aware and involved in these conversations as well. So, I
thought that was pretty pretty critical. Um, I also shared with the EDA board our conversation around the water district and the request from Grand Portage and I wanted the EDA to be fully aware of that
conversation and kind of cautioned them from signing on to the water district, but that the new owner would be a very appropriate person to sign on to that. but that from some of our discussions it's still not might not not make the water district
whole and and so just wanted them to be aware of that too even though ADA should not have a role uh it's just kind of the handoff that I don't want things to get lost and misunderstood so >> that's probably all I >> thank you
>> I want to share today >> and Commissioner Gamble >> yeah thank you commissioner mills. I I would say relative to the water district discussion that um to comply to comply
is not the heart of the matter which the intention under the statute is to have participation from entities. So the fact that the EDA did not respond to the request and and other things is is a good thing because I think we're trying to build integrity and attention to the
statute and not just comply. So, >> any other reports from anyone? Commissioner White? >> Uh, I was up in Grand Portage yesterday and I encountered Billy Blackwell who has a uh an offer. He reiterated the offer. he would like to do a
presentation to county staff andor um to talk about the history of Cook County like where the outlaw highway was and different pieces of information and then to try to help promote and uh
explain the culture more of the culture of Grand Portage because if you're it's an unknown entity to many people about about their values and and how they operate and he would he's he's an
entertaining storyteller and the price will be that I have to take him to lunch. >> Is that to staff and not to the board? >> Staff board, however many people want want to do this. >> I if we did a committee a whole would be
>> well he he would really like to do it to the with the staff. Yeah. >> With the staff because they interact >> Yeah. with it's it's a learning opportunity for the entire community. So, >> I had an opportunity to sit in um
Department of Health's training up in Grand Portage and uh Mr. Blackwell um spoke there and and you're it was very entertaining as you say and good stories. Um and I'm not uh I mean I know him but I don't know what his role is in
Grand Portage. I just didn't know if the tribal council has an avenue that they prefer for education. In the past, we've also worked with the state on that because there is tribal relations. So, I don't know if it's worth reaching out just to check boxes and make sure we're
>> I would say before we went to the state, we should >> No, I'm talking tribal council. >> Tribal council to tread lightly, >> get their opinion what they would like. >> Yeah, that's what I'm saying. >> Yeah. So see is he was he one of the gentlemen
that presented when the land from Lloyd K. Johnson >> was dedicated? >> Yes, >> probably. >> Yeah. >> He's a tribal elder. >> Yeah. There was one gentleman very very impactful in his presentation and delivering. Yeah.
>> He and John Morren are both individuals have presented. >> Sure. >> By then he's the one I'm thinking of. >> Yeah. >> Excuse me. No, that's okay. Thank you, Madam Chair. Um, and thank you, Commissioner White. And I can take that on as um something
to to reach out to Chairman Desamp and ask about the council's um thoughts about training. We have had that discussion in the past just about our um desire to include training for staff um
but we have not moved forward with it. So I think I I can take that on as a as an outreach and see what we can learn. >> And I think it's critical because John Morren has a lot of history that he can
treaties and and consequences and Billy knows this also, but their styles are much different. And I think whichever one has the blessing of the tribal council and the time because John Morren is now retired. He was a um he
was the ed he he focused on education as a tribal council member and so he was like a mentor to me when I worked for for with their students in the education system. So a wealth of information
>> yeah and I think we still have a recording of Mr. um >> from uh >> during the pandemic he gave a presentation. >> Yeah. So it'd be really good to to bring that up and highlight that again too um for staff I think and for us.
>> Anybody else? >> Then we'll move on to just reminder of um meeting times and locations could still be changing. Um our next board meeting will be Tuesday, August 11th. Also in our packet, we have
correspondence memos of HR board um report on staffing changes and the lodging tax comparison through May of 26. And there being no other business, we are adjourned. Thank you everyone.
When we met yesterday,