Posted: 12/28/04
Tentative settlement reached in discrimination lawsuit
By David Heiller
Argus News Editor
Houston County commissioners have agreed to pay $25,000 toward the settlement of a sex discrimination lawsuit by a former deputy against the county and the sheriffís department. The total settlement was not revealed.
The unanimous decision came at the boardís December 21 meeting after a 30-minute closed session with the countyís lawyers and sheriff Mike Lee.
The lawsuit was filed by Linda Coffield of Caledonia. She is claiming that she was a victim of sex discrimination and retaliation by the Houston Countyís Sheriffís Office and Houston County.
Coffield resigned on December 31, 2003, after 14 years on the department. Her lawsuit contains 10 instances of alleged sexual discrimination, and four instances of alleged retaliation.
Coffield is asking for back pay, compensation for lost future wages and benefits, a jury trial, punitive damages, and attorney fees.
Dyan Ebert, a lawyer for Quinlivan and Hughes in St. Cloud, read the resolution which also states, ìIn agreeing to contribute to the settlement, Houston County is in no way admitting any liability or wrongdoing relative to the claims advanced by Ms. Coffield.î
The settlement is subject to the approval of the Minnesota Counties Insurance Trust (MCIT) claims committee, which will meet on the matter on January 14 at their building in St. Paul.
The tentative settlement was mediated on December 14 in St. Paul.
Hangar lease discussed
In other business last week, the board tabled action on signing a lease with Dick Kleist for hangar space at the county airport in rural Caledonia.
Kleist told commissioners he would pay the electric bill and do light maintenance at the Murphy hangar building in exchange for keeping the rent at the current rate of $60 a month and signing a one-year lease.
Kleist said he has two planes in the building, but would soon be getting rid of one. About a third of the building is used by the county for airport storage.
Commissioners said they wanted more information such as what the monthly electric bill is. They will discuss it again on December 29.
County engineer Allen Henke said that the county leases lots at the airport, and the lots contain buildings that the county does not own. The lease Kleist is proposing is different, he said, because it is for a building and not a lot.
County highway department maintenance superintendent Tom Molling said he did some research of storage costs, and an equivalent space would rent for about $280 a month. He noted that a 12-by-22-foot space in Houston is rented to the Minnesota Department of Transportation for $300 per month.
ï Commissioners also heard about a new web-based ìcontent management systemî called GovOfficeCMS that personnel director Tim Comstock is recommending.
The cost is a one-time fee of $1,750, which is based on the countyís population, and a monthly service fee of $50.
Comstock, who gave a power point presentation on the company, said, ìI think we could have something the public could find very useful.î
It will handle emails, on-line forms, and has a large capacity for public documents.
It might save people having to make a trip to the courthouse, Comstock added.
ï The board approved tobacco licenses for 2005. Second district commissioner Kevin Kelleher said he would like to see compliance checks done on the businesses. A memo to the board stated that compliance checks, in which a youth goes into a business and attempts to buy tobacco, have not been done since Linda Coffield left, which was in December of 2003. The sheriffís department plans to the checks in January, the memo stated.
ï The board also accepted the resignation of sheriff deputy Randy Shefelbine, who is taking over as Caledoniaís police chief.
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