Posted: 9/26/06
Commissions hesitate on changing appliance recycling firms
By David Heiller
Argus News Editor
Houston county commissioners came close to changing their appliance recycling company at their September 19 meeting.
Scientific Recycling in Holmen, Wisconsin, has had the job for the past 10 years. But a comparison provided by environmental services director Rick Frank estimated that the county could save about $13,500 a year by changing to Waste Management of Spring Valley, Minnesota.
Chairman Kevin Kelleher spoke in favor of the change. He said he visited the location recently and said that all the appliances were on concrete. ìIt looked pretty good to me,î he said.
All the cars in the parking lot had Minnesota license plates, he added, referring to the jobs being more local than those in Holmen.
Tom Bjerke said the countyís budget is tight, and saving $13,000 a year would be a good thing. He moved to switch companies and give Scientific Recycling 30 days notice, but no one seconded it.
ìBring it [the information] in next week,î Dave Corcoran said.
Public health changes
The board also approved some public health nursing (PHN) changes at the recommendation of personnel director Tim Comstock.
The motion allows for homecare coordinator Dana Todd to manage the day-to-day operations of the department, which is without a head.
All staff other than the Home Care unit will report to Todd. Fillmore County PHN director Sharon Serfling will provide technical oversight.
ìThings have been going fairly well with the nursing department,î Comstock said. ìThis will formalize that.î
Corcoran thanked Fillmore County for its help. ìTheyíve always been great to work with,î he said.
Several other personnel items were also approved:
Kurt Kuehlers was hired as security/safety officer/emergency manager at step three of the deputy wage scale, which is $19.90 per hour. He will do courtroom security as well as the safety and emergency duties that Rob Gross used to perform.
Amanda Myhre was approved as a home health aide at step one of the wage scale, which is $9.60 per hour.
Social worker Bethany Wilder was approved to regular status from probationary.
Travis Lapham was approved as a transport officer.
CJC letter
Commissioners received a letter dated September 18 from Ken Tschumper of La Crescent urging them to approve the final proposal for the Criminal Justice Center in the near future. ìIf it appears that the final approval of the CJC is delayed for political reasons such that it cannot be voted on Nov. 7th, many people will be angry,î Tschumper wrote.
Several commissioners responded that there is not enough time to do that. The county is still trying to reduce the size of the facility and look at what is needed, Corcoran said. ìItís a process,î he said. ìWeíre trying to move forward.î
Fees are based on the final size of the project, so itís important to get it narrowed down, he added.
The project involves complicated contracts, and negotiations donít happen overnight, Ann Thompson said. ìWeíre not dragging our feet on purpose,î she said.
The fact that Tschumper is a political candidate casts a different light on the letter, Kelleher said. ìThat might be just a little bit of politics,î he said.
ìA little bit more than a little bit,î Larry Graf said.
Tschumper is a DFL candidate for Minnesota House of Representatives District 31B.
Kelleher said Johnson Controls representatives will probably be at the September 26 board meeting. The board approved them to be the owner representative of the project, but no contract has been signed with them yet.
Contracts are also pending with construction manager 3DI and architectural firm Klein-McCarthy.
Other business
ï Cell phone: The county approved a request from new county engineer Marcus Evans for cell phone reimbursement. The amount, which is also given to maintenance supervisor Tom Molling, veterans service officer Rob Gross, human services supervisor Karen Meier-Binde, and human services director Beth Wilms, is for $30 a month.
ï Garage removal: The board accepted a bid of $1,000 from Mike Rogich to remove a garage that the county owns near the courthouse.
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