I have finally managed to do it! Work all day, attended two events, home to get the kids to bed, and this blog done before Thursday. I am getting better at this!
This week, we had our final Board of Commissioners meeting of the year. I guess it is fitting that we spent so much time on the Road Commission, and that was the central issue of our last meeting.
The resolution of intent to disband the Ingham County Road Commission and instead create a Department of Transportation and Roads was taken up on the Board floor. I have gone through the arguments several times, so I will just go through the debate. Several Commissioners weighed in with important debate. Commissioner Todd Tennis led off, and said that he believes there are many questions still to answer. He also said he has concerns that the county will be pressured to use general fund dollars on roads if we deal absorb the road commission. He said that he is not necessarily against merging the operation, but that he has unanswered questions and is not ready to support the resolution at this time. I respect that, and appreciate his thoughts on the issue.
Commissioner Dianne Holman said that while she didn't think the language was perfect, she supports the concept and said that we are ready and willing to take action. Commissioner Celentino said basically everything I wanted to say. He said that we have a lot more to do in terms of details, and that we support the employees and will not let them be negatively effective in this whole process. Commissioners Dougan and Schafer and Vickers said that they support the resolution. Schafer said there have been problems with the road commission for years, and Vickers said that the Board doesn't work. Commissioner Rebecca Bahar Cook agreed that this is not targeted at employees, and is is targeted at a broken system. I then weighed in and said that this will be a long implementation process, but that we have done it before with the zoo which was more complex. I also pointed out that we can supplement road funding with county dollars now, so it makes no difference whether or not we have a Road Commission or internal department. Commissioner Vince Dragonetti said that this is a resolution of intent and an option, and said that we can re-establish the Board if needed. Board Chair Grebner said that this communicates to the Road Commission and their upper staff our intentions, and that they should take short term actions and avoid commitments that we will have to deal with later. After this debate, the resolution passed on a roll-call vote 15-1 with Commissioner Tennis voting no. I am sure their will be more on this early next year!
Last week, I wrote about the Fair Director position. That came up tonight. A substitute was introduced that re-inserted performance incentives for the position (reminder - the position will be staffed by a person as part of a company) in addition to the $80,000 salary. It was once again mentioned that there will be no benefits and this will be cheaper than a full time employee. Several people raised the point that we need to have an official policy on incentives. Commissioners Deb Nolan and Rebecca Bahar Cook specifically requested that the County Services committee discuss this at the first meeting next year. That being said, commissioner agreed to allow for it for this one position which is unique. The incentives were listed in the resolution, which said that the factors would be based on fair gate admissions, off-season revenues, and total revenues, benchmarked against a rolling average of the three previous fiscal years' data. I raised my concern that I had in County Services that this really didn't clarify the factors enough. Commissioner Carol Koenig, our Fair Board representative, said that they still needed to work out the details and that it would all be in the contract. I offered an amendment adding language ensuring that these three factors are not the only ones, and that there must be improvement in each of these factors. That way we are ensured that the incentives are significant and are met before incentives are granted. The amendment passed unanimously, then the resolution passed unanimously.
We also considered a resolution that will create a season rate for usage of the tubing hill and snow board hill. We already had daily pass rates, but this created season rates. We amended the resolution to reduce the seasonal rate from $150 to $99 for adults and from $75 to $59 for children. This passed unanimously.
I also sponsored a late resolution opposing the closure of the Collins Road Post Office. The postal service is consolidating nationwide and closing branch office. On their list of potential closures is the Collins Road post office, which is the processing facility for the mid-Michigan area. If this closes, the mail for our area will go through Grand Rapids. It is crazy to me that the Capitol area not have a postal facility for mail processing. The resolution passed unanimously, and we are now on record against this. We will be joining LEAP and others who will be actively fighting this closure and pushing Congressman Mike Rogers to get involved against this closure.
Finally, Ingham County was approved as a “Storm Ready County” by the National Weather Service and received a seal and commendation for this. The Local
Planning Team (LPT) has expanded outdoor warning sirens in the County using grant funds, distributed weather alert radios to residents and businesses, hosted weather spotter seminars, and expanded warning notification using the CodeRED system.
As this was the last meeting, congratulations are in order for several commissioners. Congratulations and thanks to the committee chairs - Commissioner Todd Tennis (Human Services), Rebecca Bahar Cook (Judiciary), Debbie DeLeon (County Services), and Celentino (Law Enforcement). Finally, a special congratulations to Commissioner Mark Grebner, who was Chair of the Board of Commissioners for the last time. He has served as a Commissioner for over 35 years, and this was the last time he will serve as Chair of our Board. Thanks for everything, Mark!
Happy holidays and a happy new year to all!
Showing posts with label Snow Boarding Hill. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Snow Boarding Hill. Show all posts
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Saturday, November 5, 2011
Road Commission, Hawk Island Snow Boarding Hill, Zoo Director, Civil Rights, Domestic Partner Benefits
Another busy week this week. The road commission debate kicked up a notch. In County Services, we considered a resolution to remove Shirley Rodgers from the road Commission Board. There was a ton of discussion by committee members, after hearing lots of testimony from the public. Commissioner Grebner proposed an alternate resolution which stated that the Road Commission Board is dysfunctional. It said that the Road Commissioners do not trust the manager, the manager doesn't respect or take direction from the Road Commission, and the employees don't seem to trust either. The resolution attempted to wipe the slate clean by calling on all five Road Commissioners to resign so we can start over. If they did not resign, the resolution said that we would not re-appoint any of them.
I have not decided yet which way I want to go. I don't know if there is enough evidence to reach malfeasance or misfeasance to remove any of the Road Commissioners. I was asked after the meeting what I thought malfeasance was and I said I wasn't sure how to explain it. I then realized that I am not allowed to explain it because it is contained in an opinion from our attorney. This Tuesday, I am planning to make a motion to release that legal opinion so I can tell people what we believe malfeasance and misfeasance is. We are releasing two other legal opinions so I will attempt to add this one to the list.
I also firmly believe that it is time to abolish the Road Commission Board and bring the road commission in-house and make it a county department. Two other counties have done this, and Ingham needs to do it as well. The Legislature is working on bills that will allow for this, and I am hopeful that they will pass soon. I plan to introduce a resolution that will accomplish this once it the legislation passed and signed into law.
The road commission resolution was tabled until the next county services meeting. While it is my preference to have a special committee set up to explore the allegations, my understanding is that County Services will continue to work on this and has scheduled a special meeting on November 29th at 6 pm for this purpose.
In other news, we passed a resolution allowing for scope changes to the Hawk Island Snow Boarding Hill project to allow for the addition of obstacles, rails and snow sculpted features and potentially a separate warming facility. These items would put the Hawk Island Boarding Hill on Michigan’s map as a destination. The Friends of Ingham County Parks, a non-profit 501c3 organization, will enter into an agreement with Urban Snowparks LLC to act as the fiduciary in regard to fundraising for any and all additions to the current project scope. Any of these additions will not cost the county a dime. They will be paid for by Urban Snowparks, who will do the fundraising and will keep a small percentage (somewhere around 17%) of the dollars as a fee. It is understood by all parties involved that no changes of a permanent nature will be undertaken until all funding is secured and notification has been provided to the Ingham County Parks and Recreation Commission. Additionally, it is understood that the Ingham County Board of Commissioners will not approve further funding for the construction of the Snow Board Hill. We also have no liability in this process. The resolution passed 5-1. Commissioner Vickers voted no because he said he doesn’t know how this fundraising group are presenting themselves to the public.
We also appointed Sherrie Graham as interim zoo director. We needed to do this to ensure we have a zoo director for re-accreditation. Potter Park Zoo society revenue stream increased 20% with Sherrie as leader, and she can do the business stuff for the zoo until a final decision has been made for a permanent zoo director. The Zoo Society is covering Sherrie’s expense until the current Zoo Director retires on Jan 18th. We talked about adding a salary figure into the resolution in both County Services and Finance committees, but are still negotiating that number.
Finally, we passed resolutions opposing two bills in the Legislature. We opposed HB 5039, which says that local units of government can't protect any citizens that aren't protected by the state Elliot Larsen Civil Rights Act. One example of local protections is to prevent those discriminated against for sexual orientation. There are other examples of local protections, though...including East Lansing protecting students. I pointed out that this bill is anti-local control. The resolution passed 4-2, with Commissioners Vickers and Dragonetti voting against it.
We also voted to oppose HB 4770 and 4771. These bills prevent local units of government from providing domestic partner benefits for people that live with county employees. This passed on a 5-1 vote, with Commissioner Vickers opposing it.
This week, we will have the Board of Commissioners meeting on Tuesday. It is also Veterans Day on Friday, and I wish to thank all those that have served in the military and defended our country. You have kept us safe and free, and I thank you!
Until next week...
Andy
I have not decided yet which way I want to go. I don't know if there is enough evidence to reach malfeasance or misfeasance to remove any of the Road Commissioners. I was asked after the meeting what I thought malfeasance was and I said I wasn't sure how to explain it. I then realized that I am not allowed to explain it because it is contained in an opinion from our attorney. This Tuesday, I am planning to make a motion to release that legal opinion so I can tell people what we believe malfeasance and misfeasance is. We are releasing two other legal opinions so I will attempt to add this one to the list.
I also firmly believe that it is time to abolish the Road Commission Board and bring the road commission in-house and make it a county department. Two other counties have done this, and Ingham needs to do it as well. The Legislature is working on bills that will allow for this, and I am hopeful that they will pass soon. I plan to introduce a resolution that will accomplish this once it the legislation passed and signed into law.
The road commission resolution was tabled until the next county services meeting. While it is my preference to have a special committee set up to explore the allegations, my understanding is that County Services will continue to work on this and has scheduled a special meeting on November 29th at 6 pm for this purpose.
In other news, we passed a resolution allowing for scope changes to the Hawk Island Snow Boarding Hill project to allow for the addition of obstacles, rails and snow sculpted features and potentially a separate warming facility. These items would put the Hawk Island Boarding Hill on Michigan’s map as a destination. The Friends of Ingham County Parks, a non-profit 501c3 organization, will enter into an agreement with Urban Snowparks LLC to act as the fiduciary in regard to fundraising for any and all additions to the current project scope. Any of these additions will not cost the county a dime. They will be paid for by Urban Snowparks, who will do the fundraising and will keep a small percentage (somewhere around 17%) of the dollars as a fee. It is understood by all parties involved that no changes of a permanent nature will be undertaken until all funding is secured and notification has been provided to the Ingham County Parks and Recreation Commission. Additionally, it is understood that the Ingham County Board of Commissioners will not approve further funding for the construction of the Snow Board Hill. We also have no liability in this process. The resolution passed 5-1. Commissioner Vickers voted no because he said he doesn’t know how this fundraising group are presenting themselves to the public.
We also appointed Sherrie Graham as interim zoo director. We needed to do this to ensure we have a zoo director for re-accreditation. Potter Park Zoo society revenue stream increased 20% with Sherrie as leader, and she can do the business stuff for the zoo until a final decision has been made for a permanent zoo director. The Zoo Society is covering Sherrie’s expense until the current Zoo Director retires on Jan 18th. We talked about adding a salary figure into the resolution in both County Services and Finance committees, but are still negotiating that number.
Finally, we passed resolutions opposing two bills in the Legislature. We opposed HB 5039, which says that local units of government can't protect any citizens that aren't protected by the state Elliot Larsen Civil Rights Act. One example of local protections is to prevent those discriminated against for sexual orientation. There are other examples of local protections, though...including East Lansing protecting students. I pointed out that this bill is anti-local control. The resolution passed 4-2, with Commissioners Vickers and Dragonetti voting against it.
We also voted to oppose HB 4770 and 4771. These bills prevent local units of government from providing domestic partner benefits for people that live with county employees. This passed on a 5-1 vote, with Commissioner Vickers opposing it.
This week, we will have the Board of Commissioners meeting on Tuesday. It is also Veterans Day on Friday, and I wish to thank all those that have served in the military and defended our country. You have kept us safe and free, and I thank you!
Until next week...
Andy
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