Emergency Management/911 Commission/Communications Commission Meeting Minutes
Wednesday August 14, 2024,
6:00 PM
Washington County EOC – Emergency Communications Building
2183 Lexington Blvd., Washington IA 52353
In attendance: Richard Young, Cara Sorrells, Stan Stoops, Ryan Miller, Jack Seward, Jr., Marissa Reisen, Jared Schneider, Melvin Rich, Allen Schneider, Millie Youngquist, Stan Stoops, and Tara Polek (RACOM).
At 6:01 PM, Chairman Ryan Miller called the Emergency Management Commission meeting to order.
A roll call was conducted, and a quorum was present. Present were representatives from Brighton, Riverside, Washington, Wellman, the Sheriff’s Office, and the Board of Supervisors. Absent were representatives from Ainsworth, Crawfordsville, Kalona, and West Chester. The approval of the agenda was requested. Millie Youngquist made a motion to approve the agenda. Sheriff Jared Schneider seconded the motion, and the agenda was approved with no one opposed. Chairman Miller then requested a motion to approve the minutes from the previous meeting, dated July 10th, 2024. Millie Youngquist made a motion to approve the minutes. Melvin Rich seconded the motion and the motion passed unanimously.
The first item on the agenda under old business was the siren system update. Marissa Reisen reported on a recent event in the news concerning Clinton County’s siren system. They have actually voted to decommission their siren system. Work on our own “new” siren system is progressing with RC Systems continuing to work with the IT department preparing for the implementation. They have a phone call scheduled for next week concerning the project.
The next item under old business was discussion on the EMA coordinator working hours. Reisen requested reconsideration for a 32-hour work week. After some additional thought, Reisen did not think it would be necessary. Sheriff Jared Schneider rescinded his motion to authorize Reisen to submit a personnel change request for a minimum of 32 hours per week, with the salary rate converted to hourly up to a maximum of 40 hours per week, with prorated vacation and sick time. Schneider’s prior motion also included that this arrangement be reevaluated at the end of the calendar year. He added that Reisen return to a 40-hour work week, even though that change was technically never enacted. Melvin Rich seconded the motion, and the motion carries with no one opposed.
The next item on the agenda under new business was the coordinator report. Reisen had no coordinator report but promoted an upcoming training session that will be held September 12th, 2024, here in the EOC entitled: Disaster Recovery in Rural Jurisdictions. She had fliers prepared for hand outs and registration is due by August 28th, 2024.
For purchases there was nothing new to approve. Reisen is expecting the Stop The Bleed Kits to be delivered soon. She also was contacted by the Health Care Coalition who had additional kits to give away. She will be able to give the additional kits to the hospital, among other entities.
There was nothing for the Commission under public input. The next meeting was scheduled for September 11th, 2024, at 6:00 PM in the Emergency Operations Center.
Millie Youngquist made a motion to adjourn the Emergency Management meeting, and the motion was seconded by Melvin Rich. The Emergency Management meeting was adjourned at 6:15 PM.
At 6:15 PM, Chairman Richard Young called the 911 Commission meeting to order. Present were representatives from Brighton, Riverside, Washington, Wellman, the Board of Supervisors, the Sheriff’s Office, and Emergency Management. Absent was representation from Ainsworth, Crawfordsville, and Kalona. A quorum was determined. Chairman Richard Young made a request for an approval of the agenda. Marissa Reisen made a motion to approve the agenda as presented. Ryan Miller seconded the motion, and the agenda was approved with no one opposed. A request was then made for a motion to approve the minutes for the last meeting dated July 10th, 2024. Millie Youngquist made a motion to approve the minutes from the last meeting and the motion was seconded by Allen Schneider. No one was opposed and the motion passed.
The approval of claims was next, and Cara Sorrells detailed the claims. This month’s 911 claims contained a payment to DPT Service for $7,176.84 to replace a second compressor in one of the CRAC units in the IT room. The compressor is still under warranty and $3,088 is covered and will be credited back to us. Additionally, there was a payment to TAC 10 for $10,677 for CAD maintenance for the period of July 2023 – June 2024. Two veteran telecommunicators also attended a NENA CTO (Certified Training Officer) course in Iowa County and that cost was $1,190. The total of the claims was $24,830.89 and the total of the revenue was $54,855.07. The revenue included a wireless surcharge reimbursement from the State of Iowa for $42,971.85 for the 4th quarter April 1, 2024 – June 30, 2024. Ryan Miller made a motion to approve the claims as presented. Miller’s motion was seconded by Millie Youngquist. The motion to approve the claims was passed unanimously.
Under new business Sorrells reported that a tower crew had to respond to the Orchard Hill tower and replace an antenna. We had a spare antenna on site stored above the jail that will need to be replaced. Tara Polek provided a quote for $3,693.75 to order a replacement and the lead time is approximately six weeks. Sorrells requested approval to get the replacement antenna ordered. Millie Youngquist made a motion to approve the purchase of the new spare antenna and her motion was seconded by Marissa Reisen. The motion carried with no one opposed. They still have not completed the service call to the Riverside radio tower to replace a light out on the SW leg.
We also received the annual maintenance invoice from RACOM for $138,013.80. We would like to see some movement on scheduling annual preventative maintenance before we pay it. Sheriff Jared Schneider also mentioned that on the recent SARA meeting they mentioned CORE updates. We had asked about backup paging and functionality while the consoles are down for this update. Tara Polek advised she would follow up with that question and get back to us.
The next 911 meeting date was set for September 11th, 2024, at 6:00 PM. Under old business, we are still proceeding with a Fall time frame for the Pro QA implementation. There is an IT onboarding call scheduled with Priority Dispatch. The update on the Wellman tower storm damage will be discussed in the joint meeting with Communications.
At 6:26 PM, Chairman Ryan Miller called the Communications Commission meeting to order. Present were representatives Stan Stoops, Ryan Miller, Millie Youngquist, Jack Seward, and the alternates Richard Young, Melvin Rich, and Allen Schneider. Mark Robe was absent. A quorum was determined.
Chairman Miller made a request for an approval of the agenda as published. Millie Youngquist made a motion to approve the agenda as presented. Jack Seward seconded the motion, and the agenda was approved with no one opposed. A request was then made for a motion to approve the minutes from the previous meeting dated July 10th, 2024. Jack Seward made a motion to approve the minutes from the last meeting and the motion was seconded by Allen Schneider. No one was opposed and the motion passed.
The approval of the claims was next. Cara Sorrells detailed the claims. The total of the claims was $2,245.79 with revenue reported totaling $291,674.81. The revenue included $291,519 for the 1st quarter 2025 EMA levy funding. A motion was made by Millie Youngquist to approve the claims as presented. Allen Schneider seconded the motion, and the claims were approved with no one opposed.
The personnel and operations committee met again prior to these meetings to discuss a possible issue with past holiday pay. A handbook language change concerning Communications shifts worked on holidays has already been addressed and put in place. Sorrells had met with Michelle Hyman and Amber Armbruster to determine the proper calculation for any lost holiday wages. All but four are still currently employed with Washington County and can be reimbursed through the regular payroll process. There was additional discussion about how they can be paid. Sheriff Jared Schneider suggested paying them similar to a contractor with a 1099. Millie Youngquist made a motion to proceed with the lost holiday payroll reimbursement for all of the current employees, and investigate further if the other four past employees can be paid with a 1099. Youngquist’s motion was seconded by Allen Schneider and passed unanimously.
The personnel and operations committee also revisited compensation for the new CTO’s. Sorrells had surveyed other agencies to see how they operate. Responses were received from Marion PD, SECC (Scott County), Cedar County, Muscom, Jackson County, Linn County, Ottumwa PD, LeeComm, Dubuque County, Pottawattamie County, JECC (Johnson County), Story County, and Black Hawk County. The responses detailed paying anywhere from $1 - $5 extra per hour while training, to models like 2-hours personal time accrued per 40-hours training. The recommendation out of the committee was to pay the new CTO’s an additional $1.50 per hour while training. There was also discussion amongst the Commission if the amount should be $2.00 per hour instead. A motion was made by Allen Schneider to pay the CTO’s an additional $1.50 per hour while training. Schneider’s motion was seconded by Millie Youngquist and passed unanimously.
The next item on the agenda were two personnel change requests. The first was for Elizabeth Wade who was training for a full-time position and her last day worked was 07/18/24. She has terminated employment and is going to pursue other opportunities. The second is for Michelle Martin as a new full-time employee effective 08/14/24. She has past telecommunicator experience at Cedar County and Muscatine County. A motion was made by Millie Youngquist to approve the personnel change requests as presented. Her motion was seconded by Allen Schneider and passed unanimously. Jack Seward and Stan Stoops abstained, as they have previously approved these at the Board of Supervisors meeting.
The next Communications meeting date was also set for September 11th, 2024, at 6:00 PM.
Under old business was the update on the storm damage to the Wellman site. The proposed construction start date from Finish Excavating for civil work is September 9th. They had reached out to verify if any permits are needed from the county and Jacob Thorius advised that none were needed unless they need to modify the entrance and do work within the ROW. The Supervisors had signed and submitted the agreement with Finish Excavating on 08/12/24. Tara Polek advised that the new Project Manager for RACOM will be Michael Northness. He has previously worked with Washington County and their radio system back in the 2000’s with CEC. Another conference call may be needed the 1st week of September and this project progresses.
Sorrells reported under the staffing update that we are still looking to hire one more full-time person to bring us back up to full staff. We were very fortunate to have a recent hire with experience, and they will not take the full four-five months to train.
Millie Youngquist made a motion to adjourn the Communications Commission meeting. Allen Schneider seconded the motion. The meeting was adjourned at 7:03 PM. A motion was made to adjourn the 911 Commission meeting by Ryan Miller and seconded by Marissa Reisen. The 911 Commission meeting was adjourned at 7:03 PM.
Respectfully submitted by,
Cara Sorrells
Official Publication, minutes to be approved at the September 11th, 2024, meeting. Any amendment to the minutes will be reflected in the following meeting minutes
Published in The News, Thursday, September 12, 2024 L-337
