Emergency Management/911 Commission/Communications Commission Meeting Minutes
Wednesday May 10th, 2023, 6:00 PM
Washington County EOC – Emergency Communications Building
2183 Lexington Blvd., Washington IA 52353
In attendance: Richard Young, Marissa Reisen, Cara Sorrells, Millie Youngquist, Stan Stoops, Ryan Miller, Mark Robe, Jared Schneider, Scott Zaputil, Roy Felts, Cole Smith, Dion Schminke, Allen Schneider, Jack Seward, Jr., Eric Hoover, and Melvin Rich.
At 6:00 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, Crawfordsville, Kalona, Riverside, Washington, Wellman, the Sheriff’s Office, and the Board of Supervisors. Absent were representatives from Ainsworth and West Chester. Approval of the agenda was requested. Mark Robe made a motion to approve the agenda as presented. Millie Youngquist seconded the motion, and the agenda was approved with no one opposed. Chairman Miller then requested a motion to approve the minutes from the last meeting, dated April 12th, 2023. Mark Robe made a motion to approve the minutes from the last meeting. Richard Young seconded the motion and with no one opposed, the motion passed unanimously.
The first item under new business was the discussion and action regarding an RFP for siren system evaluation. There have recently been meetings with the cities concerning the upgrade of the existing sirens. Most of the sirens in the county are older and on the VHF system, as opposed to the new digital radio system. Marissa Reisen proposed either starting with an RFP for an evaluation of the current siren coverage or writing an RFP that encompasses both the coverage evaluation and the purchasing/updating the existing sirens. The goal would be to have the analysis by the end of the summer and the update completed by April of next year. There was also discussion about hiring a consultant for the project. Reisen asked for permission to draft an RFP for a siren engineering services analysis. Sheriff Jared Schneider made a motion to have a small committee assist Reisen in drafting an RFP with the intent to send it out to the whole Commission by the end of next week for review. Schneider’s motion was seconded by Richard Young. The motion passed unanimously. Jack Seward will sit in for Richard Young on the small committee. The goal is to have a quick turn-around on the RFP and to have responses back to review at the June 14th, 2023, meeting.
The next item on the agenda was discussion on the EMA truck. The truck was purchased in 2018 and has 40,000 miles on it. The current trade in price is more than what the truck was purchased for, and it cannot pull the trailer. We would need a ¾ ton truck to do that. There are carryover funds in the budget that can be used for the purchase of a new vehicle. One concern was the timeline for delivery of new vehicles, and when one would arrive. There will be further discussion in the future.
There was nothing for the Commission under purchases. Reisen did report that the state has purchased six barrier trailers and one is to be housed in Washington County. There was one trailer purchased per district and we had indoor storage space for it. It will be available for local events to keep out traffic.
There was nothing under public input and the next meeting date will be June 14th, 2023, at 6:00 PM. The small committee to draft an RFP will meet Friday May 19th. Mark Robe made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 6:19 PM. Robe’s motion was seconded by Millie Youngquist and the Emergency Management meeting was adjourned at 6:19 PM.
Chairman Richard Young called the 911 Commission meeting to order at 6:19 PM. Present were representatives from Brighton, Crawfordsville, Kalona, Riverside, Washington, Wellman, the Board of Supervisors, the Sheriff’s Office, and Emergency Management. Absent was representation from Ainsworth. 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. Mark Robe 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 April 12th, 2023. Mark Robe made a motion to approve the minutes from the last meeting and the motion was seconded by Millie Youngquist. No one was opposed and the motion passed.
The approval of claims was next, and Cara Sorrells detailed the claims. The total of the claims was $7,083.96 and the receipts totaled $52,088.72. The claims included a claim from Agriland FS for $380 to remove the LP tank at the Wellman tower and pump out the gas for storage, $698.25 from Cummins to travel to the Wellman site to evaluate the generator after the storm, and $471.40 to Gopher sign for 911 street sign supplies. The receipts included a quarterly wireless surcharge payment from the State of Iowa for $41,431.17. Mark Robe made a motion to pay the claims as presented. Robe’s motion was seconded by Jared Schneider. The motion passed with no one opposed.
There was nothing for the Commission under new business. The only agenda item under old business was an update on the storm damage to the Wellman site and we will discuss this in a joint meeting with the Communications Commission. The next meeting date will be June 14th, 2023, at 6:00 PM.
At 6:23 PM, Chairman Ryan Miller called the Communications Commission to order. Present were representatives Stan Stoops, Ryan Miller, Mark Robe, Millie Youngquist, Jack Seward, and alternates Melvin Rich and Allen Schneider. A quorum was determined. Chairman Miller then made a request for an approval of the agenda as published. Mark Robe made a motion to approve the agenda as presented. Millie Youngquist 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 April 12th, 2023. Millie Youngquist made a motion to approve the minutes from the last meeting and the motion was seconded by Mark Robe. No one was opposed and the motion passed.
The approval of the claims was next. Cara Sorrells detailed the claims with the total of the claims being $4,374.86. There was revenue reported totaling $259,840.75 which is the EMA funding levy. A motion was made by Mark Robe to approve the claims as presented. Robe’s motion was seconded by Jack Seward, and the claims were approved with no one opposed.
There was nothing for the Communications Commission under committee reports.
Under old business some the Commission(s) moved on with discussion on process of rebuilding the Wellman tower site. There were guests at the meeting from RACOM and Wellman Telephone. Dion Schminke from Wellman Telephone reported that it is their intention to rebuild the tower. He presented two drawings from Edge Consulting showing a slightly different orientation on the lot. The new orientation allows for better use and salability of the lot for Wellman Telephone. They will also enlarge/square up the gravel driveway area on the property. These enhancements will make the site more functional in the future. Next Tuesday Wellman Telephone will be meeting with Edge Consulting and the Grinnell Group there at the site and we were invited to attend that meeting. T-Mobile is not going back on the tower and there is the possibility of an increase in rent for Washington County. The tower also did not need to be built to the previous 300 feet height as Washington County was only at 200 feet. The timeline presented for the restoration of the tower was:
•5/16: Site / Design Visit
•6/6: 1A and survey complete
•7/1: Geotech completed and tower ordered
•9/30: Federal Permits approved
•11/1: Tower delivered
•12/1: Site ready for Washington County to start install
Scott Zaputil from RACOM also had the following information on the replacement costs of the damaged equipment:
The Commission(s) thanked Dion Schminke from Wellman Telephone, and Scott Zaputil and Eric Hoover from RACOM for coming to the meeting and providing us with an update on the system repairs needed and the progress in the process.
Mark Robe made a motion to adjourn the Communications Commission meeting. Jack Seward seconded the motion. The meeting was adjourned at 6:57 PM.
A motion was made to adjourn the 911 Commission meeting by Marissa Reisen and seconded by Ryan Miller. The meeting was adjourned at 6:57 PM.
Respectfully submitted by,
Cara Sorrells
Signature: Emergency Management
Signature: 911 Commission
Signature: Communication Commission
Official Publication, minutes to be approved at the June 14th, 2023, meeting. Any amendment to the minutes will be reflected in the following meeting minutes.
Published in The News, Thursday, June 15, 2023 L-253
