MINUTES Cheshire County Commissioners Meeting Wednesday, January 5, 2011 9 AM 33 West Street, Keene, NH PRESENT: Commissioners Pratt, Rogers, Zerba and Commissioner-elect Aaron Patt; Administrator Wozmak; Finance Director Trombly; Superintendent Van Wickler; HR Manager Hurley. Chairman Rogers opened the meeting at 9:03 AM. MINUTES: Commissioner Zerba moved that the minutes of December 29, 2010 be approved, seconded by Commissioner Pratt, voted unanimously. MANIFEST: Commissioner Pratt moved to approve the manifest, seconded by Commissioner Zerba, voted unanimously. The Commissioners reviewed the Calendar, without change. The Superintendent reported that the jail census was 156 with 22 federal inmates, 2 on work release, 10 on electronic monitoring and 4 serving weekend sentences. There was discussion about the volume of prisoner transports being provided, primarily for federal inmates, but for which the county is reimbursed per the contract with the federal agency. We were told that the federal judge that recently visited was pleased with the facility and stated that of all the jails used within his jurisdiction, Cheshire County jail is the only one free of complaints and lawsuits; a testament to the progressive and effective application of correctional ideology. The Superintendent provided a brief routine update on issues of safety and security at the jail. There was also discussion on the maximum likely federal inmates that can be expected. It was noted that the federal authorities with whom we have had contact have said that approximately 30 inmates is likely the maximum number they could provide to us, based on the number and location of detainees at any given time. On behalf of nursing home administrator Kindopp, Administrator Wozmak reported that the census at Maplewood was 143 with three admissions under review. The Commissioners and staff held a brief reception for Commissioner Stillman “Tim” Rogers, who leaves office today. The Commissioners presented him with a Cheshire County clock, having the county logo and a plaque noting his years of service. Over cake provided by the jail, kind words were exchanged by all for the time, service and hard work Commissioner Rogers performed while in office. With the time approaching to recess for the swearing in ceremony at Superior Court, Chairman Rogers recessed the meeting at 9:41 AM. Following the swearing in ceremony, at approximately 11:10 AM, the Commissioners reconvened for their organizational meeting. Commissioner Pratt was nominated and voted as Chair of the County Commissioners, Roger Zerba was nominated and voted as Vice Chair of the County Commissioners and Aaron Patt was nominated and voted as the Clerk of the County Commissioners. There being no further business, Chairman Pratt adjourned the meeting at 11:20 AM. Minutes approved at the meeting Aaron Patt, Clerk \\Keene\data\COMMISSIONERS\Commissioners Minutes\2011\010511 ok.doc Created on 1/13/2011 3:31 PM Page 1 of 1 MINUTES Cheshire County Commissioners Meeting Thursday, January 13, 2011 9:30 AM 33 West Street, Keene, NH .PRESENT: Commissioners Pratt, Rogers, Patt; Administrator Wozmak; Finance Director Trombly; Superintendent Van Wickler; HR Manager Hurley; Sheriff Richard Foote; Register of Deeds Evelyn Hubal; Assisted Living Administrator Maria Miffek (by video conf); IT Director Doug Scribner (by video conf); County Attorney Peter Heed; Nursing Home Administrator Kathryn Kindopp (by video conf); Project Manager Thanh Nguyen. Chairman Pratt opened the meeting at 9:32AM. Chairman Pratt asked the attending department managers for their comments on the top priority that they felt the county should focus on over the next two years. Register of Deeds, Evelyn Hubal said that she wants some attention paid to deeds. She said it is important to make sure the records she stores are secure and that as much as she appreciates the hard work done in the County Attorney’s office and the attention his department has received in recent years, her office has records that must be kept forever. She said she has plans stored in a bad area where regulating heat and humidity is difficult. Nursing Home Administrator Kathryn Kindopp said we ought to focus on education and communication with the taxpayers so that they can understand the the regulations and laws that are behind what we do. She thought this was a high priority given how much the taxpayers pay to subsidize the nursing home. County Attorney Peter Heed said that the most important two-year goal is to complete the transition into vertical prosecution. He also said that what we do with the existing courthouse, if a new courthouse is built, it would have a huge impact on his department. Information Technology Director Doug Scribner said he has a few goals, one of which is maintaining the current computer, tele/data infrastructure. Also, he would like to strengthen the data link between Keene and Westmoreland at an estimated cost of $50,000 to $125,000. Finally, he would like to improve the email system. Currently we use Microsoft Office 97 and upgrading the system would cost $40,000 to $50,000. We are currently 5 versions behind the upgrade curve. For continuity of county operations, he would also like to see a county-wide, decentralized back-up system. County Sheriff Richard Foote said he would like to help the local communities more perhaps by building an infrastructure they can use. He thinks the county should be more out in front with the communities and local police departments. The county should step up to meet the needs of the communities even if there are costs associated with what we do. He hopes to continue building a strong radio infrastructure, utilizing grant money (and working with the county finance grant support specialist). He thinks we should reach out to the communities and let them know of our capabilities. Assisted Living Administrator Maria Miffek said that her concerns were connected to the future of Maplewood and whatever happens there, given that there is a strong connection between the assisted living units and the nursing home. \\Keene\data\COMMISSIONERS\Commissioners Minutes\2011\011311 ok.doc Created on 1/19/2011 3:13 PM Page 1 of 6 MINUTES Cheshire County Commissioners Meeting Thursday, January 13, 2011 9:30 AM 33 West Street, Keene, NH Finance Director Sheryl Trombly felt it was critical that the county build its fiscal strength. She commented that with our increasing overall budget, our reserves become a smaller percentage. For instance, our cash reserves are now only sufficient to cover our expenses for one month and, therefore, we need to build our fund balance to keep pace with our $42 million budget. Department of Corrections Superintendent Richard Van Wickler said that, with the taxpayers in mind, we need to take a good look at the services we provide and determine which of those is essential. He did not offer a specific list but felt it was incumbent on us to determine what are essential services and which services are merely nice or useful but perhaps not essential. He is also interested in addressing recruiting and retention at the jail as 50% of his personnel have less than 5 months on the job. He said he will be using an intern to survey wages for corrections and will be presenting an objective report to the Commissioners for their consideration. Finally, he said that he will be focusing on increasing revenue at the jail. Human Resources Manager Wendy Hurley said that her focus will be on reducing the employee turnover at both the nursing home and the jail. She would like to work with managers to strengthen the skills of middle managers in an effort to improve retention and performance. Project Manager Thanh Nguyen said that he will be working with finance and the grant support specialist to provide a link and fill in the gaps where county grant funding can be effectively utilized. He said he has been getting very involved in local prevention efforts, funded through the county by grants, and that he will be the staff member overseeing other grants, totaling more then $400,000 from the Department of Energy. County Administrator Jack Wozmak said that he thinks it will be critical to develop a both a short and a long term plan for the Westmoreland complex. He warned against focusing too narrowly on just the farm, or just the nursing home, or just the old jail building. He said that the long term plan should envision when there is no longer an essential need for any presence in Westmoreland. He cited the recent departure of corrections from Westmoreland; the discussions regarding the closure of the county farm and the discussions about replacing the nursing home. This is a pendulum swing from the days when all county functions had a place at the Westmoreland complex. He also said that garnering support and funding for a renovation of the existing court (if a new court building is constructed) is a significant short-term goal and an essential goal if we are to be able to make use of the 35,000 square feet now used by the courts. Commissioner Aaron Patt invited anyone to contact him directly if they felt the need to and said his door is open for anyone. He has a two-fold goal. One is to work to renew the nursing home cap and hold harmless clause so that we can avoid a large cost shift of nursing home expenses from the state to the county and the second goal is to have the Commissioners engage in more outreach to make sure that the Selectmen of the municipalities understand the degree of control we have over some of these expenses. Commissioner Roger Zerba said that his biggest concern is with the nursing home and whether we should be in that business.