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Executive/Economic Development
Meeting
Logan County Safety Complex
March 11, 2013
Present: David Hepler-Chairman;
Bob Farmer; Rick Aylesworth; Bill Martin; Gene Rohlfs; Chuck Ruben
Absent:
Guests: Jan Schumacher; Andy Anderson; Brian Bergen; Vic
Martinek
Mr. Hepler called the meeting to
order at 7:00 pm.
A motion was made by Mr.
Farmer, seconded by Mr. Rohlfs, to approve the minutes from the
February 11, 2013 meeting as printed. Motion passed.
Old Business
1) Board policy revisions: The most
recent draft of this document was provided for all Board members for
review and feedback. A motion was made by Mr. Ruben,
seconded by Mr. Rohlfs to approve the draft as revised below. Motion
passed. Mrs. Schumacher requested minor format changes on page
4. She also questioned whether the Vice Chairman should be able to
make appointments in the Chairman’s absence. Consideration was given
to changing the language regarding appointments made by the
Chairman. The committee also discussed the inclusion of committee
responsibilities in the Board policies. The topic of expenditures
approved in committee was also discussed. Mr. Anderson was concerned
with the ability of a committee to spend up to $30,000 with only
committee approval. This item was requested by the County Engineer
because many of their contracts are over $20,000 and that limit
could cause delays in awarding contracts. The committee agreed to
limit committee approval to $20,000 with an increase to $30,000 for
Road and Bridge committee. Any expenditures over $2,500 that are
approved in committee must be reported to the full Board. Mr.
Anderson also expressed concerns about limitations of Board member
access to the State’s Attorney. The current draft indicates any
member must have the authorization of a committee chairman to
request an opinion from the State’s Attorney. Mrs. Schumacher
explained this was suggested since the committee may also have
requested the same opinion and that member may be unaware. His final
concern involved committee assignments. He recommended policy
require one member of each district be assigned to each of the six
major committees in an effort to more equally represent county
citizens. Mr. Hepler expressed concern about eliminating straw
voting at the workshop session. Mr. Ruben explained that the votes
are not official, members can change their vote before the official
vote and it confuses the general public. Mr. Martin was reassured
that discussion would still be allowed at the workshop session.
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2) CEDS: Nothing to report.
3) Master plan implementation: There
was no update at this time.
4) Incubator status: Mr. Bergen
indicated this has made great strides in the last few weeks. They
are working with Hopedale to establish a wellness center in Atlanta.
This could include dental or physician services, as well as
nutritionists or physical therapists. They have also been working
with Integrity Data on a technology incubator.
New Business
1) Workforce demographics: Mr. Bergen
reported there is a Manufacturer’s Council scheduled for March 19th
at Lincoln Christian University. The event will be held from 1:00 pm
to 4:00 pm. This is an attempt to build a partnership between
industry and education to assist youth forming their careers. There
will be a panel discussion to show how these efforts have worked in
other communities and the group hopes to make this a state
initiative. Mr. Rohlfs agreed that, historically, cooperative
programs were a good thing for area youth. Mrs. Schumacher requested
these efforts be done in conjunction with the Workforce Investment
Board. Mr. Bergen indicated they would attempt to prepare some
statistics on the skill sets possessed by workers within Logan
County.
A motion was made by Mr.
Aylesworth, seconded by Mr. Rohlfs, to adjourn the meeting. Motion
passed. Meeting ended at 8:14 pm.
[Text copied from
meeting minutes]
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