In 2019, the county had ….

In 2019, the county had 97 individuals receive assistance in the form of short-term hotel vouchers through various faith-base programs. Mudgett said these are individuals who have lost a place to live, been evicted, or who had been “couch surfing” and did not have a place to go. She said the one or two nights people are in the motel is not enough time to work with them to get them on a plan to achieve affordable permanent housing. She noted for working people being able to come up with the money needed for a apartment deposit is a significant challenge.

While saying he supported the efforts to address homelessness, Bub questioned why the group did not have any policies or plans laid out about how long people could stay at the proposed shelter.

Mudgett said the group saw applying for the grant as being the start of the process and did not want to put the cart before the horse in setting up policies and procedures before they had a shelter in place. She said developing policies will be a part of the duties of a future director.

In response to Bub’s questions about the proposed shelter, Lewis noted that it will likely end up being located in the city of Medford and that the city could deal with those specifics. Bub responded that it would be the county dumping it in the city’s lap.

Mudgett said the group has been in contact with shelters in other communities including one in Merrill that is a similar size to the one being considered for Taylor County. She said that she is in the process of getting copies of their procedure manuals and policies to use in setting up the shelter here.

In response to a concern that a shelter would serve as a magnet and attract additional homeless people to the community, Mudgett said that she did not foresee that happening, noting that those impacted by homelessness in the community are already here.

Dam grants By a one-vote margin, members of the Taylor County board voted to move ahead with a plan to spend about $199,000 to go with the 80-year fix for Chelsea Dam rather than spending $131,000 for a 40-year fix.

The spillway at the dam needs to be replaced. The forestry and recreation department supported an Ayres and Associates engineering design that will replace the exiting structure with a concrete spillway set at a specifi c water level. Currently the water level is controlled by a series of manually set boards, adding boards raises the water level, removing them lowers it. Design estimates for replacing the dam with an identical new structure are $131,000.

Board member Scott Mildbrand, who described himself as a fiscal conservative, advocated for the county to go with the lower-cost option as a way to reduce cost, noting the dam has operated well with the current setup. Board member Chuck Zenner disagreed saying that it was more responsible to spend what amounted to only $1,000 per year over the expected life of the dam to have a structure that would last longer and be safer and easier to operate.

The issue came to a head at Monday’s meeting because the deadline for applying for the state’s municipal grant program is end of this week. According to county forest administrator Jake Walcisak who oversees the county-owned dams, Chelsea ranks high in the number of points to be able to secure grant funding. He said if the grant was successful the work would be bid out this year for construction in 2021.

Mildbrand said he did not oppose having the dam repairs made and had a second resolution prepared and on the agenda to go with the lower-priced option for an in-kind replacement of the spillway if the one for the higher priced option failed. With a 9-8 vote in favor of moving forward with the Ayres plan, the second resolution was unnecessary and was withdrawn.

In other dam business, board members unanimously approved applying for a grant to replace the sluice gate at Miller Dam (Chequamegon Waters Flowage). The sluice gate is located about 14 feet below the top of the dam and is the primary means to lower water level. It is being kept closed at this point because of concerns that it may lock into an open position and drain the flowage. The cost of the project is estimated at $152,000 and will involve divers installing the new gate.

If successful, the grants will fund about 50% of the cost of the dam projects with the county responsible for the remaining 50%. Hansen reminded board members that with the very low amount of debt in the county they could bundle them with other projects and pay them off over time.

Zenner noted that the forestry department has been looking ahead at needing to do these projects and set aside logging revenue from the county forest to help pay for them. He said they have money on-hand to cover the county’s portion of the expense.

In other business, board members:

_ Approved increasing the hours from 35 to 40 per week for the legal assistant in the district attorney’s office to allow them to continue to complete drug court activities. The individual transferred from the judge’s office and will keep the additional duties in the district attorney’s office. A proposed ordinance adjusting the hours for the family and juvenile court coordinator was withdrawn and will come back at a future meeting.

_ Approved a resolution setting the pay for the county clerk, treasurer and register of deeds. The pay for these elected officials must be set in advance of their term. The current rate is $54,564. In 2021 it will go to $56,038, in 2022 will go to $57,166, in 2023 go to $57,730 and in 2024 go to $58,313. Adams abstained because his sister is the county treasurer.

_ Approved the bargaining agreements with the sheriff’s department deputies’ and sergeants’ unions. Changes included increasing the percentage of insurance premiums paid by the deputies to 12% and allowing new hires to come in with credit for past law enforcement experience. Under the contracts wages will increase 2% in 2020 and 2.5% in 2021. Adams abstained because his nephew is employed on the sheriff’s department.

_ Received an update on a plan to build a new county shop in the Rib Lake area. Highway commissioner Ben Stanfley reported on the efforts so far. He noted the existing shop in Rib Lake is too small for the county’s needs and is in the process of looking at locations outside the village and is looking at snowplow route optimization to determine where the best spot would be to improve service. Other factors include having access to water for brine production and highway access for trucks to enter and leave.

_ Approved amended ordinance for floodplain zoning maps for Chelsea Dam.

_ Approved a resolution proclaiming April 19-25 as National Volunteer Week in Taylor County.

County forest administrator Jake Walcisak who oversees the county-owned dams, answered questions about the planned repairs for Miller Dam and Chelsea Dam.