by Jeanne Larson

At its November 3 meeting at the courthouse in Pine City, the Pine County Board of Commissioners recognized two employees for their long years of service to the county. Paulette Skalicky was presented with a plaque recognizing her service as a dispatcher in the Sheriff’s Department since 1974, and Lana Meier was also given a plaque for her service as an appraiser in the Assessor’s Department since 1973.

The board heard an update on the proposal to consolidate emergency dispatch centers in an effort to save money and increase efficiency. Pine County was originally looking at consolidating its services with Kanabec County, but is now considering going together with a larger group. Grant money is available to fund a feasibility study funded by the State of Minnesota. Commissioners were assured that they would not be bound by any recommendations coming out of the study. County Coordinator Mark LeBrun reminded board members that they could save a significant amount just by going together with Kanabec County. Commissioner Stephen Hallan said that the State really wants the counties to consolidate their efforts. Commissioner Doug Carlson said he was concerned about the board continuing to pass resolutions asking for grants when the State of Minnesota is short of money. He said he realized that this money would not come out of county funds, but pointed out that State funds still come out of the pockets of taxpayers. Commissioner Curt Rossow said he thought that if Pine County worked with the State on this issue, it would show that the county is willing to cooperate.

The board approved of the hiring of Brian Collins in the Probation Department as a pre-trial juvenile probation officer. Probation Director Terryl Arola told board members that stimulus money was used for this new hire, and that the position would be reviewed if the federal money goes away. In discussion Arola told commissioners that the caseloads had been going down for probation officers in recent months which allowed for more intense contact with juvenile offenders.

A presentation by Matt Falk on opportunities with the 2010 Census was postponed until the November 17 in Sandstone. Commissioner Carlson said that “some of us are concerned about the census.”