Bayfield County to take a final look at joint dispatch
Bayfield County will attempt one more effort to see if a joint law enforcement and emergency dispatch with Ashland County is a viable option for both counties.
County Supervisors agreed Tuesday to have County Board Chairman Bill Kacvinsky appoint a subcommittee of board members and County Administrator Mark Abeles Allison to get together with Ashland County officials to see if the idea is practical.
The idea of combining both counties' emergency services and sheriff dispatch systems has been an attractive, but illusive goal for a number of years. Several efforts for the two counties to come to an understanding have gone nowhere.
Bayfield County will soon be building a new jail addition. Current plans also call for an extensive overhaul of the county's communications system and officials are close to making decisions on how space will be allocated within the new addition.....
In another matter, the board agreed to delegate County Tourism Director Pat Thornton, in concert with the County Attorney, to take legal action to keep county snowmobile trails open. The action came in the wake of a landowner along the Highway 63 Snowmobile trail erecting a barricade across the trail where it passed over his property. After the county made threats of legal action, the barricade was removed. The action is intended to allow the tourism and recreation committee to deal with such closures in a timely manner, said County Clerk Tom Gordon.
In other actions the board:
* Reappointed Dale Brevak as County Highway Commissioner following a lengthy executive session.
* Approved a contract between Bayfield County and the Teamster's Union representing County highway workers. Under terms of the contract, Highway Department employees will get a retroactive 2.5 percent increase for 2001, and a three percent increase in 2002. The third year of the contract has been left open for wages and insurance only.
* Approved a resolution agreeing to a cooperative law enforcement agreement with Red Cliff Tribal law enforcement. They also agreed to a resolution authorizing the sponsorship of a Wisconsin Conservation Corps program for the Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center.
* Witnessed an award presentation to County Clerk Tom Gordon from the U.S. Forest Service.