April 22, 2004
Pinnacle of a civic career
by Greg Lauser
Last Tuesday after two years at the helm, Dick Truax banged the gavel for the last time as chairman of the Pierce County Board of Supervisors - an action that capped a dozen years on the board and almost 40 years of public service in the county.
Those who've tracked his civic career and worked with him say a hallmark of his efforts has been to identify and take care of needs expressed by people.
"He has served Pierce County with honesty and integrity and is well respected statewide by officials for the work he has done. His contributions will be missed," said county supervisor Bill Schroeder, who just retired from the board after eight years representing the Hager City area. "Although we didn't agree on all issues, he always was very approachable to talk with about them, and he encouraged people throughout the county to share their opinions on county government."
Former county supervisor Rita Kozak, River Falls, who served a number of years with Truax, said, "The citizens of Western Wisconsin have been well served by Dick, not only in the county but on numerous issues at the statehouse in Madison. Dick has had a vision during his tenure on the board for improving government and its services. He always was well prepared on the issues we considered in board and committee meetings."
County administrator Mark Schroeder said, "I think his legacy will be the vision he displayed on two levels. On one level, he spearheaded efforts to streamline government - to drive efficiency and cost savings within county government. The second and perhaps more important level is that those efforts have enabled the county to preserve services for citizens in an era of cutbacks and shortfalls in state funding," he said.
Schroeder said he also was impressed with Truax's efforts to focus the county board on policy issues, rather than micro-managing the work of county committees or departments. Schroeder recalled that at his first meeting serving as chairman, Truax announced the Pierce County Initiative to seek ways of better coordinating and consolidating how the county interacts with its various municipalities and with other counties.
That initiative resulted in the formation of the Intergovernmental Forum last June, an ongoing steering committee exploring ways to save taxpayers money by consolidating duplicated activities, he said. Steering committee members include representatives of the county and its various villages, towns and cities.
In an interview, Truax said, "Right now in Pierce County there are some 25 or 26 municipal government entities that in many cases are duplicating efforts. If we can agree to consolidate more and more of these common areas and services, we all could save money."
He suggested that there are opportunities for local governments to schedule leases of seasonal equipment - such as street sweepers - from a third party, with or without operators to handle the assignments.
Truax said one area where such cooperation already has helped taxpayers is the program the county board and state Sen. Sheila Harsdorf developed so that the county and its townships, villages, cities and towns could form an association to purchase employee health insurance benefits at group rates, rather than paying individually for coverage. That saves everyone money, he said.
Ed Hass, department head for the University of Wisconsin Extension Office and resource agent for Pierce County, is providing staffing support for the Intergovernmental Forum. He said the forum is doing strategic planning on issues that will confront all levels of government in the next five years and trying to identify areas where cooperation could save money.
"The forum is considering possible aggregation of energy-supply purchases for LP gas, etc. and equipment pooling," he said. "At Dick's direction, we've also started a communications newsletter for those participating in the forum, so we can improve the spread of best practices."
Hass said Truax's leadership got the initiative started and helped establish the steering committee to continue the work beyond his tenure.
"I know from talking with him that his longer-term vision is to have counties get together to do this type of analysis, strategic planning and cost sharing where possible," Hass said.
Truax said he knows of no one in county government who has a desire to control such programs.
"The forum was established as a separate entity to discover and recommend areas of mutual benefit," Truax said. "The county just wants to participate."
Public Outreach
"Dick has tried hard to reach out to the public, to listen to peoples' concerns and better inform them about issues that face the county now and in the future," Hass said. "He did as much as anyone to explain why programs are needed to deal with those problems, where tax resources are going and to help the public understand that Pierce County is planning for the future and streamlining delivery of those services."
Truax said the most pleasing aspect of his county service has been to reveal for citizens what he regards as the biggest secret in the county - how Pierce County's governmental decisions are influenced and made.
"I tried to introduce public participation into county government by requesting - almost demanding - the public attend hearings, committee and board meetings to speak out about issues of concern," he said.
He acknowledges that some board colleagues will say he didn't control board meetings very well.
"That was by design where the public was concerned. I worked to be inclusive and glean good ideas from citizens by letting them speak their minds," Truax said.
Hass said, "On a personal level, Dick is a very respectful gentleman who encourages others' points of view. He tries to bring out the best in everyone within county government and all its departments. He brought to his work a vision for what needs to be done now and in the future to make it possible for improvements to occur."
Hass also credits Truax with being instrumental in making Pierce County a showplace for computer technologies, their application to county and municipal government and how government and county extension can deliver better services to constituents.
Civic Involvement
Truax traces his beginnings in Pierce County civic affairs to the plight of a neighbor couple that was retired.
"He needed to be in a nursing home and she didn't drive. At the time, the only facility in the county was in Spring Valley - a 75 mile roundtrip," Truax said. "There'd been talk about getting a nursing home here for a while, but her having to rely on friends and neighbors so she could visit him there really drove the point home for me."
Truax helped convince state officials that another facility was needed for the people of Prescott and Pierce County. He refers to the process as "putting your feet under the table with the right people to achieve something worthwhile." While balancing a business career as a commercial real estate broker at the time, he became a co-founder and the first president of the St. Croix Care Center - a non-profit nursing facility now known as Signet Health Care.
Not long after that he was asked to chair the Prescott Housing Authority. He was one of the civic leaders instrumental in securing funding for the two buildings with 48-units of senior-citizen housing that set between the nursing home and Prescott City Hall. He also served as a chair of the Prescott Redevelopment Authority and chair of the Pierce County Housing Authority before seeking election to the county board.
While handling those civic responsibilities, Truax also used his commercial real estate experience to broker businesses in the region and helped a group of investors who founded and put together plans for what became Clifton Highlands Golf Course.
Truax said when former District 1 supervisor Roy Finley decided to step down in 1992, Finley recruited him to run for the office. At the time, he made a 10-year commitment to represent the people of Prescott if they saw fit to elect him each biennium. In 2001, County board chair Dick Wilhelm asked Truax about extending his time on the board to retain some continuity on the finance committee and the board because a large number of county supervisors were not seeking re-election. He agreed to do so and was elected chair of the board. In fall 2003, he said he decided that 12 years of service was enough, so he chose not to seek re-election.
He said he ran initially without a specific agenda of items but believed his background in real estate and funding development would help the board improve financial planning and the financial situation for the county. Throughout his tenure on the county board, he has been a member of the finance and personnel committees of the board, serving as chair of each for the past two years. He also was a long-term member and chair of the human services committee
Fiscal Planning, Stability
He is proud of the improved financial stability that the board and the county staff have accomplished.
"During the dozen years I've been around, lots of very talented and dedicated people on the county board have served on the finance committee, and they did a great job of improving county financial planning," Truax said.
Truax said that while Dick Wilhelm chaired the county board, it introduced mill-rate caps in its budget the year before the state budget incorporated mill-rate caps.
He said the 2004 budget is another good example of what has been achieved. He noted that the county board froze the county portion of residents' property tax levy and reduced the mill rate by 11 percent for property tax assessments without cutting services to taxpayers.
He mentioned other county accomplishments, including: paying off more than $3 million in unfunded liability within the state pension fund; creating a financial reserve that eliminated the need to reassign funds from the general fund to pay for county employees' health insurance and setting up self-funded health insurance and workers' compensation programs that incorporated stop-loss insurance coverage.
He said another example of accomplishments in streamlining county government is the recently approved consolidation of the formerly independent finance and personnel committees, each with five members, into the new finance and personnel committee consisting of seven members.
"There always has been a great deal of overlap between the matters considered by the two groups," Truax said. "This enables more responsive, efficient attention to public needs and lowers the costs of doing so."
He also supports reducing the number of members of other committees to a more workable number.
Truax said a new home monitoring pilot program approved by the board's finance committee is another money-saving measure. The program is intended for people who cannot afford home-monitor anklets and otherwise would be incarcerated.
"By using home monitoring, the sheriff's department doesn't incur costs of $45 a day per inmate for boarding and securing them," he said. "Rather, we pay a monitoring firm $15 a day per inmate, saving $30 a day per inmate. Those who can pay for their home-monitoring device do so by reimbursing the county, so there is no cost incurred for those folks."
Human Services Leader
Both Kozak and county administrator Schroeder cited Truax's role as chairman of the county human services committee as an example of his leadership skill.
"His very strong support for human services, particularly needs in the mental health area, was instrumental in attracting good people and leadership to that department and to properly funding human services needs," Schroeder said. "Pierce County became one of two counties to pilot the 'Work Not Welfare' initiative in the mid-1990s because of that and his leadership role in modernizing county financial and personnel practices. That pilot program and Pierce County's experience with it had a very positive ripple effect across the entire state that has been heralded as a success for the state - not just the county," Schroeder said
The county had piloted the program for 12-18 months. Then, without consulting either of the two counties about their experiences and successes, the state decided to institute an amended statewide program and sent the county a directive with expected changes. As a result, the county board - at the recommendation of the human services committee Truax chaired - wrote a letter opting out, saying the revised program would not serve county residents as well. The state asked to meet with Truax and other county officials. Afterward the statewide recommendations were modified again to reflect more closely what Pierce County already was doing.
An additional result of his consensus-building leadership style is that for the past four years Truax has been elected to the board of directors of the Wisconsin Counties Association representing the nine-counties in the group's western district.
Resistance to Change
Truax said that those serving in county government must realize how slowly it moves to enact change.
"The single most energized dynamic in government as I see it is the R-T-C Syndrome - that stands for resistance to change," Truax said. "That's not something specific to Pierce County - it's pervasive throughout government."
He said that as a result it probably takes about 10-times longer to change or enact something in government than it does in business.
"That's why business leaders find the pace of government initiatives and the passage of programs maddening," he said.
"We are blessed with very dedicated employees in Pierce County, and I believe that during my time on the board, Mark Schroeder and Reggie Bicha are representative of the very best among them," he said. "In my estimation, the pace of change in county government could accelerate if supervisors relied more on the work our dedicated staff does for the board, thereby lessening the burden on individual supervisors."
His advice to whoever succeeds him as county board chair is to involve the public as much as possible, actively seeking peoples' input.
"The one thing I'd do differently if I were starting over is host a series of forums. I'd encourage people to tell me and as many county and municipal officials as care to be involved what it is that concerns them," Truax said. "Those concerns should then be incorporated into the initiatives pursued by the chair and the board."
Biggest Disappointment
Truax said that at the time he first ran for county office, the county needed to comprehensively address the need for a new judicial center. It still does in his opinion. He said the board's decision in 2002 not to adopt a comprehensive plan for a new judicial center was his biggest disappointment during board service.
"We continue to address growing space needs at the county seat, in the courts and jail on a piecemeal basis," Truax said.
"Unretiring"
While he is stepping away from one of the county's most prominent public service positions, Truax said is not retiring. Instead, he will concentrate on "unretiring." He intends to become involved in real estate development in the surrounding area in some way and to assist his son and grandchildren in a possible expansion of their franchise business in Florida.
However, his first priority is to attend a reunion of fellow crew members with whom he served aboard the USS Noble, a Navy attack transport. The reunion in Portland, Ore., is May 13-16 and will bring together shipmates who helped the Marines land on Okinawa April 1, 1945, for one of the final battles of World War II.
Although he is not anticipating it as enthusiastically, Truax said he expects that a trial scheduled for May 21 will find that he acted properly in closing a portion of a county committee meeting. Supervisors Don Nellesen and Dales Hines allege that he violated the state's Open Meeting Laws by preventing them from attending a portion of the Oct. 22, 2002, personnel committee meeting.
"I was following the direct advice of the county's corporation counsel at the time and expect to be vindicated for following that legal opinion," he said.
"After that, I expect I'll try to play a bit more golf to knock some of the rust off my game," he said. "I'll also continue to look for ways and places where I can give the most back to my community, family and friends.
"Having spent more than 25 years of my life as agency director for several voluntary health agencies in Wisconsin, Minnesota and the Dakotas, my experience in funding development may be useful to a local worthy cause. How involved does an 80-year-old guy get? I guess we'll see."
Asked how he wants his public service record to be remembered, Truax
said, "I hope people will say that I saw a need and tried to fill it."
To the top
New rescue team gets financial backing
by Matthew Perenchio
The need to have one has always been there, and the desire to formulate one has been becoming more evident. And now, with a fair amount of financial backing, a Prescott Dive Rescue Station is becoming a reality.
"Basically, we just want to be prepared," said Bill Sanford, an EMT and captain of the Prescott team. "It's all a matter of time when an accident happens, so when and if it happens, we can make a difference."
Specializing in water rescues and evidence dives, the formation of a Prescott team is the reorganization of a county-wide association, Sanford said. Several years ago, there was an actual Pierce County Dive Rescue Team. While that, per se, no longer exists, some members of the Ellsworth Area Ambulance Service are trained for underwater emergencies.
However, Sanford said there has been a revitalized interest in creating a county-wide team once again. And with Prescott positioned on the St. Croix and Mississippi rivers, he said it only made sense for a station to be established locally. So far, the Prescott station consists of ambulance director Bill Dravis, EMT Ken McNiff and Sanford. The trio began taking classes last August, and Sanford was the first to be certified in November.
But with the unique rescuing expertise comes the need for particular, specialized equipment. And air tanks, regulators, buoyancy compensators and other various items are not cheap.
"It's a very high-cost, intensive service," Sanford said. "All equipment has to be state-of-the-art, and all this material is very expensive."
During training, the Prescott members were able to borrow equipment from the Ellsworth team, although they did need to eventually find funding for their own. Sanford said he is happy to announce that about $5,000 has been raised to date through donations from area businesses and local organizations, such as the AnnMarie Foundation and the Prescott VFW.
Sanford specifically noted the VFW's donation of $2,500 really helped get Prescott's program going, adding that money will be able to purchase almost all of the necessary equipment for the three team members.
"The (VFW) gave us enough money and really catapulted us from something that was 'a good thing to do' to more of a reality," Sanford said.
The type of calls a dive rescue team responds to is anything water related. Such calls include possible drownings or ice rescues, and, in addition, the sheriff's department can utilize the teams for evidence and recovery dives.
Last year, Pierce County had two instances where a dive team needed to be utilized, according to Sanford. While he said that is not as high as other counties - St. Croix County had about 10 calls - every incident can be a life or death emergency and every second counts. With a station in Prescott, that means any incidents in the city could be responded to faster.
"The quicker we can get someone out there, the chance of survival is much greater," Sanford said.
Currently, there are 12 members between the Ellsworth and Prescott stations. Sanford said two additional people from Prescott will be going through the training program this spring, and the goal is to generate interest throughout Pierce County. Another goal of the new Pierce County Dive Rescue Team is to be just that: a team.
"We are very team-orientated," he said. "Our goal is to work with other agencies on whatever may occur."
To the top
Girl sentenced in meth lab raid
by Matthew Perenchio
One of two individuals charged in a Prescott methamphetamine lab operation was sentenced to jail time last week.
Jessica L. Stuedemann, 24, was sentenced to serve six months in jail for her involvement in which local law enforcement discovered a meth lab in an Ash Street apartment last summer.
With the sentencing coming in Pierce County Circuit Court April 12, Stuedemann will also have her driver's license suspended for one year and she will be on probation for the next six years; Huber work release was granted.
After her arrest, Stuedemann originally faced five felony charges - including manufacturing methamphetamine - and one misdemeanor charge. In a plea agreement, though, Stuedemann pled guilty to possession of methamphetamine and a reduced charge of possession of amphetamine; the remaining charges were dismissed.
Area law enforcement converged upon an Ash Street residence last summer for a suspected meth lab. One of the two people charged in the incident was recently sentenced. |
The case stems from a raid in a residential portion of Prescott on July 2, 2003.
On that date, the Prescott Police Department, the St. Croix Valley Task Force and the Pierce County Emergency Response Unit converged upon 1354 Ash St., Apt. 4, on suspicion that a meth lab was present. Officers reportedly found methamphetamine, meth waste and ingredients used in making the illegal drug.
Stuedemann was at the apartment when it was searched and was placed into custody.
Lonn A. Giles, 32, Farmington, Minn., was also arrested in connection to the lab after the raid. He is presently facing six charges from the incident, five of which are felonies, and include knowingly possessing methamphetamine waste and manufacturing/delivering amphetamine and methamphetamine.
To the top
County board, city council reorganize
Pierce Conty Board
by Matthew Perenchio
Seven new Pierce County Board members were sworn in Tuesday during its organizational meeting.
Prevailing after the spring election, new members included Leo "Chip" Simones, Rich Purdy, Paul Barkla, Greg Kerr, William Gilles, Jeff Holst and Mel Pittman.
At the board's meeting, held in the morning on April 20, Ron Anderson was elected as the new chairperson. Dale Hines will serve as first vice chair and Kirstin Schilling as second vice chair.
The reorganizing of the board also established a new make-up of county committees. They are as follows:
· Agriculture & Extension Education: Jerry Kosin, Mel Pittman, LeRoy Peterson, William Gilles and Don Nellessen.
· Finance and Personnel: Ron Anderson, Dale Hines, Rich Purdy, Kirstin Schilling, Rod Rommel, John Kucinski and Greg Kerr.
· Highway Committee: Leo Simones, Mel Pittman, Dale Hines, Don Nellessen and Ron Anderson.
· Human Service Board: Scott Mulhern, Rod Rommel, William Gilles, Rich Purdy and John Kucinski. In addition, the three citizen members are Bob Strusz (Hager City), Bernard Grant (Spring Valley) and Ruth Suplick (Beldenville).
· Land Management: Paul Barkla, Don Nellessen and Jeff Holst.
· Law Enforcement: Paul Barkla, John Kucinski, Greg Kerr, Mike Larson and Leo Simones.
The new Pierce County Board will serve through 2006.
City Council
by Matthew Perenchio
Mayor Raphael Maiola recently named his appointments for the city of Prescott and its commissions for the next year.
The announcements were made at the council's annual organizational meeting Tuesday, and the appointments will stand until after the next election in 2005.
Reappointed were: Cedar Corporation as city engineer; Greg Amann as city attorney; Rob Wertheimer as municipal court attorney; and Virchow, Krause & Company as auditors.
Council committee persons were also announced for the following:
· Personnel committee: Tom Geistfeld (chair), Randy Hendrickson and Joan Hendrickson.
· Parks and public property committee: Mike Hunter (chair), Tom Geistfeld and John Oney.
· Ordinance committee: John Oney (chair), Gary Holmgren and Randy Hendrickson.
· Public works committee: Randy Hendrickson (chair), Tom Geistfeld and John Oney.
· Health committee: Gary Holmgren (chair), Mike Hunter and Joan Hendrickson.
· License committee: Joan Hendrickson (chair), Gary Holmgren and Mike Hunter.
Hunter was elected by council members as council president.
Prior to the appointments, Joan Hendrickson, Hunter, Geistfeld and Maiola were sworn into office by acting city administrator Tom Kiewel.
To the top
New data forecasts rise in population, households
Last month, Gov. Jim Doyle and the Wisconsin Department of Administration released population and household projections for all counties, cities, villages and towns.
Of note, the state's population is expected to grow by 1 million residents from the year 2000 to the year 2030. This represents a 19.6 percent increase from the 2000 U.S. Census estimate of 5.36 million people to 6.42 million.
St. Croix County is expected to experience the fastest rate of growth at 67.9 percent during the 30-year period.
Dane County is expected to gain 153,000 residents by 2030, making it the fastest growing county by numeric increase.
Pierce County's growth will be more gradual with a 33 percent increase from 2000 Census.
The DOA listed the 10 fastest growing counties during the 30-year period: St. Croix County, 67.9 percent; Calumet, 45.13 percent; Dane, 35.98 percent; Outagamie, 33.91 percent; Kenosha, 32.55 percent; Brown, 28.77 percent; Washington, 28.08 percent; Walworth; 28.06 percent, Dunn; 27.09 percent and Sauk, 27.09 percent. All these counties tend to be in rural areas.
Milwaukee County will surpass the 1 million population mark after 2015 and is projected to have 1,031,000 residents in 2030 and will remain Wisconsin's most populous county for the foreseeable future.
The City of Milwaukee is projected to reverse a 30-year population decline and grow from 597,000 to 623,000 in 2025. Natural increase and in-migration by a burgeoning Hispanic population will account for much of the city's expected increase.
Households
St. Croix County is also expected to add a significant number of housing units by 2025.
The 2000 census estimated the county had 23,410 total households. By 2025, the projected estimates is 40,269 or a 72 percent increase from 2000. A few St. Croix County communities will see their household estimates more than double if the state's forecasts hold true.
They include: village of Hammond, 126.56 percent increase to 981 households; town of Hammond, 119.12 percent increase to 688 households; town of Hudson, 112.52 percent increase to 4,019 households; village of Somerset, 111.97 percent increase to 1,346 households; and village of Baldwin, 102.60 percent increase to 2,259 households.
The city of Hudson nearly made the list, with a 97.26 percent increase to 7,273 households.
The 2000 census estimated Pierce County had 13,015 total households. By 2025 the projected estimate is 17,339, which is an increase of 4,324 households.
The fastest growth is projected to be in the town of Oak Grove with a 65 percent increase to 820 households; town of Clifton with a 64 percent increase to 891 households; town of Martell with a 54 percent increase to 587 households; and village of Ellsworth, a 43 percent increase to 1,657 households.
The city of River Falls (Pierce County portion) will see an increase of 38 percent to 4,561 households, and the city of Prescott will see an increase of 33 percent to 1,916 households.
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