30 year old Brandon Patrick Dellwo of Shakopee, entered guilty pleas yesterday afternoon to one count each of Criminal Vehicular Homicide and Criminal Vehicular Operation in connection with the death of 29 year old Kacy Merseal of Des Moines. Last August, Dellwo was driving his SUV eastbound in the westbound lane of Hwy 19 when he struck a small passenger car driven by Merseal. Her passenger was taken to Northfield Hospital with non life-threatening injuries. The pair were heading home to Iowa from a Bruno Mars concert. Dellwo’s blood/alcohol level was .27, more than three times the legal limit. As part of the plea, Dellwo is
expected to serve 48 months in prison for the Criminal Vehicular Homicide and a concurrent sentence of 13 months for Criminal Operation. Sentencing is set for June 14th. Rice County Attorney John Fossum prosecuted the case and compared the likely sentence to what would be expected if Dellwo were convicted at trial. Complaint Brandon Dellwo as filed in court
NAFRS Joint Powers Board discusses future of administration
While no one doubts the abilities and response of NAFRS, Northfield Area Fire & Rescue Services, to fight fires and respond to crashes, there’s been the looming question of where the Joint Powers Agreement takes them into the future. In terms of a full time fire chief who handles administrative duties, or perhaps the addition of an Administrator. Last Friday, Facilitator Sharon Klump led a group discussion on the McGrath report which specifically identified gaps in administrative support that a full time chief would provide and, in fact, encouraged the hiring of a full time chief. The volunteer, paid on call department is now a governmental agency as a Joint Powers, subject to accountability. Administrator Ben Martig said “doing nothing is not an option”, adding that administrative functions are not defined, there’s nothing in the governing documents to clarify those positions. Past NAFRS Chair Glen Castore said all the administrative duties, trainings, plan reviews, etc. are being done but not communicated to the JPA Board. Current Chair Anne Haddad added that there’s “no safety net” because there’s no administrative oversight. Whose role is it? And should the JP be a Working Board, which is how it’s functioning right now, or a Policy Board? When asked what wasn’t being done, Martig listed items such as not being involved in the Explorers program, attending 911 emergency center meetings, being a part of the Emergency Preparedness as well as other administrative duties, including what he called “the mess” that occurred in March when the fire chief’s full evaluation was shared openly with the board, making it a public document, something it should not be. Finance was another issue, which Board member, Bron Scherer, currently handles. Peterson White pondered what would happen if he weren’t there to do it. Board member Dana Graham said, “in the future we’re not going to be here. So the question is, do we have the courage to look beyond our own noses and look well into the future”. He added that they can’t just be REactive, they need to be PROactive. Chief Gerry Franek reminded everyone that they are volunteers adding that they do “a darn good job” and “if they want better, they’re going to have to pay for it”. According to the website, “payscale”, the median salary for a full time chief, would cost about $74,000 a year. Franek receives about $21,000 a year. He added, “communications two ways, not just one way. So if there is an issue or a problem with the Board, they should communicate that to the fire department so that we can react”. the McGrath Report was completed in December of 2016. There’s been on and on discussion revolving the roles and responsibilities for the Fire Chief and/or Administrator as well as the Board. That will be on their agenda for the next Board meeting, April 19th. McGrathFinal Report NAFRS 12-26
Community Ice Arena on Council agenda
The Northfield Council meets tonight for a work session. It’s all about an Ice Arena. An Advisory Board is recommending that a new Community Two-Sheet Arena be built. As for financing, they’ve come up with multiple fundraising generators. We’ll hear more about this tomorrow morning.
