In case you missed it in The Sun the week of Sept. 5, 2022
Sep. 10—The following are stories from the previous week that appeared on
and in The Jamestown Sun.
Leaders of their departments told the Stutsman County Commission on Tuesday, Sept. 6, that they are dealing with worker shortages, which is leading to lots of hours of overtime, and
asked for a 10.6% raise
instead of a 6% wage increase.
The Stutsman County Commission recently approved a 4% cost-of-living adjustment and 2% step raise.
The county commission took no action on the request for the wage increase to 10.6%.
The regular methods of recruitment and retention haven't worked to bring in fresh, dedicated employees and retain valuable long-time employees, said Josh Greeney, one of the supervisors of the Stutsman County Communications Center. He said the center has been operating with two fewer full-time staff since October 2021.
Stutsman County Emergency Manager Andrew Kirking said another Stutsman County Communications Center employee resigned, which will leave eight employees in the center. He said having eight employees will force the center to pay for mandatory overtime.
The Stutsman County Correctional Center is on pace to bust its budget by more than $12,000 this year, said Ryan Deleon, deputy jail administrator for the Stutsman County Correctional Center. He said the correctional center has been fully staffed for two days for two consecutive years.
More people are coming to Rainbow Laundry twice a month to take advantage of a program that washes their clothes for free.
But that in turn has put a strain on the program's budget to help people, and Terri Krovoza, the coordinator for Laundry Love, hopes donations will continue to offset the cost.
The program was launched in 2017
in Jamestown through the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Now going into its sixth year in November, the demand has doubled from pre-pandemic levels.
With backing from Krovoza's church after raising $400 in quarters from parishioners, the program launched and was offered once a month in Jamestown but has grown to twice a month. Donations have kept the program going.
Laundry Love is offered on the first and third Thursday of each month from 2 to 6 p.m. at Rainbow Laundry.
The timing is right and it makes sense to try a shared resources model
between the Jamestown Area Chamber of Commerce and Jamestown Tourism, according to Mayor Dwaine Heinrich.
Jamestown Tourism Executive Director Searle Swedlund's last official day in Jamestown was Friday, Sept. 9.
With chamber Executive Director Emily Bivens' experience working in the Jamestown Tourism office, now is the time to try the partnership, Heinrich said.
The Jamestown Tourism Board of Directors unanimously approved on Aug. 29 a partnership between Jamestown Tourism and the Jamestown Area Chamber of Commerce.
With the shared resources model, the cost and duties of the executive director and marketing positions will be shared between the chamber and Jamestown Tourism. Jamestown Tourism would reimburse the chamber for the expenses associated with the two shared positions.
It is difficult for each entity to afford its own marketing person, but together each can also share that position, Heinrich said.
He said the shared resources model between a chamber and tourism office is a model that other communities in the state use.
The Jamestown City Council unanimously approved on Tuesday, Sept. 6, the
sale of a city-owned parcel for $350
to the owners of a parking lot located on the corner of 5th Avenue and 12th Avenue Southeast.
The sale includes the preparation of the quick claim deed and the recording of the deed. Any other cost that could arise would be the responsibility of the purchaser.The 2,000-square-foot parcel is located at Elmwood Park Addition within Corey and Jodi Bayer's property.
The city of Jamestown used to have a well on the parcel that is now abandoned.
Jamison Veil, city assessor, said he does not see any future use of the property for the city of Jamestown.
