Winona County OKs addendum to consolidate emergency and continuity plans using state grants

Winona County commissioners approved an addendum to the county’s master services agreement with Full Planning to review and consolidate the county’s emergency management and department continuity-of-operations plans, using two state public-health grants that together total $38,321.

The approval, made during the board’s May 13 meeting, is intended to centralize plans that county officials said are currently siloed by department and to ensure county procedures meet a state “crosswalk” of emergency-management requirements.

A county emergency management staff member said the work “puts them all in one place for us to be able to update them easier, easier to access, easier to share out” and that the vendor’s review “assures we’re in line on the emergency management side with the state requirements.” The staff member said the crosswalk contains “about 90 some requirements.”

Board discussion focused on cost, funding sources and whether ongoing consultant support is necessary. Commissioner Vaguely, who moved approval, and Commissioner Olsen, who seconded, were among those who questioned whether the county could reduce reliance on consultants after an initial period. “Is it a continuing expense or is it something, hey — we kinda learned from this, we operationalize it, get it into function, and maybe now it's just something we need to do every once in a while and review,” said a commissioner during debate.

County staff explained the budget line items: $8,077 will come from the Response Sustainability grant and $30,244 from the Foundational Public Health Responsibilities grant, both identified as state funds. Finance staff clarified that those two grant amounts comprise the $8,077 plus $30,244 total used for the addendum.

Supporters argued the vendor’s online platform and consulting work would reduce administrative burden on county staff and help combine department-level continuity plans so services are not duplicated during an emergency. Commissioner Meyer added that regular drills and exercises — including a local radio club’s upcoming 24-hour communications exercise — are an important complement to written plans.

Commissioners also asked about municipal coordination: staff said some cities maintain their own plans (cities above a population threshold, roughly 2,500), but disaster funding and countywide coverage include all Winona County residents because the county has no cities over 100,000.

The board voted to approve the addendum; the item was recorded as approved under the county’s consent agenda.

County staff said they will continue to review contract performance annually and may decide to reduce consultant reliance over time if county capacity increases.