COMMISSIONER PROCEEDINGS

MARCH 9, 2020

The Lake of the Woods Board of Commissioners met in Special Session on Monday, March 9^th, 2020 at Lake of the Woods County Government Center in the Commissioner’s Room.

CALL TO ORDER

Chairman Jon Waibel called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. with the following members present: Commissioners: Joe Grund, Cody Hasbargen, Ed Arnesen and Jon Waibel.  Also present: Human Resource Director, Savanna Slick and County Attorney, Jim Austad.

NON-ELECTED DEPARTMENT HEAD EVALUATIONS

County Engineer, Anthony Pirkl met with the board to discuss the Public Works Department.  No formal evaluation was given as he has been employed less than a year.

County Assessor, Mary Jo Otten met with the board for a performance evaluation.   Mary Jo chose to have her review open.  County Assessor, Mary Jo Otten, was evaluated and received a favorable review.

Land & Water Planning Director, Josh Stromlund met with the board for a performance evaluation.  Josh chose to have his review open.  Land & Water Planning Director, Josh Stromlund, was evaluated and received a favorable review.

MIS Director, Peder Hovland met with the board for a performance evaluation.   Peder chose to have his review open.  MIS Director, Peder Hovland, was evaluated and received a favorable review.

Social Services Director, Amy Ballard met with the board for a performance evaluation.  Amy chose to have her review open.  Amy Ballard, Social Services Director, was evaluated and received a favorable review.

ELECTED DEPARTMENT HEAD UPDATES

County Sheriff, Gary Fish presented the board with updates from the Lake of the Woods County Sheriff’s Office.

RECESS

With no further business before the board, Chairman Waibel called the meeting to recess at 1:35 p.m.

Attest:                                                                          March 10, 2020

_________________________________                  ____________________________County Auditor/Treasurer, Lorene Hanson                    Chairman of the Board, Jon Waibel

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Commissioner Proceedings

March 10, 2020

The Lake of the Woods County Board of Commissioners met in regular session on Tuesday, March 10 2020 at Lake of the Woods County Government Center in the Commissioners’ Room.

CALL TO ORDER

Chair Jon Waibel called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. and the Pledge of Allegiance was recited with the following members present: Commissioners: Joe Grund, Jon Waibel, Buck Nordlof, Cody Hasbargen and Ed Arnesen. Also present were: County Auditor/Treasurer Lorene Hanson, County Attorney James Austad, Jaime Boretski-LaValla and Woody Fiala.

APPROVAL OF AGENDA

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Cody Hasbargen, seconded by Commissioner Joe Grund and carried unanimously to approve the agenda with the following additions: Approval of Minutes from 3/09/2020, Sheriff Department – permanent part-time position, Auditor/Treasurer Department – approve new hire, and correspondence from the United States Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Joe Grund, seconded by Commissioner Cody Hasbargen and carried unanimously to approve the official and summarized minutes of February 25, 2020.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Cody Hasbargen, seconded by Commissioner Joe Grund and carried unanimously to approve the official minutes of March 9, 2020.

SOCIAL SERVICES

Claims

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Buck Nordlof, seconded by Commissioner Joe Grund and carried unanimously to approve the following claims: Commissioners Warrant’s $18,227.54, Commissioners Warrant’s $1,656.81, Commissioners Warrant’s $21,644.98.

Fraud Investigation

Angie Eason, Financial Assistance Supervisor for the Social Services Department, provided an update on the fraud investigation resources available to the County.  The County now has access to an official fraud investigator through a collaboration with Beltrami and Clearwater Counties.

AUDITOR/TREASURER

Claims

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Ed Arnesen, seconded by Commissioner Buck Nordlof and carried unanimously to approve the claims against the County as follows: Revenue $36,777.33, Road & Bridge $31,363.06, Social Service $1.99; County Development $200.00; Joint Ditch $360.00, Solid Waste $13,586.15, EDA $409.49, Sales/Forfeited Lands $225.00.

WARRANTS FOR PUBLICATION

Warrants Approved On 3/10/2020 For Payment 3/13/2020

Vendor Name                                        Amount

Compudyne, Inc                                                      2,150.00

Howard’s Oil Company                                            3,160.39

Interstate Engineering Inc                                      16,112.86

LOW Highway Dept                                                 6,866.25

Mn State Dept-Correction                                      20,333.17

Powerplan                                                               6,655.16

R & Q Trucking, Inc                                                  3,605.00

63 Payments less than 2000                                  24,040.19

                           Final Total: 82,923.02

Further moved to authorize the payment of the following auditor warrants: February 26, 2020 for $233,417.47, February 27, 2020 for $1,000, March 3, 2020 for $162,963.86, March 4, 2020 for $19,104.37.

Approval to Hire

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Cody Hasbargen, seconded by Commissioner Buck Nordlof and carried unanimously to authorize County Auditor/Treasurer, Lorene Hanson, to hire Connie Nesmith at grade 11, step 1, $20.33 per hour, points 253, and effective March, 23, 2020.

LAND AND WATER PLANNING

Conditional Use Permit

AT&T; Powder River Development Services LLC

Consideration of Conditional Use Permit #20-02CU by Powder River Development Services, LLC: the NE4NE4 Less Deeded; NW4NE4, Section Nine (9), Range One Hundred Fifty-eight (158) North, Range Thirty-one (31) West – Parcel ID#: 43.09.11.000. Applicant is requesting a Conditional Use Permit as required by Section 401-C of the Lake of the Woods County Zoning Ordinance, to operate a commercial communications tower in a Rural Residential District (R2).

No additional comments were heard from the public at this meeting. Land and Water Planning Director, Josh Stromlund, reviewed the Findings of Fact with the board and informed the board that the Planning Commission recommended approval with conditions. The specific conditions of approval are as follows: comply with FCC guidelines and rules governing communication towers, comply with FAA guidelines and rules governing communication towers.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Ed Arnesen, seconded by Commissioner Buck Nordlof and carried, as follows: In Favor: Commissioners: Ed Arnesen, Cody Hasbargen, Jon Waibel and Buck Nordlof; Against: Commissioner Joe Grund; to approve the Conditional Use Permit, with conditions as noted in the Findings of Fact, Powder River Development Services, LLC to operate a commercial communications tower in a Rural Residential District (R2).

Lake of the Woods County Board of Commissioners

Findings of Fact and Decision

Name of Applicant:  __AT&T; Powder River Development Services LLC  Date:  _March 10, 2020

Location/Legal Description:  The NE ¼ NE ¼  Less Deeded; NW ¼ NE ¼, Section Nine (9), Range One Hundred Fifty-eight (158) North, Range Thirty-one (31) West – Parcel ID#: 43.09.11.000­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­_____

Project Proposal:   A Conditional Use Permit, as required by Section 401-C of the Lake of the Woods County Zoning Ordinance operate a communications tower in a Rural-Residential District (R2). ____

1. Is the project proposal consistent with the Lake of the Woods County Comprehensive Land Use Plan?                                                                                                 YES (X) NO (  )  N/A (  )

Why or why not?  The Lake of the Woods County Board is clear about the type of values important to the county as it develops an approach to managing its land base over the next decade. While those values include a respect for the environment and a desire to maintain the environmental quality that now exists, they also include a desire for local control over the issues that affect the county’s land, and individual choice when it comes to issues of work and leisure. Technological capabilities are ever evolving and a communication tower in this location will expand the individual choice of where to work and recreate.

            Future Land Use Plan Goals

The construction of the communication tower will maintain the tax base of the county so quality services can be provided while providing for improved recreational opportunities for residents and visitors.

Future Land Use Policies

The construction of the communication tower will maintain the county government’s economic health through the maintenance of its tax base, and the promotion of compatible economic activity. It will enhance the tourism industry in Lake of the Woods County through recreational enhancement and promotion activities.

The goals and policies are focused on the county’s core values:  individual choice in the areas of work and leisure, local influence over land use polity that affects the county, balance between individual rights and the public’s welfare and between competing economic development and environmental interests.

2. Is the project proposal consistent with maintaining the public health, safety, and welfare?

YES (X)  NO (  )  N/A ( )

Why or why not?  A communication tower in this location will enhance public safety by allowing for better cell phone reception. This tower will be tied in the FirstNet network which is an initiative to deploy, operate, maintain, and improve the first high-speed nationwide wireless broadband network dedicated to public safety.

3.      Is the project proposal consistent with the goal of preventing and controlling water pollution, including sedimentation and nutrient loading?                                                                                    YES (  ) NO (  )  N/A (X)

Why or why not? ______________________________________________________

4.      Will the project proposal not adversely affect the site’s existing topography, drainage features, and vegetative cover?                                                                                                  YES (  )  NO (  )  N/A (X)

Why or why not? ______________________________________________________

5.      Is the project proposal’s site location reasonable in relation to any floodplain and/or floodway of rivers or tributaries?                                                                                                            YES (X)  NO (  )  N/A ( )

Why or why not?  The site is not location in the floodplain and/or floodway of the Rapid River.

6.      Has the erosion potential of the site based upon the degree and direction of slope, soil type and existing vegetative cover been adequately addressed for the project proposal?

                                                                                                                        YES (  )  NO (  )  N/A (X)

Why or why not? ______________________________________________________

7.      Is the site in harmony with existing and proposed access roads?                   YES (X)  NO (  )  N/A (  )

Why or why not?  Access to the site is off of County Road 84 (55^th Street SW).

8.      Is the project proposal compatible with adjacent land uses?             YES (X)  NO (  )  N/A (  )

Why or why not?  No change.

9.  Does the project proposal have a reasonable need to be in a shoreland location?

                                                                                                                        YES ( )  NO (  )  N/A (X)

Why or why not?  The location is not within the shoreland area of the Rapid River.

10.     Is the amount of liquid waste to be generated reasonable and the proposed sewage disposal system adequate to accommodate the project proposal?                                                      YES (  )  NO (  )  N/A (X)

Why or why not?  There will be no liquid waste generated and no sewage disposal system proposed.          

11.     Will the visibility of structures and other facilities as viewed from public waters comply with Section 901 of the Zoning Ordinance?                                                                                           YES (  )  NO (  )  N/A (X)

Why or why not?  The tower is not located within the shoreland area of the Rapid River.

12.     Is the site adequate for water supply and on-site sewage treatment systems?

                                                                                                                          YES (  )  NO (  )  N/A (X)

Why or why not?  Water supply and on-site sewage treatment system is not proposed.       

13.     Are the affected public waters suited to and able to safely accommodate the types, uses, and numbers of watercraft that the project proposal will generate?                                                        YES (  )  NO (  )  N/A (X)

Why or why not?  This project has no bearing on public waters.

14.     If the project proposal includes above ground or below ground storage tanks for petroleum or other hazardous material that is subject to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) requirements, has a permit been sought?                                                YES (  )  NO (  )  N/A (X)

Why or why not?  This project has no above or below ground storage tanks proposed.

15.     Will there be fencing and/or other screening provided to buffer the project proposal from adjacent properties?                                                                                                YES (X)  NO (  )  N/A ( )

Why or why not?    It is required under FCC regulations.

16.     If signage is associated with the project proposal, has the applicant demonstrated the need for the number and size requested, and minimized the visual appearance as viewed from adjacent properties to the extent possible?                                                                              YES (X)  NO (  )  N/A ( )

Why or why not?  It is required under FCC regulations.

17.     If the project proposal will generate additional traffic to or from the site, has the applicant adequately demonstrated how the additional traffic and parking is to be addressed?

                                                                                                     YES (X)  NO (  )  N/A ( )

Why or why not?  Traffic and/or parking will occur on-site. After construction is completed,

the additional traffic is considered minimal for routine maintenance.

If all answers to the Findings of Fact-Criteria are either “Yes” or are “Not Applicable” to the request, the criteria for granting the conditional use permit have been met. The conditional use permit will maintain the goals of safety, health, and general welfare of the public. 

The specific conditions of approval are as follows: 

1. Comply with FCC guidelines and rules governing communication towers.

2. Comply with FAA guidelines and rules governing communication towers.

Approved as Presented ( )                 Approved with Conditions  (X)                      Denied  (  )

            March 10, 2020                                               _____________________________________

                        Date                                                                             Jon Waibel

                                                                                                        Chair, County Board

This is in accordance with Section 1204 of the Lake of the Woods County Zoning Ordinance.

Conditional Use Permit

An additional conditional use permit to be presented today was tabled by the applicant until next month.

Preliminary Plat

Consideration of Preliminary Plat Common Interest Community #4 A Planned Community Eagle Ridge First Supplement: a 2.26-acre tract in the SE corner of Government Lot Eight (8), Section One (1), Township One Hundred Sixty-seven (167) North, Range Thirty-three (33) West (Oak Island). Applicant is requesting to create six tracts to accompany the existing Sportsman’s Eagle Ridge Common Interest Community #4 as lots for storage purposes only. No comments were heard from the public. Land and Water Planning Director, Josh Stromlund, informed the board that the Planning Commission recommended approval.  Final plat will be ready in May or June

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Cody Hasbargen, seconded by Commissioner Ed Arnesen and carried unanimously to approve the Consideration of Preliminary Plat Common Interest Community #4 A Planned Community Eagle Ridge First Supplement to create six tracts to accompany the existing Sportsman’s Eagle Ridge Common Interest Community #4 as lots for storage purposes only.

CITY OF BAUDETTE

Land Trade

Resolution

The following resolution was offered by Commissioner Buck Nordlof, seconded by Commissioner Cody Hasbargen and carried unanimously the following:

RESOLUTION APPROVING

LAND TRADE with CITY OF BAUDETTE

RESOLUTION NO. 20-03-01

WHEREAS; the Lake of the Woods County Board met on March 10, 2020;

WHEREAS; on said date it was unanimously approved by said board, to approve and authorize the sale of the real estate described below to the City of Baudette, a municipal corporation under the laws of the State of Minnesota;

NOW, THEREFORE, upon motion duly made, seconded and unanimously approved,

IT IS HEREBY RESOLVED, as follows:

1. That the County of Lake of the Woods, a municipal corporation under the laws of the State of Minnesota, shall sell to the City of Baudette, a municipal corporation under the laws of the State of Minnesota, for the sum of $1.00, real property located in the County of Lake of the Woods, State of Minnesota, described as follows:

Lot Six (6), Block Six (6), in Cathcart’s Addition, Village of Baudette, excepting the West 5 feet of said Lot:

2. That the Lake of the Woods County Board Chair and Lake of the Woods County Auditor are authorized to sign the Warranty Deed on behalf of the County of Lake of the Woods.

Dated this 10^th day of March, 2020.

AMEND AGENDA

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Buck Nordlof, seconded by Commissioner Cody Hasbargen and carried unanimously to approve the addition of an emergency closed session, per MN Statue 13D.05 Subd. 3B, Attorney/Client Privilege, to the agenda.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Cody Hasbargen, seconded by Commissioner Joe Grund and carried unanimously to close the regular meeting at 10:02 a.m. and open the closed session at 10:02 a.m., pursuant to MN Statute 13D.05 Subd 3B, pending or threatened litigation involving Lake of the Woods County Jail.  Members present were: Commissioners: Ed Arnesen, Cody Hasbargen, Joe Grund, Buck Nordlof and Jon Waibel, also present: County Attorney James Austad and County Sheriff Gary Fish.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Joe Grund, seconded by Commissioner Buck Nordlof and carried unanimously to close the closed session at 10:10 a.m. and open the regular meeting.

SHERIFF

Permanent Part-Time Position

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Cody Hasbargen, seconded by Commissioner Ed Arnesen and carried unanimously to approve a permanent part-time Deputy Sheriff position for the Sheriff Department at grade 12, points 282.

COUNTY HIGHWAY/LANDFILL

Part-Time Summer Workers

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Joe Grund, seconded by Commissioner Buck Nordlof and carried unanimously to approve the County Highway Department to advertise, interview and hire part-time summer workers – seasonal equipment operators, temp engineer technician and/or light equip operators.

Summer Rental of Mini-Excavator

County Engineer, AJ Pirkl, discussed the possibility of renting a mini-excavator for four months to clean culverts.

Highway Update

AJ Pirkl, County Engineer, provided the County Highway Update.  Road restrictions will go on Friday, 3/13/2020.  Working on cleaning JD24 and then will go to JD16.  Getting quotes on sprayers.  Bids went out for JD28/Golf Course, bid opening will be April 1^st.  Bids going out for sealcoating on Co Rd 3, 14, the school road and school parking lot.

Landfill Update

AJ Pirkl, County Engineer, provided the County Landfill Update.  A down payment was made on a 2012 Freightliner, looking into warranty options. The cost will be closer to $35,000, if the warranty is included.  It was the consensus of the board to purchase the warranty as well.

Landfill Work Session

A new agreement with MPCA would allow the landfill to expand to the North, providing an additional 21,000 cubic yards of waste space, getting the landfill to the year 2027.  New wells and test probes will bring the ground water evaluation cost to about $76,000. 

The County is currently hauling 325 tons of solid waste per year from the North West Angle, with an all-in-cost of about $320 per ton to haul.  If the hauling destination could change to Steinbach, Manitoba, it could result in 10% savings to the budget.

Tons of solid waste per year at the Graceton landfill is at 3,200, with an all-in cost of about $230 a ton to haul.

A University of Minnesota student will be researching the effects of tourism to communities’ solid waste, emergency management and public safety resources. Lake of the Woods County will be included in this project.

Due to the amount of garbage that came in this January and February, the Landfill is currently over budget.

The County will do a comparison on landfill solid waste costs with Koochiching County.

DNR AREA WILDLIFE MANAGERS UPDATE

DNR Area Wildlife Managers, Scott Laudenslager and Gretchen Mehmel, provided an update on the deer harvest, bear harvest and recent habitat accomplishments.

CORRESPONDENCE

The board reviewed correspondence from the United States Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service.

RECESS

With no further business before the board, Chairman Jon Waibel called the meeting to recess at 12:04 p.m.

Attest:                                                                                      March 24, 2020

_____________________________                          _________________________________County Auditor/Treasurer, Lorene Hanson                    Chairman of the Board, Jon Waibel

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Commissioner Proceedings

March 16, 2020

The Lake of the Woods County Board of Commissioners met for an emergency meeting on Monday, March 16, 2020 at Lake of the Woods County Government Center in the Commissioners’ Room.

CALL TO ORDER

Chair Jon Waibel called the meeting to order at 10:30 a.m. and the Pledge of Allegiance was recited with the following members present: Commissioners: Joe Grund, Jon Waibel, Buck Nordlof, Cody Hasbargen, Ed Arnesen. Also present were: County Personnel: Lorene Hanson, Susan Ney, Gary Fish, Mary Jo Otten, James Austad, Amy Ballard, AJ Pirkl, Josh Stromlund, Peder Hovland, Savanna Slick, Jill Hasbargen-Olson, Ted Furbish, Sandy Peterson, Craig Severs, Jodi Ferrier and Angie Eason; and Mike Hovde.

APPROVAL OF AGENDA

Motion
Motion was made by Commissioner Cody Hasbargen, seconded by Commissioner Buck Nordlof and carried unanimously to approve the agenda.

COVID-19 Lake of the Woods County Emergency Plan

Jill Hasbargen-Olson, Lake of the Woods County Emergency Manager, provided a pandemic response plan and asked the board to review, update and identify indicators of when certain services would close. 

The County will continue to monitor the Governor’s recommendations.

Peder Hovland, MIS Director, shared that there are computers with VPN access available for staff who would need to work remotely.

Increased cleaning procedures and the availability of cleaning supplies for County facilities was discussed.

The board and department heads discussed functions/procedures that could continue with limited or no physical contact.  Possible limitations to be set by the court system were also discussed. The Commissioners’ Room is now closed to outside groups until further notice.

The board asked each department to submit a reduced staffing plan by Wednesday.

Plans for upcoming meetings will need to be made with some commissioners attending physically and others remotely with the use of phone or web conferencing.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Joe Grund, seconded by Commissioner Cody Hasbargen and carried unanimously to limit all non-essential travel and meetings for County Employees until further notice.

If County Employees are sick, they should stay home.

A listing of contact information and services available from County Departments will be provided to the newspaper and posted on the Government Center’s Public Entrances to encourage customers to conduct business by phone or online when possible.

A COVID-19 Emergency Planning Meeting will be held in the Commissioners’ Room at 9:00 a.m. on Friday, March 20, 2020.

RECESS

With no further business before the board, Chairman Jon Waibel called the meeting to recess at 11:30 a.m.

Attest:                                                                                      March 20, 2020

__________________________________                            _________________________________County Auditor/Treasurer, Lorene Hanson                                Chairman of the Board, Jon Waibel

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Commissioner Proceedings

March 20, 2020

The Lake of the Woods County Board of Commissioners met for a special meeting on Friday, March 20, 2020 at Lake of the Woods County Government Center in the Commissioners’ Room.

CALL TO ORDER

Chair Jon Waibel called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. and the Pledge of Allegiance was recited with the following members present: Commissioners: Joe Grund, Jon Waibel, Buck Nordlof, Cody Hasbargen, Ed Arnesen (by conference call). Also present were: County Auditor/Treasurer Lorene Hanson, County Attorney James Austad and Mike Hovde.

APPROVAL OF AGENDA

Motion was made by Commissioner Buck Nordlof, seconded by Commissioner Joe Grund and carried unanimously by those present and by Commissioner Ed Arnesen by phone to approve the agenda.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

Motion was made by Commissioner Buck Nordlof, seconded by Commissioner Cody Hasbargen and carried unanimously by those present and by Commissioner Ed Arnesen by phone to approve the minutes from the March 16, 2020 Emergency Meeting.

CHI LAKEWOOD HEALTH

Kay M. Schell, CHI LakeWood Health Public Health Manager, and Jenny Loughery, CHI LakeWood Health Infection Control and Employee Health Coordinator, met with the board, while Jeff Stamophar, CHI LakeWood Health Vice-President of Hospital Operations, attended via conference call.  Schell gave an update pertaining to public health, Loughery and Stampohar provided information regarding hospital preparedness.

DECLARATION OF EMERGENCY

Resolution

The following resolution was offered by Commissioner Cody Hasbargen, seconded by Commissioner Buck Nordlof and carried unanimously by those present and by Commissioner Ed Arnesen by phone the following:

RESOLUTION

DECLARATION OF EMERGENCY

COVID-19

RESOLUTION NO. 20-03-02

WHEREAS; the COVID-19 Pandemic Virus will impact the population of Lake of the Woods County and its Cities due to the significant disruption of public services to include School Closures, Day Cares, Public Health Services and other services essential to the health and wellbeing of the citizens of Lake of the Woods County; and

WHEREAS; the World Health Organization has declared a global pandemic is occurring as the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) has spread across the United States and Minnesota; and

WHEREAS; additional resources may need to be requested and/or reassigned to meet community needs; and

WHEREAS; the daily operations of county government are anticipated to be impacted to comply with Minnesota Department of Health and Center for Disease Control recommendation to minimize the spread of COVID-19; and

WHEREAS; the President of the United States has declared a National Emergency enacting the Stafford Act and the Governor of Minnesota has declared a Peacetime State of Emergency; and

WHEREAS; Lake of the Woods County Emergency Management requests the Lake of the Woods County Board of Commissioners to declare Lake of the Woods County in a State of Emergency for the response to the COVID-19 crisis.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Lake of the Woods County Board of Commissioners hereby declares Lake of the Woods County in a State of Emergency for the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency effective March 16, 2020.

COURTHOUSE CLOSURE TO PUBLIC

Resolution

The following resolution was offered by Commissioner Buck Nordlof, seconded by Commissioner Cody Hasbargen and carried unanimously by those present and by Commissioner Ed Arnesen by phone the following:

RESOLUTION

TEMPORARY CLOSING DOORS TO PUBLIC

COVID-19

RESOLUTION NO. 20-03-03

WHEREAS; the COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019) Pandemic Virus will impact the population of Lake of the Woods County and its Cities due to the significant disruption of public services to include School Closures, Day Cares, Public Health Services and other services essential to the health and wellbeing of the citizens of Lake of the Woods County; and

WHEREAS; the World Health Organization has declared a global pandemic is occurring as the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) has spread across the United States and Minnesota; and

WHEREAS; the daily operations of county government are anticipated to be impacted to comply with Minnesota Department of Health and Center for Disease Control (CDC) recommendation to minimize the spread of COVID-19; and

WHEREAS; the Lake of the Woods County Board of Commissioners have deemed it to be in the best interest of the County of Lake of the Woods and its residents that action be taken to protect the general public as well as County Employees.

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Lake of the Woods County Board of Commissioners hereby declares all Lake of the Woods County buildings and facilities temporarily closed to the public effective Monday, March 23, 2020 until further notice, except for the Graceton Landfill, which will have controlled, limited access for household garbage only.

FURTHER BE IT RESOLVED, that although the buildings and facilities will be closed to the public, the Lake of the Woods County services and operations will continue to be provided to the community through phone, email and on-line services.

DMV/Driver’s License

It was noted the required documentation would be sent to the state regarding the availability of motor vehicle and driver’s license services.

COVID-19 DISCUSSION

Employees-Staggered Time

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Joe Grund, seconded by Commissioner Buck Nordlof and carried unanimously by those present and by Commissioner Ed Arnesen by phone that during the COVID-19 temporary close of County Buildings and Facilities and on behalf of the Lake of the Woods County Board of Commissioners; all County Employees will be directed/scheduled by their respectful  Department Heads, to follow the Minnesota Department of Health and Center for Disease Control (CDC)  and stagger their schedules accordingly to limit their contact with the public and fellow employees; retro-active to  Monday, March 16, 2020 until further notice. 

Employees Sick/Stay Home

Motion
Motion was made by Commissioner Buck Nordlof, seconded by Commissioner Cody Hasbargen and carried unanimously by those present and by Commissioner Ed Arnesen by phone that employees following the COVID-19 temporary closure of County Buildings and Facilities and the staggering of schedules, will be paid at their regular rate of pay.

OTHER LOCAL IMPACT

There is a concern with tourism.  Commissioner Ed Arnesen will speak with Lake of the Woods Tourism Director, Joe Henry.  Commissioner Skoe from Koochiching County would like to have a discussion regarding spring fishing during the next board meeting.  The board requested this to be added to the next regular board meeting Tuesday, March 24, 2020.

RECESS

With no further business before the board, Chairman Jon Waibel called the meeting to recess at 11:05 a.m.

Attest:                                                                                      March 24, 2020

__________________________________                            _________________________________County Auditor/Treasurer, Lorene Hanson                                Chairman of the Board, Jon Waibel

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Commissioner Proceedings

March 24, 2020

The Lake of the Woods County Board of Commissioners met in regular session on Tuesday, March 24 2020 at Lake of the Woods County Government Center in the Commissioners’ Room.

CALL TO ORDER

Chair Jon Waibel called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. and the Pledge of Allegiance was recited with the following members present: Commissioners: Joe Grund, Jon Waibel, Buck Nordlof, Cody Hasbargen and Ed Arnesen. Also present were: County Auditor/Treasurer Lorene Hanson, County Attorney James Austad, Jaime Boretski-LaValla and Mike Hovde.

APPROVAL OF AGENDA

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Joe Grund, seconded by Commissioner Cody Hasbargen and carried unanimously to approve the agenda with the following additions: Legislation pertaining to the Law Enforcement Center, MIS to provide update on computers and additional call-in numbers for today’s meeting.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Ed Arnesen, seconded by Commissioner Buck Nordlof and carried unanimously to approve the official and summarized minutes of March 10, 2020.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Cody Hasbargen, seconded by Commissioner Buck Nordlof and carried unanimously to approve the official minutes of March 20, 2020.

SOCIAL SERVICES

Claims

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Joe Grund, seconded by Commissioner Buck Nordlof and carried unanimously to approve the following claims: Commissioners Warrant’s $4,187.68, Commissioners Warrant’s $1,940.26, Commissioners Warrant’s $37,042.54.

Sanford Thief River Falls Contract

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Buck Nordlof, seconded by Commissioner Cody Hasbargen and carried unanimously to approve the purchase of service contract with Sanford Health Network North dba Sanford Behavioral Health Center and for Commissioner Jon Waibel to sign the same.

AUDITOR/TREASURER

Claims

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Joe Grund, seconded by Commissioner Cody Hasbargen and carried unanimously to approve the claims against the County as follows: Revenue $58,930.30; Road & Bridge $10,145.61; County Development $500.00; Natural Resource Enhancement $2,400.00; Solid Waste $20,647.58; EDA $765.33.

WARRANTS FOR PUBLICATION

Warrants Approved On 3/24/2020 For Payment 3/27/2020

Vendor Name                                        Amount

Cenex Co-Op Services, Inc.                                    8,593.81

Code 4 Services,Inc                                              10,942.25

Compudyne, Inc                                                     12,500.00

Counties Providing Technology                               3,751.00

Election Systems & Software, Inc                           2,344.90

Grant’s Mechanical                                                  2,247.73

Holen Electric                                                           7,200.00

Mar-Kit Landfill                                                       13,237.00

Minnesota Secretary Of State                                 3,942.50

Northland Business Systems                                  3,164.77

Widseth Smith Nolting&Asst Inc                               2,400.00

Woody’s Service                                                     2,435.67

9 Payments less than 2000                                     20,629.19

Final Total: 93,388.82

Further moved to authorize the payment of the following auditor warrants: March 11, 2020 for $149,684.40, March 11, 2020 for $27,674.

Bank Signature Cards

Wells Fargo Signature Cards

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Ed Arnesen, seconded by Commissioner Buck Nordlof and carried unanimously to authorize County Auditor/Treasurer Lorene Hanson, Deputy Auditor/Treasurer Stacy Novak, and Chair Jon Waibel to sign the Wells Fargo signature card for account numbers 3908, 6724, 5716, 6372 and 3100 and to remove Deputy Auditor/Treasurer Dawn Christianson from the accounts effective 4/01/2020.

River Wood Bank Signature Cards

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Ed Arnesen, seconded by Commissioner Buck Nordlof and carried unanimously to authorize County Auditor/Treasurer Lorene Hanson, Deputy Auditor/Treasurer Stacy Novak, and Chair Jon Waibel to sign the River Wood Bank signature card and to remove Deputy Auditor/Treasurer Dawn Christianson from the account effective 4/01/2020.

Border State Bank Signature Cards

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Ed Arnesen, seconded by Commissioner Buck Nordlof and carried unanimously to authorize County Auditor/Treasurer Lorene Hanson, Deputy Auditor/Treasurer Stacy Novak, and Chair Jon Waibel to sign the Border State Bank signature card for account number 2404 and to remove Deputy Auditor/Treasurer Dawn Christianson from the account effective 4/01/2020.

Wells Fargo Motor Vehicle Checking Account

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Cody Hasbargen, seconded by Commissioner Buck Nordlof and carried unanimously to authorize County Auditor/Treasurer Lorene Hanson, Deputy Auditor/Treasurer Erik Tange, Deputy Auditor/Treasurer Jaime Boretski-LaValla and Deputy Auditor/Treasurer Connie Nesmith for account number 5502 effective 04/01/2020.

Dawn Christianson Retirement – Years of Service Resolution

Resolution

Year of Service Recognition

The following resolution was offered by Commissioner Jon Waibel and moved for adoption:

RECOGNITION OF YEARS OF SERVICE

Dawn Christianson

RESOLUTION 2020-03-04

 Whereas:  Dawn Christianson has served the residents of Lake of the Woods County since March 31, 1986 as Lake of the Woods County Deputy Auditor/Treasurer;

Whereas:  Dawn has resigned from Lake of the Woods County service effective March 31, 2020 with thirty-four years of service;

Now Therefore, Be it Resolved:  That Lake of the Woods County Board of Commissioners extends its deepest appreciation to Dawn for her dedicated service and best wishes to her;

The resolution was seconded by Commissioner Ed Arnesen and the same being put to a vote, was unanimously carried.

LAND AND WATER PLANNING

Approval of Feedlot Annual Report

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Joe Grund, seconded by Commissioner Cody Hasbargen and carried unanimously to approve the 2019 County Feedlot Officer Annual Report.

COUNTY HIGHWAY/LANDFILL

RFP for Soil Borings

AJ Pirkl, County Engineer, requested permission to send out an RFP for soil borings on upcoming projects, looking at approximately 120 soil borings, most at 5 to 6 feet deep. It was the consensus of the Board to proceed with the RFP for soil borings.

SEH Contract for Landfill Permit

AJ Pirkl, County Engineer, informed the Board that the cost for the new landfill permit will be $37,000.  It was the consensus of the Board to proceed.

MNDOT Detour Agreement

Resolution

The following resolution was offered by Commissioner Cody Hasbargen seconded by Commissioner Buck Nordlof and carried unanimously the following:

RESOLUTION APPROVING

MnDOT DETOUR AGREEMENT No 1036553

RESOLUTION NO. 20-03-05

IT IS RESOLVED, that Lake of the Woods County enter into MnDOT Agreement No. 1036553 with the State of Minnesota, Department of Transportation (MnDOT) for the following purposes:

To provide for payment by the State to the County for the use of County State Aid Highway No. 6, County State Aid Highway No. 8, and County State Aid Highway No. 2 as a detour route during the construction to be performed upon, along and adjacent to Trunk Highway No. 172 from the junction with Trunk Highway No 11 to Wheelers Point under State Project No. 3904-24 (Trunk Highway 172=140).

IT IS FURTHER RESOLVED, that the County Board Chair Jon Waibel and the County Auditor/Treasurer Lorene Hanson are authorized to execute the Agreement and any amendments to the Agreement.

Highway Update

AJ Pirkl, County Engineer, discussed options to invest state aid and construction budget dollars. It was determined that dollars from the construction budget may be the better option to invest.  It was the consensus of the board to invest construction budget dollars with interest earned to be kept in the County Highway Budget.  Plans were submitted for the 1^st Ave project.  A concern was brought to the Board regarding Ditch 1, the area in question is a private culvert and is not County owned.

RECESS

The Board took a brief recess and reconvened the meeting at 9:55 a.m.

SPRING FISHING DISCUSSION WITH KOOCHICHING COUNTY

Commissioners from Koochiching and Lake of the Woods Counties met, by conference call, to discuss concerns raised by constituents regarding COVID-19 and spring fishing.    

Motion
Motion was made by Commissioner Cody Hasbargen, seconded by Commissioner Joe Grund and carried unanimously to close all County controlled Right of Ways that provide access along the Rainy River effective Tuesday, March 24, 2020 until further notice.

COVID-19 UPDATE

Jill Hasbargen-Olson, Emergency Management Director, provided an update.

• First Lutheran Church in Baudette will coordinate volunteers to help those in need
• Emergency plans are being reviewed with mortuary services in Roseau
• ICS classes are required for federal reimbursement
• Conducting testing of Code Red messaging system
• Reaching out to the NWA to assist them in emergency planning
• A minimal amount of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is available for law enforcement
• No confirmed cases in Lake of the Woods County
• Exposure could be 14 days and 14-17 days for symptoms to begin, while the person is contagious the entire time
• Prepare for a shelter-in-place order from the Governor

UPDATE ON COUNTY COMPUTERS

Peder Hovland, MIS Director, provided an update on computers for employees, who are needing to work from home due to COVID-19.  New, already imaged, computers are being shipped and should be here tomorrow.  Also discussed using WebEx for future board meetings.

LEGISLATION PERTAINING TO PROPOSED LAW ENFORCEMENT CENTER

The Board discussed the timeliness of the proposed local sales tax given the current situation with COVID-19.   The local sales tax request for the proposed Law Enforcement Center is expected to be on the legislative docket for April 14^th.

RECESS

With no further business before the board, Chairman Jon Waibel called the meeting to recess at 11:50 a.m.

Attest:                                                                                      April 14, 2020

_____________________________                          _________________________________County Auditor/Treasurer, Lorene Hanson                    Chairman of the Board, Jon Waibel

=============================================================================================================================================================================================================================================

Commissioner Proceedings

March 31, 2020

The Lake of the Woods County Board of Commissioners met for a special meeting on Tuesday, March 31, 2020 at Lake of the Woods County Government Center in the Commissioners’ Room.

CALL TO ORDER

Chair Jon Waibel called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. and the Pledge of Allegiance was recited with the following members present: Commissioners: Jon Waibel, Buck Nordlof, and Cody Hasbargen.  Present by phone were: Commissioners: Joe Grund and Ed Arnesen.  Also present were: County Auditor/Treasurer Lorene Hanson, County Attorney James Austad, County Emergency Management Director Jill Hasbargen-Olson, County Sheriff Gary Fish and Mike Hovde.

APPROVAL OF AGENDA

Motion was made by Commissioner Buck Nordlof, seconded by Commissioner Cody Hasbargen and carried unanimously by roll call to approve the agenda. For: Commissioner: Ed Arnesen, Joe Grund, Cody Hasbargen, Buck Nordlof and Jon Waibel; Against: None

COVID-19 UPDATE

County Emergency Management Update

Jill Hasbargen-Olson, Emergency Management Director, provided an update.

• Working on a memorandum of understanding with local lodging facilities: Walleye Inn, Walleye Retreat and Baudette Motel. These lodging facilities could be used by individuals who need to quarantine or for hospital overflow, if a need was to arise.
• The old arena can be used as a designated area to screen/test for COVID-19.
• If extra hospital beds are needed, 27 cots are available.
• Working on transportation plans with Helgeson Funeral Homes.
• No confirmed cases in Lake of the Woods County.

County Human Resources Update

Savanna Slick, Human Resources Director, presented a Lake of the Woods County Public Health Emergency-COVID-19 Employee Quarantine Policy for approval. Slick also talked about the Families First Coronavirus Response Act and benefits it offers to employees impacted by COVID-19.  Slick will provide a tracking resource to the various department timekeepers to share with staff. Employees should be tracking activities affected by the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency.

Motion
Motion was made by Commissioner Buck Nordlof, seconded by Commissioner Cody Hasbargen and carried unanimously by roll call to approve the Lake of the Woods County Public Health Emergency- COVID-19 Employee Quarantine Policy. For: Commissioner: Ed Arnesen, Joe Grund, Cody Hasbargen, Buck Nordlof and Jon Waibel; Against: None

Other

Motor Vehicle Services offered at the County will be unavailable starting on Monday, March 30, due to the shelter-in-place order. 

County Attorney James Austad said that court cases will continue with safety precautions in place.  A public line will be available to call into the hearings.

Board members are hearing concerns and questions from constituents about the Wheelers Point access.  Community based recreation is allowed during the shelter-in-place order, but not all people define “local” the same way.

OTHER AREAS OF CONCERN

Proposed Law Enforcement Center

In discussions with Representative Matt Grossell regarding the local sales tax for the proposed Law Enforcement Center.  With the current public health emergency, there is concern among the Board that it may not be a good time for the local sales tax to be on the ballot. Representative Grossell suggested that the Board write a letter to the legislators, governor and the Department of Corrections to see if there are options to extend the timeline for the proposed Law Enforcement Center.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Ed Arnesen, seconded by Commissioner Cody Hasbargen and carried unanimously by roll call to approve writing a letter to the legislators, governor and the Department of Corrections to see if there are options to extend the timeline for the proposed Law Enforcement Center. For: Commissioner: Ed Arnesen, Joe Grund, Cody Hasbargen, Buck Nordlof and Jon Waibel; Against: None

RECESS

With no further business before the board, Chairman Jon Waibel called the meeting to recess at 10:05 a.m.

Attest:                                                                          April 14, 2020

__________________________________                            _________________________________

County Auditor/Treasurer, Lorene Hanson                                Chairman of the Board, Jon Waibel

Commissioner Proceedings

March 12, 2019

The Lake of the Woods County Board of Commissioners met in regular session on Tuesday, March 12, 2019 at Lake of the Woods County Government Center in the Commissioners’ Room.

Call to Order

Chairman Hasbargen called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. and the Pledge of Allegiance was recited with the following members present: Commissioners: Joe Grund, Cody Hasbargen, Jon Waibel, Buck Nordlof and Ed Arnesen. Also, present were: County Auditor/Treasurer Lorene Hanson and Deputy Auditor/Treasurer Janet Rudd.

Approval of Agenda

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Waibel, seconded by Commissioner Nordlof and carried unanimously to approve the agenda with the following addition- Lost Warrant, Legislative Update, Approval for Job Descriptions, County Road 172, Remonumentation Fund and NWA Park.  

Approval of Minutes

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Arnesen, seconded by Commissioner Grund and carried unanimously to approve the official and summarized minutes of February 26, 2019.

SOCIAL SERVICES

Social Services Director, Amy Ballard met with the board requesting approval for claims.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Nordlof, seconded by Commissioner Waibel and carried unanimously to approve the following claims: Commissioners Warrant’s $10,113.32, Commissioners Warrant’s $1,500.70, Commissioners Warrant’s $12,644.76.

AUDITOR/TREASURER

County Auditor/Treasurer, Lorene Hanson met with the board requesting approval of claims, lost warrant, approval for Job Descriptions.

Claims

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Waibel, seconded by Commissioner Arnesen and carried unanimously to approve the claims against the County as follows: Revenue $114,692.85, Road & Bridge $19,678.84, County Devel.$200.00 , Solid Waste, 42,122.32,  Joint Dich $7,023.58, EDA, $1,186.48.

WARRANTS FOR PUBLICATION

Warrants Approved On 3/12/2019 For Payment 3/15/2019

Vendor Name                                                    Amount

BAYCOM, INC.                                                               4,213.00

Cenbion, LLC                                                                19,875.68

Cenex Co-Op Services, Inc.                                        11,876.88

Counties Providing Technology                                      3,570.00

Howard’s Oil Company                                                  4,443.75

LOW Highway Dept                                                       6,197.13

Mar-Kit Landfill                                                             14,470.00

Mn State Dept-Correction                                             17,944.55

Northern Light Region                                                    3,044.63

R & Q Trucking, Inc                                                        2,575.00

Ranger GM                                                                   53,714.00

Roseau County Treasurer                                             7,023.58

Woody’s Service                                                            7,241.00

Ziegler, Inc                                                                     3,473.14

52 Payments less than 2000  25,241.73

Final Total: 184,904.07

Further moved to authorize the payment of the following auditor warrants: February 27, 2019 – $13,732.58- March 5, 2019- $157,037.15- March 6, 2019- $33,165.10.

Job Descriptions

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Arnesen, seconded by Commissioner Nordlof, and carried unanimously to approve the revised Job Description for Deputy Auditor/Treasurer-License Clerk-Board Admin at grade 11, points 253.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Waibel, seconded by Commissioner Grund and carried unanimously to approve the revised Job Description for Deputy Auditor/Treasurer- License Supervisor-Election at grade 12, points 267.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Nordlof, seconded by Commissioner Waibel and carried unanimously to transition Erik Tange to the position of Deputy Auditor/Treasurer -License Supervisor- Elections at grade 12, points 267, $22.02 per hour effective June 1, 2019.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Arnesen, seconded by Commissioner Nordlof and carried unanimously to authorize County Auditor/Treasure, Lorene Hanson and Human Resource Director, Savanna Slick to advertise, interview and hire Deputy Auditor/Treasurer at grade 11, step 1, $19.93 per hour, points 253.

Lost Warrants

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Nordlof, seconded by Waibel and carried unanimously to approve the application and affidavit for lost warrants for State of Minnesota, dated July 27, 2018 for $415.00 without furnishing indemnifying bond.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Arnesen, seconded by Nordlof and carried unanimously to approve the application and affidavit for lost warrants for Jon Waibel, dated December 12, 2018 for $354.25 without furnishing indemnifying bond with Commissioner Waibel abstaining from voting.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Waibel, seconded by Nordlof and carried unanimously to approve the application and affidavit for lost warrants for James Austad, dated June 15, 2018 for $17.55 without furnishing indemnifying bond.

Legislative Audit

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Arnesen, seconded by Commissioner Nordlof and carried unanimously to support the following new language for Minnesota Statutes, section 6.56, the State Auditor must not bill or collect any outstanding amounts due, including interest, on any bill already issued for the cost of a supplemental calendar year audit for 2015  audit required by the auditor in the following counties: Clearwater, Hubbard, Kittson, Koochiching, Lake of the Woods, Pennington, Red Lake and Roseau and in addition, for the supplemental calendar year audit for 2016 for Lake of the Woods County.

(b) The commissioner of management and budget must refund any amounts, including interest, paid by a county for a supplemental audit subject to this section. Amounts necessary to make the refunds are appropriated in fiscal year 2019 from the general fund to the commissioner of management and budget for that purpose. This is a onetime appropriation.

(c) The commissioner must issue a refund within 30 days of documentation from a county verifying all amounts paid to the state auditor for the supplemental audit.

PUBLIC WORKS

Public Works Director, Tim Erickson met with the board to review Border to Border Trails which was presented to the board by DNR on February 12th.

Resolution

The following resolution was offered by Commissioner Arnesen, seconded by Commissioner Grund and carried unanimously to approve the following Resolution:

Lake of the Woods County

Resolution No. 19-03-01

Border to Border Touring Route Project

WHEREAS, Lake of the Woods County Board of Commissioners serve as the Road Authority for all County and Township road maintenance in Lake of the Woods County, and

WHEREAS, the session law from 2015 from the Minnesota Legislature mandated the Department of Natural Resources to develop a Border to Border Touring Route project “in northern Minnesota to work in conjunction with the Minnesota Four-Wheel Drive Association to address off-road vehicle touring routes”, and

WHEREAS, this project was conceived by the members of the Minnesota 4-Wheel Drive Association (MN4WDA) and they are a citizen lead, non-profit organization dedicated to creating new recreational opportunities for off-road vehicles and educating the public about safe and sustainable motorized recreation, and

WHEREAS, the proposed Border to Border Touring Route will cross the entire state of Minnesota from the North Dakota border to the shores of Lake Superior, and

WHEREAS, the Border to Border Touring Route project crosses Lake of the Woods County on various State, County and Township roads.

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Lake of the Woods Board of Commissioners supports development of the Border to Border Touring Route project.

County Road 172

Commissioner Grund discussed County Road 172 informing Tim that a constituent called with concerns of flooding due to culvert issues. Tim informed the board that he will call the constituent with their concern.

Badger Road

The board discussed concerns of Badger road.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Arnesen, and seconded by Commissioner Nordlof to authorize Public Works Director, Tim Erickson to take care of drainage and bill developer for the culverts with a road maintenance classification of C. Voting For- Commissioners Hasbargen, Grund, Arnesen and Nordlof, Abstained-Commissioner Waibel. Motion passes.

Newly Hired

Public Works Director, Tim Erickson informed the board that Jeff Otto was hired as a Heavy Equipment Operator Effective March 25, 2019 at grade 11, step 1, points 265 and $19.93 per hour.

Recess

The meeting was called to recess at 10:15 a.m. and reconvened at10:20 a.m.as follows:

MIS DIRECTOR

MIS Director Peder Hovland met with the board to discuss the VM Assessments and Servers which need to be updated.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Waibel, seconded by Commissioner Nordlof and carried unanimously to approve the upgrade in the amount of $35,000 with $6,000 from the Enhancement Technology Fund and the remainder from the MIS technology fund.

LAND AND WATER PLANNING

Land and Water Planning Director, Josh Stromlund met with the board to discuss the process for county review of deeds or other instrument conveying of a parcel of land for transfer or division for conformity with the county’s land use regulations before the recording of deeds. Josh also discussed a request of funds from the remonumentation fund which is outside of the remonumentation boundary in Swift township. Josh will draw up a proposal and bring back to the board.

Resolution

The following resolution was offered by Commissioner Waibel, seconded by Commissioner Nordlof and carried unanimously to approve the following resolution:

A RESOLUTION REQUIRING COUNTY REVIEW OF A DEED OR OTHER INSTRUMENT CONVEYING A PARCEL OF LAND FOR TRANSFER OR DIVISION FOR CONFORMITY WITH THE COUNTY’S LAND USE REGULATIONS

Lake of the Woods County

Resolution #19-03-02

WHEREAS, Minnesota Statute § 272.162 specifies the conditions when a local government may restrict parcel transfers or land divisions; and

WHEREAS, the 90^th Legislature adopted Chapter 1 in the 2017 First Special Session, amending Minnesota Statute § 272.162; and

WHEREAS, the amended Minnesota Statute § 272.162 authorizes a county to review a deed or other instrument conveying a parcel of land for transfer or division before it is recorded, ensuring conformity with the county’s land use regulations; and

WHEREAS, a county’s review of a proposed land transfer or division will protect landowners from problems arising from property splits not compliant with zoning regulations or inaccurate parcel descriptions; and

WHEREAS, a county must choose to assume the authority to review deeds or other instruments conveying parcels of land for transfer or division; and

WHEREAS, the effective date of this Resolution shall be May 1, 2019, which will allow sufficient time for proper notification to certain parties; and

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, Lake of the Woods County requires the review of a deed or other instrument conveying a parcel of land for transfer or division for conformity with the county’s land use regulations before the county transfers or divides the land or its net tax capacity in the official records.

COUNTY ASSESSOR

County Assessor, Mary Jo Otten met with the board requesting a county issued Credit Card and Cell phone stipend for County Assessor Trainee, Tyler Swanson.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Nordlof, seconded by Commissioner Arnesen and carried unanimously to approve a county issued credit card to Tyler Swanson with a limit of $1,500.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Waibel, seconded by Commissioner Grund and carried unanimously to approve a cell phone stipend for Tyler Swanson in the amount of $60.00 per month, effective April 1, 2019.

DNR

Baudette Area Wildlife Supervisor Scott Laudenslager, Red Lake Area Wildlife Manager Gretchen Mehmel met with the board and reviewed the past accomplishments and current projects in Lake of the Woods County.

PAUL BUNYAN TRANSIT

Paul Bunyan Transit, Executive Director, Lezlie Grubich and Operations Manager/Safety Coordinator, LuAnn Bleiler met with the board to thank them for the help of purchasing the new bus and to inform them that they found another driver for the area so they are in the process of expanding services out to Williams area and other possible transportation in the area. LuAnn informed the board that they will be advertising when the expansion service becomes available.

Northerly Park

The board discussed the Northerly Park and the proposed plan for a Visitor Center/Store.

RECESS

With no further business before the board, Chairman Hasbargen called the meeting to recess at 12:10 p.m.

Attest:                                                                                      March 26, 2019

__________________________________                            _________________________________County Auditor/Treasurer, Lorene Hanson                                Chairman of the Board, Cody Hasbargen

========================================================================================================================================================================================

Commissioner Proceedings

March 26, 2019

The Lake of the Woods County Board of Commissioners met in regular session on Tuesday, March 26, 2019 at Lake of the Woods County Government Center in the Commissioners’ Room.

Call to Order

Vice-Chairman Waibel called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. and the Pledge of Allegiance was recited with the following members present: Commissioners: Joe Grund, Jon Waibel and Buck Nordlof. Absent; Cody Hasbargen and Ed Arnesen. Also, present were: County Auditor/Treasurer Lorene Hanson, Deputy Auditor/Treasurer Janet Rudd and Woody Filia.

Approval of Agenda

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Nordlof, seconded by Commissioner Grund and carried unanimously to approve the agenda with the following addition- Lost Warrant and 911- Dispatch Position. Remove- Golden Gopher Drive.  

Approval of Minutes

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Grund, seconded by Commissioner Nordlof and carried unanimously to approve the official and summarized minutes of March 12, 2019.

SOCIAL SERVICES

Social Services Financial Officer, Christine Hultman met with the board requesting approval for claims.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Grund, seconded by Commissioner Nordlof and carried unanimously to approve the following claims: Commissioners Warrant’s $4,739.31, Commissioners Warrant’s $1,5811.81, Commissioners Warrant’s $21,984.21.

AUDITOR/TREASURER

County Auditor/Treasurer, Lorene Hanson met with the board requesting approval of claims, lost warrant and fair donation.

Claims

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Nordlof, seconded by Commissioner Grund and carried unanimously to approve the claims against the County as follows: Revenue $21,081.42, Road & Bridge $238,318.95, Forfeited Tax. $1,536.43, EDA, $630.77.

WARRANTS FOR PUBLICATION

Warrants Approved On 3/26/2019 For Payment 3/29/2019

Vendor Name                                        Amount

Cenex Co-Op Services, Inc.                                    8,906.84

Deputy Registrar No.75                                           7,641.09

I-State Truck Center                                             116,759.00

Pb Distributing Inc                                                    4,257.25

Towmaster                                                            93,953.00

52 Payments less than 2000 30,050.39

Final Total: 261,567.57

Further moved to authorize the payment of the following auditor warrants: March 13, 2019 – $134,702.49- March 14, 2019- ($415.00)- March 20, 2019- $1,074.85.

Lake of the Woods County Fair Association

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Nordlof, seconded by Commissioner Grund, and carried unanimously to approve the request of funds in the amount of $1,000.00 for Lake of the Woods Fair Association Rodeo for the 2019 Fair which will be held on July 17-20, with the funding from the Con-Con fund.

Lost Warrants

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Grund, seconded by Nordlof and carried unanimously to approve the application and affidavit for lost warrant for Kelsey Lancrain, dated September 28, 2018 for $82.72 without furnishing indemnifying bond.

PUBLIC WORKS

Public Works Director, Tim Erickson met with the board requesting authorization to call for bids, purchase pickup and advertise, interview and hire seasonal equipment operators and seasonal engineering technicians.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Nordlof, seconded by Commissioner Grund and carried unanimously to authorize Public Works Director, Tim Erickson to call for bids for SAP 039-601-032, SAP 039-603-024, SAP 039-606-018, and SAP 039-592-001.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Nordlof, seconded by Commissioner Grund and carried unanimously to authorize Public Works Director, Tim Erickson to purchase a 2019 Ford Pick-Up as budgeted in the amount of $28,857.84 from Midway Ford.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Grund, seconded by Commissioner Nordlof and carried unanimously to authorize Public Works Director, Tim Erickson to advertise, interview and hire for two (2) Seasonal Equipment Operator at Grade 7, step one, points 191, $15.96 per hour.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Nordlof, seconded by Commissioner Grund and carried unanimously to authorize Public Works Director, Tim Erickson to advertise, interview and hire three (3) Engineer Technicians at Grade 5, step 1, points 172, at $14.30 per hour.

HUMAN RESOURCE

Human Resource Director, Savanna Slick and County Sheriff, Gary Fish met with the board requesting authorization to advertise, interview and hire for Full-time 911/Dispatcher. Gary informed the board that 911/Dispatcher, Larry Sipe put in his two weeks’ notice of termination of employment and that Larry requested that he have off from work his last day of employment with Lake of the Woods County.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Grund, seconded by Commissioner Nordlof and carried unanimously to authorize Human Resource Director, Savanna Slick and County Sheriff, Gary Fish to advertise, interview and hire a full-time Dispatcher at grade 10, step 1, points 237, at $18.86 per hour.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Grund, seconded by Commissioner Nordlof and carried unanimously to waive the personal policy requirements for 911/Dispatcher, Larry Sipe from working his last day per personal policy.

AMEND AGENDA

Motion was made by Commissioner Nordlof, seconded by Commissioner Grund and carried unanimously to amend the agenda and remove Non-elected Department Head evaluation from the agenda.

SWCD

Soil & Water Conservation District Resource Technician Mike Hirst met with the board and reviewed the 2018 County Feedlot Officer Annual Report.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Nordlof, seconded by Commissioner Grund and carried unanimously to approve the 2018 County Feedlot Annual Report and authorize Vice-Chairman, Jon Waibel to sign.

LAKE OF THE WOODS HUMANE SOCIETY

Lake of the Woods Humane Society members Kim Benike, Cassie Moore and Dale Holte met with the board to update the board on the shelter. Kim thanked the Commissioners for the financial support that the County contributes to the shelter.

RECESS

With no further business before the board, Vice-Chairman Waibel called the meeting to recess at 10:36 a.m.

Attest:                                                                                      April 9, 2019

__________________________________                            _________________________________

County Auditor/Treasurer, Lorene Hanson                                Vice-Chairman of the Board, Jon Waibel

Commissioner Proceedings

March 13, 2018

The Lake of the Woods County Board of Commissioners met in regular session on Tuesday, March 13, 2018 at Lake of the Woods County Government Center in the Commissioners’ Room.

Call to Order

Chairman Arnesen called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. and the Pledge of Allegiance was recited with the following members present: Commissioners: Ken Moorman, Cody Hasbargen, Ed Arnesen and Jon Waibel. Absent, Buck Nordlof.  Also present were: County Auditor/Treasurer, Lorene Hanson Deputy Auditor/Treasurer Janet Rudd and Woody Fiala.

Approval of Agenda

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Moorman, seconded by Commissioner Hasbargen and carried unanimously to approve the agenda with the following additions: Resignation, and Rural Network Lease.  

Approval of Minutes

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Waibel, seconded by Commissioner Moorman and carried unanimously to approve the official and summarized minutes of February 27, 2018.

SOCIAL SERVICES

Social Services Director, Amy Ballard met with the board requesting approval for claims and ODC contract.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Waibel, seconded by Commissioner Hasbargen and carried unanimously to approve the following claims: Commissioners Warrants $12,920.22, Commissioners Warrants $2,620.82, Commissioners Warrants $17,318.47.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Hasbargen, seconded by Commissioner Moorman and carried unanimously to approve the purchase of service contract with Occupational Development Center, Inc. contract effective January 1, 2018 thru December 31, 2019 in the amount of contract not to exceed $35,000.

HUMAN RESOURCES

Human Resource Director, Savanna Slick met with the board informing the board that Dean Wiese accepted the position as Facility Coordinator and his first day of work will be March 26, 2018.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Moorman, seconded by Commissioner Hasbargen and carried unanimously to approve the hiring of Dean Wiese as Facility Coordinator at grade 9, step 7, points 230, at $20.03 per hour.

Resignation

Human Resource Director, Savanna Slick met with the board informing the board that Kurt Nuss has resigned effective July 31, 2018 and she requested permission to advertise, interview and hire for the Custodian II position.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Moorman, seconded by Commissioner Hasbargen and carried unanimously to authorize Human Resource Director, Savanna Slick to advertise, interview and hire for the position of Custodian II.

COUNTY AUDITOR/TREASURER

Claims

County Auditor/Treasurer, Lorene Hanson met with the board requesting approval of claims, and contracts.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Waibel, seconded by Commissioner Hasbargen and carried unanimously to approve the claims against the county as follows: Revenue-$60,360.32-Road & Bridge-$17,409.89-Co.Development-$40,900.00-Solid Waste-$26,661.18–EDA-$874.98-Ditch -$630.00

WARRANTS FOR PUBLICATION

Warrants Approved On 3/13/2018 for Payment 3/16/2018

Vendor Name                                                    Amount

Cenex Co-Op Services, Inc.                                              7,288.00

Crimestar Corporation                                                       5,250.00

Howard’s Oil Company                                                      5,272.93

Lakes Gas Co                                                                    2,549.47

LOW Highway Dept                                                           5,545.00

LOW International Ice Arena                                           40,000.00

Mar-Kit Landfill                                                                 12,315.00

Mn Counties Computer Co-Op                                           8,855.75

Northern Light Region                                                        4,878.61

R & Q Trucking, Inc                                                            2,060.00

Streamworks                                                                     2,050.00

TOTALFUNDS                                                                    4,000.00

Wayne’s Body Shop-Dba                                                11,882.12

Woody’s Service                                                               3,323.94

76 Payments less than 2000 31,565.55

Final Total: 146,836.37

Further moved to authorize the payment of the following Auditor warrants: February 28, 2018-$65,190.90, March 5, 2018- $156,446.11, March 7, 2018- $13,580.83.

Contracts

Pieper Farms

Motion was made by Commissioner Moorman, seconded by Commissioner Waibel and carried unanimously to approve the lease agreement between Lake of the Woods County and Pieper Farms for the use of Tower ASR 1024494 for a GPS antenna system effective April 1, 2018 for a term of five(5) years from said date, and then continuance their after on a year to year basis after the initial term until terminated by either party upon written notice to the other given at least sixty (60) days prior to the next ensuing lease anniversary date with the rent being $1.00 for the full term of the lease payable on April 1, 2018.

Lake of the Woods School District 390

Motion was made by Commissioner Hasbargen, seconded by Commissioner Waibel and carried unanimously to approve the lease agreement between Lake of the Woods County and Lake of the Woods School District 390 for the use of Tower ASR 1024495 for an Antenna system effective April 1, 2018 for a term of five(5) years from said date, and then continuance their after on a year to year basis after the initial term until terminated by either party upon written notice to the other given at least sixty (60) days prior to the next ensuing lease anniversary date with the rent being $1.00 for the full term of the lease payable on April 1, 2018.

Minnkota Power Cooperative

Motion was made by Commissioner Waibel, seconded by Commissioner Hasbargen and carried unanimously to approve the lease agreement between Lake of the Woods County and Minnkota Power Cooperative Inc. for the use of Tower asr-1024495- located in Spooner Township, Lake of the Woods County to mount an antenna. The term of the lease shall be for five (5) years from said date, and then continuance their after on a year to year basis after the initial term until terminated by either party upon written notice to the other given at least one-hundred eighty (180) days written notice by the terminating party to the other party. The rent shall be $3,000 per year, payable January 1, 2018 and each following year.

Rural Network

Motion was made by Commissioner Moorman,, seconded by Commissioner Hasbargen and carried unanimously to approve the lease agreement between Lake of the Woods County and Rural Tower Network, LLC, ASR 1024494 for a GPS antenna system for a term of five (5) years from said date, and then continue their after on a year to year basis after the initial term until terminated by either party upon written notice at least sixty (60) days prior to the next ensuing lease anniversary date. The rent shall be $1,200 per year and shall be due and payable in advance on the first day each year.

Sanford Lease

Motion was made by Commissioner Waibel, seconded by Commissioner Hasbargen and carried unanimously to approve the lease agreement between Lake of the Woods County  and Sanford Medical Center, Thief River Falls for the use of the Government Center North , portion to be leased consisting of  approximately 1,474 square feet. The term of the lease is January 1, 2018 thru December 31, 2018, with rent being $1,000 per month.

PUBLIC WORKS

Assistant Engineer, Boyd Johnson met with the board requesting approval to advertise for bids, to approve purchase for a Plow Truck, Mowers and Pickup.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Moorman seconded by Commissioner Waibel and carried unanimously to approve the advertisement for bids for SAP 039-601-31 and SAP 039-622-006 as presented.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Hasbargen, seconded by Commissioner Moorman and carried unanimously to approve the purchase of a Plow Truck as budgeted in the amount of $199,902.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Moorman, seconded by Commissioner Waibel and carried unanimously to approve the purchase two Mowers in the amount of $16,550.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Hasbargen, seconded by Commissioner Waibel and carried unanimously to approve the purchase of a Chevrolet Silverado in the amount of $25,974.68, which was budgeted for $25,000, an overage of $975.00.

EMERGENCY MANAGMENT

Emergency Management Director, Jill Olson met with the board to discuss Security grant and informed the board that the Security Gate was removed from the grant but would like to get additional cameras and upgrade to NVR, which would cost an additional $2,330.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Waibel, seconded by Commissioner Moorman and carried unanimously to approve the upgrade to NVR in the amount of $2,330 from the Emergency Management fund.

HEADWATERS REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT COMMSSION (HRDC)

HRDC Operations Director, Mary Thompson met with the board to discuss Baudette Housing Complex Project for a 24 unit rental property and reviewed the funding and funding sources. She requested that that the county loan funds to this project. The board informed her that the county cannot loan money, but requested that this be placed on the Economic Development Authority, for they have the authority to loan money to these types of projects. The board requested that Mary contact them when she finds out if the HRDC was awarded $500,000 from the MHFA housing funds for this project. Mary expected that they would hear if they were awarded these funds by March 22, 2018.

RECESS

The meeting was called to recess at 10:45 a.m.

DITCH AUTHORITY

Motion was made by Commissioner Hasbargen seconded by Commissioner Waibel and carried unanimously to open the Ditch Authority at 10:46 a.m.

Petition

Chairman Arnesen reviewed the Petition for repair of a drainage system from Lester Boomgaarden for repairs on Ditch 28. The board discussed the repair request with Assistant Engineer, Boyd Johnson. Boyd informed the board that they will look at this request when the snow melts and will give written notice to the board of action to be taken on this petition. The board discussed Judicial Ditch 16 and the need to have this on the assessment role and discussed Judicial 7 abandonment process.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Hasbargen, seconded by Commissioner Moorman and carried unanimously to close the Ditch Authority meeting at 11:02 a.m. and reconvene the regular meeting.

911 ADDRESSING

MIS/GIS Director, Peder Hovland and GIS Specialist Eric Solo met with the board to discuss the GIS Standards for addressing. They informed the board and public that the State of Minnesota requires all counties to have the same standard addressing within the 911 next generation and the primary goal of this is to provide emergency service agencies with a complete set of accurate addresses so that emergency victims can be located with greater sufficiency. After reviewing the Lake of the Woods 911 addressing, there are approximately 88 addresses that have to be changed. He effected area is the so called “Main” streets. Main street addresses will stay the same that are located in the City limits,the Main Street addressing in the rural will have to be changed, but house number will stay the same. Wilderness Ave in Williams’s numbers will also need to be changed along with HWY 11. This is a State mandate for addressing and 911 is the authority over this change.

LAND AND WATER PLANNING

Land and Water Planning Director, Josh Stromlund met with the board to discuss the Bostic Watershed grant. Josh informed the board that Lake of the Woods County received a grant in the amount of $378,000 with a match of $94,500, which can be cash or in-kind. The consensus of the board was to move forward with the project

RECESS

With no further business before the board, Chairman Arnesen called the meeting to recess at 11:45 p.m.

Attest:                                                                                      March 27, 2018

__________________________________                _____________________________________

County Auditor/Treasurer, Lorene Hanson                    Chairman of the Board, Edward Arnesen

=========================================================================================================================================================================

Commissioner Proceedings

March 27, 2018

The Lake of the Woods County Board of Commissioners met in regular session on Tuesday, March 27, 2018 at Lake of the Woods County Government Center in the Commissioners’ Room.

Call to Order

Chairman Arnesen called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. and the Pledge of Allegiance was recited with the following members present: Commissioners: Ken Moorman, Cody Hasbargen, Ed Arnesen and Jon Waibel. Absent, Buck Nordlof.  Also present were: County Auditor/Treasurer, Lorene Hanson Deputy Auditor/Treasurer Janet Rudd and Woody Fiala.

Approval of Agenda

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Moorman, seconded by Commissioner Waibel and carried unanimously to approve the agenda with the following additions: Volunteer Driver Program, Easement, Emergency Management.  

Approval of Minutes

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Moorman, seconded by Commissioner Waibel and carried unanimously to approve the official minutes of March 12, 2018 minutes.

Motion was made by Commissioner Hasbargen, seconded by Commissioner Moorman and carried unanimously to approve the official and summarized minutes of March 13, 2018.

SOCIAL SERVICES

Social Services Director, Amy Ballard met with the board requesting approval for claims and Sanford Behavioral health Contract.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Waibel, seconded by Commissioner Hasbargen and carried unanimously to approve the following claims: Commissioners Warrants $14,875.63, Commissioners Warrants $1,233.95, Commissioners Warrants $2,065.54.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Moorman, seconded by Commissioner Waibel and carried unanimously to approve the contract between Lake of the Woods County Social Services and Sanford Behavioral Health- TRF for the provision of Community Based Services (CBS), Adult Rehabilitative Mental Health (ARMHS) and Clinic Based Behavioral Health Services for 2018 and authorize Chairman Arnesen and Social Service Director, Amy Ballard to sign.

Volunteer Driver Program

Chairman Arnesen and the board reviewed the draft letter that Social Service Director, Amy Ballard prepared in regards to the volunteer driver program that is run by the Social Service department. This program allows residents that are on medical assistance is to have access to a driver to take them to medical appointments out of town. The ruling from DHS now is that they should submit 1099’s to the volunteer drivers program. With this change, the department has lost volunteer drivers, which they were short on before this ruling came about. Chairman Arnesen requested that this letter be sent to our Federal and State Representatives.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Waibel, seconded by Commissioner Hasbargen and carried unanimously to authorize Chairman Arnesen to sign the Volunteer Drivers letter.

HEADWATERS REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION(HRDC)

HRDC Operations Director, Mary Thompson met with the board to update the board on the Baudette Housing Complex Project for a 24-unit rental property. Mary informed the board that the Northgate Apartment Complex did receive the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency deferred loan for $500,000 as long as it runs as an apartment complex. Mary requested that the County contribute $125,000 towards this project and will speak with the Lake of the Woods EDA requesting a loan for $150,000 for a term of twenty (20) years. The consensus of the Board was that they are in support of the project.

LAKE OF THE WOODS TOURISM

Lake of the Woods Tourism Director, Joe Henry met with the board and updated the board on the Tourism Bureau activities.

SHERIFF/EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT

County Sheriff, Gary Fish met with the board requesting approval for the 2018 State Boat and Water Safety Grant.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Waibel, seconded by Commissioner Hasbargen and carried unanimously to approve the 2018 State Boat & Water Grant effective January 1, 2018 thru June 30, 2019, in the amount of $8,039 and authorize Chairman Arnesen, County Sheriff, Gary Fish and County Auditor/Treasurer, Lorene Hanson to sign.

EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT

Emergency Management Director, Jill Olson met with the board requesting approval for the Emergency Operation Plan, MNWALK and Annex C. Commissioners Hasbargen and Arnesen previously reviewed the plan and recommended to approve. Chairman Arnesen informed the board that there is even a Demo Plan for disasters, but yet other State Agencies will tell you that you cannot have a demo pile and feels  that this needs to be addressed with the State.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Waibel, seconded by Commissioner Moorman and carried unanimously to approve the Emergency Operation Plan as recommended by the committee and authorize Chairman Arnesen and Emergency Management Director, Jill Olson to sign.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Hasbargen, seconded by Commissioner Waibel and carried unanimously to approve the MNWalk and authorize Chairman Arnesen to sign.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Waibel, seconded by Commissioner Hasbargen and carried unanimously to approve the Annex C-Emergency Public Information and authorize Chairman Arnesen to sign.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Moorman, seconded by Commissioner Waibel and carried unanimously to establish an Emergency Management Committee and appoint Commissioner Arnesen and Commissioner Hasbargen to the Emergency Management Committee.

DITCH AUTHORITY

Motion was made by Commissioner Moorman seconded by Commissioner Waibel and carried unanimously to close the regular meeting at 10:57 a.m. and open the Ditch Authority at 10:48 a.m.

Judicial Ditch 16

Chairman Arnesen discussed Judicial Ditch 16 re-assessments and the board requested that this be placed as a high priority. County Auditor/Treasurer, Lorene Hanson informed the board that the office has been working on the assessments and requested that the Ditch Authority set the amount of assessments they need. The plan is to have this ready for the 2019 assessment year.

Judicial Ditch 7

Chairman Arnesen discussed the inquiring of the abandonment process of the drainage system by Marshall Nelson. Marshall informed the board that there are two things going on; One (1) the Buffer Law requirements along ditches and Two(2)  that he also found out that if the ditch is abandoned, no one in the future would have the right to petition to do repairs on the ditch. He will put the Buffer in and withdraw his request of abandonment of Judicial Ditch 7. The board discussed the work that needs to be done on Judicial Ditch 7 and when Public Works has a plan to bring back to the Ditch Authority.

Ditch 13

The board discussed Ditch 13 and the drainage issues. Chairman Arnesen requested the research be done on Ditch 13 and come back to the Ditch Authority for recommendations, options and discussion.

PUBLIC WORKS

Public Works Director, Tim Erickson met with the board requesting approval to purchase an Air Compressor and approval to advertise, interview and hire seasonal employees.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Waibel, seconded by Commissioner Hasbargen and carried unanimously to authorize Public Work Director, Tim Erickson to purchase a compressor in the amount of $2,899.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Waibel, seconded by Commissioner Hasbargen and carried unanimously to authorize Public Works Director to advertise, interview and hire four (4) seasonal employees.

AMEND AGENDA

Motion was made by Commissioner Waibel seconded by Commissioner Arnesen and carried unanimously to amend the agenda and add Light Fixtures for Landfill Shop.

Light Fixtures

Public Works Director, Tim Erickson informed the board that there is a need to replace the Light Fixtures at the Landfill Shop. Tim received a quote from LaValla Electric for twelve (12) LED lights in the amount of approximately $4,000 which was not budgeted.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Moorman, seconded by Commissioner Hasbargen and carried unanimously to authorize Public Works Director, Tim Erickson to replace the lighting with twelve (12) new LED light fixtures in the amount up to $4,800 from the Solid Waste Maintenance funds.

COUNTY AUDITOR/TREASURER

Claims

County Auditor/Treasurer, Lorene Hanson met with the board requesting approval of claims, Election Equipment, Easement and Off Sale Liquor License. Lorene also informed the board that an application LG220- for exempt permit was issued to Lake of the Woods Rod & Gun Club for a raffle on April 30, 2018.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Moorman, seconded by Commissioner Waibel and carried unanimously to approve the claims against the county as follows: Revenue-$54,352.39-Road & Bridge-$12,111.53-County Devlp. -$200.00-Solid Waste-$1,365.00–EDA-$1,645.99

WARRANTS FOR PUBLICATION

Warrants Approved On 3/27/2018 For Payment 3/30/2018

Vendor Name                                               Amount

Computer Professionals Unlimited Inc                               3,480.00

Independent Emergency Services                                    8,214.52

Lavalla Sand & Gravel Inc                                                9,500.00

TRANE                                                                             26,800.00

University Of Mn                                                                9,024.00

36 Payments less than 2000  12,656.39

Final Total: 69,674.91

Further moved to authorize the payment of the following Auditor warrants: March 14, 2018-$131,355.25, March 15, 2018- $941.65, March 22, 2018- $46,692.14.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Waibel, seconded by Commissioner Hasbargen and carried unanimously to approve the purchase of the new Election Equipment in the amount of $49,706, with grant funds of $24,850 and the remainder from the election reserves account, and to have County Auditor/Treasurer, Lorene Hanson sign said agreement.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Moorman, seconded by Commissioner Waibel and carried unanimously to approve the off sale exclusive license for K&A Northern Properties LLC, DBA  Log Cabin Liquor, effective May 1, 2018 thru June 30, 2018 contingent approval of County Sheriff, Gary Fish and County Attorney James Austad.

CORRECTIVE EASEMENT

County Auditor/Treasurer Lorene Hanson presented a Corrective Easement from Border State Bank for Zachary and Kristi Hasbargen. On September 26, 2017, Border State Bank delivered the easement that was presented to the county board for approval. The County Recorder’s Office found an error in a described Instrument No. which now is corrected. 

Resolution

The following resolution was offered by Commissioner Moorman, seconded by Commissioner Waibel and carried unanimously, with Commissioner Hasbargen abstaining, to approve the following resolution and authorize Chairman Arnesen and County Auditor/Treasurer, Lorene Hanson to sign:

CORRECTIVE EASEMENT

Resolution No. 18-03-01

This Agreement, made this 27 day of March, 2018, by and between Lake of the Woods County, a municipal corporation under the laws of the State of Minnesota, Grantor, and Zachary C. Hasbargen and Kristi L. Hasbargen, as joint tenants, grantees.

WHEREAS, Grantor and Grantee have agreed upon the easement and maintenance agreement hereinafter described;

NOW, THEREFORE, Grantor, in consideration of One Dollar ($1.00) and other good consideration and valuable consideration to him in hand paid by said Grantee, receipt of which is hereby acknowledged, hereby grants to said Grantee, their heirs and assigns forever, the easement for use and enjoyment for driveway purposes in, over and upon that part of said land of said Grantor described as follows:

A tract of land in the County of Lake of the Woods, State of Minnesota, legally described as follows:

A 66.00 foot wide easement for ingress and egress over, under and across part of the Southeast Quarter of Section 15, Township 160 North, Range 31 West of the 5^th Principal Meridian described as follows: Commencing at the south Quarter Corner of said Section 15; thence North 89 degrees 47 minutes 39 seconds East, assumed bearing, along the south line of said Southeast Quarter a distance of 1136.63 feet to the southeasterly line of a 66 foot wide strip of land described in Instrument No. 84698, said instrument is located on page 649-650, Book J of Deeds, on file and of record in the Lake of the Woods County Recorder’s Office; thence North 47 degrees 03 minutes 19 seconds East 1254.41 feet along said southeasterly line to the point of beginning; thence North 44 degrees 16 minutes 32 seconds West 31.40 feet, more or less, to the centerline of County State Aid Highway No. 1 as described in Document No. 81595 on file and of record in said Recorder’s Office and there terminating. The sidelines of said easement are to be prolonged or shortened to terminate on the southeasterly line of said 66 foot wide strip of land described in Instrument No. 84698 and said centerline of County State Aid Highway No. 1.

AND

A 66.00 foot wide easement for ingress and egress over, under and across part of the Southeast Quarter of Section 15, Township 160 North, Range 31 West of the 5^th Principal Meridian described as follows: Commencing at the south Quarter Corner of said Section 15; thence North 89 degrees 47 minutes 39 seconds East, assumed bearing, along the south line of said Southeast Quarter a distance of 1136.63 feet to the southeasterly line of 66 foot wide strip of land described in Instrument No. 84698, said instrument is located on page 649-650, Book J of Deeds, on file and of record in the Lake of the Woods County Recorder’s Office; thence North 47 degrees 03 minutes 19 seconds East 875.28 feel along said southeasterly line to the point of beginning; thence North 43 degrees 16 minutes 54 seconds West 29.60 feet, more or less, to the centerline of County State Aid Highway No. 1 as described in Document No. 81595 on file and of record in said Recorder’s Office and there terminating. The sidelines of said easement are to be prolonged or shortened to terminate on the southeasterly line of said 66 foot wide strip of land described in Instrument No. 84698 and said centerline of County State Aid Highway No. 1.

which use and enjoyment Grantee shall share with Grantor,

            TO HAVE AND TO HOLD SAID EASEMENT unto said Grantee, their, heirs and assigns, as appurtenant to their said land.

            This agreement shall run with the land and shall be binding upon the heirs, executors, and administrators and assigns of the parties hereto.

            The grantees, their successors and assigns shall be responsible for maintenance of the above-described easement property including, but not limited to, snow removal. 

This easement is given to correct the legal description set forth in that certain Easement dated September 26, 2017, and recorded November 1, 2017 as document no. A000098546.

RECESS

With no further business before the board, Chairman Arnesen called the meeting to recess at 12:09 p.m.

Attest:                                                                          April 10, 2018

__________________________________                _____________________________________

County Auditor/Treasurer, Lorene Hanson                    Chairman of the Board, Edward Arnesen

Commissioner Proceedings

March 14, 2017

The Lake of the Woods County Board of Commissioners met in regular session on Tuesday, March 14, 2017 at Lake of the Woods County Government Center in the Commissioners’ Room.

Call to Order

Chairman Nordlof called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. and the Pledge of Allegiance was recited with the following members present: Commissioners: Ken Moorman, Cody Hasbargen, Jon Waibel, Buck Nordlof and Ed Arnesen. Also present were: County Auditor/Treasurer Lorene Hanson, Deputy Auditor/Treasurer Janet Rudd, and Woody Fiala.

Approval of Agenda

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Moorman, seconded by Commissioner Arnesen and carried unanimously to approve the agenda with the following additions: HRDC-Fire Wise Grant, Northern MN Veterans Home, Ditch Training, Lessard Letter, Work Session- Strategic Planning, Ditch 26, NWC Action, Homeless Prevention Program,

Approval of Minutes

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Arnesen, seconded by Commissioner Hasbargen and carried unanimously to approve the official and summarized minutes of February 28, 2017.

SOCIAL SERVICES

Social Services Director, Amy Ballard met with the board requesting approval for claims.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Moorman, seconded by Commissioner Waibel and carried unanimously to approve the following claims: Commissioners Warrants $10,272.23, Commissioners Warrants $5,749.95, Commissioner Warrants, $23,453.13.

SHERIFF

Tower Space Lease

County Sheriff, Gary Fish met with the board requesting approval for the NWA Tower Lease with Wikstrom Telephone Company for transmission and reception of public safety communication signals.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Moorman, seconded by Commissioner Waibel and carried unanimously to approve the NWA Tower Space Lease agreement between Wikstrom Telephone Inc. and Lake of the Woods County for use for transmission and reception of public safety communication signals and for the construction, maintenance, repair or replacement of related facilities, antennas, equipment and related activities, effective November 1, 2016-October 31, 2021, for $200.00 per month with the first two years waived.

PUBLIC WORKS

Public Works Director, Tim Erickson met with the board requesting authorization to purchase a new pickup, as budgeted in 2017.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Arnesen, seconded by Commissioner Hasbargen and carried unanimously to approve the purchase of a new pickup for the Public Works Director, as budgeted in the amount of $32,114.71, which includes the plow.

DITCH 26

Public Works Director, Tim Erickson informed the board that one (1) mile of Ditch 26 has been brushed out, which cost $10,000, and the current contractor stated he would charge an additional $1,000 to brush out five (5) more miles. The board discussed the maintenance needed on Ditch 28, 24 and Ditch 1. The board will discuss this further in April.

WORK SESSION

County Auditor/Treasurer, Lorene Hanson met with the board and informed them that Kurt Deter, from Rinke Noonan Law firm agreed to meet with the board to discuss Public Drainage System.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Moorman, seconded by Commissioner Wabiel and carried unanimously to set April 17, 2017, at 2:30- 4:30 p.m. for a work session on Public Drainage Systems, for Commissioners and 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. for work session for Public.

LAND AND WATER PLANNING

Letter- HF 1807/SF1482 AND HF1291/SF1087

Land and Water Planning Director, Josh Stromlund met with the board and presented a letter opposing HF 1807/SF1482 AND HF1291/SF1087.

Motion was made by Commissioner Waibel, seconded by Commissioner Moorman and carried unanimously to authorize Chairman Nordlof to sign the letter in regards to HF 1807/SF1482 and HF1291/SF1087.

Letter

Land and Water Planning Director, Josh Stromlund met with the board and presented a letter for consideration of an agreement between Lake of the Woods County Soil and Water Conservation District and Lake of the Woods County regarding responsibilities related to the Lake of the Woods One Water Shed One Plan.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Arnesen, seconded by Commissioner Hasbargen and carried unanimously to authorize Chairman Nordlof to sign the 2017 Agreement with Lake of the Woods County Soil and Water District and Lake of the Woods County for development of One Watershed One Plan for Lake of the Woods Watershed to provided assistance with data completion, coordination of policy and advisory committee meetings, public meetings and maintaining  all records and documentations, with compensation of $5,500.

Conservation Act

Land and Water Planning Director, Josh Stromlund met with the board presented a letter in support for H.R. 1163: Improving Access to Conservation Act.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Arnesen, seconded by Commissioner Hasbargen and carried unanimously to authorize Chairman Nordlof to sign the letter of support for H.R. 1163

Buffer Law Amendments

Land and Water Planning Director, Josh Stomlund met with the board to inform them of law amendments on the Buffer Law ruling, which is stating there is no funding available to reimburse counties for administrative buffer duties.

COUNTY AUDITOR/TREASURER

County Auditor/Treasurer, Lorene Hanson met with the board requesting approval for claims against the County.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Arnesen, seconded by Commissioner Moorman and carried unanimously to approve the claims against the county as follows: Revenue $66,648.41, Road & Bridge $17,057.08, Social Services .53, County Devel.$2,063.00 , Solid Waste, $22,542.49, EDA,$1,022.86.

WARRANTS FOR PUBLICATION

Warrants Approved On 3/14/2017 For Payment 3/17/2017

Vendor Name                                                    Amount

Cenex Co-Op Services, Inc.                                                    4,783.09

Code 4 Services LLC                                                               2,768.90

Computer Professionals Unlimited Inc                                      3,360.00

Cps Technology Solutions                                                       2,988.70

Esri                                                                                         12,826.72

Howard’s Oil Company                                                            3,719.40

Johnson Auto & Machine                                                         2,604.18

Mar-Kit Landfill                                                                       12,654.50

Mn State Dept-Correction                                                      17,136.97

Pete’s Body Shop Dba                                                            5,830.60

Powerplan                                                                               2,030.59

Snow-Wheel System Inc                                                         2,098.00

Widseth Smith Nolting&Asst Inc                                               4,029.66

Woody’s Service                                                                     3,551.50

73 Payments less than 2000  28,951.56

Final Total:  109,334.37

Further moved to authorize the payment of the following auditor warrants: March 1, 2017 – $86,382.63, March 1, 2017- $1,101.39 – March 1, 2017- $(1,101.39) – March 8, 2017- $112,998.95.

HRDC

County Auditor/Treasurer, Lorene Hanson met with the board requesting approval to pay the county’s share for the “Community Wild Fire Plan” to HRDC.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Waibel, seconded by Commissioner Moorman and carried unanimously to authorize payment of $5,500 from the revenue fund and authorize Chairman Nordlof to sign the Community Wild Fire Plan.

Lessard Letter

The board discussed the letter that was sent to Bob Lessard in regards to a few parcels of lands that were turned over to the State in 1943 requesting assistance in having land returned back to Lake of the Woods County. Commissioner Arnesen stated that he has not heard from Bob Lessard at this point.

Veterans Task Force

The board reviewed the letter from the Northern Minnesota Veterans Task Forces. The consensus of the board was that they were in support of HF 1109 and SF 1090 to build Veterans Home in Northern Minnesota and in Montevideo.

Northwest Community Action

County Auditor/Treasurer Lorene Hanson met with the board and presented a resolution for Family Homelessness Prevention and Assistance Projects.

Resolution

The following resolution was offered by Commissioners Arnesen, seconded by Commissioner Hasbargen and carried unanimously the following:

Resolution Authorizing Application for Minnesota Housing and Finance Agency

Family Homelessness Prevention and Assistance Program

Resolution  No. 2017-03-01

WHEREAS, the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency, State of Minnesota, has been authorized to undertake a program to provide funds for Family Homeless Prevention & Assistance Projects; and,

WHEREAS, Tri-Valley Opportunity Council, Inc. in the nine –county region of northwest Minnesota has developed an application for the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency Family Homelessness Prevention & Assistance Program; and

WHEREAS, Tri-Valley Opportunity Council, Inc. have demonstrated the ability to perform the required activities of the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency Family Homelessness Prevention & Assistance Program;

NOW, THEREFORE, be it resolved that Tri-Valley Opportunity Council, Inc. is hereby authorized as an entity to be charged with the administration of funds made available through the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency Family Homelessness Prevention & Assistance Program in the county of Lake of the Woods, in Minnesota.

Snow Club Meeting 

County Auditor/Treasurer Lorene Hanson informed the board that the spring meeting for Snow Clubs will be held on April 1 in MacIntosh from 10:00 a.m. -2:00 p.m.

WORK SESSION- STRATEGIC PLANNING

The board discussed the Strategic Planning dates. The board requested that on short meeting dates that Strategic Planning is placed on those agendas.

RECESS

With no further business before the board, Chairman Nordlof called the meeting to recess at 11:10 a.m.

Attest:                                                                                      March 28, 2017

__________________________________                            _________________________________

County Auditor/Treasurer, Lorene Hanson                                Chairman of the Board, James Nordlof

=========================================================================================================================================================================

Commissioner Proceedings

March 28, 2017

The Lake of the Woods County Board of Commissioners met in regular session on Tuesday, March 28, 2017 at Lake of the Woods County Government Center in the Commissioners’ Room.

Call to Order

Chairman Nordlof called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. and the Pledge of Allegiance was recited with the following members present: Commissioners: Ken Moorman, Cody Hasbargen, Jon Waibel, Buck Nordlof and Ed Arnesen. Also present were: County Auditor/Treasurer Lorene Hanson, Deputy Auditor/Treasurer Janet Rudd, and Woody Fiala.

Approval of Agenda

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Moorman, seconded by Commissioner Hasbargen and carried unanimously to approve the agenda with the following additions: Land exchange, Department of Human Services, DNR- Bench Mark, Red River Valley- Invite.  

Approval of Minutes

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Hasbargen, seconded by Commissioner Arnesen and carried unanimously to approve the official and summarized minutes of March 14, 2017.

SOCIAL SERVICES

Social Services Financial Officer, Christine Hultman met with the board requesting approval for claims.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Moorman, seconded by Commissioner Waibel and carried unanimously to approve the following claims: Commissioner Warrants $6,870.68- Commissioner Warrants $148.70- Commissioner Warrants $3,851.00- Commissioner Warrants- $14,235.82.

COUNTY AUDITOR/TREASURER

County Auditor/Treasurer, Lorene Hanson met with the board requesting approval for claims against the County.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Arnesen, seconded by Commissioner Waibel and carried unanimously to approve the claims against the county as follows: Revenue $48,721.346- Road & Bridge $5,139.95-Solid Waste, $4,346.23- EDA,$900.00.

WARRANTS FOR PUBLICATION

Warrants Approved On 3/28/2017 For Payment 3/31/2017

Vendor Name                                                    Amount

Dell Marketing, Lp                                                                 9,969.12

Lakewood Health Center                                                      3,025.00

Northwest Concrete                                                           10,401.60

Pemberton, Sorlie, Rufer & Kershner, PLL                           3,261.56

Short Elliott Hendrickson, Inc                                                2,400.38

University Of Mn                                                                   9,223.89

Voyageurs Comtronics, Inc                                                  2,640.00

38 2000  Payments less than 18,186.09

Final Total: 59,107.64

Further moved to authorize the payment of the following auditor warrants: March 13, 2017 – $143,251.39- March 15, 2017- $41,876.33 – March 22, 2017- $29,942.39 – March 23, 2017- $127,978.15.

Folding Machine

County Auditor/Treasurer, Lorene Hanson met with the board requesting approval to purchase a folding machine.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Moorman, seconded by Commissioner Waibel and carried unanimously to approve the purchase of a folding machine in the amount of $2,884.00 from the revenue account.

Liquor License

County Auditor/Treasurer, Lorene Hanson met with the board requesting approval for an On/Off Sale Liquor License for Crow Creek Properties, LLC DBA Jerry’s Bar and Restaurant and requested that Oak Harbor Golf Course approval be removed form agenda for no application was received.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Arnesen, second by Commissioner Hasbargen and carried unanimously to approve Crow Creek Properties, LLC On/Off Sale Liquor License effective April 1, 2017- June 30, 2017.

Triple A Booster

County Auditor/Treasurer, Lorene Hanson met with the board and presented a request of funds from Triple A Booster club. No action taken.

PUBLIC WORKS

Public Works Director, Tim Erickson met with the board requesting authorization to purchase a Grapple for the Solid Waste Department which was not budgeted for 2017.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Arnesen, seconded by Commissioner Moorman and carried unanimously to approve the purchase of a Grapple in the amount of $4,892.33 from the Solid Waste fund.

SHERIFF

County Sheriff, Gary Fish met with the board requesting title change on Deputy Sherriff Joel Morisch to add Investigator. The board requested that this be brought to Human Resources.

LAND AND WATER PLANNING

Land and Water Planning Director, Josh Stromlund and County Surveyor, Donn Rasmussen met with the board and presented the contract that the board requested from Widseth Smith and Nolting for the Vertical Control Survey.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Arnesen, seconded by Commissioner Hasbargen and carried unanimously to approve the Vertical Control Survey agreement with Widseth Smith and Nolting in the amount of $22,500 with funding from the Con-Con fund and authorize County Auditor/Treasurer and Chairman Nordlof to sign.

RECESS

The meeting was called to recess at 10:18 a.m. and reconvened at 10:30 a.m. Chairman Nordlof excused himself from the meeting.

WE DAY CELEBRATION

Lake of the Woods Student Council members, Jordan Sonstegard, Ema Stimpfl and Mckord Krause met with the board and explained what the We Day Celebration is all about and requested funding to help support the celebration.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Waibel, seconded by Commissioner Hasbargen and carried unanimously to contribute $1,000 to Lake of the Woods School We Day Celebration with funding from the Con-Con fund.

MIS 

MIS/Maintenance Supervisor, Peder Hovland met with the board on behalf of Emergency Management Director, Jill Olson to discuss the Security Grant for the Government Center which is available with matching funds.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Waibel, seconded by Commissioner Moorman and carried unanimously to authorize Emergency Management Director, Jill Olson to apply for the Security Grant for the Government Center with matching funds up to $10,766.00.

CLOSED SESSION

Motion was made by Commissioner Hasbargen, seconded by Commissioner Waibel and carried unanimously to close the regular meeting at 11:16 a.m. and open the closed session pursuant to MN Statute §13D.05, Subd. 3 (b) – Attorney Client privileges. Members present: Commissioner Hasbargen, Waibel, Arnesen and Moorman. Others present: County Attorney James Austad and County Auditor/Treasurer Lorene Hanson.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Waibel, seconded by Commissioner Hasbargen and carried unanimously to close the closed session at 11:59 a.m.

RECESS

With no further business before the board, Vice – Chairman Arnesen called the meeting to recess at 12:00 p.m.

Attest:                                                                                      March 28, 2017

__________________________________                _____________________________________

County Auditor/Treasurer, Lorene Hanson                    Vice -Chairman of the Board, Edward Arnesen

Commissioner Proceedings

March 8, 2016

The Lake of the Woods County Board of Commissioners met in regular session on Tuesday, March 8, 2016 at Lake of the Woods County in the Commissioners Room.

Call to Order

Chairman Moorman called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. and the Pledge of Allegiance was recited with the following members present: Commissioners Patty Beckel, Thomas Hanson, Ed Arnesen, Buck Nordlof, and Ken Moorman.  Also present were: County Auditor/Treasurer Lorene Hanson, Deputy Auditor /Treasurer Janet Rudd, County Attorney, James Austad and Woody Fiala.

Approval of Agenda

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Arnesen, seconded by Commissioner Nordlof and carried unanimously to approve the agenda with the removal of the following from the agenda: Oak Harbor Golf Course Liquor License and removal of motion for court appointed attorney rates and add

re-modeling project.

Approval of Consent Agenda

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Beckel, seconded by Commissioner Nordlof and carried unanimously to approve the consent agenda as follows: Karlene Stay to Brainerd for SSIS Fiscal New Worker on March 8-10, to St, Cloud for SSIS Mentor Training on May 16-17; Josh Stromlund to St. Paul on March 8-9 for One Watershed One Plan Funding Committee

Approval of Minutes

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Hanson, seconded by Commissioner Beckel and carried unanimously to approve the official and summarized minutes of February 23, 2016.

Auditor/Treasurer

Claims

County Auditor/Treasurer, Lorene Hanson met with the board requesting approval of claims.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Arnesen, seconded by Commissioner Hanson and carried unanimously to approve the claims against the county as follows: Revenue $ 63,764.08, Road & Bridge                    $7,943.79, Co. Develop $ 200.00, Solid Waste$18,794.07.

WARRANTS FOR PUBLICATION

Warrants Approved On 3/08/2016 For Payment 3/11/2016

Vendor Name                                                    Amount

Computer Professionals Unlimited Inc                                                                                   3,193.00

Cps Technology Solutions                                                                                                     2,988.70

Cyber Advisors Inc                                                                                                                  2,013.00

Hoffman, Philipp & Knutson, PLLC                                                                                        2,843.00

Howard’s Oil Company                                                                                                           2,968.82

Mar-Kit Landfill                                                                                                                        10,764.00

Mn State Dept-Correction                                                                                                      17,377.27

Pro Action Safety & Sales                                                                                                         6,062.17

R & Q Trucking, Inc                                                                                                                  4,407.65

Titan Energy Systems, Inc                                                                                                       2,637.50

Woody’s Service                                                                                                                       4,190.19

72 Payments less than 2000 31,256.64

Final Total:  90,701.94

Further moved to authorize the payment of the following auditor warrants: February 24, 2106 $13,706.29, March 2, 2016 $166,070.80.    

Court Appointed Attorney Rates

County Attorney, James Austad met with the board and informed them that Judge Dixon filed a Court-Appointed Attorneys’ fee order with the court ordering court-appointed attorneys fees for services provided to clients in Lake of the Woods County be paid $85.00 per hour for services rendered on or after January 1, 2016. County Attorney, James Austad informed the board that the board could contract out for Appointed Attorney services if they chose to.

SOCIAL SERVICES

Social Service Director, Amy Ballard met with the board requesting approval for claims.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Beckel, seconded by Commissioner Nordlof and carried unanimously to approve the following claims against the county as follows: Commissioners Warrants: $24,602.71 and $18,376.41.

HUMAN RESOURCES

Human Resource Director, Karen Ose met with the board and updated them on the IT position posting and requested a grade change and job classification change for Cassondra Brune from grade 9 to grade 11.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Arnesen, seconded by Commissioner Nordlof and carried unanimously to change job title for Cassandra Brune to Lead Eligibility Worker to grade 11, step 1, $18.96, points 253, effective March 14, 2016.

MIS/GIS/MANAGER AND MAINTENANCE SUPERVISOR

Update

Maintenance Supervisor, Peder Hovland met with the board and informed the board that the Auditor/Treasures, and Recorders vaults have been switched out and the next step is for building private offices for the Auditor/Treasurer and Assessor. They are in the process of getting quotes for materials

and are moving the Recorders office at this time.

PUBLIC WORKS

2016 Construction Projects and MnDOT Agreement for the TH 11 Project

Public Works Director, Tim Erickson met with the board requesting approval for the 2016 road projects and MN DOT Detour Agreement.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Beckel, seconded by Commissioner Hanson and carried unanimously to approve the advertisement for bids for the following 2016 Construction Projects: SAP 039-602-020: Mill & Overlay, SAP 039-603-023: Mill & Overlay, SAP 039-639-003: Mill & Overlay, SP 039-090-004: Timber Mill Shared Use Path, CP 2016-01 Double Chip Seal.

MN DOT Detour Agreement Resolution

Resolution

The following resolution was offered by Commissioner Hanson and moved for adoption:

MN Dot Agreement

2016-03-01

IT IS RESOLVED; that Lake of the Woods County enter into MnDOT Agreement No. 1002594 with the State of Minnesota, Department of Transportation for the following purposes: To provide for payment by the State to the County for the use of County State Aid Highway No. 1, No. 26, and No. 35 as a detour route during the contract construction to be performed upon, along and adjacent to Trunk Highway No. 11 from 7.6 miles west of Trunk Highway 172 to the east junction of Trunk Highway 72 under State Project No. 3901-41 (T.H. 11=011).

IT IS FURTHER RESOLVED that the Chairman Moorman and County Auditor/Treasurer, Lorene Hanson and are authorized to execute the Agreement and any amendments to the Agreement.

The resolution was seconded by Commissioner Nordlof and carried unanimously.

RECESS

The meeting was called to recess at 10:23 a.m. and reconvened at 10:26 a.m. as follows:

LAND AND WATER PLANNING

Conditional Use Permit

Land and Water Planning Director, Josh Stromlund met with the board and presented a conditional use permit for   Jamie Negus Date: March 8, 2106 ,Location/Legal Description: The S 180’ of the N 1160’ of the W½ of the NE¼, less deeded in Section 28, Township 162, Range 43 (Wheeler). Parcel # 19.28.12.060 Project Proposal: A Conditional Use Permit as required by Section 401-B of the Lake of the Woods County Zoning Ordinance, to allow the applicant to conduct a commercial business consisting of sleeper fish house rental and storage in a Natural Environment District. Josh informed the board that the Planning Commission approved this permit with conditions. The board reviewed the letters from the public and reviewed the conditions set forth by the Planning Commission. After discussion, the county board added the following conditions: 1) Parking limit of 10 vehicles, 2) No on-site occupation of fish houses, 3) Double row of trees spaced at least 8 feet apart, 4) Responsible for any damage to private driveway, 5) May review permit in on year to consider a visual buffer to the west.

RECESS

The meeting was called to recess at 11:46 p.m.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Nordlof, seconded by Commissioner Arnesen to close the regular meeting at 11:46 a.m. and open the closed session pursuant to MN Stat. § 13D.05, Subd. 3(b), Attorney Client Privileges, Wetland Mitigation. The flowing where in attendance: SWCD Board members: Frank Sindelir, Nancy Dunell, Roger Krause, John Sonstegard; County Commissioners Arnesen, Beckel, Moorman, Hanson and Norldof, Land and Water Planning Director, Josh Stromlund, County Auditor/Treasurer, Lorene Hanson and County Attorney, James Austad. Attorney John Kolb via conference call.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Beckel, seconded by Commissioner Hanson and carried unanimously to close the closed session and open the regular meeting at 11:30 a.m.

LAND AND WATER PLANNING

Conditional Use Permit

The Board continued the Conditional Use permit discussion for Jamie Negus. After discussion, the county board added to the conditions already set by the Planning Commission the following: 1) Parking limit of 10 vehicles, 2) No on-site occupation of fish houses, 3) Double row of trees spaced at least 8 feet apart, 4) Responsible for any damage to private driveway, 5) May review permit in on year to consider a visual buffer to the west.

Motion was made by Commissioner Beckel to approve the following conditional use permit for Jamie Negus to conduct a commercial business consisting of sleeper fish house rental and storage in a rural Residential (R2) district as follows:

Lake of the Woods County Board of Commissioners

Findings of Fact and Decision

Name of Applicant:  Jamie Negus                                                                  Date:  March 8, 2106

Location/Legal Description:  The S 180’ of the N 1160’ of the W½ of the NE¼, less deeded in Section 28, Township 162, Range 43 (Wheeler). Parcel # 19.28.12.060

Project Proposal:  A Conditional Use Permit as required by Section 401-B of the Lake of the Woods County

                              Zoning Ordinance, to allow the applicant to conduct a commercial business consisting of sleeper fish house rental and storage in a Rural Residential (R2) District.

1. Is the project proposal consistent with the Lake of the Woods County Comprehensive Land Use Plan?                                                                                                           YES (X) NO (  ) N/A (  )

Why or why not?  Resort, tourist, fish house area.

2. Is the project proposal consistent with maintaining the public health, safety, and welfare?

YES (X) NO (  )  N/A (  )

Why or why not?  This request has no effect on the public health, safety, and welfare.

3. Is the project proposal consistent with the goal of preventing and controlling water pollution, including sedimentation and nutrient loading?                                                  YES (X) NO (  )  N/A (  )

Why or why not?  This request has no effect on water pollution.

4. Will the project proposal not adversely affect the site’s existing topography, drainage features, and vegetative cover?                                                                                                  YES (X)  NO (  )  N/A (  )

Why or why not?  This request will not affect existing topography, drainage features; however, it will increase the vegetative cover with the planting white spruce trees.

5. Is the project proposal’s site location reasonable in relation to any floodplain and/or floodway of rivers or tributaries?                                                                                          YES (X)  NO (  )  N/A (  )

Why or why not?  While the site is located in the 100 and 500 year floodplain, it is for storage of fish houses.

6. Has the erosion potential of the site based upon the degree and direction of slope, soil type and existing vegetative cover been adequately addressed for the project proposal?

                                                                                                                        YES (X) NO (  ) N/A (  )

Why or why not?  This request will not increase the erosion potential of the site.

7. Is the site in harmony with existing and proposed access roads?             YES (X)  NO (  )  N/A (  )

Why or why not?  Access from the site will be from 40^th Avenue NW and no new roads are proposed.

8. Is the project proposal compatible with adjacent land uses?                    YES (X)  NO (  )  N/A (  )

Why or why not?  The request will be compatible by implementation of the conditions below.

9. Does the project proposal have a reasonable need to be in a shoreland location?

                                                                                                                        YES (  )  NO (  ) N/A (X)

Why or why not?  The request is outside of the shoreland area of Bostic Creek.

10. Is the amount of liquid waste to be generated reasonable and the proposed sewage disposal system adequate to accommodate the project proposal?                                                    YES (  )  NO (  )  N/A (X)

Why or why not?  The request will not generate liquid waste/sewage on the site.         

11. Will the visibility of structures and other facilities as viewed from public waters comply with Section 901 of the Zoning Ordinance?                                                                             YES (  )  NO (  )  N/A (X)

Why or why not?  The site is not located in the shoreland area of Bostic Creek.

12. Is the site adequate for water supply and on-site sewage treatment systems?

                                                                                                                          YES (X) NO (  ) N/A (  )

Why or why not?  While the request has no need for a water supply and sewage treatment system, adjacent properties have installed water supplies and sewage treatment systems.    

13. Are the affected public waters suited to and able to safely accommodate the types, uses, and numbers of watercraft that the project proposal will generate?                             YES (  )  NO (  )  N/A (X)

Why or why not? ______________________________________________________

14. If the project proposal includes above ground or below ground storage tanks for petroleum or other hazardous material that is subject to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) requirements, has a permit been sought?                                                YES (  )  NO (  )  N/A (X)

Why or why not?  The request does not include storage tanks.

15. Will there be fencing and/or other screening provided to buffer the project proposal from adjacent properties?                                                                                                 YES (X)  NO (  )  N/A (  )

Why or why not?  See conditions.           

16. If signage is associated with the project proposal, has the applicant demonstrated the need for the number and size requested, and minimized the visual appearance as viewed from adjacent properties to the extent possible?                                                                                 YES (X)  NO (  )  N/A (  )

Why or why not?  Applicant states minimal or no signage will occur on the site.

17. If the project proposal will generate additional traffic to or from the site, has the applicant adequately demonstrated how the additional traffic and parking is to be addressed?

                                                                                                          YES (X) NO (  ) N/A (  )

Why or why not?  Parking on the ice unless inclement weather.

The specific conditions of approval are as follows:

1. A visual barrier must be established and maintained on three sides (North, South and West) of the storage area with White Spruce not less than five (5) feet high and spaced no further apart than eight (8) feet. These trees are to be planted in a double row and staggered to provide maximum visual screening. Planting of said trees is to be conducted no later than December 31, 2016.
2. Storage area is to be located on the Easterly four-hundred (400) feet of the described property.
3. Storage area is for said fish house business only.
4. No more than ten (10) rental fish houses on the property.
5. No more than ten (10) client vehicles are to be parked on said property.
6. Damage caused by business activities, and/or general maintenance to the private road, shall be the responsibility of the landowner.
7. No occupation is allowed of said fish houses.
8. Off-season storage of business related equipment must be stored out of sight, either inside a structure or within the fish house storage area.
9. The Lake of the Woods County Board of Commissioner’s may review the conditions placed upon approval within one (1) year of the date of approval and may require the establishment and maintenance of a visual buffer, similar to above, be placed parallel to the westerly boundary of the described property to further enhance the visual screening.

If all answers to the Findings of Fact-Criteria are either “Yes” or are “Not Applicable” to the request, the criteria for granting the conditional use permit have been met. The conditional use permit will maintain the goals of safety, health, and general welfare of the public. 

The motion was seconded by Commissioner Arnesen and the vote carried as follows: Voting for: Beckel, Arnesen, Moorman and Nordlof. Voting against: Hanson. Vote carried.

Approved  as Presented  (  )                                     Approved with Conditions  (X)                   Denied  (  )

                                                                                    _____________________________________

                                                                                                            Kenneth Moorman

                                                                                                        Chair, County Board

This is in accordance with Section 1204 of the Lake of the Woods County Zoning Ordinance.

Recess

With no further business before the board, Chairman Moorman called the meeting to recess at 12:20 p.m.

Attest:                                                                                     Approved: March 22, 2016

_______________________                                                  _________________________________

Lorene Hanson,                                                                       Chairman of the Board, Ken Moorman

County Auditor/Treasurer  

======================================================================================================================================================================================

Commissioner Proceedings

March 22, 2016

The Lake of the Woods County Board of Commissioners met in regular session on Tuesday, March 22, 2016 at Lake of the Woods County in the Commissioners Room.

Call to Order

Chairman Moorman called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. and the Pledge of Allegiance was recited with the following members present: Commissioners Thomas Hanson, Ed Arnesen, Buck Nordlof, and Ken Moorman. Absent: Patty Beckel.  Also present were: County Auditor/Treasurer Lorene Hanson, Deputy Auditor /Treasurer Janet Rudd, County Attorney, James Austad and Woody Fiala.

Approval of Agenda

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Hanson, seconded by Commissioner Nordlof and carried unanimously to approve the agenda with the following additions: Remove Oak Harbor Golf Course Liquor License and add Letter of Resignation, Drainage,  Department of Human Services Letter, Gun Range Road, MN Court Data Service, Zoning Ordinance Amendment, MIS updates.  

Approval of Consent Agenda

None

Approval of Minutes

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Arnesen, seconded by Commissioner Nordlof and carried unanimously to approve the official and summarized minutes of March 8, 2016.

Great Northern Transmission Line

James Atkinson and Matt Hagelin from MN Powers met with the board and informed them that the biological surveys, drilling and Right of Way Entry for the proposed route which will begin in April with construction starting January 2017.

SOCIAL SERVICES

Social Service Financial Officer, Christine Hultman met with the board requesting approval for claims.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Hanson, seconded by Commissioner Arnesen and carried unanimously to approve the following claims against the county as follows: Commissioners Warrants: $14,024.22 and $8,267.81.

DHS Financial Reporting

Motion was made by Commissioner Arnesen, seconded by Commissioner Nordlof and carried unanimously to recognize Social Services staff for a perfect performance in meeting the DHS Human Service financial reporting requirement for the year 2015.

COUNTY ATTORNEY

County Attorney, James Austad met with the board requesting authorization to subscribe to Minnesota Court Data Services program.

Resolution

The following resolution was offered by Commissioner Arnesen, seconded by Commissioner Nordlof and carried unanimously to approve the following Resolution:

MN Court Data Services

16-03-02

WHEREAS, the Lake of the Woods County desires to improve efficiencies through participating in a more efficient court process with the Minnesota Judicial Branch; and,

WHEREAS, as the Minnesota Judicial Branch moves towards a more efficient court process, the eCourtMN initiative is committed to ensuring that non-court governmental agencies have appropriate access to court records and documents; and

WHEREAS, the Lake of the Woods County desires to subscribed to Minnesota Court Data Services Program;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that Lake of the Woods County Board of Commissioners approves and authorizes James Austad, County Attorney to sign the Master Subscriber Agreement for Minnesota Court Data Service for Governmental Agencies.

MIS DEPARTMENT

MIS Director, Peder Hovland met with the board and updated them on the Tyco Annual Inspection (sprinkler system) and informed the board that they need to add one to the new office for Child Support office in the amount of $1,990; Centurylink will be hooking up IP phone with funding from the 911 account; ordering Human Resource Office a new computer in the amount of $1,200 and that will be added to the rotation list for upgrades.

AUDITOR/TREASURER

Claims

County Auditor/Treasurer, Lorene Hanson met with the board requesting approval of claims.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Hanson, seconded by Commissioner Arnesen and carried unanimously to approve the claims against the county as follows except for claim number 2213 and to amend that amount to pay $19.99 : Revenue $ 22,726.89, Road & Bridge $15,926.26, Co. Develop $ 2,000.00, Solid Waste$4,694.76, EDA $2,964.95.

WARRANTS FOR PUBLICATION

Warrants Approved On 3/22/2016 For Payment 3/25/2016

Vendor Name                                                    Amount

Cenex Co-Op Services, Inc.                                                   2,825.41

Compass Minerals America                                                    2,526.98

Dell Marketing, Lp                                                                    3,073.26

LOW School District—390                                                       2,625.00

Neopost Great Plains                                                               2,985.80

Northwest Community Action, Inc                                           2,307.50

Powerplan                                                                                 7,157.68

Short Elliott Hendrickson, Inc                                                4,386.99

St. Louis County Auditor                                                          2,000.00

Sun Monitoring                                                                         4,316.50

49  Payments less than  2000 14,352.24

Final Total: 48,557.36

Further moved to authorize the payment of the following auditor warrants: March 8, $58,422.65, March 14, $139,744.82, March 16, $17,579.13.    

CHS Meeting

County Auditor/Treasurer, Lorene Hanson met with the board informing them that CHS would like to meet with the county board to discuss the CHS program. The board requested that a meeting be held at 1:00 p.m. after regular board meeting.

MID- STATE COMPUTER BY-LAWS

County Auditor/Treasurer, Lorene Hanson met with the board informing them The Mid-State Computer Cooperative is requesting dues payment of $100, which are not collected yearly, just when needed and also to acknowledge the By-laws of the Cooperative.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Hanson, seconded by Commissioner Nordlof and carried unanimously to approve payment of dues of $100 and to acknowledge the Mid -State Computer By-laws and authorize County Auditor/Treasurer, Lorene Hanson and Chairman Moorman to sign.

SHERIFF/EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT

County Sheriff, Gary Fish met with the board and requested that the 2015 Stone Garden Contract and purchase of Squad Vehicle be removed from the agenda for they have not received the contract as of today.

Warning Sirens

County Sheriff, Gary Fish met with the board and presented three quotes for replacement of the two sirens that the county has, City of Baudette and City of Williams and adding one more in the Wheelers Township. 911 funding cannot be used for replacement or additions of warning sirens. The board discussed emergency shelters and plans needed for the Wheelers Point area before adding a siren. The board requested that when the plan is in place to bring back to the board for approval for the warning siren in Wheelers Point area.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Nordlof, seconded by Commissioner Hanson and carried unanimously to approve the replacement warning sirens for the City of Baudette and City of Williams in the amount $37,574.25 from the unallocated account.

RECESS

The meeting was called to recess at 10:34 a.m. and reconvened at 10:38 a.m. as follows:

COUNTY ASSESSOR

County Assessor, Mary Jo Otten met with the board and informed the board that she would like Assessment Specialist/Office Manger to attend the ALP Procedures Courses and that there is money for that in her budget. The board concurred with her request for training.

PUBLIC WORKS

Seasonal Help

Public Works Director, Tim Erickson met with the board requesting approval to hire five (5) Seasonal Help position.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Hanson, seconded by Commissioner Arnesen and carried unanimously to approve the advertising, interviewing and hiring for five (5) Seasonal help.

Senior Inspector II

Public Works Director Tim Erickson met with the board and informed the Board that Senior Inspector II, Dan Crompton is retiring as of March 31, 2016.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Hanson, seconded by Commissioner Arnesen and carried unanimously to authorize Public Works Director, Tim Erickson and Human Resource Director, Karen Ose to advertise, interview and hire Senior Inspector II at grade 12, Step 1, $20.05 per hour, points 274.

Mowers

Public Works Director, Tim Erickson met with the board requesting authorization to purchase new mowers in the amount of $27,300 from Titan Machinery as budgeted.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Nordlof, seconded by Commissioner Arnesen and carried unanimously to approve the purchase of new mowers in the amount of $27,300 from Titan Machinery.

Gun Club Road/Drainage Issues

The board discussed the Gun Club Road and asked the Public Works Department to see if they could grade it; discussed Drainage Issues, and re-assessment on Ditch 28. The board wants to hold a Public Hearing and move forward with this project; Highway 11 Construction Project, meeting is to be held on April 4, 2016.

Correspondence

The board acknowledges the following: Red River Valley Invitation and State Auditor Review.

LAND AND WATER PLANNING

Land & Water Planning Director, Josh Stromlund met with the board to discuss an issue regarding the Kelly Creek plat. The issue is the driveway that services the properties, is not in the location where it is depicted on the plat of Kelly Creek. Options to resolve this issue include the possibility of vacating the depicted road or undertake a boundary commission plat.   

Zoning Ordinance Changes- Fish House Ordinance Discussion

Land and Water Planning Director, Josh Stromlund met with the board to discuss the change in Zoning Ordinance to possible enact a moratorium on the issuance of Conditional Use Permits for Non-Conforming Fish House Rental businesses and Commercial Fish House Storage.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Hanson, seconded by Commissioner Nordlof to close the regular meeting at 11:40 a.m. and open the Public Hearing for Schrandt Cartway.

Present were: Commissioners Arnesen, Moorman, Hanson and Nordlof. County Auditor/Treasurer, Lorene Hanson, Deputy Auditor/Treasurer Janet Rudd, County Attorney, James Austad, Land and Water Planning Director, Josh Stromlund, Public Works Director, Tim Erickson, Attorney Nora Crumpton, Attorney Alan Fish, Gary Pulkrabek, Paul Pedersen, Mary Schrandt, David Schrandt and Woody Fiala.

Chairman Moorman informed the public that no agreement regarding damages and waiver of irregularities and appeal or release of damages were received from the adjoining landowners. County Commissioners reviewed the appraisal that Attorney Crumpton presented. Estimated of damages for Gary Pulkrabek totaling $975 and Paul Pederson totaling $975. County Commissioners offered $1,500 for damages on both parcels of land. Attorney Fish argued that the damages should be $5,000, with both Paul Pederson and Gary Pulkrabek agreeing and Paul and Gary objecting the $1,500 offer.

Award Of Damages

The following resolution was offered by Commissioner Arnesen, seconded by Commissioner Hanson and carried unanimously to approve the following Award of Damages for Schrandt Cartway:

AWARD OF DAMAGES

STATE OF MINNESOTA

COUNTY OF LAKE OF THE WOODS

TOWNSHIP OF POTAMO

RESOLUTION NO. 16-03-03

WHEREAS, the Lake of the Woods County Board of Commissioners, Baudette, MN did on the 8^th day of September, 2015,  established the road described on the attached order pursuant to Minn. Stat.§ 164.07;

WHEREAS, the establishment affects a tract of land in Lake of the Woods County, Minnesota, owned by Gary G. Pulkrabek and Paul Pedersen, and more particularly described as follows: Government Lot Two (2), Southwest Quarter of the Northeast Quarter (SW1/4NE1/4), and the West half of the Southeast Quarter (W1/2SE1/4), Section Two (2); Township one hundred sixty (160) North, Range Thirty-Three west of the Fifth Principal Meridian; and the South Half Northwest Quarter (S2NW4) and Government Lots 3 & 4, Section 2, Township 160 North, Range 33 West.

WHEREAS, no prior written agreement ascertaining the damages or releasing all claims to damages were obtained from the owners;

WHEREAS, the Lake of the Woods County Board has determined the amount of damages sustained by the owners by reason of the establishment and have subtracted from that amount the money value of the benefits the board has determined will be conferred by said establishment.

YOU ARE HEREBY NOTIFIED, that in the matter of the establishment of the above described road the Lake of the Woods County Board on the 22^nd day of March, 2016 has awarded Gary G. Pulkrabek and Paul Pedersen, as the owners of the above described tract of land, damages in the amount of $1,500. A check will be mailed to each of you after the 40 days appeal time frame.

NOTICE OF RIGHT TO APPEAL

PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that you have an opportunity under Minn. Stat. § 164.07 to appeal this award of damages. To appeal the award, notice of appeal must be filed with the court administrator of the district court of Lake of the Woods County, within 40 days of March 22, 2016. Filing a notice of appeal will not prevent Lake of the Woods County from carrying out the action set out above unless the appeal challenges the public purpose or necessity of a road alteration or establishment and is filed within ten days. The notice of appeal must specify; (1) the award of damages or failure to award damages being appealed from; (2) the land to which the appeal relates; (3) the nature and amount of the damages you are claiming; and (4) the grounds of the appeal. The notice of appeal must also be accompanied by a bond of at least $250, with sufficient surety approved by the judge or the County Auditor/Treasurer conditioned to pay all cost arising from the appeal in case the award is sustained. A copy of the notice of appeal must be mailed by registered or certified mail to the Lake of the Woods County Auditor/Treasurer.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Hanson, seconded by Commissioner Nordlof and carried unanimously to close the Public Hearing at 11:20 a.m. and open the regular meeting.

RECESS

The meeting was called to recess at 12:21 p.m. and reconvened at 1:10 p.m. with Commissioenr Hanson absent.

Zoning Ordinance Changes- Fish House Ordinance Discussion

Chairman Moorman continued with the discussion of moratorium on the issuance of Conditional Use Permits for nonconforming Fish House Rental Businesses and Commercial Fish House Storage. The moratorium may, by state law, last up to one year and be reenacted for a second year if the board chooses. This will allow the Commissioners, Land and Water Planning Office and County Attorney time to coordinate the writing of comprehensive changes to the County Zoning Ordinance.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Nordlof, seconded by Commissioner Arnesen and carried unanimously to declare a moratorium on the issuance of Conditional Use Permits for Non-Conforming Fish House Rental Businesses, Commercial Fish House Storage, Expansion or Transfer of, effective March 22, 2016, any Conditional Use Permits already on file in the office of Land and Water Planning Office will be processed through the Planning Commission.

Recess

With no further business before the board, Chairman Moorman called the meeting to recess at 2:10 p.m.

Attest:                                                                                     Approved: April 12, 2016

_______________________                                                  _________________________________

Lorene Hanson,                                                                       Chairman of the Board, Ken MoormanCounty Auditor/Treasurer

Commissioner Proceedings

March 10, 2015

The Lake of the Woods County Board of Commissioners met in regular session on Tuesday, March 10, 2015, in the Commissioners’ Room at the Government Center.

Call to Order

Chairman Arnesen called the meeting to order at 9:01 a.m. and the Pledge of Allegiance was recited with the following members present: Commissioners Patty Beckel, Thomas Hanson, Ed Arnesen, Buck Nordlof, and Ken Moorman.  Also present were: County Auditor/Treasurer Lorene Hanson, Deputy Auditor /Treasurer Janet Rudd and Woody Fiala.

Approval of Agenda

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Moorman, seconded by Commissioner Hanson and carried unanimously to approve the agenda with the following additions: Travel for Josh Stromlund, Woman of Today and S E H update.

Approval of Consent Agenda

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Hanson, seconded by Commissioner Beckel and carried unanimously to approve the consent agenda as follows: Travel for Karen Ose to St. Cloud for MN Counties Human Resource Association meeting on April 8-10; Heather Blodgett to Bemidji for Protection/Child Welfare Foundations, on April 7-9, May 5-7, June 2-4; Josh Stromlund to St. Paul for Wetland Meeting on March 9-10.

Approval of Minutes

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Hanson, seconded by Commissioner Moorman and carried unanimously to approve the official and summarized minutes of March 10, 2015.

Auditor/Treasurer

Claims

County Auditor/Treasurer, Lorene Hanson met with the board requesting approval of claims.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Hanson, seconded by Commissioner Moorman and carried unanimously to approve the claims against the county as follows:

                                           Revenue                              $    37,855.62            

                                                Road & Bridge                    $    24,004.24

                                                Co. Develop                        $         200.00

                                                Solid Waste                         $     14,141.27

                                                EDA                                    $          554.56

                                                                                76,755.69

WARRANTS FOR PUBLICATION

Warrants Approved On 3/10/2015 For Payment 3/13/2015

Vendor Name                                               Amount

Cenex Co-Op Services, Inc.                                                    8,924.11

Computer Professionals Unlimited Inc                                   3,071.00

Howard’s Oil Company                                            2,859.33

Information Systems Corporation                         19,080.00

KRIS Engineering Inc                                               7,817.92

Mar-Kit Landfill                                                          9,355.50

Neopost Great Plains                                               2,764.60

Woody’s Service                                                       4,204.89

           53 Payments less than  2000                       18,678.34

Final Total:                                                            76,755.69

Further moved to authorize the payment of the following auditor warrants:

                                                March 5, 2015                  $185,202.03

March 5, 2015                  $    6,906.90

PERA CORRECTIONAL PLAN

County Auditor/Treasurer, Lorene Hanson met with the board and informed the board that the vote for the PERA Correctional Plan went through with no social security to be taken out of the Correctional Employees salary.

EXTENSION

County Auditor/Treasurer, Lorene Hanson met with the board requesting approval for Extension to purchase a computer.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Hanson, seconded by Commissioner Nordlof and carried unanimously to approve the purchase of a computer in the amount of $1,324.72 from the extension fund.

PUBLIC WORKS

Public Works Director, Tim Erickson met with the board requesting authorization to purchase a snowplow truck as budgeted for 2015.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Moorman, seconded by Commissioner Nordlof and carried unanimously to authorize Public Works Director, Tim Erickson to purchase a snowplow in the amount of $207,404.16 from the public works funds.

Five Year Road Construction Update-MN Pollution Control-Clementson Property

Public Works Director, Tim Erickson met with the board and informed them that he spoke with MN DOT on CR 80 and they will be up next week to look at the culvert and draining issues; informed the board that there will be a meeting in Thief River Falls on March 12 at 9:30 a.m. to discuss curbside recycling; State is working on the conveyance of the Clementson property and cost associated with the property.

WOMEN OF TODAY

Chairman Arnesen informed the board that the Women of Today requested their allocation for Post Prom.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Beckel, seconded by Commissioner Hanson and carried unanimously to approve the donation of $100.00 to the Women of Today for the 2015 Prom.

CORRESPONDENCE

S E H – NWA update.

MN Pilots Association- encouragement letter to continue progress in creating a new NWA Airport.

Lake of the Woods County Historical Society- Museum Ground Enhancement Planning Sessions.

RECESS

The meeting was called to recess at 9:56 a.m. and reconvened at 10:02 a.m. as follows:

Social Services Director

Claims

Social Services Director, Nancy Wendler met with the board requesting approval of claims.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Beckel, seconded by Commissioner Moorman and carried unanimously to approve the following claims against the county.

                                                Commissioners’ Warrants          $ 12,710.25

                                                Commissioners’ Warrants          $   9,588.14

Mental Health Contract

Social Services Director, Nancy Wendler met with the board requesting approval to enter into CY2015 Adult Mental Health Grants in the amount of $50,735.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Hanson, seconded by Commissioner Nordlof and carried unanimously to enter into the CY2015 Adult Mental Health Grant and authorize Chairman Arnesen and Social Services Director, Nancy Wendler to sign.

Social Service Director

Social Services Director, Nancy Wendler met with the board to discuss her upcoming retirement at the end of May and the replacement of her position.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Beckel, seconded by Commissioner Nordlof and carried unanimously to authorize Social Service Director, Nancy Wendler and Human Resources Director, Karen Ose to advertise for Social Services Director.

LEGISLATIVE CONFERENCE

Commissioners Arnesen and Moorman reviewed topics that they attended at the Legislative Conference.

Recess

With no further business before the board, Chairman Arnesen called the meeting to recess at 10:50 a.m.

Attest:                                                                                     Approved: March 24, 2015

_______________________                                                  _________________________________

Lorene Hanson,                                                                       Chairman of the Board, Edward Arnesen

County Auditor/Treasurer      

==========================================================================================================

Commissioner Proceedings

march 24, 2015

The Lake of the Woods County Board of Commissioners met in regular session on Tuesday, March 24, 2015, in the Commissioners’ Room at the Government Center.

Call to Order

Chairman Arnesen called the meeting to order at 9:01 a.m. and the Pledge of Allegiance was recited with the following members present: Commissioners Patty Beckel, Thomas Hanson, Ed Arnesen, Buck Nordlof, and Ken Moorman.  Also present were: County Auditor/Treasurer Lorene Hanson, Deputy Auditor /Treasurer Janet Rudd and Woody Fiala.

Approval of Agenda

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Nordlof, seconded by Commissioner Moorman and carried unanimously to approve the agenda with the following additions: Travel for Lorene Hanson and Christine Hultman, Satisfaction of Mortgage, Commissioner Hanson to meet with DNR and Commissioners Social Security.

Approval of Consent Agenda

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Beckel, seconded by Commissioner Hanson and carried unanimously to approve the consent agenda as follows: Travel for Dena Pieper, Crime & Victimization Conference in Brainerd May 13-15, Marti Carlson, MN Co. Highway Accountants Assoc. Annual Conference in Alexandria,   April 29 – May 1; Jo Thoreson, Clerical Conference in Brainerd May 6- 8; and Lorene Hanson and Christine Hultman, Payroll Conference in St. Cloud on March 26-27;

Approval of Minutes

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Hanson, seconded by Commissioner Beckel and carried unanimously to approve the official and summarized minutes of March 10, 2015.

Auditor/Treasurer

Claims

County Auditor/Treasurer, Lorene Hanson met with the board requesting approval of claims.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Hanson, seconded by Commissioner Moorman and carried unanimously to approve the claims against the county as follows:

                                           Revenue                              $    28,341.58            

                                                Road & Bridge                    $      8,329.54

                                                Co. Develop                        $     48,000.00

                                                Natl Recs Enhance              $          727.00

                                                Solid Waste                         $       3,578.75

                                                EDA                                    $       4,901.50

                                                                                93,878.37

WARRANTS FOR PUBLICATION

Warrants Approved On 3/24/2015 For Payment 3/27/2015

Vendor Name                                          Amount

Dell Marketing, Lp                                                                            8,594.00

LOW Historical Society                                                 48,000.00

Northwest Community Action, Inc                                  4,901.50

                                                R & Q Trucking, Inc                                                         2,837.65

Voyageurs Comtronics, Inc                                                            2,640.00

64 Payments less than  $2000                                                       26,905.22

                Final Total:                                                   $93,878.37

Further moved to authorize the payment of the following auditor warrants:

                                                March 11, 2015                $ 627,009.31

March 13, 2015                $     9,053.57

March 19, 2015                $     6,346.31

March 19, 2015                $   51,174.05         

Oak Harbor Liquor License

County Auditor/Treasurer, Lorene Hanson met with the board requesting approval for a Seasonal On- Sale/Sunday Liquor License.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Hanson, seconded by Commissioner Nordlof and carried unanimously to approve Oak Harbor Golf Course Seasonal On- Sale/Sunday Liquor License effective April 15, 2015 thru October 15, 2015.

North Country Community Health Services

County Auditor/Treasurer, Lorene Hanson met with the board requesting approval to enter into a Joint Powers Agreement.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Moorman, seconded by Commissioner Beckel and carried unanimously to enter into a Joint Powers Agreement with Counties of Beltrami, Hubbard and Clearwater known as the North Country Community Health Service, effective January 1, 2015 thru December 31, 2019 and authorize County Auditor/Treasurer, Lorene Hanson and Chairman Arnesen to sign.

Women of Today

County Auditor/Treasurer, Lorene Hanson met with the board requesting approval to sign the application to conduct Bingo Activity for the Women of Today.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Beckel, seconded by Commissioner Nordlof and carried unanimously to authorize County Auditor/Treasurer to sign the application for Lake of the Woods Women of Today to conduct bingo activities.

Tier I and Tier II Contracts

County Auditor/Treasurer, Lorene Hanson met with the board requesting approval to enter into Department of Natural Resources ELS Tier I and Tier II contracts.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Nordlof, seconded by Commissioner Moorman and carried unanimously to authorize Deputy Registrar, Janet Rudd to sign the St. of MN, Department of Natural Resources ELS Tier II contract effective upon the date that the final required signature is obtained thru June 30, 2019.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Hanson, seconded by Commissioner Beckel and carried unanimously to authorize County Auditor/Treasurer, Lorene Hanson to sign the St. of MN, Department of Natural Resource ELS Tier I contract effective upon the date that the final required signature is obtained thru June 30, 2019.

Satisfaction of Mortgage

County Auditor/Treasurer, Lorene Hanson met with the board requesting authorization to sign the Satisfaction of Mortgage for Crystal Ferrier.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Hanson, seconded by Commissioner Beckel and carried unanimously to authorize Chairman Arnesen and County Auditor/Treasurer, Lorene Hanson to sign the Satisfaction of Mortgage on Lot One (1) and Two (2), Block Four (4), second addition to Baudette, according to the recorded plat thereof.

Social Services Director

Claims

Social Services Director, Nancy Wendler met with the board requesting approval of claims.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Beckel, seconded by Commissioner Moorman and carried unanimously to approve the following claims against the county.

                                                Commissioners’ Warrants          $ 21,245.53

                                                Commissioners’ Warrants          $ 14,882.83

Social SECURITY-COMMISSIONERS

County Auditor/Treasurer, Lorene Hanson met with the board and updated the board on their request of information on Social Security options for elected Commissioners, which are eligible for membership in the Defined Contribution Plan administered by the Public Employees Retirement Association. The board placed this on the April 14, 2015 board agenda

Rescue Equipment

Chairman Arnesen discussed a toboggan for emergency situation at the NWA with County Sheriff, Gary Fish. Gary concurred that this equipment is needed at the NWA and will talk with Jason Goulet and report back to the board.

LEGACY AMENDMENT FUNDS TRAINING

Commissioner Hanson informed the board that there will be Legacy Amendment Funds Training in Bemidji on April 15 and in Thief River Falls on April 16 for those who would be interested in attending.

PUBLIC WORKS DEPARMENT

Public Works Director, Tim Erickson met with the board to set the Annual Road Tour.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Beckel, seconded by Commissioner Hanson and carried unanimously to set the 2015 Annual Road tour for May 19, 2015 at 7:30 a.m.

BID OPENING RESULTS

Public Works Director, Tim Erickson met with the board and informed them that Knife River Materials was the lowest responsible bidder for construction of S.A.P. 039-601-028; 039-601-029 and 039-627-004.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Hanson, seconded by Commissioner Nordlof and carried unanimously to award the bid to the lowest responsible bidder, Knife River Materials for construction of S.A.P. 039-601-028, S.A.P. 039-601-029 and S.A.P. 039-627-004 in the amount of $1,309,865.19.

SEASONAL HELP

Public Works Director, Tim Erickson met with the board requesting authorization to hire seasonal help.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Nordlof, seconded by Commissioner Beckel and carried unanimously to authorize Public Works Director, Tim Erickson and Human Resource Director, Karen Ose to advertise and hire for seasonal help.

COMMITTEE REPORTS

Commissioner Moorman reported that the Prevention Coalition is not going to pursue the Social Host Ordinance; Joint Powers  Natural Resources meeting they discussed the Poly Met Project.

Commissioner Arnesen reported on the MN Pollution Control meeting in Thief River Falls on recyclable standards; Commissioners Hanson informed the board that he was contacted by the DNR to meet with them on discussion of Land Acquisition that the DNR wants to purchase; the board agreed that Commissioner Hanson should attend the meeting.

CORRESPONDENCE

Lake of the Woods Basin meeting on March 27, 2015 from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. at the Ambulance Garage; MN Red River Valley Association March 28, 2015 at University of MN Crookston;

TRAPPING BILLS

Leslie Huerd met with the board to discuss the MN State Legislatures bills that have been introduced on changes of trapping regulations, and if passed the negative impact it would cause for trappers.

RESOLUTION

The following resolution was offered by Commissioner Hanson and moved for adoption:

RESOLUTION IN OPPOSITION OF HF 1655, 1070, 1317 and SF 1325, 1070 and 592

Resolution No.  15-03- 01

NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED; that Lake of the Woods County Board of Commissioners opposes HF 1655, SF 1325, HF1070, SF 1070, HF 1317and SF 1592 as written, as they are contrary on how we control beavers in Lake of the Woods County.

The resolution was seconded by Commissioner Nordlof and the same being put to a vote, was unanimously carried.

Recess

With no further business before the board, Chairman Arnesen called the meeting to recess at 10:55 a.m.

Attest:                                                                                     Approved: March 24, 2015

_______________________                                                  _________________________________

Lorene Hanson,                                                                       Chairman of the Board, Edward Arnesen

County Auditor/Treasurer      

Commissioner Proceedings

March 11, 2014

The Lake of the Woods County Board of Commissioners met in regular session on Tuesday, March 11, 2014, in the Commissioners’ Room at the Government Center.

Call to Order

Chair Beckel called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. and the Pledge of Allegiance was recited with the following members present: Commissioners Patty Beckel, Thomas Hanson, Ed Arnesen, Buck Nordlof and Ken Moorman.  Also present were: County Auditor/Treasurer Mark Hall and Deputy Auditor Janet Rudd.

Approval of Agenda

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Hanson to approve the agenda with the following additions: Building Maintenance, NTS Contract, Synthetic Drug Ordinance, Arrowhead Library and Short Elliott Hendrickson. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Moorman and the same being put to a vote, was unanimously carried.  

Approval of Consent Agenda

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Arnesen to approve the consent agenda as follows: Darren Olson and Stacy Novak to St. Paul on May 6-8 for election training; Boyd Johnson and Cooper Mickelson to Brainerd on March 18-20 for Mn/DOT Survey Technical Workshop; Karlene Brown to Brainerd on March 12-13 for Adult Protection Training. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Nordlof and the same being put to a vote, was unanimously carried.

Approval of Minutes

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Hanson to approve the minutes of February 19 special meeting and February 25 regular meeting. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Arnesen and the same being put to a vote, was unanimously carried.

Auditor/Treasurer

Oak Harbor LLC Liquor License

County Auditor/Treasurer, Mark Hall requested approval for Oak Harbor LLC Seasonal Liquor Licensee. Mark informed the board that the golf course was sold and is under new owners.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Nordlof to approve the Seasonal On-Sale and Sunday Liquor License for Oak Harbor LLC, DBA Oak Harbor Golf Course effective April 15, 2014 thru October 15, 2014, as approved by County Sheriff, Gary Fish and County Attorney, Michelle Moren. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Moorman and the same being put to a vote, was unanimously carried.

Claims

County Auditor/Treasurer, Mark Hall and Chief Deputy Auditor, Lorene Hanson met with the board requesting approval of claims:

Motion was made by Commissioner Hanson to approve the claims against the county as follows:

                                           Revenue                              $    24,251.48            

                                                Road & Bridge                    $    37,389.31

                                                Co. Develop                        $         200.00

                                                Solid Waste                         $    19,783.25

                                                EDA                                    $      3,483.12

                                                                               85,107.16

WARRANTS FOR PUBLICATION

Warrants Approved On 2/25/2014 For Payment 2/28/2014

Vendor Name                                                                            Amount

Anchor Marketing, Inc                                                           2,634.98

Cps Technology Solutions                                                  2,299.00

LOW Sr Citizens                                                                     4,629.00

Mar-Kit Landfill                                                                     12,542.85

Mn Rural Counties Caucus                                                   2,100.00

Northwest Community Action, Inc                                        2,984.00

Pemberton, Sorlie, Rufer & Kershner, PLL                           4,766.28

Widseth Smith Nolting&Asst Inc                                          3,873.17

55 Payments less than 2000   17,675.02

Final Total:  53,504.30

Further moved to authorize the payment of the following auditor warrants:

February 25, 2104           $   46,585.61

March 4,       2014           $ 113,311.83

March 6,       2014           $     3,929.08

February 20, 2014           $   83,410.41                      

The motion was seconded by Commissioner Arnesen and the same being put to a vote, was unanimously carried.

SYNTHETIC DRUG ORDINANCE

Commissioner Moorman discussed the Synthetic Drug Ordinance that Prevention Coalition Director, Tammie Doebler brought to the board at the January 28, 2014 meeting. The board placed this on the March 25, 2014 board agenda to set a date and time to hold a public hearing for consideration for adoption of the ordinance.

Social Services Director

Financial Officer, Christine Hultman, met with the County Board requesting approval of claims.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Moorman to approve the following claims against the county:

                                                Commissioners’ Warrants          $ 12,095.80

                                                Commissioners’ Warrants          $   9,316.59 

The motion was seconded by Commissioner Hanson and the same being put to a vote, was unanimously carried.

FAIR GROUNDS

Fair Ground representatives Alyse Walton, Grant Walton and Nicole Peterson met with the board to discuss the funding for a Pavilion/Stage area for the Fair Grounds. Nicole distributed new bids from various contractors for the construction of the Pavilion/Stage. The board reviewed and discussed the project.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Arnesen to contribute $47,000 from the Con-Con fund for the construction of the Pavilion/Stage area at the Fair Grounds with a three stage payment plan. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Hanson and the same being put to a vote, was unanimously carried.

Recess

The meeting was called to recess at 9:50 a.m. and reconvened at 10:00 a.m. as follows:

Thank-You Letter

Commissioner Moorman presented a letter of thanks to DNR Commissioner Tom Landwehr and Senator Bob Lessard for meeting with them on natural resource-related issues and wetland mitigation issues.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Arnesen to authorize Chair Beckel to sign the Thank-you letter for DNR Commissioner Tom Landwehr and Senator Bob Lessard. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Moorman and the same being put to a vote, was unanimously carried.

LAW ENFORCEMENT CENTER

County Sheriff, Gary Fish met with the board to discuss the Law Enforcement Center. With the Pre-Design and Schematic Design completed the Architects had the opportunity to further review the existing building conditions and the design team was able to review the detailed estimate in more exhaustive detail and further reviewed detailed estimate with a budget of now  $1,230,894. Now that the preliminary steps have been completed the board discussed if they want to move forward on this project or hold off and go through the budget process. County Sheriff, Gary Fish stated that he would like to put this on hold for now and wants to meet with the jail inspectors to see what kind of changes and mandated requirements are coming up. The consensus of the board was to hold off on the Law Enforcement Center at this time.

Law Enforcement Storage

County Sheriff, Gary Fish discussed the need for office storage space. The consensus of the board was to have Chair Beckel contact the Historical Society requesting them to remove their belongings that they have been storing for the Law Enforcement is in need of that space.

SPRING FISHING MEETING

Commissioner Hanson informed the board that he attended the Spring Fishing Meeting that was held on March 5, 2014 at Koochiching County Courthouse. Commissioner Hanson reported that it was well attended.

HUMAN RESOURCE DIRECTOR

Human Resource Assistant, Dena Pieper met with the board requesting authorization to advertise for Human Resource Director’s. The board reviewed the Job Description and RFP.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Hanson to approve the Job description and authorized Human Resource Assistant, Dena Pieper to advertise for the Human Resource Director’s position. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Nordlof and the same being put to a vote, was unanimously carried.

PUBLIC WORKS

Public Works Director, Tim Erickson met with the board requesting authorization to enter into a contract with North East Technical Service for well testing for 2014 in the amount of $15,888.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Moorman to authorize Public Works Director, Tim Erickson to sign the 2014 contract with North East Technical Service in the amount of $15,888. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Arnesen and the same being put to a vote, was unanimously carried.

Beaver Data

Public Works Director, Tim Erickson updated the board on Beaver data from last year.

Government Center Maintenance Issues

The board discussed some roof and alarm issues with Public Works Director, Tim Erickson. Tim informed the board that he has been trying to get a hold of Simplex for the alarm issues but they are not returning his calls and that he will have someone come in and look at the roof issues this spring/summer.

NWA AIRPORT

Chair Beckel reviewed a summary for Short Elliott Hendrickson on soil boring for the NWA airport and the cost of the soil testing would run around $24,000, with a grant funding 80% of the project. The consensus of the board was to have Chair Beckel contact Short Elliott requesting them to proceed with the project.

NUISANCE BEAVER

Chair Beckel discussed the nuisance beaver that do not affect the public roads, but the issues that the private sector faces when the beavers build dams and effect property owners.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Moorman to appoint Commissioners Beckel and Hanson to the Nuisance Beaver Committee and to authorize them to appoint committee members. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Arnesen and the same being put to a vote, was unanimously carried.

CORRESPONDENCE

The board reviewed Arrowhead Library System budget.

Recess

With no further business before the board, Chair Beckel called the meeting to recess at 11:46 a.m.

Attest:                                                                                     Approved: March 25, 2014

____________________________                                        _______________________________

Janet E. Rudd Deputy Auditor                                              Patricia Beckel, Chair of the Board

================================================================================================================

Commissioner Proceedings

March 25, 2014

The Lake of the Woods County Board of Commissioners met in regular session on Tuesday, March 25, 2014, in the Commissioners’ Room at the Government Center.

Call to Order

Chair Beckel called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. and the Pledge of Allegiance was recited with the following members present: Commissioners Patty Beckel, Ed Arnesen, Buck Nordlof and Ken Moorman.  Absent: Commissioner Hanson was absent due to illness. Also present were: County Auditor/Treasurer Mark Hall and Deputy Auditor Janet Rudd.

Approval of Agenda

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Moorman to approve the agenda with the following additions: Years of Service Resolution, PERA Resolution, Human Resource Training, Correspondence: Department of Human Services, S E H letter. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Nordlof and the same being put to a vote, was unanimously carried.  

Approval of Consent Agenda

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Moorman to approve the consent agenda as follows: Marti Carlson to Rochester for MN County Highway Accountants Association Conference on April 23-25; Cooper Mickelson to Maple Grove for Advanced RTK Surveying Class on April 15- 16, in Maple Grove, MN; Consent requested for Solid Waste Operator Dale McGuire to attend a 2014 Household Hazardous Waste training refresher to be held March 20th in Brainerd, MN; Stacy Novak to S. Paul for MCCC Tax Advisory  Committee April 2-3^rd; Shelley Pepera to Minneapolis on April 7- 8 for Financial Literacy (Train the Trainer) Workshop. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Nordlof and the same being put to a vote, was unanimously carried.

Approval of Minutes

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Nordlof to approve the minutes of March 11, 2014 regular meeting. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Arnesen and the same being put to a vote, was unanimously carried.

Auditor/Treasurer

Claims

County Auditor/Treasurer, Mark Hall and Chief Deputy Auditor, Lorene Hanson met with the board requesting approval of claims:

Motion was made by Commissioner Moorman to approve the claims against the county as follows:

                                           Revenue                              $     39,892.03           

                                                Road & Bridge                    $     12,024.17

                                                Solid Waste                         $       1,372.67

                                                EDA                                    $       3,728.17

                                                                                57,017.04                                

WARRANTS FOR PUBLICATION

Warrants Approved On 3/25/2014 For Payment 3/28/2014

Vendor Name                                                             Amount

Brown/Terry                                                                       2,613.03

Dell Marketing, Lp                                                              5,167.47

Esri                                                                                       2,040.00

Little Falls Machine, Inc                                                     3,555.94

Mn Counties Information System                                      4,215.00

Moren/Law Offices Of Patrick D                                       6,046.56

Northwest Community Action, Inc                                    2,862.50

Powerplan                                                                           5,258.89

Shi Corp                                                                              2,988.00

60 Payments less than 2000   22,269.65

Final Total:  57,017.04

Further moved to authorize the payment of the following auditor warrants:

March 12, 2014               $     2,005.87

March 12, 2014               $   44,612.59

March 18, 2014               $   12,434.37

The motion was seconded by Commissioner Arnesen and the same being put to a vote, was unanimously carried.

HUMAN RESOURCE

Chair Beckel informed the board that Human Resource Assistant Dena Pieper requested to attend training on Human Resource Laws. The consensus of the board was to have Human Resource Assistant, Dena Pieper and Human Resource Director, when hired to attend.

DEPOT PRESERVATION

Chair Beckel informed the board that the Depot Preservation will be holding a ribbon ceremony honoring the new Permitted Exhibit on April 5, at 11:00 a.m.

SHORT ELLIOT HENDERICKSON

Chair Beckel discussed the information from S E H on site location for possible NWA airport. The board discussed the preferred property which is owned entirely by the State of Minnesota. Commissioner Arnesen will follow through and visit with State Officials on the possibilities of the land to be transferred to the county if the airport project moves forward.

Recess

The meeting was called to recess at 9:28 a.m. and reconvened at 9:31 a.m. as follows:

Social Services Director

Social Service Director, Nancy Wendler met with the County Board requesting approval of claims.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Arnesen to approve the following claims against the county:

                                                Commissioners’ Warrants          $ 13,694.03

                                                Commissioners’ Warrants          $ 27,237.54

                                                Commissioners’ Warrants          $      170.25 

The motion was seconded by Commissioner Moorman and the same being put to a vote, was unanimously carried.

Acceptance of Letter of Resignation

Social Service Director, Nancy Wendler met with the County Board and presented a letter of resignation from Social Worker, Phil Johnson.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Nordlof to accept the letter of resignation from Phil Johnson, effective March 12, 2014. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Moorman and the same being put to a vote, was unanimously carried.

Resolution

The following resolution was offered by Commissioner Beckel and moved for adoption:

Recognition of years of service

Phil Johnson

Resolution 2014 – 03-01

Whereas:  Phil Johnson has served the residents of Lake of the Woods County since May 9, 2005 as a Social Worker;

Whereas:  Phil Johnson has retired from Lake of the Woods County service effective March 12, 2014;

Now Therefore, Be it Resolved:  That Lake of the Woods County Board of Commissioners extends its deepest appreciation to Phil for his dedicated service and best wishes to him;

The resolution was seconded by Commissioner Arnesen and the same being put to a vote, was unanimously carried.

Vacant Social Workers Position

Social Services Director, Nancy Wendler, met with the board requesting authorization to fill the vacant Social Worker position. Nancy explained that it is not required to advertise and test for this position if there are eligible candidates on the Merit System Register.  Karlene Brown is eligible for hire through Minnesota Merit System and has worked for the agency as an Interim Social Worker since December 2013, and provided excellent services to Lake of the Woods County.  She also did her Social Worker internship with the agency earlier in 2013.  Nancy requested authorization to hire Karlene Brown to fill the vacant position.

Motion 

Motion was made by Commissioner Moorman to authorize Social Service Director, Nancy Wendler to hire the current Interim Social Worker, Karlene Brown, at grade 12, step a,  to fill the Social Workers vacancy, effective March 30, 2014. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Nordlof and the same being put to a vote, was unanimously carried.

Larson road vacation

Chair Beckel discussed the continuance of the Public Hearing for the Larson Road Vacation and informed the board that the board can set a date for the continuance for the Public Hearing for the survey work has been completed for the legal description of the road.

The following resolution was offered by Commissioner Arnesen and moved for adoption:

ORDER SETTING FORTH DESCRIPTIONS AND SETTING CONTINUANCE HEARING DATE

WHEREAS, the County Board of Lake of the Woods County, Minnesota was presented a Petition at its regular meeting on the 12^th day of November, 2013 requesting the vacation of a road;

WHEREAS, The Lake of the Woods County Board did conduct public Hearing at 1:00 p.m. on the 28^th day of January, 2014, at the road site located at Beach Avenue and River Drive in Wheeler’s Point and Harris Addition, in Lake of the Woods County to examine the road. The board recessed from the viewing of the road and reconvened the Public Hearing at the Government Center in the Commissioners’ Room, to receive public comment, consider the proposed action, and act on the Petition.

WHEREAS, the legal description described in the original petition dated October 23, 2013, has been amended after completion of a survey to the following:

PROPOSED NEW DESCRIPTIONS

TRACT A (Roadway to be vacated):

Beach Avenue and those portions of, Lake Drive and River Drive, WHEELER’S POINT, according to the plat thereof on record in the Lake of the Woods County, Minnesota Recorder’s office which lie northwesterly of the following described line: Beginning at the southwest corner of Block 3 said WHEELER’S POINT; thence North 71 degrees 19 minutes 24 seconds East, bearing based on the Lake of the Woods County Coordinate Database NAD 83, 503.44 feet along the northwesterly line of said River Drive (which is also the southeasterly line of said Block 3) and it’s northeasterly extension to its intersection with the southwesterly extension of the line common to Lots 6 and 7, Block 1, said WHEELER’S POINT; thence North 29 degrees 30 minutes 59 seconds East 11.64 feet along said southwesterly extension of the line common to Lots 6 and 7,  Block 1, WHEELER’S POINT, to the most southerly corner of said Lot 7 and said line there terminating.

WHEREAS, Minn. Stat. §164.07, subd. 2, requires the County Board to make an order describing as nearly as practicable the road to be vacated, describing the several tracts of land through which the road passes, and fixing a time and place when and where the Town Road will reconvene to meet and act upon the Petition;

NOW, THEREFORE, IT’S HEREBY ORDERED:

1. The road proposed to be vacated is described as:

TRACT A (Roadway to be vacated):

Beach Avenue and those portions of, Lake Drive and River Drive, WHEELER’S POINT, according to the plat thereof on record in the Lake of the Woods County, Minnesota Recorder’s office which lie northwesterly of the following described line: Beginning at the southwest corner of Block 3 said WHEELER’S POINT; thence North 71 degrees 19 minutes 24 seconds East, bearing based on the Lake of the Woods County Coordinate Database NAD 83, 503.44 feet along the northwesterly line of said River Drive (which is also the southeasterly line of said Block 3) and it’s northeasterly extension to its intersection with the southwesterly extension of the line common to Lots 6 and 7, Block 1, said WHEELER’S POINT; thence North 29 degrees 30 minutes 59 seconds East 11.64 feet along said southwesterly extension of the line common to Lots 6 and 7,  Block 1, WHEELER’S POINT, to the most southerly corner of said Lot 7 and said line there terminating.

2. The several tracts of land through which the road passes and their owners are:

                                                                                                            Owners                                                           Description of Land

                                                                                    David L. Larson                                            2568 River Lane NW                   

                        and Joanna C. Larson                                  Baudette, MN 56623                     

                                                                                    Charles C. Tews                                            2576 Lake Lane NW                    

                        Paul F. Tews                                                  Baudette, MN 56623                    

3. The Lake of the Woods County Board deemed it necessary and required that a survey to be made of the road and recessed the Public Hearing.

4. Lake of the Woods County Board of Commissioners on April 22, 2014 will conduct the continuance of a Public Hearing at 1:00 p.m. at the Government Center in the Commissioners’ Room, to receive public comment, consider the proposed action, and act on the Petition.

NOTICE OF RIGHT TO APPEAL

            Affected landowners have right to appeal as provided in Minn. Stat. §164.07, subd. 7 to seek judicial review of damages, need, and purpose if the County Board does decide to establish or alter a Town Road.

The resolution was seconded by Commissioner Nordlof and the same being put to a vote, was unanimously carried.

SYNTHETIC DRUG ORDINANCE

Chair Beckel discussed the Synthetic Drug Ordinance that the board discussed on March 11 on holding a public hearing for the consideration of adopting a Synthetic Drug Ordinance. The board reviewed the draft Synthetic Drug Ordinance.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Arnesen to set the Public Hearing for consideration of adoption of an ordinance regulating Synthetic Drug Establishment and the Sale of Synthetic Drug with the license date from July 1 thru June 30 each year, license fee of $10,000, which will not be prorated if business is sold and to set the public hearing for April 22, 2014 at 11:00 a.m. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Nordlof and the same being put to a vote, was unanimously carried.

Law Enforcement

Contract

County Sheriff, Gary Fish met with the board to discuss the Klein McCarthy Architects contract with the board. The board concurred that the county will leave the contract open with Klein McCarthy Architects for one year and look at this project again.

Join Powers Agreement- I-Mobile

County Sheriff, Gary Fish met with the board requesting approval to enter into a Joint Powers Agreement with the State of Minnesota.

Resolution

RESOLUTION TO ENTER INTO A JOINT POWERS AGREEMENT WITH THE

 STATE OF MINNESOTA

 FOR I/MOBILE SYSTEM

Resolution No. 14-03- 02

The following resolution was offered by Commissioner Arnesen and moved for adoption:

WHEREAS, Sheriff Gary Fish has met with Lake of the  Woods County Board to discuss mobile data computing between the Lake of the Woods County Sheriff’s Department and the State of Minnesota; and

WHEREAS, the purpose of this agreement is for the State to provide Lake of the Woods County Sheriff’s Department with access to the State’s I/Mobile System; thru software purchased and installed by the county on county laptop computers mounted in the patrol vehicles; and

WHEREAS, the term of this agreement shall be from March 1, 2014 thru December 31, 2014;

NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Lake of the Woods County Board of Commissioners hereby adopts this joint powers agreement and authorizes Chair Beckel to sign.

The resolution was seconded by Commissioner Nordlof and the same being put to a vote, was unanimously carried.

Emergency Management Time

County Sheriff, Gary Fish and Emergency Management Director, Nina Husbands met with the board to discuss her Emergency Management hours, and how more time is needed for her to complete her required training hours. The board requested that she figure out how many more hours that she needs for her completion of training and bring back to the board and they will amend her budget.

Part-time Deputy Sheriff Hire

County Sheriff, Gary Fish met with the board requesting approval to hire Russell Platz as a part-time Deputy Sheriff.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Nordlof to authorize County Sheriff, Gary Fish to hire Russell Platz as a part-time Deputy Sheriff at grade 12, step A, 19.06 per hour, (pay equity points of 282), effective March 25, 2014. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Arnesen and the same being put to a vote, was unanimously carried.

Resolution

The following resolution was offered by Commissioner Arnesen and moved for adoption:

Resolution No. 14-03-03

Public Employees Police and Fire Plan

WHEREAS, the policy of the State of Minnesota as declared in Minnesota Statutes 353.63 is to give special consideration to employees who perform hazardous work and devote their time and skills to protecting the property and personal safety of others; and

WHEREAS, Minnesota Statutes Section 353.64 permits governmental subdivisions to request coverage in the Public Employees Police and Fire plan for eligible employees of police departments whose position duties meet the requirements stated therein and listed below.

BE IT RESOLVED that the Commissioners of Lake of the Woods County hereby declare that the position titled Part Time Deputy Sheriff, currently held by Russell Platz meets all of the following Police and Fire membership requirements:                        

1. Said position requires a license by the Minnesota peace officer standards and training board under sections 626.84 to 626.863 and this employee is so licensed;
2. Said position’s primary (over 50%) duty is to enforce the general criminal laws of the state;
3. Said position charges this employee with the prevention and detection of crime;
4. Said position gives this employee the full power of arrest, and
5. Said position is assigned to a designated police or sheriff’s department.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this governing body hereby requests that the above-named employee be accepted as a member of the Public Employees Police and Fire Plan effective the date of this employee’s initial Police and Fire salary deduction by the governmental subdivision.

The resolution was seconded by Commissioner Nordlof, and the same being put to a vote, was unanimously carried.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Moorman to amend the agenda and to add the 2014 State of MN Annual County Boat and Water Safety Grant to the agenda.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Moorman to approve the 2014 State of MN Annual County Board and Water Safety Grant in the amount of $7,329 effective January 1, 2014 thru June 30, 2015 and authorize County Sheriff, Gary Fish, Chair Beckel and County Auditor/Treasurer Mark Hall to sign. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Nordlof and the same being put to a vote, was unanimously carried.

Recess

The meeting was called to recess at 10:40 a.m. and reconvened at 10:45 a.m. as follows:

MIS/GIS DIRECTOR

QR CODE

MIS/GIS Director, Peder Hovland and GIS Specialist, Daniel Fish met with the board and presented the Quick Reference Code (QR) which can be scanned with your mobile devices and will bring up Lake of the Woods County maps that are available online.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Nordlof to authorize MIS Director, Peder Hovland to advertise the QR code with a budget of $100 from the MIS budget. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Moorman and the same being put to a vote was unanimously carried

Parks and Recreational Map

MIS/GIS Director, Peder Hovland and GIS Specialist, Daniel Fish met with the and presented the Parks and Recreational Mapping that would show all recreational areas of Lake of the Woods, Trails and Parks.

ESRI Users Conference

MIS/GIS Director, Peder Hovland and GIS Specialist, Daniel Fish met with the board requesting authorization for out of state travel for GIS Specialist, Daniel Fish to attend the ESRI Users Conference (UC) in San Diego, CA on July 14-18.  Daniel compared the UC to a conference in Rochester and explained that the Rochester Conference covers only several topics versus the conference in San Diego, whereas there are numerous topics including specific topics pertaining to Local Government.  Also available are the newest advances in GIS, and over 15,000 experienced professionals attend this conference. Daniel also explained that the registration fee of $1,700 is waved resulting in the cost of this conference being comparable to the cost of the Rochester conference.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Arnesen to approve travel to San Diego, CA to attend the ESRI Users Conference on July 14-18, in the amount of $2,300 from the MIS budget. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Nordlof and the same being put to a vote, was unanimously carried.

COMMITTEE REPORTS

• Area of Aging
• Wellness Committee Meeting
• Airport Update

Recess

With no further business before the board, Chair Beckel called the meeting to recess at 11:58 a.m.

Attest:                                                                                     Approved: April 8, 2014

____________________________                                        _______________________________

Janet E. Rudd Deputy Auditor                                              Patricia Beckel, Chair of the Board