MINUTES & AGENDAS
February, 2014
Commissioner Proceedings
February 11, 2014
The Lake of the Woods County Board of Commissioners met in regular session on Tuesday, February 11, 2014 in the Commissioners’ Room at the Government Center.
Call to Order
Chairman Beckel called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. and the Pledge of Allegiance was recited with the following members present: Commissioners Buck Nordlof, Ken Moorman, Ed Arnesen, Patricia Beckel and Thomas Hanson. Also present were: Deputy Auditor Janet Rudd and Chief Deputy Auditor, Lorene Hanson.
Approval of Agenda
Motion
Motion was made by Commissioner Hanson to approve the agenda with the following additions: Part Time Deputy Sheriff, Klein McCarthy Architects contract and Airport discussion. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Moorman and the same being put to a vote, was unanimously carried.
Consent Agenda
Motion was made by Commissioner Arnesen to approve the consent agenda as follows: Barry Bailey to attend a HHW Safety & Health Initial Training Seminar on April 22-24 in Willmar; Ted Furbish to attend MPCA Training Refresher on April 15 in St. Paul; Brock Stebakken to attend MPCA Training Refresher on April 3 in Duluth. 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 Moorman to approve the minutes of January 28, 2014 regular meeting with changes. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Hanson and the same being put to a vote, was unanimously carried.
County Auditor/Treasurer
Claims
Chief Deputy Auditor Lorene Hanson met with the board for approval of claims:
Motion
Motion was made by Commissioner Hanson to approve the claims as follows:
Revenue $ 64,931.19
Road & Bridge $ 29,607.91
Co. Develp $ 984.00
Natl Resc Enhanc $ 4,137.39
Solid Waste $ 12,300.57
EDA $ 2,469.79
$ 114,469.79
WARRANTS FOR PUBLICATION
Warrants Approved On 2/11/2014 For Payment 2/14/2014
Vendor Name Amount
Anchor Marketing, Inc 2,425.23
Cenex Co-Op Services, Inc. 9,069.50
Ferrellgas 4,992.18
Hoffman, Dale, & Swenson, Pllc 3,555.00
Howard’s Oil Company 8,038.91
Information Systems Corporation 6,923.00
LaValla Electric DBA/Ned 11,338.66
Little Falls Machine, Inc 4,771.13
LOW Soil & Water Cons. Dist. 4,000.00
Mn State Dept-Correction 15,259.37
Moren/Law Offices Of Patrick D 5,978.24
Powerplan 2,284.34
Wayne’s Body Shop-Dba 5,553.50
Woody’s Service 5,214.03
64 Payments less than 2000 25,027.76
Final Total: 114,430.85
Further moved to authorize the payment of the following auditor warrants:
January 28, 2014 $ 16,038.21
January 28, 2014 $ 463.07 February 5, 2014 $ 5,940.37
February 5, 2014 $ 82,713.27
$105,154.92
The motion was seconded by Commissioner Nordlof and the same being put to a vote, was unanimously carried.
Pay Equity Report
Chief Deputy Auditor, Lorene Hanson met with the board requesting approval for the 2014 pay Equity Report.
Motion
Motion was made by Commissioner Moorman to approve the 2014 Pay Equity Report as presented and authorize Chair Beckel to sign. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Arnesen and the same being put to a vote, was unanimously carried.
Lost Warrant
Chief Deputy Auditor, Lorene Hanson met with the board requesting approval for a lost warrant for Tammie Doebler.
Motion
Motion was made by Commissioner Hanson to approve the application and affidavit of a lost warrant for Tammie Doebler in the amount of $1,836.15 without furnishing and indemnifying bond. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Nordlof and the same being put to a vote was unanimously carried.
AMC for Support for Counties to Use Websites to Meet State Mandated Publishing Requirements
Chair Beckel informed the board that the Association of MN Counties are requesting counties to consider passing a resolution in support of allowing local government more flexibility to use websites to meet state-mandated publishing requirements. Last session, legislation was introduced that would allow, but not require, local governments to use their official website to publish official notices, proceedings and summaries. H.F. 1286/S.F.1152 was introduced late in the session in 2013 and not given a committee hearing, it will continue to be considered during the 2014 Legislative Session.
Resolution
The following resolution was offered by Commissioner Hanson and moved for adoption:
RESOLUTION No. 14-02-01
A RESOLUTION SUPPORTING LEGISLATION ALLOWING COUNTIES TO DESIGNATE THEIR COUNTY WEBSITE TO PUBLISH PUBLIC NOTICES
Whereas; counties are currently required by law to publish public notices in a designated official newspaper for the county (Minn. Stat. § 331A); and
Whereas; counties are committed to providing information to citizens and increasing access to information about county operations and business; and
Whereas; citizens expect and demand information in an immediate format; and
Whereas; counties have limited resources and must utilize tax dollars in the most efficient way possible; and
Whereas; counties should have the authority to determine the best and most efficient method of communicating information to citizens based on citizen expectations; and
Whereas; counties are continuously improving and investing in technology to reach more citizens in a timely manner; and
Whereas; utilizing county websites to publish public notices would eliminate the time and costly burden of publishing in newspapers; and
Whereas;, county websites are increasingly the first place citizens look for information about their counties; and
Whereas;, the ability of county websites to provide citizens with up-to-date, detailed information exceeds that of print media
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Lake of the Woods County Board of Commissioners supports HF 1286 and SF 1152, legislation now before the 2014 legislature that would allow counties to publish certain public notices on their websites instead of, or in addition to, in an official newspaper.
The resolution was seconded by Commissioner Nordlof and the same being put to a vote, was unanimously carried.
Synthetic Drug Update
Deputy Auditor, Janet Rudd informed the board that she did contact Representative Erickson as requested and he informed her that there was a bill introduced in the house on Synthetic Drugs but it was not transmitted to the senate in the 2013 session.
Social Services
Social Services Director, Nancy Wendler met with the board requesting approval for claims:
Motion was made by Commissioner Arnesen to approve the following claims against the county:
Commissioner Warrants $10,955.16
Commissioner Warrants $ 7,966.30
The motion was seconded by Commissioner Moorman and the same being put to a vote, was unanimously carried.
Propane Update
Social Services Director, Nancy Wendler met with the board and informed them that NWCA raised the fuel assistance from $500 to $1,000 to help with the increase of propane costs.
SWCD
Lake of the Woods Soil & Water Conservation District Resource Technician, Mike Hirst met with the board requesting the board to amend the Lake of the Woods County Comprehensive Water Management Plan. Mike explained that this is a ten (10) year plan, and on occasion, the county needs to amend and revise their local water management plan.
Resolution
The following resolution was offered by Commissioner Nordlof and moved for adoption:
Resolution to Amend the Lake of the Woods County
Comprehensive Water Management Plan
Resolution No. 14-02-02
Whereas, Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 103B.301, Comprehensive Local Water Management Act, authorizes Minnesota Counties to develop and implement a local water management plan, and
Whereas, the Act requires that a county amend and revise their local water management plan on a periodic basis, and
Whereas, the Act encourages that a county coordinate its planning with contiguous counties, and solicit input from local governmental units and state review agencies, and
Whereas, the Act requires that plans and official controls of other local governmental units be consistent with the local water management plan, and
Whereas, Lake of the Woods County has determined that the revision and continued implementation of a local water management plan will help promote the health and welfare of the citizens of Lake of the Woods County, and
Now, Therefore, Be it Resolved, that the Lake of the Woods County Board of Commissioners resolve to revise and amend its current local water management plan.
Be it Further Resolved that Lake of the Woods County will coordinate its efforts in the revision and amendment of its plan with all local units of government within the county, and the state review agencies; and will incorporate, where appropriate, any existing plans and rules which have been developed and adopted by watershed districts having jurisdiction wholly or partly within Lake of the Woods County into its local water management plan.
Be it Further Resolved that the Lake of the Woods County Board of Commissioners authorizes the Water Plan Committee with the responsibility of revising and amending the plan and who shall report to the County Board on a periodic basis.
Be it Further Resolved that the Lake of the Woods County Board of Commissioners delegates the Lake of the Woods County Soil and Water Conservation District the responsibility of coordinating, assembling, writing and implementing the revised local water management plan pursuant to M.S. 103B.301.
The resolution was seconded by Commissioner Hanson and the same being put to a vote, was unanimously carried.
Recess
The meeting was called to recess at 9:49 a.m. and reconvened at 9:55 a.m. as follows:
LakeWood Health Center
LakeWood Health Center Administrator, Jason Breuer met with the board to discuss the Recruitment and Dr. Retention Schedule that LakeWood and Lake of the Woods County have offered to newly recruited physicians and Nurse Practitioners in the past. The consensus of the board was to support the Retention Schedule and requested Jason to draw up a retention schedule for the County Board and County Attorney to review.
February 25, 2014 Board Meeting
Chair Beckel discussed the February 25, 2014 board meeting which will be held at the Lake of the Woods School and the high school class schedules to try to work around their class times. The board discussed having the meeting start with the first class that begins at 10:21 a.m.
Motion
Motion was made by Commissioner Arnesen to change the meeting time for February 25, 2014 board meeting to 10:15 a.m. to coincide with the class schedules at the school. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Hanson and the same being put to a vote, was unanimously carried.
County Assessor
County Assesor, Mary Jo Otten met with the board to discuss a letter that the Commissioner’s received from a constituent in regards to a complaint against her. Mary Jo verified what procedures she is required to follow and MN Statues that her office has to comply with for all resort properties to receive a substantial tax break, and that this property owner was not treated any differently than others who did not comply with MN Statues. The letter sent out by her office was a 2nd letter to resort owners that did not return the initial form mailed to them in December. It is not a requirement that her office send out reminders. The County Commissioners stated that they support County Assessor, Mary Jo Otten and acknowledge her for doing her job as their County Assessor.
PUBLIC WORKS
Clementson Property
Public Works Director, Tim Erickson met with the board and presented a map of the Clementson Area land that the county has been looking into, to acquire and explained that the old road that runs through the property was acquired by a prescriptive easement by the State, and the prescriptive easement does not take away the ownership of the property owner of this land, so the State will have to research and find out who the last legal owner of this land was before they can go any further on conveying this land to the county.
Landfill
Public Works Director, Tim Erickson informed the board that they are having issues with the dozer and one side of the machine is broke down. They are looking for used parts for the machine in hopes of being able to locate some.
Recess
The meeting was called to recess at 11:20 a.m. and reconvened at 11:25 p.m. as follows:
SHERIFF
Part-time Deputy Sheriff
County Sheriff, Gary Fish met with the board requesting authorization to hire a Part-time Deputy Sheriff.
Motion
Motion was made by Commissioner Arnesen to authorize Human Resource Assistant, Dena Pieper and County Sheriff, Gary Fish to advertise for a Part-time Deputy Sheriff. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Hanson and the same being put to a vote, was unanimously carried.
KLEIN MCCARTHY ARCHITECTS
Chair Beckel reviewed the Klein McCarthey Architects contract with the board. She informed the board that the contract was approved by County Attorney, Michelle Moren.
Motion
Motion was made by Commissioner Arnesen for Lake of the Woods County to enter into an Architect Agreement with Klein McCarthey for the design, bidding and construction of an expansion to the Law Enforcement Center. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Moorman and the same being put to a vote, was unanimously carried.
LAND AND WATER PLANNING
Wetlands
Land and Water Planning Director, Josh Stromlund met with the board and informed the board that they are in the final stage on mitigation for the wetland issues and that the Federal mitigation is the first step for the appeal process and then the second step would be to appeal to the State of Minnesota and the cost associated for legal services.
Motion
Motion was made by Commissioner Moorman to authorize Land and Water Planning Director to retain legal services for the wetland appeal process from Rinke Noonan Law Firm up to $10,000 with the funding from the Environmental account. 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 12:35 p.m. and reconvened at 12:40 p.m.
ANI PHARMACEUTICAL
Chair Beckel informed the board that Mike Reed, from the EDA office requested that the county board write a letter of support in regards to the possibilities of ANI purchasing some federal land for expansion for a warehouse. The consensus of the board was to authorize Chair Beckel to sign the letter of support.
AIRPORT COMMISSION UPDATE
Chair Beckel discussed the Airport Commission meeting and possible changes that need to be made due to the recent audit.
With no further business before the board, Chair Beckel called the meeting recessed at 12:56 p.m.
Attest: Approved:
____________________________ _______________________________
Janet E. Rudd, Deputy Auditor Patricia Beckel, Chairman of the Board