February 22, 2022

The Lake of the Woods County Board of Commissioners met in regular session on Tuesday, February 22, 2022 in the ITV room at the Lake of the Woods School.

High School Social Studies teacher, Mr. Don Krause

Mr. Don Krause thanked the Commissioners for meeting at the School so his students could attend and participate in the meeting.

Call To Order

Chair Buck Nordlof called the meeting to order at 8:15 a.m. and the Pledge of Allegiance was recited with the following members present: Commissioners: Buck Nordlof, Cody Hasbargen, Jon Waibel, Joe Grund. Also present was County Auditor/Treasurer Lorene Hanson, and Commissioner Ed Arnesen by phone.

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 changes: Add Tourism and Bonding Bill.

Approval of Minutes

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Joe Grund, seconded by Commissioner Cody Hasbargen and carried unanimously to approve the minutes of February 8, 2022. 

F.A.T

Head Track & Field Coach and Elementary Physical Education teacher Curt Storbeck requested funding for a fully automated timing system for the track team. No action was taken at this time.

Social Services

Jodi Ferrier introduced herself and gave an overview of the Social Services department.

Claims

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Joe Grund, seconded by Commissioner Cody Hasbargen and carried unanimously to approve the following claims: Commissioners Warrants $1,726.23; Commissioners Warrants $3,298.25; Commissioners Warrants $13,713.28.

Auditor/Treasurer

Claims

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Cody Hasbargen, seconded by Commissioner Jon Waibel and carried unanimously to approve the claims against the County as follows: Revenue $37,735.14; Road & Bridge $18,946.18; County Development $200.00; Solid Waste $25,515.69; EDA $942.85.

WARRANTS FOR PUBLICATION

Warrants Approved On 2/22/2022 For Payment 2/25/2022

Vendor Name Amount

BMC Software Inc 2,583.28

Cenex Co-Op Services, Inc. 11,091.00

Farmers Union Oil Co. 3,535.04

Integris DBA 4,189.34

LaValla Electric DBA/Ned 3,650.00

Mar-Kit Landfill 15,143.00

Northwest Community Action, Inc 10,000.00

Pemberton Law, P.L.L.P. 2,457.50

U.S. Bank Equipment Finance 6,268.50

Ziegler, Inc 3,940.16

42 Payments less than 2000 20,482.04

Final Total: 83,339.86

Further moved to authorize the payment of the following auditor warrants: February 8,2022 for $427,762.82; February 9,2022 for $157,884.03; February 16,2022 for $20,922.51; and February 18,2022 for $38,537.

Bank Signature Cards

RiverWood Bank Signature Cards – Main

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Jon Waibel, seconded by Commissioner Joe Grund and carried unanimously to authorize County Auditor/Treasurer Lorene Hanson, Deputy Auditor/Treasurer Connie Nesmith and County Board Chair James (Buck) Nordlof to sign the RiverWood Bank signature card for the main account, investments and the insurance accounts.

RiverWood Bank Signature Cards – Deputy Registrar 75

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Jon Waibel, seconded by Commissioner Joe Grund and carried unanimously to authorize County Auditor/Treasurer Lorene Hanson, Deputy Auditor/Treasurer Erik Tange, Deputy Auditor/Treasurer Connie Nesmith, Deputy Auditor/Treasurer Anna Sanchez and Deputy Auditor/Treasurer Chelsea Anderson to sign the RiverWood Bank signature card for the Deputy Registrar 75 account.

RiverWood Bank Signature Cards – Sheriff’s Office

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Jon Waibel, seconded by Commissioner Joe Grund and carried unanimously to authorize Julie Berggren and Jill Hasbargen-Olson to sign the RiverWood Bank signature card for the sheriff’s office.

RiverWood Bank Signature Cards – Social Service Fund

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Jon Waibel, seconded by Commissioner Joe Grund and carried unanimously to authorize Shelley Pepera and Jodi Ferrier to sign the RiverWood Bank signature card for the Social Service Fund.

RiverWood Bank Signature Cards- Over Remittance Fund

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Jon Waibel, seconded by Commissioner Joe Grund and carried unanimously to authorize County Auditor/Treasurer Lorene Hanson, and Deputy Auditor/Treasurer Connie Nesmith to sign the RiverWood Bank signature card for the over remittance account.

MN Department of Administration-State Surplus Property

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Jon Waibel, seconded by Commissioner Cody Hasbargen and carried unanimously to authorize Chair Buck Nordlof, County Auditor/Treasurer Lorene Hanson, Public Works Director Anthony Pirkl, Social Service Director Amy Ballard and County Sheriff Gary Fish to sign the signature card for Federal and/or State Surplus Property.

Economic Development Authority

EDA Director Ryan Zemek introduced himself to the Lake of the Woods students and gave an overview of what the EDA position does in the county. Ryan asked the board for advice on what they would like to do with the remaining amount from the NorthWest Angle forgivable loan. Consensus was made to contact MN Deed first to see what options are available, then contact businesses at the NWA to check for further qualifications, and to look into special legislation that may allow them to use the funds in another way if needed. 

Public Works

Public Works Director Anthony Pirkl discussed the demolition of the Williams school building and estimated costs. A second review of the school may be needed. 

Toward Zero Death

TZD Coordinator Sue Johnson, State Aid Engineer Brian Ketring, and District Engineer JT Anderson met with the board and presented a power point and information on the Towards Zero Death Task Force and the importance of safe driving and wearing seatbelts.

Borderland Treatment Court

Treatment Coordinator Amanda Zortman, and Probation Officer Sara Ubel presented on the process and the purpose of the Borderland Substance Abuse Court. Clyde Boots spoke to the board about how the treatment courts can help lead people living with substance use out of the justice system and into lives of recovery and stability and his own experiences with this program.

Prevention Conference- Substance Abuse

Tammie Doebler, Sandy Peterson, Doris Knutson, and Lake of the Woods students presented to the board their experience and what they learned at a substance abuse prevention conference in Washington, D.C.

Fair Board

Allen Cauble and JP Sweet gave an update on projects and future plans for the county fair. They are requesting donations for the centennial county fair in 2023. No action was taken at this time.

Leaving the Meeting

Commissioner Cody Hasbargen left the meeting at 11:50a.m.

 Recess

The Meeting was called to recess for lunch at 11:50 a.m. and reconvened at 12:50p.m.

Pine to Prairie Task Force

Deputy Sheriff/Investigator Craig Severs provided a presentation on the Pine to Prairie Drug Task Force, which works with nine different counties, local law enforcement, conservation officers, the Paul Bunyan Task Force and others. 

DNR Fisheries

Phil Talmage from the DNR gave an update on how they are keeping track of the amount of people on the lake as well as the amount of fish and what kind of fish are being caught and kept. He also discussed current fishing conditions on Lake of the Woods. 

Carp Swamp Addition

Scott Laudenslager from MN DNR, and Emily Paschke met with the board about land at Carp swamp that Emily would like to sell to Pheasants Forever and they would then donate the land to the DNR to add to the wildlife management area. Consensus was made by the board to add this to the March 8,2022 agenda. No further action was taken at this time.

Tourism

The board discussed moving forward with new legislation to move towards a county wide lodging tax, not including the City of Baudette. If passed, they would look at setting new by-laws and re-establishing the tourism board. No action was taken at this time.

Bonding Bill

The board discussed the possibility of using a bonding bill to fund the new Law Enforcement Center and Highway department. No action was taken at this time.

Add to Old/New Business

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Joe Grund, seconded by Commissioner Buck Nordlof and carried unanimously to add Centennial to old/new business on the agenda for ongoing discussion.

Recess

With no further business before the Board, Chair Buck Nordlof called the meeting to recess at 3:06p.m.

Attest: March 8, 2022

______________________________ _________________________________

County Auditor/Treasurer, Lorene Hanson Chairman James “Buck” Nordlof