MINUTES & AGENDAS
January 25, 2022
January 25, 2022
The Lake of The Woods County Board of Commissioners met in special session on Tuesday, January 25, 2022 at Lake of the Woods County Government Center in the Commissioners’ Room.
CALL TO ORDER
Chair Buck Nordlof called the meeting to order at 9:00a.m. and the Pledge of Allegiance was recited with the following members present: Commissioners: Cody Hasbargen, Buck Nordlof, Jon Waibel, and Ed Arnesen. Also present was County Auditor/Treasurer Lorene Hanson. Absent was Commissioner Joe Grund.
Approval of Agenda
Motion
Motion was made by Commissioner Ed Arnesen, seconded by Commissioner Jon Waibel and carried unanimously to approve the agenda.
Approval Of Minutes
Motion
Motion was made by Commissioner Ed Arnesen, seconded by Commissioner Cody Hasbargen and carried unanimously to approve the minutes from January 11,2022.
Motion
Motion was made by Commissioner Cody Hasbargen, seconded by Commissioner Jon Waibel and carried unanimously to approve the minutes from January 18,2022.
Assessors
Mary Jo Otten Retirement
Resolution
The following resolution was offered by Commissioner Buck Nordlof and moved for adoption:
RECOGNITION OF YEARS OF SERVICE
MARY JO OTTEN
RESOLUTION 2022-01-03
WHEREAS: Mary Jo Otten has served the residents of Lake of the Woods County since July 18,2011 as Lake of the Woods County Assessor;
WHEREAS: Mary Jo has resigned from Lake of the Woods County service effective January 27,2022 with 10 years and 6 months of service;
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESLOVED That Lake of the Woods Board of County Commissioners extends its deepest appreciation to Mary Jo for her dedicated service and wishes her well on her retirement.
This resolution was seconded by Commissioner Ed Arnesen and the same being put to a vote, was carried unanimously.
Request for Credit Card
Motion
Motion was made by Commissioner Cody Hasbargen, seconded by Commissioner Ed Arnesen and carried unanimously to approve the request for a credit card for County Assessor Alisa Jacobsen.
AMC
Matt Hilgart and Jill Suurmeyer representing the Association of Minnesota Counties gave a presentation about the new Final Rule for the American Rescue Plan (ARP) Funds and how they can be used in the community. They discussed different options that are pre-approved by the final rule and gave examples of how other counties are distributing funds.
Set Work Session
A work session for the American Rescue Plan funds and Solid Waste was set for 2/22/22 after the board meeting.
Social Services
Claims
Motion
Motion was made by Commissioner Jon Waibel seconded by Commissioner Ed Arnesen and carried unanimously to approve the following claims: Commissioners Warrants $7,259.06; Commissioners Warrants $1,834.13; Commissioners Warrants $16,843.19.
Auditor/Treasurer
Claims
Motion
Motion was made by Commissioner Jon Waibel, seconded by Commissioner Cody Hasbargen and carried unanimously to approve the claims against the County as follows: Revenue $38,388.38; Road & Bridge $34,022.17; County Development $3,000; Solid Waste $31,392.67; EDA $1,692.02.
WARRANTS FOR PUBLICATION
Warrants Approved On 1/25/2022 For Payment 1/28/2022
Vendor Name Amount
Cenex Co-Op Services, Inc. 8,443.39
Counties Providing Technology 4,647.00
Freeberg & Grund, Inc 19,357.00
Headwaters Regional Development Commiss 3,500.00
Integris DBA 10,794.66
KRIS Engineering Inc 6,804.49
Mn Assn Of Counties 2,200.00
North East Technical Service,Inc 2,647.94
Nw Mn Household Hazardous 5,945.00
Sandpieper Design Inc. 3,697.02
Short Elliott Hendrickson, Inc 11,994.82
St. Louis County Auditor 2,000.00
U.S. Bank Equipment Finance 6,268.50
34 Payments less than2000 20,195.42
Final Total: 108,495.24
Further moved to authorize the payment of the following auditor warrants: January 12,2022 for $69,588.73; January 21,2022 for $93,480.77; January 19,2022 for ($641.10); January 24,2022 for $565,246.39.
Auditor/Treasurer Contract
The board discussed the Auditor/Treasurer Contract and opened the discussion up to the public for comments.
Approval of Contract
Motion
Motion was made by Commissioner Ed Arnesen, seconded by Commissioner Jon Waibel and carried unanimously to approve the Auditor/Treasurer contract and for Chair Buck Nordlof and Auditor/Treasurer Lorene Hanson to sign the same.
Add to Agenda
Motion
Motion was made by Commissioner Cody Hasbargen, seconded by Commissioner Jon Waibel and carried unanimously to add the resolution for the Auditor/Treasurer appointed position to the agenda.
Resolution
The following resolution was offered by Commissioner Cody Hasbargen for adoption:
LAKE OF THE WOODS COUNTY
RESOLUTION FOR APPOINTMENT OF THE OFFICE OF
AUDITOR-TREASURER
RESOLUTION NO. 2022-01-04
WHEREAS, the Lake of the Woods County Auditor-Treasurer is currently an elected office of Lake of the Woods County.
WHEREAS; Minn. Stat. 375A.1205 allows a County Board to appoint certain offices including the County Auditor-Treasurer; and
WHEREAS; the Lake of the Woods County Board of Commissioners recognizes the benefit to having appointed persons in the position of the County Auditor-Treasurer because it promotes efficiency and consistency of County business with individuals qualified to oversee a broad spectrum of complex issues within the Auditor-Treasurer’s Office; and
WHEREAS; the Lake of the Woods County Board of Commissioners wants to ensure that the individual holding this position possesses the skills and/or experience necessary to properly carry out the responsibilities of this position; and
WHEREAS; pursuant to Minn. Stat. 375A.1205, Subd. 1, the parties have executed a contract between the Lake of the Woods County Board of Commissioners and the Lake of the Woods County Auditor-Treasurer that provides that the Lake of the Woods Auditor-Treasurer will be appointed to the position and retain tenure, pay and benefits equal to or greater than the length of service; and
WHEREAS, the Contract shall be effective thirty days after the adoption of this resolution, and will end on December 31, 2022. The Contract shall remain in full force and effect unless (a) modified by mutual consent of the County Board and Officer, (b) terminated as provided in the Contract or (c) the County Board adopts a resolution to provide for the election to the Officer’s position pursuant to Minn. Stat. § 375A.1205, Subd. 7. By December 1, 2022, the parties shall meet to discuss the terms of a subsequent contract; and
WHEREAS, the person elected at the last general election to an office made appointive under Minn. Stat. § 375A.1205 must serve in that capacity and perform the duties, functions, and responsibilities required by statute until the completion of the term of office to which the person was elected, or until a vacancy occurs in the office, whichever occurs earlier; and
WHEREAS; in accordance with Minn Statute 375A.1205, Subd. 6, a proposed resolution notifying the public of its intent to appoint the Auditor-Treasurer as described above was published for two consecutive weeks in its official publication; and
WHEREAS; the County Board of Commissioners provided an opportunity for public comment on November 9, 2021; and
WHEREAS, after the public comment opportunity, at the same meeting or a subsequent meeting, the County Board of Commissioners may adopt a resolution that provides for the appointment of the office or offices as permitted in this section; and
WHEREAS, the resolution must be approved by at least 80 percent of the members of the County Board upon which it may take effect 30 days after it is adopted.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, the Lake of the Woods County Board of Commissioners appoints the Auditor-Treasurer position pursuant to Minn. Stat. § 375A.1205.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, the Lake of the Woods County Board of Commissioners has entered into a contract with Lorene Hanson that will become effective thirty days after the adoption of this resolution by the County Board and will retain all tenure, pay and benefits equal to or greater of her previously elected position.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, the Lake of the Woods County Board of Commissioners may adopt a resolution in the future to provide for the election of an office that was made an appointed position pursuant to Minn. Stat. § 375A.1205, but not until at least three years after the office was made an appointed position.
This resolution was seconded by Commissioner Ed Arnesen and the same being put to a vote, was carried unanimously.
Land & Water
Consideration of Board of Adjustment/Planning Commission Training Session
Land & Water Director Josh Stromlund came to the board to request the approval of a training session for Board of Adjustment/Planning members in the amount of $2,250.
Motion
Motion was made by Commissioner Cody Hasbargen, seconded by Commissioner Jon Waibel and carried unanimously to approve the amount requested for training.
Public Works
Public Works Director Anthony Pirkl gave an update on various projects. There was a brief discussion about the fish guts removal process and a request to have a meeting with the resorts.
Add to Agenda
Motion
Motion was made by Commissioner Jon Waibel, seconded by Commissioner Ed Arnesen and carried unanimously to add approval of bids for projects SAP-039-599-001 and SAP-039-649-005.
Approval of Bids
Motion
Motion was made by Commissioner Jon Waibel, seconded by Commissioner Cody Hasbargen and carried unanimously to authorize the advertisement for project bids on SAP-039-599-001 and SAP-039-649-005.
Set Meeting Date
A meeting with local resorts was set for February 8th 2022 at 6:30p.m.
NorthWest Community Action
Leah Hesson and Randy Jensen representatives from NWCA gave a presentation to the board about a new car repair grant from Blue Plus/Blue Shield. The initial grant is for $40,000 and can be used in LOTW, Marshall, Roseau, and Kittson counties. They gave various examples that show a need in the community to help those who need car repair but can not afford it on their own. They are requesting $10,000 from each county to add to the grant funds to help with this program. The board requested to add this to the next agenda and no action was taken at this time.
Hospice-Red River Valley
Brenda Iverson came to the board to discuss the Red River Valley Hospice care program. This program is now training 4 local nurses to do in home care and they have a projected start date of April 5th. They are trying to create awareness and answer any questions the community might have.
Open Official Bank Bids
The board opened the official bank bids at 11:30a.m. Two bids were received from: Border Bank and RiverWood bank. The board will review the bids in a scheduled work session following the regular bboard meeting.
Law Enforcement
North Building Renovation and Furniture
Deputy Sheriff/Investigator Craig Severs joined by phone to discuss the improvements and requests for the North Building offices. They agreed that the project should be done in phases beginning with furniture and paint.
Motion
Motion was made by Commissioner Cody Hasbargen, seconded by Commissioner Jon Waibel and carried unanimously to move forward with the purchase of furniture and paint for the North building.
Tourism
Attorney Patrick Plunket joined by phone to discuss Tourism with the board. Consensus was made by the board to explore and move forward with special legislation for lodging tax.
Recess
With no further business before the Board, Chair Buck Nordlof called the meeting to recess at 12:25p.m.
Attest: February 8, 2022
______________________________ _________________________________
County Auditor/Treasurer, Lorene Hanson Chairman James “Buck” Nordlof