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MINUTES & AGENDAS

October, 2018

Commissioner Proceedings

October 23, 2018

The Lake of the Woods County Board of Commissioners met in regular session on Tuesday,
October 23, 2018 at Lake of the Woods County Government Center in the Commissioners’ Room.

Call to Order

Vice-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: Cody Hasbargen, Jon Waibel and Ken Moorman. Absent, Edward Arnesen and Buck Nordlof.  Also, present were: County Auditor/Treasurer, Lorene Hanson and Deputy Auditor/Treasurer Janet Rudd.

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: Snowmobile Grant-in Aid, Satisfactory of Lien, Extension travel cost.

Approval of Minutes

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Waibel, seconded by Commissioner Moorman and carried unanimously to approve the official minutes and summarized minutes of October 9, 2018.

SOCIAL SERVICES

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

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Moorman seconded by Commissioner Waibel, and carried unanimously to approve the following claims: Commissioners Warrants $2,946.35, Commissioners Warrants $ 17,440.11.

Chairman Arnesen resumed the position of Chairman.

COUNTY AUDITOR/TREASURER

County Auditor/Treasurer, Lorene Hanson met with the board for approval of Claims, Lost Warrant, 2019 Health Insurance, Snowmobile Grant-In-Aid Program, 4-H travel expense, Satisfaction of lien, and to discuss a request of purchasing land.

Claims

Motion was made by Commissioner Waibel, seconded by Commissioner Moorman and carried unanimously to approve the following claims against the county except for claim number 5817 in the amount of $26,687.50.

Revenue-$ 25,009.16-Road & Bridge-$37,145.30-County Devlp. -$1,550.00-Solid Waste-$43,254.16,567.43-EDA-$722.93.

WARRANTS FOR PUBLICATION

Warrants Approved On 10/23/2018 For Payment 10/26/2018

Vendor Name                                                    Amount

Cenex Co-Op Services, Inc.                                              7,306.12

Compass Minerals America                                               6,882.59

Contech Engineered Solutions LLC                                 15,066.00

Cps Technology Solutions                                                 5,380.00

Gamache Custom Trucking Inc                                        26,687.50

John Deere Financial                                                         2,162.55

Lake Superior College                                                       3,450.00

Mar-Kit Landfill                                                                 13,393.00

TOTALFUNDS                                                                    4,000.00

Ziegler, Inc                                                                         3,148.28

54 Payments less than 2000  20,206.28

Final Total: 107,682.32

Further moved to authorize the payment of the following Auditor warrants: October 18, 2018–$93,160.97, October 17, 2018-$139,510.98.

Pulled Claim

Motion was made by Commissioner Hasbargen, seconded by Commissioner Waibel and carried unanimously to approve claim number 5817, in the amount of $26,687.50.

Lost Warrant

Motion was made by Commissioner Moorman, seconded by Commissioner Waibel and carried unanimously to approve the lost warrant for Mary Jo Otten in the amount of $152.93 without furnishing an indemnifying bond.

2019 Health Insurance

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Hasbargen, seconded by Commissioner Waibel and carried unanimously to set the 2019 county contribution for family health insurance up to $1,210 per month and single health insurance up to $860 per month.  The Public Employees Insurance Program “Advantage Plan” consists of “High”, “Value” and “HSA” plans.  For the HSA plans only, any excess county contribution will be deposited directly into the employee’s health savings account, up to the IRS caps.  

STATE AID GRANT CONTRACT AGREEMENT

Motion was made by Commissioner Waibel, seconded by Commissioner Moorman and carried unanimously to enter into the 2019 Maintenance and Grooming grants with the State of Minnesota, Department of Natural Resources for Grant-In-Aid Program in the amount of $187,551.03 and authorize County Auditor/Treasurer, Lorene Hanson and Chairman Arnesen to sign.

Purchase of Land

County Auditor/Treasurer, Lorene Hanson informed the board that an individual inquired about purchasing county property or obtaining an easement from the county. The land in reference was donated to the county for public purpose only. Because of the status of the land and conditions attached to it, the county would be unable to meet any of the request submitted to the board. No board action was taken.

4-H Travel Expense

County Auditor/Treasurer, Lorene Hanson met with the board and informed the board that she attended the Extension meeting and they discussed possible funding for the 4-Hclub members to travel to the State Fair.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Arnesen, seconded by Commissioner Hasbargen and carried unanimously to dedicate up to $1,200 for mileage expenses for 4-H for State Fair transportation with funding from the Con-Con funds.

Satisfaction of Repayment Agreement

Motion was made by Commissioner Hasbargen, seconded by Commissioner Waibel and carried unanimously to release the mortgage on Timothy P. Moran, mortgaged filed on the 10th day of June, 2013 and authorize Chairman Arnesen to sign.

LAND AND WATER PLANNING

Land and Water Planning Director, Josh Stromlund and Corryn Trask met with the board and presented a proposal for engineering services for the Bostic Creek watershed. This includes completing the design, plans and specification for the restoration of the channel that includes a range of Judicial Ditch 28 (Bostic Creek) in Lake of the Woods County T162N R32, Section 31 and 32: T161N R32, Section 6 and 7) and also a county road ditch.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Waibel, seconded by Commissioner Hasbargen and carried unanimously to enter into a contract with Engineering Design Services for the Bostic Creek Restoration project for services not to exceed $30,000 with funding from the Clean Water grant

COUNTY SHERIFF

County Sheriff, Gary Fish met with the board requesting approval of I/Mobile, 2017 Stonegarden Grant, Resolution for County Sheriff to work Stonegarden Grant and approval of Operation Plan for Department of Defense.

Resolution

RESOLUTION TO ENTER INTO A JOINT POWERS AGREEMENT WITH THE

 STATE OF MINNESOTA

 FOR I/MOBILE SYSTEM

Resolution No. 18-10- 03

The following resolution was offered by Commissioner Moorman, seconded by Commissioner Waibel and carried unanimously the following resolution:

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 January 1, 2019 thru December 31, 2019;

NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Lake of the Woods County Board of Commissioners hereby adopts this joint power agreement and authorizes Chairman Arnesen and County Sheriff, Gary Fish to sign.

Stonegarden Grant

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Waibel, seconded by Commissioner Hasbargen and carried unanimously to accept the 2017 Operation Stonegarden Grant Agreement number A-opsg-2017-LOTW-CO-006 in the amount of $60,000.00 and authorize Chairman Arnesen, and County Sheriff, Gary Fish to sign.

Stonegarden Sheriff Salary

Resolution

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

AMEND COUNTY SHERIFF SALARY

Resolution No. 18-10-04

WHEREAS, the United States Department of Homeland Security has asked local law enforcement agencies along our Nation’s border to step up border monitoring, pursue joint objectives, and enhance their capabilities for providing border security; and,

WHEREAS, in an effort to assist local governments in fulfilling this request, the Department of Homeland Security through the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, Homeland Security and Emergency Management Division, offered “Operation Stonegarden 2017 grant; and,

WHEREAS, the Lake of the Woods County Sheriff’s Office is a successful recipient of an

Operation Stonegarden 2017 grant; and,

WHEREAS, the Lake of the Woods County Sheriff has undertaken, as additional duties, the responsibility to avail himself and his officers for additional training, or to provide such training for his officers’ himself, for border protection and border security, and the additional duties of improving the distinct capability of the sheriffs’ office as a whole with regard to border security and border patrol as part of a joint mission; and in addition, as and for additional duties, the sheriff will necessarily devote more of his own time to border patrol and border enforcement; and,

WHEREAS, the Operation Stonegarden 2017 grant given to assist the Lake of the Woods County Sheriff’s Office in its efforts to secure the border includes the sum of $60,000.00 and $25,800.00, of this grant is for salaries.

WHEREAS, it is estimated that these additional border security duties will necessitate that the

Sheriff expend on average another eight (8) hours per week; and,

WHEREAS, through the Operation Stonegarden 2017 grant, all of the additional overtime worked by officers devoted to border security issues is fully reimbursable under the grant, including the cost of officer overtime pay, PERA, Medicare and worker’s compensation, so that the net cost of the additional homeland security duties to Lake of the Woods County is fully reimbursed by the grant.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the resolution setting the sheriff’s salary, as

originally set by this board on December 12, 2017 was $82,308.96 and fringe benefits were

$14,527.53, be amended so that the sheriff’s salary is increased by the sum up to $16,398.72 and

fringe benefits are increased up to $2,894.37 commencing January 1, 2018 through December 31,

2018, with the increase funding from the Operation Stonegarden 2017 grant contingent upon the following:

  1. That the Operation Stonegarden 2017 grant funding be available; and
  2. That the Sheriff works, in addition to his regular duties, eight (8) hours per week of said

Operation Stonegarden 2017 grant.

At such time that the Operation Stonegarden 2017 grant funding is no longer available and/or if the Sheriff is unable to complete the additional eight (8) hours per week of Operation Stonegarden 2017 grant work, the Sheriff’s salary shall return to the original balance set by the board on December 12, 2017 in addition to the accumulated Stonegarden wages earned based on Stonegarden funding available and actual hours worked.

Department of Defense

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Waibel, seconded by Commissioner Hasbargen and carried unanimously to enter into the State Plan of Operation with the State of Minnesota, Department of Defense and the Lake of the Woods County Sheriff’s Office for Law Enforcement Support Program and authorize County Sheriff, Gary Fish to sign.

ROAD AUTHORITY

Patricia Holte and Severin Holte met with the board to discuss the history of Co. Road 104. Public Works Director, Tim Erickson informed the board that it is still a road for there are no records showing that the road has ever been vacated. Tim advised the Holtes to file a road vacation.  

MAINTENANCE

Peder Hovland, Maintenance Supervisor met with the board to inform the board that the Rebate Form they received was incorrect for the type of lighting that the county will be installing, therefore the county rebate will be $10.00 per light, costing an additional $6,000.

Peder Hovland also informed the board that OSHA stopped by for inspection on September 19, 2018 and the County received a fine of $1,500 with a 30% discount if paid within twenty days. The consensus of the board was to pay the fine.

BORDER STATE BANK

Personal Banker, Brent Olson met with the board to introduce Border Leasing program that is available to Government Entities.

Con-Con Funding

The board placed the Con-Con funds request on November 13, 2018 meeting.

RECESS

With no further business before the board, Chairman Arnesen called the meeting to recess at 1:00 p.m.

Attest:                                                                          October 23, 2018

__________________________________                _____________________________________

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