MINUTES & AGENDAS
September, 2019
Commissioner Proceedings
September 10, 2019
The Lake of the Woods County Board of Commissioners met in regular session on Tuesday, September 10, 2019 at Lake of the Woods County Government Center in the Commissioners’ Room.
Call to Order
Chairman Cody 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, Jon Waibel, Ed Arnesen and Cody Hasbargen. Absent: Commissioner Buck Nordlof. Also, present were: County Auditor/Treasurer Lorene Hanson, Attorney Jim Austad, Jaime Boretski-LaValla and Woody Fiala.
Approval of Agenda
Motion
Motion was made by Commissioner Ed Arnesen, seconded by Commissioner Joe Grund and carried unanimously to approve the agenda with the following additions: Resolution to adopt proposed 2020 Budget and Tax Levy, Building lease release for Northwest Community Action Head Start Program, Board of Water and Soil Resources Block Grant Agreement, credit card request for Solid Waste employee, SWCD health insurance and at the request of the property owner, remove petition for public access vacation.
Approval of Minutes
Motion
Motion was made by Commissioner Jon Waibel, seconded by Commissioner Ed Arnesen and carried unanimously to approve the official and summarized minutes of August 27, 2019.
Social Services
Social Services Director, Amy Ballard, met with the board requesting approval for claims.
Motion
Motion was made by Commissioner Ed Arnesen, seconded by Commissioner Joe Grund and carried unanimously to approve the following claims: Commissioners Warrant’s $11,504.29, Commissioners Warrant’s $3,892.10, Commissioners Warrant’s $25,316.50.
Auditor/Treasurer
County Auditor/Treasurer, Lorene Hanson, met with the board requesting approval of claims and lost warrants, a county issued credit card for Solid Waste employee, building lease release for the Northwest Community Action Head Start Program and Resolution to adopt proposed 2020 Budget and Tax Levy.
Claims
Motion
Motion was made by Commissioner Ed Arnesen, seconded by Commissioner Jon Waibel, and carried unanimously to approve the claims against the County as follows: Revenue $34,390.82, Road & Bridge $42,658.97, Joint Ditch $560.00, Solid Waste $25,543.19 and EDA $44.56.
WARRANTS FOR PUBLICATION
Warrants Approved On 9/10/2019 For Payment 9/13/2019
Vendor Name Amount
Cenex Co-Op Services, Inc. 2,997.63
Farmers Union Oil Co. 2,711.82
Freeberg & Grund, Inc 17,890.00
Hiner/Kirk 8,830.00
Hometown Hardware 2,062.86
LOW Highway Dept 4,111.25
Mar-Kit Landfill 14,799.50
Moren/Law Offices Of Patrick D 3,375.00
Roger’s Two Way Radio, Inc 14,736.19
Woody’s Service 4,249.49
51 Payments less than 2000 27,433.80
Final Total: 103,197.54
Further moved to authorize the payment of the following auditor warrants: August 28, 2019 $477,204.13 and September 4, 2019 $60,546.09.
Lost Warrant
Motion
Motion was made by Commissioner Joe Grund, seconded by Commissioner Jon Waibel and carried unanimously to approve the application and affidavit for lost warrant for Valerie Basher, dated March 29, 2019 for $4.84 without furnishing indemnifying bond.
County Issued Credit Card
Motion
Motion was made by Commissioner Ed Arnesen, seconded by Commissioner Jon Waibel and carried unanimously to approve the request for a county issued credit card with a limit of $1,500 for Solid Waste employee, Ted Furbish.
Building Lease Release
Northwest Community Action Head Start Programs requested to conclude their lease for the rental space at County Government Center North, 106 2nd Street NE in Baudette on October 31, 2019.
Motion
Motion was made by Commissioner Ed Arnesen, seconded by Commissioner Jon Waibel and carried unanimously to approve the request from Northwest Community Action Headstart Program to be released from their building lease at County Government Center North, 106 2nd Street NE in Baudette effective October 31, 2019.
Proposed 2020 Budget and Tax Levy Resolution
Motion
The following Resolution was proposed and moved for adoption by Commissioner Jon Waibel:
Resolution Adopting
Proposed 2020 Budget and Tax Levy
Resolution 2019-09-01
WHEREAS, the Proposed County Budget for the year 2020 has been reviewed by the Lake of the Woods County Board of Commissioners; and
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the following Proposed Budget and Tax Levy is hereby adopted for the Lake of the Woods County for 2020:
Revenue Fund $ 1,684,365
Road & Bridge Fund $ 449,580
Social Services Fund $ 603,935
Economic Development Authority Fund $ 60,000
2020 Proposed Budget and Tax Levy $ 2,797,880
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the following amounts be levied against the unorganized townships of Lake of the Woods County for 2020:
Twp Road & Bridge $ 463,470*
Twp Fire – Baudette $ 25,000
Twp Fire – Williams $ 28,213
Twp Fire – NW Angle $ 6,500
Total $ 523,183
2020
* $463,470 for Township Road & Bridge includes $12,000 which is specifically levied to Northwest Angle residents for Calcium Chloride. (451,470+12,000=463,470)
A public meeting to discuss the 2020 Proposed Budget and Tax Levy will be held on Tuesday, December 17, 2019, at 6:00 p.m. in the Lake of the Woods County Commissioners’ Room.
The motion was seconded by Commissioner Joe Grund, and the same being put to a vote, was unanimously carried.
Human Resources
Human Resource Director, Savanna Slick, met with the board requesting step increases for the following Public Works employees: Bruce Erickson, Marti Carlson and Jane Larson. It was also discussed that a work session is to be scheduled towards the end of the month for discussion on Public Works stipends and a step increase request for the emergency management position.
Motion
Motion was made by Commissioner Ed Arnesen, seconded by Commissioner Jon Waibel and carried unanimously to authorize the following step increases effective the next full payroll 9/22/19: Bruce Erickson to Grade 11, Step 9 at $23.52; Marti Carlson to Grade 13, Step 12 at $27.85; Jane Larson to Grade 10 Step 6 at $20.98.
Voyageur Comtronics
Lee Hervey from Voyageur Comtronics gave an update on the television networks and channels available to Lake of the Woods County residents through the Williams and Baudette Translator sites. Hervey provided information on installing UHF TV antenna systems and briefly discussed television technology currently in development called ATSC3.
Lee discussed maintenance of the Williams and Baudette translator towers. He has painting of the towers on his list for next summer and recommended that the county consider roof and facia replacement on the Williams and Baudette translator buildings to ensure the equipment is protected.
Lee discussed the sheriff’s paging tower located by County Government Center North in regards to intended plans for the new law enforcement center at that location. He suggested to consult with the County Sheriff and City Fire Chief to fully understand how the tower is used for emergency communications.
A recent lightning storm caused damage to area TV equipment, a brief update on those items was also discussed.
DITCH AUTHORITY
Motion
Motion was made by Commissioner Ed Arnesen, seconded by Commissioner Joe Grund and carried unanimously to close the regular meeting at 9:52 a.m. and open the Ditch Authority.
Petition for Repair of a Drainage System
Interim Engineer Boyd Johnson gave an update regarding the Ditch 28 petition. Johnson discussed the current plan for the surveyed area which includes: ditch cleaning, tree removal and increased culvert size. Johnson confirmed that the project is on the list. The Ditch Authority asked for an update at the next County Board meeting on 9/24/19.
Motion
Motion was made by Commissioner Ed Arnesen, seconded by Commissioner Joe Grund and carried unanimously to close the Ditch Authority meeting at 10:15 a.m. and reconvene the regular meeting.
Highway
Interim Engineer Boyd Johnson met with the County Board to provide an update on current projects.
Update
Interim Engineer Boyd Johnson updated the County Board on the progress of the construction projects going on throughout the county. Some of the paving projects were delayed due to weather, but paving on the school road is finishing up. The paving for County Road 3 was discussed and is delayed due to some grading issues.
Wheeler’s Point Sewer District
Motion
Motion was made by Commissioner Jon Waibel, seconded by Commissioner Ed Arnesen and carried unanimously to approve partial payment #9 to Wheeler’s Point Sewer District in the amount of $94,919.48.
LAND AND WATER PLANNING
Block Grant Agreement
Land and Water Planning Director, Josh Stromlund, met with the board for approval of the FY 2020 and 2021 State of Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources Natural Resources Block Grant Agreement.
Motion
Motion was made by Commissioner Jon Waibel, seconded by Commissioner Ed Arnesen and carried to unanimously approve the FY 2020 and 2021 State of Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources Natural Resources Block Grant Agreement, for Chairman Cody Hasbargen to sign the FY 2020 and 2021 State of Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources Natural Resources Block Grant Agreement and to designate Land and Water Planning Director, Josh Stromlund, as the authorized representative for the grant.
Correspondence
Correspondence was acknowledged from: North Star Electric
Arrowhead library
Jim Weikum, Executive Director of the Arrowhead Library System, gave an update on library services, including the mail-a-book service that was started in 1970. Recently they have been focusing on electronic and digital services and are seeing a 20 percent increase in subscribers to their e-book and audio book service each year. Jim noted that the current levy for the Library System will stay the same. Through the Clean Water, Land and Legacy fund, they have been able to continue to bring art and musical events into local libraries as well.
Jim mentioned that residents of the Northwest Angle looking to get a library card with the Arrowhead Library system can now get applications and cards at the libraries in Warroad and Roseau. He provided the board with some of the marketing materials recently used in the area and said that their services are marketed to schools with back-to-school resource packets. Commissioner Ed Arnesen requested to add to the County Board meeting on 9/24/19 a review of the Lake of the Woods County website, to see if information could be added regarding library services.
SWCD
County Geologic Atlas Program
Mike Hirst from SWCD brought representatives from the University of Minnesota’s Minnesota Geological Survey and the MN Department of Natural Resources to meet with the County Board regarding the County Geological Atlas program. This program produces maps and databases that describe the geology and water and mineral resources of a county in forms useful for land use planning and resource management. The program is currently planning future work and is interested in partnering with our area. The process takes several years and requires no cash from the county, but does require that the county assist with data collection. To start the process the program requires a letter of intent from the county. The County Board requested this be added to the next County Board meeting on 9/24/19.
SWCD Health Insurance
Land and Water Planning Director, Josh Stromlund and Mike Hirst from the SWCD met with the board regarding health insurance options for SWCD employees. Prior to 2007, SWCD was on the county’s health insurance plan. The SWCD is looking into health insurance options and would like to research if being on the county plan would again be a cost-effective choice for its employees. The board, by consensus, agreed it could be an option and asked the SWCD to keep them updated on their findings.
RECESS
With no further business before the board, Chairman Cody Hasbargen called the meeting to recess at 12:05 p.m.
Attest: September 10, 2019
__________________________________ _________________________________
County Auditor/Treasurer, Lorene Hanson Chairman of the Board, Cody Hasbargen
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Commissioner Proceedings
September 24, 2019
The Lake of the Woods County Board of Commissioners met in regular session on Tuesday, September 24, 2019 at Lake of the Woods County Government Center in the Commissioners’ Room.
CALL TO ORDER
Vice-Chairman 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, Ed Arnesen and Buck Nordlof. Absent: Commissioner Cody Hasbargen. Also, present were: County Auditor/Treasurer Lorene Hanson, Attorney Jim Austad, Jaime Boretski-LaValla and Woody Fiala.
APPROVAL OF AGENDA
Motion
Motion was made by Commissioner Ed Arnesen, seconded by Commissioner Buck Nordlof and carried unanimously to approve the agenda with the following additions: Add Gary Grove property to the County Highway Update, resolution to declare emergency, and Bollig Inc. Engineering and Environmental to add task order needing action.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Motion
Motion was made by Commissioner Ed Arnesen, seconded by Commissioner Joe Grund and carried unanimously to approve the official and summarized minutes of September 10, 2019.
SOCIAL SERVICES
Social Services Director, Amy Ballard, met with the board requesting approval for 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 $15,881.23, Commissioners Warrant’s $1,583.18, Commissioners Warrant’s $20,471.85.
BOLLIG INC. ENGINEERING AND ENVIRONMENTAL
Representatives from Bollig Inc. provided an Angle Inlet Airport feasibility and site selection update. They visited the proposed sites from the previous study, which was completed in 2014. Bollig representatives also met with local residents and looked at two new site options. Bollig requested approval of Amended Task Order No. 1. The amended task order includes services to be completed in one year such as; update the feasibility study and incorporate the two new potential airport development sites, conduct additional surveys as needed to support the recommendation of a specific site to the Airport Commission and MnDOT, and assist with the planning grant application. The fee requested is $60,000, which includes the previously approved $12,000; 95% is to be reimbursed to Lake of the Woods County upon acceptance of the planning grant from MnDOT Aeronautics.
Motion
Motion was made by Commissioner Ed Arnesen, seconded by Commissioner Buck Nordlof and carried unanimously to approve Task Order No. 1 – Amended with Bollig Inc. at the requested fee of $60,000 (95% is to be reimbursed to the County upon acceptance of the planning grant from MnDOT Aeronautics) and to have Vice-Chairman Jon Waibel sign the same.
NORTHWEST COMMUNITY ACTION
Tim Anacabe and Madeline Waage from Northwest Community Action presented information on the Little Brother/Little Sister Youth Intervention Program. Madeline is the coordinator of the program in Lake of the Woods, Kittson and Roseau Counties. The program is requesting a $20,000 donation to help fund services in the area for the next two years.
Motion
Motion was made by Commissioner Ed Arnesen, seconded by Commissioner Buck Nordlof and carried unanimously to approve a $10,000 donation to the Little Brother/Little Sister program from county development funds. The County Board requested that the program coordinator return in May to provide an update and comparison of cost for the program in the two other counties.
COUNTY WEBSITE
The County Board asked Peder Hovland, MIS Director, about adding a link to the Arrowhead Library System on the County’s website. The link will be added to the “area links” page.
DITCH AUTHORITY
Motion
Motion was made by Commissioner Buck Nordlof, seconded by Commissioner Joe Grund and carried unanimously to close the regular meeting at 10:10 a.m. and open the Ditch Authority.
Update on Ditch 28 and 23
Boyd Johnson, Interim County Engineer, provided an update on Ditch 23. The recent rain event caused water to overflow onto the road south of Williams off of Co Rd 60. The survey of the area is about 75% complete. It is too late in the year for construction. The Ditch Authority will make a decision on the petition for Ditch 23 after the survey is completed, Johnson will communicate with the petitioner.
Johnson had nothing new to report on Ditch 28, but hopes to be able to start work on Co Rd 6 as weather permits.
Motion
Motion was made by Commissioner Joe Grund, seconded by Commissioner Ed Arnesen and carried unanimously to close the Ditch Authority meeting at 10:20 a.m. and reconvene the regular meeting.
HIGHWAY
Interim County Engineer, Boyd Johnson, met with the County Board to discuss the Grove property and provided an update on current projects.
Gary Grove Property
Gary Grove contacted the County Board regarding his property. The property flooded years ago and at that time, a dike was built around the house. With the recent rain, the property flooded again, making it necessary to revisit the property and look at remedy options.
Update
Interim County Engineer, Boyd Johnson, mentioned that paving could be done as early as next week. The rain has brought attention to a few problem areas, but a lot of things did work well. There were some issues with a couple of culverts on Co Rd 65 and on Co Rd 8 north of the curves. One area to address is Co Rd 80, it is well surveyed and could be a future grant project to work on in partnership with the Soil and Water Conservation District. The County Board requested an update on these items the end of October.
EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT
Declare State of Emergency
Emergency Manager, Jill Hasbargen-Olson, met with the County Board to discuss the option to Declare a State of Emergency due to the damages caused by the recent rain. The State of MN has disaster relief funds if damages from an event total more than $7,645, the county would still be responsible for 25% of the total claim.
Motion
The following Resolution was offered by Commissioner Ed Arnesen, seconded by Commissioner Joe Grund and carried unanimously to approve the following:
RESOLUTION OF LAKE OF THE WOODS COUNTY
Declaring a State of Emergency
Resolution No 19-09-04
WHEREAS the flood event impacted the population of Lake of the Woods County and its cities; and
WHEREAS the flood event has caused a significant amount of public property damage; and
WHEREAS the Lake of the Woods County Department of 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 rain event of 2019;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Lake of the Woods County Board of Commissioners declares Lake of the Woods County in a State of Emergency for conditions resulting from the rain event of September 20th, 2019.
ADOPTED by the Lake of the Woods County Board of Commissioners this 24th day of September 2019.
LAND AND WATER PLANNING
Land and Water Planning Director, Josh Stromlund, met with the board regarding a letter of intent for the County Geologic Atlas Program.
Motion
Motion was made by Commissioner Buck Nordlof, seconded by Commissioner Joe Grund and carried unanimously to approve participation in the County Geologic Atlas Program and for Vice-Chairman Jon Waibel to sign the letter of intent from the University of Minnesota, Minnesota Geological Survey.
SHERIFF
County Sheriff, Gary Fish, met with the board regarding the 2020/2021 ATV Grant Agreement and for permission to advertise and hire part-time dispatch jailers.
2020/2021 ATV Grant Agreement
The 2020/2021 OHV/ATV Grant through the State of MN Department of Natural Resources provides up to $9,375 per fiscal year for OHV/ATV enforcement activities, equipment, labor, maintenance, training of local staff and holding ATV safety classes.
Motion
Motion was made by Commissioner Buck Nordlof, seconded by Commissioner Ed Arnesen and carried unanimously to approve the 2020/2021 OHV/ATV Grant Agreement with the State of MN Department of Natural Resources, for Vice-Chairman Jon Waibel to sign the grant agreement and for Lake of the Woods County Sgt. Ben Duick to act as the grantee’s authorized representative.
Permission to advertise and hire part-time dispatch jailers
Motion
Motion was made by Commissioner Ed Arnesen, seconded by Commissioner Buck Nordlof and carried unanimously to approve the request to advertise and hire two part-time dispatch jailers at Grade 10, Step 1, Points 237 at $18.86 per hour.
AUDITOR/TREASURER
County Auditor/Treasurer, Lorene Hanson, met with the board requesting approval of claims, gambling permit, tobacco license, and operational enhancement grant program resolution.
Claims
Motion
Motion was made by Commissioner Buck Nordlof, seconded by Commissioner Joe Grund, and carried unanimously to approve the claims against the County as follows: Revenue $36,021.22, Road & Bridge $61,583.55, County Development $87,150.00, Solid Waste $6,523.20 and EDA $25,800.32.
WARRANTS FOR PUBLICATION
Warrants Approved On 9/24/2019 For Payment 9/27/2019
Vendor Name Amount
Baudette Area Arena Inc 20,000.00
Blue Steel Targets LLC 4,737.43
Cenex Co-Op Services, Inc. 9,321.72
Counties Providing Technology 3,690.00
Depot Preservation Alliance 6,000.00
Friends Against Abuse 2,500.00
Headwaters Regional Development Commiss 25,000.00
Hoffman, Philipp & Knutson, PLLC 8,530.00
Howard’s Oil Company 2,871.61
John Deere Financial 3,768.74
LOW Historical Society 12,500.00
LOW Humane Society 7,500.00
LOW Rod & Gun Club 2,000.00
LOW Soil & Water Cons. Dist. 2,500.00
Midway Ford Company 28,857.84
R & Q Trucking, Inc 3,605.00
TOTALFUNDS 2,000.00
Widseth Smith Nolting&Asst Inc 12,123.37
Williams Arena Association 7,000.00
Williams Senior Citizens 4,000.00
Williams Youth Recreation Association 8,000.00
Willie Walleye Fund 10,000.00
60 Payments less than 2000: 30,572.58
Final Total: 217,078.29
Further moved to authorize the payment of the following auditor warrants: September 11, 2019 for $129,703.78, September 16, 2019 for $202,287.56, September 16, 2019 for ($404.05), September 18, 2019 for $753,669.22.
Gambling Permit
County Auditor/Treasurer, Lorene Hanson, presented a request for a lease for lawful gambling activity and premises permit for Lake of the Woods Drifters at Wheeler’s Point Resort.
Motion
The following resolution was offered by Commissioner Ed Arnesen, seconded by Commissioner Buck Nordlof and carried unanimously to approve the following:
RESOLUTION APPROVING A LEASE FOR
LAWFUL GAMBLING ACTIVITY AND PREMISES PERMIT APPLICATION
RESOLUTION NO. 19-09-02
WHEREAS; the Lake of the Woods Drifters has submitted a lease for lawful gambling activity and a premises permit application for Minnesota Lawful Gambling to be conducted at the following establishment, which is located in Lake of the Woods County:
Wheeler’s Point Resort, 2605 River Ln NW, Baudette, MN 56623
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Lake of the Woods County Board of Commissioners hereby approves said application for submission to the Minnesota Gambling Control Board.
Tobacco License
County Auditor/Treasurer, Lorene Hanson, presented a license application to sell cigarettes at retail at Dick’s Headshop in the City of Williams. The board postponed a decision on the license until the next meeting, pending more information.
Operational Enhancement Grant Program Resolution
Motion
The following Resolution was offered by Commissioner Buck Nordlof, seconded by Commissioner Joe Grund and carried unanimously to approve the following:
RESOLUTION OF LAKE OF THE WOODS COUNTY
Operational Enhancement Grant Program
Resolution No 19-09-03
BE IT RESOLVED; by Lake of the Woods County Board of Commissioners that the County enter into the attached Grant Contract with the Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs (MDVA) to conduct the following Program: County Veterans Service Office Operational Enhancement Grant Program. The grant must be used to provide outreach to the county’s veterans; to assist in the reintegration of combat veterans into society; to collaborate with other social service agencies, educational institutions, and other community organizations for the purposes of enhancing services offered to veterans; to reduce homelessness among veterans; and to enhance the operations of the county veterans service office, as specified in Minnesota Statutes 197.608 and Minnesota Laws 2019 Chapter 10, Article 1, Section 37, Subdivision 2. This Grant should not be used to supplant or replace other funding.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED; by the Lake of the Woods County Board of Commissioners that Rick Rone, the Veterans Service Officer, be authorized to execute the attached Grant Contract for the above-mentioned Program on behalf of the County.
WHEREUPON; the above resolution was adopted at the Lake of the Woods County Board of Commissioners Board meeting this 24th day of September, 2019.
RECESS
With no further business before the board, Vice-Chairman Jon Waibel called the meeting to recess at 12:01 p.m.
Attest: September 24, 2019
__________________________________ _________________________________
County Auditor/Treasurer, Lorene Hanson Vice-Chairman, Jon Waibel