Commissioner Proceedings

September 12, 2017

The Lake of the Woods County Board of Commissioners met in regular session on Tuesday, September 12, 2017 at Lake of the Woods County Government Center in the Commissioners’ Room.

Call to Order

Chairman Nordlof called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. and the Pledge of Allegiance was recited with the following members present: Commissioners: James Nordlof, Cody Hasbargen, JonWaibel and Ken Moorman. Absent: Commissioner Ed Arnesen was absent due to other county business. Also present were: County Auditor/Treasurer Lorene Hanson, Deputy Auditor/Treasurer Janet Rudd, and Woody Fiala.

Approval of Agenda

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Moorman, seconded by Commissioner Hasbargen and carried unanimously to approve the agenda with the following additions: Hazardous Materials, Permission to advertise and interview, DNR easement, Off Road Vehicle Grant.

Approval of Minutes

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Nordlof, seconded by Commissioner Hasbargen and carried unanimously to approve the official and summarized minutes August 22, 2017.

SOCIAL SERVICES

Claims

County Auditor/Treasurer, Lorene Hanson met with the board for Social Service Director, Amy Ballard requesting approval for the Social Services claims.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Waibel, seconded by Commissioner Moorman and carried unanimously to approve the claims against the county as follows: Commissioner Warrants-$10,991.10, Commissioner Warrants-$8,001.26, Commissioner Warrants- $32,901.82

Cell Phone Stipend

County Auditor/Treasurer, Lorene Hanson met with the board for Social Service Director, Amy Ballard requesting approval for a cell phone stipend for Office Support Specialist Jo Aery.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Moorman, seconded by Commissioner Hasbargen and carried unanimously to approve a cell phone stipend for Office Support Specialist, Jo Aery for a cell phone stipend in the amount of $60.00 per month effective October 1, 2017.

HUMAN RESOURCES

Human Resource Director, Savanna Slick met with the board requesting approval to advertise and interview for an Assistant Zoning Inspector.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Moorman, seconded by Commissioner Hasbargen and carried unanimously to authorize Human Resource Director, Savanna Slick and Land and Water Planning Director, Josh Stromlund to advertise interview and hire for Assistant Zoning Inspector.

CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

Mike Hovde, representing the Baudette Chamber of Commerce met with the board requesting funding for the Fourth of July fireworks. Mike explained that they purchase the fireworks in November for coming celebration. Due to a shortage of donations they have a shortfall of $5,000. City of Baudette agreed to donate $2,500 if the County would match the funding.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Hasbargen, seconded by Commissioner Waibel and carried unanimously to contribute $2,500 for fireworks for the upcoming Fourth of July celebration in 2018.

AUDITOR/TREASURER

County Auditor/Treasurer Lorene Hanson met with the board requesting approval of claims:

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Hasbargen, seconded by Commissioner Waibel and carried unanimously to approve the claims against the county as follows: Revenue $31,134.33- Road & Bridge $61,050.66 –Joint Ditch- $4,230.00- Solid Waste- 27,094.12-EDA-2004.44, Co. Development-$276.00.

WARRANTS FOR PUBLICATION

Warrants Approved On 9/12/2017 For Payment 9/15/2017

Vendor Name                                        Amount

Computer Professionals Unlimited Inc                            3,310.00

Erickson/Wyatt D                                                            5,000.00

Howard’s Oil Company                                                  5,501.32

Knife River Materials Inc                                              22,417.07

LOW Highway Dept                                                       7,785.00

LOW School District–390                                              6,000.00

M-R Sign Co, Inc                                                             4,030.30

Mar-Kit Landfill                                                             15,939.50

Titan Energy Systems, Inc                                             2,083.00

Titan Machinery – Roseau                                              4,015.62

Widseth Smith Nolting&Asst Inc                                   13,849.42

Woody’s Service                                                            6,572.65

63 Payments less than 2000 29,285.67

Final Total: 125,789.55

Further moved to authorize the payment of the following auditor warrants: August 23, 2017- $30,249.49, August 24, 2017 – $2,185.00, August 30, 2017-$474,247.66, -September 06, 2017-$508,823.19, September 8, 2017-$212,991.08, September 8, 2017-(455.56).

Reserve Account

County Auditor/Treasurer, Lorene Hanson met with the board requesting approval to set up a Reserve Account for County Attorney Office for Sexual Assault Nurses Exam (SANE)

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Moorman, seconded by Commissioner Waibel and carried unanimously to authorize County Auditor/Treasurer, Lorene Hanson to set up a Reserve Account for SANE in the amount of $10,000.

PROPOSED 2018 BUDGET AND LEVY

County Auditor/Treasurer, Lorene Hanson met with the board and presented the Proposed 2018 Budget and Levy.

Resolution

Resolution Adopting

Proposed 2018 Budget and Tax Levy

Resolution   2017-09-12

The following Resolution was proposed and moved for adoption by Commissioner Jon Waibel:

WHEREAS, the Proposed County Budget for the year 2018 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 2018:

Revenue Fund                                                $ 1,549,613  

Road & Bridge Fund                         $    449,580

Social Services Fund                                      $    603,935

Economic Development Authority Fund       $      60,000

2015 Proposed Budget and Tax Levy           $ 2,663,128  

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the following amounts be levied against the unorganized townships of Lake of the Woods County for 2018:

                        Twp Road & Bridge                                       $   450,320*  

                        Twp Fire – Baudette                                       $     30,000

                        Twp Fire – Williams                                        $     25,795

                        Twp Fire – NW Angle                         $       6,500

                        Total                                                               $   512,615

2018    

* $450,320 for Township Road & Bridge includes $12,000 which is specifically levied to Northwest Angle residents for Calcium Chloride.  (438,320+12,000=450,320) 

A public meeting to discuss the 2018 Proposed Budget and Tax Levy will be held on Tuesday, December 12, 2017, at 6:00 p.m. in the Lake of the Woods County Commissioners’ Room.

The motion was seconded by Commissioner Ken Moorman, and the same being put to a vote, was unanimously carried.

LakeWood Health Contract

County Auditor/Treasurer, Lorene Hanson met with the board and presented LakeWood Health Centers Contract to the board for approval.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Moorman, seconded by Commissioner Hasbargen and carried unanimously to approve the purchase of service agreement, between Lake of the Woods County and LakeWood Health Center for Community Health Services in the amount of $93,220 effective January 1, 2018 thru December 31, 2018.

Lost Warrant

County Auditor/Treasurer, Lorene Hanson met with the board and presented a lost warrant application for Lindsay Tillery.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Hasbargen, seconded by Waibel and carried unanimously to approve the application and affidavit for lost warrants for Lindsay Tillery, dated May 12, 2017 for $218.22 without furnishing indemnifying bond.

MN Power Amendment to Tower Space Lease

County Auditor/Treasurer, Lorene Hanson met with the board and presented Amendment of the Tower Space Lease Agreement at the Williams Tower Site and Baudette Tower Site with Minnesota Power, a division of ALLETE, Inc.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Hasbargen, seconded by Commissioner Waibel and carried unanimously to approve the Amendment Tower Space Lease and authorize Chairman Nordlof to sign.

DNR Easement- Robert and Debra Warzecha

County Auditor/Treasurer, Lorene Hanson met with the board and requested authorization for signatures for the Easement Agreement with Robert and Debra Warzecha for the perpetual easement that was approves on July 25, 2017 meeting.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Hasbargen, seconded by Commissioner Waibel and carried unanimously to authorize Chairman Nordlof and County Auditor/Treasurer, Lorene Hanson to sign the  Warzecha Easement Agreement.

State Auditor’s Letter

County Auditor/Treasurer, Lorene Hanson met with the board and presented a letter to the State Auditor in regards to the Annual Audits to resolve the concerns that the State Auditors have raised and requested authorization for signatures.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Waibel, seconded by Commissioner Hasbargen and carried unanimously to authorize Chairman Nordlof to sign the letter to the State Auditor.

DITCH AUTHORITY

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Hasbargen, seconded by Commissioner Waibel and carried unanimously to close the regular meeting at 9:52 a.m. and open the Ditch Authority Meeting.

Discussion

Discussed a letter received from a Ditch Beneficiary in regards to ditches that have been filled in to convert the land into natural wetlands. With this being done, the water has prevented the drainage of this property to Ditch 1. The board requested that Public Works Director to look into this issue.

The board also discussed work to be done on Ditch 24.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Waibel, seconded by Commissioner Hasbargen and carried unanimously to close the Ditch Authority meeting at 10:09 a.m. and open the regular meeting.

PUBLIC WORKS

Public Works Director, Tim Erickson met with the board and updated them on County Road 8 and informed the board that weather permitting, the shoulder will be completed shortly. Tim informed the board that the newly hired Maintenance worker at the NWA has resigned and now are re-advertising for this position.

AMEND AGENDA

Motion was made by Commissioner Hasbargen, seconded by Commissioner Nordlof and carried unanimously to amend the Agenda and add Non Bargaining Union Health Insurance.

Union Health Insurance

County Auditor/Treasurer, Lorene Hanson met with the board and informed the board that there was an inquiry about possible non-union employees going with the Unions non-bargaining Health Insurance. Lorene informed the board that after research with the Union 49er’s representative, all eligible employees would have to be on the insurance and they would all be considered a family policy. After discussion, the board felt that this was not cost effective.

HAZARDOUS MATERIALS

Commissioner Waibel discussed concerns of Hazardous Materials and what kind of action plan is available at the county level in case of a spill. Commissioner Waibel will discuss this with Emergency Management Director, Jill Olson.

SHERIFF

County Sheriff, Gary Fish met with the board requesting approval to fix the plumbing issues in the holding cell and salaries for Deputy Sheriffs that have been recently hired with the merging of Law Enforcement with the City of Baudette. The consensus of the board was to get the plumbing issues fixed with cost up to $3,000.

Salaries

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Hasbargen, seconded by Commissioner Waibel and carried unanimously to approve Deputy Sheriff, Nate Hayes job grade at 13, step 5, $23.59 per hour, points 288, effective September 1, 2017.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Moorman, seconded by Commissioner Waibel and carried unanimously to approve Part-time Deputy Sheriff, Jeff Poolman job grade at 12, step 4, at $21.84 per hour, points 282, effective September 1, 2017.

DNR GRANT

County Sheriff, Gary Fish met with the board requesting approval to enter into a Grant Contract for Off-Highway Vehicle Safety Enforcement Grant with the State of Minnesota.

Resolution

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

Resolution 17-09-01

WHEREAS, the State of Minnesota, acting through its Commissioner of Natural Resource (“STATE”) and Lake of the Woods County (Grantee), under MN Stat. § 84.024 the State is empowered to enter into this grant;

WHEREAS, the State, under Laws of Minnesota 2017 Chapter 93, Section 3, Subdivision 6, is authorized to provide reimbursement grants to counties to cover cost related to labor and equipment in the enforcement of off highway vehicle laws, rules and regulations, as well as holding staff training in the same, and providing local youth training classes, in the manner described in the Grantee’s proposed Budget;

WHEREAS, the Grantee represents that it is duly qualified and agrees to perform all services described in this grant agreement to the satisfaction of the State; pursuant to Minnesota Statutes § 16B.98, Subdivision 1, the Grantee agrees to minimize administrative costs as a condition of the grant;

WHEREAS, the term of grant agreement is effective August 14, 2017, or the date the state obtains all required signatures under Minnesota Statute § 16B.98, subdivision 5, whichever is later. Per, Minn.Stat.§16B.98, Subdivision 7, no payments will be made to the Grantee until this grant contract is fully executed. The Grantee must no begin work under this grant contact until this contract is fully executed and the Grantee has been notified by the State’s Authorized Representative to begin the work, and this grant expires June 30, 2019, or until all obligations have been satisfactorily fulfilled, whichever occurs first;

WHEREAS, Grantee will be reimbursed once annually for eligible OHV Safety Enforcement Grants, including one or more of the following:

• Grantee staff time to participate in OHV/ATV activities, including attendance at training classes, also holding local safety training education programs for local riders. Training for  grantee staff working to enforce any OHV related law, rule or regulation is MANDATORY
• Purchase of ATV’s for use In patrolling;
• ATV maintenance, fuel and enforcement related costs;
• Trailers, trailer maintenance and repair (no cost related to towing vehicle repair);
• Helmets and other related protective gear (no standard uniforms or equipment);
• Other equipment dedicated solely to Off Highway Vehicle Enforcement Work;
• Submit Annul Performance Reports and Reimbursement Request for each year;
• Post on the Grantee’s website, a copy of the two page performance report, in accordance with the 2009 Laws of Minnesota, Chapter 37, Article 1, Section 4, and Subdivision 1.

NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Grantee will be reimbursed up to $9,900.00 in state fiscal year 2018 for expenses incurred between the effective date of the grant and June 30, 2018, and $9,900.00 in fiscal year 2019, for expenses incurred between July 1, 2018 and June 30, 2019, as determined by the grant funding formula, total obligation of the State for all compensation and reimbursements to the Grantee under this grant agreement will not exceed $19,980.00;

SMALL CITIES DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM

Rusty Madoll met with the board to discuss the Small Cities Development grant that his Uncle had on his property, which Rusty purchased. The board discussed the grant agreement of re-payment which the previous owner had entered in. County Attorney will review and make recommendation to the board.

LAKE OF THE WOODS TOURISM UPDATE

Executive Director for Lake of the Woods Tourism Bureau, Joe Henry met with the board and updated the board on the past tourism year. He also informed the board that the Tourism Bureau would like to apply to host the International Plowing Competition that will be coming to the USA in 2019. The board stated that they would be willing to sign the letter of intent for hosting this competition.

GREAT NORTHERN TRANSMISSION LINE

Matthew Hagelin, Kyle Larson and Terri Bagwell met with the board and updated them on the Great Northern Transmission Line Project.

TRANE

Maintenance Supervisor, Peder Hovland and Trane Manager Scott Rietsema met with the board to discuss the heating issues within the Social Services Department. Scott informed the board that Trane will sell to the county a boiler for $94,000. County Auditor/Treasurer, Lorene Hanson requested an itemized bill for the previous work and for the current quote. The County Board requested this itemization be received before payment is made.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Moorman, seconded by Commissioner Waibel and carried unanimously to purchase the boiler from Trane in the amount of $94,000, which includes installation, from the Building Fund.

RECESS

With no further business before the County Board, Chairman Nordlof called the regular County Board meeting to recess at 1:00 p.m.

Attest:                                                                          Approved September 26, 2017

___________________________________              _____________________________________

County Auditor/Treasurer, Lorene Hanson                    Chairman of the Board, James Nordlof