Commissioner Proceedings

September 13, 2011

The Lake of the Woods County Board of Commissioners met in regular session on Tuesday, September 13, 2011, in the Commissioners’ Room at the Government Center.

Chair Ken Moorman called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. and the Pledge of Allegiance was recited with the following members present: Commissioners Patty Beckel, Todd Beckel, Moorman, Arnesen and Hanson. Also present were: County Auditor John W Hoscheid, Deputy Auditor Janet Rudd and Penny Mio Hirst.

Approval of Agenda

Motion was made by Commissioner Arnesen to approve the agenda with the following additions: Non-Elected Department Heads job evaluation dates, Lake of the Woods County Criminal Justice Coordinating Committee, Prosper Cemetery, Inventory of Investments, MRCC annual meeting and MCIT workshop. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Todd Beckel and the same being put to a vote, was unanimously carried.  

Approval of Consent Agenda

Motion was made by Commissioner Todd  Beckel to approve the consent agenda as follows: for Dessa Brunette on November 29 thru December 1, 2011 for DHS Training for New Workers on SSIS System at Brainerd; Boyd Johnson on September 28-30 for Right of Way Professional Workshop at Breezy Point and on October 5-7 for MN GIS/LIS 2011 Conference in St. Cloud; Brent Birkeland on October 5-7 for MN GIS/LIS 2011 Conference in St. Cloud; Josh Stromlund on October 5-7 for MACPZA Conference in Bemidji;   The motion was seconded by Commissioner Patty Beckel and the same being put to a vote, was unanimously carried.

Approval of Minutes

Motion was made by Commissioner Hanson to approve the minutes of August 23, 2011 regular meeting and August 30, 2011 special meeting. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Todd Beckel and the same being put to a vote, was unanimously carried.

Department Heads

County Assesor, Mary Jo Otten, County Recorder, Susan Ney, Social Services Director, Nancy Wendler, County Treasurer, Mark Hall, MIS Director, Brent Birkeland, County Auditor, John W. Hoscheid and Public Works Director, Tim Erickson met with the board to discuss the 2012 Budget and Levy.  They discussed the elimination in the 2012 state homestead credit, with the state replacing the credit with the Homestead Market Value Exclusion and the impact that it will have on all the Counties in the State.

Recess

The meeting was called to recess at 10:08 a.m. and reconvened at 10:13 a.m. as follows:

Social services

Claims

Social Services Director, Nancy Wendler met with the Board requesting approval of claims.

Motion was made by Commissioner Todd Beckel to approve the claims against the county as follows:

                                                Commissioners’ Warrants       $   13,308.74

                                                Commissioners’ Warrants       $   14,950.94

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

Step Increase

Social Service Director, Nancy Wendler met with the board to discuss a step increase for Dessa Brunette for completion of her probationary period which is effective on September 21, 2011.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Todd Beckel to approve a merit adjustment for completion of probation period for Social Worker Dessa Brunette from Grade 12, step 1 to Grade 12, step 2 effective October 2, 2011. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Hanson and the same being put to a vote, was unanimously carried.

MN Care Contract

Social Service Director, Nancy Wendler met with the board and informed them that she will be renewing the contract with MN Care, but when the contract comes to the board the date will be retroactive to July 1, 2011.

Wynne Consulting

Irene Wynne, Consultant with Wynne Consulting met with the board to inform them that a couple has applied for the Small Cities Program, Rehabilitation Loan.  Guidelines require if there is a possible conflict of interest that the county board needs to give an “exception” for the applicants to receive the loan. Irene informed the board that Wynne Consulting does not see that there is a conflict of interest with the applicants.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Arnesen to make an exception for the applicants to receive the rehabilitation loan from the recommendation from Wynne Consulting; and that the board does not feel that there is any conflict of interest from the applicants. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Hanson and the same being put to a vote, was unanimously carried.

Public Works Department

Consideration of Vacating Right- of Way

Motion

Public Works Director, Tim Erickson and Attorney, Steve Anderson met with the board to discuss vacating a County Right-Of –Way for Russell Mohawk on a non-conforming cabin that does not meet the required setback of 75 feet from the Ordinary High Water. No board action was taken.

Building and Grounds Maintenance

Public Works Director, Tim Erickson met with the board and requested approval for carpets to be cleaned in the Social Service Department in the amount of $500. The consensus of the board was to have the carpets cleaned and also see if the main traffic area in the Revenue Department could be done at the same time.  The board also requested that Tim check to see what is wrong with the carpet cleaner that the county owns.

Williams Shop

Public Works Director, Tim Erickson met with the board requesting approval to purchase a new garage door and opener for the Williams Shop. Tim informed the board that a new garage door, opener and labor would cost $7,000.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Arnesen to authorize the Public Works Director to purchase a new garage door and opener for the Williams Shop in the amount of $7,000, which includes labor.  The motion was seconded by Commissioner Patty Beckel and the same being put to a vote, was unanimously carried.

Construction Update

Public Works Director, Tim Erickson met with the board and gave an update on the following construction projects:

• Overlay project complete, waiting on paperwork and the project came in under $3,000.
• Safety project complete, and came in under $3,600.
• Bike Paths dirt work almost done and hope to tar yet this week.

County Auditor

Claims

County Auditor John W Hoscheid met with the board for approval of claims.

Motion was made by Commissioner Hanson to approve the claims against the county as follows:

                                                Revenue                       $   104,602.19           

                                                Road & Bridge             $     58,592.78

                                                County Develop           $       2,567.85           

                                                Solid Waste                  $     25,461.56

                                                EDA                             $      14,832.86

                                                                                        $ 206,057.24          

WARRANTS FOR PUBLICATION

Warrants Approved On 9/13/2011 For Payment 9/16/2011

Vendor Name                                   Amount

Achen/Brian                                                  2,080.00

Braun Intertec Corporation                         4,550.50

Cenex Co-Op Services, Inc.                    13,205.39

Hasler                                                            4,000.00

Holte Implement, Inc                                    4,256.46

Howard’s Oil Company                               4,659.57

Lake Area Construction Inc                         6,975.00

Lavalla Sand & Gravel Inc                           4,300.00

LOW Highway Dept                                     3,680.00

Mar-Kit Landfill                                           13,336.20

Olson/George                                           16,600.00

Pirkl Lumber & Carpet                                  5,388.31

R & Q Trucking, Inc                                    4,400.73

Roseau County Cooperative Assn             2,069.27

Sjoberg’s Inc                                              62,264.83

Strata Corp, Inc                                            5,146.58

Widseth Smith Nolting&Asst Inc               3,201.18

Woody’s Service                                        13,311.79

Ziegler, Inc                                                    4,030.02

70 Payments less than 2000 $28,601.41

Final Total: $206057.24

Further moved to authorize the payment of the following auditor warrants:

                                                August 26, 2011        $          43,134.18

                                                September 1, 2011     $               240.23

                                                September 1, 2011     $     1,622,663.08

                                                September 2, 2011     $              (23.60)

                                                September 9, 2011     $        244,069.45

                                                September 10, 2011   $        121,212.81

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

CPA and 2010 Census

County Auditor John W. Hoscheid met with the board to review the 2012 CPA and the 2010 Census reports.

Affidavit of lost Warrant

County Auditor John W. Hoscheid met with the board requesting approval for a lost warrant.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Todd Beckel to approve the application and affidavit for lost warrant for William Hill dated April 29, 2011 for $88.20 without furnishing indemnifying bond. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Hanson and the same being put to a vote, was unanimously carried.

Depot Preservation Alliance

County Auditor John W. Hoscheid presented a letter of request from the Depot Preservation Alliance requesting that the county issue the remaining $22,000 of the loan that was approved by the board for the Depot in 2007. No action was taken and requested that County Auditor, John W. Hoscheid contact the Depot Board members requesting them to meet with them at the next board meeting.

T NT Meeting

County Auditor John W. Hoscheid met with the board requesting that the board set a public hearing for the 2012 TNT – Levy and Budget meeting.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Todd Beckel to set a public hearing for the 2012 Truth in Taxation Budget Levy Meeting on December 13, 2011 at 6:00 p.m. in the Commissioners’ Room at the Government Center. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Patty Beckel and the same being put to a vote, was unanimously carried.

Recess

The meeting was called to recess at 11:40 a.m. and reconvened at 11:45 a.m. as follows:

2012 Budget Report

County Auditor, John W. Hoscheid met with the board to review the proposed 2012 Budget Report.

Recess

The meeting was called to recess at 12: 12 p.m. and reconvened at 1:15 p.m. as follows:

2010 audit exit interview

Colleen Hoffman, from Hoffman, Dale and Swenson LLC met with the board to review the 2010 Audit. Colleen informed the board that she had no concerns on the audit and everything was incompliance.

Lake of the Woods Criminal Justice Coordinating COMMITTEE (CJCC)

Commissioner Patty Beckel informed the board that the CJCC will be meeting monthly and needs to have a Commissioner appointed to this committee.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Todd Beckel to appoint Commissioner Patty Beckel to serve on the CJCC. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Hanson and the same being put to a vote, was unanimously carried.

Prosper Cemetery

Commissioner Patty Beckel handed out an article that was drafted by Marjorie Broten on the grave sites that are located at the Prosper Cemetery.

Non – Elected Department Head Evaluation dates

The board set September 22, 2011 at 8:00 a.m. for job evaluations for the Non-Elected Department Heads.

CORRESPONDENCE:

Correspondence was read and acknowledged from:

• MRCC- Legislative Session Summary
• Inventory of Investments
• MRCC- Annual Conference
• MCIT Work Shop

Old/New Business

No updates

Committee Reports

No updates

2012 County Budget

The County Board discussed and reviewed the 2012 County Budget.

Adoption of the Proposed 2012 Budget and Tax Levy

Resolution Adopting

Proposed 2012 Budget and Tax Levy

Resolution   2011-09-01

The following Resolution was proposed and moved for adoption by Commissioner Todd Beckel:

WHEREAS, the Proposed County Budget for the year 2012 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 2012:

                        2012 Proposed Budget and Tax Levy         $ 2,388,603             

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the following amounts be levied against the unorganized townships of Lake of the Woods County for 2012:

                        Twp Road & Bridge                                     $   425,175*

                        Twp Fire – Baudette                                      $     21,000

                        Twp Fire – Williams                                      $     27,282

                        Twp Fire – NW Angle                                   $       6,500

                        Total                                                               $   479,957

2012                

$425,175 for Township Road & Bridge includes $10,000 which is specifically levied to Northwest Angle residents for Calcium Chloride.  (415,175+10,000=425,175)

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

Recess

With no further business before the County Board, Chair Ken Moorman called the meeting to recess at 4:25 p.m.

Attest:                                                                                     Approved: September 27, 2011

_____________________________                                      _______________________________

John W Hoscheid, County Auditor                                        Ken Moorman, Board Chair

Commissioner Proceedings

September 27, 2011

The Lake of the Woods County Board of Commissioners met in regular session on Tuesday, September 27, 2011, in the Commissioners’ Room at the Government Center.

Chairman Moorman called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. and the Pledge of Allegiance was recited with the following members present: Commissioners Patty Beckel, Todd Beckel, Moorman, Arnesen and Hanson. Also present were: County Auditor John W Hoscheid, Deputy Auditor Janet Rudd and Penny Mio Hirst.

Approval of Agenda

Motion was made by Commissioner Todd Beckel to approve the agenda with the following additions: Travel for Public Works department, Credit Card bill, Land Surveyor, MRCC Annual Business meeting and Fish House trailers. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Patty Beckel and the same being put to a vote, was unanimously carried.  

Approval of Consent Agenda

Motion was made by Commissioner Patty  Beckel to approve the consent agenda as follows:  Travel for Christie Russell to St. Cloud on October 17-18 for MN Department of Health Annual Vitals Training; Tim Erickson to Detroit Lakes on October 5-6 for Joint District Meeting;  Josh  Stromlund to St. Paul on September 28-29 for Local Government Roundtable Advisory Committee;  Craig Severs  to the following: October 3 – 5,Legal Process – Establishment / Paternity, (St. Paul),October 10-11,Locate Workshop, session 1, (Brainerd) October 17 – 18 Legal Process Part 2, (St. Paul),October 24 – 26,Intergovernmental 201, 203, 204, (St. Paul), November 7 – 9,Enforcement Intermediate, (St. Paul); Lee Hancock, Todd Fadness, Jeff Pelland, Tim Aery Doug Wyatt and Barry Bailey to NWA on September 26-28 for ditch work maintenance.  The motion was seconded by Commissioner Hanson and the same being put to a vote, was unanimously carried.

Approval of Minutes

Motion was made by Commissioner Hanson to approve the minutes of September 13, 2011 regular meeting. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Todd Beckel and the same being put to a vote, was unanimously carried.

Social services

Claims

Social Services Director, Nancy Wendler met with the Board requesting approval of claims.

Motion was made by Commissioner Todd Beckel to approve the claims against the county as follows:

                                                Commissioners’ Warrants       $   21,759.68

                                                Commissioners’ Warrants       $     8,548.27

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

County Auditor

Claims

County Auditor John W Hoscheid met with the board for approval of claims.

Motion was made by Commissioner Hanson to pull claim number 89 for further discussion. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Todd Beckel and the same being put to a vote, was unanimously carried.

Motion was made by Commissioner Patty Beckel to approve the claims against the county as follows:

                                                Revenue                       $      55,555.17          

                                                Road & Bridge             $       5,965.76

                                                County Develop           $          782.92           

                                                Solid Waste                  $       7,382.89

                                                EDA                             $        6,308.72

                                                                                     $      76,395.46          

WARRANTS FOR PUBLICATION

Warrants Approved On 9/27/2011 for Payment 9/30/2011

Vendor Name                                                            Amount

Anchor Marketing, Inc                                                 3,715.68

Arrowhead Library System                                        36,798.00

Burg Electronic Recovery                                           5,032.80

Cenex Co-Op Services, Inc.                                      2,514.13

Hoffman, Dale, & Swenson, Pllc                              11,053.00

Northwest Community Action, Inc                              2,593.04

52 Payments less than 2000 $14,688.81

Final Total: $76,395.46

Further moved to authorize the payment of the following auditor warrants:

                                                September 14, 2011     $        28,769.13

                                                September 21, 2011     $        30,028.79

                                                September 23, 2011     $      131,486.05

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

Con- Con Funding Request

County Auditor, John W. Hoscheid met with the board to review the request for funding from the Con-Con Fund. No action was taken and was placed on October 11, 2011 meeting.

Line workers School

County Auditor, John W. Hoscheid presented the Line Workers Facility costs to the board for their review. The consensus of the board was to except the motion from the Economic Development Authority to pay all bills (09-26-11 EDA Meeting) and reimburse and transfer funds from the EDA fund to the Revenue fund in the amount of $254,186.18 and further transfer funds from the County Development fund to the Revenue fund in the amount of $2,850.00 and authorize County Auditor, John W. Hoscheid to transfer the funds.

Land Leases

County Auditor, John W. Hoscheid presented the County Land Lease Agreements to the board for their approval.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Todd Beckel to approve the following Land Lease Agreements effective January 1, 2012 through December 31, 2012:

SW ¼ SW ¼, S-22, T-163-N, R-34-W – 40 Acres

NW ¼ NW ¼, S-27, T-163-N, R-34-W – 40 Acres

NE ¼ SE ¼, S-28, T-163-N, R-34-W – 40 Acres

N ½ NE ¼, SW ¼ NE ¼, S-28, T-163-N, R-34-W – 108 Acres

The motion was seconded by Commissioner Hanson and the vote carried as follows: Voting for:

Commissioners Patty Beckel, Todd Beckel, Hanson and Moorman.  Abstaining: Commissioner Arnesen.

Health Insurance

County Auditor John W. Hoscheid informed the board that the County Insurance Committee met and recommends that the county board consider investigating a “Cash” option plan to employees.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Todd Beckel to authorize County Auditor, John W. Hoscheid to contact Darcie Hitesman, from Hitesman & Wold P.A., to assist the board with exploring a “Cash Option” plan for county health insurance, and approves the expenditures up to $3,000 for their assistance.  The motion was seconded by Commissioner Patty Beckel and the same being put to a vote, was unanimously carried.

Satisfaction of Repayment Agreement

County Auditor, John W. Hoscheid met with the board and requested approval to file a Satisfaction of Repayment Agreement and Satisfaction of Mortgage dated November 6, 1996.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Arnesen to authorize Chairman Moorman and County Auditor John W. Hoscheid to sign the Satisfaction of the Repayment Agreement and Satisfaction of Mortgage dated November 6, 1996 for John C. Otto, a single person, Donald Senkyr and Judith Senkyr, husband and wife, and Jackie Senkyr, a single person. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Patty Beckel and the same being put to a vote, was unanimously carried.

Affidavit for Lost Warrant

County Auditor, John W. Hoscheid met with the board requesting approval for a lost warrant for Ryan Hockstedler.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Hanson to approve the application and affidavit for lost warrant for Ryan Hockstedler dated April 15, 2011 for $86.45 without furnishing indemnifying bond. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Todd Beckel and the same being put to a vote, was unanimously carried.

Credit Card Payment Approval

County Auditor, John W. Hoscheid met with the board requesting approval for the Credit Card bill that was just received.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Todd Beckel to approve the county credit card statement and authorize payment in the amount of $ $2,682.63. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Patty Beckel and the same being put to a vote, was unanimously carried.

Mrcc Annual meeting

County Auditor, John W. Hoscheid, met with the board and informed them that MRCC Annual Board of Directors Meeting will be held on October 10, 2011 at Thumper Pond Resort and Conference Center in Ottertail, MN for those who would like to attend.

Land Surveyor

County Auditor, John W. Hoscheid met with the board and presented a letter from Northern Engineering & Consulting, Inc. (NECI) for contracting services with NECI.  The board reviewed the letter and discussed that a Request for Proposal may be sent out in February of 2012.

Human Resources Contract Renewal

Human Resource Director, Wade Johannesen met with the board requesting renewal of his Human Resource Contract with the county.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Tom Hanson to renew the professional service contract with Wade Johannesen to provide Human Resources for Lake of the Woods County, commencing October 22, 2011 and terminating April 23, 2012 and authorize Chairman Moorman, County Auditor, John W. Hoscheid and County Attorney, Philip Miller to sign. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Patty Beckel and the vote carried as follows: Voting for: Commissioner’s Patty Beckel, Hanson, Moorman and Arnesen. Voting against: Commissioner Todd Beckel.

Depot Preservation Alliance

Depot Preservation Alliance board member, Joann Kellner met with the board to discuss the Depot Preservation Alliance letter requesting that the county issue the remaining $22,000 of the loan to complete the paper work with MnDOT. (This would be the 20% match to their $125,000 grant that they received from MnDOT and the county board approved the 20% match in 2007).  The board will discuss this later in the day.

BAUDETTE/LOW CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

Karoline Ketchum and Mike Hovde, representing the Baudette/LOW Chamber of Commerce met with the board requesting $500 for Frost Fest, plus any additional donations to help with the purchase of LED lights for the Community Christmas tree.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Arnesen to contribute $900 from the Revenue Fund to the 2011 Frost Fest. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Patty Beckel and the same being put to a vote, was, unanimously carried.

Lutheran Social Services

Assistant Director, Cindy Christopherson from Lutheran Social Services met with the board and presented the 2010 Annual Report.

PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT

Bill Sindelir, Assistant County Engineer met with the board requesting authorization to sell the 2001 Chevrolet Suburban.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Todd Beckel to authorize the Public Works Director to sell by sealed bids the following used equipment:

• (1) 2001 Chevrolet Suburban

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

Land and Water Planning

Land and Water Planning Director, Josh Stromlund met with the board to consider amendments to Article XII of the Lake of the Woods Zoning Ordinance. He informed the board that the proposed amendments will merge the Board of Adjustment and establish a Planning Commission into a single body which will include additional members as allowed by Minnesota Statute § 394 and that the amendments will also include language in regards to variances to be consistent with recent legislative changes.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Hanson to approve the amendments to Article XII as presented with an effective date of October 31, 2011. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Patty Beckel and the same being put to a vote, was unanimously carried.

Lake of the woods/Baudette airport

The board discussed the Federal Aviation Grant that was awarded to the Baudette/Lake of the Woods Airport.

Depot Preservation Alliance

The board discussed the Depot Preservation Alliance request of funds in the amount of $22,000 for the 20% the county board approved in 2007 to match the $125,000 grant that they received from MnDOT.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Todd Beckel to authorize County Auditor, John W. Hoscheid to release the encumbered amount of $22,000 out of reserves for the 20% match for the grant that the Depot Preservation Alliance was granted back in 2007 and to encumber up to 7,200 from the 2011 Con-Con funds for the completion of concrete work. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Arnesen and the same being put to a vote, was unanimously carried.

RECESS

The meeting was called to recess at 12:06 p.m. and reconvened at 1:10 p.m. as follows:

Non-Elected Department Heads Evaluation- continuation

Human Resource Director, Wade Johannesen and Commissioners Moorman, Hanson, Patty Beckel, Arnesen and Todd Beckel continued with Non-elected Department Heads evaluations. Land and Water Planning Director, Josh Stromlund and Emergency Manager Director Holly House met with the board individual.

CORRESPONDENCE:

Army Corps of Engineer letter was reviewed.

Old/New Business

No updates

Committee Reports

No updates

Recess

With no further business before the County Board, Chair Ken Moorman called the meeting to recess at 3:15 p.m.

Attest:                                                                                     Approved: October 11, 2011

_____________________________                                      _______________________________

John W Hoscheid, County Auditor                                        Ken Moorman, Board Chair