Commissioner Proceedings

September 22, 2020

The Lake of the Woods County Board of Commissioners met in regular session on Tuesday, September 22, 2020 at Lake of the Woods County Government Center in the Commissioners’ Room. 

CALL TO ORDER

Vice-Chair Ed Arnesen 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, Cody Hasbargen, Buck Nordlof and Ed Arnesen. Absent was Commissioner Jon Waibel. Also present was: County Auditor/Treasurer Lorene Hanson.

APPROVAL OF AGENDA

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Buck Nordlof, seconded by Commissioner Joe Grund and carried unanimously to approve the agenda with the following changes; Add: Approve minutes from September 16, 2020 and Cares Act. Remove: Hoffman, Philipp and Knutson Audit Exit.

KENT HANSON FROM CENEX CO-OP

Kent Hanson presented a resolution and was asking for support from the County Board for the establishment of a natural gas distribution system within certain areas of Lake of the Woods County.  There was no action taken at the time and it was tabled for further discussion later in the meeting.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Joe Grund, seconded by Commissioner Cody Hasbargen and carried unanimously to approve the official and summarized minutes of September 8, 2020.

Motion
Motion was made by Commissioner Buck Nordlof, seconded by Commissioner Cody Hasbargen and carried unanimously to approve the official and summarized minutes of September 16, 2020.

SOCIAL SERVICES

Claims

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Cody Hasbargen, seconded by Commissioner Joe Grund and carried unanimously to approve the following claims: Commissioners Warrant’s $10,889.24 Commissioners Warrant’s $4,234.87, Commissioners Warrant’s $5,257.12.

AUDITOR/TREASURER

Claims

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Joe Grund, seconded by Commissioner Buck Nordlof and carried unanimously to approve the claims against the County as follows: Revenue $97,871.58; Road & Bridge $13,668.15; County Development $1050.00; Joint Ditch $702.50; Solid Waste $31,357.06, EDA $843.24.

WARRANTS FOR PUBLICATION

Warrants Approved On 9/22/2020 For Payment 9/25/2020

Vendor Name Amount

Bollig Inc 23,626.00

Cenex Co-Op Services, Inc. 14,421.02

Counties Providing Technology 3,751.00

Cps Technology Solutions 3,995.00

Hoffman, Philipp & Knutson, PLLC 12,650.00

John Deere Financial 2,501.44

Lakewood Health Center 14,443.05

LOW Highway Dept 7,033.75

M-R Sign Co, Inc 2,084.95

Motorola Solutions, Inc 15,793.24

Nelson’s Collision Center (Dba) 9,584.13

Premier Biotech, Inc 2,020.54

Quadient Finance USA Inc. 2,000.00

R & Q Trucking, Inc 3,090.00

Royal Tire Inc 3,208.08

SeaChange Print Innovations 3,509.46

U.S. Bank Equipment Finance 6,268.50

34 Payments less than 2000 15,512.37

          Final Total: 145,492.53

Further moved to authorize the payment of the following auditor warrants: September 8, 2020 for $101,160.89, September 15, 2020 for ($955.66), September 15, 2020 for $228,152.69, September 16, 2020 for $14,873.14.

Proposed 2021 Tax Levy Resolution

Resolution Adopting

Proposed 2021 Budget and Tax Levy

Resolution   2020-09-01

The following Resolution was proposed and moved for adoption by Commissioner Joe Grund:

WHEREAS, the Proposed County Budget for the year 2021 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 2021:

Revenue Fund $ 1,768,300

Road & Bridge Fund $    449,580

Social Services Fund $    603,935

Economic Development Authority Fund $      60,000

2021 Proposed Budget and Tax Levy $ 2,881,815   

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the following amounts be levied against the unorganized townships of Lake of the Woods County for 2021:

Twp Road & Bridge $   451,470* 

Twp Fire – Baudette $     25,000

Twp Fire – Williams $     14,872

Twp Fire – NW Angle $       6,500

Total $   497,842

2021

* $451,470 for Township Road & Bridge, includes $12,765 Admin of Township Roads (438,705+12,765=451,470)  

A public meeting to discuss the 2021 Proposed Budget and Tax Levy will be held on Tuesday, December 16, 2020, at 6:00 p.m. in the Lake of the Woods County Commissioners’ Room. 

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

COUNTY HIGHWAY/LANDFILL

Highway Update

County Engineer, AJ Pirkl, provided a highway project update.

The following Resolution was offered by Commissioner Ed Arnesen, seconded by Commissioner Buck Nordlof and carried unanimously to approve the following: 

TRANSPORTATION AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

 PROGRAM APPLICATION

Resolution No. 2020-09-02

BE IT RESOLVED that, Lake of the Woods County will act as the legal sponsor for the Northern Excellence Seed Turn Lane project and requests funding from the Transportation Economic Development (TED) Program of the Minnesota Department of Transportation; and,

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that, Lake of the Woods County has the legal authority to apply for financial assistance, and the institutional, managerial and financial capability to ensure matching funds and adequate construction of the proposed project; and,

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that, Lake of the Woods County has not violated any Federal State or local laws pertaining to fraud, bribery, graft, kickbacks, collusion, conflict of interest or other unlawful or corrupt practice; and,

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that, upon approval of its application by the state, Lake of the Woods County may enter into an agreement with the State of Minnesota for the above-referenced project and that it will comply with all applicable laws and regulations as stated in all contract agreements; and,

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that, Lake of the Woods County will commit the required local match; and,

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that, Lake of the Woods County confirms if the project cost increases above the amount listed in the Application, Lake of the Woods County will provide or secure all additional funds necessary to complete the project; and,

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that, Lake of the Woods County certifies that it will comply with all applicable laws, regulations and rules of the Application; and,

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that, the sources and uses, private investors, equity and other financing commitment represented in the attached document are accurate.

NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that Lake of the Woods County Board Chair, Jon Waibel and Lake of the Woods County Engineer, Anthony “AJ” Pirkl, or their successors in office, are hereby authorized to execute such agreements, and amendments thereto, as necessary to implement the project on behalf of the applicant.

Landfill Update

County Engineer, AJ Pirkl, provided a landfill update.

CARES ACT

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Buck Nordlof, seconded by Commissioner Joe Grund and carried unanimously to approve the following appropriations of the CARES ACT funds: $300,000 for the Economic Development Authority for small businesses, up to $13,636 for the City of Williams, up to $10,000 for Lake of the Woods County Social Services, $50,000 for Lake of the Woods School, and the remaining funds for other Lake of the Woods County expenses.

KENT HANSON FROM CENEX CO-OP

The following Resolution was offered by Commissioner Ed Arnesen, seconded by Commissioner Buck Nordlof and carried unanimously to approve the following: 

RESOLUTION APPROVING

NORTHERN TIER NATURAL GAS SYSTEM

Resolution No. 2020-09-03

WHEREAS, Lake of the Woods County Board met on September 22, 2020; and,

WHEREAS, Northern Tier Natural Gas, LLC (an LLC organized and existing through the laws of Minnesota with the sole member being Coop Service, Inc of Baudette) has proposed to build and operate a new natural gas distribution system to serve residential and commercial customers in unincorporated areas within Baudette, Wabanica and Wheeler townships in Lake of the Woods County; and,

WHEREAS, prospective customers within the proposed Northern Tier Natural Gas service area have expressed a desire for natural gas service; and

WHEREAS, the Lake of the Woods County Board finds that addition of a natural gas distribution system within the County would enhance overall utility service for prospective customers; and

WHEREAS, Northern Tier Natural Gas has appeared before this Board and has provided assurances that it is obtaining all necessary regulatory approvals for construction and operation of the natural gas distribution system from applicable regulatory agencies including:  1) the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission, 2) the Minnesota Office of Pipeline Safety, 3) the Minnesota Department of Transportation, 4) the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and 5) the Lake of the Woods County Highway Department; and

WHEREAS, Northern Tier Natural Gas has agreed to provide periodic progress reports to this Board regarding development, construction and operation of the proposed natural gas distribution system; 

BE IT RESOLVED, that Lake of the Woods County Board approves of the establishment of a natural gas distribution system within unincorporated areas of Lake of the Woods County by Northern Tier Natural Gas, LLC as described above.

BUDGET WORK SESSION

It was the consensus of the Board to postpone the Budget Work Session to October 7, 2020 at 5:00 p.m.

RECESS

With no further business before the Board, Vice-Chairman Ed Arnesen called the meeting to recess at 10:10 a.m. 

Attest: October 13, 2020

______________________________ _________________________________

County Auditor/Treasurer, Lorene Hanson Vice-Chairman Ed Arnesen