September 26, 2023

The Lake of The Woods County Board of Commissioners met in regular session on September 26, 2023 at Lake of the Woods County Government Center in the Commissioners’ Room.

CALL TO ORDER

Vice-Chair Cody Hasbargen called the meeting to order at 9:00a.m. and the Pledge of Allegiance was recited with the following members present: Commissioners: Cody Hasbargen, Jon Waibel, Buck Nordlof and Joe Grund. Also Present was Auditor-Treasurer Lorene Hanson. Absent: Commissioner Ed Arnesen.

APPROVAL OF AGENDA

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Jon Waibel, seconded by Commissioner Buck Nordlof and carried unanimously to approve the agenda.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Jon Waibel, seconded by Commissioner Buck Nordlof and carried unanimously to approve the official minutes of September 12, 2023.

SOCIAL SERVICES

Claims

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Buck Nordlof, seconded by Commissioner Joe Grund and carried unanimously to approve the following claims: Commissioners Warrants $4,718.89; Commissioners Warrants $4,764.26; Commissioners Warrants $9,767.26.

Approval of Cell Phone Stipend

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Joe Grund, seconded by Commissioner Jon Waibel and carried unanimously to approve Social Worker Whitney Nelson for a cell phone stipend in the amount of $60.00 effective October 2023.

Auditor/Treasurer

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 $66,573.11; Road & Bridge $57,402.19; County Development $200.00; Natl Resc Enhance $3,357.50; Joint Ditch $7,309.50; Solid Waste $9,520.15; EDA $37,237.09.

WARRANTS FOR PUBLICATION

Warrants Approved On 9/26/2023 For Payment 9/29/2023

Vendor Name Amount

Accurate HD Ltd. 35,772.00

Alpha Training &Tactics LLC 8,078.30

Contech Engineered Solutions LLC 4,129.20

E. Brookmyer, Inc. 4,536.25

Geofoam America LLC 7,309.50

Headwaters Regional Development Commiss 36,000.00

Hoffman, Philipp & Martell, PLLC 5,850.00

John Deere Financial 3,831.73

Lake Area Construction Inc 15,915.00

Larkin Hoffman Attorneys 20,925.00

North East Technical Service,Inc 2,855.00

Quadient Finance USA Inc. 2,000.00

Rinke-Noonan 3,557.50

Titan Machinery – Roseau 4,501.03

U.S. Bank Equipment Finance 6,268.50

38 Payments less than 2000 20,070.53

Final Total: 181,599.54          

Further moved to authorize the payment of the following auditor warrants: September 20,2023 for $257,073.74; September 20, 2023 for $1,450.10; September 13, 2023 for $83,559.13.

Set Road Tour/Joint Ditch Meeting Date

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Buck Nordlof, seconded by Commissioner Joe Grund and carried unanimously to set the county road tour/Joint ditch meeting date for October 18, 2023. The road tour will begin at 12:00p.m. with the Joint ditch meeting to follow at 6:00p.m. at Arnesen’s Rock Harbor Lodge.

Set Closed Session/Work Session

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Joe Grund, seconded by Commissioner Buck Nordlof and carried unanimously to set a closed session for Union Negotiations pursuant to MN Statute 13D.03, Sub 1(b) for October 4, 2023 at 8:30 a.m. in the Lake of the Woods County Government Center Commissioners Room with a work session for Tourism/Lodging Tax to follow.

Health Insurance

Lake of the Woods County Auditor-Treasurer Lorene Hanson gave the board information about Health Insurance renewal changes to review for a later meeting date.

County Road Access Discussion

Concerned Citizens Frank Sindelir, Michael Silontyev, and Mr. Silontyev’s son came to the board to discuss issues they have been having with an access road to their property. They would like to come to an agreement on the access and use of this road to access their properties peacefully or find a different solution. The County has done maintenance to this access in the past and views it as the access road to other properties in the area.  No action was taken by the board at this time. 

Recess

A brief recess took place at 9:47a.m. and reconvened at 9:52a.m. 

Public Works

County Engineer Anthony Pirkl gave an update on various road & bridge projects. 

Amendment to the Roseau County Interim County Engineer Contract

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Buck Nordlof, seconded by Commissioner Joe Grund and carried unanimously to approve the amended contract between Lake of the Woods County and Roseau County for Lake of the Woods County Engineer to act as Interim County Engineer in Roseau County, from $10,000 per month to $5,000 per month until the new Roseau County Engineer completes and receives their certification. 

SAP 039-630-001 Final Payment

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Jon Waibel, seconded by Commissioner Buck Nordlof and carried unanimously to approve the final payment of SAP 039-630-001 for Davidson Ready-Mix & Construction, Inc. of Newfolden, MN in the total amount of $878,069.50 and hereby authorize final payment of $55,083.55

Human Resources

Approve Grade Increase-Environmental Specialist II Scott Head

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Buck Nordlof, seconded by Commissioner Jon Waibel and carried unanimously to approve the grade increase for Environmental Specialist II Scott Head from Grade 10, Step 11, $25.60 per hour at 232 points to Grade 11, Step 11, $26,98 per hour at 253 points effective next full pay period.

Lakewood Health-Kay Schell

Lakewood Nursing Service Contract Approval

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Joe Grund, seconded by Commissioner Jon Waibel and carried unanimously approve the renewal of the Purchase of Service agreement for Community Health Services between Lake of the Woods County and Lakewood Health Center.

Opioid Treatment Plan-Bylaws

Kay Schell reviewed the Opioid Treatment Plan Bylaws with the board. The Interim County Attorney Michelle Moren will review the document and bring back to the board for approval at a later date. No action was taken at this time.

Recess

A brief recess took place at 10:10 a.m. and reconvened at 10:18 a.m.

Rescind Prior Motion and Change Date for Closed Session/Work Session

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Jon Waibel, seconded by Buck Nordlof and carried unanimously to rescind the prior motion to set a date for the closed session/work session meeting and to change the Closed session pursuant to MN Statute 13D.03, Sub 1(b) and the work session for Lodging Tax/Tourism from October 4, 2023 to October 10, 2023 with the closed session beginning at 10:00 a.m. 

Recess

With no further business before the Board, Vice-Chair Cody Hasbargen called the meeting to recess at 10:20a.m.

Attest: September 26, 2023

______________________________ _________________________________

County Auditor/Treasurer, Lorene Hanson Vice-Chair Cody Hasbargen