Commissioner Proceedings

July 28, 2020

The Lake of the Woods County Board of Commissioners met in regular session on Tuesday, July 28, 2020 at Lake of the Woods County Government Center in the Commissioners’ Room. 

CALL TO ORDER

Chair 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, Buck Nordlof, Cody Hasbargen and Ed Arnesen. Also present were: County Auditor/Treasurer Lorene Hanson and County Attorney James Austad.

APPROVAL OF AGENDA

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Cody Hasbargen, seconded by Commissioner Buck Nordlof and carried unanimously to approve the agenda with the following additions: DNR Snowmobile Trail Improvement Grant Letter, Recognition of Years of Service, and Property at intersection of County Road 6 and County Road 3. 

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Ed Arnesen, seconded by Commissioner Cody Hasbargen and carried unanimously to approve the official and summarized minutes of July 14, 2020.

SOCIAL SERVICES

Claims

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Joe Grund, seconded by Commissioner Buck Nordlof and carried unanimously to approve the following claims: Commissioners Warrant’s $62,482.98, Commissioners Warrant’s $3,039.78, Commissioners Warrant’s $17,335.17.

WELLNESS COMMITTEE

SHIP Update

Cassondra Brune provided an update from the Lake of the Woods County Employee Wellness Committee and on the Statewide Health Improvement Partnership (SHIP) program.  The Lake of the Woods County Wellness Committee plans to purchase bikes, bike helmets, walking poles and traction cleats for employee use through a SHIP mini-grant.  The Commissioners reviewed a physical activity policy, bike procedures and an acknowledgement and release of liability form.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Buck Nordlof, seconded by Commissioner Cody Hasbargen and carried unanimously to move forward with the Statewide Health Improvement Partnership Grant Program pending review and approval of the acknowledgement and release of liability form.

AUDITOR/TREASURER

Claims

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Buck Nordlof, seconded by Commissioner Ed Arnesen and carried unanimously to approve the claims against the County as follows: Revenue $20,127.86; Road & Bridge $313,666.13; County Development $400.00; Solid Waste $9,807.30.

WARRANTS FOR PUBLICATION

Warrants Approved On 7/28/2020 For Payment 7/31/2020

Vendor Name Amount

Code 4 Services,Inc 3,115.01

Dentons Dirt Worx, LLC 10,290.00

Earthworks Contracting Inc 10,350.00

Envirotech Services Inc 121,805.00

Fish/Kevin 29,190.00

Hasbargen Logging Inc 10,350.00

Lavalla Sand & Gravel Inc 40,950.00

NOVA Fire Protection, Inc 2,150.00

Regions Hospital 2,144.40

Royal Tire Inc 2,010.92

Strata Corp, Inc 84,879.08

U.S. Bank Equipment Finance 6,268.50

Wright Locksmith and Security Systems 3,997.57

39 2000 Payments less than     16,500.81

    Final Total: 344,001.29

Further moved to authorize the payment of the following auditor warrants: July 15, 2020 for $275,758.98; July 22, 2020 for $981.75.

DNR Snowmobile Trail Improvement Grant Letter

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Buck Nordlof, seconded by Commissioner Ed Arnesen and carried, with Commissioner Joe Grund abstaining, to approve a letter to be sent to the DNR for the Lake of the Woods Drifters FY20 Snowmobile Trail Improvement Grant Bridge Repair Project.

Recognition of Years of Service

The following resolution was offered by Commissioner Jon Waibel and moved for adoption: 

Recognition of Years of Service

Stacy Novak

Resolution 2020-07-02

WHEREAS: Stacy Novak has served the residents of Lake of the Woods County since September 23, 2013 as Lake of the Woods County Deputy Auditor/Treasurer;

WHEREAS: Stacy has resigned from Lake of the Woods County service effective July 24, 2020 with seven years of service;

NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED: That Lake of the Woods County Board of Commissioners extends its deepest appreciation to Stacy for her dedicated service and best wishes to her;

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

PARKING LOT/DELIVERIES

In an effort to keep the building entrance more accessible to the public, it was the consensus of the Board to have delivery trucks park on the southeast side of the parking lot, along the sidewalk. A delivery sign will be displayed for guidance.  It was also decided that food trucks that are delivering to employees should deliver after 4:00 p.m. and business should be conducted outside.    

VETERANS MEMORIAL

Steve Levasseur and Glen Lawrence provided an update on the Veterans Memorial. They asked the County for assistance with paving the parking lot.  County Engineer AJ Pirkl will talk with the paving companies that are in the area working on other projects.

REQUEST TO PURCHASE COUNTY LAND

A land owner with property adjoining county owned land is looking to buy the county property to build a shed.  The land in question will be reviewed by the Land and Water Planning Department and the County Highway Department.  County owned land has to be put out for bid or auction.

LEASES

Leases of county owned land are for agriculture purposes only. Byron Tveit has been leasing the three parcels in question and has an easement to access the property.  Greg Kraemer would like the opportunity to bid on the use of the land when it comes up for lease again in December of 2021. No Board action taken at this time.

LAND AND WATER

Consideration of excluding certain structures for Land Use Permits/Consideration of Amending Permit Fee Schedule

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Joe Grund, seconded by Commissioner Ed Arnesen and carried unanimously to amend the Permit Fee Schedule and exclude certain structures from Land Use Permits, as presented.

HUMAN RESOURCES

New Hire – Jeffrey Hovde
Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Cody Hasbargen, seconded by Commissioner Joe Grund and carried unanimously to authorize County Auditor/Treasurer, Lorene Hanson to hire Jeffrey Hovde at grade 11, step 1, $20.33 per hour, points 253, effective July 20, 2020.

Updated job descriptions for Public Works Technicians/Inspectors

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Buck Nordlof, seconded by Commissioner Ed Arnesen and carried unanimously to update the job descriptions, as presented, for Public Works Technicians/Inspectors effective immediately.

COUNTY HIGHWAY/LANDFILL

Grade/Step review of Technicians/Inspectors
Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Cody Hasbargen, seconded by Commissioner Buck Nordlof and carried unanimously to change Wyatt Erickson to Technician Inspector 1, grade 10, step 3, $20.10 per hour, effective the next full payroll.

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Joe Grund, seconded by Commissioner Ed Arnesen and carried unanimously to change Edward Spires to Technician Inspector 2, grade 12, step 1, $21.49 per hour, effective the next full payroll.

Widening HWY 11 in the City of Williams

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Buck Nordlof, seconded by Commissioner Joe Grund and carried unanimously to approve County Engineer AJ Pirkl to submit an expression of interest to the MnDOT Transportation Economic Development Grant for the widening of Hwy 11 in the City of Williams for safety and economic improvements.

Railroad Crossing Grant agreement with MnDOT 

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Cody Hasbargen, seconded by Commissioner Ed Arnesen and carried unanimously to support the MnDOT Rail Grade Crossing Safety Project Program for the rail crossings on Co Rd 190 and Co Rd 66, these crossings would be eligible fiscal year 2023 and 2024.

Freeburg and Grund Contract for SAP 039-594-001

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Ed Arnesen, seconded by Commissioner Cody Hasbargen and carried unanimously to approve the Freeburg and Grund Contract SAP 039-594-001. The $50,065.50 contract will be split with the City of Baudette, the county’s portion is $25,032.75.

Paving of CR 280

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Ed Arnesen, seconded by Commissioner Buck Nordlof and carried unanimously to approve a mill and overlay for Co Rd 280 at a cost to the county cost of $52,812.  The total surface of Co Rd 280 is 5,925 sq. yards and 834 sq. yards of that will be funded by the Wheelers Point Sanitary District Project. 

Update on JD-28 Project Bostic Creek NRCS

This project called for reusing sod mats, but there was not enough top soil to do so.  This will be changed out with double erosion control blanket and seeding.

Update on Seal Coat Project

This project will be starting soon.

Awarding of SAP 039-631-006

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Buck Nordlof, seconded by Commissioner Cody Hasbargen and carried unanimously to award SAP 039-631-006 to Gladen Construction at $125,617 for culvert replacement by hole four of the Oak Harbor Golf Course.

Gravel Contract for Reclaimed Class 5 Aggregate at the Airport

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Joe Grund, seconded by Commissioner Ed Arnesen and carried unanimously to purchase approximately 10,000-13,000 cubic yards of salvaged class 5 gravel at $1.50 per cubic yard delivered, pending inspection of the material.  The salvaged class 5 gravel is from the runway project at the Baudette International Airport and will be purchased from KGM Contractors.

Monarch Butterfly NCCA Agreement

County Engineer AJ Pirkl talked with the Board about the Nationwide Candidate Conservation Agreement for the Monarch Butterfly through US Fish and Wildlife Services.

Highway Update

Motion

Motion was made by Commissioner Cody Hasbargen, seconded by Commissioner Buck Nordlof and carried unanimously to add verbiage to the Permit for Use of a County Park regarding liability for alcohol use.

Landfill Update
County Engineer AJ Pirkl has not received an update from the MPCA.

Property at the intersection of County Road 6 and County Road 3

The Board discussed county property at the intersection of Co Rd 6 and Co Rd 3.  An adjoining property owner is interested in buying some of the county owned land in that area.  If the county was to sell the land it would have to be put out for bid or auction. No Board action was taken at this time.

WILLIE WALLEYE FUND

The Board would like an update from the City of Baudette on the status of the project and project budget.

COVID-19

Update

CHI LakeWood Public Health Manager, Kay M. Schell, provided an update.  COVID-19 cases continue to go up in the counties around us; Beltrami is at 157, Hubbard is at 21, Koochiching is at 60, Roseau is at 41, and Lake of the Woods County does have one confirmed case. The quick test machine is up and running again at CHI LakeWood Health.  LakeWood is using the quick test machine as the primary testing machine for COVID-19 tests because of the long turnaround time for tests that are being sent out.

Motion
Motion was made by Commissioner Buck Nordlof, seconded by Commissioner Ed Arnesen and carried unanimously to approve updates to the Lake of the Woods County Employee Quarantine and Isolation Policy and the Lake of the Woods County COVID-19 Preparedness Plan and for Commissioner Jon Waibel to sign the same.

Emergency Executive Order 20-81 – Requiring Minnesotans to Wear a Face Covering in Certain Settings to Prevent the Spread of COVID-19 

There is a form available if an employee needs a face covering exemption. 

Use of Commissioners’ Room 

It was the consensus of the Board that AA meetings can resume in the Commissioners’ Room,

Set Workshop Session for CARES Act

It was the consensus of the Board to set a workshop session to review the CARES Act on Thursday, August 13, 2020 after the regular scheduled board meeting. 

Other Concerns
None

RECESS

With no further business before the Board, Chairman Jon Waibel called the meeting to recess at 12:07 p.m.

Attest: August 13, 2020

______________________________ _________________________________

County Auditor/Treasurer, Lorene Hanson Chairman of the Board, Jon Waibel