Lake of the Woods County Board of Commissioners Proceedings

December 04, 2023

COMMISSIONER PROCEEDINGS

November 14, 2023

PURSUANT TO MN. STATUTE 331A.01, SUBD. 10

THE PUBLISHED MATERIAL IS ONLY A SUMMARY AND THE FULL TEXT IS AVAILABLE FOR PUBLIC INSPECTION

AT THE LAKE OF THE WOODS COUNTY AUDITOR/TREASURER’S OFFICE

OR BY STANDARD MAIL OR ELECTRONIC MAIL OR LAKE OF THE WOODS COUNTY

The Lake of The Woods County Board of Commissioners met in regular session on November 14, 2023, at Lake of the Woods County Government Center in the Commissioners’ Room.

CALL TO ORDER Commissioner 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: Jon Waibel, and Joe Grund. Attending by Phone: Commissioners: Ed Arnesen, and Cody Hasbargen Also Present was Auditor-Treasurer Lorene Hanson. Absent: Commissioner Buck Nordlof

APPROVAL OF AGENDA Motion was made by Commissioner Joe Grund, seconded by Commissioner Ed Arnesen and carried unanimously by roll call to approve the agenda with the following changes: Add: Rainy River Liquor License, Cigarette License, Cost Allocation Plan, and Lakewood Nursing Contract.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES Motion was made by Commissioner Joe Grund, seconded by Commissioner Ed Arnesen and carried unanimously by roll call to approve the official minutes of October 24, 2023.

SOCIAL SERVICES Claims Motion was made by Commissioner Joe Grund, seconded by Commissioner Cody Hasbargen and carried unanimously by roll call to approve the following claims: Commissioners Warrants $24,781.09; Commissioners Warrants $2,200.55; Commissioners Warrants $10,468.98.

Home Health Task Force Social Services director Amy Ballard gave an update on the Lake of the Woods County Home Health Task Force.

Closed Session-Attorney Client Privilege Resolution The following resolution was offered by Commissioner Joe Grund, seconded by Commissioner Ed Arnesen and the same being put to a vote was unanimously carried.

RESOLUTION CLOSING BOARD MEETING

Resolution NO. 23-11-01

WHEREAS, the Minnesota Open Meeting Law, Minn. Stat. § 13D.05, subd. 3(b) states that “meetings may be closed if the closure is expressly authorized by statute or permitted by the attorney-client privilege”; and

WHEREAS, Lake of the Woods County entered into a Settlement Agreement (“Agreement”) in the Matter of Hibbing Taconite Mine and Stockpile Progression and Williams Creek Project Specific Wetland Mitigation, which Agreement was dated October 6, 2015 (OAH Docket No. 11-2004-31655); and

WHEREAS, the Agreement resolved issues prior to litigation; and WHEREAS, certain parties to the Agreement, namely, Northern Conservation L.L.C. and Cliffs Mining Company (jointly “Cliffs”) are seeking to modify certain terms and conditions of the Agreement; and WHEREAS, the Lake of the Woods County Board seeks to meet with its attorney, to discuss the modification of pending lawsuit; and WHEREAS, it would be detrimental to the interests of the Lake of the Woods County Board to hold a public discussion with its attorney regarding the strengths and weaknesses of its legal position(s), strategy, and potential settlement position regarding the requested modifications, where an opposing party or opposing attorney could listen to or be made aware of Lake of the Woods County’s positions; and WHEREAS, there is an absolute need for the Lake of the Woods County Board to obtain confidential legal advice regarding the potential settlement modifications in order to maintain the attorney-client privilege. BE IT RESOLVED by the Lake of the Woods County Board as follows:

The Lake of the Woods County Board hereby closes this meeting based upon the attorney-client privilege pursuant to Minn. Stat. § 13D.05, subd. 3(b); and

The specific subjects to be discussed, pursuant to Minn. Stat. § 13D.01, subd. 3, are the legal strategy in the Office of Administrative Hearings matter as set forth in the recital above and any settlement proposals regarding the modifications to the Agreement requested by Cliffs, which may be made by or responded to by the Lake of the Woods County Board.

Motion to Close/Open Motion was made by Commissioner Joe Grund, seconded by Commissioner Cody Hasbargen and carried unanimously by roll call to close the closed session and open the regular board meeting

Land & Water Consideration of Conditional Use Permit Application #23-18CU by J&T Ferguson, LLC

Northeast Quarter of the Southwest Quarter (NE1/4SW1/4), West of Bostic Creek, Section Twenty-one (21), Township One Hundred Sixty-two (162) North, Range Thirty-two (32) West- Parcel ID# 19.21.31.000. Applicant is requesting a Conditional Use Permit as required by Section 902 of the Lake of the Woods County Zoning Ordinance to move more than 10 cubic yards of material within the shore impact zone of Lake of the Woods and to move more than 50 cubic yards of material outside the shore impact zone of Lake of the Woods for the construction of a dike to protect the property from flooding. Lake of the Woods is a General Development Lake.

Motion was made by Commissioner Joe Grund, seconded by Commissioner Cody Hasbargen and carried unanimously by roll call to approve the following Findings of Fact/Conditional Use Permit #23-18CU by J&T Ferguson, LLC as presented to move more than 10 cubic yards of material within the shore impact zone of Lake of the Woods and to move more than 50 cubic yards of material outside the shore impact zone of Lake of the Woods for the construction of a dike to protect the property from flooding.

Recess A brief recess took place at 10:20a.m. and reconvened at 10:25a.m.

Human Resources Permission to Hire Social Services Intern Motion was made by Commissioner Joe Grund, seconded by Commissioner Cody Hasbargen and carried unanimously by roll call to approve the request to hire Lily Smith as an Intern for Social Services at Grade 7, Step 1, $18.11 per hour at 200 points.

Permission to Advertise, Interview, & Hire Motion was made by Commissioner Joe Grund, seconded by Commissioner Ed Arnesen and carried unanimously by roll call to approve the request to advertise, interview, & hire for the part-time dispatch position at Grade 11, Step 1, $22.28 per hour at 253 points.

Add to Agenda Motion was made by Commissioner Joe Grund, seconded by Commissioner Cody Hasbargen and carried unanimously by roll call to add Donation of Sick Leave to the agenda.

Donation of Sick Leave Motion was made by Commissioner Joe Grund, seconded by Commissioner Ed Arnesen and carried unanimously by roll call to approve Brock Stebakken to donate 80 hours of sick leave to Sheri Stebakken at her rate of pay.

Northwest Community Action Executive Director Sharon Millner gave an update that included a maintenance repair grant and fuel assistance.

Auditor/Treasurer Claims Motion was made by Commissioner Joe Grund, seconded by Commissioner Cody Hasbargen and carried unanimously by roll call to approve the claims against the County as follows: Revenue $91,486.67; Road & Bridge $135,701.36; County Development $2,600.00; Solid Waste $38,948.98; Joint Ditch $1,333.15; EDA $1,214.56.

WARRANTS FOR PUBLICATION

Warrants Approved On 11/14/2023 For Payment 11/21/2023

Vendor Name Amount

Barr Engineering Co. 3,973.00

Cenex Co-Op Services, Inc. 16,977.85

DSC Communications 10,777.20

Erickson Engineering Company, LLC 6,427.00

Hoffman, Philipp & Martell, PLLC 9,890.00

Howard's Oil Company 6,572.23

Interstate Billing Service Inc 2,475.37

John Deere Financial 2,858.41

KGM Contractors Inc 47,000.00

Lake Superior College 2,200.00

LOW Highway Dept 8,677.15

Mar-Kit Landfill 13,630.75

Marco Technologies LLC 4,136.36

Moren/Law Offices Of Patrick D 8,882.20

Naylor Heating & Refrigeration LLC 6,884.85

Pennington County Sheriff Office 21,253.26

Pomp's Tire-Thief River Falls 20,804.11

R & Q Trucking, Inc 4,277.00

Verus Corporation 9,175.00

Wex Bank 2,585.45

WIDSETH SMITH NOLTING & ASSOC., INC. 12,887.50

Woody's Service 2,158.41

Ziegler, Inc 13,970.69

61 Payments less than 2000 32,810.93

Final Total: 271,284.72

Further moved to authorize the payment of the following auditor warrants: October 25, 2023 for $421,147.52; November 1, 2023 for $403,434.22.

Approve 2024 Appropriation Grant Resolution The following resolution was offered by Commissioner Ed Arnesen, seconded by Commissioner Joe Grund and the same being put to a vote was unanimously carried.

SFY 2024 Special Appropriation Grant

Resolution NO. 23-11-02

BE IT RESOLVED that Lake of the Woods County (Applicant) act as the legal sponsor for projects contained in this Application to be submitted on October 30, 2023 and that County Board of Commissioners Chair (Title of the First Authorized Official) and County Auditor-Treasurer (Title of Second Authorized Official) are hereby authorized to apply to the Department of Employment and Economic Development for funding of this project on behalf of Lake of the Woods County (Applicant). BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Lake of the Woods County (Applicant) has the legal authority to apply for financial assistance, and the institutional, managerial, and financial capability to ensure accomplishment of the program goals, provide proposed deliverables and successfully manage all aspects of this grant, including timely reporting. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Lake of the Woods County (Applicant) has not violated any Federal, State, or local laws pertaining to fraud, bribery, kickbacks, collusion, conflict of interest or other unlawful corrupt practice, and that the Applicant is currently in good standing with the principles of the grant management as established by the Office of Grant Management, Minnesota Management and Budget. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that upon approval of its application by the state, Lake of the Woods County, (Applicant) may enter into an agreement with the State of Minnesota for the above-referenced project(s), and that it will comply with all applicable laws and regulations as stated in all contract agreements. NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that County Board of Commissioners Chair (Title of First Authorized Official) and County Auditor-Treasurer (Second Authorized Official), or their successors in office, are hereby authorized to execute such agreements, and amendments thereto, as are necessary to implement the project(s) on behalf of the applicant.

Lakewood Nursing Services Agreement Motion was made by Commissioner Joe Grund, seconded by Commissioner Ed Arnesen and carried unanimously by roll call to approve the 2024 Lakewood Nursing Services Agreement and for Chair Ed Arnesen to sign the same.

Cost Allocation Motion was made by Commissioner Joe Grund, seconded by Commissioner Ed Arnesen and carried unanimously by roll call to approve Auditor-Treasurer Lorene Hanson to sign the certificate of cost allocation plan.

Liquor License- Rainy River Resort Motion was made by Commissioner Joe Grund, seconded by Commissioner Ed Arnesen and carried unanimously by roll call to approve the Rainy River Resort Liquor License application through June of 2024.

Cigarette License-Midwest Dabbin Cabin by Matthew Winskowski A motion was offered by Commissioner Joe Grund to approve the cigarette license for Midwest Dabbin Cabin. The motion died for lack of a second. It was the consensus of the board to review this request at a later time upon further research.

Public Works Updates County Engineer Anthony Pirkl gave an update on various highway projects.

Add to Agenda Motion was made by Commissioner Joe Grund, seconded by Commissioner Ed Arnesen and carried unanimously by roll call to add Bid Awards, Final payment, and Permission to Hire Seasonal Employee to the agenda.

Auction Bid Awards Motion was made by Commissioner Joe Grund, seconded by Commissioner Ed Arnesen and carried unanimously to approve the bid awards from the public works auction.

Approve final payment SAP 039-622-008 KGM Motion was made by Commissioner Ed Arnesen, seconded by Commissioner Cody Hasbargen and carried unanimously by roll call to approve the final payment of SAP 039-622-008 for KGM Contractors, Inc. of Angora, MN in the total amount of $1,502,012.61 and hereby authorize final payment of $88,638.70.

Permission to Hire Seasonal Employee Motion was made by Commissioner Joe Grund, seconded by Commissioner Ed Arnesen and carried unanimously by roll call to approve the request to hire Todd Fadness as a Seasonal Snow Plow Operator at $30.00 per hour with no benefits.

MIS Firewall Purchase Motion was made by Commissioner Joe Grund, seconded by Commissioner Cody Habargen and carried unanimously to approve the firewall purchase in the amount of $9,175.00 with Versus Corp.

Approve Painting Quote Motion was made by Commissioner Joe Grund, seconded by Commissioner Cody Hasbargen and carried unanimously by roll call to approve the quote from Northwoods Painter in the amount of $27,920.00 to paint the interior of the courthouse building.

Adjourn Motion was made by Commissioner Joe Grund, seconded by Commissioner Ed Arnesen and carried unanimously by roll call to adjourn the meeting at 11:00a.m.

Attest: November 28, 2023

______________________________ _________________________________

County Auditor/Treasurer, Lorene Hanson Commissioner Jon Waibel