L/W County Engineer reappointed for four more years

At their May 14th meeting, the Lake of the Woods County Board of Commissioners reappointed Anthony Pirkl as County Engineer to another four-year term. Pirkl was hired as the County Engineer after his predecessor's rather tumultuous departure in May 2019. By a unanimous vote, Pirkl's appointment as County Engineer will run through May 2028.

In further Public Works related business, the board:

Approved the expenditure of $18,178 for the purchase of, and $1,756 to install, a new 26 kilowatt Generac emergency generator for the Law Enforcement Center.

Accepted of a $217,000 grant to chip seal Sandy Shores and Birch Beach roads, and approved the purchase of 42,000 tons of gravel. They also approved a five-year lease on a gravel source in the southwest part of the county, and the yearly Maintenance Contract with the City of Baudette.

Pirkl also told the board that load limits would be lifted from county roads on May 20th, the solar-powered stop signs had been installed at four high traffic intersections around the county, and four loads of scrap metal and four loads of aluminum have been removed from the recycling center on the Northwest Angle.

Lastly, work on County Road #35 - the back road past the school - is slated to start after the Memorial Day weekend. The road will be repaved and approaches and approach culverts will be redone.

In other county-related business the board:

• Paid the Social Service claims as presented by Social Services Director Amy Ballard.

• Paid the Auditor/Treasurer claims as presented by Auditor/Treasurer Lorene Hanson. The board also approved Cigarette and Liquor licenses for Flag Island Resort and passed resolutions in support of grants for the Northwest Angle Edge Riders and the Drifters snowmobile clubs.

• Heard updates from Angle Edge Riders representative Joe Lauren and Drifters representative Ron Olson. Lauren reported progress on the Corridor 39 trail which is to be an overland connection between Angle Inlet through Warroad and will pass through a small section of old growth woods. Signage will designate where the old growth is located on the trail, and restrictions for viewing it. Lauren also told of a club project to place a circular concrete slab around the buoy at Young's Bay, which marks the northernmost point in the continental United States.

Olson reported on the state of the trail from Baudette to Waskish saying that there are several bridges that need rebuilding or replacing, some of which will be replaced with culverts.

• Approved receipt of a Firearm Storage Grant for Emergency Management. The storage will be mainly for the increased number of firearms anticipated to be collected due to the Red Flag Law recently passed by the Minnesota Legislature.

• Unanimously approved acceptance of the State Boat & Water Grant of $9,200. Sheriff's Deputy Sergeant Ben Duick explained the grant to the commissioners and then talked briefly about the used Safe Boat given to the county by the DNR. The boat is a lightly used model originally purchased by the DNR for Two Harbors at a cost of $235,000. "It has about six hundred hours on it," reported Duick, "and we'll need to start buying two-stroke oil for it."

• Entered into a Joint Powers Agreement to fight internet crimes.

• Heard from County Surveyor Chad Connor who further updated the board on the project to certify and mark section corners. Connor said that the $260,000 state grant the county has received will pay for finding, recording, and marking "about 150 corners." Connor intends to certify and mark section corners starting from the Koochiching County line and following Highway 11 up to the Lake Road, and then doing the sections up to Wheeler's Point.

"That's $1,700 per corner," remarked Commissioner Jon Waibel, "isn't that a little high?"

Connor went on to explain that while some corners are easily accessible, a lot require slogging through swampy land or waiting until the ground's frozen in winter to accurately locate.

• Granted a Conditional Use Permit to John Horner to permit the addition of more than ten yards of material to repair the shoreline eroded due to previous high water.

• Approved an increased fee schedule for various planning department functions.

• Approved updated job descriptions and salary grades and steps for employees in three departments.

• Appointed Social Services Director Amy Ballard as Privacy Officer, and IT Director Peder Hovland as Security Officer on a committee formed to implement the new HIPAA policy.

Adjourned into a work session at 10:25 AM.