Lake of the Woods County Board Proceedings

COMMISSIONER PROCEEDINGS

May 10, 2022

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/TREASURERS’ OFFICE

OR BY STANDARD MAIL OR ELECTRONIC MAIL

OR LAKE OF THE WOODS COUNTY

WEBSITE -www.lake-of-the-woods.mn.us

The Lake of The Woods County Board of Commissioners met in regular session on Tuesday, May 10, 2022 at Lake of the Woods County Government Center in the Commissioners’ Room.

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

APPROVAL OF AGENDA Motion was made by Commissioner Jon Waibel, seconded by Commissioner Ed Arnesen and carried unanimously to approve the agenda with the following changes: Add: Legislative Update

APPROVAL OF MINUTES Motion was made by Commissioner Joe Grund, seconded by Commissioner Cody Hasbargen and carried unanimously to approve the minutes from April 26,2022.

Social Services Claims Motion was made by Commissioner Joe Grund, seconded by Commissioner Cody Hasbargen and carried unanimously to approve the following claims: Commissioners Warrants $16,980.76; Commissioners Warrants $2,978.92; Commissioners Warrants $15,057.04.

Auditor/Treasurer Claims Motion was made by Commissioner Ed Arnesen, seconded by Commissioner Cody Hasbargen and carried unanimously to approve the claims against the County as follows: Revenue $46,529.33; Road & Bridge $115,748.20; County Development $8,041.00; Solid Waste $24,412.95; EDA $1,405.81.

WARRANTS FOR PUBLICATION

Warrants Approved On 5/10/2022 For Payment 5/13/2022
Vendor Name Amount
Bert's Truck Equipment Of Moorhead, Inc 3,637.00
ByteSpeed, LLC 15,828.00
Cenex Co-Op Services, Inc. 16,679.96
Contech Engineered Solutions LLC 75,524.40
Howard's Oil Company 5,721.97
Integris DBA 2,094.63
LOW Highway Dept 3,602.50
Mar-Kit Landfill 11,349.00
Minnesota Ui 2,525.95
NetCenter Technologies 5,600.00
Northern Light Region 2,334.09
Pb Distributing Inc 5,948.31
Quadient Finance USA Inc. 2,000.00
WIDSETH 12,841.00

65 Payments less than 2000 30,450.48

Final Total: 196,137.29

Further moved to authorize the payment of the following auditor warrants: April 27,2022 for $20453.84; May 5,2022 for $54,734.44.

PILT Resolution Resolution

The following resolution was offered by Commissioner Ed Arnesen, seconded by Commissioner Jon Waibel and moved for adoption:

RESOLUTION

SUPPORTING PAYMENT IN LIEU OF TAXES (PILT)

Resolution No. 22-05-01

WHEREAS, the Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) Program passed into Minnesota law in 1979 with the statutory purpose “to address the disproportionate impact of state land ownership on local units of government with a large proportion of state land;” and WHEREAS, 95% of all PILT acreage is located in the northern-half of Minnesota; and WHEREAS, since 1995, nearly all PILT payment increases have gone to southern Minnesota and metro area counties; and WHEREAS, in 1979 when PILT payments began, the biggest disparity between the highest PILT compensated county to the lowest compensated county was 8:1 or, 8 times higher, yet today that disparity has grown to a whopping 170:1 or, 170 times higher; and

WHEREAS, the principal cause of PILT payments are so inequitable across MN, is because in 1995, the Acquired Acres category of PILT Payments switched from a flat rate to instead, a land value basis, yet all other major PILT Payment categories remained at a flat rate; and WHEREAS, the Northern Counties Land Use Coordinating Board (NCLUCB) recently completed a Comprehensive Study re: State PILT and Payments to Counties which verifies all of the above-mentioned inequities; and WHEREAS, SF 2793 (Bakk) & HF 3073 (Ecklund) have been introduced to help rectify these huge inequities in PILT Payments by substantially increasing PILT payments to Northern MN counties, including a 25.8% increase in Lake of the Woods County; and NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that Lake of the Woods County hereby urges the 2022 Legislature to pass the respective Bakk-Ecklund PILT Bills through the necessary committees and include them in their final Omnibus Tax Bill.

NWA Edge Riders Club Resolution Resolution

The following resolution was offered by Commissioner Ed Arnesen, seconded by Commissioner Jon Waibel and moved for adoption:

Sponsorship of Snowmobile Trails Assistance Program

Resolution No. 22-05-02

BE IT RESOLVED, that Lake of the Woods County will act as the legal sponsor for an application for funding to the State of Minnesota Department of Natural Resource for NW Angle Islands maintenance of snowmobile trails managed by Northwest Angle Edge Riders Club. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that upon approval of its application by the state, the 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 the agreement. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that County Auditor-Treasurer, Lorene G Hanson is hereby authorized to serve as the fiscal agent for the above referenced project.

LOTW Drifters Resolution The following resolution was offered by Commissioner Cody Hasbargen, seconded by Commissioner Jon Waibel and moved for adoption:

Sponsorship of Snowmobile Trails Assistance Program

Resolution No. 22-05-03

BE IT RESOLVED, that Lake of the Woods County will act as the legal sponsor for an application for funding to the State of Minnesota Department of Natural Resource for Lake of the Woods Drifters Land and Big Traverse Trails managed by Lake of the Woods Drifters. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that upon approval of its application by the state, the 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 the agreement. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that County Auditor-Treasurer, Lorene G Hanson is hereby authorized to serve as the fiscal agent for the above referenced project.

Legislative Updates Commissioner Ed Arnesen gave an update that included: Tourism, Williams School, Bonding Bill, NWA funding, and PILT.

Land & Water Consideration of Zone Change #21-11ZC by Tod & Connie Barrow

Land and Water Director Josh Stromlund met with the board and presented a Consideration of Zone Change #21-11ZC by Tod & Connie Barrow: West half (1/2) of the Northeast Quarter (1/4) of the Northeast Quarter (1/4) of Section Thirty-four (34), Township One Hundred Sixty-seven (167) North, Range Thirty-Five (35) West - Parcel ID# 04.34.11.010. Applicant is requesting an amendment to Section 303 of the Lake of the Woods County Zoning Ordinance as allowed by Section 1206. The amendment would change the classification for the property from a Special Protection (SP) District to a Rural Residential (R2) Zoning District for the purposes of allowing a permanent structure to be located on the property for residential purposes.

Motion was made Commissioner Jon Waibel, seconded by Commissioner Ed Arnesen and carried unanimously to approve the following Findings of Fact/Consideration of Zone Change #21-11ZC by Tod & Connie Barrow to allow an amendment changing the classification for the property from a Special Protection (SP) District to a Rural Residential (R2) Zoning District for the purposes of allowing a permanent structure to be located on the property for residential purposes with the following conditions:

1.) Must complete site building by 7/1/2023

2.) Must submit photos of completed structure on the property to the Land and Water Planning Office

3.) Must obtain access permission from the Red Lake Band to cross their property

4.) Must obtain permission from US Customs to use Border cut for access

5.) Property will revert back to Special Protection if cabin is not on site by 7/1/2023

Consideration of Conditional Use Permit #22-01CU by Jon Meikle

Land and Water Director Josh Stromlund met with the board and presented a Consideration of Conditional Use Permit #22-01CU by Jon Meikle: Northwest quarter (NW¼) Northwest quarter (NW¼) of Section Twenty-eight (28), Township One Hundred Sixty-two (162) North, Range Thirty-two (32) West -- Parcel ID# 19.28.22.000. Applicant is requesting an After-the-fact Conditional Use Permit as required by Section 902 of the Lake of the Woods County Zoning Ordinance, to move more than ten (10) cubic yards of material within the shore impact zone and more than fifty (50) cubic yards outside of the shore impact zone of Bostic Creek for the purpose of constructing a private drive. Bostic Creek is a Tributary River segment.

Motion was made by Commissioner Cody Hasbargen, seconded by Jon Waibel and carried unanimously to approve the following Findings of Fact/Consideration of Conditional Use Permit #22-01CU by Jon Meikle to approve the applicants request to move more than ten (10) cubic yards of material within the shore impact zone and more than fifty (50) cubic yards outside of the shore impact zone of Bostic Creek for the purpose of constructing a private drive with the following conditions:

1.) Work with SWCD,DNR, and Land and Water Planning for fill redemption, wetland protection, and erosion control

2.) CUP also includes boat ramp if requested

Veterans Services Veteran Services Director Rick Rone gave an update on various programs that are helping veterans in our community including transportation, grants, and mental health.

Public Works Public Works Director Anthony Pirkl and Union Representative Todd Djonne met with the board to give an update on various projects for highway & solid waste and to present information on the average pay for technicians in neighboring counties. Consensus was to meet with the personnel committee to look at Tech II and Tech III positions.

Add to Agenda Motion was made by Commissioner Ed Arnesen, seconded by Commissioner Cody Hasbargen and carried unanimously to add approval of grade increase for Tech Wyatt Erickson.

Approval of Grade Increase Motion was made by Cody Hasbargen, seconded by Joe Grund and carried unanimously to increase Wyatt Erickson from Tech I Grade 10, Step 5 at 22.31 per hour to Tech II Grade 12, Step 3 at 23.82 per hour.

Recess A brief recess took place at 10:30 a.m. and reconvened at 10:40 a.m.

Attorney Client Privilege- Closed Session Motion was made by Commissioner Jon Waibel, seconded by Commissioner Joe Grund and carried unanimously to close the regular meeting at 10:45 a.m. and open the closed session pursuant to MN Statute 13D.03B Attorney Client Privilege.

The following were present: Commissioners: Buck Nordlof, Jon Waibel, Joe Grund, Cody Hasbargen, Ed Arnesen, County Auditor/Treasurer Lorene Hanson, Human Resources Director Savanna Slick, and Sheriff Gary Fish.

Motion was made by Commissioner Joe Grund, seconded by Commissioner Ed Arnesen and carried unanimously to close the closed session and open the regular meeting.

Add to Agenda Motion was made by Commissioner Joe Grund, seconded by Commissioner Cody Hasbargen and carried unanimously to add Set Work Session and advertise, interview, and hire to the agenda.

Permission to Advertise, Interview, & Hire

Motion was made by Commissioner Jon Waibel, seconded by Commissioner Ed Arnesen and carried unanimously to approve the request to advertise and interview for two positions with one position being filled. The positions are for: Solid Waste Processor at Grade 11, Step 1 $21.68 per hour at 265 points, and a Solid Waste Supervisor at Grade 14, Step 1 $25.38 per hour at 321 points.

Set Work Session Motion was made by Commissioner Joe Grund, seconded by Commissioner Cody Hasbargen and carried unanimously to add a work session for department head criteria to the May 24,2022 meeting.

RECESS With no further business before the Board, Chair Buck Nordlof called the meeting to recess at 11:30 am.

Attest:
County Auditor/Treasurer, Lorene Hanson May 24, 2022

Chair James “Buck” Nordlof

Publish June 6, 2022