Lake of the Woods County Board Proceedings

COMMISSIONER PROCEEDINGS

June 7, 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, June 7, 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: Buck Nordlof, Jon Waibel, Cody Hasbargen, Joe Grund and Ed Arnesen. Also present was County Auditor/Treasurer Lorene Hanson.

APPROVAL OF AGENDA Motion was made by Commissioner Joe Grund, seconded by Commissioner Jon Waibel and carried unanimously to approve the agenda with the following changes: Add: Mobile Device Policy, Flood Update. Move: Work Session-Maintenance to June 28, 2022 meeting.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES Motion was made by Commissioner Cody Hasbargen, seconded by Commissioner Ed Arnesen and carried unanimously to approve the minutes from May 24,2022.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES Motion was made by Commissioner Joe Grund, seconded by Commissioner Ed Arnesen and carried unanimously to approve the minutes from May 31,2022.

Social Services Jodi Ferrier gave an update on the hospice contract that was recently signed by Lakewood Health and that they had hired for the Social Worker position

Claims Motion was made by Commissioner Ed Arnesen, seconded by Commissioner Jon Waibel and carried unanimously to approve the following claims: Commissioners Warrants $8,052.98; Commissioners Warrants $4,519.44; Commissioners Warrants $10,039.16.

Auditor/Treasurer Claims Motion was made by Commissioner Cody Hasbargen, seconded by Commissioner Ed Arnesen and carried unanimously to approve the claims against the County as follows: Revenue $21,639.22; Road & Bridge $23,635.61; Solid Waste $20,008.97; EDA $44.56.

WARRANTS FOR PUBLICATION
Warrants Approved On 6/07/2022 For Payment 6/10/2022
Vendor Name Amount
First State Tire Recycling 5,233.06
Howard's Oil Company 2,631.17
Lexipol 3,000.00
Mar-Kit Landfill 12,976.25
Olson Construction 2,000.00
Quadient Finance USA Inc. 2,000.00
Rupp,Anderson,Squires,& Waldspurger,P.A. 2,250.00
SeaChange Print Innovations 2,365.00
Titan Machinery - Roseau 15,200.00

49 Payments less than 2000 17,672.88

Final Total: 65,328.36

Further moved to authorize the payment of the following auditor warrants: May 25,2022 for $50,789.16; May 26,2022 for $550,000.00; June 1,2022 for $600,518.87.

Appointment of Arrowhead Library Member It was the consensus of the board to not choose a member until the City Library board members have their meeting. This will be added to the June 28, 2022 meeting agenda.

Updates County Auditor/Treasurer gave an update on various topics that included: NWA board meeting, Board of Equalization meeting, and AMC.

Sheriff Pennington Jail Contract Motion was made by Commissioner Jon Waibel, seconded by Commissioner Cody Hasbargen and carried unanimously to approve the Purchase of Services Agreement for Jail Contract between Pennington County and Lake of the Woods County effective June 1,2022 to June 1,2023.

Economic Development Authority Request for American Rescue Plan Funds EDA Director Ryan Zemek is requesting $50,000 from the American Rescue Plan funds for capacity recovery and resilience efforts in Lake of the Woods County. Motion was made by Commissioner Joe Grund, seconded by Commissioner Cody Hasbargen and carried unanimously to approve the request for ARP funds in the amount of $50,000.

Human Resources Hire for Maintenance Facilities & Safety Coordinator Motion was made by Commissioner Joe Grund, seconded by Commissioner Cody Hasbargen and carried unanimously to approve the hire of Shane Shaw as maintenance facilities & safety coordinator at Grade 9, Step 12, $24.02 per hour at 230 points.

Hire Social Worker Motion was made by Commissioner Ed Arnesen, seconded by Commissioner Cody Hasbargen and carried unanimously to hire Katie Johnson for the social worker position at Grade 13, Step 1, $24.07 per hour at 298 points. Katie Johnson will start on July 1, 2022.

Mobile Device Policy Motion was made by Commissioner Ed Arnesen, seconded by Commissioner Joe Grund and carried unanimously to change the mobile device policy for unlimited text & talk data from business only to business and personal plans at $60.00 per month.

Public Works Assistant Engineer Boyd Johnson gave an update on various projects that included: Sandbagging, Erosion Control, NWA, and flooding.

Emergency Management Emergency Management Director Jill Hasbargen-Olson gave an update on the information about flooding being put on the County website, and concerns about the sandbagging machine being used without an operator present. The plan moving forward would be to set appointment times for people to come have their bags filled to avoid injury.

Land & Water Consideration of Conditional Use Permit #22-9CU by Robert Erickson

Land & Water Director Josh Stromlund met with the board and presented a Consideration of Conditional Use Permit #22-09CU by Robert Erickson: Tracts located in the Northeast quarter of the Northwest quarter in Section Twenty-eight (28), Township One Hundred Sixty-two (162) North, Range Thirty-two (32) West- Parcel ID #19.28.21.000, 19.28.21.010, 19.28.21.020 Applicant, as required by Lake of the Woods County Zoning Ordinance Section 902, is requesting the cumulative movement of more than ten (10) cubic yards of material within the shore impact zone of Bostic Creek for the purpose of a shoreline rip rap project. Bostic Creek is a tributary river segment.

Motion Motion was made by Commissioner Cody Hasbargen, seconded by Commissioner Jon Waibel and carried unanimously to approve the following Findings of Fact/Conditional Use Permit #22-09CU for Robert Erickson to approve the cumulative movement of more than ten (10) cubic yards of material within the shore impact zone of Bostic Creek for the purpose of a shoreline rip rap project with the following conditions:

1.) Applicant to use typical cross section design.

This is in accordance with Section 1204 of the Lake of the Woods County Zoning Ordinance.

Lake of the Woods Coalition- Tammie Doebler Tammie Doebler updated the board on the National Night Out event that will be held in Lake of the Woods County in August of 2022. National Night Out is an event to bring communities together with Law Enforcement, and Emergency services for a night of games, food and presentations. Toward Zero Death will also be attending the event.

Ditch Authority Motion was made by Commissioner Jon Waibel, seconded by Commissioner Joe Grund and carried unanimously to close the regular meeting and open the ditch authority meeting.

Petition for Partial Ditch Abandonment The Ditch Authority reviewed the petition for partial ditch abandonment from Mark Friesen. It was the consensus of the board to continue to review the petition for partial ditch abandonment at the meeting on June 28, 2022. Motion was made by Commissioner Ed Arnesen, seconded by Commissioner Joe Grund and carried unanimously to close the ditch authority meeting and open the regular meeting.

Legislative Update Commissioner Ed Arnesen informed the board that there is nothing new to update at this time.

RECESS With no further business before the Board, Chair Buck Nordlof called the meeting to recess at 11:05 a.m.

Attest: June 28, 2022

County Auditor/Treasurer, Lorene Hanson

Chair James “Buck” Nordlof

COMMISSIONER PROCEEDINGS

June 14, 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, June 14, 2022 at the Angle Outpost Resort, Angle Inlet, MN.

CALL TO ORDER Chair Buck Nordlof called the meeting to order at 10:30 a.m. and the Pledge of Allegiance was recited with the following members present: Commissioners: Buck Nordlof, Jon Waibel, Joe Grund and Ed Arnesen. Also present was County Auditor/Treasurer Lorene Hanson. Absent was: Commissioner Cody Hasbargen

APPROVAL OF AGENDA Motion was made by Commissioner Joe Grund, seconded by Commissioner Jon Waibel and carried unanimously to approve the agenda with the following changes: Add: IRS Mileage Rate

PUBLIC HEARING- BOARD OF EQUALIZATION Motion was made by Commissioner Jon Waibel, second by Commissioner Ed Arnesen and carried unanimously to close the regular meeting and open the public hearing for Board of Equalization.

Appeals of Estimated Market Value Chair Buck Nordlof read the rules of appeals that included: Only Estimated market values not tax amounts can be appealed at this time, appeals will be done one at a time, and no decision on an appeal will be done until all appeals are heard. Concerned citizens asked about the increase in values and the board explained the process that causes that increase to occur. The board suggested that they take written comments from this meeting to the Assessor before the closing date of the board of equalization meeting for appeals on June 21,2022. Concerned Citizen Paul Colson asked what the board is doing to help the Northwest Angle. He is concerned that during the last few years their community has taken a hit with COVID-19 and now the flooding crisis and they feel left behind. Commissioner Ed Arnesen explained that they are working with the best lobbyist in the state to obtain funding for the Northwest Angle and are actively involved in assisting their community. Motion was made by Commissioner Joe Grund, seconded by Commissioner Jon Waibel and carried unanimously to close the public hearing for Board of Equalization and open the regular meeting.

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE Commissioner Ed Arnesen gave an update on various topics he has been actively working on with lobbyist that include: Bonding bill for Law Enforcement Center, NWA Relief, Williams School Building, PILT, and Tourism bill. Due to many changes this year with election and new representation it is possible that these efforts will need to be re-introduced if there is not a special session. There was also discussion around placing a public access at the NWA, currently the public does not have a launch and getting materials to the angle for other projects. The board will discuss this further in the meeting June 28,2022.

ASSOCIATION OF MINNESOTA COUNTIES (AMC) Executive Director Julie Ring, Member Engagement Coordinator Ryan Erdmann, Research Coordinator Jill Suurmeyer, and Policy Analyst Carli Stark from the Association of Minnesota Counties (AMC) thanked the board for inviting them to the Northwest Angle and gave an update on some of the actions they have taken to assist counties which included: Pandemic response, National Opioid Settlement, Legislative Successes, and Education.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY EDA Director Ryan Zemek gave an update of various projects he is working on in the county that included: aid for flood damage, erosion, and forgivable loans.

PUBLIC WORKS Assistant Engineer Boyd Johnson and County Engineer Anthony Pirkl gave an update on various projects that included: Working with FEMA on flood damage, Brushing Crews for Northwest Angle in Winter, Ditch clean-up, and calcium chloride.

Approve Hire of Solid Waste Program Manager Motion was made by Commissioner Jon Waibel, seconded by Commissioner Joe Grund and carried unanimously to approve the hire of Brock Stebakken as the Solid Waste Program Manager at Grade 14, Step 5, 27.57 per hour at 321 points effective next full pay period.

Credit Card Approval Motion was made by Commissioner Ed Arnesen, seconded by Commissioner Joe Grund and carried unanimously to approve a county credit card for Solid Waste Program Manager Brock Stebakken.

FLOOD UPDATE Concerned citizen Paul Colson reviewed the 1925 Convention and Protocol Treaty between the United State and Canada and voiced his concerns to the board. It was the consensus of the board to continue to review the treaty for better understanding before taking any action. The board also gave an update on the sandbagging efforts in the county.

IRS Mileage Rate Motion was made by Commissioner Jon Waibel, seconded by Commissioner Ed Arnesen and carried unanimously to increase the county mileage rate from 58.5 to match the IRS mileage rate 62.5 and to increase the Veteran volunteer driver rate from 68.5 to 72.5 effective July 1, 2022.

RECESS With no further business before the Board, Chair Buck Nordlof called the meeting to recess at 12:30 pm. to be followed by the Road Tour.

Attest:
County Auditor/Treasurer, Lorene Hanson June 28, 2022

Chair James “Buck” Nordlof

Publish July 6, 2022