Photo by Charlene Corson Selbee
The Houston County Commissioners met in regular session on Tuesday, April 5, from 9-11:24 a.m. at the historic county courthouse in downtown Caledonia.
Commissioners in attendance included Chairman Greg Myhre, Teresa Walter, Robert (Bob) Burns, Eric Johnson, and Dewey Severson.
Chairman Myhre called the meeting to order and led the commissioners and the public in the Pledge of Allegiance. Commissioners approved the April 5 meeting agenda with no changes and the March 22 commission meeting minutes.
Houston County resident and self-proclaimed cyber security expert, Cory Johnson, shared his knowledge and experience regarding polling pads and recommended that commissioners not use polling pads in Houston County.
During the public comments, grateful library patrons Jill Diana and Donise Becker asked commissioners to support the five Houston County libraries – Caledonia, Hokah, Houston, La Crescent, and Spring Grove. Houston County librarians shared the library’s statistics from 2021 with the board during their annual presentation. Circulation for all five libraries was 77,844 with 77,459 visits and 4,802 contactless visits. The libraries offered 377 programs with a total attendance of 16,663. In addition, there were 2,984 reference transactions and 2,864 computer sessions. Over the next three years, the librarians requested an increase of $128,990 to their current contract amount, $183,477.
Commissioner Johnson commented, “We are losing Heather Myhre of Public Health and Audrey Staggemeyer, our Health Educator. They have been two of our top, excellent employees in that field. They went through a lot of work during the COVID years. A tough job. They had to implement guidance from the state and not all the time did that make sense to a lot of people. They did it and relayed it to the public. That is a tough job. They did an excellent job. I think the highlight of their time was when they worked hard to put on the vaccine clinics in Houston County. They should be commended for their work. It is sad to see them go. Myhre has been here for 21 ½ years of service and Staggemeyer, for 5 ½ years.”
Before approving the consent agenda, Commissioner Burns had one question regarding the guardianship agreements for Gregory A. Yakle, Judy Storlie, John Miller, Sandra Fitting, Terry Lee Lund, and Rebecca Servais, “These are all standard policies?” Public Health Director John Pugleasa stated these are amendments to existing contracts as we made an adjustment upward of what we pay individual guardians per month. We went from $120 a month to $136.”
The board approved the contract with Woods Psychological Service (WPS). According to the request by Pugleasa, WPS provides reflective supervision for the county’s child protection social workers.
Four to one with Commission Burns casting the lone nay, commissioners tabled the CUP for Joseph Rud and Craig Helke to operate an agriculture-oriented business in an Agricultural Protection District in Caledonia Township allowing commissioners time to review the request and consult with the county attorney.
Carol Lapham confirmed that the county received $3,612,832 in ARPA funds and allocated $1,861,175 leaving a balance of $1,751,657. Commissioners approved $33,000 for Houston County surveyor equipment and $40,000 for Ability Building Center (ABC).
Other action items
The board renewed the 2022 ABC/Woodland Contract for collection and processing of recyclable materials and approved the 2022 Feedlot Annual Report and Financial Report. The low quote for liquid chloride from Envirotech Services Inc. was approved. Pogodzinski presented three bids for approved. The bids from Sir Lines-A-Lot LLC of $102,655.41 for pavement marking, Scott Construction, Inc. $346,141.05 for CP 2022-06 seal coat, and the low bid from Bruening Rock Products of $297,493.81 with a 20% overrun for CP 2022-01 shouldering were all approved.
Commissioner Severson moved to buy out the CRP contract on the land adjacent to the airport. Commissioner Walter seconded. Motion carried.
County Surveyor Eric Schmitt was appointed as the county’s Addressing Official.
Next meeting
The next regularly scheduled Houston County Commission meeting is Tuesday, April 12, at 9 a.m. at the County Commission Board Room 222, located on the second floor in the Historic County Courthouse, Caledonia, or via the county conference call line (312) 626-6700 and Zoom, enter ID: 994-7297-7175 and password 368422. The public is invited to attend.
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