Deborah Hartley is retiring after a 17-year career as the Houston County Public Health and Human Services (PHHS) Collections Officer. Commissioners thank Hartley for her service to the residents of Houston County. The board approved three staff changes, Kelly Petersen, Assessor’s Office tech clerk 1 is the county’s new appraiser trainee and the employment statuses of Patricia Goetzinger Krall, jailer/dispatcher and Helen Olson, case aide changed from probationary to regular. Personnel will begin a search for a new collections officer.
The La Crosse County landfill is “one beautiful landfill” according to one Houston County Commissioner. At the March 2 regular Houston County Commission meeting, members had a chance to review the La Crosse County Solid Waste Department’s 10-minute informational video. The video explained in detail the operations of the La Crosse County landfill. Commissioner Walter expressed, “Everyone should see this.” According to the video, the county’s landfill is a highly engineered facility, the goal of the department is that “the landfill is a last resource.”
COVID-19 update
“The number of new cases of COVID-19 is slowing down which is really encouraging,” expressed John Pugleasa, Houston County Public Health director.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz announced Monday, March 1, that the state is close to having 75% of its citizens 65 and older vaccinated. Houston County is at 63%. When the County reaches 75%, they will begin vaccinating residents in category 1B.
Pugleasa mentioned that over the last few weeks less vaccine is being shipped to the county. Commissioners questioned why the county was receiving less vaccine when Public Health has been able to get the vaccine efficiently into the arms of the county’s residents. The county automatically gets the second dose if the first vaccine was given by Public Health.
Welcoming news for the residents of Houston County! Pugleasa believes that Public Health will be administering the Johnson & Johnson vaccine next week. Johnson & Johnson is a single dose vaccine and requires only regular refrigeration. To effectively track the different vaccines, the Johnson & Johnson vaccine will be administered at a different location than the Moderna vaccine. The county strongly recommends that residents get on any list and accept any vaccine that they are offered.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Minnesota State Public Health recommends following COVID-19 guidelines even after receiving the vaccine – wear a mask, stay six feet apart, frequently wash hands, and avoid crowds.
Action items
Commissioners approved awarding the low bid for SAP 028-030-007 to Dunn Blacktop Company in the amount of $2,212,728.10. According to the agenda this project includes the paving for CSAH 8, CSAH 11, and CSAH 33. County Engineer Brian Pogodzinski explained, “Makes more sense for long-term maintenance. It is the only proposal we received, and it is almost right on proposed estimate.”
Commissioner Johnson proposed that fellow commissioners adopt the sample resolution included in the meeting packet. According to the resolution, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) is in the process of adopting California’s Low-Emission Vehicle (LEV) and Zero-Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandates, which are expected to phase-out the sales of fuel-powered passenger vehicles by 2035, increase the cost of all light- and medium-duty vehicles sold in Minnesota, and affect the impact on the county’s transportation revenues. Johnson and other Minnesota counties that have passed the resolution believe that an issue of this magnitude should go through the State Legislature because it is going to affect every Minnesota citizen. Johnson plans on sending a copy of the resolution to MPCA, the governor and the county’s two Legislatures. Approved.
The commissioners approved the Conditional Use Permit submitted by Blaine Benzing to build a 400 square foot primitive cabin in the southern part of the county. The Conditional Use Permit was approved.
At 10 a.m. commissioners went into closed session pursuant to MN Stat. 13D.05, Subd. 3, (b) Attorney/Client Privilege with County Attorney Jay Squires. Chairman Burns reconvened the regular meeting at 10:19 a.m. at which time the commissioners unanimously approved the settlement agreement for Schutz Quarry MCIT File No. 18PC0852.
The next meeting of the Houston County Commissioners is Tuesday, March 9, 2021, at 9 a.m. The public is invited to dial-in. Contact Donna Trehus, (507) 725-5803 to be included in remote meetings.
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