PROCEEDINGS OF THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
Date: Tuesday, October 13, 2020 9:30 a.m.
Place: Commissioners Room, Courthouse, Caledonia, MN
*Virtual Meeting Held due to Peacetime Emergency Declaration in response to COVID-19 Pandemic.
Members Present via Computer: Eric Johnson, Teresa Walter, Jack Miller, Robert Burns, and Greg Myhre
Call to order: 9:30 am
Presiding: Chairman Johnson
Call to order. Pledge of Allegiance.
Miller moved, Walter seconded, unanimously carried to approve the agenda.
Walter moved, Burns seconded, unanimously carried to approve the September 22, 2020, Board Meeting minutes.
Burns moved, Walter seconded, unanimously carried to approve the October 6, 2020 Board Meeting and Workgroup Session minutes.
Public Comment: None
Public Health and Human Services Director Pugleasa shared the unfortunate news of Houston County’s first COVID-19 related death within the county. His team remains focused on three tasks; 1. providing vetted data and messaging about the virus, 2. continued contact tracing as we are made aware of positive cases, and 3. consulting with school districts and businesses on response and mitigation strategies. He also shared that the Public Health team would change their reporting from daily reporting to a weekly format and shared links to where daily updates could be found. This shift allows his team to focus more on contact tracing and consulting and less on providing redundant reporting.
Walter moved, Myhre seconded, unanimously carried to approve the Consent Agenda, which consisted of the following items:
1) Approve payment of the License Center and Human Services disbursements and the following claims
County Revenue Fund $104,459.45
Road & Bridge Fund $1,902,879.03
Total $2,007,338.48
2) Approved Resolution 20-50 Gambling Permit, Whitetails Unlimited.
RESOLUTION NO. 20-50
MINNESOTA LAWFUL GAMBLING PERMIT APPROVAL
WHITETAILS UNLIMITED
BE IT RESOLVED, the Houston County Board of Commissioners does hereby approve the Minnesota Lawful Gambling Application for Exempt Permit on behalf of Whitetails Unlimited, Houston County for gambling activities to be conducted at MaCal Grove Country Club on December 4, 2020, with no waiting period.
3) Approved Resolution 20-51 Gambling Permit, Ring & Run, Inc.
RESOLUTION NO. 20-51
MINNESOTA LAWFUL GAMBLING PERMIT APPROVAL
WHITETAILS UNLIMITED
BE IT RESOLVED, the Houston County Board of Commissioners does hereby approve the Minnesota Lawful Gambling Application for Exempt Permit on behalf of Ring & Run, Inc. for gambling activities to be conducted at Schmitty’s TimeOut Tavern on December 5, 2020, with no waiting period.
4) Affirm the following personnel actions:
1. Sheriff’s Office
1. Reassign Ben Novak to the position of probationary Lead Jailer (Detention Sgt.) B32-2, effective October 26, 2020.
2.
ACTION ITEMS
Administrator Babinski provided a brief summary that the Board met in a Special Session on October 12, 2020 at 11:00 am to hold a closed session pursuant to MN Statute 13D.05, Subd. 3, (b) Attorney/Client Privilege in response to the MAPE grievance filed on behalf of Ms. Cindy Creswell-Hatleli. Upon motion by Miller, seconded by Burns and unanimously carried, the board entered a closed session attended by the Commissioners, Attorney Jandt, Administrator Babinski and HR Director Arrick-Kruger. Myhre moved, Burns seconded, unanimously approved to end the closed session at 11:27. Burns moved, seconded by Miller, unanimously approved to adjourn the Special Session at 11:28 am. During the closed session, the Board met with the personnel committee members to review the information presented by MAPE during Step 2 of the grievance process.
Walter moved, Myhre seconded, carried 3-2 (Miller, Burns opposed) to reject the Step 2 Grievance filed by MAPE on behalf of Ms. Cindy Cressell-Hatleli.
Burns moved, Miller seconded, unanimously carried to approve a memorandum to the Minnesota Department of Health Director concerning the CASPER Study incident in Eitzen. The Commissioners expressed frustration with previous communication with the Department of Health and inability to property investigate the incident. All felt the city of Eitzen deserved an apology for the treatment of unreported allegations as fact without proper investigation.
Burns moved, Walter seconded, unanimously carried to approve installation of permanent protective glass partitions in the Historic Courthouse and CCS facilities with up to $11,000 of CARES Act funds.
Miller moved, Myhre seconded, unanimously carried to approve awarding round 2(b) CARES Act Business Assistance Grants. Allison Wagner shared the EDA Committee’s recommendation to approve 66 additional grants to businesses and non-profit entities under ‘round 2’ rules, totaling $313,690.27. She also discussed EDA Committee’s expanded rules for ‘round 3’ and the deadline of October 30 for any additional applications.
Burns moved, Myhre seconded, unanimously carried to approve a $5000 grant request from MDA for continued efforts in 2021 to control/eradicate Japanese Hops along the Root River Corridor.
Walter moved, Burns seconded, unanimously carried to approve Resolution 20-52 Prioritized Bridge Replacement List.
RESOLUTION NO. 20-52
PRIORITIZED BRIDGE REPLACEMENT LIST
WHEREAS, Houston County has reviewed the pertinent data on bridges requiring replacement, rehabilitation, or removal, supplied by local citizenry and local units of government, and
WHEREAS, Houston County has identified those bridges that are high priority and that require replacement, rehabilitation, or removal within the next five years;
NOW, THERFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the following deficient bridges are high priority and Houston County intends to replace, rehabilitate, or remove these bridges as soon as possible when funds are available,
FURTHERMORE, Houston County does hereby request authorization to replace, rehabilitate, or remove such bridges; and
FURTHERMORE, Houston County does hereby request financial assistance with eligible approach grading and engineering costs on township bridges, as provided by law.
Walter moved, Myhre seconded, unanimously carried to adopt the findings of the Planning Commission and approve a Conditional Use Permit for Andrew and Kristi Esser to build an accessory building in a Residential District in La Crescent Township, with one condition applied.
Walter moved, Miller seconded, unanimously carried to approve Resolution 20-53 Final Acceptance of Contract CP 2020-01 (B) Milestone Materials. Contract 308 was competed at a total cost of $176,316.49.
RESOLUTION NO. 20-53
FINAL ACCEPTANCE OF CP 2020-01 (A) MAINTENANCE ROCK
MILESTONE MATERIALS
Whereas, Project CP 2020-01 (B) has in all things been completed, and the County Board being fully advised in the premises;
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, the Houston County Board of Commissioners, accepts said completed project for and on behalf of the Houston County DOT and authorize final payment.
Walter moved, Burns seconded, unanimously carried to the 2021 Multi-County SNAP Employment and Training agreement with Workforce Development, Inc. to provide employment and training services for eligible SNAP program participants.
Miller moved, Walter seconded, unanimously carried to approve Foster Care Education Transportation Agreements with each of the four School Districts within Houston County.
DISCUSSION ITEMS
Administrator Babinski shared that Bid Package #1 for the Highway Facility project was released and bids are due October 21, 2020. Bid Package #1 includes the site work, main building materials, and the Salt/Sand shed facility. After Highway Committee review, the bids will be brought to the board on October 27th for review and acceptance. He also share an update on the License Center, which is now able to process Drivers Licenses again after a protracted wait for the state to complete a background check on our employee. He also shared there is a Public Hearing scheduled for October 27th to review the 2021 Fee Schedule, to include an increase in fees charged to the Townships and Cities for Solid Waste and the potential addition of a fee to specific property owners for dust control (chloride treatment) along county-maintained gravel roads. At Board request, this hearing was rescheduled to 6:30pm on October 27th.
Commissioners Walter reminded the board of the AMC District 9 meeting scheduled for November 9, 2020. She also discussed the Extension Committee meeting and reported they supported 517 entries in the modified 4-H county fair show. Although only a quarter of normal participation, they felt the modifications for social distancing were a successful balance of safety and allowing the 4-H students to showcase their hard work.
Burns shared a discussion on the airport from the Land Use Committee meeting. He also discussed looking for grant funding to continue the improvements made to Botcher Park, which has seen an uptick in visits since the sign was posted and shared. He also discussed meeting with zoning staff and a property owner to seek resolution with the DNR over a flood plain related issue.
Miller discussed the Eitzen incident with MDH during the SHAK committee meeting. He also attended the radio board meeting and relayed discussion of using CARES Act funds for communication equipment improvements, specifically with cross-border communication requirements.
Myhre questioned using CARES Act funds for the planned improvements to the steps leading to the East entrance of the Historic Courthouse.
Johnson discussed the Highway Building Committee’s recent meeting with Weiser Brothers/HSR to review detailed plans of the HVAC requirements and other facility details. He expressed confidence they are headed in the right direction and that the county is getting its best bang for the buck on the project.
Johnson ended the meeting with another recognition of the County’s first loss of life from the COVID-19 pandemic and expressed sympathy on behalf of the county.
There being no further business and the time being 11:16 a.m., motion was made by Miller, seconded by Myhre, unanimously carried to adjourn the meeting. The next advertised meeting being a Board Meeting and Workgroup Session on Tuesday, October 20, 2020.
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
HOUSTON COUNTY, MINNESOTA
By: Eric Johnson, Chairperson
Attest: Jeffrey Babinski, County Administrator
THE ABOVE PROCEEDINGS OF THE HOUSTON COUNTY BOARD OF COM-MISSIONERS IS ONLY A SUMMARY. THE FULL TEXT IS AVAILABLE FOR PUBLIC INSPECTION AT THE HOUSTON COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR’S OFFICE AS WELL AS ON THE HOUSTON COUNTY WEBSITE LOCATED AT THE FOLLOWING WEB ADDRESS: http://www.co.houston.mn.us/
Publish 9