The Houston County Commissioners met in regular session on Tuesday, February 8, from 9-10:25 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 February 8 meeting agenda minus action item number three (Bank of the West and Merchants Bank proposals) and the minutes from the February 1 board meeting.
There were no public comments. Commissioner Walter moved to approve the consent agenda after noting that all five items were routine business, to which the council agreed.
Action items
Houston County Engineer Brian Pogodzinski appeared before commissioners, asking for approval to purchase an excavator from Bobcat of Rochester (state bid) and two ditch mowers from Hammell Equipment. Pogodzinski reiterated that both the excavator and the two mowers are included in the 2022 budget. Pogodzinski explained, “The cost of the excavator is $177,161.20 with a trade-in value of $49,000 for a net total cost of $132,161.20. The Bobcat was budgeted at $125,000.00 which is $7161.20 over budget. The two mowers to mow the ditches cost $23,575.00 with a trade-in value of $7,700 for a net of $15,875.00. The mowers were budgeted at $13,000.00 which puts us over budget by $2,875.00. But overall, as a net we are still on budget.”
“This is a big dollar amount item,” explained Pogodzinski. “It is repaving three roadways. County State Highway 1 from Trunk Highway 76 down to Beaver Creek State Park, the last two miles of County State Highway 4 going down to the Iowa state line, and County State Highway 10 from Trunk Highway 76 down to the Sheldon area.” The contract was awarded to the low bidder, Dunn Blacktop Company, for a total of $3,445,259.25.
Personnel director Tess Kruger presented the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Minnesota Association of Professional Employees (MAPE) and the County of Houston and the MOU between the Law Enforcement Labor Services, Inc. Local #415 for approval. Kruger noted that the major change is the proposed pay scale; 2% in 2022, 3% in 2023, and 3% in 2024 and that there were no other significant changes. A motion to terminate the current 2021-2023 agreement and approve the proposed 2022-2024 Labor Agreement for both MOUs passed.
James Wieser was appointed to another three-year term on the Planning Commission. His term will expire in 2024.
Commissioners approved the use of ARPA funds to purchase four servers from SHI who submitted the low bid. IT director Andy Milde expected the proposal to come in at approximately $60,000 but instead the total cost is $61,372.
Carol Lapham, finance director, shared a list of requests for ARPA funding. Commissioners approved the following allocations: $7,500 to Houston County Sheriff’s Posse; $40,000 each to Brownsville, Caledonia, Eitzen, Hokah, Houston, La Crescent, and Spring Grove Fire Departments; $40,000 each to Caledonia, Houston, and Spring Grove Ambulance Services, $5,000 to Brownsville, Eitzen, Hokah, La Crescent First Responders; $5,000 to Southeast Minnesota Emergency Medical Services; $1,000 each to Caledonia, Hokah, Houston, La Crescent, and Spring Grove Food Shelves; and $250,000 for Root River Soil and Water Conservation District, for a grand total of $687,500.
Announcements
The Bluff Country Collaborative (BCC) is hosting a job fair, Wednesday, March 9 at the La Crescent Event Center. Houston County employers interested in participating should contact Allison Wagner at (507) 725-5836 for more information. The fair is open in the morning from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. for students only, and in the afternoon the public is invited to attend from 1-4 p.m.
In 2021, EDA administered a $30,000 loan for Kristen A. Collins and Vicki L. Olson, Timeless Creations. Commissioner Johnson announced that Timeless Creations’ grand re-opening is Thursday, February 10 and Friday, February 11 from 10-5 p.m., and Saturday, February 12 from 10-3 p.m. The re-style furniture store is located at 113 W Cedar Street, Houston.
The next meeting of the Houston County Commission is Tuesday, February 22, at 9 a.m. in 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. Enter meeting ID: 994-7297-7175 and password 368422. The public is invited to attend.
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