Houston County Fair Manager Jessica Heberlein appeared before the Houston County Board of Commissioners on December 3 to deliver the fair’s annual report.
Chairman Eric Johnson opened the meeting promptly at 9 a.m. with the Pledge of Allegiance, followed by the approval of the meeting agenda and the minutes from the November 26 commission meeting.
Commissioners present included Dewey Severson, Eric Johnson, Robert (Bob) Burns, Bob Schuldt and Greg Myhre.
“We had one of our best and most successful fairs,” emphasized Heberlein. The fair board does not keep track of the actual attendance numbers, but the fairgrounds were as full as they have ever been, especially Wednesday and Thursday nights which traditionally are slow nights. Attendance, grandstand numbers, and team sponsorships were up.
Heberlein praised the entire Houston County Fair Board for a phenomenal job this year, noting that it was not only herself or the fair board president.
The board secure a carnival for the 2024 fair and are hoping to reserve a carnival for next year’s fair, but that has not been confirmed. It is predicted that within seven years the odds of carnivals being in the Midwest are slim to none because of the cost, regulations, and logistics.
New this year was the ag playground which provided a space for kids to play for free. The playground included a section for little kids to learn about farming and where their food comes from. The playground was a success, and plans are underway to expand it in 2025.
Due to the community’s support, the fair board was able to expand the activities offered during the fair. For example, they brought back the tractor pull which was a huge success.
Updates to the buildings on the fairgrounds are ongoing. The board is working on the next phase of the livestock building which is estimated to cost an estimated $350,000. Commissioner Johnson asked about the new lean-to that was added to the commercial building this year. The addition was paid for with ARPA dollars. Heberlein answered that the remainder of the ARPA funds not used to construct the lean-to will be saved to repair the foundation of the 4-H exhibit building.
As the time draws near to finalize the 2025 budget and set the levy, Houston County commissioners discussed possible adjustments to the 2024 budget that would positively impact the proposed 2025 budget. Chairman Eric Johnson asked Interim Administrator/Treasurer Carol Lapham if any unexpected revenue has come in or if there is any revenue that will not be spent in 2024 which will carry over into 2025. Lapham noted that she plans to have an answer by the end of the week once she can print readable reports. She went on to explain, “When we did the preliminary budget there were cuts made in every department. I don’t see that there really are any area that can be cut.” The board approved Lapham’s request to un-allocate two projects that were on list of designated projects which were to be paid for with ARPA funds. She noted that she has asked County Engineer Brian Pogodzinski and IT Director Andy Milde to identify equipment that is in the proposed 2025 budget that could be purchased in December; thus, removing it from the 2025 budget. There will be funds in the proposed 2025 budget to pay for the two unallocated projects.
There were no public comments.
Environmental Services Director Amelia Meiners asked the board to allow her to carry over her entire accrued vacation balance into 2025 due to her heavy workload this fall and being that the department is currently understaffed. The request was unanimously approved with the caveat that any hours (approximately 40 hours) exceeding the carryover limit must be used before April 1, 2025.
In other business, the commissioners:
- Approved the revised HR Officer/Personnel Office job description as presented by Lapham.
- Tabled the County Administrator job description until the December 17 board meeting to give board members time to review the document since they just received it.
- Approved the 2025 Non-Represented Pay Grid which represents a 6.5% increase.
- Approved “paying the bills” totaling $543,430.50.
After the board returned from the closed session for labor negotiations pursuant to Minn. Stat. §13D.03, Subd. 1, (b) to discuss labor negotiations, including negotiation strategies or developments or discussion and review of labor negotiation proposals, conducted pursuant to §179A.01 to §179A.25. Action was not required.
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