The Todd County Board of Commissioners has hired a contractor to evaluate the condition of the historic courthouse.

Contegrity Group of Little Falls, in partnership with Collaborative Design Group of Minneapolis, was awarded a contract not to exceed $75,000. The evaluation will consider costs to restore or replace the historic courthouse.

"It appears that we have a good contract to get the process started," said Commissioner Gerry Ruda at the board's Oct. 6 meeting. Ruda, who served on a committee to select a contractor, said this was the most local group which also works with county vendors.

This contractor will also be looking at space requirements for county offices, and how to use space most efficiently, Ruda said.

Commissioner David Kircher asked where money to pay the contractor would come from. Tax dollars, replied County Administrator Nathan Burkett.

The contractor will have a historical preservationist, which may help the county receive grant funding of $10,000, Burkett said.

Information on the condition of the historic courthouse will be presented to county citizens in a series of public meetings. A final decision on whether to restore or destroy the historic courthouse will be placed on next year's November ballot.

Pavement markings

A federal safety grant has provided a substantial amount of funding for pavement markings this road construction season, said County Engineer Loren Fellbaum.

Traffic Marking Services Inc of Maple Lake have completed their $261,543 contract. The federal grant paid 74 percent, or $192,716. The balance of the contract came from state aid and local tax dollars.

Of the 520 total miles of paved state aid and county roads, 435 miles were painted this year, Fellbaum said. Usually about one quarter of the county highways is painted each year, he said.

The six-inch wide white edge on the highways makes a lot of difference, said Commissioner Mark Blessing. Pavement markings are the biggest safety issue, especially when there is one or two inches of snow on the roads, Ruda said.

Land Stewardship Award

Gloria Stevenson received a round of applause and congratulations from the board. Stevenson is the recipient of this year's Land Stewardship Award from the Todd Soil and Water Conservation District. She is the county's GIS and Land Services Manager.

The award was given for her years of service and dedicated efforts to help preserve the county's natural resources. Stevenson said she was surprised and very honored to receive the award.

2010 Census

Representatives from the U. S. Census Bureau told commissioners that it is important that everyone in the county be counted for the 2010 census. The census count affects federal grant funding for counties, cities, highways, hospitals and schools, said Cynthia Madigan with the Census Bureau's office in Duluth.

There are only ten questions on the census, Madigan said, and the questions should take ten minutes to complete. Ruda said someone told him a census question asked about the number of guns in a household. Madigan said this is not a census question.

Kircher asked about counting legal and non-legal residents. Madigan said all U.S. residents must be counted, both citizens and non-citizens. Kircher asked it this would have an effect on legislative representation. Madigan said yes.

She said they would be working on ways for the county to partner with the census to encourage participation.

Boiler replacements

Commissioners are considering replacing the three boilers in the jail. The boilers are frequently causing alarms to go off within the system, said Burkett.

A new, high efficiency system, proposed by Johnson Controls, would cost about $43,000. This system would reduce heating and cooling by about $7,000 per year, he said. Burkett is also seeking other bids from other businesses. He said grant funding of about $5,000 may be available for this expenditure.

Hiring policy

There are 16 fewer county employees now than one year ago, Burkett told the board. He said people are working harder to get the same job done. If staff were reduced in certain areas, however, he said the county could have to reduce services.

Burkett suggested that the board review their hiring policy. The current hiring resolution states that no new positions may be created without a source of revenue. Ruda said this resolution has been working.

Under the current hiring policy, Burkett said he has the authority to hire staff who are required to perform tasks the board has funded. Some of these hiring decisions are not currently being made at public county board meetings. Burkett said he would have a report on staffing available by the end of the year.

Kircher said he would like to see a hiring policy. "When we do resolutions, we tend to forget about them. If a good policy is set, county government should function in good and bad times," he said.