The Todd County Board of Commissioners held an informational meeting for the public as part of their Tuesday, March 30 evening meeting.

As part of the meeting the commissioners announced that the deadline for the implementation of new septic system rules has been extended until at least 2012. The rules had gone into effect this February but loud complaints from Todd County commissioners, as well as county commissioners from across rural Minnesota, caused the Minnesota legislature to postpone the deadline.

The new rules, which were developed by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, would have required almost anyone who sold their rural home to install a new pressurized septic system. They would have to install a new system even if their existing septic system was installed in recent years and functioning properly, according to Commissioner Ruda.

Commissioner Kircher said that the expense of building a new, unnecessary, system would be an unfair financial burden to rural homeowners. The commissioners will attempt to work with state officials to modify the rules prior to the 2012 deadline.

Economic

development

An economic development steering committee that has been meeting since Feb. 2, has been making progress, according to Commissioners Kircher and Kneisl. The committee is charged with reorganizing the Todd County Economic Development Corporation by early May.

The committee has met monthly to discuss organization and a work plan for the Economic Development Corporation. Kneisl and Kircher are members of the steering committee, which is made up of members from across the county.

Management strategy

County Administrator Nathan Burkett discussed the management strategy that he and the commissioners are developing. Burkett calls the new approach Strategy Aligned Management. He said that the new management style involves a commitment from government to use resources for what the public values most.

The workings of the county government will be more transparent to the public under Strategy Aligned Management. The new management approach will require more input and participation from citizens, he said.

County engineer

The commissioners gave County Engineer Loren Fellbaum approval to work with Minnesota National Bank and Kinetic Leasing, of Fargo, for financing to purchase two, 2010 Mack plow trucks from Twin Cities Mack & Volvo for $385,467.13, and to purchase one CAT Challenger MT 465B Tractor and Diamond DDR120-CO Mower from Ziegler Equipment for $92,123.48. Although Commissioner Ruda questioned the approximately $545,000 cost of the equipment, Fellbaum, and Administrator Burkett, assured Ruda that their analysis showed that this was the least expensive way for the county to obtain the equipment it needed.

Community corrections

At the request of Todd- Wadena Community Corrections Director Kathy Langer the commissioners appointed Nora Carrilo de Montañez to the Community Corrections advisory board. Mrs. Montañez is from Long Prairie and is employed by the Long Prairie-Grey Eagle school district.

Sex offenders

There is a possibility that the state legislature may include in their health and human services omnibus bill that all sexual predator expenses now paid by the state would be capped at current levels, according to County Administrator Burkett. This means any new offenders from Todd County that are put in to the system by the state, and any increased costs incurred by the state administered system would be borne completely by the Todd County.

The county board would have no say in how the money is used, according to Burkett. Currently the county pays ten percent of the cost to house and treat sex offenders from Todd County. The county has no say in how that money is spent. In 2009 Todd County paid $97,878.60 to house and treat sex offenders from the county, according to Burkett.