The Todd County Board of Commissioners approved an approximately $35,000 repair of County Ditch 4 at their meeting on Tuesday evening, June 29.

The repair was approved during a special public hearing with the commissioners acting in their official capacity as the Todd County Ditch Authority. County Ditch 4 is in central Todd County and includes land drained in four townships including Iona, Eagle Valley and Wykeham townships.

The approximately 12,000 foot clean out will be done in two stages. The first stage will start in late summer. Willow brush will be removed by chipping and grinding in an area south of County Road 14 and south of 324th Street. Ditch inspector Nancy Uhlenkamp said grinding, rather than removal by backhoe, lessens soil disturbance and eliminates the need for tree and brush disposal.

The second phase of the project will be done after the ground freezes this winter. A very swampy area approximately 6,000 feet long, south of 324th Street, will be cleaned by backhoe. Brush, trees, and sediment will be removed. Uhlenkamp said parts of this area are a floating bog and the backhoe may require mats to avoid sinking into the bog.

Landowners on the ditch will be billed for the ditch repair in two installments on their 2011 and 2012 tax statements.

Public health

At the request of Todd County Public Health Director Cheryl Schneider, the commissioners approved a rewritten Environmental Health Ordinance.

Schneider said that the state had required the county to update the ordinance. The sixteenpage ordinance governs any establishments in Todd County required to hold a license to operate, including food and beverage establishments, mobile home parks, recreational camping areas, resorts, youth and religious camps, and swimming pools and spas.

Schneider briefly reviewed the changes in the re-written ordinance and pointed out that many of the changes and deletions had been done to conform to Minnesota rules and statutes. She pointed out that one addition to the ordinance is that establishments that go out of business and are not licensed for 90 days or more will require a new inspection before a new license is issued. She also pointed out that the re-written ordinance gives establishment owners ten days, rather than five as in the previous ordinance, to respond to a written notice of a hearing.

Schneider said that the re-written ordinance had been available for public comment but that no comments had been received.

Wadena tornado

County Administrator Nathan Burkett reported that numerous Todd County employees and Todd County departments had assisted Wadena County in the aftermath of the tornadoes that struck the town of Wadena. He said Wadena County officials had extended their gratitude to Todd County.

Commissioner Mark Blessing repeated that numerous Wadena County officials had extended their thanks to him and Todd County.

Burkett and Blessing said that it was important to be good neighbors. Some of the county departments that assisted in Wadena included the sheriff, sheriff’s posse, public works, GIS, and assessor, among others.

Solid waste

Lenny Doroff was permanently appointed to manage the day-to-day operations of the county solid waste transfer station at Browerville.

Doroff has been temporarily serving in that capacity since December. Burkett said that the appointment of Doroff to that position will save Todd County money because Doroff will not be doing the planning work that had previously done by a solid waste administrator. The solid waste administrator’s position is now being shared with Wadena and Ottertail counties.

The next Todd County board meeting was held Tuesday, July 6. The county board normally meets the first and third Tuesdays of each month, with an evening session on any fifth Tuesday.