On July 6, the Wadena County Board of Commissioners spent most of their three-hour meeting dealing with the aftermath of the June 17 tornado, and how it has affected county employees and county property.

Sheldon Monson and Mike Olson of the Wadena County Ag Society (fair board) appeared before the board to discuss their efforts to clean up the county fairgrounds and prepare for the Wadena County Fair that begins on July 29. Many of the buildings at the fairgrounds were destroyed by the June 17 tornado, along with many trees lost.

Board Chair Bill Stearns said that the highway department would be working at the fairgrounds July 6-10, removing damaged trees. Stearns said he wants the grounds reshaped by a bulldozer to provide an appropriate drainage route for water, now that the buildings are gone. Standing water has been a problem at the fairgrounds for years, and now there is an opportunity to correct that problem before any buildings are replaced.

Monson and Olson said that Jung Excavating has been hired to remove debris and haul it to the airport site. They asked permission to hire a vendor to come and process the scrap metal on the fairgrounds property.

After discussion, commissioners decided that doing this would be confusing, because careful records of all county property debris must be kept and reported to FEMA, and money received from sale of salvaged materials must also be reported. Commissioners voted to have all debris from the fairgrounds taken to the airport site, and the salvage operation done later.

Monson and Olson said that they are going to rent tents for the 4-H animals and for the vendors and community organizations that typically bring displays, exhibits and merchandise to the county fair. They will rent bleachers for the judging areas.

The issue of fencing was brought up and discussed extensively. Commissioners voted to have the fair board get two or three quotes, accept the low quote, and install a six-foot chain link fence along the fairgrounds’ property on Highway 10, and around the corner of the property if possible, up to the insurance limit of $20,000.

Monson and Olson asked to use part of the damaged dairy barn – the milking parlor – during the fair. After discussion, the commissioners decided that this was too dangerous, and that no part of the dairy barn could be used since it appeared structurally unsound. There isn’t enough time to bring in an engineering firm to assess the building. Instead, commissioners suggested that the 13 dairy animals that would need the milking parlor should be milked at home, brought to the fair for judging, and then transported home again. This way, no milking parlor is needed.

Stearns said, “You’d better prepare not to use the building.”

The fair board representatives also requested that the board allow them to spend the fair board’s $13,000 maintenance allocation in a manner different from the usual procedure, since the buildings that the fair board maintains are now gone. Instead, the fair board asked permission to spend the money to rent tents and bleachers, install temporary electricity and plumbing for the fair, and to perform other urgent tasks before the fair opens. The board okayed the change.

The fair board also requested that the county approve payment of the fair board’s annual $10,000 allocation for operating expenses. The board approved payment.