Todd County reduces fee for law library

It isn’t often that fees see a decrease, but one of the actions taken by the Todd County Board of Commissioners at their regular meeting June 21 decreased the law library fee by $5 from $15 to $10.

Commissioner David Kircher, who serves on the Law Library Committee, said that a few years ago they had asked for an increase, but that now they are at a surplus so they are asking for a decrease in the fee.

In other business the board:

o Property owner Joe Varner requested to obtain a Conditional Use Permit to allow an existing feedlot to continue at the 693 animal unit level with the total capacity not to exceed 999 animal units for the site.

The board granted the CUP as requested with a one year review of the CUP to monitor progress toward compliance with state feedlot rules.

The property is existing and not in compliance with an unpermitted manure basin. Run-off control and other factors will need to be addressed.

o Emergency Management Director Mike Wisniewski reported that he was involved in the preliminary stages of updating the county’s All Hazard Mitigation Plan which FEMA requires be done every five years.

Todd County’s plan expires March 13, 2018. If the county doesn’t have an updated plan they will be ineligible to receive public assistance for qualifying disasters and any mitigation projects funding with federal grants.

Grant funding is available which would cover 75 percent of the cost to update. This is a cost share grant program with FEMA paying 75 percent of all eligible costs and the local community being responsible for the remaining 25 percent of the costs. 

According to Wisniewski, the state will be hiring consultants. The jurisdiction is responsible for collaborating, coordinating and communicating with HSEM staff and contractor to assist in the development of a FEMA approved and adopted Hazard Mitigation Plan update.

In order to ensure the county’s contribution in the HMP Update process they have to pass a resolution indicating the desire to participate in this program which they did.

In association with this resolution, the board also approved a letter of commitment of funds for the 25 percent local match of in-kind services or cash is also required.

Wisniewski said that Todd County would be using in-kind services through county staff, city staff and public involvement to make up the 25 percent share. The dollar figure for the in-kind services was a minimum of $8,750.

Wisniewski explained that the in-kind amount may include more time being put into the project.

o With the contingency that the Historical Society and Ag Society agree, the lease agreement for the Historical Society for the building they use at the fairgrounds was approved with a change that it be shortened to two years instead of ten years.

Commissioner Rod Erickson said that he wanted to see the lesser term due to problems they have had in the past with longer term leases (not necessarily with the Historical Society).

“We have been in pickles before with the 10 and 20 year leases. It only takes a moment to review it in a couple of years,” said Erickson.

o Acknowledged receipt of the Battle Point Park Shoreland Restoration Report.

Neumann said that this had been another long-term agreement the county should not have entered into (with the Sauk River Watershed who prepared the report and with whom the county has worked with on the county park at Battle Point).

Neumann said they did not have the manpower to do what the watershed was asking of them.

o Approved two budget amendments for the Battle Point Park paving project approved at the June 7 county board meeting. The two amendments are: transferring $6,600 of funds from the unused administrator salary from the general fund and increasing both the revenue and expense accounts - with a net effect of zero -  in the public works 2016 budget.

o According to Fellbaum, the City of Grey Eagle has requested Todd County to enter into a cooperative construction agreement for proposed 2018 Projects on County State Aid Highway 33 (from the south city limits to Spruce Street East) and County Road 102 (from Trunk Highway 287 to the north city limits) due to the age and condition of the city’s water and sanitary sewer lines.

The board approved the agreement for Fiscal Year 2018 construction. The estimated financial implications are $350,000-$420,000. The funding source will be Municipal State Aid.

o Approved the purchase of three new squad vehicles for the Sheriff’s Office at a cost of $30,364.25 each year for three years.

o Approved hooking up to natural gas though Center Point for heating the Solid Waste Department. The cost for hookup is $20,762, but Solid Waste Supervisor Jeremy Clasemann said that it should pay for itself in a little over two years.

o Approved a resolution to rezone property for three parcels totalling 80 acres for James Rowe. The initial request was to rezone the property from R10 to AF2. The Planning Commission recommendation was to rezone from R10 to AF1.

o Granted Sunset View Development a Preliminary Plat as presented with the contingency that the paperwork show the correct site address.

o The request by Justin and Steven Seide to establish Seide Addition Plat (4.9 acres) containing three residential lots and three outlots located on Osakis Lake along CR55 was approved as the Seide Addition Final Plat.

o Approved the hires of Sarah Becker and Kali Rechtzigel to fill open positions as Child Protection Social Workers.

o Approved the Teamsters Jail/Dispatcher Units Labor Agreement.