[1:32] [laughter]
[2:02] 9:00 we'll call the county board the
meeting to order. Begin at the flag
[2:06] pledge.
>> I pledge allegiance to the flag of the
[2:10] United States of America and to the
republic for which it stands, one nation
[2:15] under God, indivisible, with liberty and
justice for all.
[2:26] Roll call. Beth
>> sure. Commissioner Benoy
[2:29] » here.
>> Commissioner Heinen
[2:31] » here.
>> Commissioner Pop
[2:32] » here. Commissioner Johnson
>> here.
[2:34] » Commissioner Gapinsky
>> present.
[2:36] » Thank you. [snorts and clears throat]
[2:39] » Approve or amend the agenda. Monty.
>> Mr. Chair, we have one item to add. It's
[2:44] an a snap update by human service. Uh
before we we add it, just I wanted to
[2:50] mention is we we need to make some
schedule adjustments this morning.
[2:53] » Okay. uh so that you can recess county
board at 10 uh so that Kale from Rinky
[2:59] can join us.
>> Yep.
[3:00] » We need to move our close session to
9:30. So we're we're going to need to to
[3:05] take a break about, you know, 9:27 9:28
to get the room set up uh for our labor
[3:11] attorney to join us for that closed
session. So, if you could plug into your
[3:14] agenda again, a break about 9:27 28 for
labor labor at turning close session and
[3:20] then a recess at approximately 10 for
ditch authority. Uh, so I think those
[3:27] are pretty significant uh stops. We
really need to, you know, can't drift
[3:30] over because to keep with Kale's
schedule and Susan's schedule, we really
[3:34] need to stop at those times. So, I guess
the question is where does the human
[3:38] services item fit? Uh,
>> Mr. Chair, what I would recommend is to
[3:44] do Roxan, do Troy, do Roxan, do Snap,
and then put Monty off hold, put Monty
[3:50] on hold until after the
>> Perfectly fine. So you're thinking maybe
[3:53] is after Roxan at 9:10 the human
services update. Okay. Okay. And then
[3:59] that's all the changes we have, Mr.
Chair.
[4:03] » Move for approval of amended agenda, Mr.
Chair.
[4:05] » Second.
>> And moved and seconded to approve the
[4:09] agenda. Any other discussion? All in
favor?
[4:13] » I
>> oppose. Carry.
[4:16] » County board meetings are broadcast live
and video recorded on YouTube. Please
[4:19] restrain from speaking from the audience
area and come to the podium so that
[4:23] viewers can hear you. The county board
observes the Robert's rules of orders
[4:27] for its meeting. So, please obtain the
board's chair consent before addressing
[4:31] the county board. Public comments are
generally reserved for open forum
[4:35] segment or public hearing. However,
public comment on other agenda items may
[4:40] be allowed at the discretion of the
board's chair. Please turn your phones
[4:43] to vibrate. Thank you.
Open forum. Nobody. Okay. Consent
[4:50] agenda. We have items
one through. Move approval.
[4:59] » I want to pull
>> second. No, you can go ahead. I'd like
[5:04] to pull item number four for
>> I'll amend mine uh removing item number
[5:10] four
>> and I will I will also
[5:17] » Okay, we've got a motion and a second to
approve items one two
[5:23] five
[5:28] six seven and eight.
>> Mr. Chair, this is a correct one through
[5:30] three and
>> Yep.
[5:32] » One through three. Okay.
>> Everything except
[5:35] » everything except There we go.
>> Is there
[5:40] » There was a motion.
>> There was a motion in a second. All in
[5:42] favor?
>> I opposed. Carried.
[5:45] » Number four.
>> Uh, can I just have a quick question?
[5:51] I noticed on the application that on
number six on the application, it says,
[5:56] "Are property taxes current?" And the
box is marked no. Is it common for us to
[6:02] issue a license with the uh current
taxes not up to date?
[6:08] » Yes, but they have since paid in full.
So,
[6:11] » okay.
>> I'm sorry. I didn't hear that.
[6:14] » We can issue a license if the current
taxes are not paid. It's only if they're
[6:19] delinquent.
>> Oh, delinquent. Okay. Thank you.
[6:21] » Yeah.
>> I'll move item number four.
[6:26] » Second.
>> Motion been made and seconded. Uh move
[6:29] item number four for approval. All in
favor?
[6:31] » I
>> I post carried
[6:35] Troy.
[6:43] » Good morning, commissioners.
>> Good morning.
[6:45] » Back before you once again with the AC
contract. Um, as I mentioned last time,
[6:50] we've been with AC uh to provide our
jail medical services for um the last
[6:56] three years.
We have before you a three-year
[7:00] contract. Last time that I presented
this, uh it was the wishes of the board
[7:04] to look at reducing the rate being
proposed for the 2027 2028 years. Um
[7:11] following that meeting, I had a
conversation with uh the folks at um AC.
[7:17] Uh
thanks I think in no small part to our
[7:20] strong relationship that we developed
with AC they were willing to reexamine
[7:24] those two years and are proposing a 3%
increase in 2027 and 2028.
[7:34] » Any questions?
>> Move for approval. Mr. Chair,
[7:37] » I'll second.
>> It's been moved and seconded for a
[7:40] three-year contract with AC for JL
Medical.
[7:43] » Mr. Chair.
>> Yes.
[7:44] » Thanks for your work on this, Troy.
Absolutely.
[7:47] » Appreciate you going back.
>> Yeah.
[7:48] » Yeah.
>> All in favor?
[7:51] » I
>> opposed. Carried. Thanks, Troy.
[7:53] » Thank you, commissioners.
[7:58] » Roxan.
>> Good morning, commissioners.
[8:01] » Morning.
>> Morning.
[8:02] » Good.
[8:30] Okay. So, in light of some recent um
concerns that have come up regarding
[8:36] land use and in light of a um planning
commission item that'll be coming
[8:41] forward, a request to amend the
comprehensive plan and uh a resoning
[8:47] request. Um I thought it would be good
to kind of review how
[8:52] zoning came to be and and how that
operates here um not not only in Benton
[8:57] County but in all jurisdictions. Um so
zoning is guided by the comprehensive
[9:03] plan which lays out the FA framework for
the development of the county. Um the
[9:08] comprehensive plan is generally updated
every 10 years and it was most recently
[9:14] updated and adopted on June 4th, 2019.
As part of that process, we spent um
[9:20] several meetings, seven meetings with
the county board and planning
[9:23] commission, nine meetings with cities
and townships, three with focus groups,
[9:28] and then 13 months of rigorous review of
the comprehensive plan um to come up
[9:32] with what we have here as just one
component of that comp plan, which is
[9:37] the land use planning framework, and
that is to help guide us in the
[9:42] development of the county. um
maintaining that most of the county is
[9:46] agricultural in nature. Um and then
reserving those areas along Highway 10
[9:53] um and at intersections for commercial
development just due to the location of
[9:58] the access points and the heavier
traffic [clears throat] and then areas
[10:03] generally between the city of Rice and
Sartell as primarily where we want to
[10:08] see most of our residential development.
um just due to the proximity of services
[10:14] and roadways. Um in addition, those
areas have always maintained more of a
[10:21] residential or commercial nature simply
due to the fact of um the soils and
[10:26] they've they've been um not as good of
quality as we see in the rest of the
[10:32] county. Of course, um advancements in
technology have increased um their
[10:37] ability to produce. However, that is
primarily the reason why the
[10:41] comprehensive plan shows that side of
the county as more of a residential or
[10:46] commercial area for the county. Um, so
after the adoption of the comprehensive
[10:53] plan, we then thoroughly reviewed the
zoning ordinance. And this wasn't just
[10:58] making sure that it matched up with the
comprehensive plan. This was a full
[11:01] overhaul of the entire zoning ordinance.
It was a full repeal and replace of the
[11:06] zoning ordinance. And so we thoroughly
went through every zoning district and
[11:10] the uses within those district to
determine um if it made sense with our
[11:14] comprehensive plan and for those areas
in particular. That uh adoption occurred
[11:20] on April 21st, 2020.
Uh so that led to what we see here as
[11:28] our zoning map [snorts]
which each with each of our districts um
[11:34] identified in a different color. And
again, you see how it matches up with
[11:38] primarily our residential districts um
between Rice and the city of Sartell. Um
[11:44] along with commercial areas along and
adjacent to Highway 10, we do have some
[11:49] of these rural service districts that
are at the intersection of more um major
[11:54] major intersections um such as 95 and
25. We've got uh Dwelm down here. Um so
[12:01] just identifying those particular
locations. Um and the key purpose of
[12:05] these zoning districts is to regulate
land use, guide development, protect uh
[12:11] public welfare, prevent incompatible
uses, maintain neighborhood character
[12:16] and property values, and to provide for
adequate infrastructure. uh making sure
[12:21] that there is a different uh a
difference between where we're placing
[12:26] our uh residential uses versus our
commercial uses uh to protect the public
[12:31] health, safety, general welfare just uh
by making sure that there is um uh space
[12:38] between those for especially for safety
purposes. Um and then just to kind of
[12:43] get into specifically that difference
between commercial and and uh industrial
[12:48] development in a comprehensive plan um
under our goals we try to guide that
[12:53] commercial and industrial development to
planned areas with adequate road
[12:57] service. Um but we do recognize that
individ individuals do have home
[13:02] businesses.
However, we state that allowed homebased
[13:07] businesses in rural areas that are
compatible with neighboring properties
[13:11] and access roads.
And going on to the next page here, we
[13:17] kind of outline in our development code
exactly what a homebased occupation or
[13:22] extended home businesses. The home
occupation is something that occurs
[13:26] within the single family dwelling
structure and it takes up no no more
[13:31] than 20% of the home. Um and essentially
it's not noticeable from uh the outside
[13:38] of the building. Um home extended
businesses occur in an accessory
[13:42] structure.
Um, and some of those examples are, um,
[13:46] home offices, uh, seamstress, tailor,
photography studio, uh, beauty or barber
[13:52] shop with limited customers, internet
sales with no face-to-face customer
[13:56] service, daycare services, and again,
these businesses are relative to the
[14:03] zoning district in which they are
located. So, you may not feel that um,
[14:07] you may not see certain home businesses
in a residential district that you may
[14:11] see in an agricultural district. Um, for
example, we have a location that has
[14:17] horses and they do lessons. So, in the A
district, that may be an appropriate use
[14:23] as an extended home business where
they're providing lessons on horses
[14:27] where that is not appropriate in a
residential area. So, just to kind of go
[14:33] through a few of those things. Um,
[clears throat]
[14:39] in in light of uh the most recent
concern uh by a resident um granting of
[14:44] a use variance, um we statutoily are not
able to grant use variances. And that is
[14:53] so that we protect our zoning districts,
the public health and safety of areas.
[14:58] So that when there are set standards and
uses allowed in a particular zoning
[15:03] district, we are not allowing one or you
know picking and choosing the types of
[15:08] uses that are allowed in there, thereby
affecting the full character of that
[15:12] zoning district. Furthermore, um
reszoning a a single lot may be
[15:19] construed as spot zoning where you're
only changing the zoning of an area
[15:24] specifically to allow a certain use. And
there is case law that um that
[15:30] um I'm losing the word here. Uh supports
that that supports that use variances
[15:38] are not something that can be granted
and spot zoning doesn't always hold up.
[15:42] and you look into the size of the lot
and whether um the surrounding zoning is
[15:50] different and whether is supported by
the comprehensive plan. I also know that
[15:55] there was concerns about [cough]
tax classification versus zoning
[15:59] districts and the tax classification
determines the tax rate based on the
[16:03] property's actual use while zoning
regulates the potential and legal use of
[16:08] the property. Um, so for example, let's
say you do have somebody with a daycare.
[16:13] They're going to have a commercial tax
classification, but it doesn't mean that
[16:17] all commercial uses would be allowed
there. And so that's something that
[16:22] absolutely needs to be looked into um
before moving forward. So we can't say,
[16:28] okay, well, they're classed commercial.
They have a daycare running there, but
[16:32] now they move out and I get to move in a
retail operation because it's
[16:35] commercial. Um, and [clears throat]
that's the difference between taxing and
[16:41] zoning classifications.
>> Uh, just for the board, I wasn't I was
[16:45] in DC at the last meeting when all this
came up. So, a lot of this is due to my
[16:51] um questions on this uh on this issue
because one of the things that came up
[16:56] with was exactly that on the tax it says
it's commercial. So they're getting tax
[17:02] commercial, but yet they can't have a
commercial
[17:05] » correct
>> business there, right?
[17:07] » So to me, something's got to change. You
know, whether tax, they shouldn't be
[17:12] being tax commercial if
>> if they can't do business.
[17:15] » If they can't do business, right?
>> Well, no longer should they be in there
[17:20] doing business. They should not have
been doing business. And so, um, with
[17:24] the ceasing of that operation, Yes.
Right.
[17:27] » But when they bought it, it was it it
was commercial tax. So, I can see, you
[17:32] know, ignorance of the law is not always
good, right? I I get that. But you got
[17:37] to understand that people just starting
a business, they're they're not
[17:41] attorneys and lawyers and they look at
that and they're like, "Oh, I get it.
[17:45] They didn't ask the questions. Doesn't
make it right." That's why I think
[17:48] they're in this position. I don't think
they meant to harm anybody.
[17:53] » No. And most people I I I mean, I would
say most people do not intend that. Um,
[17:57] but I do I I I get a lot of phone calls
every every day, every week, um, asking
[18:03] if certain things are are allowed. And I
I think there was a lack of due
[18:08] diligence. And it may not have been on
the property owners. It may have been
[18:11] on, uh, the realer or the previous
property owner. Um, information was uh,
[18:17] misconstrued and and it's unfortunate.
Um, and I know just kind of to address I
[18:25] know there was concerns about other uses
in that particular neighborhood. Um, and
[18:30] and I've talked to the applic or the the
current property owners about this.
[18:34] There is there's a a repair garage in
that neighborhood. I'm aware of that.
[18:38] That particular uh property has had a
repair garage prior to us regulating
[18:47] specific home businesses. And so they
were allowed. And that is one example of
[18:52] where a non-conforming use is allowed to
expand because they were in place at a
[18:58] time in which it was not regulated. Th
>> that's exactly what is wrong with
[19:04] government is because 99% of people
don't understand that. You know what I
[19:10] mean? And that that's it's frustrating.
I'm
[19:13] » Yep. Yep. And I and I take every
opportunity I can to to fully explain
[19:16] that uh to
>> I'm not saying you did anything wrong.
[19:19] I'm not saying that,
>> you know. So, Mr. Chair, Sir Roxen, when
[19:25] that non-conforming use goes away, then
that goes away with the property, too,
[19:29] though.
>> Correct.
[19:30] » Because that was grandfathered in. But
once that
[19:33] » So, if it ceases to operate for one
year,
[19:36] » right,
>> that use goes away. Yep.
[19:42] » I I've dealt with this a lot at the city
level. Yeah. when I was with the city.
[19:49] » So, I have a question on that repair
shop. Sure.
[19:51] » If if that person sells that piece of
property, does that grandfather move
[19:56] with the property if someone else buys
the repair shop?
[19:59] » Yes. Okay.
>> I would imagine there's a C on there.
[20:04] » There is not.
>> So, it was even pre prior to that.
[20:07] » Yes. Yes. It was allowed to be there
when home businesses um did not require
[20:13] a specific permit. um they were simply
allowed as a home occupation or a home
[20:18] home business.
>> So is that why you can they need to be
[20:22] done if they don't do anything within 12
months because there's no CUP there to
[20:25] go with the property?
>> Um
[20:27] » I mean what if there good question?
>> Yeah
[20:34] » without
thatal.
[20:40] » Sure. So the reason that we can it has
to go away is because they don't have a
[20:45] cup and they haven't done business for
12 months. But if they had had a cup and
[20:50] not done business for 12 months, they
still have the cup.
[20:53] » Yeah.
[20:59] Any other questions?
>> Well, it's just from my standpoint, I'm
[21:04] sitting here going, we're begging
begging work workers and businesses to
[21:09] come into the county. And on the on the
other side, not not not not your fault,
[21:14] but the laws don't allow us and then
they they get upset with us and move out
[21:19] of the county.
>> Right. And I mean, Roxan, from day one,
[21:23] since you've been here, you've been
really intelligent and up bringing us up
[21:27] to speed on this kind of stuff and I
really appreciate that. But I agree with
[21:31] Jared. Sometimes the law just is not
right.
[21:34] » It It's not and and we're the ones that
answer for it.
[21:37] » Well, and I think it's important to
remember that. I mean, this is an exact
[21:40] situation, but there's some things that
we have to look at it sometimes, right?
[21:44] The billboard issue, for example, in
Highway 10,
[21:46] » we looked at that and decided as a board
that that's something that needed to get
[21:50] updated.
>> You know, are these some of those
[21:52] issues? I'm not talking about variances,
but I'm talking about,
[21:55] » you know, our comp plan,
>> right? At some point that's going to get
[21:58] reviewed and some of this stuff is going
to get
[22:00] » and and we're not prohibiting businesses
per se in our residential neighborhoods.
[22:06] Just certain types of businesses, ones
that are going to have a lot more
[22:10] vehicles, bigger vehicles, more noise,
traffic, um safety concerns for
[22:16] residential roads and things like that.
Um but I would say nearly 95% of the
[22:22] county it it would be allowed in. Yeah.
So unfortunately they chose that. You
[22:26] know,
>> I want to make it extremely clear. I'm
[22:28] not I'm not saying you did anything
wrong at all.
[22:31] » Means
>> it just
[22:33] » it's a difficult conversation to have.
Yeah.
[22:35] » Difficult to have with the applicant or
the person that did it.
[22:38] » Yep.
>> Well, and you look at the and I know you
[22:41] can't single out property,
>> but you look at the property, it's
[22:46] actually kind of set up for something
like that where it's got the tree
[22:49] barriers and everything like that. It's
like
[22:53] » Well, and and even the location, you
know, I mean, you look at
[22:56] » just to the north northwest and there's,
you know, big agricultural fields,
[23:00] » 300 acres up there.
>> Yeah.
[23:02] » And right alongside the railroad tracks.
>> Yeah. Railroad tracks. Nothing's going
[23:06] to happen on that other side.
>> Yeah.
[23:07] » And it's Yeah. I mean, but it's, you
know, I mean, you were here and we did
[23:12] the comp plan and it was a long process
and we met with township, cities,
[23:16] » everybody, you know, the the one deal
that was in the orderly annexation that
[23:20] came forth up in the rice area. Boy,
then people did not want it and we
[23:24] eventually come to an agreement
>> and it's a great example of we can't
[23:27] cover every situation that might come
up.
[23:29] » Yeah.
>> So,
[23:31] » it's a blanket.
>> It is. Yep.
[23:34] » Anyway, anybody else any got anything
else?
[23:36] » Nope.
>> Thank you. Thank you.
[23:39] » Thanks for all your knowledge.
>> Thank you.
[23:44] » Uh,
>> snap. Snap.
[23:46] » Yep. We'll do the
[23:49] » You got the
[23:53] » Good morning. I know that SNAP is on the
news every single day, so you probably
[23:57] can't help but see some of the updates,
but I asked Janelle to give us a current
[24:01] update of where we're at today um with
SNAP. And sometimes people might wonder
[24:06] if we're not issuing SNAP benefits in
November, what our staff are doing. Um,
[24:10] our staff are plenty busy. They still
are doing all the processing, all the
[24:14] things so that things will be ready to
go as soon as SNAP is back in place. And
[24:18] in fact, they're busier than ever
because they're getting a lot of phone
[24:21] calls, a lot of people searching for
food, a lot of questions about this
[24:25] process. But I will ask um Janelle to
give a little update on where we're at.
[24:31] » Good morning, Janelle.
>> Morning. Good morning.
[24:33] » Morning.
Okay, first of all, the regular federal
[24:37] funding um that normally pays for SNAP
and MIP food support will not be issued
[24:43] until probably until the shutdown is
resolved. There was a federal court
[24:48] issued uh order issued on Friday um to
the USDA to use contingency funds.
[24:55] There's about $5 billion in that and
they figure that would maybe cover half
[25:00] of the nation's need for food. Um, let's
see here.
[25:06] Okay, those contingency funds, they
haven't been released yet, but they're
[25:10] working on it. So, that'll probably take
some time before it actually gets
[25:14] issued. Um, and they're not really sure
how they're going to do that yet. And
[25:18] what percentage
>> isn't that actually in the courts right
[25:21] now saying that they don't know if they
have the legal ability to do that?
[25:26] » I'm pretty sure of it.
>> It's in the courts. He brought it back
[25:30] to the courts to explain to them of how
they're going to distribute it and what
[25:35] they can regulate, not regulate
>> because the government has to be in
[25:39] operation in order to uh enact the
contingency.
[25:45] » Yeah,
>> that's the loophole is what I have
[25:48] understood.
>> Sorry, Janelle.
[25:51] » It's fine.
>> Yeah. And I know there was like well
[25:55] there's a lot of food sources that are
providing more and they've been given I
[25:59] think another four million in Minnesota
to try to help with the shortfall but
[26:04] not going to be enough. Um let's see
here. I was going to clarify that MIP
[26:10] cash funding is still going out. So the
MIP cash funding was not included in
[26:15] that at all. Um let's see. And I think
Sandy said earlier, we're still doing
[26:21] applications and renewals, still
processing everything, doing the
[26:24] approval. It's just the funding that
will be withheld.
[26:29] Uh let's see.
[26:33] [snorts] Yeah, and she had mentioned too
that our phone calls and stuff, our
[26:37] phone calls and referring people to
other resources will increase.
[26:41] And then I thought I'd let you know, we
have 1,930 cases as of the end of
[26:46] October.
And normally our issuing or our issuance
[26:50] for September was $545,636
[26:54] and then we have 65 cases pending when I
checked it last. Any other questions,
[27:01] Mr. Chair?
>> Yes. Uh uh when we were out in DC for
[27:05] the APO a week and a half ago, um we
were out there for roads and bridges
[27:10] obviously, but one of the biggest things
that we were talking about was SNAP and
[27:14] how that was going to affect everybody,
not just our area. And one of the
[27:19] questions that I had that that was
even though our counties aren't stopping
[27:25] because we're state and local, what's it
going to look like when federal
[27:30] government comes back? how long is this
process going to take to get caught back
[27:33] up? And they were, I would say, sheepish
on on saying how long that would take,
[27:40] but they're they're saying significant
time.
[27:43] » So just because the federal government
starts back up, these programs start
[27:47] back up, [clears throat] funding doesn't
automatically kick in.
[27:52] I want to give a kudos out to whoever
does the uh uh human services Facebook
[27:58] page I think it is to where you uh
provided all the areas to where people
[28:06] to look for food. My wife looked at it
actually and told me about that the
[28:11] other day. So kudos to you guys.
>> Thank you. You can also give kudos to
[28:16] our staff. They're doing a food drive as
well. And over the weekend, um, a group
[28:20] of them did put together like this, um,
white chicken chili packages. So, with
[28:24] the all the things you would need with a
recipe to do do white chicken chili. I
[28:28] mean, it's it's minuscule in what we
need in the world, but I still think it
[28:31] it is worth noting what our staff are
doing on their own personal time as well
[28:35] to try and have an impact.
>> Awesome. Thank you.
[28:38] » Y,
>> great.
[28:39] » Thank you.
>> Any other questions?
[28:41] » Any anything else? Thanks for the
updates.
[28:44] » Thank you.
Well, at this point, we're close enough
[28:48] that we'll recess the county board and
>> so M chair we wouldn't recess. We just
[28:54] need to have a motion to go in close
session pursuant to the agenda item.
[28:57] » So moved.
>> Yep.
[28:59] » Second.
>> And I could just note for the record
[29:01] again, we're you're closing uh the
county board meeting pursuant to
[29:04] Minnesota statutes 13D.03 subdivision 1
for discussion of labor strategy and
[29:10] we're closing the session at 9:27.
Can we also talk about Tim as long as
[29:16] we're doing that?
>> Absolutely. Okay, that's right.
[29:18] » [laughter]