[0:00] Morning, everyone. I like to call the September 1st, 2026

[0:05] meeting of the McLeod County Board of Commissioners to order. We'll start with

[0:08] the Pledge of Allegiance.

[0:12] » I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the

[0:17] republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and

[0:23] justice for all.

[0:29] » Again, good morning, everyone. Welcome. Uh we'll

[0:32] lead off with the consideration of agenda items. Wishes of the board?

[0:38] » Mr. Chair, the only change I have is to the workshop agenda, and we will not

[0:43] discuss the first item, the parking lot environmental environmental services.

[0:50] Other than that, the agenda is um no changes, Mr. Chair.

[0:55] » All right. Is there a motion to approve the agenda

[0:59] with the the um omission of the

[1:03] parking lot issue? >> So moved, Mr. Chair.

[1:06] » Is there a second? >> Second.

[1:10] » Motion made by Commissioner Smalls, and seconded by Commissioner Wright to

[1:13] approve the agenda items. Any more dis- any discussion?

[1:18] Hearing none, all in favor, say aye. >> Aye.

[1:20] » Aye. >> Opposed? Motion carries.

[1:24] Uh consent agenda. >> No changes, Mr. Chair.

[1:29] » Wishes of the board? >> Motion to approve.

[1:33] » Motion made by Com- Commissioner Doll to approve. Is there a

[1:37] second? >> Second.

[1:38] » Seconded by Commissioner Chaska. Um discussion?

[1:43] Hearing none, all in favor, say aye. >> Aye.

[1:45] » Opposed? Motion carries. Environmental services.

[1:51] Mark.

[2:03] » That one.

[2:06] Mr. Teletsky, I other I I'm I'll mispronounce it either way I say it, so

[2:11] I But I had to fill in some

[2:14] airtime there.

[2:20] » So, I have two items for your consideration this morning. Item A is to

[2:22] consider approving conditional use permit 26-16

[2:26] as requested by Lawrence Cass, 22504 Flower Road, Silver Lake, Minnesota for

[2:31] home occupation and accessory building greater than 2400 square feet on a

[2:34] parcel with a primary structure. The home occupation will be an indoor

[2:38] freeze-dried pet treat business to be known as Rustic Acres homemade pet

[2:42] treats. The applicant is working with the Minnesota Department of Agriculture

[2:45] and the Board of Animal Science for composting requirements and by-product

[2:49] by-product disposal. Property is located in that part of the

[2:52] southwest quarter of the northwest quarter section 18, Winsted Township.

[2:56] Property size is 12.28 acres. The Winsted Township Board recommended

[3:01] approval on August 13th, 2026. The McLeod County Planning Commission

[3:06] recommended approval on August 26th, 2026 with the following conditions.

[3:10] Number one, hours of operation shall be 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through

[3:14] Saturday. Number two, a new conditional use permit

[3:17] will be required if more than five non-resident employees report to this

[3:20] parcel. Number three, the applicant shall be

[3:23] compliant with all state and federal requirements.

[3:26] Number four, if the composting of animal by-product and blood create an adverse

[3:30] impact to neighboring property owners, a different method of disposal shall be

[3:33] approved by the McLeod County Board of Commissioners.

[3:36] And number five, a compost the the compost uh area shall be on the east

[3:41] side of the building site. Uh the Casses are present today. We had

[3:45] a lot of discussion in regards to um

[3:48] if the odor becomes a problem. So, the Board of Animal Health deals with

[3:53] composting and they have standards, technical standards on that.

[3:56] And I did speak with a a few of the commissioners in regards to that um

[4:00] prior to today. If I go out there and I smell that odor,

[4:04] you know, in regards to potential carcass or uh animal byproducts, then

[4:10] typically the composting is not done properly. And the applicant has stated

[4:15] that same thing. So, it is the intent um to make sure

[4:18] that um with the scale of the operation currently today, they'll rotate that

[4:23] pile whether it's uh sawdust or whether it's straw, something to keep oxygen in

[4:28] that pile to keep that process moving. And um when it starts to heat, that's

[4:34] when you start to get that odor. So, I'm very comfortable with that. Um it does

[4:38] sound like the applicant has been involved in that process before, so I'm

[4:41] not anticipating that being an issue. >> Mark, I have a couple of questions. Um

[4:47] one What Why do they have restricted hours?

[4:51] I mean, what is the What's the reasoning for restricting the hours?

[4:54] » Home occupations generally we do put hours of operation on there just to be

[4:58] able to give that Sunday as a day without that type of activity, whether

[5:03] it's you know, the applicant transporting

[5:06] um material back and forth from his property or whether it's people coming

[5:09] to pick up. So, it's a standard hours of operation that we do place on those

[5:13] permits to typically um just to give the area a little bit of

[5:17] opportunity that's not business related. >> Okay, and I um

[5:23] I mean, you do have busy times and I'm playing a little bit of devil's

[5:28] advocate, but I've been in business for myself. You'd like to go home at 5:00,

[5:32] but it doesn't always work. But um but my second question is on on the

[5:37] smell or I mean

[5:40] I live in Glencoe where you have Seneca. I mean, it it has its natural It has a

[5:45] natural smell. It doesn't bother me, but it does bother some people. So, where

[5:49] How do you draw the line between reasonable

[5:52] I mean, you know, you >> Yeah, it's a good question. So, that

[5:56] means statutorily on a conditional use permit and county attorney can chime in

[5:59] on this, but that reasonableness test that we apply, we try to create that

[6:04] harmony within the area. And right now, there isn't potentially an odor coming

[6:08] from animal byproducts through composting.

[6:11] So, the reasonableness test on that is what becomes objectionable, what

[6:15] doesn't. I think within reason, I mean, we know that you know, there's going to

[6:19] be whether it's manure, you know, whether it's some smells that come off

[6:23] of the operation from the butchering side of things, there's going to be some

[6:27] smell. It When we talk about, you know, excessive

[6:31] a noise or excessive odor that we have, and that's how it's listed in our in our

[6:35] ordinance, there's a little bit discretion there. So, um it would be,

[6:39] you know, based on the average person whether or

[6:42] not they feel that that odor is something that is excessive or or

[6:47] unbearing to a neighboring property owner. So, to answer that question that

[6:51] you're asking me about Seneca, um

[6:54] you know, that's a business that's located in the city limits, and we don't

[6:57] have as a as a county, we don't have control over what the municipal boundary

[7:03] what the municipal board does or puts on on those entities for conditions. So,

[7:07] » I didn't mean it that way. I just want to be on record. I mean, you can have a

[7:10] sawmill, it's going to smell like it's going to smell like lumber when they're

[7:12] cutting the logs. You're you know, you obviously you can have

[7:16] I I just I'm I'm in favor of the small business tonight, but I just want to be

[7:20] clear that there's there's some there's some moving

[7:25] you know, you you can't get no you're not going to get any smell.

[7:28] You're not going to pick roses and you know, it smell like horseradish.

[7:32] » Yeah. >> It's just not going to happen.

[7:34] » From a planning perspective, municipal urban planning versus regional planning,

[7:38] they're different. And so, urban planning, you try to create districts

[7:42] and you try to create like uses so that you don't have, you know, two businesses

[7:46] or two uses side by side that are in conflict with each other.

[7:50] In the rural area, it's a little bit harder to do because 90% 95% of our

[7:55] our zoning is agricultural. That's why you have conditional use permits in

[7:59] there. Comes in front of this board to be able to mitigate for potential

[8:02] concerns that neighbors bring forward. This was one of those concerns.

[8:06] » And I agree, you know, beauty's in the eye of the beholder, but I I I just I

[8:10] just want to make clear I kind of really wasn't asking a question. I just

[8:15] want to know that that that needle moves a little bit. It doesn't

[8:19] doesn't hang on zero all the time. >> Point taken.

[8:23] » Any other discussion? Commissioner Schmalz?

[8:25] » Mr. Chair, uh thank you. Mark, um are there setbacks in place I'm uh similar

[8:30] to or um let's say what a feedlot setback might be uh from um the nearest

[8:35] residences in a case like this? >> There is not.

[8:40] Yep, Mr. Kast does not need a feedlot permit. He does not exceed the numbers,

[8:44] so you would need 50 animal units statched or by state rule, Minnesota

[8:48] rule 7020, before he would be required. He's only on 12.28 acres, so he would

[8:52] also need a conditional use permit if you wanted a feedlot permit, but his

[8:56] numbers don't dictate and he's nowhere close to needing that.

[9:00] » Okay, thank you.

[9:03] Any other discussion?

[9:06] Hearing none, I'll All in favor of approving Roll call

[9:10] Schmalz to approve the motion. Mr. Chair, go ahead.

[9:13] » Mr. Chair, I will move um conditional use permit 26-16.

[9:20] » Motion made by Commissioner Schmalz to approve the

[9:22] CUP. Is there a second? >> I'll second it.

[9:28] » Discussion? Commissioner Dahl?

[9:30] » Yeah, another question, Mark. Um

[9:35] when you're going through this process with the planning commission, I noted

[9:39] that there was a a letter from Brandon Artman and he had

[9:43] several questions. In fact, it's it's five pages long. So, my assumption

[9:51] was that every one of those questions had been asked and answered at the

[9:56] planning commission and there's nothing left unturned here.

[10:00] » My opinion to that is that is correct. >> [clears throat]

[10:02] » Mr. Artman is not present today and I do believe that that's why he is not

[10:07] present today. He was satisfied with the response that the applicant then or the

[10:10] board gave. >> Yeah, very very detailed questions, very

[10:14] detailed answers I thought were given. So, thank you for that.

[10:18] » Okay, one last comment from myself is I mean I've had we've had some other small

[10:24] business um people starting and I would encourage

[10:29] the transparency. I mean, our environmental committee and our office

[10:34] are readily available and I I would, you

[10:38] know, keep the transparency cuz we've had to steer

[10:41] lack of a better word, steer some people back into where they needed to be and it

[10:45] wasn't that hard to do as long as communication lines were were open and

[10:51] and I think we won't have any trouble with that, but

[10:56] you got to start somewhere. >> Mr. Chairman, my only comment I think

[10:58] this is a really unique small business opportunity. Congratulations on the

[11:02] innovation to put something like this together.

[11:05] » Thank you. >> Thank you.

[11:08] » Last call for discussion. Hearing none, all in favor say I.

[11:12] » I. >> Opposed, motion carries.

[11:14] » Mr. Chair, I just want to note that um we were

[11:17] notified that on HCVN that our meeting is not streaming right now and they are

[11:22] working on it. And of course, the recording will be

[11:24] available after. >> Very good. Thank you.

[11:29] » Item B is to consider conditional use permit C

[11:32] uh CUP 26-17 as requested by Bridget Bethke Pinder, 5000 Wilshire Boulevard,

[11:37] Crystal, Minnesota, to construct accessory structures on a parcel without

[11:40] a primary structure for 12 greenhouses and a 10 by 40-ft pod

[11:45] container for the purpose of growing hemp, vegetables, and flowers.

[11:49] This property is zoned agricultural but is not defined by ordinance as a farm

[11:53] due to the size of the property, which is 18 acres.

[11:56] The legal description of the parcel is 18 acres, that part of the west half of

[11:59] the northwest quarter, northwest quarter, excepting the east 281 ft of

[12:04] the west 481 ft of the north 310 ft of section 10 in Hutchinson Township.

[12:09] The Hutchinson Town Board recommended approval on August 13th, 2026.

[12:14] The McLeod County Planning Commission unanimously recommended denial on August

[12:17] 26th, 2026 due to the follow following findings of fact.

[12:22] Number one, intensification of use on site without a residence to address

[12:25] daily concerns. Number two, the request is not in

[12:28] harmony with the characteristics of the neighborhood. There is a residence

[12:32] within 100 ft of this request.

[12:36] So, with that, I will turn it over to the board if there's questions for me.

[12:40] » Questions for Mark?

[12:44] » Bridget is here. >> Yes.

[12:45] » I did not see her here. If you have questions for Bridget, she

[12:48] is here as well. >> I I do I don't have a

[12:52] necessarily a question because I feel it's kind of spelled out here. We do

[12:55] have a We do have a planning and zoning board

[12:58] or committee and they and they seem to and obviously

[13:02] um and you can explain me if I'm wrong, but

[13:06] uh fact is that there is some uh

[13:10] uh requirements of living there and and and

[13:14] and that's not happening. Is that correct?

[13:17] » That that is not necessarily correct. This is not a home occupation. This is a

[13:21] request to build accessory structures on land without a home. They are two

[13:25] different standards of review by ordinance.

[13:28] So, we've had requests in the past.

[13:31] Generally, when it comes to just mere storage, not necessarily to any type of

[13:35] business activity. So, um

[13:39] home occupations are if you're living there and you're building buildings that

[13:42] are larger, per se, if you're on less than 10 acres, or if you're running a

[13:45] business out of them when it's larger than 2,400 square feet. But, this is not

[13:49] that. This is if they're just simply building buildings, accessory structures

[13:54] on a parcel with no >> home.

[13:55] » Okay, thank you. Then, what I mean, you obviously why did the why

[14:00] did the board and I can quote a Commissioner Chustz as well. Why what

[14:04] you must have had a discussion for unanimous vote on on not approving it of

[14:10] for for these reasons of the law? >> Yeah, yeah, it was a very good

[14:12] discussion at our planning commission, very, you know,

[14:16] on all parties. I mean, it was very cordial. And it was just in regards to

[14:19] the intensification in proximity based on the application that was presented in

[14:24] the site plan that was presented to the neighboring home. There's a home that is

[14:28] a residence that's about 100 feet from where the applicant would like to build

[14:32] these houses, greenhouses, um

[14:36] and conduct her business on that. And there was some concern from that

[14:39] neighbor in regards to the proximity of that type of business.

[14:44] Now, with that being said, there were also we received 10 letters in support

[14:47] for what she was doing. But, mainly on in regards to the type of

[14:51] business she is she was conducting, didn't really address the concerns of

[14:55] proximity to neighboring homes. And that is one of the things that it is

[14:58] responsibility of the board to look at, you know, to make sure that the uses

[15:03] are, you know, not in conflict with each other.

[15:06] So, that was one of the blue things I I do that I gathered from our planning

[15:10] commission on that intensification of use. A lot of those members felt that it

[15:14] was just too close to that that residence.

[15:17] » Yeah, cuz that's my I mean, thinking although that's my

[15:21] my concern as well. I I I have no problem what she wants to do

[15:25] with the business. I I don't take that into

[15:28] so much I take it into consideration, but that's not

[15:31] the closeness to this other residence was

[15:35] what seemed to set off this whole um

[15:40] our idea of maybe it was they're not the right place.

[15:46] And a cure for that is um

[15:49] we don't we as a board can't cure that. I mean I so it's it's going to be up to

[15:53] the applicant and and that the homeowner next to it was

[15:58] obviously objective to this permit. >> That is correct.

[16:03] » I that's all I have. >> [clears throat]

[16:07] » Any other questions from the board?

[16:12] Would anyone like to hear from the

[16:16] from the applicant?

[16:20] » I just want I just want to I want to say this. You have a

[16:26] conditional use permit in my area, okay? I get calls from three different

[16:33] citizens that live there the neighborhood.

[16:38] It's if you're not on site to address the

[16:42] concerns of the people that live there, it's very tough to run something

[16:47] with a conditional use permit. Um

[16:50] and there again my experience with this one of that's in

[16:55] the neighborhood it's not in harmony with the

[16:58] characteristics of of our our neighborhood. So, I see all the issues

[17:03] that are happening and I'm sure that you are fully aware too, Mark, on all of

[17:07] this stuff. So, having said that, my experience of what

[17:12] I'm seeing with an existing one, I think this one is correct in what they're

[17:17] saying. >> Yeah.

[17:24] » Well, just to add on to that, where

[17:27] my issue it's not an issue, but

[17:30] we as a board appoint we all have our representatives on the

[17:34] environ- environmental planning and zoning

[17:36] committee, and uh I have to try I I at least I advised to

[17:42] have my appointee uh

[17:45] with the idea that they had the wherewithal and the knowledge to

[17:51] um actually go and look at it,

[17:55] talk specifically to that subject, and I I just don't have uh

[18:00] um the motivation here to override

[18:04] what the zoning committee

[18:08] results came to be. >> If I may, Mr. Chair, I can speak to a

[18:14] little bit of that. And I had this conversation with our attorney, county

[18:17] attorney, yesterday. State statute 1599 really does us no

[18:21] favors in regards to, you know, you guys having you as a board having

[18:27] the minutes from the planning commission.

[18:29] We receive an application 30 days prior because of notification requirements.

[18:33] So, by the time that we can get something prepared and into the official

[18:37] county paper, send out the property owner notifications for direct notice by

[18:41] statute, we we need that 30 days. The 1599, state statute 1599, says we

[18:47] have to render a decision within 60 days unless we extend it needing more

[18:51] information. So, we have the planning commission

[18:54] meeting August 26th to get those thorough minutes done and in your

[19:00] packet, that would be very tough for us to meet that 60 days.

[19:04] Um staff works very hard trying to get those drafts out and be correct with

[19:08] those minutes. And I can speak to this last planning commission meeting as I

[19:13] can to all of them. We have a very good planning commission. So that is a

[19:16] testament to you as board members. And they're very thorough. It was a very

[19:20] good discussion. The outcomes aren't always necessarily what the applicant's

[19:23] looking for, but I can tell you that the discussion was very cordial. So I'm very

[19:28] appreciative for that. The planning commission was very thorough in their

[19:30] standard of review. And I as staff I'm very comfortable with

[19:36] the decision that they made in regards to that.

[19:40] » And and I hope this is a proper Christian mark, but I I understand that

[19:44] there's some ongoing negotiations on on trying to resolve some of these

[19:49] issues. >> There was discussion at the planning

[19:52] commission about distance. Um you know, and the applicant was receptive. I don't

[19:56] want to speak for her. She can speak for herself on that, but she was receptive

[19:59] to maybe looking at a little bit different location on the property

[20:02] moving that, you know, use back further. So um

[20:07] she does have the right to bring that an application forward if something does

[20:10] change. Um

[20:12] And again, she's working on multiple things cuz she's also going through the

[20:15] platting process which she did apply for her final plat. So you'll see her here

[20:19] next month as well. So um

[20:22] number of things that she's doing and then

[20:24] um you know, she's aware of that

[20:26] opportunity and yes, those discussions are ongoing and she did bring up some of

[20:30] that with the planning commission. But we had the application um that we needed

[20:35] to act on at the time and without the planning commission seeing exactly where

[20:39] stakes were if you were to move it at 300 ft or 500 ft or allowing us to for

[20:43] us to do the review because there is some wetlands in the middle of that

[20:47] property. That would just it wouldn't be every it

[20:50] wouldn't be a complete review. So best action moving forward without

[20:54] having to table that would be to deny that and then have them come forward

[20:58] with the new application. >> And again, that's not a bad thing. I

[21:02] mean, it's the process. It's too bad it is

[21:06] like it is the 30-days, the uh ongoing things, but that's how how we get to a

[21:11] solution. Am I correct? >> Yeah, that's a that's a fair statement.

[21:15] That's a path that can be taken, and that's the path that the planning

[21:18] commission felt was best at this particular point.

[21:22] » Does the applicant wish to address the board?

[21:25] » Hi, my name is Bridget Kinder. >> [clears throat]

[21:29] » Um yeah, I just um um and thankful to be here today in

[21:34] front of you. Um I am um going to start as soon as we get the

[21:40] the third plat plat process done. Um I'm looking to start um or put a a residence

[21:46] out there so that I can live there and come back in front of you um if that's

[21:50] what you so choose today. Um to go through this again. I talked with the

[21:55] planning board um and um told them asked them if it would be okay in that meeting

[22:00] if I would move them back 300 ft. Uh in the back there I have a hill uh in the

[22:05] back of my property so I won't be able to push it all the way to the back, but

[22:08] I could push it back as far as I could. And I'm over my my property or where the

[22:13] greenhouse is going to go is behind my house where I'm going to put my house.

[22:16] Behind the neighbor's house is where we've built our fence already. Um where

[22:20] our cannabis is growing. So we're licensed for our cannabis to grow inside

[22:25] of that black fence that we have out there that you've probably seen.

[22:28] Um and then um on the west side of that is where we want to

[22:33] put our greenhouses. Um we could fence those in so that would you know put put

[22:40] um um you know, keep things out of them or

[22:44] whatever. But we're going to do hemp and vegetables in there. We've been growing

[22:46] hemp for 6 years now outdoors. Uh we've had a lot of problems with our hemp

[22:51] outdoors. We've had it washed out 3 years in a row. Um we've you know, had

[22:56] um pesticide spray drift in on our stuff. So we've had a lot of issues with

[23:01] growing our hemp out there. and so we went to the USDA and we got a grant for

[23:05] $400,000 for these 12 greenhouses. So, the reason

[23:08] I came now is because I'm in um jeopardy of losing that grant.

[23:13] Um and so um that's why I came now before the

[23:18] October time is up because my um Jacob and Dom over at the USDA keep coming to

[23:24] me and saying, "Where are we at? Where are we at?" When I went for the grant, I

[23:27] didn't realize I needed a permit to put the I went for this grant way back in

[23:32] '23 I put this grant in. So, it's been a long time. So, I was supposed to start

[23:36] with four greenhouses a year per this grant. I was supposed to start in '25.

[23:40] So, '25 I was supposed to put up four. This year I was supposed to put up four,

[23:43] and next year I was supposed to put up four. So,

[23:47] they allowed me to move this grant or to move my four into this year. So, um I

[23:53] don't know where I'm at with that now. So, that's why he he encouraged me to

[23:57] come back in front um of you guys as soon as I could. And I figured since I

[24:01] was already through the second phase of the plat, um we'd went through the

[24:05] neighbor part. We've gone through this, and I'm on I'm on the third phase. I've

[24:09] got my sewer stuff done. I got my title. Everything's done. I'll be back in front

[24:13] of you here this next month for that. Um so, I thought in my head that, you know,

[24:17] I had that part done. Um I had a some neighbors on my side. I have a whole

[24:21] bunch of community supporting me. I had like, I don't know, 20 people in the

[24:25] room and 10 letters. So, I had a lot So, I thought, you know, I

[24:28] I'd kind of turned the table with what I was working on. But, when I got in that

[24:32] meeting, it kind of like there was nothing I could have really done um

[24:37] to get to to get to where I wanted to be that day. It's kind of how it felt. So,

[24:42] um here I am back in front of you guys

[24:45] trying to work with my neighbors. I had a barbecue. I invited everybody. I'm

[24:49] really trying to work with the neighbors. Um

[24:53] I'm a sustainable farmer. So, you know, they don't love that so much with the

[24:57] row cropping around me. So, it's kind of been hard to make good neighbors. I've

[25:01] been really trying. Um the new neighbors are have only been there a few months.

[25:05] So, um when they bought that property, my

[25:07] fence was there, the connex box was there. Um so, I was actually shocked

[25:13] that they were so upset that um we were doing this because it's agriculture and

[25:17] we're putting greenhouses on agriculture land that'll help us. And uh when I

[25:21] heard the intensification part, I was perplexed by that because I thought,

[25:25] "Well, we have rules that we can only have five non-resident employees

[25:29] already, and we've never we don't have more than that." So, we would follow

[25:34] those rules, and I have a whole bunch of like

[25:37] proposed conditions I have together and things. So, I've really thought this

[25:40] through and put a lot of time and um effort into So, I was actually

[25:44] shocked when I went to the meeting. I was like, "Whoa, okay. I I didn't think

[25:47] it was going to turn out that way." Um and so, uh yeah, that's that's where I'm

[25:52] go That's what I'm trying to do here. That's what I want to do. Um I want to

[25:56] be able just to move my We do it usually about 6 acres of hemp outdoors.

[26:01] Um and so, I want to be able to move that indoors so I can have more control

[26:04] over it. And so, that's what the greenhouses will provide me. Um we have

[26:08] enough We have 18 acres, so I can move the greenhouses almost all the way

[26:12] towards the back to get them out of the sight um of anybody cuz we don't have

[26:17] any other neighbors around us. Um like the proper like houses, I mean,

[26:20] like that are close besides that neighbor.

[26:24] Um >> I don't I'm not going to cut you short.

[26:27] » Yeah, yeah, sorry. Yep, thank you. >> I appreciate that. I

[26:30] I was um maybe it's my fault, but I I didn't

[26:34] really know the pressure of the grants. And I mean, I know all the strings and

[26:38] that is um but having said that, we have our own

[26:41] ordinance since and committees that we have to go through. Is there Is there um

[26:47] Is there a If we were to deny it today, is there

[26:51] how how is there a How do I say it? A a speedier way to get

[26:57] her to if she wishes to reapply to try and ease some of the

[27:03] the objections

[27:06] through? >> And I can I can defer to the

[27:09] I can defer to the county attorney, but in regards to an application, she can

[27:13] bring that back if something in the application changes.

[27:16] It can't be the same application. She would have to wait 6 months. I don't

[27:19] have details in regards to the grant and on a new application, the same

[27:23] notification process has to be met. So, it's very difficult.

[27:27] If she called a special meeting, which she would have the right to do uh for

[27:31] our planning commission realistically, she's only going to save

[27:34] probably a week of time. >> Right.

[27:37] » And pay significantly more for that application. And I don't know that the

[27:40] outcome, time-wise, I'd have to look at the calendar. I don't know that it would

[27:44] change because of your body, your board meeting dates. Um a special meeting for

[27:49] the planning commission may not change when we would get that in front of you.

[27:53] » Well, especially with small business, I hear

[27:56] I mean in my 12 years I I hear it more often, you know, that

[28:01] people didn't know this, didn't know that. And not of any necessarily fault

[28:06] of their own, but especially on small business

[28:09] it's so hard to get all the paperwork done.

[28:13] Uh I think someone on the board know. I mean,

[28:15] the bureaucracy there is, but I guess um um

[28:22] Again, I don't want to capitalize on the questions. Is there any Is there any

[28:25] other questions from the board? Do [clears throat] you have a couple more

[28:27] comments? I I would just if there is no other questions, I I would just ask that

[28:33] possibly I I feel bad about the the grant.

[28:37] I is if there's some way that, you know, we can work

[28:40] give the minutes of what the meetings were about and what

[28:45] tweaking she has to do to get it through. I don't know if that's a help.

[28:49] But I would encourage her, I mean, encourage that to work together, but

[28:52] other than that, I I'll go back to the wishes of the board.

[28:58] » [clears throat] >> Mr. Chair.

[29:00] I think in my time being here, I think I can possibly count on one hand um the

[29:05] number of times were uh

[29:08] the recommendation from the planning commission was to deny. That's a pretty

[29:11] That's a pretty heavy, pretty strong recommendation. Typically, they're

[29:15] they're they're fixed up with some um you know, conditions to make them make

[29:19] them work. And uh um

[29:22] this particular request here with the added, you know, explanation of

[29:27] things, there's a lot of things uh to consider here, but there's really

[29:31] only just a couple elements that are within our wheelhouse, which is

[29:35] which is our our ordinance that we have, which has stood in place for decades

[29:39] » [clears throat] >> and asked other businesses to comply in

[29:42] things like grant deadlines. It's not through here, it's it's a

[29:46] different office, and we have no control over over its acceptance or denial of

[29:49] those. And I'm reading the

[29:52] you know, the language and the reasons for denial from the planning commission,

[29:56] um that those are

[29:59] some reasons that could be duplicated again down the road, um I feel, um

[30:04] especially when we are looking at a rather intense use, and we do not have

[30:08] that residence there, um as was stated by Mark, this would typically fit more

[30:13] with a storage facility, um but not where we're starting having um numerous

[30:18] employees or this intensification of land. And I I wish there was a way to

[30:21] make this work out. But at this point, um just, you know, to maybe recognize

[30:27] the efforts of many years of other businesses fitting

[30:30] through this, I think we almost have to stay within the recommendation of the

[30:34] planning commission, and hopefully there's a way

[30:36] that the applicant can work with everything else that's in play, but we

[30:39] have to work with what we have control of here, I'm afraid. Um in order to

[30:43] maintain maintain the integrity of the decisions that we made in the past and

[30:46] in the future. And that's kind of a tough one to do.

[30:49] To tell somebody no is a hundred times harder than tell somebody yes, I think,

[30:53] in these instances. Um but we do have to keep in mind that

[30:58] there will be more applications down the road and if we stray off the lines, we

[31:01] get asked to stray further yet on the next one.

[31:05] So, I'm um

[31:08] I'm still staying within the recommendation from our from our

[31:11] planning commission. Um but uh I wish there was a different way

[31:15] to look at it, but our my my job here, I feel, has to stay within that.

[31:20] » Is that a motion, Commissioner Wright? >> I guess I might as well start it off by

[31:24] making that a motion.

[31:28] » Motion made by Commissioner Wright to not approve the the permit. Is there a

[31:32] second? >> Second.

[31:34] » Seconded by Commissioner Doll. >> Mr. Mr. Chair, I will add within that to

[31:38] stay within the uh the reasons given by the planning

[31:43] commission.

[31:46] » All right, I any more discussion? I and I I have

[31:50] I I have no wishes to uh I I try to be consistent and and

[31:55] we've we've put an emphasis on our committees. We've eliminated some and

[31:58] put an emphasis [clears throat] on some and I have no

[32:01] um will to override our

[32:06] our committees and and and and and their points are well taken and so is the

[32:10] applicants. I I I feel um as Commissioner Wright said, I it it's

[32:15] tough to say no, especially when you like to encourage small business.

[32:20] But with that, I would, you know, ask that whatever we can do

[32:24] in your office, uh Mark, to to help her if if if that's possible. I know you

[32:29] would anyway, but that that that's just it's it's not anything else other than

[32:34] what's been stated today. Any other discussion?

[32:39] Hearing none, all in favor say I. I. Opposed? Motion carries.

[32:44] » Thank you.

[32:53] » Information and technology map.

[32:59] » Good morning. >> Good morning.

[33:03] » I have two items this morning. Uh the first one is consider approving the

[33:06] quote from Insight Public Sector of Chandler, Arizona for six Lenovo servers

[33:12] at a state contract price of $422,739.48

[33:19] with funds from the 2026 general funds revenue

[33:22] or general fund reserves. As discussed at the August 4th

[33:27] board workshop, these servers will replace existing servers used by the

[33:31] county to host various applications and systems.

[33:35] These existing servers are 6-plus years old

[33:39] and were planned to be replaced in 2027. Due to the need to convert from VMware

[33:45] to Hyper-V and market lead times, I'm asking to purchase these servers now.

[33:51] VMware and Hyper-V are products that allow us to run multiple servers on a

[33:55] single physical server, allowing better utilization of the physical server.

[34:00] Purchasing these servers now allows us the time needed to complete the

[34:05] migration from VMware to Hyper-V before our VMware licensing expires.

[34:16] » Questions of the board? >> I have a question, Mr. Chair.

[34:19] » Go ahead, Commissioner Chudzinski. >> So, are you anticipating this being in

[34:23] this year's budget yet, or are you buying them because there's such a long

[34:26] lead time that it'll go into next year's budget?

[34:29] » I'm anticipating it coming out of 2026 budget funds.

[34:32] » Okay.

[34:38] » Any other questions for Matt? Mr. Doll.

[34:42] » Mr. Chair, clarification there because

[34:46] what I'm reading here is it it appears to me like we're taking the

[34:50] funds out of the reserves. Not out of your budget.

[34:55] Am I am I missing something here?

[34:57] » Uh that is correct. The funds will come from the the budget reserves for 2026.

[35:11] » Any other questions or comments?

[35:16] » Mr. Chair. >> Go ahead.

[35:18] » Somebody has to explain this to me. And I'm not picking on Matt. Okay.

[35:23] Very clear about that. So

[35:26] if it's a non-budgeted item and it's coming out of reserves,

[35:30] are we then obligated to put the funds back in the reserves next year?

[35:34] Or what's going on here? >> Mr. Chair.

[35:37] » Go ahead. >> No, we are not.

[35:39] It's for unexpected expenses that couldn't be budgeted because it wasn't

[35:43] anticipated to know the expense, correct?

[35:46] » Correct. >> But it does not have to be replaced. No.

[35:51] However, it is available. >> It's budget reserves. I mean, not that

[35:55] that makes a lot of difference, but it is a reserve account that's

[36:01] made for or used for these kind of

[36:07] » unplanned expenses, Mr. Chair. >> Right.

[36:09] » Thank you.

[36:12] » Mr. Chair. >> Go ahead.

[36:13] » And [clears throat] and and it does appear as though uh you had planned on

[36:17] most likely putting this in your budget for '27, but as indicated here um

[36:22] you need to do some conversions because some of the software challenges and to

[36:25] get a hold of market lead times. So, >> Correct.

[36:28] » uh we're basically uh

[36:31] within your plans to schedule it now in this year's budget cycle, which then

[36:35] triggers the reserves. So, we'd be looking at it for '27 anyways. So, um

[36:40] » Okay, thanks.

[36:49] » Any other questions for Matt? We have um

[36:55] I discussed um

[36:59] this purchase lack of a better word before, and I um

[37:04] I'm more interested in making sure that it is a

[37:08] um viable

[37:12] or I mean a a good purchase, a needed purchase, not a want, a needed purchase.

[37:15] And I That's what I'm [clears throat] basically basing

[37:19] my thoughts on.

[37:23] » So, the servers would we would need to replace the servers anyway.

[37:27] Um as far as the conversion from from VMware to Hyper-V,

[37:32] um we wouldn't necessarily have to do that

[37:35] piece. Um

[37:38] we could pay the increased VMware licensing fees.

[37:42] Um in addition to that, there we've had support challenges with VMware since

[37:46] their acquisition in 2023. Um it's been taking us

[37:52] weeks to get things resolved instead of days. If we were to have a critical

[37:56] system down that we needed support from the vendor on,

[38:00] I couldn't guarantee it'd be resolved in a timely manner.

[38:05] » And again, I thought we we discussed some of these challenges in the

[38:08] workshop.

[38:11] » We did, yes.

[38:15] » Any more discussion or questions? >> Mr. Chair, I'll make a motion to

[38:19] approve. >> Motion made by Commissioner Wright

[38:22] approve. Um, is there a second?

[38:27] I'll second it. Um, discussion?

[38:31] » Mr. Chair, just based on the point, it looks like this is something we're

[38:34] obviously going to have to deal with in '27 anyways. Um, and uh

[38:38] uh anybody who's keeping track of the um the expenditures to maintain the

[38:43] technology and the safety and security of the technology in the county over the

[38:46] past couple years they look an eye-opener to everyone what it costs

[38:50] to um keep all that data safe

[38:53] and and to keep it moving through it all the county departments and how we have

[38:57] to work with um all the many agencies outside of the

[39:00] county. It just takes an awful lot of computer time.

[39:03] I don't understand how all that works. I'm glad Matt does. Um, but uh it does

[39:07] look like it's an expenditure that we were needing to look at at some point.

[39:11] Um and I do appreciate Mr. Doll's questions

[39:14] on on how those fund reserves um operate. I think that was uh

[39:19] just good ringing in this discussion as well, so.

[39:23] » And I as well I have I mean I have to I'm not going to claim

[39:29] knowledge of the IT, but I have this has been an ongoing discussion on the

[39:33] challenges of what's uh what you have now and to what we're we're going to go

[39:37] and I know we had discussion on the maintenance charges versus

[39:42] getting the work done and switching and I uh

[39:47] again uh uh

[39:50] the way I'm view the the payment here that that

[39:54] budget is for that part of the budget is for

[39:59] instances that come up where budgeting doesn't reach. I you

[40:03] know, back to the point of um how it's funded we can I mean we can go

[40:07] through that later, but

[40:13] I know we have a question from the we don't we We take questions

[40:19] during the meeting, so we'll have to rely on that.

[40:24] Any other questions from the board?

[40:30] I'll call the question. All in favor say I.

[40:32] » I. >> I. Opposed?

[40:34] Motion carries. >> Item B is consider approving quotes from

[40:39] Insight Public Sector of Chandler, Arizona for additional storage capacity

[40:44] at a state contract price of $210,063.54

[40:50] with funds from the 2026 general reserve or general fund reserves.

[40:55] This additional storage capacity is needed to complete the conversion from

[41:00] VMware to Hyper-V. To complete the conversion, systems need

[41:04] to run in both environments for a period of time.

[41:07] We do not currently have enough storage space to convert some of our systems.

[41:14] » Mr. Chair, >> I'll move request.

[41:20] » Go ahead, Commissioner Swenson. >> Mr. Chair, I'll move request.

[41:24] » Motion made by Commissioner Smallst to approve. Is there a second?

[41:28] » I'll second. >> Seconded by Commissioner Chaska.

[41:31] Um discussion?

[41:36] Hearing none, all in favor say I. >> I.

[41:38] » I. Opposed? Motion carries. >> Thank you.

[41:42] » Thanks, Matt.

[41:47] » Uh Employee Relations, Hannah.

[41:53] » Hello. Good morning. >> Good morning.

[41:56] » I just have one item today. Um consider approving the user agreement

[42:00] with Employee Relations from Newport Beach, California. McLeod County plans

[42:04] to utilize Employee Relations, their Employify platform for background check

[42:08] services, including but not limited to criminal record search,

[42:12] social security number verification, credit check, educational degree

[42:15] verification, professional license and certification verification, and motor

[42:19] vehicle reports. Um, McLeod County previously utilized employee relations

[42:23] for background check services and this user agreement reactivates our accounts.

[42:27] I'll also just add so um McLeod County today we do full

[42:31] background backgrounding on all employees. Every employee has a very

[42:34] different need for backgrounding. Um, I'll just set right away I set aside our

[42:39] um sheriff's office has their own backgrounding process that they utilize

[42:43] within you know internally. Um, have very high standards and many months of

[42:47] backgrounding that has to happen for our especially for our licensed positions.

[42:51] We do our own backgrounding right now within our sheriff's office.

[42:54] Um, we've been doing that for the past about 5 years which has been a positive

[42:57] experience and um we're finding having a third-party option like we used to have

[43:02] with employee relations uh allows us to do some things that the sheriff's office

[43:06] um is is more limited. So things like if we

[43:09] have a required license or if we're looking to verify someone's education,

[43:12] um this resource will allow us to do that. Um, I'll also just mention the

[43:16] cost is looking back on what we are paying previously with this it's really

[43:19] remains very stable. They have their own as you see in the budget or in the

[43:23] packet um they have their own costing for public entities like us as well.

[43:30] » Mr. Chair. >> Go ahead Commissioner Schwalbe.

[43:33] » Uh question for you Hannah. I mean for full transparency, right? With not just

[43:38] us up here but the public as well. Um

[43:42] what are we spending? Are we spending 10,000? Are we spending 100,000? Um

[43:46] where where do the numbers fall on uh working with uh Employify?

[43:51] » Yeah, so we it's a great question. So we like I've mentioned in the more recent

[43:55] years we've been using our sheriff's office staff. So we've been using staff

[43:57] time to run our backgrounding processes. Um when I looked at our where we were in

[44:02] 2020 um 2020 2019 um I don't have clean here in the room but we did look at

[44:08] where we were spending. We were spending anywhere between about $20 to in some

[44:12] cases maybe $50 per individual that we're hiring.

[44:16] It really depends on sometimes we have situations where people are from

[44:19] Minnesota, have never lived anywhere else, so we're just running a Minnesota

[44:22] background check. There's situations where we're having to run multiple state

[44:25] background checks, so it really varies depending on the individual. We hire

[44:29] about anywhere between 50 to maybe 60 folks a year on average. So, I

[44:36] don't have the exact number in front of you or for you today, but we did look

[44:39] and see where we were and we anticipate probably a similar expense for us here

[44:44] moving forward. And again, we do still have the Sheriff's Office as an option

[44:47] to do a background report, but we do want to have this other option available

[44:51] to us for some things like a credit check or things like that.

[44:55] » I have a couple of questions. When you said cost of 20, 30, 40 dollars

[45:00] or whatever through through the Sheriff's Office, that's

[45:03] internal expenses, all right? That's just man.

[45:07] Is there Is that a That's not a outside expense?

[45:10] » Yeah, so what I was speaking to Commissioner was the previously when we

[45:14] utilized employee relations, the same company, that's what we were seeing per

[45:17] person when we were running a background ink

[45:20] through us then. Today, you're correct. We're using like staffing time for

[45:24] Sheriff's for Sheriff's Office when we're running those background checks. I

[45:27] will also mention there are a few positions that we used to utilize like

[45:31] the BCA background ink that are required per statute. We don't We can only run

[45:35] certain positions through the BCA. They're very stringent on who can be run

[45:39] and who can't be run, but we obviously also have that expense as well that

[45:43] would that would be in effect today and will continue to run those based on the

[45:47] positions we have to. So, I don't see this being a This is a

[45:51] budgeted expense, an expense we have. It's in our all county

[45:55] cuz this would affect all candidates who are applying for a

[45:58] position with the McLeod County. >> Is Is this This is a per employee or per

[46:04] individual expense or do we pay a certain amount of money

[46:09] to lack of a better word belong to whatever

[46:13] this organization is? >> So, this is just a company. We're only

[46:16] paying for the backgrounding that's we need to run. So, in the packet you'll

[46:20] see there's an expense sheet that was in there a couple sheets. So, um you know,

[46:24] it's $5 you know, per and this is just for candidates. So, if someone's

[46:27] applying to McLeod County before we're going to make them a final offer, we

[46:30] have to run a full background on them. And so, it would be per candidate, you

[46:34] know, it'd be um we're only paying for the backgrounding that we need on that

[46:38] person.

[46:42] » Any other Commissioner Schmalz? >> Mr. Chair, I'll move request.

[46:46] » Motion made by Commissioner Schmalz to approve. Is there a second?

[46:51] » Second. >> Seconded by Commissioner Doll.

[46:54] Discussion?

[46:58] I guess I >> [clears throat]

[46:59] » It seems to me I that I would support the motion

[47:04] hoping that um

[47:07] we're offsetting some time from the Sheriff's Department.

[47:12] Um and I guess I I I didn't think of asking

[47:16] the question, is that cannot be used in reverse?

[47:19] Can the Sheriff's Department use you as well?

[47:21] » The Sheriff's office could choose to use it. Yep. I mean, if we wanted to do like

[47:24] an initial backgrounding, they would still go through their own process that

[47:28] they have to do. Again, these are specifically for our license folks, but

[47:32] all of our deputies, our correction officers, communication officers, they

[47:35] go through a very similar backgrounding process where they would still um that

[47:39] takes again, there's a multi-month kind of process, but they could and we

[47:43] haven't talked to them about it. >> to

[47:44] » We're not limited. Yep, that's right. >> To me

[47:47] is a is a good thing, but I'm sure somebody can find reasons why

[47:52] it work both ways, but Any other discussion?

[47:56] Hearing none, all in favor say I. >> I.

[47:58] » Opposed? The motion carries. >> Thank you.

[48:00] » Thank you.

[48:06] » Good morning. >> Public Works, John.

[48:09] » Item 8 consider approving the advertisement for bids as outlined in

[48:13] Minnesota state statute 373.01 subdivision 15B for selling the former

[48:19] animal shelter building located at the fairgrounds. As discussed at the

[48:23] workshop on July 21st, 2026, the building does not fit the needs for uses

[48:28] at the fairgrounds. An asbestos inspection has been completed and no

[48:32] asbestos was found. I also just wanted to add that the

[48:35] fairgrounds commission voted to recommend this approach as well.

[48:41] » Questions from the board? >> Mr. Chair.

[48:44] » Go ahead. >> Just one question, John. Um, can we

[48:47] reject any or all bids in this process? >> Yep, it's up to the board.

[48:52] » Oh, thank you. That was the information I was looking for.

[48:56] » Go ahead, Commissioner Wright. >> Yeah, I just want to bring up

[48:59] as we looked at the potential removal of this building by someone that would like

[49:04] to purchase it. You'll notice that within the paperwork that there's the

[49:07] addition of language dealing with performance bond and so forth to make

[49:11] sure that it's taken care of properly. There is a way that the building could

[49:14] be removed and excess bills fall on us and we

[49:17] definitely don't want that to happen. So, there's definitely some added

[49:20] language here as compared to what we may have seen in the past on some of these.

[49:24] Make a motion to approve. >> Motion made by Commissioner Wright to

[49:27] approve. Is there a second?

[49:31] I'll second it. Uh, discussion?

[49:36] And I'll And the reason I'm seconding it is I'm as I'm as frugal

[49:41] or tight, whichever you want to call it, as anybody else, but um

[49:46] I I too, I mean, you you knee-jerk when you look at the building, you think,

[49:49] "Well, you can make it into something." And that was my thoughts

[49:54] but not even as a board member not directly involved but once I did

[49:58] get on the fair commission and and we I went and looked at it

[50:02] and talked with our staff. I mean there is

[50:06] frankly it is a good building so somebody's out there you know

[50:10] put in a bid. I don't know how it moves but

[50:14] it just doesn't fit anything that I that I can see or that the commission

[50:20] can see that we would could use in the future. Um

[50:25] I um uh

[50:28] I I I mean it the the doors are short. I'm

[50:32] not going to get into reasons why but it was designed for what it was and done

[50:37] very well and and I I just hesitate to to spend a lot of money on a building to

[50:44] retrofit and still not have what you want

[50:47] especially in today's world. I mean I hate

[50:51] But that's my feeling so any other discussion?

[50:54] Commissioner Dahl? >> Just a question. Does this

[50:58] the removal of this building does that fit the long range plan for the

[51:03] fairgrounds? And it's just a simple yes or no. I

[51:06] don't know the long range >> Well for a simple for what I know and

[51:10] Paul Commissioner I can maybe address longer but from the the

[51:14] the lengthy discussion that we had that anything um

[51:20] all views of progress to the fair it does not fit.

[51:27] » I agree with that.

[51:33] » Any other questions or discussion?

[51:36] Hearing none all in favor say I. >> I.

[51:39] » Opposed motion carries. >> Thank you.

[51:47] » Good morning. >> Good morning.

[51:49] » Item B, consider approving the final acceptance and pavement payment of

[51:54] $14,694.54

[51:57] to Meeker Wash Sand and Gravel Inc. of Darwin, Minnesota for County Project

[52:01] 026-000-009,

[52:04] the countywide aggregate surfacing project. Uh the project is completed

[52:08] satisfactory and final acceptance and payment is recommended.

[52:13] » Mr. Chair. >> I move the request.

[52:15] » Pardon? >> Motion made by Commissioner Smalls to

[52:18] approve. Is there a second? >> Second.

[52:20] » Seconded by Commissioner Dahl. Uh discussion?

[52:25] Hearing none, all in favor say "Aye." Opposed? Motion carries.

[52:28] » Thank you.

[52:32] » County Administration calendars. Um

[52:36] Since our last I I start out with myself. Since our last meeting, we had

[52:40] the after we had our after board workshop.

[52:44] I had some um a meetings on uh with the administrator

[52:50] on some ongoing projects that we have in the works. Um I also um

[52:58] um had um budget committee meeting on the

[53:01] 26th. And um just going over um

[53:08] finishing budgets for '26 and and looking at '27.

[53:13] I mean, I don't know what else to say with but there that's that's a

[53:19] It's not a line item. Look, it's it's looking at the whole

[53:22] thing and and trying to decide what's best for the county. Following that, I

[53:27] had a HRA meeting. Um

[53:31] that again um we discussed we had a workshop where we

[53:36] had the the outcome in from the

[53:40] Hutch HRA and again uh it's kind of spurred

[53:44] some questions of the difference between the Hutchinson HRA

[53:49] and the McLeod County HRA which um

[53:55] I guess I caused on my own because HRA and Hutchinson has levying authority. I

[54:00] mean, it's not the same uh I ask and will be looking at more

[54:06] transparency uh for that and and transparency in the in the avenue that

[54:11] it's just clear of the difference

[54:15] between the two HRAs. Um It was uh

[54:20] the questions came up because of the money

[54:23] that uh we had and what was the account or what

[54:27] it was it called uh >> I don't recall the account name. I'm

[54:31] sorry. It was an allocated amount. >> it was allocated money that we use or

[54:35] lose and we allocated out so much to uh the Hutch HRA and and it it it it was

[54:41] good. It's it's good to do. Uh housing is needed especially

[54:46] uh low uh low-income housing. Uh it's getting

[54:50] tougher and tougher. Uh however, um

[54:55] again the difference for our

[55:00] county HRA which I serve on uh

[55:03] we have to budget

[55:06] and maintain with the money that we have generated by grants or and

[55:12] or rents and whatever. So, our money the money

[55:15] that we're getting is pretty much is is not pretty much it's all going into

[55:20] maintenance. Yeah, we had some ARPA funds that we put

[55:23] into maintenance which allows us to have um

[55:29] well-maintained buildings for rent and and trying to keep our rent down.

[55:34] And um I guess I'll just end with

[55:38] our our insurance. We got our insurance bill this year with or

[55:42] for our HRA homes and it went up 25%. Well, that might not sound much like to

[55:47] some, but when you have as many homes

[55:52] as we do, it's it's a it's a line item to where

[55:55] uh if we can't we're going to go out not necessarily on RFP, but we're going to

[56:00] go out and try to find some uh better rates if that's feasible or

[56:06] possible in order to uh keep our rents stable.

[56:11] And on Thursday, I had the agenda review and that brings us up to date,

[56:15] Commissioner. >> [clears throat and cough]

[56:16] » Yep. Started after our last board meeting, uh

[56:20] County Fair week. Uh I think all of us were were there quite a bit. We exhibit

[56:25] uh our livestock from our farm right inside the door at the uh Agribition

[56:29] building, so it's pretty easy to walk out of the street and see people in huge

[56:33] numbers all hours of the day. And uh we'll have a more uh extensive report on

[56:39] the County Fair from our Ag Association later on this fall, typically end of

[56:42] October, early November. Um but uh judging by all the people that were

[56:47] there, um the the the positive comments from everyone to maintain that an open

[56:53] gate fair. Uh the vendors the food vendors ran they were running out of

[56:57] food on day three. Um and uh they were just delighted to be in that situation

[57:02] where they had to hurry up and restock. Um and uh the weather was great.

[57:08] Super enjoyable experience and we'll we will look forward to uh that again that

[57:12] more um uh detailed look when the Ag Association

[57:16] comes for their uh for their report.

[57:20] Uh budget meeting, uh Commissioner Krueger reported on that. Um

[57:24] we met with uh some of our larger departments and and uh

[57:28] you know, you you go through the numbers and you you wish you could find room.

[57:33] And uh but you know

[57:35] you sit there for a while and you realize that

[57:39] it's somebody else's that's pushing you through through making county government

[57:43] more expensive every year. And it's the added cost of all the red tape that is

[57:47] being asked on the state and federal side or when they change something, it

[57:52] resonates down here and we have no choice but to spill it out in the levy.

[57:55] And and it's it's really frustrating that the county level of government

[58:00] continues to get blamed for the tax increases when it's

[58:04] somebody else that's actually pushing us to the table on that. And uh

[58:09] the added paperwork, oh my goodness. I know even an example I can bring up, we

[58:14] are a delegated county through Minnesota Pollution Control Agency on feedlots.

[58:18] Every livestock farm has to be registered and that used to be like

[58:22] nothing more than just a one-page piece of paper. Now it's a book. And that

[58:25] example is is nothing compared to what our Health and Human Services have to

[58:29] deal with on a daily basis of all the extra paperwork, paperwork, paperwork

[58:33] and auditing and so forth they have to go through for their clients.

[58:37] And that resonates through to having to hire more people in order to make the

[58:40] service work. And uh it's it's frustrating and I don't know

[58:45] how to explain that we in our Truth and Taxation meetings I think we've been

[58:49] doing a fantastic job in the past years of explaining that out.

[58:53] These are these are what is really costing [clears throat] money here and

[58:57] what choice do we have? We have to create the service we have to do the

[59:00] service and it and it adds on to the levy. Even public works, the cost of

[59:05] building a road, what was that in terms of all the engineering and uh

[59:09] all the background work years ago versus now.

[59:13] And it's it's not just the cost of the road, it's all the other work that has

[59:17] to go involved and it just keeps getting to be more and more all the time.

[59:21] And uh

[59:24] So there's there's more to the story about running

[59:26] a county government than just the levy and it's very hard to kind of get

[59:29] through through that in a brief explanation, but

[59:33] I I am proud to say that McLeod County is

[59:37] um financially very very well. We can thank

[59:41] a lot of our our people in our our bookkeeping department

[59:46] and and employees that help keep it there.

[59:49] I've been reading stories from other counties where they're looking at some

[59:52] huge levy increases and they how much they can do about it and it has to do

[59:56] with state and federal shifts. We're able to work our way um you know,

[1:00:02] through that with not that drastic of of of issues so far

[1:00:06] and I hope our day doesn't doesn't come, but I think we have learned to be fairly

[1:00:11] braced for some of those ups and downs and so the next time we meet we'll be

[1:00:14] looking at a number that for our preliminary

[1:00:17] and uh uh we will see what we what we come up

[1:00:21] with. Um >> [clears throat]

[1:00:23] » on a little bit of a lighter note, this is typ-

[1:00:26] typically the meeting where I talk about our 4-H program and our

[1:00:30] state fair results. Livestock and camel weekend just finished on Sunday

[1:00:35] and as always the McLeod County 4-H'ers that go down there did a fantastic job.

[1:00:41] In the first week of October we will have our 4-H coordinator here when we

[1:00:45] celebrate National 4-H week to give a you know, more of a PowerPoint

[1:00:50] presentation. >> [clears throat]

[1:00:52] » But McLeod County sent 54 youth uh to participate at the state fair state

[1:00:56] competition. Out of that those exhibitors

[1:01:01] there were 24 blue ribbons, 19 purples, 19 purple ribbons given out.

[1:01:06] 10 of those were champions in their class.

[1:01:09] Two had two interview finalists which is a very intensive interview process to

[1:01:13] see your knowledge of the project. It's not necessarily what what you have in

[1:01:16] the halter, but it is your knowledge of of the project area.

[1:01:20] Um 26 individuals in all ranked in their

[1:01:24] individual classes there. So,

[1:01:27] um, just uh

[1:01:29] We McCloud County has historically done

[1:01:32] very, very well at the Minnesota State Fair.

[1:01:35] Uh, beef project area, there were five champions in the dairy, we had two

[1:01:38] champions. Poultry, um, we had the champion breeding dove class. So, um,

[1:01:44] so [clears throat] that's pretty cool. Um,

[1:01:46] uh, swine category, a couple reserve champions. There are uh, 30 general

[1:01:50] projects down there from McCloud County and they get judged um, randomly

[1:01:54] throughout the throughout the extent of the fair. Um,

[1:01:58] it takes it takes a well-balanced program of a lot of community support

[1:02:03] and great parents to pull that kind of stuff off. Um, and so uh, again, we'll

[1:02:07] hear more about that um, in in uh, in October when we do 4-H week. And I would

[1:02:14] probably be missing an opportunity if I didn't take advantage of it to talk

[1:02:18] about ice cream, I guess. >> [clears throat]

[1:02:20] » So, how did that come to be? Um, and I that's actually been a lot of a

[1:02:26] lot of our time in the last week is talking about this the North Star Apple

[1:02:30] Crisp, I guess recipe that we came up with.

[1:02:33] Uh, this was a process that started back in I think it was February. University

[1:02:38] announced they were having this contest, 175th anniversary, who can come up with

[1:02:41] a recipe that um, talks about Minnesota, talks about

[1:02:45] the university, and tastes great in the end. Um,

[1:02:48] so we submitted um, making ice cream out of

[1:02:53] out of uh, apple crisp apples and then putting

[1:02:56] in a Rooney berry swirl in there. Um, and the storyline goes um, the

[1:03:01] the story that goes with it, uh, which was kind of the the little

[1:03:06] thing that you had to submit at the same time,

[1:03:08] was uh, the dairy part of the ice cream, the

[1:03:11] university's commitment to the dairy industry because they not only have a a

[1:03:15] there research cattle where they do lot of things with feed research and

[1:03:19] so forth, but they also have a test plant where they're making their own

[1:03:22] dairy products as well. So, the university's commitment to the dairy

[1:03:25] industry, the apples of course, University of Minnesota were successful

[1:03:29] in apple research. And what a better way to eat apples than

[1:03:33] an apple crisp, right? So, >> [clears throat]

[1:03:35] » um and then the aronia berries, well,

[1:03:37] that's where our farm comes in as being the the state's largest orchard of

[1:03:41] aronia, so we threw that in there and kind of a little bit more glamour on the

[1:03:44] story line and tell that represents the university.

[1:03:48] And when you find out that you're like one out of 500 entries, do you just

[1:03:51] Well, that was fun, right? >> [clears throat]

[1:03:53] » Um and then I think it was somewhere in

[1:03:55] June we were notified that we were in the top five. And so

[1:04:00] then it was the job of the of the test plant, the ice cream plant down there to

[1:04:04] actually make the recipe. So, until this up to that point they'd have just gone

[1:04:09] through panels of what sounds like it would taste good and

[1:04:13] what sounds like the story represents university. And

[1:04:16] so they they needed some berries, so I got them some berries and

[1:04:19] they did a wonderful job of making making ice cream, I can tell you. And

[1:04:23] then they they went through the through the taste testing panels and all

[1:04:27] of a sudden we get picked. So, they told us a few weeks ago that we were

[1:04:31] selected, couldn't tell anybody, pretty well hush orders until they wanted to

[1:04:35] air it themselves on channel 9 news. And so Friday we were at the state fair with

[1:04:40] interviewing meet and greet with the president of the university and other

[1:04:43] people that were involved in all this. And

[1:04:45] it was it's been a pretty cool experience, but

[1:04:48] so this ice cream is now available at the university campus, at the arboretum,

[1:04:54] and at all the football games. And I guess the really cool part that I can

[1:04:59] add here is that every cup or gallon of that ice cream sold has berries in it

[1:05:03] from McLeod County. So.

[1:05:06] » Very good. >> Congratulations.

[1:05:07] » Oh, thank you. >> Congratulations, Greg.

[1:05:10] » Thank you, Commissioner I Congratulations.

[1:05:14] Commissioner Doll. >> I can't even come close to this.

[1:05:18] » [laughter] >> You know, like okay, I'm good.

[1:05:21] » a few years. You got a few years to get there though. No problem. [laughter]

[1:05:25] » Yeah. >> Yeah.

[1:05:26] » Yeah. So, on the 18th they had the workshop

[1:05:29] here. Then afterwards attended the McLeod

[1:05:33] Sibley Insurance meeting. Um

[1:05:37] was present at at the raising opening of the fair

[1:05:42] on Thursday in the morning there and then I did attend

[1:05:46] I attended all three days with the hat and the shirt on McLeod County and then

[1:05:50] my wife asked me to go incognito with her on Sunday.

[1:05:54] Which didn't change anything. Didn't Yeah, didn't change anything.

[1:05:59] Um then on the 24th also had an insurance meeting.

[1:06:03] Um That's the official stuff for the

[1:06:06] county. On the unofficial side I always let

[1:06:10] I like to let you know what I'm doing or thinking beforehand. So

[1:06:16] and I've talked to Paul about this and I've talked to a few other people about

[1:06:18] this. So I've been spending a little bit of time

[1:06:22] with people that are spring spraying corn fields and bean fields and etc.

[1:06:27] etc. with drones. So I'm getting more knowledge on that. Been doing a lot of

[1:06:33] reading up on data centers.

[1:06:37] Yeah, I you know, stuff and the the latest thing with uh

[1:06:42] our our new small power plants and I don't know if you know

[1:06:47] back in the day after I returned from the phone company I spent some time in

[1:06:50] the mountains with horses doing things and just north and a little bit west

[1:06:56] of that area there's one of these power plants going in. It's very small in

[1:07:01] nature and I'm

[1:07:04] met Augie who graduated out of McLeod County is [clears throat] out there

[1:07:07] » and uh >> asking a few questions and giving me

[1:07:11] giving me some more information. So, to me that now that's via the mother,

[1:07:16] obviously, but it's interesting that of what's going on in the world and how you

[1:07:21] got to be prepared. And I know I've asked Mark, are we prepared for a data

[1:07:26] center in McLeod County? And I think at some point in time it'd be wise just to

[1:07:31] review where we're at and what are we ready

[1:07:35] for, you know.

[1:07:37] » Yeah. >> So, that we don't have to ask those

[1:07:39] questions of ourselves later. That's all I have.

[1:07:43] » Thank you, Commissioner Doll. Uh Commissioner Smalser.

[1:07:47] » Yeah, thanks, Commissioner Doll, for your report. Um

[1:07:50] after Tuesday's uh board meeting here on the 18th, uh we held a workshop. And

[1:07:55] then uh that uh afternoon, as uh Commissioner Doll mentioned, um we both

[1:08:00] sit on the um McLeod Sibley uh group health insurance committee. And uh we

[1:08:06] had a meeting here at the government center, where we are looking at, you

[1:08:10] know, options that possibly could save employees money. Um but we still are

[1:08:15] researching that and and seeking out further information on on those options.

[1:08:21] And then on uh Wednesday the 19th, the uh I attended the employee pork chop uh

[1:08:28] dinner here in Glencoe at Oak Leaf Park. It looked like it was well attended and

[1:08:32] the food was fantastic. Thank you. Um

[1:08:36] on Thursday the 20th, as Commissioner Doll stated, I as well uh attended um

[1:08:42] the flag raising at to open up the McLeod County Fair.

[1:08:47] Uh also spent uh most of my day there. And I will say um multiple many

[1:08:54] compliments on our fair, how it's run. Um many comments very favorable about it

[1:09:01] being a fair. Um

[1:09:04] and everyone is very hopeful that we can keep that practice uh going.

[1:09:10] And um I also attended the fair on Saturday. Uh spent most of my day there.

[1:09:15] Um and uh

[1:09:17] I mean, when you look down the street, the crowds, the vendors,

[1:09:21] uh I would hope that everyone there had a had a a a good experience uh at the

[1:09:26] McLeod County Fairgrounds. And I will say what impresses me the

[1:09:30] most uh when I'm at the fairgrounds is all the volunteers.

[1:09:35] I can't imagine uh the workforce uh that uh they use um

[1:09:42] uh from the people directing you where to

[1:09:44] park, uh people cleaning up. Um our staff here making sure the

[1:09:50] electricity is supplied, you know, to the people who need it. Um

[1:09:55] it's just an awesome event and um and

[1:09:58] uh I thank everyone um for their volunteering to make that fair

[1:10:03] uh what it is today.

[1:10:07] Um on Monday, the 24th, uh the a follow-up again our um McLeod Sibley uh

[1:10:13] group insurance had a Zoom meeting where again we're researching some

[1:10:18] options that may save us uh save our employees uh a little bit of

[1:10:22] money uh moving forward. And then um

[1:10:27] I did a uh call to a uh resident uh in my district. Uh we were looking or his

[1:10:33] inquiry uh surrounded a um pet crossing that we have in the city of Winsted that

[1:10:39] is aged. And uh I got some background information

[1:10:42] on that and had a good discussion with that individual on um you know uh

[1:10:48] where where or what's needed in order to um

[1:10:53] to upgrade that system that uh they presently have.

[1:10:58] Um Commissioner um

[1:11:02] mentioned earlier about consulting his district um

[1:11:06] representative, his appointee um on our planning and zoning board. Um

[1:11:12] So, Commissioner Krueger, I as well had a conversation with the representative

[1:11:17] that I appointed to the uh planning and zoning board uh with the

[1:11:21] important uh items that we had on our agenda this morning. Um I'm looking for

[1:11:25] that background information to try and make a good decision and also be

[1:11:29] sensitive uh to the people who are applying

[1:11:34] and also the people who have gone through the process and applied.

[1:11:38] So, um it was difficult, but I I'm comfortable with the decisions we made

[1:11:43] this morning uh looking at that one uh controversial uh conditional use. Uh and

[1:11:49] I hope that they can find a way. I mean, we always do say that we're we want to

[1:11:53] be proactive business. We want to encourage that in the county and

[1:11:58] um but at the same time we have to honor those who have

[1:12:02] completed the process and followed all the timelines.

[1:12:06] So, uh that brings us to today. Thank you, Mr.

[1:12:10] » Mr. Smalley, before you end on the on the crosswalk, did you get any

[1:12:14] response from the city of Winsted? >> Um I have not talked to the city of

[1:12:19] Winsted, but I believe that they are aware of the um steps required on uh the

[1:12:26] crosswalks. Um I did have a conversation with their

[1:12:30] city engineer pertaining to the crosswalk uh issue. So, I believe

[1:12:34] there's an understanding there. I know that the call um that I took has had

[1:12:40] a conversation with the mayor of Winsted, and I believe that they all

[1:12:43] understand uh you know, the process uh and what will need to be done uh in case

[1:12:50] we uh get to the point where we're where we're improving that crosswalk.

[1:12:54] » The reason I bring it up is I I've also had the calls over the last

[1:12:59] actually a couple years on the

[1:13:01] it happens to be that same one and others to be true. But talking with our

[1:13:06] engineer Andrew uh

[1:13:08] he he isn't dragging his feet but he is waiting for a response

[1:13:15] for I mean our uh

[1:13:18] our process is always then that there's an agreement between the city

[1:13:22] the city and the county when something like this is done and and they have not

[1:13:28] at the last time I checked had not yet reached out to Andrew and and cuz once

[1:13:32] that happens then we can you know

[1:13:36] put on more pressure whatever the case may be to get it done the right way.

[1:13:40] That's all I'm trying to add on but >> Yeah, thank you Commissioner uh for that

[1:13:44] inquiry and I and that's part of why I was um

[1:13:49] I was trying to get to resolution and understanding all the parties involved

[1:13:53] and I think we're there. I think the city understands that the request

[1:13:56] originates with them. I think the resident who um does uh call me annually

[1:14:02] as well understands the process uh and where the request comes from. So I'm

[1:14:07] pretty satisfied with where it's at now um

[1:14:10] and uh thanks for your question. >> Thank you.

[1:14:14] Uh Commissioner Tresca. >> Um after our last meeting we held the

[1:14:18] workshop. Um and then on Wednesday I also attended

[1:14:25] the employee uh picnic out at the park and Hannah you guys did an excellent job

[1:14:30] again and it's always fun to see everybody there running here and there

[1:14:33] and everywhere. Um

[1:14:36] I was at the fair quite a bit

[1:14:41] Thursday, Friday, Saturday. Um again it was great. It was so fun to see the

[1:14:45] people. It was nice to see a bunch of our employees either just there or also

[1:14:50] there was a lot of them that were working. I know in the

[1:14:53] in the big building there there was people that were there from

[1:14:57] 9:00 in the morning till 9:00 at night. And there was like

[1:15:02] I know Casey Stats was there every almost I think every hour that

[1:15:06] that building was open plus some. >> Yep.

[1:15:09] » And the veteran services and I mean it was it was so great to see all these

[1:15:13] people there and showing you know the attendees of the fair whether

[1:15:18] they're county or not but um you know kind of the things that we

[1:15:21] have there and that and the they

[1:15:25] they take their time to sit there and talk to the people. So that was nice. Um

[1:15:30] last Wednesday the 26th you had the two items

[1:15:33] uh that we spent quite a bit of time on. Usually it doesn't take us an hour and a

[1:15:37] half to discuss two items at planning but they were both

[1:15:40] you know we had lots of discussion um and I appreciate you guys checking with

[1:15:44] your rep from that board. I think those guys do a really good job most of them

[1:15:49] um have been on there for quite some time and uh I think Dan is fitting in

[1:15:53] well as he's got some background in that stuff too.

[1:15:56] » Yeah. >> Um

[1:15:58] last Thursday [clears throat] the 27th I had a UCAT meeting that I attended via

[1:16:02] Zoom. Um pretty much the same stuff going

[1:16:05] forward. Um they're getting into the heating season

[1:16:08] there so they're you know finishing out the current year and then getting ready

[1:16:11] for the the new one coming up and of course they are you know had to talk on

[1:16:15] their benefits as well. The increase in their insurance rates and what to add

[1:16:19] and what to not add um just like everybody else's with the new

[1:16:25] with the new uh year coming up so um and that brings us

[1:16:29] to today. >> Thank you Commissioner Attorney's

[1:16:33] Office. >> Uh thank you. I I would just add that I

[1:16:36] I was at the fair each day as well. My office has has a booth there that we

[1:16:39] maintain um and just echo all of the positive

[1:16:42] com- comments. I mean, we I talked to an awful lot of folks to the point where my

[1:16:46] voice was running out, which takes something by Sunday.

[1:16:49] Um, and and it was almost, you know, without exception positive. So, um,

[1:16:55] yeah, it was great fair and, you know, it was good opportunity to see those

[1:16:58] that stop out and a lot of comments about the the free part of that fair and

[1:17:02] a lot of inquiries of if that can be maintained moving forward and, uh,

[1:17:07] you know, so, but otherwise, yeah, it was it was a it was a great weekend.

[1:17:12] » Thank you. And then before I go to the administrator, I I did not comment on

[1:17:15] the fair. I could say it was by design, but I

[1:17:18] I I didn't and but I I let the all the rest of the commissioners I would echo

[1:17:22] what they said. I but I do, um, I I

[1:17:26] I want to send out a a super congrats to Paul because

[1:17:31] he didn't talk about all the years of out there working on his zirconia

[1:17:36] berries and and, uh, I mean, he's he's I mean, I

[1:17:40] didn't know it till I met him that he had that and I mean, that's

[1:17:45] not just for him, but for there's a lot of people, I think, in our county

[1:17:49] whether they're small businesses or small farmers

[1:17:52] that are working behind the scenes that they don't, you know, some may fail. I'm

[1:17:56] just so glad that he's he's stayed with it and, uh, um,

[1:18:01] get somewhere. I I hope it it really pays off for him.

[1:18:05] It does for the county. I'm I'm proud to say that for the county and and

[1:18:10] especially when you have a sitting commissioner that's able to, uh,

[1:18:13] advertise as he does, but, uh, and then I, uh, I I spend all

[1:18:20] I spend every day at the fair, too, and not not necessarily very long. Um,

[1:18:24] I think this year I probably, uh, did something I don't normally do. I

[1:18:28] I people watched. I mainly because I I don't get around as

[1:18:33] good as I did. I did make the Lori kept an eye on me. I did make the circle on

[1:18:37] the on the veterans parade on Thursday night, but I did did make it. Anyway, uh

[1:18:43] um I think uh

[1:18:47] we've all commented on the free part of the fair, but I I just watching people

[1:18:52] uh and I don't want to be judgmental, but there was so many people there that

[1:18:56] I don't think would have been able to be there

[1:18:59] if it wasn't free. And that made me proud. I mean, there was uh

[1:19:04] uh families and I think they come two or

[1:19:08] three times a day. I I um I was really surprised because it was a

[1:19:12] steady crowd from what I've seen. And I checked with um volunteers again

[1:19:18] that we we thank very much, but the numbers, the

[1:19:21] counts they were getting were higher than I thought they were.

[1:19:26] But and I too got questions um of keeping it keeping it free, and

[1:19:33] that's our full intentions to do that. And um

[1:19:37] uh I also um

[1:19:42] I I I also was there on Sunday afternoon to present colors for uh Beyond the

[1:19:48] Yellow Ribbon. Um good program. Um

[1:19:52] a full s- full sold out a crowd for the demo demo

[1:19:56] derby and very very respectful crowd to to the

[1:20:01] veterans. Um

[1:20:04] and uh

[1:20:08] I guess that's all I Oh, I I wanted to another big thank you to all the

[1:20:13] the businesses and individuals that attended the 4-H auction. I mean, I'm

[1:20:18] just I'm I'm glad, thankful that there are

[1:20:23] people out there that um that make that a success. I mean, it's

[1:20:28] uh something that we didn't really have when I was a kid in in 4-H. It goes to

[1:20:34] help further these kids' education and hopefully

[1:20:39] gives other members of 4-H a um

[1:20:44] a drive to succeed or to to be a better in a

[1:20:48] 25% of the I believe I'm right 25% of the

[1:20:53] uh the premiums from the auction go to the federation

[1:20:56] and and and I mean that is a real kick for the federation when you look at

[1:21:01] I I didn't hear a total tabulation of the auction, but it's uh

[1:21:06] it's it's very good and I'm glad that these businesses reach out and can do

[1:21:11] that. And I guess that's that's all I have uh

[1:21:17] turn it over to Sheila, the administrator.

[1:21:19] » Thank you, Mr. Chair. Commissioner Wright, I don't remember you mentioning

[1:21:23] the the award that your family received at the fair, as well. Did you?

[1:21:28] The champion dairy herdsmanship?

[1:21:31] » Yeah, the trophy. Um I think we're at year 22 out of 26 for the

[1:21:37] grand champion herdsmanship at the county fair, so.

[1:21:41] A lot a lot of work with the broom, keeping it clean and being friendly, so.

[1:21:45] » I think the most impressive part of seeing that post was seeing um your very

[1:21:50] adult kids. >> Yeah, they all keep coming back and

[1:21:53] helping, so I'm pretty pretty fortunate there, so.

[1:21:56] » Thank you. I'll go to the agenda item A. This is

[1:22:00] just a notification and I want to focus on that. This doesn't require a vote.

[1:22:05] Um and this doesn't require any changes from McLeod County because this is

[1:22:09] already within what we are doing at our courthouse and law enforcement center.

[1:22:13] However, the state updated

[1:22:18] They update I don't even know what to call it, but I'm going to read it to you

[1:22:21] and they updated their policy and um it does apply to us, so. But it

[1:22:26] does not create any change. Notification of the updated statewide

[1:22:30] order that prohibits firearms and other weapons on Minnesota court facilities

[1:22:35] beginning September 1, 2026 today. Firearms and other weapons will be

[1:22:41] prohibited in court occupied areas and other facilities used for official court

[1:22:45] business throughout Minnesota under a new order signed by Chief Justice

[1:22:49] Natalie E. Hudson. And I won't expand on that. The rest of the information is in

[1:22:54] the agenda for you to read either um online in print or and it is also

[1:22:58] posted at the courthouse and trends and this does not make any changes.

[1:23:03] Item B, notification of board workshop following the board meeting on Tuesday,

[1:23:08] September 15, 2026 here at the McLeod County Government Center, 520 Chandler

[1:23:14] Avenue North, Glencoe, Minnesota. That's all I have.

[1:23:20] » Um all right, I'm going to jump ahead here a little bit. We do have a closed

[1:23:23] meeting at I'm jumping ahead a little bit. Um we do

[1:23:27] have a closed meeting following the reason we set it this way is because

[1:23:30] it's for the convenience of our meeting um

[1:23:33] for the press and anybody that's here. Um

[1:23:39] uh but at any rate uh that's that is why there's no other reason that it's at the

[1:23:43] end of the meeting other than for the convenience of it and we

[1:23:48] will come back uh

[1:23:50] after the closed meeting. Um

[1:23:55] is there anything else that needs to come

[1:23:58] before the Board of Commissioners for the good of McLeod County?

[1:24:03] Hearing none, open forum, anybody wishing to

[1:24:07] address the board? We had someone here and they disappeared.

[1:24:12] Um press relations, press, do you have any questions, comments?

[1:24:18] » Thank you. Then I'll go into the next item.

[1:24:21] » Yes. >> Thank you.

[1:24:22] So our next item is a closed meeting, item A, closed meeting to discuss county

[1:24:27] real estate pursuant to Minnesota statute 13D.05,

[1:24:32] subdivision 3C. And then we would, as Commissioner

[1:24:36] Krueger said, we will come back after that.

[1:24:41] » I'll entertain a motion to go into >> [clears throat]

[1:24:44] » closed meeting. >> I I will move we go into closed meeting.

[1:24:47] » Motion Motion made by Commissioner Small, second?

[1:24:50] » Second. >> Seconded by Commissioner Chaska. Uh

[1:24:54] we

[1:24:57] We will We'll enter the closed session at 10:30. That gives us 5 minutes to

[1:25:02] take a little bit of a break here.

[1:25:06] » Are we staying in this room or are we moving?

[1:25:08] » No, we'll stay here. >> Okay.

McLeod County Board Meeting September 1st, 2026

Transcript