[0:00] All right, I do have 10 o'clock here.
Uh, we'll call the meeting to order and
[0:05] we'll rise for the pledge.
>> I pledge allegiance to the flag of the
[0:12] United States of America and to the
republic for which it stands,
[0:16] » one nation under God, indivisible with
all.
[0:23] » Is JJ remote?
>> Apparently.
[0:29] All right. Uh,
thanks everybody for showing up today.
[0:34] Um, got a nice day out there and, uh, we
did finally get a little rain. I don't
[0:38] know if you guys did up north much, but
I did get a fair amount, but uh,
[0:43] obviously we need more. Um, at this
moment, we'll start with public forum.
[0:49] Anybody want to talk at public forum?
Yep.
[0:54] » Hi, my name is Kevin Peterson living.
Just curious if um the commissioners
[0:58] have any consideration on not signing
NDAs for companies.
[1:04] » I don't know if that's an answer today
or something that you guys are are you
[1:08] discussing or
>> so typically in public form we don't
[1:13] talk back and forth or not.
>> Okay.
[1:16] » Yep.
[1:20] » Anybody else in public form?
[1:25] Okay. Nobody here. Anybody online? Ryan.
>> Okay.
[1:31] » All right. We will uh move on to the
agenda. Any additions of the listings?
[1:37] » Um yes, Mr. Chair. There's just
additional information for consent
[1:40] agenda number four. Um just the the s
the information regarding the the bids
[1:46] that were received in the bid
tabulation. Okay.
[1:51] » All right.
Uh, anybody want to entertain a motion?
[1:56] » I'll move it's amended. Okay,
>> I'll second amended.
[2:00] » Okay. Uh, got a motion by Lewig, second
by, uh, Nelson. Any discussion?
[2:07] » Okay. Uh, hearing none. Go ahead, Deb,
and call the role.
[2:12] » Chair Moore.
>> Hi.
[2:14] » Commissioner Nelson,
>> yes.
[2:16] » Commissioner Waldham,
>> yes.
[2:20] » Commissioner Lewig,
>> hi. Commissioner Holland.
[2:23] » Yes.
>> Thank you.
[2:25] » All right. Approve the minutes of the
August 18th, 2026 regular county board
[2:29] meeting and summary for publication and
August 25th, 2026 special uh meeting.
[2:36] » I'll move that.
>> Okay. Motion by Holland.
[2:41] » I'll second.
>> Second by Lewig. Any discussion?
[2:47] » Hearing none. Go ahead and call the
role.
[2:50] » Commissioner Nelson. Yes,
>> Commissioner Holland.
[2:53] » Yes,
>> Commissioner Waldam.
[2:55] » Yes,
>> Commissioner Lewig.
[2:57] » Hi,
>> Chair Moore.
[2:59] » I
All right. Minutes of boards,
[3:02] committees, and correspondents. The 2026
state primary election canvasing board
[3:07] minutes, August 14, 2026. And the Pine
County Land Surveyor Monthly Report,
[3:13] August 2026.
[3:19] » I'll move it, Mr. Sure.
>> Okay.
[3:22] » Second
>> motion by Lwig, second by Nelson. Any
[3:26] discussion on them?
>> Hearing none. Uh, go ahead.
[3:30] » Commissioner Waldam,
[3:34] » yes.
>> Commissioner Lewig,
[3:37] » I.
>> Commissioner Holland,
[3:38] » yes.
>> Chair Moore,
[3:40] » I.
>> Commissioner Nelson,
[3:42] » yes.
>> Thank you.
[3:44] » All right. Consent agenda with the
numbers on the contract. Uh, we'll
[3:50] entertain a motion for that.
>> I'll move the consent agenda.
[3:56] » Okay.
Motion by Holland. Got a second.
[4:04] » I'll second that.
>> Second by Nelson. Uh, any discussion?
[4:11] » I'd just like to make a comment on the
the bids. Obviously, they're coming in
[4:15] decent yet. Um are the rest of the road
projects they've been coming in pretty
[4:20] decent too, right?
>> Yeah. Uh been fortunate to get multiple
[4:25] bids
and it get right for some reason. So
[4:31] good.
>> Okay. Do you know when construction is
[4:35] going to start or
>> they're going to start fairly quickly?
[4:38] » Okay. Okay.
[4:42] Okay. Perfect.
Anybody else got discussion?
[4:49] All right. Uh, go ahead, Devon. Call the
RO.
[4:51] » Commissioner Ledwig.
>> I.
[4:54] » Commissioner Holland.
>> Yes.
[4:56] » Chair Moore.
>> Hi.
[4:59] » Commissioner Nelson.
>> Yes.
[5:00] » Commissioner Waldam.
>> Yes.
[5:04] » Thank you.
>> All right. On the regular agenda, we'll
[5:07] move to number one, health insurance
committee report. Uh,
[5:11] one of you guys want to take it or
[5:16] » Sure.
Um,
[5:19] so we did talk about we the committee
met and um, you know, lots of good
[5:25] information with our our new but or
returning consultant and uh,
[5:34] I don't I don't have a lot to add other
than we did have a good discussion
[5:37] amongst the the whole committee and kind
of worked out you know there was there
[5:43] was there was a a bit of a range of of
what we should do. and and uh I think
[5:50] our consultant
um probably emphasized at the beginning
[5:55] of the meeting the fact of you know we
we all maybe have personal positions you
[6:00] know but he emphasized the fact that um
we need to be looking at a a fund
[6:07] management position and we need to that
hat probably needs to be foremost you
[6:14] know making sure that that the because
we self-insure, making sure that that
[6:19] fund is in in in good condition and that
we're looking out for the
[6:27] the the well-being of the plan. So So
with that, I think we're recommending a
[6:31] a 4% increase.
>> Okay.
[6:36] » Anything else to add? I can I just want
to add one thing.
[6:40] » Yeah.
>> Um I agree with Roger. the the
[6:42] discussion at the beginning I think it
kind of settled in more as the meeting
[6:46] went on too. the whole thing is this
isn't it's just a separate fund from
[6:51] everything in the county just so we can
manage our insurance and I thought that
[6:55] was really um pretty well understood by
the group by the way they were
[7:00] discussing things you know up and down
and where we go and the other thing that
[7:05] amazed me was the growth that happens
that we learn in in the medical field is
[7:10] not consistent with the growth like we
see in colas or whatever you know the
[7:15] inflation it's just entirely different
in that. So, it's a it's a different
[7:20] beast to kind of stay ahead of too. And
most of the recommendations were high
[7:27] again and we're we're still managing
quite low on on our growth. So, that's
[7:32] all I'd add.
>> How is our fund balance doing? Is it
[7:36] growing? So,
>> it's good.
[7:38] » And it's still going up.
>> Um leveled off.
[7:41] » Leveled off. Okay. Not as much.
>> And this should keep it level. This will
[7:46] probably draw it down a little bit but
not a lot.
[7:50] » Okay.
>> One observation. I wasn't there of
[7:53] course but I've listened and read this
and and I I caution
[8:00] subsequent boards
to really think and and I was part of it
[8:06] to to keep us have a 0% for a couple of
years in a row. it really um
[8:14] doesn't do us any favors in the long run
because inflation is inflation and
[8:21] especially in the in what we've seen in
in the insurance rates and and so um we
[8:28] can get behind in a real hurry and we've
been there and when we talk to some of
[8:35] our colleagues around even east central
Minnesota they're looking at
[8:41] at 8 to 16%
increases in their insurance. And so I
[8:48] think uh four, five, six is a is a
pretty um awesome number if if
[8:55] [clears throat] you think that's going
to stayain.
[9:00] » Do you need a motion to
>> um and then do we speak to the other two
[9:04] changes or do you want me to speak to
those? Um and then the there was two
[9:08] other changes that the committee
recommended. Um the first one is just
[9:12] changing the out-ofpocket maximum um for
the healthc care savings plan savings um
[9:18] insurance plan. So the IRS sets what
those those out-of-pocket maximums need
[9:23] to be and they change every single year.
And so for 2027 they need to increase to
[9:27] $3,500 for individuals and $7,000 for
families. Um and so that change just
[9:33] allows us to to keep that beneficial tax
classification of that HSA plan. Um so
[9:39] that is something that we've routinely
done each year. Um so that is not any
[9:42] different. And then the other change
that the um the committee recommended is
[9:48] um you know we we have the three health
care plans and on the viva plan
[9:54] um the out of pocket maximum that it any
any
[9:59] um any insurance person or any of our
employees would ever pay um is different
[10:04] on the VIA plan whether they're going
using an in network provider or an
[10:08] out-of network provider. if they use an
outof network provider, their
[10:12] outofpocket maximum is a is a little bit
more. Um, and but but that's not true
[10:18] when you look at our other two plans.
And that's a little concerning because
[10:23] right now there's not a lot of steerage
to for people to use in network
[10:27] providers. But yet when someone is using
an out of network provider like the plan
[10:33] pays more because there's no contractual
rate. um the plan is just paying
[10:37] whatever that out of network provider
says is the cost of the service. So by
[10:43] having a higher outofpocket
um maximum for out of network providers
[10:49] on the two plans that currently don't
have it, it would hopefully steer people
[10:53] to use that in network provider.
Um and and the hope is that um you know
[11:00] again it it there should be some cost
savings to the plan because then people
[11:04] would not be they they'd be more
inclined to use the inet providers.
[11:10] » My Mr. Chair Yeah. My only question and
I think I
[11:17] deciphered the answer but um most of the
major medical facilities are in network
[11:24] right if you go to Abbott you go to the
University of Minnesota you go to the
[11:27] Mayo Clinic that they're considered in
network
[11:31] » correct in in Minnesota um Bluec Cross
Blue Shield is in network in most places
[11:36] the places that people run into the out
of network is a lot of times with mental
[11:40] health and chiropractor
>> [clears throat]
[11:42] » care.
So any of the regular medical things is
[11:47] are typically in network.
>> Thank you.
[11:54] » All right.
>> I'll make a motion to
[11:56] » You made a motion. Okay.
>> I'll second the motion.
[11:59] » Okay. Um so just as a little bit more
discussion, how long have we been on
[12:04] self- insurance?
>> We started in 2021 or 2022.
[12:09] » Okay. And I think it was I think it was
a broad or we
[12:15] our intentions were this exactly and and
every year we kind of talk about this
[12:20] when we set the rates that typically I
remember before we were just told you
[12:26] got a 12% increase this year. Um and uh
you're like okay well we deal with that
[12:31] 12% increase and I mean did we even have
a 14 I think one time.
[12:36] » Yeah. Big numbers. Yeah.
>> Yeah. and we decided to go down this
[12:39] road of self insurance. Um, and it was a
big bite to take off, but you guys that
[12:45] have been on the insurance committee and
and really work through that the last
[12:48] couple years. I just thank you for that.
>> Yeah. And I think we should remember the
[12:53] last two years we did a zero.
>> Yeah.
[12:55] » Yep.
>> And you know where now it kind of caught
[12:57] up with us a little bit, you know.
>> Yep.
[12:59] » Because we didn't do any growth in the
system really. So
[13:02] » Yep. But them the last two years that's
what we need to do
[13:06] » at that time you know and I I always
think that's we try to do what we need
[13:12] to do that specific year and and it is
what it is. So uh but yeah so I just
[13:19] thank you guys and uh yeah we we've come
a long ways with this and it seems like
[13:24] it's working out. So
>> share.
[13:28] » Yeah.
>> Well, there's there's two components,
[13:30] you know, of the of the whole cost and
we think about insurance because we're
[13:35] self-insured. It's it's our the actual
expenses, you know, people when people,
[13:41] you know, use that that's we we pay
those things. Uh so that's one of the
[13:47] drivers is how much do our employees
use, you know, medical care? Um and then
[13:55] the other point component is the
reinsurance in a sense for the major
[14:01] things and even though that's probably a
minor component
[14:08] there is significant increases in that
portion. So, it's not like when we're
[14:13] self-insured that, you know, you know,
we think we can keep these low rates
[14:18] because we still have uh the reinsurance
that is um following what everything
[14:25] else is going on. And that's that's a
well an eight depends on whose numbers
[14:31] you use. 8 to 14, you know, percent
increase. And so to Steve's point, you
[14:39] know, it's um those things we don't
really have control over, but we do have
[14:44] control somewhat over, you know, our
own. Uh so I guess that's
[14:52] that's why we've been able to keep in
that zero for a couple years and just
[14:56] and four this year is is because of how
those two fit together.
[15:02] Well, and I think it's important to
remember too back when we had the the
[15:06] big increases and then the next year we
didn't have any decreases. So if if the
[15:14] » if if we're if we have an increase now
and we have a good year, we kind of take
[15:20] that and put it in the bank to offset
the next year, which we've done. And
[15:26] that's [clears throat] why with like our
insurance is increasing a lot more than
[15:29] 4%. But we're kind of padding it with
that. So that's important. When we
[15:36] weren't self-insured, we we were just
giving them the the extra and then the
[15:43] next year they again hit us with more,
you know. So we have it's it's in our
[15:48] court. We can, you know,
>> we the thing like we can't control
[15:51] though was the cost of the stop loss,
the reinsurance that that's been going
[15:56] up the last two years. No.
>> Yep.
[16:00] » Yeah. There's a lot more than just
setting 4% increase on insurance. I
[16:05] That's what people don't understand. So,
uh I just thank you guys. So, we have a
[16:10] motion and a second. Uh is there any
other discussion?
[16:15] Hearing none. Go ahead, Deb.
>> Commissioner Holland,
[16:17] » yes.
>> Chair Moore,
[16:19] » I.
>> Commissioner Nelson,
[16:22] » yes.
>> Commissioner Waldham,
[16:24] » yes.
Commissioner Lewick.
[16:27] » Hi.
>> Thank you.
[16:30] » All right. Uh, road exchange with Kegma
Township.
[16:35] » Yeah. So, I'm recommending we do a road
exchange with the township. Um, they
[16:40] would take our county state 12 out near
Henriette and then we would take their
[16:45] homestead road. Uh, it's in the
[clears throat] freeway corridor. Makes
[16:49] a nice connection between our state 811,
our state 814.
[16:54] Uh we've kind of kicked it around this
summer. We talked about it at our
[16:58] committee of the whole meeting in May.
Um
[17:01] and just looking at we got some traffic
counts. It's about the rough counts are
[17:06] about 225
and that's you know I I tried looking
[17:10] around at our other gravel roads and
it's it's hard to find a gravel road
[17:14] with more than 100 out there that we've
got. And so most of our higher volume
[17:18] gravel roads we've paved, you know, we
paved quite a few back in the early
[17:22] 2000s.
And then it it's comparable with County
[17:25] Road 124, which we're paving here this
fall. So, um, the township has been kind
[17:33] of kicked that around to us over the
years. And the biggest, we've done a
[17:38] number of these across the the county.
The biggest challenge is finding
[17:42] something that makes sense to trade
with. It's got to be similar mileage.
[17:46] It's got to be something that would make
sense for us to take and for them to
[17:49] take. So, um I think this makes a lot of
sense for the long term. And uh it's
[17:56] something that will, you know, we need
to do an improvement at that
[17:58] intersection. It's pretty dangerous
intersection at at 11. And uh this would
[18:03] just be an extension of our state aid
53. So, um, so I think it, uh, makes
[18:10] sense to be on our system and I think
the township will be happy. So, they've
[18:14] done a resolution. They they got on
their resolution right away, uh, and,
[18:19] uh, did that back in May, I think. And
so,
[18:24] there's a two-step process. We have a
resolution to revoke our state aid and
[18:29] to give uh Auburn Road, which is state
aid 12 to Pagma and then to transfer our
[18:36] state aid to Homestead Road. Um and so
there's there's some paperwork with the
[18:40] state for that part of it. Um and so
we're hoping to make this transition
[18:46] sometime November is our goal before the
Well, guess you can get a snowfall uh
[18:52] October 31st. We've had one of those
before, but uh
[18:56] hoping to get a transition before the
snow snowfl. So, any questions?
[19:01] » I do, Mr. Sher.
>> Yeah, go ahead.
[19:03] » You you took us on that road during that
road tour, didn't you? That stretch
[19:06] along by
>> I think so. Yeah.
[19:08] » Yeah. So, there's there's some
businesses out there. So, uh Winks North
[19:12] generates, you know, like event traffic
as well, you know, so that doesn't
[19:16] really factor into the ADTS. So, you
might have a big event out there once a
[19:21] week or whatever it is. There's some
other businesses that do create traffic.
[19:26] So, um I just I think it's uh took us a
while. Uh we've gone through many town
[19:32] board members requesting it. Uh I think
Dave Deutsander was the first one and
[19:36] that was probably I don't know 20 years
ago, but we we're getting there.
[19:40] » So, I think I think Mark, it's one of
those it is a long these are long-term
[19:45] things. I think
>> uh over the 20 years I've been on the
[19:49] board, this is
idea has floated around. Um and
[19:54] everybody has to get ready for it and
find the right road to trade and and the
[20:00] town board has to be ready to
>> to do the trade and and I think those
[20:06] that live on Auburn Road will probably
get a little better service. Uh since,
[20:10] you know, it's a gravel road, we do all
our paved roads in the winter first. Um,
[20:15] so there's a benefit to them in that
aspect. And then of course, uh,
[20:20] Homestead Road might have to wait a
little bit on the on some of those
[20:24] bigger snowfalls, but we'll make sure
we're we try to get it out to our higher
[20:28] volume gravel roads as as quick as we
can. So,
[20:32] » uh, can we do these in one motion or
Okay, I'm going to make a motion for
[20:38] both A and B.
Uh, and I'll entertain a second. I'll
[20:44] I'll second that.
>> And then I just got a little bit more
[20:47] discussion. It was It was funny because
I remember we talked about this quite a
[20:50] while ago while I was on the board and
like you said, you can't find sometimes
[20:55] you can't find a willing uh uh township
board to to take it on. And this spring,
[21:01] uh Jeff Weater, was in our was in my
shop and he's like, "Yeah, I'm going out
[21:07] to Homestead Road." And it wasn't
thought out, but it kind of thought out.
[21:10] He goes, "I got to get out there and
start working on the road." And I'm
[21:12] like, you know, I remember a while ago
Mark saying that that might be a decent
[21:17] road for the county to change with the
township. And he goes, really? So about
[21:23] half hour later, I got a call from Terry
Peterson. And he's like, so what's the
[21:27] deal on this? And I'm like, give Mark a
call and start chatting with him. And a
[21:32] few months later, we we get it done. So
it's just that's just an example of, you
[21:37] know, we're we're all alone in the
community. We're talking to people. We
[21:40] know people. and stuff gets done. And uh
uh it makes more sense for us to have
[21:46] that and them not to have it. And uh you
know um and like you said, the people
[21:51] that live on the county road now will
get better service. The people that live
[21:55] on the township now, eventually we'll
probably get better service and it just
[21:59] [clears throat] works and fits. So,
>> and it's funny, Jeff worked for us for
[22:02] many years, so he's bladed all the
roads.
[22:04] » He thinks he's getting a better deal.
And then
[22:07] » our current blade man thinks he's
getting a better deal. So everybody's
[22:10] happy. Win win.
>> Yeah. Yep. Yep. Yep. Yep. So, I just
[22:15] want to say thank you because it just
happens and gets done. So,
[22:19] » just another example. Yeah.
>> I have a question. So, when does that
[22:25] after you sign papers and everybody then
then there's a date in which you know
[22:30] » Yeah.
>> We grade you you know problems or
[22:33] whatever. So, it's not a
>> kind of a
[22:36] » Yeah. And it's so exchanging two roads
is pretty simple. It's just resolution.
[22:42] The transfer of the state aid takes a
little bit longer. So if that lingers
[22:46] on, we'll still make that transition by
December 1st. Um I don't think it will,
[22:52] but it would be a county road until that
state aid goes on the on the system. So
[22:57] and it's actually I think it's about a
quarter mile less. So we'll actually
[23:00] have a little bit of state aid. So we're
building up a little bit that we can put
[23:04] on a road someday. you know, we're we're
not we don't quite have a mile. I think
[23:08] we're in a half or 3/4 of a mile. And
so, if there's a if there's a road maybe
[23:12] in one of our, you know, one of our
cities that would make sense that we
[23:17] could add state aid to that and then we
would generate, you know, more revenue
[23:21] that way. So, and this road will draw
higher needs because it's got higher
[23:27] traffic, qualifies to be paved and that
type of thing. So, it's actually a it's
[23:31] a good thing from that perspective, too.
Okay. Any other discussion
[23:39] hearing? None. Go ahead, Deb.
>> Chair Moore.
[23:41] » Hi.
>> Commissioner Nelson.
[23:44] » Yes.
>> Commissioner Waldam.
[23:48] » Yes.
>> Commissioner Ledwick.
[23:52] » Hi.
>> Commissioner Holland.
[23:54] » Yes.
>> Thank you.
[23:56] » All right. Thank you.
Uh
[24:01] yeah, we'll move on to safe and secure
grant. Looks like Rob, Mr. Perfect.
[24:06] » Well, good morning, uh, Mr. Chair,
members of the board. Um, we have
[24:09] another, uh, grant opportunity, um,
that's being presented to us, um, safe
[24:14] and secure courthouse initiative grant.
We, um, did a grant a couple years back
[24:18] in ' 04, and now they have another
another opportunity out for us. Grant
[24:23] opportunity. It is supported by the
county um our security committee and
[24:27] it's intended to help provide safe and
secure environment for the citizens as
[24:31] well as state county employees working
in the courthouse. I believe you have a
[24:35] packet that has the grant information
and also our our proposed application.
[24:42] So, as you know, the sheriff's office
been operating the single point entry um
[24:46] security pilot program at the courthouse
um since we had an incident um some time
[24:53] back. [clears throat] And that allowed
us to evaluate security needs, some
[24:56] staffing requirements, traffic flow,
effectiveness of having a consistent
[25:02] security presence at the main public
entrance. This grant would allow us to
[25:06] take what we have learned through the
pilot and develop it into more of a
[25:11] permanent solution and a sustainable um
courthouse security solution. Um, if
[25:17] [clears throat] we're awarded the grant,
funding would um be used to uh um in for
[25:24] several security improvements, including
like enhanced radio communications, um
[25:29] some additional video surveillance,
metal detector equipment, um security
[25:34] furniture and equipment, taser upgrade,
ballistic vests. There's training for
[25:38] all staff in the courthouse.
Um not just the baiffs and that, but
[25:42] everybody in like what we do in like a a
threat situation, that kind of stuff.
[25:46] and then um door security improvements
to the courtrooms themselves. That was
[25:49] addressed in our security um committee
um by by the judges. Um the estimated um
[25:57] total project cost is 74,450
bucks. Um this is a 50% match grant
[26:03] opportunity. If the board does approve
the application and we were awarded that
[26:07] full amount, the county's maximum
financial commitment would be $35,225
[26:13] along with a $2,000 inind contribution
that we would be that that's training
[26:19] hours that our sheriff's department
would just um use for training. And then
[26:23] the total match would be 37,225.
Um that would be uh the remaining amount
[26:30] that would be provided through the
grant. Um the $35,00025
[26:36] commitment for the county um would be
contained in the 2026 jail budget.
[26:42] And the goal is to use this opportunity
to build upon the work already completed
[26:46] through our pilot program and make
strategic investments that improve
[26:49] security, enhance our ability to respond
to threats and provide a safer
[26:53] environment for everyone entering the
work work entering and working in the
[26:57] courthouse. So at the sheriff's office
respectfully requests the board consider
[27:02] a resolution 20 thou 2026-34
which I believe is before you
[27:08] authorizing and supporting submission of
the state of the safe and secure
[27:12] courthouse initiative grant including
the 50% local in financial and inind
[27:18] match and authorizing the sheriff's
office to proceed with the application
[27:22] um if we are awarded um the project.
So that was a lot in just a short
[27:28] minute. So
do you have questions? Um
[27:34] » not on the grant, but on how is it
working in with your when you're the
[27:38] numbers the way you kind of thought they
were going to work for you out there
[27:41] » as far as staffing?
>> Staffing. Yeah.
[27:43] » So staffing, you know, we came into it
thinking we needed a little bit higher.
[27:47] We actually lowered our our staffing
requirement not just up front, but we
[27:52] incorporate what we need for bailiffs
upstairs. So when we have the baiffs
[27:56] working and they're not needed in
courtroom, well then we can use them
[27:59] downstairs as well. So we've kind of
reduced that. I think our what was our
[28:03] initial number? We were guessing it was
around 50,000 and we've cut that in
[28:08] about half and what our real requirement
will be to staff it up front and as well
[28:14] as um managing the courthouse or
courtrooms.
[28:17] » Yeah. So that's what I'm are the
courtrooms still in
[28:21] » Yes, that is our number one priority is
the courtrooms, you know. Um but the
[28:27] close number 1.5 is is up front, too.
And we've been able to manage both of
[28:32] those.
>> Okay. Thank you.
[28:34] » Yes. Um as far as if you had questions
as far as how many people we screen and
[28:39] come through, is that part of the you
know, we screen about 180 people a day
[28:43] [clears throat]
>> that come through. Um, we remove on an
[28:46] average it's about 9 to 10 weapons off
people. And when I say weapons, that's
[28:51] knives from a pocketk knife to a 9-in
fixed blade. Um, we had a combat shovel
[28:57] come through. We've had uh, you know, a
a replica gun come through. It was
[29:02] actually a lighter somebody had, but you
know, we they identify those um,
[29:06] security potential security threats and
then we have them remove them.
[29:11] Um, but then they also a lot of
responses to uh we've had medical
[29:15] responses in the courtroom down here
from staff from just the public too. So
[29:20] they're the first eyes and ears. They're
making that phone call. They're getting
[29:23] a hold 911. They're on the radio and we
have people downstairs that are able to
[29:27] respond. And then there's a lot of the
things like um deterrent uh and de
[29:31] deescalation stuff. You get somebody
that's upset down there at the auditors
[29:36] and then they recognize that they just
walk down. Hey, how's it going? And
[29:41] things may deescalate from there. Where
where could it have went? Don't know.
[29:45] But we count that as a deescalation of
what could be. So, um the presence has
[29:52] really made a difference, we believe.
Okay. Any other qu any questions?
[29:57] » I have a a budget question. So
[clears throat] the ask is for 35,25
[30:03] additional from our general fund to
match this. Um [clears throat]
[30:11] what if you were unsuccessful
um in in the grant? Are are you still
[30:19] asking for something additional to to
make you know this work or is this is
[30:27] does this all does this all go away or
help me understand the budget here? So
[30:33] this this would be give us a definite
picture to say hey we're going to go
[30:37] permanent solution up front you know of
which we're in the pilot program um for
[30:42] next year 2027 we already have um wages
into the budget so we'll be able to
[30:48] manage what we have right now but we'd
like to take it to just another step
[30:52] above and this grant gives us that gets
us the furniture needed so we're not
[30:57] don't look like we're pieced together.
It gives us some uh other equipment. Um
[31:02] tasers are are being phased out, the
X26, and so we can we can get those put
[31:08] uh brought up to speed. Um the security
um of the doors for the courtrooms.
[31:14] We wouldn't do that if we don't get this
grant. This that that's dependent on
[31:18] that and that that was something
identified by the by um Judge Stefen uh
[31:23] as far as the doors that they don't lock
going out and they need to have that
[31:27] that protection. Um, as far as another
metal detector, you know, we'd like to
[31:32] have one upstairs just for we have that
too, plus we have the backup. If it
[31:36] doesn't happen, we don't get the grant,
we wouldn't be doing that. So, the short
[31:40] answer is if we don't get this grant, I
won't be coming to ask you for
[31:44] additional monies to make this happen,
the 37,000. We want this grant to happen
[31:49] to help provide that. Otherwise, we'll
make do with moving forward with what we
[31:54] have.
[31:57] Okay. Uh, did you want to add something?
>> I just
[32:03] » you gotta come up here. Sorry.
>> I talk loud. Anyhow, but Amy Willard,
[32:08] court administrator. So, I just wanted
to add in addition to what Rod had that
[32:12] we did reach out for support from other
agencies. So, if the grant is approved,
[32:17] like we have a letter of recommendation
from the judge, from county attorney
[32:21] Frederickson, the public lead public
defender, um Terry Faucet from probation
[32:27] is also doing one and then the guardian
amid lightum program. So, they all see
[32:31] the benefit of what's happening out
there and strongly support this as well
[32:35] in addition.
>> Okay.
[32:37] » Thank you. Thanks.
Just how is the what has the public's
[32:42] response been to the process?
>> I wish I had like document numbers and
[32:48] stuff like that, but overall it's been
very positive. Of course, we we will get
[32:52] somebody that might have a little
negative tone like why are you doing
[32:55] this? Very rare and usually it's met um
very professionally and we we just take
[33:01] care of business. So overall, it's been
very positive public and um staff
[33:07] employees here as well.
>> Thank you.
[33:09] » Probably more overwhelmingly with with
staff.
[33:12] » Good.
>> Thanks.
[33:14] » Any other questions?
>> Thanks.
[33:16] » Thank you.
>> I have a question.
[33:18] » Yeah.
>> Go ahead.
[33:21] » Yeah. Does all staff then go through the
uh security checkpoint?
[33:28] » Currently, we are. they're all going
through at some level. Um there's quite
[33:33] a few that bypass and go maybe through
another entrance, you know, and they're
[33:37] not going through the main. Um this
would address that as well as we get
[33:41] more information. Uh possibly getting a
bypass lane with um security screening
[33:46] using your um ID cards, things like
that. But those would kind of like in
[33:50] the works of what we would do and
manage. We'd have the capabilities with
[33:54] this grant to be able to afford those
different options.
[33:58] Does that help M. Okay.
Anything else?
[34:05] » Uh, so we do need a motion
uh to to
[34:10] submit for this grant.
>> I'll move it.
[34:12] » Okay,
>> I'll second.
[34:14] » Motion by Lewig, second by Holland. Um,
and you know, it's interesting is
[34:20] because all this does take effect, you
know, um, we've been talking about
[34:25] security, single point entry, Matt,
probably as long as you've been on the
[34:28] board, um, and on the security
committee. Um, but it costs real money,
[34:33] you know, and that's, uh, we've talked
to Rod about it and I know Amy, the
[34:38] courts have always wanted it. Um, but it
costs real money, you know, putting
[34:42] people there costs money. So, we've
we've really worked hard to try to find
[34:47] a good solution, and I think we got
somewhere that isn't isn't a terrible
[34:53] amount of money. Um, it is money, but uh
uh but we're we're we got something
[35:00] decent and the response is pretty good.
So, I just appreciate the the work that
[35:05] everybody's done uh on that. And uh
yeah, we're getting somewhere. If we get
[35:10] this grant, it'll be like it was
supposed to be.
[35:13] » [laughter]
>> So, but again, like I said, it it uh
[35:17] it's a lot of money and we got to figure
out how to how to pay for it, too. So,
[35:22] anybody else got discussion?
>> Yeah. Okay. Chair,
[35:29] » so again, I'm going to go back to the
budget thing. Um, you know, maybe maybe
[35:33] this is a question for administrator is
is how how does this how does this
[35:38] increase fit into the budget? I know
maybe from my point of view, we were
[35:42] looking because we're going to come up
with budget discussion here
[35:47] down the road here in and you know two
items and we were looking at maybe
[35:52] trying to shave 500,000 out of the
general fund. Well, now we're going to
[35:58] be looking at trying to shave 535,000
or am I seeing this wrong?
[36:04] » Um Mr. Mr. Chair, members of the board,
um what I would note is that these so
[36:10] for 2026, the the jail has made some
operational changes that have resulted
[36:15] in some pretty decent savings. Um and so
this 36,000 simply would be $36,000 not
[36:22] going into our fund balance in 2027.
[36:29] » And question is this is kind of
one time, right? This ain't recurring,
[36:36] » correct? This is one time.
>> Okay. Because like we said, we got the
[36:38] wages and everything.
>> So there's no salaries built into this
[36:44] » Okay.
[clears throat]
[36:48] Any other questions?
[36:52] Okay. Hearing none, we'll call for the
roll call.
[36:55] » Commissioner Nelson,
>> yes.
[36:58] » Commissioner Waldam,
>> yes.
[37:02] » Commissioner Lewick, hi.
Commissioner Holland.
[37:05] » Yes.
>> Chair Moore.
[37:07] » Hi.
>> Thank you.
[37:09] » All right. Uh we'll move on to number
four, jail collaboration.
[37:16] » Mr. Chair, want me to take that? I sure
can. Um so, Mr. Chair, members of the
[37:20] board. Um obviously back in early July
we had held that jail collaboration
[37:25] meeting with it was a total of eight
counties I believe um that were that met
[37:29] and we had a lot of discussion regarding
um potential jail collaboration with
[37:34] surrounding counties. Um and you know
there was just a lot of big ideas that
[37:38] were brought out that day but yet not a
lot of action. There was a lot of people
[37:42] in the room. Um and so after that I I
conducted a survey of participants and
[37:49] overall we got 18 responses um in that
survey. But in that survey it was very
[37:55] easy to see a clear difference in the
perspective between both commissioners
[37:59] and county administrators and those
representing law enforcement which was
[38:03] to be expected I think. Um absolutely.
Um especially because jail operations
[38:09] are primarily law enforcement um
function. Yet as a bo as the board you
[38:14] have the responsibility of funding,
budgeting, jail operations, those types
[38:18] of things. So obviously it has to be a
joint effort I think. Um but we did
[38:24] there was um three counties that were
very clearly had a lot of more interest
[38:29] than other counties. Um, and those three
counties were Benton, Kbeck, and Max.
[38:34] Um, and it's interesting because they
just align perfectly on the Highway 23
[38:39] corridor. Um, which I it was just a
piece that I I hadn't really seen
[38:43] coming, but it's like, oh, as you look
at those responses, it's very clear that
[38:47] those are the three counties that seem
to have the most interest in continuing
[38:51] a discussion. Um so my suggestion would
be um identifying potential next step um
[38:57] would be to have a smaller group to
engage in more focused discussions.
[39:01] Obviously we had a lot of people in the
room. It was very broad discussions. Um
[39:06] and so now I think it would be good to
take it to the next step potentially
[39:10] just engage with those three counties
that showed the most interest um and and
[39:15] have a working group of those three
counties.
[39:19] um just to see you know is is simply the
next step of that working group deciding
[39:24] that we just need to do have a
consultant do some sort of study what
[39:27] what does that look like but I think we
need to have a smaller group
[39:31] conversation of what that actually looks
like
[39:34] » do you know how serious the state is
that because they were looking at this
[39:38] too
>> correct so the state did a study in 2024
[39:42] on this and then they did a a study in
2026
[39:46] but in my mind all the results results
of that study come back to this is a
[39:51] county responsibility. So the state the
state can come up with great ideas all
[39:55] they want but until counties get on
board or counties decide to do anything
[40:02] the state is just I mean they they don't
have the power I mean they don't control
[40:06] our budgets they don't control our
staffing they don't um so it really
[40:10] » they might be helpful in funding
something if it happens in
[40:13] » they may be they may be helpful with
with bigger picture or funding things
[40:17] those types of things and so I think we
have to continue to engage with them um
[40:21] I I know AMC wants to continue to be
engaged in this conversation. Um but I
[40:26] think we need we need to forge ahead if
we want to continue the conversation.
[40:30] » I agree.
>> And so I I would ask that um you
[40:35] authorize me to initiate some follow-up
discussions with those three counties
[40:39] regarding kind of a work establishing a
work group um and then consider
[40:44] appointing two commissioners um from
this board to that work group.
[40:49] Yeah, I think it's uh I think it's very
interesting to to go through it and see
[40:57] um you know the working group. I've had
some other commissioners reach out to me
[41:02] saying, "Hey, where's this going? What's
going on?" Uh make sure we're involved.
[41:06] And that's kind of what we're looking at
is um I don't think every countyy's got
[41:10] a good relationship with their with
their sheriff and you know, jail
[41:14] administrator and maybe they do, maybe
they don't. But [clears throat] I mean,
[41:17] we can we've had a lot of open back and
forth and Rod and Jeff have helped, you
[41:22] know, um helped us make a lot of these
decisions. Not that we're going after
[41:27] one of them or anything like that. We're
just trying to figure out a better way.
[41:31] And and uh I think to keep it with the
commissioners is important. Um and uh um
[41:39] just like like in Pine County, I
wouldn't fear having them guys on this.
[41:45] Um, but I think different counties maybe
would and uh um so I know we reach out
[41:50] to Rod and Jeff for a lot of the
information and and definitely we want
[41:54] them part of the discussion, but I think
to keep it kind of rolling, keep the
[41:59] group
in in a direction that'll go and do
[42:03] something. Uh I think it is important
just to keep it commissioners and
[42:07] » and uh with that um I know you know with
some turnover coming on the board um I
[42:15] think uh it would be I would I would
continue that discussion and I know I
[42:20] chatted with Roger and he said the same
thing. So um I don't know how
[42:25] » I would I would make a motion that we
continue the discussion. I I I think
[42:31] it's a great
whatever comes out of it, you have to
[42:35] talk about these big picture items and
and my motion would include to
[42:42] put uh Commissioner Nelson and
Commissioner Moore on the
[42:46] [clears throat]
>> I'll second.
[42:49] » All right. Okay. Uh is there any other
discussion?
[42:53] » I have some. Yeah,
>> it's it's not that new to us when you
[42:58] think about it because we're part of the
juvenile already. We share a facility
[43:03] and we've been doing that a long time
and it works.
[43:09] My my comment would be I I'm I'm kind of
excited to see this thing move forward
[43:15] in the sense of, you know, some we we
kind of wrestle with, you know, we can't
[43:20] we can't solve some of these issues in
and of ourselves, you know, but when we
[43:27] but we start collaborating with some
some counties, not sometimes too many
[43:33] becomes very muddled, you know, But the
fact that that you know uh four counties
[43:40] you know we we maybe each county doesn't
have the all the pieces but they have
[43:45] certain pieces that make the whole
puzzle fit uh and look better for for
[43:52] all of us. So um yeah I'm I'm I'm
excited to see where it's going, but
[43:57] it's it's not going to be solved
overnight. This is going to be a this is
[44:00] going to be um um kind of an extended
process, but
[44:06] Well, and I think that's why we start
with a big room, you know, of people and
[44:11] then we kind of see the direction that
it's going and uh um and narrow it down.
[44:17] And I think that's kind of part of the
process. And that was what was really
[44:20] neat about that meeting is we kind of
figured out, hey, these are the groups
[44:24] that want to move forward. These are the
groups that don't think there's a
[44:27] problem. these are the groups that, you
know, thanks for showing up, you know,
[44:31] and and that's that's I don't think
anybody had really known what was going
[44:36] to come out of that. I don't know if
I've ever been a part of a discussion
[44:40] like that. Uh
>> yeah, start somewhere.
[44:42] » Yeah. Yeah. So, it is interesting to see
what direction it'll go and hopefully
[44:46] it'll continue to we'll figure something
out. So, all right. Any other
[44:52] discussion?
>> Yeah, I have a question.
[44:54] » Yeah.
>> Yeah. Then uh who would be the alternate
[44:57] then just in case there would be a
chance that uh the commissioners
[45:03] couldn't make it? Who who would be the
alternate then?
[45:05] » Generally we don't have an alternate
when there's two
[45:09] » we don't uh
>> Oh okay. All right. Thank you.
[45:13] » Yeah. So
uh any other
[45:18] discussion?
[45:21] » What what was this question? Who
>> who's going to be an alter? But we
[45:25] generally don't have an alternate when
there's two.
[45:28] » Oh,
>> appointed.
[45:29] » Okay.
>> Yeah.
[45:31] » The only thing we made a motion on was
moving forward with the conversation.
[45:34] Then he appointed the commissioners,
right?
[45:37] » And to add these two commissioners.
>> Okay. I didn't hear that part. Okay.
[45:41] » All right. Everybody good?
>> Yep.
[45:43] » Okay. Go ahead, Deon. Call the role.
>> Commissioner Waldam.
[45:49] » Yes.
>> Commissioner Lewick.
[45:52] » Hi.
>> Commissioner Holland. Yes,
[45:55] » Chair Moore.
>> Hi,
[45:57] » Commissioner Nelson.
>> Yes.
[46:00] » Thank you.
>> All right. County Board budget
[46:04] discussion and direction.
>> You taking this?
[46:08] » Sure, I can take this, Mr. Chair,
members of the board. Um, so I tried to
[46:11] lay out with you um for you um just kind
of a better idea of where we're sitting
[46:17] um after the discussion from the August
18th board meeting which gave a lot more
[46:21] direction um as if a potential levy
level um for 2027 and attempted to kind
[46:29] of allocate those dollars out and then
see where we were at. Um and so kind of
[46:35] you've got a table there that does that
and that attributes for um all of the
[46:40] funds except for the general fund all of
the funds, you know, all of the dollars
[46:44] that they would need that they're asking
for. Um it doesn't allocate the the
[46:48] dollars that are needed to the general
fund. Um it be it um still creates a
[46:54] deficit in the general fund of almost a
million dollars, $983,000.
[46:59] Um, also as we discussed kind of there's
a we we typically solve the budget in in
[47:05] a three three-way split of levy. So I've
addressed the levy piece and so then for
[47:12] the deficit we're remaining with fund
balance and cuts. Um, obviously the fund
[47:17] balance is always the easy solution
because then you don't you just get to
[47:21] use your savings account and you get to
move on. Um, and there there's that's
[47:25] always a balancing point of how much
savings do you want to use? Um, and so
[47:30] using the direction from the last one,
thinking about half savings of that
[47:34] million dollars, half savings, half half
fund balance. Um, I worked through I
[47:41] tried to list out some options for some
savings, revenue reductions that we
[47:46] could look at. Um, I don't know that any
of them are great ideas. Um but yet
[47:51] we're at a point where address finding
any expense reductions that don't affect
[47:56] services is is basically impossible. So
you if you want to have some some
[48:02] expense savings, we need to look at
probably some service changes.
[48:07] Um so I can kind of just talk down the
list of things that I threw out there. I
[48:11] did want to note that we did already
have some reductions in positions in the
[48:15] general fund that were built into um
into the levy which was one position out
[48:20] of the auditor treasurer office the
grants and special programs coordinator
[48:24] and then a partial FTE in the assessor's
office because they're going to wait
[48:28] till May 1st to backfill a vacant
position.
[48:32] Um other ideas that that we could look
at for um those expense reductions would
[48:39] be looking in the general fund. We had
some newer expanded positions. So those
[48:43] positions were um the restorative
practices coordinator at about just
[48:48] under $50,000. The economic development
coordinator which was just over $39,000.
[48:54] And then the four hours added to the
assistant veteran service officer
[48:58] position. four hours a week added to
that position at a cost of six just over
[49:02] $6,000.
Um, so that was one area that I could
[49:06] identify. Um, obviously a reduction of
mandated services. So we can look for
[49:11] opportunities to reduce or eliminate
services that are not mandated yet. As
[49:16] you look at the general fund, a lot of
those big dollars then become public
[49:20] safety related. Um, and so that's always
a really hard area to to look at
[49:24] reducing service in. Um and then my next
idea was in just in general salary
[49:31] savings. Um so obviously at the end of
2025 we had done this two-month pause in
[49:39] hiring um which was a very formal
process but I I truly believe that in
[49:45] general our our department heads our
managers are very good at managing those
[49:49] vacancies and making the decision of
this one needs to be filled now or this
[49:53] one can wait on being filled a while. Um
and so like during 2026 what we've seen
[49:59] is departments have delayed back filling
positions or left positions just vacant.
[50:05] Um and then also we've just had folks
using that paid family medical leave
[50:10] which when they're on that paid family
medical leave they're not getting paid
[50:13] by the county. So, in the general fund,
for example, just from all of those
[50:18] factors through the end of July, we've
saved almost $332,000.
[50:23] Um, just managing those vacancies and
that paid leave. Um, so to me, that's
[50:29] very hopeful in that that could be a
strategy. Um, obviously, you don't know
[50:35] what 2027 is going to bring, what
vacancies 2027 will bring, what, you
[50:39] know, how many people will be on paid
family medical leave. We don't know any
[50:42] of that. So, it's it's hard to count on
on that and I can't just take that
[50:46] $331,000 through July and extrapolate it
out because some people who were on
[50:51] leave now are back and just different
things. But I think it's a really good
[50:55] number to look at that no there is
salary quite a bit of salary savings
[50:59] from those those things already in the
general fund um as we've seen through in
[51:03] through 2026.
Um, another idea is in Health and Human
[51:09] Services, we've budgeted $150,000 for
the long-term supportive services cost
[51:14] shift. So, as you remember, um, those
are those wavered services. And the
[51:19] state to balance their budget just said
we're going to pass some cost on to the
[51:22] counties unless the counties can provide
can find us some savings which the
[51:28] counties did provide did find some
savings though that the legislature
[51:32] adopted this year but the legislature
didn't account didn't attribute those
[51:37] savings to counties. Um, so as of right
now, it's still looking like that cost
[51:41] shift is coming to us, but our hope is
during the 2027 legislative session,
[51:46] maybe can we convince them that no, we
already did it. Um, you already have the
[51:51] savings from us. Um, and so that's going
to take some some work on our part, our
[51:56] work with talking to our legislators,
work with AMC, trying to Okay, in 2026,
[52:02] you adopted our changes, but you didn't
give us you didn't attribute them to us.
[52:06] And so trying to get that done, so we
don't have that cost shift. Um, so
[52:11] currently we budgeted for that cost
shift, but yet maybe we want to take the
[52:15] gamble and not budget for that cost
shift. Um, and that's an option. It is a
[52:21] gamble because of course we don't know
what the election is going to happen
[52:25] either. We still have an election
between now and and the 2027 legislative
[52:28] session. Um I will also note, you know,
obviously earlier you guys adopted a 4%
[52:35] health insurance rate. Um we had
originally assumed a 5% and so there is
[52:41] a little bit of savings countywide of
about $46,000
[52:45] um in savings now because of that. It's
only 1% but yet it is real dollars.
[52:51] Um,
and then one one last idea we threw out
[52:55] there is, uh, you know, we've been
levying this $25,000 into the building
[53:00] fund every year. Um, you know, I don't
$25,000 doesn't get you very far when it
[53:06] comes to a building project, so maybe
maybe it's not worth continuing to
[53:09] budget that $25,000.
Um, and then that those those levy
[53:14] dollars could be shifted. Um
th those are kind of the list of options
[53:19] that I came up with. Um which I guess
any direction you'd like to give me I
[53:24] would be open to. Obviously at the next
board meeting we we typically would be
[53:29] looking at adopting the preliminary
levy. That doesn't mean that we have to
[53:33] have the budget completely balanced at
that point. We just have to be setting a
[53:37] levy that we can work with. But yet to
know to make sure that we're setting a
[53:42] levy that we can work with
is going to be key.
[53:47] » Yeah. And I think it's important when we
set the preliminary, Steve, you always
[53:51] talk about this. We uh you can you can
go down on the on the final budget, but
[53:58] you can't go up. So, um and I know a lot
of counties, they'll set a preliminary
[54:03] very high and they might cut it in half,
whatever. We've usually tried to do the
[54:08] work ahead of time. So we're really
close to where the preliminary is and uh
[54:12] so that is kind of you know typically
where we go.
[54:18] » Yeah,
>> Mr. Chair, it's it's funny you mentioned
[54:22] that because I I I've thought a lot
about that this year and this might be
[54:28] the year I could be convinced to
um put a placeholder a little bit higher
[54:34] because I think there's there's a bunch
of unknowns that we can still work
[54:39] through
um and get that levy portion back down
[54:44] to where I think it's palatable.
But um it's it's kind of a disservice
[54:52] to the counties
cities also, but to to in our case that
[54:59] the state may just set that preliminary
levy so early in our year when we we
[55:04] really only have results of about half a
year in in
[55:10] our our expense side. So it's um you
know by
[55:16] by the end of October the middle of
November we know a lot more than we know
[55:21] now. And and I
[55:26] I would I would be
I could probably be swayed to go a
[55:32] little bit stronger on our on our levy
proposal. I I know it
[55:39] I know it raises havoc because that's
what the
[55:44] that's what the headlines in the paper
say. county sets levy at whatever
[55:49] percent and that's what and then that's
also what gets printed in your
[55:56] proposed tax increase even though it
might change significantly
[56:02] when it when it really comes out. But
it's the cards we're given. It's the
[56:09] it's the
um it's what we were dealt from the
[56:13] federal government. And I think we need
to um
[56:19] we keep we need to keep reminding people
that um a lot of these um increases we
[56:27] got were were voted on by the people
that are in office in Washington DC
[56:34] right now or our local congressmen
um and don't seem to care. And so um
[56:42] that's that's what we're dealt with.
[56:48] And you don't need no action, right?
We're just It's
[56:50] » just looking for some direction because
going into that next port, we will be
[56:54] putting together the preliminary levy.
>> Well, and obviously uh well, not
[57:02] obviously, but I I mean, I would I would
support trying to find as much
[57:06] reductions in it as possible. Um,
and uh, we've done we've done a good job
[57:13] over the last few years. We haven't set
ourselves up for this year, which I
[57:19] think is important because I don't think
you want to do that. You know, I don't
[57:24] think we want to plan [clears throat]
like like we we talked about last year
[57:28] when we set the budget. We were low. We
were really low. Um, but that's what
[57:34] worked last year. Now, this year we do a
different budget and we work through
[57:39] this budget as we do this year. And uh
um I think that's what's important. You
[57:44] can't none of us have a crystal ball. Um
so we don't know what to plan for. Um
[57:51] but we at the end of the day, we have to
conduct business. we have to we have to
[57:56] take care of uh of a lot of stuff and uh
we have a big budget and uh I just
[58:03] appreciate the work that you guys have
been doing. Um personally I would like
[58:07] to see it a little bit lower than this
but uh but I'm one guy on the board. I
[58:13] don't control it.
>> [clears throat]
[58:15] » Last year though, HHS cut staff.
>> I think that was the only department
[58:21] that cut staff
>> and they had to do a lot of shuffle
[58:25] around to make get the work done because
of it.
[58:32] » Okay. Anybody else have any comments?
[58:38] » That doesn't give you much.
>> Food for thought, Kelly.
[58:41] » Yeah.
>> Okay. I guess we're just going to have
[58:44] to make the hard
>> chair. I was just going to say on a
[58:46] positive note, our fund balances I think
are in really good shape across the
[58:51] board. And so that's something to look
at is what do you want in your fund
[58:56] balances? Is there do you take a risk in
one year? And we've taken risks and it
[59:01] seems like it's gone up in times and so
I think the budgeting process has worked
[59:06] well. But something to look at is what
do you want in your fund balance? What
[59:09] are you comfortable with and is there
some room there?
[59:13] Yeah, thanks.
[59:17] Okay.
All right. Well, we didn't give you a
[59:22] whole heck of a lot to go on, so sorry.
I Yeah. Uh,
[59:27] » you didn't give Kelly much help.
>> No, no, no, we didn't. Uh, considers
[59:33] scheduling a special meeting.
>> Yeah, Mr. Chair, members of the board.
[59:37] Um I had been working with the Malax
band to have a meeting um with they had
[59:44] a new district 3 representative that was
recently elected and so originally we
[59:48] had talked about just that smaller
committee that meets with the band by
[59:52] monthly meeting with that district 3
representative. Um however, as the band
[59:57] worked to identify um a meeting date,
the Chief Virgil Wind was actually
[1:00:03] included as a attendee as well. And so
given the bigger scope of the meeting,
[1:00:08] um it makes sense to me to include the
whole board in that meeting. Um, and the
[1:00:13] date that worked the best for the tribe,
um, was September 29th,
[1:00:19] and they they the time that worked
within their schedules were 11:30 a.m.
[1:00:25] Um, and then along with that, of course,
we will have the auditor treasurer
[1:00:30] interviews coming up. So, my thought was
that we could just pair it with that
[1:00:33] date. Um, and potentially since the
tribes meeting is at 11:30, we could do
[1:00:38] a few interviews prior to that tribal
meeting, have the tribal meeting, and
[1:00:42] then if there are more candidates to
still interview, we could do that
[1:00:46] afterwards. So, looking at September
29th, beginning at 9:00 a.m. for the
[1:00:50] purposes of interviewing auditor
treasurer candidates and the meeting
[1:00:54] with the Max Band chief, Virgo Win,
District 3 representative, Sha Shelley
[1:00:58] Parmlo, um, to discuss county and tribal
relations. Um the other piece that I
[1:01:04] wanted to note is you will note that it
is listed at North Pine Government
[1:01:07] Center. Um which the purpose of that is
because this room was not available that
[1:01:12] day. Um and the what this room was
committed to is not something that can
[1:01:17] be moved and so it made sense. You know
even the auditor treasurer candidates
[1:01:22] obviously would be working in this
building but they do still need to go to
[1:01:25] Sandstone sometime and that's a great
facility. So it seemed okay to have that
[1:01:30] their interviews held there.
Okay.
[1:01:35] Anybody got any?
>> Sounds good to me.
[1:01:39] » Good to me, too.
>> Yeah, we need a motion on it. So,
[1:01:42] » I'll move it.
>> Okay.
[1:01:45] » Uh motion by Holland, second by Lewig.
Any other discussion on it?
[1:01:50] » Oh, I have one.
>> Okay, go ahead.
[1:01:51] » I do have one one more thing. Um, and so
I would ask if commissioners have
[1:01:56] questions they want included for the
auditor treasur interviews, if you could
[1:02:00] submit them to me by September 11th, so
in about a week and a half, just so we
[1:02:06] can incorporate those within our plan
prepared questions and and Jackie can
[1:02:10] review them um, and make sure that
they're legal and appropriate to ask.
[1:02:15] But by September 11th, if you can send
what questions if you have different
[1:02:19] questions you'd like to ask.
>> Okay, Mr. Chair. Yeah.
[1:02:23] » One more question. Uh if
if we get in a stalemate at our next
[1:02:30] meeting two weeks from now
and think of we want to kick the can
[1:02:38] down the road another week,
would we still set our levy on this at
[1:02:43] this meeting?
if you add it as as part of the reason
[1:02:48] for the meeting.
>> And and when do we have do we have to
[1:02:52] know that before
>> um our next meeting
[1:02:57] » or would you want that now?
>> You just put
[1:03:01] » I I don't know. I I'm hoping
>> it would be great if we just added it
[1:03:05] now in in case it's needed.
>> Just put a placeholder there. What do
[1:03:08] you guys think?
>> Maybe just just in case
[1:03:10] » we don't need to use it. So
[1:03:15] You guys all in agreement on that?
>> You want to add that as part of your
[1:03:20] motion?
>> Yes.
[1:03:23] » Okay. We'll figure out where to put it
on that.
[1:03:25] » Yeah, I'll second that.
>> Okay. All right. Any other discussion?
[1:03:33] Uh, hearing none. Go ahead, De.
[1:03:40] » Commissioner Lig. Hi,
>> Commissioner Holland.
[1:03:44] » Yes.
>> Moore.
[1:03:45] » Hi,
>> Commissioner Nelson.
[1:03:47] » Yes.
>> Commissioner Waldam.
[1:03:49] » Yes.
>> Thank you.
[1:03:53] » All right. Uh, we'll move on to
commissioner updates. Greater Minnesota
[1:03:57] Parks and Trails.
>> No meeting.
[1:03:58] » Okay. Cookout on the farm. Did you make
that one?
[1:04:02] » I did.
[laughter] It was uh it was uh great. My
[1:04:08] wife even had a good time. She was not
real happy that I signed up for that.
[1:04:14] [laughter]
It It turned out really good. I I met
[1:04:17] some people that lived within five miles
of my place that I'd never ever seen
[1:04:24] before in my life. The one guy was
probably my age and he'd been he'd been
[1:04:29] coming up uh his dad owned a piece of
property on the Snake River since he was
[1:04:34] uh in junior high school and they taken
over his dad's property and so um it was
[1:04:41] good to see people that
I hadn't ever known before and it was
[1:04:47] also good to see people that um you know
old old friends. Roger was even there.
[1:04:54] So, that was that was great.
Uh, Soil and Water put on a really good
[1:05:01] couple of demonstrations, I thought. So,
>> I know I drove by, I was told you I was
[1:05:07] going to stop, but I had three kids and
two dogs, and I was like, it looked like
[1:05:12] there was a lot of people there when I
drove by. So,
[1:05:14] » there was about 70.
>> Yeah. Yeah. But, so good. I'm glad it
[1:05:19] went good. uh Snake River Plan
Partnership. We had a meeting last
[1:05:23] Monday. I actually was here uh talked
about I was just pulling up the the
[1:05:29] agenda. The the one thing we did is uh
uh
[1:05:37] we did talk about our budget. Um, so we
have a grant that is expiring
[1:05:45] uh uh or it did expire and uh but they
we did get a extension on it. So we're
[1:05:51] kind of trying to spend down some of
that. Plus we got our new grant. Um so
[1:05:56] we were just talking about a few things
with that. Um we talked about an
[1:06:00] auditor. You weren't there were you? No.
So there might be we might have to get
[1:06:06] our own audit currently because the
county is doing our finances. It gets
[1:06:10] audited through there. Um so they're
kind of working through that. We had to
[1:06:15] sign uh Mary had to send something in
and uh uh and they're going to tell us
[1:06:22] what we got to do or not. So we might do
a little more arguing uh about that. And
[1:06:27] then we went on a couple field trips or
one but we went to two places. So one
[1:06:33] place was on Cross Lake uh I think it
was Cross Lake Estates. They did a a
[1:06:38] buffer planting uh two years ago. Um and
they have they're kind of in the
[1:06:44] backwaters a little bit of the south
side of the lake and there is a a sewer
[1:06:49] outlet for the storm sewer for Pine
Count or Pine City uh right there. So,
[1:06:55] it was like 450 ft of lake shore that
they they did some uh buffer planting
[1:07:01] and uh uh stuff that uh was there. Um
so, they kind of showed us because they
[1:07:07] started this two years ago. Now, it's
growing. It's doing a really good job.
[1:07:11] Uh it was kind of neat to see um what it
actually entails. And uh then we ended
[1:07:18] up going to Shelene Park, which is down
by the fishing dock by the railroad
[1:07:23] bridge on the Snake River. And the city
owns uh some land there. And they just
[1:07:29] did that uh about a week before we went
there, two weeks before we went there.
[1:07:35] So that was the first part of it. And uh
the nice thing about that, soil and
[1:07:39] water is really excited because it is a
public space. Um, so they can take
[1:07:43] people there and show them, hey, this is
what it can be. Um, you don't have to
[1:07:48] get permission from the land owner and
all that stuff, but the the city was
[1:07:53] doing a lot of uh a lot of work
themselves. We got some grants for it.
[1:07:57] Um, the Snake River, one watershed, one
plan did fund, I think, a lot of it, but
[1:08:02] the the city, they were there. He's
like, I got to come every other day and
[1:08:05] water it. um you know and and cuz right
now obviously with the rain uh these you
[1:08:11] if you don't take care of them in the
first little bit that's what's going to
[1:08:14] make a big difference. But their plan is
to put another dock in there and
[1:08:19] possibly a couple fishing platforms so
you're not beating down the the shore.
[1:08:24] [clears throat]
Uh they're going to let that grow up and
[1:08:27] they'll have a couple designated spots
to get to the shore. Uh which is really
[1:08:32] cool. So looked good. Um it was just
nice to see the initial where it starts
[1:08:38] and where it went. Um but yeah, so them
were a couple places if you I mean
[1:08:43] anybody can go down to Shelene Park and
check that out anytime. So uh that was
[1:08:49] about it.
Lakes and Pines
[1:08:52] » Lakes and Pines did not meet.
We're goofed up on their uh
[1:08:59] notification. So anyway,
we didn't There was no scheduled
[1:09:04] meeting.
>> Okay.
[1:09:07] » But the East Central Regional
Development Commission did meet.
[1:09:10] » Okay.
>> And uh
[1:09:14] other than listen to a lot of uh reports
that um of what the people were doing.
[1:09:23] They accepted some bids. They they need
a new roof on the building that they
[1:09:28] own. So,
that was [clears throat] was probably
[1:09:32] the one takeaway we had.
>> Okay. Rush Line Task Force. Uh actually
[1:09:41] missed it. Uh had kid get sick on me and
I was doing that and and forgot. But the
[1:09:48] the plan is is they're trying to pause
the rush line task force and to do that
[1:09:53] uh they have to uh have a couple
meetings. So that was the first meeting.
[1:09:58] I was just looking up the minutes, but I
can't get them to load. Um, but that was
[1:10:02] essentially what's going on there.
Zoning board.
[1:10:06] » Uh, Mr. Chair, I I did not make that
meeting. I had grandpa duty shuttling
[1:10:11] kids to stuff because parents were busy.
Um,
[1:10:14] » perfect.
>> But I they had two variances they were
[1:10:18] dealing with that night and going over
some stuff, but I didn't get it. I
[1:10:21] didn't get the minutes yet either. So,
but I do want to note make a note of the
[1:10:25] SWCD is having their supervisor field
day that trip on September 9th. So, I
[1:10:33] think it's posted. So, any commissioners
that want to go can go on that trip.
[1:10:37] They're just going to show some projects
and have lunch served at while you're so
[1:10:43] putting out there.
>> Okay.
[1:10:46] Any other meetings? Yeah.
If you allow me just to go back to the
[1:10:51] cookout on the farm, Steve was being
kind of modest. You know, he he really
[1:10:56] did a good job of explaining, you know,
a lot of the conservation projects that
[1:11:00] were that that he was doing and uh that
soil and water NRCS kind of initiated
[1:11:09] and uh they did really have some
I'd say eyeopening demonstrations. their
[1:11:16] rainfall demonstration was was
really interesting. Also, I just wanted
[1:11:22] to highlight the uh well, we had our
commissioner of agriculture there. We
[1:11:28] had two state representatives. One
wasn't even from our area. Um a senator,
[1:11:34] state senator was there, two county
commissioners, two county commissioner
[1:11:38] candidates u besides our NRCS and soil
and water staff. And we had several
[1:11:44] aronomists from Um so it was a um be
besides the public that was interested.
[1:11:51] So um
that that that water rainfall
[1:11:57] demonstration was a huge eye opener to
me and I and I I kind of guessed what
[1:12:04] would happen and I was hoping what would
happen and it happened but um they they
[1:12:10] have this thing that simulates a inch
rainfall and then they had like clear
[1:12:17] plastic bottles that collected the
And the mud that went through the
[1:12:25] conventional tillillage thing was
amazing compared to like what was in a
[1:12:31] pollinator [clears throat]
within we went out my white pine
[1:12:35] plantation and took a sample. Um it was
it was you know remember years ago that
[1:12:42] forester said there's there's nothing
better than a forest to to keep water
[1:12:48] clean. Well, he's not lying.
>> Yeah. No,
[1:12:53] » it's pretty pretty obvious.
>> It's interesting when you I because we
[1:12:56] had that heavy rain last week or so we
had that inch plus in like 15 minutes. I
[1:13:01] just I thought I'm going to Google how
much is an inch of rain on a acre of
[1:13:05] land. What do you think that gives you
in gallons?
[1:13:08] » Oh, it's like 30,000 gallons of water.
[1:13:13] » And one acre. That's 28 ft by 28 ft.
Right.
[1:13:18] It's interesting because when we were on
our uh our field trips, they were
[1:13:22] showing like the root systems on the
plants they planted are I mean some of
[1:13:27] them go down 12 feet uh where they said
like grass goes down what 3/4 of an inch
[1:13:34] or something like that or like around an
inch and uh they said that is you know
[1:13:38] in a vent or something like that it just
it just rips that right off where these
[1:13:44] other plants they they really make a big
you know, um to hold everything together
[1:13:50] and and really and trees are better than
than plant, you know. So, that is it is
[1:13:56] a big deal. So, thank you. Thank you for
doing that. Thank you for what you're
[1:14:00] doing out there.
>> I I think Roger Ro mentioned it, but the
[1:14:07] cooperation between NRCS and so
is something we haven't seen. I don't
[1:14:16] think prior to the one watershed, one
plan that it was good that we had state
[1:14:22] representatives and senators there to
thank them for what they've done because
[1:14:29] that's going to come up for another
statewide
[1:14:33] election if the legislature agrees to
it.
[1:14:39] » So, it's not it's coming up. So, I think
it's making a difference.
[1:14:45] Well, and I think it is important when
when all that came uh
[1:14:53] skepticism and a lot of people worried
about what was going to happen and it
[1:14:57] just like stuff's getting done.
>> I mean, we used to make plans all the
[1:15:02] time, but that's about all we did is
make plans. There wasn't a lot of work.
[1:15:06] Now, the actual work's getting done.
That's it's nice to see.
[1:15:10] » Excuse me, that number. Uh is there
anything other to come before the county
[1:15:15] board?
>> 27,154.
[1:15:19] » Hearing none, we'll declare the meeting.
Thanks everybody. My wife.