[0:01] We'll call the Williams County

[0:04] Commissioners meeting for September 1st,

[0:06] 2026 to order. Beth, please call roll.

[0:09] » Barry

[0:10] » Here.

[0:11] » Steve

[0:12] » Here.

[0:12] » Bo

[0:13] » Here.

[0:14] » Chris

[0:14] » Here. We have a quorum. We'll proceed.

[0:16] If everybody please stand for the

[0:17] pledge.

[0:21] I pledge allegiance to the flag of the

[0:23] United States of America and to the

[0:26] republic for which it stands, one nation

[0:28] under God, indivisible, with liberty and

[0:31] justice for all.

[0:43] » Okay, brings us to item C, the consent

[0:46] agenda. What are the wishes?

[0:48] » Mr. Chairman had moved to approve.

[0:50] » Thank you. Is there a second?

[0:53] » Second.

[0:54] » Moved and seconded. Any discussion?

[0:58] » Discussion.

[0:59] Roll call, please.

[1:01] » Barry,

[1:02] » Yes.

[1:02] » Steve,

[1:03] » Yes.

[1:04] » Corey,

[1:04] » Yes.

[1:05] » Bo,

[1:06] » Yes.

[1:06] » Chris,

[1:06] » Yes. Motion carried.

[1:10] Item D is the public comment section. Uh

[1:13] if there's anything that's not on the

[1:15] agenda currently and there's somebody

[1:17] from the public that wishes to address

[1:18] the board, now is the time.

[1:25] Seeing none,

[1:27] we will move on. Uh item E, planning and

[1:30] zoning.

[1:35] » Good morning. Michelle Hogan with county

[1:37] planning.

[1:39] The first item that we have today is

[1:42] LU-000057-26

[1:45] which is Hannah Emmens and Von Cornell

[1:48] on behalf of Herbert Cornell who are

[1:50] requesting a variance for her proposed

[1:52] 1.21 acre lot to remain in the

[1:55] agricultural zoning district. This is

[1:58] located in the north half of the

[1:59] southwest less the state highway and

[2:01] previously deeded parts of section one

[2:04] township 155 north range 101 west being

[2:06] Missouri rich township and they have

[2:08] recommended approval on this project.

[2:11] The applicants are requesting a minor

[2:13] subdivision which will create two lots.

[2:16] The parent parcel is approximately

[2:18] 140.87 87 acres and within the

[2:20] agricultural zoning district while only

[2:23] 68.12 acres are going to be platted. The

[2:27] newly created lots will be approximately

[2:29] 1.21 acres and 66.90

[2:32] acres.

[2:34] The larger lot will remain in that

[2:36] agricultural zoning district as it meets

[2:39] the minimum required acreage. The

[2:42] applicants are seeking the variance for

[2:44] the 1.21 21 acre lot to also remain in

[2:46] the agricultural zoning district

[2:49] and from the required 175 foot minimum

[2:54] lot width. The purpose of this minor

[2:56] subdivision is to create a smaller

[2:58] standalone parcel for Herbert and

[3:00] Marlene's granddaughter Hannah to have a

[3:02] single family residence like they had

[3:03] done for their grandson. Access to the

[3:06] subject property is off of US Highway

[3:08] 85. When planning and zoning heard this

[3:11] item, they did recommend approval on

[3:13] this.

[3:14] » Okay. Is the applicant present?

[3:18] Do you have anything you'd like to add?

[3:20] » Okay.

[3:22] All right. We will turn it to the board.

[3:24] What are the wishes?

[3:30] » Make a motion to approve following staff

[3:32] comments.

[3:34] Is there a second?

[3:35] » Second.

[3:36] » Moved and seconded. Any discussion?

[3:41] Discussion.

[3:45] Roll call, please.

[3:48] » Steve,

[3:49] » Yes.

[3:49] » Chris,

[3:50] » Yes.

[3:52] » Corey,

[3:53] » Yes.

[3:54] » Bo,

[3:56] » Yes.

[3:57] » Barry,

[3:58] » Yes. Motion carried very randomly. Thank

[4:01] you, Beth.

[4:04] The second item we have today is

[4:06] LU-000058-26

[4:10] Leon Brachie on behalf of Derek and Sadi

[4:12] Offer and Lynen Mcnesen. They're

[4:14] requesting a variance for a proposed

[4:16] 13.11 acre lot to remain in that

[4:18] agricultural zoning district.

[4:21] The location of this is in the

[4:23] northeast, the east half of the

[4:25] northwest. Government lot one, which is

[4:27] northwest northwest and government lot

[4:29] two being the southwest northwest. All

[4:32] within section 31, township 159 north,

[4:35] range 99 west, which is Rock Island

[4:38] Township, and they have recommended

[4:40] approval on this item. The applicant is

[4:43] requesting a minor subdivision, which

[4:44] will create two lots. The parent parcels

[4:47] contain approximately 301.24 24 acres

[4:50] and are within that agricultural zoning

[4:52] district. The larger lot will be 288.13

[4:57] acres and will will remain in the

[4:59] agricultural zoning district.

[5:02] The smaller lot will be approximately

[5:04] 13.11 acres. The applicants are

[5:07] requesting a variance for the smaller

[5:08] lot to also remain in that agricultural

[5:10] zoning district and to allow the

[5:12] irregularly shaped lot configuration

[5:15] necessary to accommodate access to the

[5:17] property. The requested variance would

[5:20] also allow the access area to be

[5:22] incorporated into the lot. The purpose

[5:25] of this minor subdivision is to separate

[5:27] the farmyard and access road to it from

[5:30] the crop and pasture land. Access to the

[5:33] subject property is taken from an

[5:35] unnamed private access road off of 78th

[5:38] Street Northwest. And on August 20th,

[5:42] when planning and zoning heard this

[5:43] item, they did recommend approval 6 to

[5:45] zero.

[5:48] Okay. Is the applicant present? Do you

[5:50] have anything to add? No.

[5:54] Uh, what are the wishes?

[5:56] » I was just curious. Sorry, Chris. Uh, is

[5:59] that how we typically handle the roads

[6:01] like that? It seems like this is

[6:04] different.

[6:05] » Not typically. Um, with this particular

[6:08] one, they we suggested that they could

[6:10] do an easement, but they just felt like

[6:13] they would rather have the road part of

[6:15] the lot.

[6:17] » Okay. Thank you.

[6:21] Okay. Any other questions?

[6:25] » Okay. What are the wishes?

[6:29] I make a motion to approve following uh

[6:32] planning and zoning recommendations.

[6:34] » Is there a second?

[6:37] Second.

[6:39] » Moved and seconded. Any discussion?

[6:43] Discussion.

[6:45] » Roll call, please.

[6:46] » Corey,

[6:47] » Yes.

[6:48] » Bo,

[6:49] » Yes.

[6:49] » Chris,

[6:50] » Yes.

[6:50] » Barry,

[6:51] » Yes.

[6:52] » Steve,

[6:52] » Yes.

[6:53] » Motion carried.

[6:55] » The final item I have today is

[6:57] LU-0062-26.

[7:01] Clark Hatch on behalf of the Cork Trust

[7:03] is requesting a zone change to the rural

[7:05] commercial zoning district.

[7:08] This is the south south half of the

[7:11] northeast of section 8 township 156

[7:14] north range 99 west which is Marshall

[7:16] Township. The township has recommended

[7:18] denial on this project. The applicant is

[7:22] requesting a zone change to the rural

[7:23] commercial zoning district for the

[7:25] subject property. property is currently

[7:27] within the agricultural zoning district

[7:29] and consists of approximately 87 acres.

[7:32] Purpose of this zone change is to allow

[7:35] the owner to lease out the subject

[7:37] property to a company who will utilize

[7:39] it as a commercial parking lot to park

[7:41] their vehicles on. Access to the subject

[7:44] property is off of 127th Avenue

[7:46] Northwest. When planning and zoning

[7:49] heard this item in August, they did

[7:51] recommend to deny the project.

[7:56] » Okay. Is the applicant present?

[8:01] » All right. Is there any other anybody

[8:03] else that needs to address the board on

[8:04] this one?

[8:07] » Yes. If you do, if you're going to

[8:08] address, please come up, introduce

[8:09] yourself for the record, and uh

[8:14] » My name is Jeff Severson. from the uh

[8:18] landowner directly to the west of this

[8:20] property. Um I guess I'm opposed to this

[8:24] zone change on the fact of definitely

[8:28] spot zoning. It's out in the middle of

[8:29] nowhere. No infrastructure for

[8:32] commercial.

[8:34] None of the roads have been up to county

[8:37] specs.

[8:39] I don't know. It's just uh

[8:42] kind of like I said, out in the middle

[8:43] of nowhere.

[8:45] Uh, I guess any questions for me?

[8:50] » No. Thank you.

[8:58] » Good morning. My name is Kimberly Erdman

[9:00] and I am a land owner to the south of

[9:02] this. It's on 127th Avenue and I oppose

[9:06] this uh procedure. Number one, um this

[9:10] proposal contains a non-conforming use

[9:13] that harms the community's integrity. If

[9:16] you look at the infrastructure on

[9:17] highway 2 itself, there is no turning

[9:20] lanes to go across the median median,

[9:23] sorry. Which means that the truck would

[9:26] have to come to a complete stop,

[9:28] blocking swinging their trailer out into

[9:31] traffic, blocking traffic and propose

[9:34] proposed um harm to other vehicles,

[9:38] stopping traffic, and even the

[9:39] possibility of somebody passing away.

[9:43] the approach and the road itself is not

[9:46] designed to to handle truck traffic.

[9:49] The the township nor the county maintain

[9:52] it. So my question that I have is is if

[9:56] this is not proposed in their paperwork,

[10:00] who is the one that's going to maintain

[10:02] this?

[10:05] Also, my environmental concerns, as

[10:07] we're all well aware in Williams County

[10:09] that when commercial land is developed,

[10:12] spills happen that go unreported. And

[10:16] depending on how big the spill is, of

[10:18] course, it could go into the waterway,

[10:21] which could harm not only the local pets

[10:25] that we have, cows, chickens, dogs,

[10:28] cats, we got quite the arrangement out

[10:31] there, but even wildlife. So on the

[10:34] behalf of

[10:37] the neighbors, farmers and ranchers, um

[10:39] I do hope that you deny this. Thank you.

[10:43] » Thank you.

[10:50] » My name is Heather Brewer and my husband

[10:52] and I own the parcel to the southwest

[10:55] corner of this. Um, and we are opposed

[10:58] to this because we just spent $800,000

[11:02] to construct a home yesterday on that

[11:05] parcel and we have six kids. Um, the

[11:08] access road is not maintained at all.

[11:10] Myself, our neighbors, neighbors to the

[11:12] west. We all all of us have maintained

[11:15] that road for the last couple of years.

[11:16] We just got raw water this year. I think

[11:19] that having 87 acres for a truck lot is

[11:21] a little bit excessive and I think it's

[11:23] going to create a higher fire hazard

[11:25] right there. We've had a lot of fires in

[11:27] the area. Um the access road that is in

[11:31] their proposal is actually my driveway.

[11:34] So I'm an access road, section line,

[11:36] whatever you want to call it. It's um

[11:38] it's not actually maintained by anybody

[11:40] but myself and my husband.

[11:42] We have six children and I don't think

[11:44] that having a commercial truck lot just

[11:47] to the north of our brand new home is

[11:49] reasonable. We moved out there for a

[11:51] reason and that was to get away from all

[11:53] of uh the oil field traffic and I don't

[11:57] think that having 87 acres for a truck

[12:00] lot in the middle of nowhere is

[12:01] reasonable and I think the county should

[12:03] deny it.

[12:05] » Anything you want to add?

[12:06] » No. Um [clears throat]

[12:10] we bought the property to get away from

[12:12] out out of or in town and to enjoy some

[12:15] peace of quiet and now

[12:20] Now that they proposed this truck lot, I

[12:23] mean it we probably would have thought

[12:25] differently if this were to be approved,

[12:28] but um yeah, really want to uh this to

[12:32] be denied.

[12:33] » Okay. What What's your name so we don't

[12:35] have to write down husband?

[12:36] » David Larson. David. Thank you.

[12:38] » Thank you.

[12:40] » Thank you.

[12:42] » I know. I could see the look on your

[12:44] face. So we got a name now. Anyone else

[12:47] wish to address the board?

[12:51] Anyone else?

[12:54] Okay, hearing nobody else. What uh what

[12:57] are the wishes, gentlemen?

[13:00] » Make a motion to deny following planning

[13:02] and zoning recommendation.

[13:05] » Okay. Is there a second?

[13:06] » Second.

[13:07] » Moved and seconded. Any discussion?

[13:12] » Discussion. Roll call, please. B. Yes,

[13:16] » Chris.

[13:17] » Yes,

[13:17] » Barry.

[13:18] » Yes,

[13:19] » Steve.

[13:19] » Yes,

[13:20] » Corey.

[13:21] » Yes. Motion carried.

[13:23] » Thank you. That's it for planning and

[13:25] zoning. That was easy, Michelle.

[13:29] » Okay, department heads. Lindsay, you got

[13:31] a whole list of stuff.

[13:42] All right. Good morning,

[13:46] Okay.

[13:51] Hallelujah.

[13:54] Okay. We're going to start with rural

[13:56] community grant program recommendations.

[13:58] So, as a reminder, the rural community

[14:01] grant program is the extension of the 1%

[14:05] sales tax to uh communities with less

[14:08] than 5,000 people with the dedication to

[14:10] community gathering and recreational

[14:12] spaces. There were two review cycles

[14:14] here this year. Uh there's funds that

[14:16] are allocated for 2026 and 2027. Only

[14:19] public entities could apply for the

[14:21] 2026.

[14:23] The finance committee serves as the

[14:24] review committee. So this month or in

[14:28] August, I don't know what this month is

[14:30] right now. um September allegedly. Uh

[14:33] they reviewed um two applications, one

[14:35] from the Granora Park Board and one from

[14:37] the city of Tyogga um for the remainder

[14:40] essentially of the 2026 funds. Uh the

[14:43] city of Granora is looking to install a

[14:45] underground sprinkler system at Sunset

[14:47] Park, which now serves T-ball, but also

[14:49] is their park um as a way to cut down on

[14:52] on manual watering and improve that

[14:54] space. And the city of Tyogga is looking

[14:56] to construct a new soccer field um for

[14:59] utilization by the community and sports

[15:01] teams.

[15:02] So the maximum amount that can be

[15:04] utilized for a project this year is a h

[15:06] 100,000. Uh so between the city of GRO's

[15:09] request for about 90 and the city of

[15:11] Tyogga for 100. Um the finance committee

[15:14] did recommend awarding both of those if

[15:16] they're approved, you'd have about

[15:18] $2,200 left for projects this year. Uh

[15:21] but there's no review cycle left for

[15:22] this year. We're we're now looking at

[15:24] 2027. So then with this the

[15:26] recommendation then also just to move

[15:28] those remaining $2,200 to to 2027.

[15:36] » Uh when we reviewed these uh in finance,

[15:39] I mean they they are exactly what we're

[15:42] looking for as far as projects. So um

[15:45] that was where the recommendation came

[15:46] from from the finance committee.

[15:57] I'd make a motion to approve the

[15:59] recommendations as presented and

[16:00] authorize the chairman to sign the grant

[16:02] agreements once finalized with legal and

[16:05] roll the remaining 2026 grant funds into

[16:07] 2027.

[16:08] » I'll second that.

[16:10] Did somebody write that for you? That's

[16:12] impressive. I like it. I like it.

[16:16] » We have a You rattled off the top of

[16:17] your head, right? We have a motion in a

[16:19] second. Is there uh any discussion?

[16:24] » No discussion. Roll call, please.

[16:28] » Chris,

[16:28] » Yes.

[16:30] » Barry,

[16:31] » Yes.

[16:31] » Steve,

[16:32] » Yes.

[16:32] » Corey,

[16:33] » Yes.

[16:34] » Bo,

[16:35] » Yes. Motion carried.

[16:38] » Okay.

[16:40] All right.

[16:42] So now I have a variety of items related

[16:46] to theratom committee that was appointed

[16:49] uh here a few weeks ago. Uh so since the

[16:52] commission appointed it, the committee

[16:54] has met twice on August 17th and August

[16:56] 24th and the focus being on providing

[16:59] recommendations to the commission to

[17:01] then provide to the legislature. Uh the

[17:03] legislature does convene today for

[17:06] hearings. Um there is a special ad hoc

[17:08] policy committee that will hear the

[17:10] creatum related bills this afternoon,

[17:12] other bills this morning. Uh and then

[17:14] the special session will officially

[17:16] start tomorrow. Um so this week will be

[17:18] a big week for what the state decides to

[17:20] to codify and and what they make their

[17:22] decisions on. Um the recommendations are

[17:26] kind of split into two different chunks

[17:28] um coming from the committee. One um

[17:30] first is for local action. So, we it was

[17:34] recognized through our our county

[17:35] departments that already exist through

[17:37] the NDSU extension and the sheriff's

[17:39] office, plus our partnership with the

[17:40] upper Missouri district health unit um

[17:42] that they do have efforts that go on

[17:45] that support awareness and just to

[17:47] continue to support those and expand

[17:49] those um as well as with our local

[17:51] behavioral health providers. And then

[17:54] there was a a piece about making

[17:56] additional funding locally available for

[17:58] increasing those awareness and

[18:00] prevention efforts.

[18:02] And the second page in your credum

[18:05] packet kind of breaks down that funding

[18:07] recommendation. Um it was talked at a

[18:10] high level from the committee and then

[18:12] in in working with Commissioner Anderson

[18:14] who serves as the chair of that

[18:15] committee a little bit more. um an

[18:18] initial amount of $50,000 was suggested

[18:21] and then in again working with

[18:23] Commissioner Anderson to break that down

[18:25] to allocating 30,000 towards um what we

[18:30] would call our internal departments or

[18:32] partnerships. So again, focus on

[18:34] delivering credible information um from

[18:37] credible sources because this can be a

[18:39] very uh minute topic um and allocating

[18:43] then that again towards the extension

[18:44] the sheriff's office and the the health

[18:46] unit and then uh because the Williams

[18:49] County behavioral health program uh

[18:50] which licensed providers can apply for

[18:52] that's currently open through September

[18:54] 18th um and then putting 20,000 towards

[18:57] that program specific for creatum

[18:59] related programming uh programming for

[19:01] mental health awareness behavior health

[19:03] awareness uh substance abuse is already

[19:05] part of that program. So this would just

[19:07] specifically allocate dollars towards

[19:08] that.

[19:10] So that's the local action piece. And

[19:13] then the second piece is towards the

[19:15] legis the legislative actions uh with

[19:18] the two bills that are out right now

[19:19] which is house bill 1628 which focuses

[19:22] on age limits um and regulating pureum

[19:25] versus synthetic and then senate bill

[19:28] 2408 uh which focuses on scheduling the

[19:31] synthetics as a controlled substance

[19:34] and in general um the committee did

[19:37] recognize that while a total ban is

[19:39] ideal it might just not actually be

[19:40] practical because the focus should be

[19:42] onfor enforcable and effective

[19:44] legislation and regulations. Um and then

[19:47] with additional focus on increased

[19:49] consequences for retailers as opposed to

[19:52] users and decrease access overall

[19:54] toratom and products. Uh it was also

[19:58] brought up especially from our public

[19:59] health perspective uh with

[20:03] kind of looking at catum more like

[20:05] marijuana as opposed to tobacco in which

[20:07] marijuana is regulated for medicinal

[20:09] versus recreational use. And if there is

[20:12] a true medicinal use for pureratom, then

[20:14] it should be allowed under the

[20:16] supervision of a physician um and and in

[20:19] their care. And overall then as well if

[20:22] the synthetic is going to be scheduled

[20:23] as a controlled substance um the age

[20:26] limits and other parts of that

[20:27] regulatory framework uh not co-mingling

[20:29] that with language related to tobacco

[20:31] and instead with other similar

[20:33] substances such as marijuana. So that

[20:36] information is then provided synthesized

[20:38] for you in the recommendations. The

[20:40] funding recommendation is separate and

[20:42] then should you so wish to issue then

[20:44] those recommendations to the legislature

[20:46] a draft of a letter is provided as well.

[20:52] » Okay. I guess I would just like to thank

[20:53] the the committee and commissioner

[20:55] Anderson for the time and effort to to

[20:57] go through and get all these things put

[20:59] together for us. It's uh I'm sure it was

[21:01] a lot of work and Lindsay, thank you for

[21:04] uh being part of it since I volunteered

[21:06] you without you knowing it was

[21:08] happening. So Bo Bo Bo Bo Bo Bo Bo Bo Bo

[21:10] Bo Bo Bo Bo Bo Bo Bo Bo Bo Bo Bo Bo Bo

[21:10] Bo Bo Bo Bo Bo Bo at least did it on his

[21:11] own. You kind of got stuck.

[21:14] » Well, he says a lot of work. I guarantee

[21:16] 99.9% of it is Lindsay because she took

[21:20] the ramblings of the committee and

[21:22] brought it all together here. But the

[21:24] moral of the story is the the committee

[21:28] wants to have some sort of action now

[21:30] that we can do and it's in education and

[21:32] the the folks in the room um from the um

[21:37] healthc care community basically said

[21:39] absolutely we can continue to provide

[21:42] education but uh additional funds would

[21:46] be useful to for them. Um but we also

[21:50] have I mean sheriff's office all these

[21:52] departments within the county that offer

[21:55] educational opportunities and I that

[21:57] within our own organization I think we

[22:00] can do a pretty good job of um

[22:02] bolstering this education. So um thank

[22:06] you Lindsay for putting all this

[22:07] together. This letter I think is very

[22:09] well written and um it should should

[22:13] hopefully affect the legislature in a

[22:15] good way. So, thank you.

[22:19] » One thing I was just curious about,

[22:21] we're a significant employer as Williams

[22:23] County. Could we include some

[22:24] educational material for our own staff

[22:26] in the form of a simple email? I mean,

[22:28] just some educational material. Uh, that

[22:31] seems like an easy thing we could do

[22:33] through HR and distribute information to

[22:36] make staff aware of the issue. I

[22:38] certainly didn't know about it until it

[22:41] became an issue.

[22:42] You know, one thing that one of the

[22:45] folks in the room brought up and she

[22:47] deals specifically with DOT violations.

[22:50] There was a person that came into her

[22:53] office that had a DOT violation because

[22:56] of substance of some kind and she put on

[22:59] the document that

[23:02] was part of the issue, you know, would

[23:04] have to be dealt with. the federal DOT

[23:08] person told her you have to remove that

[23:11] off there because there is no federal

[23:14] guidelines withratom use and all this

[23:16] stuff so you have to take it off. So

[23:18] basically it makes their violation go

[23:21] away because there there's nothing that

[23:24] says that using

[23:26] bad according to the federal government.

[23:29] So the fact that there are drivers out

[23:32] there on the road that are under the

[23:35] influence of is is uh is concerning. So

[23:41] » And I I will add on that note um the if

[23:46] you remember back to the DEA scheduling

[23:48] the earliest that they could have

[23:49] scheduled it would have been August 5th

[23:50] and that was based on their 30-day

[23:52] timeline for the notice of intent. um

[23:54] they didn't schedule it August the 5th

[23:56] and really it wasn't expected to be that

[23:57] day because that was just the first it

[23:59] could have been but it was scheduled

[24:00] last week so that DEA emergency

[24:02] scheduling did get completed um their

[24:05] press release was Tuesday and the

[24:06] Federal Register came out Wednesday so

[24:08] it's like they knew North Dakota was

[24:11] going into special session um so at

[24:14] least those pieces are kind of falling

[24:15] apart because a lot of times you can't

[24:16] do anything locally unless the state

[24:17] does the state can't unless the federal

[24:19] government does. So it's at least moving

[24:21] along. The other thing the committee

[24:23] talked about is the whatifs like what if

[24:25] the legislature didn't do anything. So

[24:29] as a group we also discussed that

[24:32] whatever recommendation the committee

[24:35] were to for it if something didn't come

[24:37] out of legislature has to be enforceable

[24:41] but it has to has to be lock step with

[24:44] law enforcement to make sure that it's

[24:47] it works. But not only that, it's going

[24:49] to be a collaboration with every

[24:51] community in the in the county so that

[24:54] we can come up with something

[24:55] comprehensive that fits the whole county

[25:00] that actually that will work. I mean, I

[25:02] say I say it will work to the best of

[25:04] our ability, but it will involve every

[25:07] community so that we can get on the same

[25:09] page.

[25:14] » Okay. So, what we're looking for is a

[25:16] motion to uh approve the the funding

[25:19] recommendation and also to approve the

[25:23] creative committee recommendations and

[25:26] put the letter together and authorize

[25:27] the chairman to sign. Is that what we're

[25:29] doing?

[25:29] » That yes.

[25:30] » Does that sound right?

[25:31] » That sounds right. I didn't make that.

[25:33] » Everybody catch that?

[25:34] » I would make that motion.

[25:36] » I'll second the motion.

[25:38] » Okay. Beth, did you get the motion? All

[25:41] right.

[25:43] go in order but I got it.

[25:44] » All right. As long as you got it. Is

[25:46] there any discussion

[25:49] » Discussion

[25:50] » On the healthcare side of things? Just

[25:51] for the record, I've seen uh people

[25:54] withdrawing from in our ER. It is a

[25:57] heart-wrenching site.

[26:02] » Okay. Uh roll call. Beth,

[26:07] » Yes.

[26:08] » Steve,

[26:09] » Yes.

[26:09] » Corey,

[26:10] » Yes.

[26:11] » Bo,

[26:11] » Yes. Chris.

[26:13] » Yes. Motion carried.

[26:15] » Okay. Thank you. All right. And the last

[26:19] item is uh Senator Ingot. Uh so Senator

[26:24] Mark Ingot represents district 2, which

[26:26] encompasses a couple of counties and

[26:28] actually most of the rural parts of

[26:29] Williams County. uh and he is organizing

[26:32] a data center information session for

[26:35] September 14th uh from 10 am to 2 pm uh

[26:40] for the public to be able to attend uh

[26:42] and interact with um different subject

[26:45] matter experts uh there's some folks

[26:47] that are coming from the state some

[26:48] folks that are coming from the electric

[26:50] uh companies and cooperatives uh from

[26:53] their planning coun uh one of the

[26:55] planning council representatives and

[26:57] then they're also inviting commissioners

[26:58] and planning and zoning board

[27:00] representatives. Um

[27:02] I have been piecing some information

[27:04] together here. Uh but once I had shared

[27:07] some of this, it seemed that there was

[27:08] quite a bit of interest from more than

[27:11] one commissioner attending. Uh so

[27:13] putting this before the board for your

[27:15] discussion and then um who you would

[27:18] like to have attend.

[27:22] » I guess uh my first question for Karen,

[27:25] how do we go about if we're going to say

[27:26] we want everybody to be able to attend?

[27:29] What do we have to do?

[27:32] » And so into it is it so originally I had

[27:35] thought it was only 10 to noon. It is 10

[27:37] to 2. So it's four hours and it's an

[27:39] openhouse comeand go format.

[27:44] » I guess and my reasoning while you're

[27:45] thinking um my reasoning behind it is I

[27:48] I think there's going to be some good

[27:50] information there if they're bringing in

[27:51] other people. not necessarily us as

[27:55] information because I'm I'm trying to

[27:57] learn as much as I can while we're doing

[27:59] this, but if I I mean, they did list on

[28:02] there that Bo was going to be a speaker,

[28:03] which I don't believe he's going to be.

[28:06] » Well, and uh just and Mark is the one

[28:10] that called me on this quite a while

[28:11] ago. So, he and of course I'm like,

[28:13] well, yeah, I'll put it on my calendar.

[28:16] He's like, you're the only one that

[28:18] hasn't said yes, I'm coming. So, I'm

[28:20] like, okay, yeah, I'll be there.

[28:22] Um, also since my uncle passed away and

[28:26] I will be in New Mexico, so I will be on

[28:29] my way home that day. So I won't be able

[28:30] to go.

[28:31] » Okay.

[28:31] » So I will have to let Mr. Ingot know

[28:33] that. But you know when Lindsay brought

[28:36] up that the flyer says that the whole

[28:38] commission I is coming. I in no way,

[28:40] shape or form said absolutely the whole

[28:42] commission will show up. But

[28:45] I'm I guess I have a couple concerns.

[28:48] one that it's going to be a, you know,

[28:50] like a lynch mob. But, you know, to the

[28:54] public, I want people to know that I

[28:57] probably know just about as little about

[28:59] some of these data centers as a lot of

[29:02] people do. So, it's it's going to be a

[29:04] learning curve for all of us. The good

[29:05] news is that, you know, planning and

[29:08] zoning work very hard to get our

[29:11] ordinance updated and so that we have a

[29:14] a better framework and a policy to get

[29:18] through. I think that what people are

[29:20] confused about though is that there's

[29:23] city limits and then there's county. So

[29:27] I on on the Facebook world, we all get

[29:29] lumped together as one big huge group of

[29:32] idiots. So, um

[29:36] I think I it's going to be a good

[29:38] meeting. I wish I could be there. I'm

[29:39] sorry that sorry that I can't attend.

[29:42] » Well, and I think that's that's my

[29:44] reasoning. Uh because it's going to be a

[29:46] good learning experience and and if and

[29:49] not saying and I guess I'm not

[29:50] volunteering everybody. Nobody has to

[29:52] say yes, but I I know there at one point

[29:54] there was a couple that had decided they

[29:56] were going Barry being one of them. Um I

[29:59] personally if I can make it work I would

[30:01] like to be able to be there and I don't

[30:04] know about Commissioner Kemp or

[30:06] Commissioner

[30:07] » If I can make it work I'd like to be

[30:08] there as well.

[30:08] » So I I think that brings us to the

[30:10] question with you. What do we got to do?

[30:14] » Well under state law there are certain

[30:15] instances where the board can go to

[30:17] meetings and things like that that don't

[30:18] trigger public notice requirements. But

[30:21] I'd have to really dig into the century

[30:22] code to see if a legislative session is

[30:24] one of those things. And so once I find

[30:25] that out, I can ask I can talk to

[30:27] Lindsay or coordinate with Lindsay and

[30:29] if there's like public notices that are

[30:31] required, whatever, then she can handle

[30:32] that. Then

[30:33] » That sounds like a great idea. Then you

[30:35] guys just deal with it and do what we

[30:36] got to do.

[30:37] » Okay.

[30:39] » Um so, uh would we do we need a motion

[30:43] then to to do that and direct them to go

[30:46] ahead and and move with this or do we

[30:48] just do it?

[30:49] » I think we just do it.

[30:51] » Perfect. There's nothing I love more

[30:53] than Karen saying, "Just do it."

[30:56] » I'm gonna walk away now.

[30:58] » Thanks.

[30:58] » Thank you, Lindsay. Appreciate it. And

[31:00] we got Karen to say just go. I love it.

[31:05] [laughter]

[31:07] » All right, Helen, you're up.

[31:16] Good morning.

[31:18] you'll see that we have no positions to

[31:21] seek permission to fill and we don't

[31:23] have any board appointments. So, this is

[31:25] just an FYI report for you. The the one

[31:30] thing that I would give you an update on

[31:32] today is that we are working out at the

[31:35] fairgrounds right now and when I say we,

[31:38] I really mean County Highway and Company

[31:40] are out there. Uh we they have

[31:43] undertaken a clean out on the north end

[31:46] of the site and so for maybe all of the

[31:50] 70 years of the fairgrounds things have

[31:52] been put on the north side and the weeds

[31:55] have grown up. So there's been an effort

[31:57] to knock down those weeds and then pull

[31:59] out the scrap. I understand the metal's

[32:02] gone to metal recycling. Wood where it's

[32:06] um good firewood is actually being

[32:08] reused for the parks to resell for

[32:12] camping and then the rest of course is

[32:14] going to the dump. So it's been

[32:18] I think nearly a full week. I was out

[32:20] there at the end of last week and they

[32:22] were working pretty hard filling up dump

[32:24] trucks. I think there's been

[32:28] a lot of dump truck loads taken out. So,

[32:31] thanks to those guys for that. The other

[32:33] thing that's happening is that we are

[32:35] working closely with the fair

[32:37] association and proceeding with the

[32:39] demolition of a couple of buildings out

[32:41] there. As uh we have previously

[32:44] reported, there was some kind of a wind

[32:48] shear episode out there in June in which

[32:50] we lost a number a lot of roof material

[32:54] for a couple of the oldest buildings and

[32:57] they're used primarily just during the

[32:59] fair. And so in conversation with the

[33:01] fair association, what were we going to

[33:03] do as a fix, the determination was uh we

[33:07] can we can do something with some

[33:08] temporary storage and some temporary

[33:10] trailers during the fair and to store

[33:13] their material in between. And so those

[33:15] buildings are coming down as well.

[33:19] So, baby steps and of course when when

[33:22] we had the folks in town chip sealing

[33:25] the highways, they also chip sealed all

[33:28] of the the applicable hard surface out

[33:30] there as well. So,

[33:33] » And we had a meeting with Icon and the

[33:37] gentleman from Preffort who was

[33:39] livestock handling facility which I

[33:41] thought he was fantastic but it's it was

[33:44] interesting that the majority of the

[33:46] icon guys were looking to the prefort

[33:49] guy for advice on what would this

[33:52] building look like? What should we do

[33:54] here? Where would this go? I mean that

[33:56] it was kind of interesting, but uh in

[33:58] the discussion it sounds like County

[34:00] Highway is going to do a whole bunch of

[34:02] grading of parking lots and moving dirt

[34:04] and so I I mean that it's good to have

[34:08] everybody on board and kind of getting

[34:10] on the same page. But um I mean as a

[34:14] farmer I collect junk and like to clean

[34:17] up and I I can see how the fairgrounds

[34:20] in certain areas got the way it was you

[34:21] know in that back but their county

[34:24] highways cleaning all that up and it's

[34:26] it's going to take time but I think it's

[34:28] really even just basic improvements like

[34:30] that is going to be huge. So it's nice

[34:33] but uh the discussion with Icon and the

[34:36] preer gentleman was I think was good. I

[34:39] think Helen kept giving me the the skunk

[34:42] eye occasionally because I kept telling

[34:44] him

[34:45] » I was never

[34:46] » Tip tip over the tip over the apple

[34:48] cart. Whatever whatever they think it

[34:50] should look like. We just need to tip it

[34:53] over. See what what recommendations we

[34:56] get and then we go back to what what

[34:59] will the public tolerate? You know, what

[35:02] group what does this look like to all

[35:04] the groups out there? But it was a good

[35:05] conversation. Good starter. Oh, may be

[35:08] willing to dream more than I am

[35:11] sometimes, but that's good. That's why

[35:12] we all do this together. Yeah, the um

[35:16] county highway is also going to

[35:18] undertake or has started. There's a west

[35:22] area that I would call more of a swamp

[35:25] than a parking area. And so, uh, we

[35:28] they've they've done some design work to

[35:31] be able to change, uh, sort of change

[35:34] elevations, get some drainage happening

[35:36] this year during that the big rain event

[35:39] during the fair. You could really see

[35:41] where all the water goes and either

[35:43] we've got people parking there or they

[35:45] can't park there because now it's really

[35:47] wet. So, that's the other thing that

[35:49] they're working on this fall. Uh,

[35:51] Preffort is a nationwide leader in the

[35:55] metal panels and all of the livestock

[35:58] handling stuff. Look, people who know

[36:00] know. And so, uh, this gentleman

[36:04] happened to be in the area doing work

[36:06] with ICON. And so, it was just a nice

[36:08] opportunity for us to have somebody who

[36:11] specializes in that kind of, um, animal

[36:14] handling, thought processing to to be

[36:18] out there. I I think all of the

[36:21] architects who have talked to me and

[36:22] have said we'd kind of like to be

[36:24] involved in this project have mentioned

[36:26] that they have contacts with Preffort

[36:28] and Preffort could be involved and so

[36:30] when I heard he was coming it just felt

[36:32] like a good opportunity to to meet him

[36:34] in person. and I think he's sort of the

[36:36] regional guy

[36:38] » And also has extensive knowledge of

[36:42] facilities that are going to be used for

[36:43] livestock that change immediately into

[36:48] some other venue like a concert

[36:50] basketball arena that type stuff. So

[36:52] preferred does all the like a national

[36:55] finals rodeo if you watch that all the

[36:58] interior stock handling for that and

[37:00] exterior is all preferred and guarantee

[37:03] that Glenn was probably part of that

[37:05] project. So it was it was a good visit.

[37:10] » Again I anticipate end of the year or

[37:13] probably early next year because here we

[37:14] are in September already. We'll go

[37:16] through a process to uh allow architects

[37:19] to put their names in and we'll choose

[37:22] someone who will be our our support

[37:24] through the design process. But for now,

[37:27] we're as it as it becomes possible,

[37:29] we're getting a little more information,

[37:31] educating ourselves a little bit, I

[37:33] guess, if nothing else.

[37:35] » Mr. Mr. Chairman, just one quick

[37:37] question and I

[37:40] my concern has always been around the

[37:42] racetrack and since there's no appetite

[37:44] to move it whatsoever, would there be an

[37:47] opportunity to at least engage a company

[37:50] like the one that put up the walls for

[37:52] the data center just to do a noise study

[37:54] to see if there is some remediation that

[37:56] we could do as a part of this overall

[37:58] master plan? I mean, it I don't I can't

[38:01] imagine a study would cost a tremendous

[38:03] amount of money, but at least we'd have

[38:04] an idea of what it would take to to help

[38:09] » That.

[38:10] » Yeah, exactly. With the popping and the

[38:12] cracking.

[38:13] » Yeah. I mean, we have Yes.

[38:16] » Okay.

[38:16] » Well, we can do all sorts of studies and

[38:19] determinations. Yep.

[38:21] » I'll add it to the list.

[38:22] » Okay. Would it would it be worthwhile

[38:27] reaching out to McKenzie with their

[38:30] facility down there? What what they wish

[38:32] they would have done or or good god

[38:34] don't do that kind of a thing.

[38:36] » Yeah. Yep. I would say once we have our

[38:38] architect uh once we have a contract

[38:40] with an architect then there will be a

[38:42] whole bunch of that. Uh DSU Dickinson

[38:45] State has just built a new arena rodeo

[38:48] grounds. uh McKenzo County of course and

[38:51] so once we have somebody who's

[38:53] collecting information and putting it

[38:55] together and analyzing for us then we'll

[38:58] start to do some of those efforts so

[39:00] that we can again incorporate that into

[39:03] what we're doing long

[39:04] » Term for sure.

[39:05] » And part of that meeting was supposed to

[39:07] be a a trip to Watford City to tour

[39:11] their facility and talk to them about

[39:12] all that stuff but my harvest schedule

[39:14] kept us from doing that. So we're going

[39:16] to reschedu it. And I was pretty glad Bo

[39:20] couldn't do it because I think we're

[39:21] going to need to do it when we have

[39:25] educated, knowledgeable consultants

[39:27] anyway. So, it's okay for us to wait.

[39:32] » Okay. Any other questions for Helen?

[39:36] Is that all you got?

[39:37] » That is.

[39:38] » Thank you.

[39:39] » All right. Anybody got anything else for

[39:41] the good of the order?

[39:44] We are adjourned.

[39:46] 840.

Board of County Commissioners - Sep 01 2026

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