Commissioners approve unloading ramp at landfill
The Clearwater County Board of Commissioners met on September 8, 2015. It was noted that a guest was present, Tammy Hanse, who is a nursing student at BSU. She said as part of her class, she was to become involved in the community, so she decided to attend the Board meeting. She is a registered nurse, and resides in Bagley.
Environmental Services Director, Dan Hecht brought a proposal for the construction of an unloading ramp at the demolition landfill by Hanson Silo Company for pre-fab concrete panels, including delivery and installation in the amount of $6,840, plus site preparation in the amount up to $1,500 by a local contractor. These amounts would be paid from the Recycling account, and adjust the 2015 budget by that amount.
Since this work was budgeted for 2016, a discussion began as to why this is being done now. Commissioner John Nelson thought the department is spending too much money, and that this type of situation has come up before regarding budgeted items.
Mr. Hecht’s defense is that nothing is gained by putting it off, and that there is gain by doing it sooner. By postponing the project, they risk the potential cost would increase.
"I am trying to find ideas to make things more efficient," he said, "anything that saves labor and money."
Commissioner Arlen Syverson said he agreed that sometimes postponing a project costs more. Commissioner Neal Illies thought the expenditure should remain in the 2016 budget.
The motion for the project was made by Commissioner Dean Newland, and seconded by Commissioner Syverson; when the vote was called for there were three yes votes by Commissioners Newland, Syverson and Dan Stenseng. No votes were made by Commissioners Nelson and Neal Illies, and the motion passed. The reason given for their no votes was that since this expenditure was to be a part of the 2016 Budget, it could have been postponed until sometime later.
Commissioner Nelson emphasized that Director Dan Hecht is doing a good job in his duties.
County Ditch 2 Hearing was conducted by County Engineer Dan Sauvé.
"The purpose of the hearing is to document lost or nonexistent records and correct records to what the ditch system exists today," Mr. Sauvé said. The area being addressed is County Road 110 to the outlet at Shevlin Township Road into the Little Mississippi River. (See related article regarding this hearing.)
Other Highway Department business included a change in policy for payment to authorized trappers in control area of the County for evidence of removal of a beaver or muskrat (in the form of the tail). The incentive will be $40 for a beaver and $15 for a muskrat.
The Engineer was authorized to advertise for a heavy equipment operator in order to maintain a list for future needs.
A Certificate of Performance was accepted for County Edge Line rumble stripes on various roads in Clearwater, Polk, Red Lake, Pennington, and Roseau Counties, authorizing final payment for work done in the amount of $366,617. Federal Aid funds 90% of this project, with the County responsibility for the remaining 10%.
Board approval was extended to pay Highway Department bills in the amount of $27,334.
Sheriff Darin Halverson received authorization to purchase LETG jail management software in the amount of $14,698, and to be paid out of the software development account. Commissioner Nelson asked if everything will become pasperless, and the Sheriff responded that They have the capacity to do complaints now, and citations may be paperless by next year.
The Sheriff was given authorization to accept and sign the 2015 Emergency Management Performance Grant in the amount of $14,868, as part of the 2015 budget; and the 2015 Minnesota OHV/ATV grant for fiscal years 2016-2017 in the amount of $12,726.
Each County pays 10% local share of the work done in their County. Clearwater County local share is approximately $10,323.66, Pennington is $4,040.31, Polk is $10,912.50, Red Lake is $1,621.42, and Roseau is 11,049.51. This was based on the original contract amount and will be adjusted down some because the project underran. The local share is also eligible for State aid maintenance or construction funding.
County Veterans Service Officer received approval to enter into the annual subscription to Ancestry.com, Library Edition, for a period from September 1, 2015 to August 31, 2016, at the annual discounted rate of $2,050. The 2016 Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs Operational Improvement Grant approved this expenditure. Commissioners agreed to try this for one year.
County Auditor-Treasurer received authorization to pay the submitted invoices of $87,187 from the County Revenue Fund, and $36.543 from Nursing Service.
Commissioners present at the meeting were Daniel Stenseng, Dean Newland, John Nelso