Improvements coming to the hospital
Tue, 01/28/2020 - 2:42pm
admin
By:
Karen Edelbach
Changes in staff positions at the Sheriff’s Office, weed control, watershed options, and a hospital grant were matters handled by the Clearwater County Commissioners when they met on Jan. 21
Sheriff Darin Halverson introduced Alexander Yocum, whom the Board approved to be promoted from part-time to full-time deputy, filling a vacancy in the office effective Feb. 1.
Deputy Yocum comes from the LaCrosse, Wis., area. He did an internship here back in 2015. He started working part-time in the jail in September 2019 and then began working as a part-time deputy in December.
Brandon Goodwin is replacing the school resource officer position at the Bagley Schools. He was a patrol deputy and that is the position that Alexander will be replacing.
The Commissioners authorized the Sheriff to assign Larry Olson to the Investigator position and to reassign former Investigator Chris Benson to Patrol Deputy, both effective Jan. 21.
Five Panasonic laptop computers will be purchased and installed in patrol cars at a cost of $18,685. The cost for these will come out of the Sheriff’s gun permit and seized vehicle accounts.
Hospital grant: Stephanie McKnight, Nursing Manager for Sanford Bagley Hospital, received Board approval to again apply for the Minnesota Department of Health Capital Improvement Grant available to hospitals with fewer than 50 beds. The grant is a total of $167,000 with a $42,000 match of funds. This year the focus is for updating bathrooms and a handicapped shower in the patient care area of the hospital.
“Most of our bathrooms are original to the hospital and do not meet current accessibility standards,” she stated in a letter.
In the past the funds were used for the ambulance garage, heating and air-conditioning. Currently a remodeling is going on to bring the physical therapy department to the hospital.
Construction is scheduled to be done on Feb. 10, and the first day of physical therapy at the hospital is Feb. 17. “The staff are excited!” she said. She would like to schedule a tour of the finished facility for the commissioners. A community open house is scheduled the first week in March.
Chester Powell, program technician for Soil & Water Conservation District said the water plan that has been used for the past 10 years is expiring on May 26, and won’t be renewed.
A resolution to extend the Clearwater County Local Water Management Plan five years with no changes was approved by the Board.
“The new ones will be ‘One Watershed, One Plans’ for the three major watersheds in Clearwater County and in time will replace the current plan,” he stated. The three main watersheds in Clearwater County are the Mississippi, Wild Rice, and Clearwater.
What has to be decided by the county is whether or not to have a joint powers entity or a memorandum of agreement, in order to implement the new plans, Powell noted.
When asked what he thought was best, Powell said, “There is more protection from liability with the joint powers entity over a memorandum of agreement. With that we would have the same staff.”
He stated that the county and/or the SWCD would be giving up their vote if the county opts out of the One Watershed One Plan, but it would not restrict funding.
Powell explained that if the county does not join the One Watershed One Plan Committee, then projects under consideration by the committee would be voted upon without representation from Clearwater County.
He stressed that the One Watershed One Plan concept does not create an extra layer of government, and the committee will not possess any taxing authority.
The county’s decision won’t affect funding of local projects or the SWCD, either.
Commissioners Neal Illies and Dean Newland said they are very cautious about the One Watershed One Plan. There is concern the county would lose its control over the watersheds. Also there is a feeling that the concerns in the Wild Rice Watershed area are considered insignificant.
According to the Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources, the One Watershed One Plan aims to bring together “local governments in developing prioritized, targeted and measurable implementation plans. Key principles are planning at the major watershed scale and aligning local plans with state strategies.”
Developing a plan, BWSR notes, “involves an advisory committee, and a policy committee…. A steering team may facilitate the process…. Local governments work together to leverage each other’s strengths to develop watershed-based plans.”
Environmental Services Director Dan Hecht conducted a discussion regarding the County Noxious Weed List, specifically Orange and Yellow Hawkweed. There has been consideration of adding these to the list for Clearwater County with a process allowing a county board to designate a specific plant to be regulated under the Minnesota Noxious Weed Law within that county, though such weed is not listed on the Minnesota Noxious Weed list.
“I have mixed feelings about taking such action, so I’ve written some pros and cons for you to think about,” Hecht stated in his discussion, and added, “I’m not in favor of having an aggressive weed control program. It takes too much time.”
Commissioner Mark Titera said, “I would rather see it taken care of if it is in a smaller area. Some have become a terrible problem.”
“If it's a big issue, and we can do something about it, we should fix it,” Commissioner Illies said. “Farmers work together.”
“There is a short time frame. Can we subsidize some of the farmers to get rid of what’s on their property?” he asked. He wanted to know if absentee landowners could be notified that the county would do it, with possible tax assessment for it.
“Yes, we can do that,” Hecht said.
Commissioner Newland said, “You need to have a work session regarding this subject; then a motion in the future.” It was decided to proceed in this direction.
He said some want to know what it takes to get something on the noxious weed list.
Some of the pros listed to get a noxious weed added to the list are that it is a simple process, and that Hawkweeds are highly invasive, and can therefore be considered noxious because they are economically injurious to crops.
Historically, there have been very few complaints and Hecht stated that weed complaints generate a lot of work during the peak season for all other activities Environmental Services is involved with. The county would need to commit more staff for effective control.
Library: Commissioner Titera said he recently visited the Library Link in Gonvick.
“It is a very tiny space. Most usage through the Lake Agassiz system is at Bagley and Gonvick,” he said. One reason for this is that Gonvick uses lots of e-books.
Highway Department Accountant Lyle Matthison received approval for the payment of Highway Department bills as presented in the amount of $12,908.
A motion authorizing the payment to Rock Creek General Store of Lake Itasca for a fuel bill was also approved.
County Auditor-Treasurer Allen Paulson was authorized to pay the submitted invoices of $187,416 for the County Revenue Fund and $33,997 for the Nursing Service Fund. A motion was approved for the 2020 Ditch Fund Budget; total for all purposes is $34,560.
The County Board Chairman was authorized to sign the 2019 Single Audit engagement letter with Hoffman, Phillips and Knutson. It is a three-year contract.
Four commissioners were present at the meeting: Neal Illies, Dean Newland, Mark Titera, and Mark Larson.