VSO updates & County Attorney position restored to full time

On October 9, 2018, the Red Lake County Commissioners, John Lerohl, Chuck Simpson, Al Remick, Dave Sorensen and Ron Weiss met at the Red Lake County Courthouse for their bi-monthly meeting with all members present.

Chairperson Sorensen called the meeting to order and the pledge of allegiance was said. The agenda was approved with no additions or changes.

Veteran Service Officer, Scotty Allison, from Beltrami County came to the meeting looking for support for the Bemidji Veteran’s Home that is in the planning stages. In May, 2018, Governor Dayton and the Minnesota State Legislature allocated $32 million in the Bonding bill for three new State Veterans Homes. $12.4 million of that amount is for the Bemidji Veterans Home. It will be built on land donated by Sanford Health in Bemidji and the land is worth approximately $1 million. The Veterans Home will be a 72 bed facility. The services/programs provided will be Clinical Services (skilled nursing w/dementia care, recreational therapy, rehabilitation, chaplain & spiritual care services, diet & nutritional services, pharmaceutical services, and social services), Specialized Services (barber & beautician services, work therapy, and mental health services), and Programs (resident council, family council, spouse support group, community collaborations, and volunteer services).

The timeline for the Veterans Home is getting the local contribution placed in escrow by March 2019 (any community contributions must be placed in escrow); VA Submittal Milestone by April 2019 with Construction starting in December 2020. Inspections, staff move-in and training staring in 2021 with a projected Opening in May 2021. So far, Beltrami County commissioners have pledged 1,000,000 in financial support, the City of Bemidji has pledged $250,000, and donations from all sources including Roseau, Pennington, Lake of the Woods, and Koochiching counties stands at $1,703,259. All local/state donations result in a 65% donation match from the Federal Government.

The Veterans Home will be open to any veteran and their spouse. The focus on the health issues will be the care of diabetes and issues related to exposure to Agent Orange, though any veteran can live there if there is openings. 

Red Lake County Veteran’s Service Officer Kurt Ellefson also gave a report to the commissioners about the services his office offers. In 2017-2018 the Red Lake County Veterans GDX report indicates that Red Lake County Veteran Federal Expenditures was 2,139,000. There were 249 veterans in that time period who received benefits summarized as Compensation & Pensions ($9,421,000); Ed. & Vocational-Rehabilitation/employement ($17,000); Insurance & Indemnity ($5,000); and Medical Care ($1,175,000). Since 2012 Red Lake County Federal Expenditures have increased by $777,000. This is with a loss of 117 Veterans since 2012. Red Lake County Veteran’s are using the benefits they have earned. Also for the 2017 years, the RLCVSO had 263 Veterans documents Contacts.

Ellefson is also getting the word out that he is available to help Veterans by running newspaper ads in the Red Lake Falls Gazette and the Oklee Herald. He also has two billboards up in Red Lake Falls and Plummer. Some of the trends Ellefson is noticing is more Veterans with cancer related to Agent Orange. These claims have gone smoothly with the VA. He also noted that he is seeing a few veterans returning to Red Lake County after retiring which is good.

Ellefson has also been working on getting his accreditations from the American Legion, Disable American Veterans, Military order of the Purple Heart, National Association of County Veterans Service offices, the Retired Enlisted Association and the Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs.

There is transportation available for Veterans as there is a DAV Van available. If you need a ride to your VA appointment, you can use the Northwest Veterans Transportation program. The number to call is 1-855-277-9787 to schedule a ride. They are also looking for volunteer drivers for the program.

The minutes were looked at and approved with a motion by Weiss, seconded by Lerohl, carried. Expenditures were approved by a motion by Lerohl, seconded by Simpson, a roll call vote was taken, carried.

Interim County Engineer Jerilyn Swenson met with the commissioners next. Sorensen  met with Swenson last week due to a shortage of people out due to medical issues. Hiring is needed. A full time heavy equipment operator is needed. Personnel has been moved around some to fill in where needed. A motion was made by Lerohl, seconded by Remick to hire a heavy equipment operator. Carried.

The Highway Dept is still busy with projects and are close to completion on the road projects in the county. The level course on #10 is completed and the top coat is now being applied. Going well except the weather has slowed things down a bit.

SAP 063-623-014 was discussed at the meeting. The bridge will not be replaced, so it needs to be re-evaluated for cost and additional survey work needs to be done. The people being affected are satisfied with the proposed fixes. Temporary easements may be needed. Bids will go out in January-February 2019 for the job.

Swenson reported that maintenance items such as mowing is still going on and should be completed by the end of November. Gearing up for the winter and there is a potential for 4-6 inches of snow soon.

Lou Tasa, State Aid District Engineer, from Bemidji was also in attendance and talked to the commissioners about hiring a full time engineer.  Tasa knows of a few people who would be interested and the best time to hire is in the spring when it is easier for new hires to move if they have children in school. He recommended the commissioners start looking to hire now, with the start in the spring. The commissioners asked about wages and what should they expect to pay. Tasa said the going rate for a full time engineer is about $90,000. And Tasa also reminded the commissioners the importance of having a good engineer. Swenson is willing to continue helping if Red Lake County is attempting to hire. A motion was made to start the process of hiring a new engineer with a motion by Lerohl, seconded by Weiss. Carried.

Before Tasa left, the question was brought about State Trunk Hwy 222. Tasa said he didn’t know the actual results of the tests taken but he thinks there was minor contamination. He will check on this and let the board know where the project stands. Tasa would like to see safety address for the school area with the football field across the highway.

Commissioner Remick and Weiss had met with County Attorney Mike LaCoursiere recently. LaCoursiere feels that there is enough work for him to be a full-time employee for the county and after the conversation, Weiss and Remick also agreed. A motion to rescind the motion made on January 30, 2018 and put the County Attorney position back to 100% from 85% was made by Remick, seconded by Simpson. Vote was taken. Simpson, Remick, Lerohl, Weiss – Aye; Sorensen – Nay.

Sheriff Mitch Bernstein needed approval of the 2019 Emergency Management Grant agreement and to discuss the 2019 Policing Contract. The Emergency Management Grant is a 50/50 grant where the grant is 14,024 in the grant with a match from the county of 14,024. A motion was made by Lerohl, seconded by Weiss, carried.

The policing contract was explained to the board on how the numbers were decided on. The past contract was for five years with an increase every year. The yearly increased amount wasn’t enough to cover the costs so this time he made the increase 4% every year. The cost the cities were paying initially was 9.785 of the County expenses but after 5 years, it was only 8.7% of county expenses. He brought the cost the cities were paying back up to the 9.78% and the 4% increase each year should keep it closer to that percentage of cost. Bernstein was also glad that the board had decided to make the Attorney position full time again as it would have been a hard sell to the cities if the attorney would no longer being prosecuting for the cities when part-time, but has been part of the attorney’s full time position. A motion by Weiss and seconded by Remick, carried to approve the new 5 year Policing Contract. Bernstein will now go to each city’s council meetings for their approval.

Commissioners Reports were given by Weiss/Sorensen on the Tri-County Community Corrections meeting they attended. At this time there are 10 from Red Lake County 5 men/5 women at TCCC, zero in Juvenile and zero in the Transition program. The TCCC board has asked Mahnomen if they would like more beds, now that Clay is gone and have offered a 30 bed contract. They are waiting to hear on their decision. The Budget was discussed and the final is on hold until Mahnomen issue is heard on before finalizing. 

Other items discussed was the recidivism grant, per diems, and labor negotiations. LaCoursiere does the negotiations. 

Remick and Simpson didn’t have anything to report.

Lerohl reported on the Futures meeting he attended. Hiring employees was the discussion. It is recommended not to do background checks unless it is a business that requires it such as nursing care, daycare, etc. There is a labor shortage. Digi-Key has 4000 on payroll and are even hiring people for 4 hours a week.

Lerohl also had a NW Regional meeting and Senior Linkage line is working overtime with questions from seniors on health care and other issues.

Kurt Casavan came into the meeting asking for a motion on County Ditch #62 to accept a petition for a public hearing. Motion was made by Simpson, seconded by Lerhol.

Angie Lundeen, Human Resources, had not gotten the information on the comparison study. 

The meeting was adjourned at 12:10 p.m.