##VIDEO ID:9EuE8K7yz2w## e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e yes yeah oh I appreciate that appreciate that morning everybody yeah why don't you guys why don't you come out yeah out in the middle I could come up there with him I feel like I'm kind of far away does this thing roll or what oh right here okay all right well everybody it's a it's a real pleasure to be here this morning and to swear in our three new Commissioners for this term uh so let's let's get right to it would you all please raise your right hand I State I uh state your name you solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the constitution of the state of Minnesota and that I will discharge Faithfully the duties of the office of county commissioner in the county of clay ofay the state of Minnesota stesa to the best of my judgment and ability to the best of my judgment and ability so help me God so help me God you're sworn in congratulations [Applause] gentlemen e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e good morning it's 8:30 and I'm calling the January 7th 2025 uh Clay County Board of Commissioners meeting to order first item on the agenda is approval of the agenda Mr chair I'll offer a motion to approve the agenda with an addition of an appointment to the Lakeland Mental Health Center Board second have motion second all in favor say I I I oppose same sign motion passes next we have employee recognition first we have Don eni and Quinn Jagger good morning on there we go hello I've already learned that this is way more fun to come recognize acknowledgements than it is to tell you that people are resigning from social services this is this is much better and I have Don to thank for that uh Don has accomplished a rather impressive Milestone at 35 years of devoted service with social services uh she's not just a lead eligibility worker in our Financial Services Unit it's really a Cornerstone of the whole Division and a role model for everyone Don's expertise and knowledge Have Been instrumental in helping us navigate changes challenges and successes over the years it's really hard to conceptualize what 35 years uh is but it represents countless hours of dedication 72,800 hours to be exact but it also represents thousands of lives of claying citizens and you help to improve and a legacy of compassion and Excell so on behalf of everyone thank you for your service and [Applause] congratulations he so we're here today to recognize Heather which is something that she totally dislikes right now not in her comfort zone at all but you draw a heck of a crowd everybody showed up for you uh Heather started with us 15 years ago she actually started in the correctional center working as a correctional officer so she was working uh shift work for a while and then uh an opportunity came up to move over to the record side and she jumped on that opportunity and she was hired by Linda back then and another opportunity came up for Heather to go to office manager and she jumped on that and she's been an excellent office manager for us she um strives for Perfection you cannot tell her she made a mistake because she will work hours to point out your mistake she does that often U but we really appreciate having Heather in the office she's also one of our evidence Tech so that's uh that's a very important position and it shows it to her uh Integrity that she does have have so we we appreciate you Heather we're congratulations on 15 we're looking forward to another 40 uh we know you have it in you so thank you and congratulations [Applause] it's being my last day as chair it's it's nice that we can recognize employees you the employees that are here this morning I hope you realize that we know that everything we accomplish is because of you it's not us you just make us look good so I appreciate the the turnout for Heather and and uh I see her husband back there used to work with him at Moree headpiece D good to see you guys again right on to the what I'm sure everybody's been waiting for citizens to be heard H citizens to be oh okay last day up here and I'm I need I need to be coached uh citizens be heard do we have any citizens present who wish to address the commission on any item that's not on the agenda Steve we got anybody uh we do do not Mr chair okay bills and vur well I just I'm I'm just pumped up man I want to get to this I'm here to help move for approval of uh bills and vouchers so move second all in favor say I I I post same sign motion passes well good morning everyone we're going to have the 2025 state of the county address right now it's my privilege to present the 2024 State and County address or state of the county address reflecting our accomplishments and highlighting our plans as we move into 2025 this year Clay County has continued to grow adapt and strengthen services for our community allow me to share some key updates from our departments and the people who make it all possible Klay County projects Klay County recently unveiled upgraded facilities for the Department of Motor Vehicles and withdrawal management detox facility the new DMV Center offers enhanced services with expanded hours streamlined processes uh for licensed renewals registration drivers tests improving the convenience of these services for our residents Additionally the county is introduced a state-ofthe-art withdrawal Management Facility providing Specialized Care and support for individuals seeking to manage substance withdrawal safely these developments aim to enhance Community Health and streamline essential administrative services for Citizens not only in Clay County but in the region the Klay County Board of Commissioners are actively involved in the Metro flood diversion Authority project which aims to mitigate flooding risk s by constructing an extensive diversion channel to protect the the region from High Water Events additionally Clay County is a member of the Morehead Clay County Joint Powers Authority which facilitates coordinated efforts between Property Owners state and local governments to manage the Morehead or the Metro flood diversion Authority project the MCC jpa plays a crucial role in aligning the goals and activities of Clay County with those of its neighboring counties and state agencies enhancing the Project's Effectiveness and ensuring comprehensive flood protection for the entire Red River Valley by the spring of 2027 the assessor's office our Assessor's offices work diligently to meet state requirements and deadlines while implementing legislative changes including an increase to the homestead exclusion and atier Homestead limit for the 2024 assessments and 2025 taxes staff reviewed 1th of all Parcels for Mass appraisals utilize utilizing data on construction sales and neighborhood Trends to ensure a fair and accurate valuation County Assessor Jill Murray was reappointed for a four-year term auditor Treasurer the auditor treasurer's office is responsible for the collection of taxes distribution of revenues classifying tax assessments ratings paying the County's bills County payroll and certifying our accounting processes to meet the government standard of acceptable practices this year was extremely busy being an election year with the presidential primary record's office the record's office has streamlined real estate recording process and expanded services including offering bilingual wedding ceremonies their efforts have been crucial in helping residents obtain documentation necessary for real ID compliance by May 2025 Planning and Zoning in 2024 the Planning and Zoning approved 203 building permits 21 use permits 17 variances while making significant process progress on updating the Land Development ordinances for 2025 this update reflects Klay County's commitment to ath thoughtful and sustainable growth Human Resources with 695 employees Human Resources has been instrumental in sustaining our Workforce from January through November 2024 we welcomed 186 new hires HR processed 76 citizen concern forms and 997 job applications this year with the support of the Clay County Board of Commissioners we conducted a mark Market study to align our wages with comparable counties and cities leading to a 3% adjustment in the grid additionally we implemented our second year of online open enrollment for benefits ensuring effic efficiency and enrollment as new legislation like the Minnesota earned sick and safe time and paid leave take effect HR remains focused on compliance and employee support veteran services veteran services had another impactful year attending National trainings and hosting Outreach events to connect with more veterans Klay County remains a leader with zero identified homeless veterans and continues in collaborating with veteran scorts and local organizations Kurt Canon was reappointed to another four-year term a special thank you to Bonnie kristopherson for her 13 years of service and a warm welcome to Kim har an Air Force retire joining us from the Fargo VA probation and parole Klay County continues to partner with the Minnesota Department of Corrections our probation and parole department served over 1,054 adults 81 juveniles in 2024 in addition of launching a DWI Court to complement our drug court programs like the juvenile offender restitution program the victim impact panels uh continue to promote accountability and education we are also rolling out a gender responsive cognitive behavior therapy program targeting female Pathways into the justice system demonstrating our commitment to evidence-based practices and Public Safety we would like to thank Janelle Cheney for her partnership and Innovative thinking throughout the years Sheriff's Office and Emergency Management in 2024 the sheriff's office responded to significant incidents like the Holly elevator and teron pre-cast fires showcasing showcasing exceptional collaboration with our emergency Partners we also introduced bodyw warn cameras into the correctional facility to enhance transparency and mitigate liability new hires included two additional deputies paid for through state of Minnesota Public Safety Safety funding and our first Community Service Officer this is strengthened our team Emergency Management LED critical updates in response plans organized training sessions and conducted tabletop exercises to improve Readiness for emergencies our Correction Facility the Clay County Correction Facility has faced another extremely busy year bookings in uh booking in over 3,200 individuals a significant area of concern remains a housing of committed mentally ill individuals the Klay County River Project addresses these issues through coordinated effort with mental health practitioners in a designated area in the facility Personnel continue to work with Community providers to enhance service Services provided inhouse in hopes of reducing recidivism the 48 hour rule remains suspended until June 30th 2025 like many other Minnesota counties Clay County is is pressured to house individuals not suited for the jail environment the sheriff and Chief Deputy continue to advocate for Solutions through discussion with the Minnesota Sheriff Association and the Minnesota State Bar Association Social Services Social Services made significant strides in family reunification with successful adoptions and improved procedures for relative placement recruitment for family child care and Foster Care care provide provide providers remains a priority in health and Disability Services the implementation of men choices revision software is addressing initial challenges to ensure accuracy uh for in assessing eligibility the launch of the cfss program demonstrates a commitment to improving compliance and Service delivery the mental health and substance use disorder services are tackling urgent needs including advocating for more residential mental health beds for children and managing comprehensive assessments for the individuals with substance use disorder I would also like a special to give a special thank you to Ronda Porter for over 30 years of leadership and excellent service and we're pleased to wel welcome Quinn J Jagger to as our new Social Services director Public Health the public health program in the county includes a variety of services across multiple areas Family Health provides home visits to mothers babies and toddlers School nursing for Klay County school districts and consultation for child care centers Wick offers nutritional services to an average of 1,450 women infants and children monthly promoting breastfeeding and managing formula shortages Clinical Services include distri Distributing 139 car seats providing 33 covid and 329 other vaccines 31 drug screenings and 57 tuberculosis medication managements adult health services offer case management for over 1,200 clients through 17 nurses two social workers and three case AIDS health promotion includes Community grants targeting alcohol marijuana and VY production a suicide prevention program in local school local schools and work site Wellness Partnerships environmental health oversees inspections of licensed establishments and septic systems across clay wilin and aale County emergency preparedness focuses on planning for infectious diseases severe weather biological threats Mass casualties and while collaborating with various Community Partners the county attorney's office the county attorney's office continues to promote Justice Public Safety and effective governance in 2024 the office opened over 1900 cases across various legal issues including traffic violations misdemeanors property crimes and serious personal crimes such as burglary robbery assaults and murder it collaborates with the Court's operate the Clay County Drug Court Klay County veterans treatment court and plans to introduce a DWI Court in 2025 Additionally the office works with Social Services on child in need of protection services or chips cases commitment cases for mental health issues and guardianships and conservatorships uh for aging citizens the Civil Division manages numerous juvenile cases within the court system and the victim Services office assist assisted over 800 victims with a range of services including affidavits and of loss and Victim Impact statements the office also collaborates with all other Clay County departments on civil matters such as contract preparation Planning and Zoning election issues and Tax Court matters the West Central Regional juvenile center the wcjc continues to provide care and treatment for at risk youth in both the secure and non-secure Facilities by bringing in specialized professionals and engaging in state initiatives wcjc remains a vital resource for not only the region but the entire state of Minnesota our technology department the county made significant strides in security improvements introducing a new cyber security analyst position to reduce risks and maintain compliance for various departments a major software acquisition of a popular server server Management program affecting 85% of the world presented challenges forcing the department to decide between paying additional fees or moving to a new platform additionally a redundant internet connection was introduced to enhance business continuity allowing access to Microsoft 365 products and isolating guest Internet traffic in case the state of Minnesota connection goes offline the technology department also played a large part in planning and transition of the new withdrawal management and detox facility GIS and Communications Department the gis and Communications Department welcomed the integration of a Communications coordinator which Consolidated the communication staff into a cohesive team they compl uh complimented the redes they completed the redesign of the Klay County website making it more userfriendly and ensured compliance with disability standards GIS staff managed and and managed the completion of the blue address number sign replacement across the county replacing over 4,000 signs the and collected a new highresolution aerial image last spring which will soon be visible on improved online Maps they also made enhancements to the facilities management system including lease information it equipment and the infrastructure of new buildings GIS and communic communication staff are well prepared to support the needs of Clay County in 2025 our Highway Department the highway department had a busy and productive 2024 marked by diverse weather challenges significant Pro projects and Staffing transitions despite a winter with minimal Snow Road main maintenance remained active due to rain and sleep spring brought favorable conditions allowing for extensive crack filling and limited flooded summer was particularly eventful with major projects including the second phase of a millon overlay on casar 26 Paving casar 1 after its n 2022 regrading and initiating the threee 11 Street underpass project in partnership with menot and the City of Morehead Additionally the department secured funding for a roundabout at CA 5212 which provides safer driving conditions for our citizens the fall saw the retirement of five full-time employees with nearly all positions filled in new staff training underway looking forward to uh the department looking forward the depart department is preparing for an equal equally productive 2025 with exciting new initiatives solid waste the solid waste department has made significant updates and adaptations over the past year with cost savings and excellent Public Services key goals the department has continued its partnership with Becker County sharing load hauling which is resulted in an estimate estimated Savings of $50,000 a new mattress recycl process has been implemented collecting and Hauling mattresses to Becker County for deconstruction saving landfill space and recycling materials Additionally the department has begun removing Freon from appliances allowing for revenue from recycled metal and saving approximately $30 per Appliance moving forward the Solid Waste Department remains committed to evaluating department needs and identifying opportunities for Budget reduction all while providing excellent customer service the facilities Department from completing 1,500 maintenance requests to facilitating major relocations like the DMV and the withdrawal management T detox operation the facilities department has ensured the County's infrastructure remains functional and welcome welcoming snow removal groundskeeping and custodial work continue to provide a safe and clean environment M for employees and residents our legislative priorities the Clay County Board of Commissioners work closely with the association of Minnesota counties and advocating for the benefit of the entire state of Minnesota by participating in AMC's activities the commission ensures that clay County's interests are represented at a state level collaborating on share priorities and leveraging Collective influence to shape policies that impact all counties in 2025 Clay County identified three legislative priorities including addressing 911 fees to ensure adequate funding for emergency services advocating for the establishment of a psychiatric Residential Treatment Facility in Clay County to improve access to mental health care in the northwest region and and the state of Minnesota and securing funding for the FM area diversion project to alleviate flood risks in the region these priorities reflect clay County's commitment to addressing critical issues that affect the well-being and safety of its residents while contributing to the overall resilience and development of the state elections commissioner Paul kravinoff District 1 David ebinger District 5 one bids uh or won re-election bids for four-year term commissioner Ezra bear uh won the election for District Two and uh for four-year uh term sorry I look forward to the uh working I look forward to continue the great work with the commission on behalf of our citizens commissioner barl will take the place of retiring commissioner Frank gross a special thank you to commissioner gross for his 12 years of dedicated service his leadership teamwork and Common Sense approach have been AA invaluable to our County we wish him all the best in his retirement and thank him for his many contributions finance and budget the Clay County Board of Commissioners continue to support a 2-year tax batement program for residential new construction which involves a cooperation of the cities and school districts the tax abatement program which was started in 2012 has led to new home construction providing competitive incentives for citizens to build and reside in Clay County the program has helped considerably with our County's continued growth the Minnesota state auditor presented its audit findings to the County Board on November 19th in reference the year ending December 31st 2023 in the issuance of the audit report state auditor had issued an unqualified opinion of the County's financial statement the unqualified opinion confirms the Klay County's Financial records or statements conform to the applicable Accounting Standards the County Board adopted the annual operating budget and tax levy for the year 2025 on December 7 17 2024 the total expense for 2025 are estimate estimated to be $23,995 the revenue Source necessary to cover these expenses include 44 m866 746 in a property tax levy state aid numerous grants services and util utilization of funding balance Klay County witnessed a net growth in new construction of 1.15% leading to a net Levy increase of 4.45% for 2025 as we close another year of service to our citizens I want to thank our dedicated employees my fellow elected officials and a residence of Clay County for their trust and partnership together we have navigated challenges and achieved Milestones that set a strong foundation for the future we look forward to continuing to work collectively to make Clay County a vibrant inclusive and thriving Community for all please feel free to contact any of the County Commissioners or County Administration at any time if you'd like to share your feedback or suggestions thank you and best wishes for wonderful 2025 we are now going I will now open uh the floor for nomination chair Mr chair I'll offer a motion to appoint commissioner Campbell as chair for 2025 I will second have motion to Second all in favor say I I I oppose same sign congratulations commissioner CH Campbell your now the chair thank you thank you um I'm looking forward to this job uh at this point in time we would be I will be looking for nominations for vice chair I'll make a motion to uh uh nominate um Jenny Mojo for vice chair and I'll will second it okay we have a nomination for commissioner Mojo and the second any other nominations any other nominations third and final call all in favor signify by saying I I oppose the same motion carried congratulations commission Mo at this point in time we're going to take a five minute break we're going to do a little bit of readjusting here we'll get back as quickly as possible I know there's some of you who are waiting for things on our agenda so five minutes e e e e e e e e e all right good morning everybody we'll reconvene this morning's meeting Mr chair yes if I might briefly before we get onto the business of the day I just want to extend a wish of gratitude to commissioner evinger for his leadership as chair this past year and to you as well for your leadership as Vice chair I know those positions come with extra time and commitment and so uh you've led us well over the last year and appreciate your work thank you it's it's kind of like our relationship with our employees uh it's easy to lead people who are as functional and work as hard as you guys do I'm I'm just trying to keep up it's been a fun year thank you all right with that um I I'd like to just take a minute to uh welcome our new commissioner commissioner Ezra bear from District 2 and Ezra I know uh your folks in District 2 probably know you well from your going through the campaign but I think uh a lot of the other County may not know you as well and and maybe if you would like to spend a minute or so to just tell everybody who you are yeah if you do not know who I am my name is Ezra bear uh I've been a lifelong Clay County resident my entire life I reside in Goose Prairie Township just west of hll I am the owner and operator of a wean to Finnish hog farm I've been married to my wife Katie for 12 years and we have five beautiful children I was on the Gooseberry Township Board as a supervisor for the last eight years and I also sat on the Clay County Board of adjustment and Planning Commission for the last six in the last two I was a chairman I looking forward to starting this new position me scroll down here I'm looking forward to starting this new position and working with so many different people and I will serve the people of Clay County with respect integrity and with honesty thank you very much all right well welcome all right with that we'll move on to our next agenda item and that is uh item number four in the agenda and that is to establish the commissioner's meeting schedule for 2020 25 good morning Mr chair Commissioners uh before you for your consideration is the schedule for 2025 uh as we have in past years our anticipation is that we will have board meetings uh every every Tuesday Morning except for the fifth Tuesday at 8:30 a.m. uh with a couple of exceptions uh on Tuesday June 17th uh we will have our board meeting at 5:00 pm which will be followed by the board of appeals and Equalization at 6:30 uh we this would be up for your consideration U November 11th is is a Tuesday and observation of Veterans Day we will be closed and so uh it would be up to the board of whether they would have no board meeting or they would shift that meeting to either Monday or Tuesday on Tuesday uh December 2nd uh 2025 we'll have our board meeting at 5:00 pm followed by truth and Taxation at 6 uh and then within our schedule we would have no board meeting on Tuesday December 9th due to the AMC annual conference that had yield for any questions all right any questions yeah I have one question would it be feasible or possible to have another meeting at the Clay County Fair I just to get out there in front of people a little bit more um commissioner bear and members I I believe there was a statute that requires us to hold it in the county seat is that I I will look at that I I do know there's several there's several um counties in Minnesota that will have a board meeting during their fair but I don't know if they are the county seat where the where the fair grounds is in so I I can certainly look at that yeah I I certainly that would might be a good idea to do that but just want to make sure that we we follow statute on it and following that requirement would it maybe make sense to approve the recommended SCH SCH for the meetings uh with the ability for staff to investigate that uh second week in July meeting if it's possible if it's not possible to have a County board meeting I I know we've increased our presence with the county um government day so maybe having some sort of meeting uh maybe it's not a business meeting of the board but something official because I I do appreciate what commissioner beay is saying increasing our uh visibility throughout the entire count is important you know I know if nothing else there is always the ability that we could have a a publicized work group sure where no action is taken but at least you can be there and and it would allow for others so so in a worst case scenario we could always do that so but maybe um commissioner Mojo or commissioner ever you comment yeah but I think a good idea would be and this works so well when we meet with the townships but we get have a town hall type of meeting tell people are going to be there if they have concerns or they have questions whatever um we could be there and possibly even have some of the staff there I know certainly our Highway Department Sheriff's Department would want to be there but we could we could work something out all right so what's we need to establish our calendar so it's well Mr chair I'll offer a motion to approve the proposed calendar for the 2025 uh board meetings with the addition of a flexibility for staff to investigate the July date of the fair I will second that we have a motion and a second any further discussion seeing none all in favor signify by saying I I I oppose the same sign motion carried okay we will move on to item number five request approval for Resolutions 20 25-1 through 4 for the designation of our newspapers and corresponding memorandum of understandings uh the first motion would be to approve resolution 20 25-1 designating the extra as the official County newspaper Mr chair I'll make a motion to approve resolution 2025-the public um uh these um these different motions that we're doing today on an annual basis are rotating so every year that that rotates around to different newspapers so with that in mind uh all in favor signify by saying I I oppose the same sign motion carried the next one is a motion to approve resolution 2025-the seeing none all in favor signify by saying I I oppose the same sign motion carried we'll move into motion to approve resolution 2025-the County financial statement Mr chair I'll make a motion to approve 2025 D3 second we have a motion in a second any further discussion seeing none all in favor signify by saying I I I oppose the same sign motion carried item number or the next item motion to approve resolution 20254 designate the Holly Herald for second printing of the Clay County financial statement for 2025 Mr chair I move to approve uh resolution 2025 d04 I will second we have a motion in a second any further discussion all in favor signify by saying I I oppose the same sign motion carried all right and those uh Steve those included the memorandums right that's part of that that is that's correct yeah okay all right so the next item that we have is uh the enter into mou with Cass County North Dakota to board inmates at the Clay County correctional facility and and we have uh um Sheriff Ting and Sheriff joner from C County welcome Sheriff thank you morning and good morning I'll let I'll let you lead the way thank you uh good morning Mr chair Commissioners thanks for having us here this morning if I could just start off with a congratulations to uh commissioner krainov commissioner ebinger on your reelection and also commissioner bear on your election bid I look forward to working with everybody and also to our new chair and vice chair so very very much so look forward to working with everybody here again um we are here today to ask to enter inou with Cass County to board um Cass County inmates at our facility uh Sheriff Jer contacted me a few weeks ago asking if we had room um to board some of their uh inmates if he was able to get a variance through the North Dakota docr uh shortly thereafter he had indicated that he was able to get that variance and we started working on this mou uh this mou uh has been reviewed uh by our County attorney and he had just a couple suggestions that we made and uh he reviewed it and it has been okay Sheriff jard reviewed it and it looked good to him and that's where we are here today and also a president pres I should mention is C Colony commissioner flacko as well Sheriff Jenner yeah good morning Mr chair and members of the commission so I would add to the congratulations that sheriff empting has already mentioned to you a number of you Chang positions congratulations on the chair Vice chair in the reelection and um I'm certainly happy this morning to be here um I as uh Sheriff tin mentioned contacted him a few weeks ago and uh asked him if if it would be possible to bring some inmates over here as you guys I'm sure have monitored in the media we've been struggling on the uh on the Cas County side um we uh over the last three years um it's been a game of of uh Checkers for our staff our leadership staff and moving people around currently we have um approximately anywhere from 15 to 25 on average weekly inmates um housed at different facilities within North Dakota uh we have approximately 20 inmates on our community supervision unit which is a unit um where we can monitor people by ankle uh monitoring so they don't come to our facility they have light charges of course they're not a public safety a risk to our community and uh that's that's given us some room um but really we're just it's it's a struggle every day it's been hard on uh local law enforcement um really kind of a morale killer uh as they make arrest sometimes and they can't bring people into to jail to to help keep our community safe so of course we make those determinations based on public safety and and uh if we feel that the person isn't a risk to society then we're sometimes having to release those those individuals but um I approached our commissioners back in 2021 and uh and explained the need for um additional spacing at our facility because we were seeing a a drastic increase in the amount of people that were coming in and um I was fortunate enough with my partnership with our with our commissioners and I appreciate um their collaboration to to uh build a new pod but we're not going to take control of that until uh sometime in May or June so uh really we're just trying to find um space wherever we can to uh and as you guys know the the state liner the river doesn't doesn't stop criminal activity from both of our communities so I think it is important that we collaborate um I appreciate uh Sheriff tin's partnership his friend ship um he's been excellent to work with uh a great partner with our agency along with uh Chief Deputy uh Martin who's sitting in the back back there um I know that I can call them and work on issues on a regular basis and that's been been important to to our relationship and our friendship so uh the only other thing that I would mention it would be kind of nice in the in theou if I got 100 beds um but I know that's not possible um so uh but no I I I appreciate the the collaboration with this with this uh with the board with you guys and it definitely shows your your uh dedication to Public Safety in our communities I suppose we could just Annex Cass County and then we'd yeah yeah there you know there you go but uh but whe but whether it's been this collaboration or or the juvenile detention center we've appreciated that that uh partnership with you guys and so um it's it's we're just very appreciative so I'm glad you brought that up and I went you know it's it's advantageous when we can have one of your fellow one of our fellow Commissioners from the other side here as well with commissioner fle and I you know I just want to do a shout out to um former Commissioners um um Sherling and Peterson too they were really involved with the juvenile uh contract partnership contract that we got with Cass County and that of course required some legal uh maneuvering too that required both states to get involved and approve that so my one question would have been on the variance is that is that like a temporary thing or is that something that can just be ongoing sure Mr chair members of the commission um it's it will be ongoing obviously it because we're housing people uh across state there has to be some um you know we had to do some research on procedures um different housing techniques anything from as much as down to um how much an inmate is let out every day out of their cells to make sure that it it um coincides with what North Dakota requires through the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation so that has been some of the limitations in in the past with being able to house uh people over here but of course being able to do that really um really really helps us because the people that I have housed at the different counties in North Dakota are people that have been sentenced and they don't have medical issues which is which is a small percentage because if we have um inmates with medical issues typically those those counties don't want to take those individuals because you know and I don't blame them because they have to run them up to the hospital and sometimes they don't have Staffing to do that um and then we're as you guys know we're really restricted by um pre-trial a number of our our inmates are pre-trial and they still have court and so uh housing people like for example in McKenzie County which is across the state of North Dakota causes us to use a number of resources to transport those individuals back and forth to court so um we're able to with partnering with you guys um you know uh transport those individuals easier and so we can now start housing some people that are are uh pre-trial over here so that helps us a lot well before the um you know I we kind of know what you're going through I at one point in time we had the same issue where we were just we did not have the space and we were having to uh send people out of Klay County at at extremely high expense and thanks to our voters and their approval of it we built new facility and and this just seems to me um we we joined together in our dispatch we joined together in our regional juvenile center and this just makes all the sense in the world as long as we can accommodate and the sheriff has the has the space and everything works out uh I I just think this is a a good move commissioner ebinger I want to thank both of you uh one of the key moments in my career in Morehead was when I realized how important the Partnerships are and how we have to work to keep them and your predecessor Paul Laney was a a great friend of mine Dave Todd uh we just Arland rans mus we just had good people who kept that partnership together and I appreciate the communication and the the the support that you're giving each other on this and having said that I would like to make a motion that we enter into anou with Cass County uh to board inmates from uh in the Clay County Correctional Facility a second all right and does that include then the dollar amounts um on a prdm basis that is in the memo yeah as as just and with the it complies with the mou as presented to us today all right okay yes Ezra Mr chair I have a question question for Sheriff tin the per DM rate covers the daily cost of housing them correct it's it's close to the daily cost of housing them yes and what we are going to do is we're going to start with 10 inmates and see how that works and work our way up to to more um hopefully we can figure that out right away so we can help you out over there but uh that's what we're going to do but it's it it's close to it I have one followup how much room do we have over there at the jail as of now as of yesterday we were at 103 uh we can go up to 150 without uh hiring any additional staff if we go over 150 we'd have to hire additional staff so we do have the space for it right maybe in followup and to commissioner Bear's questions if so if we were to go you you're going to start with 10 and maybe move up if we were to get to the point where where we might exceed that 150 number then we start getting into other additional costs for the county uh would we be open then to U being able to look at then maybe having to modify that per DM rate if if we're having to for example add staff because we're we're Bound by Statute too and or by the Department of Corrections for the number of staff to P to inmates and I'm sure you have something similar you know yeah uh Mr chair members of the commission we're we're just grateful for any beds that we can get so the 10 helps us out if it's a little bit more than that I think um we're work continually on a day-to-day basis trying to strategize on where we can find additional spacing so this is just one of those pieces um we're also exploring some other things as well but yeah I think I can't speak for the commission as far as the approval of any of additional pums but um most certainly I think that they'd be willing to work with whatever we needed to do I think the only thing the only concern would be and it goes to commissioner Bear's question is that we're at least recouping our costs yeah yeah most certainly we're not trying to right take advantage of a situation we're just grateful for the extra space I'm assuming Commissioners would feel the same way thank you Mr chair I just wanted to point out that our action today is not restrictive to only 10 it allows the uh sheriffs to have the flexibility to figure out whatever works there uh a comment as a follow-up to your um issue about when we were in the process of building our own cor Correctional Facility we were spending a million dollars a year needing to house out of Cy so we certainly understand that um difficult pinch I'm really uh encouraged by the opportunity to keep these inmates closer to their support structures if they have them and they're uh um I think it's a a good situation for both of us in terms of being close to the healthcare facilities and trials and and whatnot so uh I talk frequently at the state level about how the river does not define us as you uh pointed out Sheriff it it really is something where other cities throughout Minnesota are are shocked at the collaboration between North Dakota and Minnesota entities and it just speaks to the strength of all of our relationships between the um uh the Sheriff's Office police departments commissions City councils and I think this is a great way to address an issue for all of our regions so thank you any other discussion seeing none all in favor the motion signify by saying I I I oppose the same sign motion carried all right Mr chair members of the commission thank you yeah good luck thank you y commissioner flacko thank you for coming today all right we'll now move on to item number seven the request approval to hire a maintenance worker or Highway Department good morning Justin good morning yes so the first item I have is uh approval to hire an additional maintenance work worker so through the 2025 budget cycle an additional maintenance worker was a new request that I had and was approved throughout the budget so what this does is this additional maintenance worker kind of gives the highway department the ability to cover more area so it like during a snow event it will allow the road foreman and maintenance supervisor to split the county so it's not just one person looking over everything and I do believe that this will provide a higher level of service and it will not require any additional equipment I'll make a motion to approve the hiring of a maintenance worker as this is a 2025 budgeted item second have a motion in a second thank you any further discussion Mr chair I have one question yes Mr bear do you need is there a part-time guy looking at taking that job or not currently no so you won't need backfill for part-time um we only backfill if say um somebody's retiring and I know like a maintenance worker is going to step up to a blade operator so there's nobody currently employed that would be eligible to take this position right any other questions none all in favor signify by saying I I oppose the same sign motion carried next Justin we have the um resolution 2025-the routs to school Grant offered through mind so the city of Dilworth is requesting sponsorship as they are not a state aid City and it is required through mindat um if selected the grant can be up to a million dollars financially it doesn't have any impact to the county if they are selected it's just some stuff staff-wise that we'd have to do to help them out which we've done many different times questions Mr Mr chair the uh safe routes to school program is really something that has benefited Clay County and other areas greatly it's something that really helps out other entities as you talked about so with that I'll make a motion to approve resolution 2025-the um any local share is the responsibility ofth for example in this case it would be Dorth right that's correct all right any further discussion seeing none all in favor signify by saying I I oppose the same sign motion carried we'll move on to the next item Justin and that is the approval to purchase two tractors yes so I'm seeking approval to purchase two John Deere tractors from Rio equipment and Morehead um so previously we had been on a 7-year rotation with tractors these current ones we did push out to 10 years with the prices of equipment going crazy um I have attached the summary of the pricing which includes trades and the internal service funds available so the internal service fund is fully funded now there is a slight price difference between the two tractors only because one has a front PTO and one has a front loader is the only difference there guess these tractors do get used year round whether it be for mowing and then we do put snow blowers on the front of them we will use the one with a loader to help load salt sand guess so any questions I'd be happy to answer I have a question Mr yes go ahead the first tractor you have here on bid that would be the one with the front PTO correct correct that's what I figured all right and this um did go through Highway tracking and was recommended from our Highway tracking committee to move forward with the with the purchase so what is the board's wishes I will make a motion to approve the purchase of two tractors from Rio right second we have a motion in a second any further discussion Mr chair commissioner bear does that reflect the the 23, 28732 and 20 22785 n36 that is correct right any further discussion seeing none all in favor signify by saying I I oppose the same motion carried and we have another one for Justin and this is the approval of purchase pickup for the highway department yes so this is one that we worked this one took a long time just because we did work through both Leasing and purchasing um so I am requesting approval to purchase this pickup from Nelson and auto center so through the whole lease process we found out that a three-year lease was only 2 ,000 $22,000 less than the outright purchase of this vehicle through the sourcewell Cooperative purchasing agreement so I'm seeking approval to purchase this vehicle as at the end of three years we would have the full equity in the vehicle and I do think it's a better deal all right and again once again I want to just point out that this was brought before highway tracking committee with recommendation for approval we move to approve the purchase of the pickup from Nelson AO Center for 4 2 16871 second you Motion in a second any further discussion seeing none all in favor signify by saying I I oppose the same sign motion carried before we go into our committee assignments I think I think we'll take that agenda addition real quickly here and um and again this is a motion or this is would be to appoint well Harden am I saying that correctly to Lakeland Mental Health commissioner Mojo do you want to thank you Mr chair as as you know I serve on the Lakeland Mental Health Center board that board is comprised of two members from each of the partnering counties one being a county commissioner and the other being a uh a citizen who has um some sort of qualifying uh relevant experience to also serve in that capacity today uh you are um being asked to fulfill a term for um uh commissioner that had served on there for a long time he's Mike McCarthy is no longer serving in the capacity and so it has been sitting open for over a year uh I'm really excited that Noel Harden of uh she currently works in the capacity at the University of Minnesota extension university has done some really great work that I felt was really um an overlap with the work that Lakeland Mental Health Center does and so I'm asking you today to appoint the approve the appointment of Noah Harden to the Leland Mental Health Center board for a period of 3 years and I can stand for any questions if wanted I do apologize for this being an agenda um addition I'd been talking to Noel over the course of the last six weeks and it just um with timing this worked out the best and we do have an attachment with the um letter of interest on that no has submitted so yes commissioner kov yes I'll just make a a comment to um uh back what commissioner Mojo is saying in regard to new Harden's uh background and work how it um uh I've watched her work in on a couple other committees for the last couple years and she uh is well versed in in areas of uh uh public policy and and also just studies the work that she has to do and and uh I think it's a great uh appointment to have we so accus and with that I'll second the motion you make a Oh I thought you did all right I'll make a motion then to approve the appointment of M Harden to the Lakeland Mental Health Board of Directors for a three-year term I'll second that motion we have a motion and a second any further discussion Mr chair yes I assume she's not here or online that's correct commissioner all right all in favor of the motion signify by saying I I oppose the same sign motion carried thank you for your service and volunteering for service all right the next item we have is the um approval of the Clay County Board of Commissioners assignments for 2025 as you know last week we uh spent some time discussing uh changes and I believe Jackie and St have done their job in trying to redo those so Steve do you want to thank you Mr chair you you uh hit the hit it on the head we we made the attempt to uh to to take all the different discussions that we had uh and make the changes on on this sheet uh again in the event from uh from our discussion if we missed something uh if you would like to bring that forward we'll make sure that uh that we get that uh adjusted moving forward all right maybe I'm just going to go around I'll start to my right with Paul I Paul have you had a chance to review have and I everything looks fine to me all right thank you commissioner Mojo I believe this under mine is reflective of the conversations that we had last week as well um I guess I'm not seeing anything to change very good commissioner bear everything looks good to me right commissioner ebringer looks correct all right so and from my standpoint too I think everything kind of seems to be as we had discussed and and obviously as the course of the year goes on if if if any of us end up with conflicting schedules and something needs to be changed we can certainly always have the ability to modify um these assignments as the year goes on so with that I would entertain a motion to to approve the 2025 Comm committee assignments with pum so move we have a motion is there a second sorry about this well I ation second that's fine okay go ahead second now you have a comment uh I see one line that I ADM miss that I'm no longer exists if we need to amend it might as well which one is that it's going to be EMP structure resilient advisory task force that no longer exists I missed that earlier it about halfway down it's after the historical oh okay all right yeah CU last time you said it was on yours twice wasn't it or something list twice yeah and now okay it just didn't even exist all right so um if the board's okay with the uh modification of that just removing that one is that who made the motion motion are you okay with that and you made the second so you're okay with that change it's just something that I was uh offered to do for AMC and I took it up in that project's over all right very good all right anything else all right seeing no other discussion all in favor the motion signify by saying I I I oppose the same sign motion carried the committee assignments are established for 2025 thank you thank you Steve all right and then lastly for today we will go through our committee reports and I'll I'm going to start and I know Ezra you haven't really had a chance to partake in any committees but uh we were glad to see you able to attend in December the AMC um conference as a newly elected and I don't know if if you just you haven't had any opportunity to talk about that what you felt your experiences were with that or yeah so I uh we attended that in the December 8th I believe around there I thought it was a very good conference tooken a lot of stuff and appreciate you guys and inviting me along to take that in yeah very good so next week you'll have some reports to together all right all right commissioner eer I've talked enough I had nothing last week but practice the state of the county and so we move on good all right commissioner kof yes uh on Thursday January 2nd we had a meeting of the Clay County intergovernmental committee it was a final uh review of the upcoming uh intergovernmental Retreat that will be on uh January 31st I believe and um we also talked about other legislative priorities for the upcoming uh session um uh and and the fact at that um excuse me at at that Retreat we will have our representatives and Senators uh to our area at present and they'll be doing a um uh conversation with with the uh group uh for questions to ask and I think one of the things that was brought up and this kind of came from the school board people uh just being mindful that uh some of the things locally need some flexibility and um and rather than rather than just strict mandates and I think there are comments being made maybe is this group is we're aware of these things uh like us when we're down at the capital or when we see our legislators locally uh just uh making them aware of some of the needs we need locally that may not exist uh Statewide and making sure we have the uh a little more flexibility to do our work uh and be successful in doing that uh the last part of the meeting was going to be the next member entity the rotation for 2025 and that will move from we had it for the last year at Clay County and now it'll move on to the city of dor uh Del uh London Felton schools and that next meeting will be a March after that uh meeting in the afternoon I had the uh first board meeting of the year for the CL wcd board um they did their ult of office they had three new officers that were elected uh Brady FY uh up north of Holly Area Richard minold uh was reelected and he's in the Felton area Joe H hilderbrand also out in that Holly Area uh to a little bit to the north side was reelected um they did not uh their form was minimal there were three or five there so there were a couple things that they wanted to extend forward for one month and that was number one their election officers which then they'll do in February as well as their time and meeting uh for the uh for the remainder of um uh 2025 uh thinking about moving the meeting which has been the second Thursday of the month at 3: and moving that to 800 in the morning on that same uh second Thursday uh other than that they did first year items much like we did here this morning um they still are trying to uh um fill a vacancy for a district technician uh their application period is running through January and hopefully to get some qualified people um there uh main goal within legislative session uh is uh trying to again work in Aline with their s swcd last year uh they had received $15 million but in their uh in the uh approval from legislature it falls down to 12 the following 12 million the following year so there'll be lobbying hard to see if they get that 3 million back um which they utilize very very well and they need those funds um I think outside of that I think that covers that meeting pretty well and then on Friday uh we had for the prtf we had another teams meeting um uh representative keiler was not in attendance on that one but SE Senator kek was and it was a really good meeting I thought one chance to talk just uh directly to Senator Cooper um the main part of that meeting was how we uh will move forward and looking at co-authors for the bill who will be in the the important people to be leading this in in the Senate as we move forward uh also as uh part of that um will be a presentation that um myself and Steve will be going down to the Minnesota Affairs Council and and they have their quarterly meeting I believe it is at Treasure Island Casino down there and we're going to go down and give a presentation of about of our uh need of the psychiatric Residential Treatment Facility uh the grounds for the reasoning of why we need it why it's really beneficial to have it here in Clay County and we are going to be asking them to um consider signing a resolution uh for us to move forward uh in support with us uh in having the U uh U Indian Affairs Council involved and then uh after that I had a meeting with Quinn jger um uh in regard to the collaborative uh we did um last month uh come up with a uh entity that will be be in our CL have coordinator and that is reach out of Holly and we did have it signed their coordinator contract signed and um we mooving forward I look I think they're really going to step it up to another level uh one of the people involved uh uh Peggy uh who is part of this team has been a um a coordinator before for 10 years so we're coming in with some experience and uh I think they're going to do some really good things for that program with that that's my report thank you commissioner Mojo thank you last week we had a prtf um collaboration meeting with our architect and gerts and uh staff as we continue to work forward in in dialing um The Proposal in before legislative session yesterday I attended the Metro Cog executive committee meeting we talked about the status of the 2050 MTP there's some additional requirements that Federal Highway in North to go to do is requiring uh and then we talked about um various upcoming items for 2025 as we move forward and then agency updates from the director uh a little bit of an issue getting a quorum at the beginning as as with new elections coming on not everyone's aware of the new rotation quite yet so um we're a little short for a while and then also attended the um uh prtf um juvenile uh space predesign study yesterday uh covering a lot of um bases in regards to the um the project narrative that we're going to be utilizing at the capital and then a agency and organizational planning um we talked about um the project uh Financial scope um I can tell you that we're continuing to dial this thing in um as as close as we need to understanding I think for the public that um when you get uh state funds there's some uh additional requirements that we've Incorporated in our other facilities they're called B3 components uh and they can really shift the scope of what that price is quite broadly and so as we um talk a little bit about um components that we want to make sure are part of that um knowing that those B3 components can really um change what that bottom line is drastically and then the only other item we don't need to talk about it very long I just want for the clar ification there was an article in the Fargo forum last week that talked about our um tobacco ordinance that we covered on the 17th that that stated there will be a a a April 1st uh enforcement date my understanding is this entire board has not voted on a date at this point correct uh Mr chair commissioner Mojo that that is correct in talking with Mr Melton because there was nothing uh no date specifically in that uh in the in the agreement the ordinance actually went into effect the day that you guys made made the made the agreement as far as the roll out or implementation of that um the board also you're correct did not make any any of those notifications that you you talked about from the paper okay so in the future as we move forward with these pieces I've served on a lot of ordinance subcommittees uh with commissioner Campbell in regards to land use um I I will say that there's a bit of frustration there because um if it was the intention that there would be a soft roll out of a arbitrary date I feel it's a bit of an inservice to our County businesses um to not have had that as part of the dialogue and then see something in the paper and and so I would hope that we can um maybe do better as we move forward with those pieces but um as as stated when something comes out in the paper that the County Board has not acted on that puts us in a difficult position um specifically since I did did have uh two businesses reach out to um me on that um so I guess it's just maybe further comment we can have later but just from the one commissioner's perspective and that concludes my reports Mr thank you all right I last week on January 2nd I was also I also attended along with commissioner krainov the uh playay County intergovernmental committee um commissioner Krab reported on that well um I think we we spent an awful lot of time talking about legislative priorities and there was an awful lot of discussion from the school districts about mandates that that involved a lot of what they do that really um really have an impact on on them financially and you know so I you know there was a request maybe that from the part of the school districts that that maybe we should try to come up with some sort of a a meeting with with all of us that also can maybe talk about some of the mandates that we have and and at that point in time I reminded or I I mentioned to them how Klay County used to have a Saturday morning session with our local legislator and we'd bring in all of our County department heads and this might be an opportunity to maybe to follow up with something like that and and and see if our legislators could come and not necessarily focus on everything that we want see but maybe the impacts of what mandates do to us um that just so that our legislators are are aware of the impacts of of those U mandates so and maybe we can you know we can work with Steve and um I know the school districts would be very interested in having that discussion with us and I we did go over the uh Retreat agenda and I have you had an opportunity to reach out with um Steve from Solutions regarding I'm I have we've invited him to participate is he is he willing to do that I believe that he is okay I think that's really good so because one of the one of the items that we're going to have on there is the sign significant conversations about the prtf and and Steve was going to lead that panel and on the panel was going to be commissioner Mojo and myself and commissioner Mojo is really involved with the legislative process and so you know so giving the report there uh my side of it has been more of the building component of it what we're doing in terms of design and maybe we can show a few things in that design well one of the one of the things that we kind of felt was really important would be to have the the programming component of it there and how that how that programming can benefit um these individuals so I'm glad to hear that and hopefully we can follow up and make sure that that goes through all right and then um yesterday we did have the um meeting with the non-secure prtf pre-design that is moving along quite well we're compared to some early estimates that we were hearing I think we're there's a little bit of encouragement in terms of the prices uh coming getting more in line there's an awful lot of work to be done between now and the 15th and a lot of that work is going to fall on on the in the hands of our County Administrator to prepare some documents that they're needing to be able to present in terms of a letter to the state uh so I want to thank Steve in advance for the efforts that are going to be done to go and whoever else is involved providing all that detail that's going to go into that um and then um then that same day as the intergovermental retreat uh I did also I was requested on behalf of some attorneys for land owners regarding the diversion project um the as chair of the U morid Clay County Joint Powers board uh we were invited to a meeting myself along with the chair of the Cass County Joint Resource District to meet with some County attorneys or not County attorneys but landowner attorneys they had some concerns about um how the negotiation process and when they're negoti NE iting uh items you know you know are do the negotiators actually have the authority to approve those negotiations and and basically what we we said to them is that no uh nothing is finalized that requires the full every each board uh each board member has the ability to raise questions um and ultimate you know and I gave one example on the Mt C japa there was one uh and and it's quite rare but we had one of our commissioners that raised a question on on one issue and so that delayed that and and but there was there didn't seem to be a concern on the part of anybody that it was delayed um but ultimately every every board member has that right to ask questions we we are the pur string for for those all of that money and so we have to have that ability to raise questions and I and we basically gave that message to those attorneys and their their concern was is okay well they're going there on behalf of their attorneys and in the negotiation process and then you know they're concerned that okay if they come to an agreement then the board doesn't approve it but I asked them to give me one example of where that didn't where wasn't approved on on the Clay County MCC gapa and there wasn't one you know so and basically what we said is we have full confidence in our Le legal team and land land Comm lands people who are working on this that when they bring something in a negotiated settlement before our board um we almost always have that their back and the backing of what they've negotiated uh because they are following all the rules and regulations as a federal project and all of those things so um and they and they were after we had that meeting they as a matter of fact before that meeting I think they had said that they were pulling some of their negotiations until they got some answers and I you know they left there I think um okay with with what was done and they they started the process then to renegotiate so and and I mentioned to them that that and so did the chair of the C County Joint you know we we understand what all those land owners are giving up they're the ones who are giving up enough a lot and we need to be as Fair as possible with those land owners um you know also understanding that we are the ultimate respons we're ultimately responsible for that taxpayer dollar so so there was a it was a long meeting but it was a a good meeting and then lastly I just want to point out I did bring my NDSU Bison jacket and and I would like to go in in my locker just for a second and come back out here and and I'll explain but just give just give me 30 seconds it's great it's great feel like we should be playing thunder struck or something [Laughter] so for um Brier Mojo I just want to uh point out to you that uh this year was the year of the Bison national champions and the bunnies were in Brookings so that ends my report Steve do you have thank you Mr chair uh on the second I participated in the intergovernmental Retreat uh that uh that has been previously dis discussed that afternoon that morning I went over and uh went around the toured the the new detox withraw Management Facility uh as I shared I think in an email with each of you uh as you recall in our old facility we had up to 16 beds most of the time because of the population we may have 10 to 12 um on on the second we had 20 21 individuals in our detox facility and so uh again unfortunate need but uh glad that we were be able to provide that service on the second I also met with sheriff empting on our issue that we had this morning and several other issues on the third I met with Joe uh we're having a strategic planning meeting for the courthouse continuing to work with uh with court administration and also Department of Corrections on trying to have the best layout here at the at our courthouse uh uh on the third I met with Dan Molly and dererk Le Point we talked about uh legislation uh legislative priorities flood mitigation board City legislation also talked about resource the resource recovery upcoming meeting uh that we'll be having on the third was also participating in the prtf uh legislative discussion that's been addressed uh yesterday participated with commissioner kravin off and in uh tweaking our presentation for the Minnesota Indian Affairs Council and also participated in the prtf and non secure detention meeting that's been addressed uh again I would just say uh we have management tomorrow I apologize for any confusion uh with the with the ordinance uh we will have a discussion tomorrow about making sure from uh from a uh communication standpoint from the county uh that everyone's clear as far as how that procedure should work um just a a note next um next Tuesday we'll also uh at 1 o'clock be having our quarterly EDC Eda meeting uh here at 1M and then lastly uh you may have seen it on social media uh but we have uh we are partnering with cap LP uh and Senior transportation in providing shuttle services on Mondays uh from 8 a.m. till 11:30 and then 12:30 until uh 3:30 for transportation from the Walmart parking lot uh in Morehead uh up to the DMV withdrawal management uh campuses or locations uh and so we're pleased to have that partnership in and working with us uh and if that goes well uh it sound like they would be open to have additional discussions about uh other times that they can maybe provide that service with that I yield right thank you Steve Darren do you have anything for us Jackie you do you want to take a [Laughter] picture good morning Mr chair and Commissioners um I just wanted to give a brief update on our website um we've added some information um the communications team is was looking at information that can be added to our website since that is the main route that we communicate and provide information to community members and citizens um so if we go to the Board of Commissioners page um we have added a legislative priorities uh section and once you click into that we have the three um legislative priorities that the board has approved for 2025 um with the ability to expand um and Prov additional information and Graphics you'll see it's the same as our handouts um so we we'll be able to update this um whenever needed or when we're going to be adopting and approving the um legislative priorities for the following year um but just wanted to let you guys know uh that that is available on our website and if you're on about talking to folks or people and you don't have the handouts on you you can gear um lead them to this website so that is all thank you that looks good and then um lastly I know tomorrow we are um commissioner bar and I are meeting with West Central initiative regarding some funding issues uh hopefully some planning dollars that will be going towards the um West Center Regional Water Project all right uh seeing nothing else uh we will be adjourned --------- ##VIDEO ID:7i868g-Zy7w## oh I appreciate that appreciate that morning everybody yeah why don't you got why don't you come out yeah I'm out in the middle I could come up there with him I feel like I'm kind of far away does this thing roll or what oh right here okay all right well everybody it's a it's a real pleasure to be here this morning and to swear in our three new Commissioners for this term uh so let's let's get right to it would you all please raise your right hand I State I uh state your name do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the constitution of the state of Minnesota and that I will discharge Faithfully the duties of the office of county commissioner in the county of clay the state of Minnesota state of Minnesota to the best of my judgment and ability to the best of my Jud and ability so help me God you you're sworn in congratulations gentlemen [Applause] good morning it's 8:30 and I'm calling the January 7th 2025 uh Klay County Board of Commissioners meeting to order first item on the agenda is approval of the agenda Mr chair offer a motion to approve the agenda with an addition of an appointment to the Lakeland Mental Health Center Board second have motion second all in favor say I I I oppos same sign motion passes next we have employee recognition first we have Don envi and Quinn Jagger good morning there we go hello I've already learned that this is way more fun to come recognize acknowledgements than it is to tell you that people are resigning from social services this is this is much better and I have Don to than for that uh Don has accomplished a rather impressive Milestone at 35 years of devoted service with Social Services uh she's not just a lead eligibility worker in our Financial Services Unit it's really a Cornerstone of the whole Division and a role model for everyone Don's expertise and knowledge Have Been instrumental in helping us navigate changes challenges and successes over the years it's really hard to conceptualize what 35 years uh is but it represents countless hours of dedication 72,800 hours to be exact but it also represents thousands of lives of clayon citizens that you help to improve and a legacy of compassion and Excellence so on behalf of everyone thank you for your service and congratulations [Applause] we're here today to recognize Heather which is something that she totally dislikes right now not in her comfort zone at all but you draw a heck of a crowd everybody showed up for you uh Heather started with us 15 years ago she actually started in the correctional Center working as a correctional officer so she was working uh shift work for a while and then an opportunity came up to move over to the record side and she jumped on that opportunity and she was hired by Linda back then and another opportunity came up for Heather to go to office manager and she jumped on that and she's been an excellent office manager for us she um strives for Perfection you cannot tell her she made a mistake CU she will work to point out your mistake she does that often U but we really appreciate having Heather in the office she's also one of our evidence text so that's uh that's a very important position and it shows it to her uh Integrity that she does have so we we appreciate you Heather we're congratulations on 15 we're looking forward to another 40 uh we know you have it in you so thank you and congratulations [Applause] this being my last day as chair it's it's nice that we can recognize employees you employees that are here this morning I hope you realize that we know that everything we accomplish is because of you it's not us you just make us look good so I appreciate the the turnout for Heather and and uh I see your husband back there who used to work with him at Morehead PD good to see you guys again all right on to the what I'm sure everybody's been waiting for to be heard H citizens to oh okay last day up here and I'm I need I need to be coached uh citizens be heard do we have any citizens present who wish to address the commission on any item that's not on the agenda Steve we got anybody uh we do not Mr chair okay bills and vur well I just I'm I'm just pumped up man I want to get to this I'm here to help move for approval of uh bills and alter so move second all in favor say I I I oose same sign motion passes good morning everyone we're going to have the 2025 state of the county address right now it's my privilege to present the 2024 State and County address or state of the county address reflect cting our accomplishments and highlighting our plans as we move into 2025 this year Clay County has continued to grow adapt and strengthen services for our community allow me to share some key updates from our departments and the people who make it all possible playay County projects playay County recently unveiled upgraded facilities for the Department of Motor Vehicles and withdrawal management detox facility the new DM m v Center offers enhanced services with expanded hours streamlined processes uh for licensed renewals registration and driver's tests improving the convenience of these services for our residents Additionally the county has introduced a stay the-art withdrawal Management Facility providing Specialized Care and support for individuals seeking to manage substance withdrawal safely these developments aim to enhance Community Health and streamline essential administrative services for Citizens not only in Clay County but in the region the Klay County Board of Commissioners are actively involved in the Metro flood diversion Authority project which aims to mitigate flooding risks by constructing an extensive diversion channel to protect the the region from High Water Events additionally Clay County is a member of the Morehead Clay County Joint Powers Authority which facilitates coordinated efforts between property owners state and local governments to manage the Morehead or the Metro flood diversion Authority project the MCC jpa plays a crucial role in aligning the goals and activities of Clay County with those of its neighboring counties and state agencies enhancing the Project's Effectiveness and ensuring comprehensive flood protection for the entire Red River Valley by the spring of 2027 the assessor's office are accessor offic has worked diligently to meet State requirements and deadlines while implementing legislative changes including an increase to the homestead exclusion an atier Homestead limit for the 2024 assessments and 2025 taxes staff reviewed one of all Parcels for Mass appraisals utilize utilizing data on construction sales and neighborhood Trends to ensure a fair and accurate valuation County Assessor Jill Murray was reappointed for a 4-year term auditor Treasurer the audited treasurer's office is responsible for the collection of taxes distribution of revenues classifying tax assessments ratings paying the County's bills County payroll and certifying our accounting processes to meet the government standard of acceptable practices this year was extremely busy being an election year with the presidential primary record's office the record's office has streamlined real estate recording process and expanded services including offering bilingual wedding ceremonies their efforts have been crucial in helping residents obtain documentation necessary for real ID compliance by May 2025 Planning and Zoning in 2024 the Planning and Zoning approved 203 building permits 21 use permits 17 variances while making significant process progress on updating the Land Development ordinances for 2025 this update reflects Klay County's commitment to a thoughtful and sustainable growth Human Resources with 695 employees Human Resources has been instrumental in sustaining our Workforce from January through November 2024 we welcomed 86 new hires HR processed 76 citizen concern forms and 997 job applications this year with the support of the Clay County Board of Commissioners we conducted a market study to align our wages with comparable counties and cities leading to a 3% adjustment in the grid additionally we implemented our second year of online open enrollment for benefits ensuring effic efficiency and enrollment as new legislation like the Minnesota earned sick and safe time and paid leave take effect HR remains focused on compliance and employee support veteran services veteran services has had another impactful year attending National trainings and hosting Outreach events to connect with more veterans Klay County remains a leader with zero identified homeless veterans and continues in collaborating with veteran courts and local organizations Kurt Canon was reappointed to another four-year term a special thank you to Bonnie kristoferson for her 13 years of service and a warm welcome to Kim har an Air Force retiree joining us from the Fargo VA probation and parole Klay County continues to partner with the Minnesota Department of Corrections our probation and parole department served over 1,054 adults 81 Ju V in 2024 in addition to launching a DWI Court to complement our drug court programs like the juvenile offender restitution program the victim impact panels uh continue to promote accountability and education we are also rolling out a gender responsive cognitive behavior therapy program targeting female Pathways into the justice system demonstrating our commitment to evidence-based practices and Public Safety we would like to thank Janelle Cheney for her partnership and Innovative thinking throughout the years Sheriff's Office and Emergency Management in 2024 the Sheriff's Office responded to significant incidents like the Holly elevator and Teran pre-cast fires showcasing showcasing exceptional collaboration with our emergency Partners we also introduced bodyw warn cameras into the correctional facility to enhance transparency and mitigate liability new hires included two additional deputies paid for through state of Minnesota Public safy Safety funding and our first Community Service Officer this has strengthened our team Emergency Management LED critical updates in response plans organized training sessions and conducted tabletop exercises to improve Readiness for emergencies our Correction Facility the Clay County Correction Facility has faced another extremely busy year bookings in uh booking in over 3,200 individuals a significant area of concern remains a housing of committed manly ill individuals the Clay County River Project addresses these issues through coordinated effort with mental health practitioners in a designated area in the facility Personnel continue to work with Community providers to enhance service Services provided inhouse in hopes of reducing recidivism the 48h hour rule remains suspended until June 30th 2025 like many other Minnesota counties Clay County is is pressured to house individuals not suited for the jail environment the sheriff and Chief Deputy continue to advocate for Solutions through discussion with the Minnesota sheriff's Association and the Minnesota State Bar Association Social Services Social Services made significant strides in family reunification with successful adoptions and improved procedures for relative placement recruitment for family child care and Foster Care provide provide providers remains a priority in health and Disability Services the implementation of men choices revision software is addressing initial challenges to ensure accuracy uh for in assessing eligibility the launch of the cfss program demonstrates a commitment to improving compliance and Service delivery the mental health and substance use disorder services are tackling urgent needs including advocating for more residential mental health beds for children and managing comprehensive assessments for the individuals with substance use disorder I would also like a special to give a special thank you to Ronda Porter for over 30 years of leadership and excellent service and we're pleased to well welcome Quinn J Jagger to as our new Social Services director Public Health the public health program and the county includes a variety of services across multiple areas Family Health provides home visits to mothers babies and toddlers School nursing for Klay County school districts and consultation for child care centers Wick offers nutritional services to an average of 1,450 women infants and children monthly promoting breastfeeding and managing formula shortages Clinical Services include Distributing 139 car seats providing 33 covid and 329 other vaccines 31 drug screenings and 57 tuberculosis medication managements adult health services offer case management for over 1,200 clients through 17 nurses two social workers and three case aides health promotion includes Community grants targeting alcohol marijuana and vape production a suicide prevention program and local school local schools and work site Wellness Partnerships environmental health oversees inspections of licensed establishments and septic systems across clay wil in Ottertail County emergency preparedness focuses on planning for infectious diseases severe weather biological threats Mass casualties and while collaborating with various Community Partners the county attorney's office the county attorney's office continues to promote Justice Public Safety and effective governance in 2024 the office opened over 1900 cases across various legal issues including traffic violations misdemeanors property crimes and serious personal crimes such as burglary robbery assaults and murder it collaborates with the courts to operate the Clay County Drug Court Clay County veterans treatment court and plans to introduce a DWI Court in 2025 Additionally the office works with Social Services on child in need of protection services or ships cases commitment cases for mental health issues and guardianships and conservatorships uh for aging citizens the Civil Division manages numerous juvenile cases within the court system and the victim Services office assist assisted over 800 victims with a range of services including affidavit and of loss and Victim Impact statements the office also collaborates with all other Clay County departments on civil matters such as contract preparation Planning and Zoning election issues and Tax Court matters the West Central Regional juvenile center the wcjc continues to provide care and treatment for at risk youth and both the secure and non-secure Facilities by bringing in specialized professionals and engaging in state initiatives WCR JC remains a vital resource for not only the region but the entire state of Minnesota our technology department the county made significant strides in security improvements introducing a new cyber security analyst position to reduce risks and maintain compliance for various departments a major software acquisition of a popular server server Management program affecting 85% of the world presented challenges forcing the department to decide between paying additional fees or moving to a new platform platform additionally a redundant internet connection was introduced to enhance business continuity allowing access to Microsoft 365 products and isolating guest Internet traffic in case the state of Minnesota connection goes offline the technology department also played a large part in planning and transition of the new withdrawal management and detox facility GIS and Communications Department the gis and Communications Department welcomed the integration of a Communications coordinator which Consolidated the communication staff into a cohesive team they comp uh complemented the redes they completed the redesign of the Clay County website making it more userfriendly and ensured compliance with disability standards GIS staff managed and and manage the completion of the blue address number sign replacement across the county replac over 4,000 signs the and collected a new highresolution aerial image last spring which will soon be visible on improved online Maps they also made enhancements to the facility's management system including lease information it equipment and the infrastructure of new buildings GIS and communic communication staff are well prepared to support the needs of Clay County in 2025 our Highway Department the highway department had a busy and productive 2024 marked by diverse weather challenges significant Pro projects and Staffing transitions despite a winter with minimal Snow Road main maintenance remained active due to rain and sleep spring brought favorable conditions allowing for extensive crack filling and limited flooded summer was particular eventful with major projects including the second phase of a millon overlay on casar 26 Paving casar 1 after its n 2022 regrading and initiating the three-year 11 Street underpass project in partnership with menot and the City of Morehead Additionally the department secured funding for a roundabout at CA 5212 which provides safer driving conditions for our citizens the fall saw the retirement of five full-time employees with nearly all positions filled in new staff training underway looking forward to uh the department looking forward the department is preparing for an equal equally productive 2025 with exciting new initiatives solid waste the solid waste department has made significant updates and adaptations over the past year with cost saving and excellent Public Services key goals the department has continued its partnership with Becker County sharing load hauling which has resulted in an estimate estimated Savings of $50,000 a new mattress recycling process has been implemented collecting and Hauling mattresses to Becker County for deconstruction saving landfill space and recycling materials additionally the department has begun removing Freon from appliances allowing for revenue from recycled metal and saving approximately $30 per Appliance moving forward the Solid Waste Department remains committed to evaluating department needs and identifying opportunities for Budget reduction all while providing excellent customer service the facilities Department from completing 1,500 maintenance request to facilitating major relocations like the DMV and the withdrawal management detox operation the facilities department has ensured the County's infrastructure remains functional and welcome welcoming snow removal groundskeeping and custodial work continue to provide a safe and clean environment for employees and residents our legislative priorities the Klay County Board of Commissioners work closely with the association of Minnesota counties and advocating for the benefit of the entire state of Minnesota by participating in AMC's activities the commission ensures the Klay County's interests are represented at a state level collaborating on shared priorities and leveraging Collective influence to shape policies that impact all counties in 2025 Klay County identified three legislative priorities including addressing 911 fees to ensure adequate fun funding for emergency services advocating for the establishment of a psychiatric Residential Treatment Facility in Clay County to improve access to mental health care in the northwest region and and the state of Minnesota and securing funding for the FM area diversion project to alleviate flood risks in the region these priorities reflect clay County's commitment to addressing critical issues that affect the well-being and safety of its residents while contributing to the overall resilience and development of the state elections commissioner Paul krainov District 1 David ebinger District Five One bids uh or one re-election bids for four-year term commissioner Ezra bear uh won the election for District Two and uh for a four-year uh term sorry I look forward to the uh working I look forward to continue the great work with the commission on behalf of our citizens commissioner be will take the place of retiring commissioner Frank gross a special thank you to commissioner gross for his 12 years of dedicated service his leadership teamwork and Common Sense approach have been AA invaluable to our County we wish him all the best in his retirement and thank him for his many contributions finance and budget the Clay County Board of Commissioners continue to support a two-year tax baat program for residential new construction which involves a cooperation of the cities and school districts the tax abatement program which was started in 2012 has led to new home construction providing competitive incentives for citizens to build resolve and Clay County the program has helped considerably with our County's continued growth the Minnesota state auditor presented its audit findings to the County Board on November 19th in reference to the year ending December 31st 20123 in the issuance of the audit report state auditor had issued an unqualified opinion of the County's financial statement the unqualified opinion confirms the Klay County's Financial records or statements conform to the applicable Accounting Standards the County Board adopted the annual operating budget and tax levy for the year 2025 on December 17 2024 the total expense for 2025 are estimate estimated to be 1223 milon 99,9 the revenue Source necessary to cover these expens expenses include 44 m866 746 in a property tax levy state aid numerous grants services and util utilization of fund balance Clay County witnessed a net growth in new construction of 1.15% leading to a net Levy increase of 4.45% for 2025 as we close another year of service to citizens I want to thank our dedicated employees my fellow elected officials and the residents of Clay County for their trust and partnership together we have navigated challenges and achieved Milestones that set a strong foundation for the future we look forward to continuing to work collectively to make Clay County a vibrant inclusive and thriving Community for all please feel free to contact any of the County Commissioners or County Administration at any time if you'd like to share your feedback or suggestions thank you and best wishes for wonderful 2025 we are now going I will now open uh the floor for nomination chair Mr chair I'll offer a motion to to appoint commissioner Campbell as chair for 2025 I will second have motion to Second all in favor say I I I oppose same sign congratulations commissioner CH Campbell you are now the chair thank you thank you um I'm looking forward to this job uh at this point in time we would be I will be looking for nominations for vice chair I'll make a motion to uh um uh nominate um Jenny Mojo for vice chair and I will second it okay we have a nomination for commissioner mojo on a second any other nominations any other nominations third and final call all in favor signify by saying I I oppose the same motion carried congratulations commission Mojo at this point in time we're going to take a five minute break we're going to do a little bit of readjusting here we'll get back as as quickly as possible I know there's some of you who waiting for things on our agenda so 5 minutes all right good morning everybody we'll reconvene this morning's meeting Mr chair yes if I might briefly before we get onto the business of the day I just want to extend a wish of gratitude to commissioner evinger for his leadership as chair this past year and to you as well for your leadership as Vice chair I know those positions come with extra time and commitment and so uh you've led us well over the last year and appreciate your work thank you it's it's kind of like our relationship with our employees uh it's easy to lead people who are as functional and work as hard as you guys do I'm I'm just trying to keep up it's been a fun year thank you all right with that um I I'd like to just take a minute to uh welcome our new commissioner commissioner Ezra be from District 2 and Ezra I know uh your folks in District 2 probably know you well from your going through the campaign but I think uh a lot of the other County may not know you as well and and maybe if you would like to spend a minute or so to just tell everybody who you are yeah if you do not know who I am my name is Ezra be uh I've been a lifelong Clay County resident my entire life I reside in Goose Prairie Township just west of hit doll I am the owner and operator of a wean to finish HG Farm I've been married to my wife Katie for 12 years and we have five beautiful children I was on the Gooseberry Township Board as a supervisor for the last eight years and I also sat on the Clay County Board of adjustment and Planning Commission for the last six in the last two I was a chairman I'm looking forward to starting this new position scroll down here I'm looking forward to starting this new position and working with so many different people and I will serve the people of Clay County with respect integrity and with honesty thank you very much all right well welcome all right with that we'll move on to our next agenda item and that is uh item number four in the agenda and that is to establish the commissioner's meeting schedule for 2025 good morning uh Mr chair Commissioners uh before you for your consideration uh is the schedule for 2025 uh as we have in past years our anticipation is that we will have board meetings uh every every Tuesday Morning except for the fth Tuesday at 8:30 a.m. uh with a couple of exceptions uh on Tuesday June 17th uh we will have our board meeting at 5:00 pm which will be followed by the board of appeals and Equalization at 6:30 uh we this would be up for your consideration um November 11th is is a Tuesday an observation of Veterans Day we will be closed and so it would be up to the board of whether they would have no board meeting or they would shift that meeting to either Monday or Tuesday on Tuesday December 2nd uh 2025 we'll have our board meeting at 5:00 pm followed by Troth and Taxation at 6 uh and then within our schedule we would have no board meeting on Tuesday December 9th due to the AMC annual conference that i' yield for any questions all right any questions yeah I have one question would it be feasible or possible to have another meeting at the Clay County Fair I just to get out there in front of people a little bit more um commissioner bear and members I I believe there was a statute that requires us to hold it in the county seat is that I I will look at that I I do know there's several there's several um counties in Minnesota that will have a board meeting during their Fair but I don't know if they are the county seat where the where the fair grounds is in so I I can certainly look at that yeah I certainly that would might be a good idea to do that but just want to make sure that we we follow statute on it moment and following that requirement would it maybe make sense to approve the recommended uh schedule for the meetings uh with the ability for staff to investigate that uh second week in July meeting if it's possible if it's not possible to have a County board meeting I I know we've increased our presence with the county um government day so maybe having some sort of meeting um maybe it's not a business meeting of the board but something official because I I do appreciate what commissioner beay is saying increasing our uh visibility throughout the entire county is important you know I know if nothing else there is always the ability that we could have a a publicized workg group sure where no action is taken but at least you can be the there and and it would allow for others so in a worst case scenario we could always do that so but maybe um commissioner Mojo commissioner ever you comment yeah but I think a good idea would be and this worked so well when we meet with the townships but we could have a town hall type of meeting tell people we're going to be there if they have concerns or they have questions whatever um we could be there and possibly even have some of the staff there I know certainly our Highway Department Sheriff's Department would want to be there but we could we could work something out all right what's we need to establish our calendar so's Mr chair I'll offer a motion to approve the proposed calendar for the 2025 uh board meetings with the addition of a flexibility for staff to investigate the July date of the fair I will second that we have a motion and a second any further discussion seeing none all in favor signify by saying I I oppose the same sign motion carried okay we will move on to item number five request approval for Resolutions 20 25-1 through 4 for the designation of our newspapers and corresponding memorandum of understandings uh the first motion would be to approve resolution 2025-the as the official County newspaper paper Mr chair I'll make a motion to approve resolution 2025 D1 we have a motion in a second any further discussion and I might add for the public um uh these um these different motions that we're doing today on annual basis are rotating so every year that that rotates around to different newspapers so with that in mind uh all in favor signify by saying I I oppose the same sign motion carried the next one is a motion to approve resolution 2025-the the same sign motion carried we'll move into motion to approve resolution 2025-the the Barnesville record review for first printing of the Clay County financial statement Mr chair I'll make a motion to approve 2025 D3 second we have a motion in a second any further discussion seeing none all in favor signify by saying I I oppose the same sign motion carried item number or the next item motion to approve resolution 20254 designate the Holly Herald for second printing of the Clay County financial statement for 2025 Mr chair I move to approve uh resolution 2025 d04 I will second we have a motion in a second any further discussion all in favor signify by saying I I oppose the same sign motion carried all right and those uh Steve those included the memorandums right that's part of that that is that's correct yeah okay all right so the next item that we have is uh to enter into mou with Cass County North Dakota to board inmates at the Clay County correctional facility and and we have uh um sheriff imping and Sheriff joner from C County welcome Sheriff thank you morning and good morning I'll let I'll let you lead the way thank you uh good morning Mr chair Commissioners thanks for having us here this morning if I could just start off with a congratulations to uh commissioner krainov commissioner ER on your reelection and also commissioner bear on your election bid I look forward to working with everybody and also to our new chair and vice chair so very very much so look forward to working with everybody here again um we are here today to ask to enter inou with C County to board um Cass County inmates at our facility uh Sheriff Jer contacted me a few weeks ago asking if we had room um to board some of their uh inmates if he was able to get a variance through the North Dakota docc R uh shortly thereafter he had indicated that he was able to get that variance and we started working on this mou uh this mou uh has been reviewed uh by our County attorney and he had just a couple suggestions that we made and uh he reviewed it and it has been okayed Sheriff jard reviewed it and it looked good to him and that's where we are here today and also a president presid I should mention is C Colony commissioner Flaco as well sure J yeah good morning Mr chair and members of the commission so I would add to the congratulations that sheriff empting has already mentioned to you a number of you Chang positions congratulations on the chair Vice chair in the reelection and um I'm certainly happy this morning to be here um I as uh Sheriff tin mentioned contacted him a few weeks ago and uh asked him if if it would be possible to bring some inmates over here as you guys I'm sure have monitored in the media we've been struggling on the uh on the cast County side um we uh over the last three years um it's been a game of of uh Checkers for our staff our leadership staff and moving people around currently we have um approximately anywhere from 15 to 25 on average weekly inmates um housed at different facilities within North Dakota uh we have approximately 20 inmates on our community supervision unit which is a unit um where we can monitor people by ankle U monitoring so they don't come to our facility they have light charges of course they're not a public safety a risk to our community and uh that's that's given us some room um but really we're just it's it's a struggle every day it's been hard on uh local law enforcement um really kind of a morale killer uh as they make arrests sometimes and they can't bring people into to jail to to help keep our community safe so of course we make those determinations based on public safety and and uh if we feel that the person isn't a to society then we're sometimes having to release those those individuals but um I approached our commissioners back in 2021 and uh and explain the need for um additional spacing at our facility because we are seeing a a drastic increase in the amount of people that were coming in and um I was fortunate enough with my partnership with our with our commissioners and I appreciate um their collaboration to to uh build a new pod but we're not going to take control of that until uh sometime in May or June so uh really we're just trying to find um space wherever we can to uh and as you guys know the the state liner the river doesn't doesn't stop criminal activity from both of our communities so I think it is important that we collaborate um I appreciate uh Sher F's partnership his friendship um he's been excellent to work with uh a great partner with our agency along with uh Chief Deputy uh Martin who's sitting in the back back there um I know that I can call them and work on issues on a regular basis and that's been been important to to our relationship and and our friendship so uh the only other thing that I would mention is be kind of nice in the in theou if I got 100 beds um but I know that's not possible um so uh but no I I I appreciate the the collaboration with this with this uh with the board with you guys and it definitely shows your your uh dedication to Public Safety in our communities I suppose we could just Annex Cass County and then we'd yeah there you know there you go but uh but whe but whether it's been this collaboration or or the juvenile detention center we've appreciated that that uh partnership with you guys and so um it's it's we're just very appreciative so I'm glad you brought that up and I went you know it's it's advantageous when we can have one of your fellow one of our fellow Commissioners from the other side here as well with commissioner flal and I you know I just want to do a shout out to um former Commissioners um um Sherling and Peterson too they were really involved with the juvenile uh contract partnership contract that we got with Cass County and that of course required some legal uh maneuvering too that required both states to get involved and approve that so I might my one question would have been on the variance is that is that like a temporary thing or is that something that can just be ongoing sure Mr chair members of the commission um it's it will be ongoing obviously it because we're housing people uh across state there has to be some um you know we had to do some research on procedures um different housing techniques anything from as much as down to um how much an inmate is let out every day out of their cells to make sure that it it um coincides with what North Dakota requires through the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation so that has been some of the limitations in in the past with being able to house uh people over here but of course being able to do that really um really really helps us because the people that I have housed at the different counties in North Dakota are people that have been sentenced and they don't have medical issues which is which is a small percentage because if we have um inmates with medical issues typically those those counties don't want to take those individuals because you know and I don't blame them because they have to run them up to the hospital and sometimes they don't have Staffing to do that um and then we're as you guys know we're really restricted by um pre-trial a number of our our inmates are pre-trial and they still have court and so uh housing people like for example in Mackenzie County which is across a state of North Dakota causes us to use a number of resources to transport those individuals back and forth to court so um we're able to with partnering with you guys um you know uh transport those individuals easier and so we can now start housing some people that are are uh pre-trial over here so that helps us a lot well before the um you know I we kind of know what you're going through I at one point in time we had the same issue where we were just we did not have the space and we were having to uh send people out of Klay County at at an extremely high expense and thanks to our voters and their approval of we built a new facility and and this just seems to me um we we joined together in our dispatch we joined together in our regional juvenile center and this just makes all the sense in the world as long as we can accommodate and the sheriff has the has the space and everything works out uh I I just think this is a a good move commissioner ebinger I want to thank both of you uh one of the key Mo uh moments in my career and Morehead was when I realized how important the Partnerships are and how we have to work to keep them and your predecessor Paul Laney was a a great friend of mine Dave Todd uh we just Arland Ras mus we just had good people who kept that partnership together and I appreciate the communication and the the the support that you're giving each other on this and having said that I would like to make a motion that uh we enter into anou with Cass County uh to board inmates from uh in the Clay County Correctional Facility a second all right and does that include then the dollar amounts um on a prdm basis that is in the memo yeah as as just and with the it complies with theou as presented to us today right okay yes Ezra Mr chair I have a question for Sheriff empting the per DM rate covers the daily cost of housing them correct it's it's close to the daily cost of housing them yes and what we are going to do is we're going to start with 10 inmates and and see how that works and work our way up to to more um hopefully we can figure that out right away so we can help you out over there but uh that's what we're going to do but it's it it's close to it I have one followup how much room do we have over there at the jail as of now as of yesterday we were at 103 uh we can go up to 150 without uh hiring any additional staff if we go over 150 we'd have to hire additional staff so we do have the space for it right maybe in followup and to commissioner Bear's questions if so if we were to go you're going to start with 10 and maybe move up if we were to get to the point where where we might exceed that 150 number then we start getting into other additional costs for the county uh would we be open then to U being able to look at then maybe having to modify that perdum rate if if we're having to for example add staff because we're we're Bound by stat statute too when or by the Department of Corrections for the number of staff to P to inmates and I'm sure you have something similar you know yeah U Mr chair members of the commission we're we're just grateful for any beds that we can get so the 10 helps us out if it's a little bit more than that I think um we're we're continually on a day-to-day basis trying to strategize on where we can find additional spacing so this is just one of those pieces um we're also exploring some other things as well but yeah I think can't speak for the commission as far as the approval of any of additional pums but um most certainly I think that they'd be willing to work with whatever we needed to do I think the only thing the only concern would be and it goes to commissioner Bear's question is that we're at least recouping our costs yeah yeah most certainly we're not trying to right take advantage of a situation we're just grateful for the extra space I'm assuming Commissioners would feel the same wayk thank you Mr chair I just wanted to point out that our action today is not restrictive to only 10 it allows the uh sheriffs to have the flexibility to figure out whatever works there uh a comment as a followup to your um issue about when we were in the process of building our own cor Correctional Facility we were spending a million dollars a year needing to house out of County so we certainly understand that um difficult pinch I'm really uh encouraged by the opportunity to keep these inmates closer to their support structures if they have them and they're uh um I think it's a a good situation for both of us in terms of being close to the health care facilities and trials and and whatnot so uh I talk frequently at the state level about how the river does not define us as you uh pointed out Sheriff it it really is something where other cities throughout Minnesota are are shocked at the collaboration between North Dakota and Minnesota entities and it just speaks to the strength of all of our relationships between the um uh the Sheriff's Office police departments commissions City councils and I think this is a great way to address an issue for all of our region so thank you any other discussion seeing none all in favor the motion signify by saying I I oppose the same sign motion carried all right Mr chair members of the commission thank you yeah good luck thank you y commissioner flacko thank you for coming today all right we'll now move on to item number seven the request approval to hire a maintenance worker our Highway Department good morning Justin good morning yes so the first item I have is uh approval to hire an additional maintenance worker so through the 2025 budget cycle an additional maintenance worker was a new request that I had it was approved throughout the budget so what this does is this additional maintenance worker kind of gives the highway Department the ability to cover more area so it like during a snow event it will allow the road foreman and maintenance supervisor to split the county so it's not just one person looking over everything and I do believe that this will provide a higher level of service and it will not require any additional equipment I'll make a motion to approve the hiring of a maintenance worker as this is a 20125 budgeted item second have a motion in a second thank you any further discussion Mr I have one question yes Mr bear do you need is there a part-time guy looking at taking that job or not currently no so you won't need backfill for part-time um we only backfill if say um somebody's retiring and I know like a maintenance worker is going to step up to a blade operator so there's nobody currently employed that would be eligible to take this position right any other questions no all in favor signify by saying I I oppose the same sign motion carried next Justin we have the um resolution 2025-the to school Grant offered through mind so the city of Dilworth is requesting sponsorship as they are not a state aid City and it is required through mindat um if selected the grant can be up to a million dollar financially it doesn't have any impact to the county if they are selected it's just some stuff staff-wise that we'd have to do to help them out which we've done many different times questions Mr chair the uh safe routes to school program is really something that has benefited Clay County and other areas greatly it's something that really helps out other entities as you talked about so with I'll make a motion to approve resolution 2025-the um any local share is the responsibility of Dorth in this case it would be Dorth right that's correct all right any further discussion seeing none all in favor signify by saying I I oppose the same sign motion carried we'll move on to the next item Justin and that is the approval to purchase two tractors yes so I'm seeking approval to purchase two John Deere tractors from Rio equipment and Morehead um so previously we had been on a 7-year rotation with tractors these current ones we did push out to 10 years with the prices of equipment going crazy um I have attached the summary of the pricing which includes trades and the internal service funds available so the internal service fund is fully funded now there is a slight price difference between the two tractors only because one has a front PTO and one has a front loader is the only difference there and I guess these tractors do get used year round whether it be for mowing and then we do put snow blowers on the front of them we will use the one with a loader to help load salt sand guess so any questions I'd be happy to answer I have a question M yes go ahead the first track you have here on bid that would be the one with the front PTO correct correct that's what I figured all right and this um did go through Highway tracking and was recommended from our Highway tracking committee to move forward with with the purchase what is the board's wishes I will make a motion to approve the purchase of two tractors from Rio all right second we have a motion in a second any further discussion Mr chair uh commissioner bear does that reflect the the 23, 28732 and 20 22 7,859 36 that is correct right any further discussion seeing none all in favor signify by saying I I I oppose the same motion carried and we have another one for Justin and this is the approval of purchase pickup for the Department yeah so this is one that we worked this one took a long time just because we did work through both Leasing and purchasing um so I am requesting approval to purchase this pickup from Nelson and auto center so through the whole lease process we found out that a three-year lease was only $2,000 $2,000 less than the outright purchase of this vehicle through the sourcewell Cooperative purchasing agreement so I'm seeking approval to purchase this vehicle as at the end of three years we would have the full equity in the vehicle and I do think it's a better deal all right and again once again I want to just point out that this was brought before highway tracking committee with recommendation for approval and we move to approve the purchase of the pickup from Nelson AO Center for 42,1 16871 second you motion the second any further discussion seeing none all in favor signify by saying I I oppose the same sign motion carried before we go into our committee assignments I think I think we'll take that agenda addition real quickly here and um and again this is a motion or this is would be to appoint well Harden am I saying that correctly to Lakeland Mental Health commissioner Mojo do you want to thank you Mr chair as as you know I serve on the Lakeland Mental Health Center board that board is comprised of two members from each of the partnering counties one being a county commissioner and the other being a uh a citizen who has um some sort of qualifying uh relevant experience to also serve in that capacity today uh you are um being asked to fulfill a term for um a commissioner that had served on there for a long time he's Mike McCarthy is no longer serving in the capacity and so it has been sitting open for over a year uh really excited that Noel Harden of uh she currently works in the capacity at the University of Minnesota extension university has done some really great work that I felt was really um an overlap with the work that Lakeland Mental Health Center does and so I'm asking you today to appoint the approve the appointment of Noel Harden to the Lakeland Mental Health Center board for a period of three years and I could stand for any questions if wanted I do apologize for this being an agenda um addition I'd been talking to Noel over the course of the last six weeks and it just um with timing this worked out the best and we do have an attachment with the letter of interest on that no has submitted so yes commissioner kov yes I'll just make a comment to um uh back with commissioner Mojo saying in regard to Noel Harden's uh background and work how it um uh I've watched her work in on a couple other committees for the last couple years and she uh is well vered in in areas of uh uh public policy and and also just studies the work that she has to do and and uh I think it's a great uh appointment to have if we so acced and with that I'll second the motion' you make you oh I thought you did all right all right I'll make a motion then to approve the appointment of n Harden to the Lakeland Mental Health Board of Directors for a three-year term I'll second that motion we have a motion and a second any further discussion Mr chair yes I assume she's not here or online that's correct commissioner all right all in favor of the motion signify by saying I I oppos the same sign motion carried thank you for your service and volunteering for service all right the next item we have is the um approval of the Clay County Board of Commissioners assignments for 2025 as you know last week we uh spent some time discussing uh changes and I believe Jackie and Stephen have done their job in trying to redo those so Steve do you want to thank you Mr chair you you uh hit the hit it on the head we we made the attempt uh to to uh take all the different discussions that we had and make the changes on on this sheet again in the event from from our discussion if we missed something uh if you would like to bring that forward we'll make sure that uh that we get that uh adjusted moving forward all right maybe I'm just going to go around I'll start to my right with Paul I Paul have you had a chance to review have and I everything looks fine to me all right thank you commissioner Mojo I believe this under mine is reflective of the conversations that we had last week as well um I guess I'm not seeing anything to change very good commissioner bear everything looks good to me right commissioner eringer looks correct all right so and from my standpoint too I think everything kind of seems to be as we had discussed and and obviously as the course of the year goes on if if if any of us end up with conflicting schedules and something needs to be changed we can certainly always have the ability to modify um these assignments as the year goes on so with that I would entertain a motion to approve the 2025 Comm committee assignments with pum so move we have a motion is there a second um if sorry about this well I I'll second that's fine go ahead I'll second now you have a comment uh I see one line that I admiss that I'm no longer exists if we need to amend it might as well which one is that it's going to be infrastructure resilient advisory task force that no longer exists I missed that earlier it about halfway down it's after the historical Sy oh okay all right yeah because last time you said it was on yours twice wasn't it or something list twice yeah and now okay it just didn't even exist all right so um if the board's okay with the modification of that just removing that one is that who made the motion motion are you okay with that and you made the second so you're okay with that change it just something that was uh offered to do for AMC and I took it up in that project's over all right very good all right anything else all right seeing no other discussion all in favor the motion signify by saying I I I oppose the same sign motion carried the committee assignments are established for 2025 thank you thank you Steve all right and then lastly for today we will go through our committee report and I'll I'm going to start and I know Ezra you haven't really had a chance to partake in any committees but uh we were glad to see you able to attend in December the AMC um conference as a newly elected and I don't know if you just you haven't had any opportunity to talk about that what you felt your experiences were with that or yeah so I uh we attended that in uh December 8th I believe around there I thought it was a very good conference tooken a lot of stuff and appreciate you guys inviting me along to take that in very good so next week you'll have some reports together all right all right commissioner eringer I've talked enough I had nothing last week but practice the state of the county and so we move on good all right commissioner kinof yes uh on Thursday January 2nd we have at a meeting of the Clay County intergovernmental committee it was a final uh review of the upcoming uh intergovernmental Retreat that will be on January 31st I believe and um we also talked about other legislative priorities for the upcoming uh session um uh and and the fact at that um excuse me at at that Retreat we will have our representatives and Senators uh to our area present and they'll be doing a um uh conversation with with the uh group uh for questions to ask and I think one of the things that was brought up and this kind of came from the school board people uh just being mindful that uh some of the things locally need some flexibility and um and rather than rather than just strict mandates and I think there are comments being made maybe as this group is we aware of these things uh like us when we're down at the capital or when we see our legislators locally uh just uh making them aware of some of the needs we need locally that may not exist uh Statewide and making sure we have the uh a little more flexibility to do our work uh and be successful in doing that uh the last part of the meeting was going to be the next member entity the rotation for 2025 and that will move from we had it for the last year in Clay County and now it'll Mo on to the city of dor uh dor London Felton schools and the next meeting will be in March after that uh meeting in the afternoon I had the uh first board meeting of the year for the CL wcd board um they did their ult of office they had three new officers that were elected uh Brady fley uh up north of Holly Area Richard minol uh was reelected and he's in the Felton area Joe H hildbrand also out in that Holly Area uh to a little bit to the north side was reelected um they did not uh their form was minimal there were three or five there so there were a couple things that they wanted to extend forward for one month and that was number one their election officers which then they'll do in February as well as their time and meeting uh for the uh for the remainder of um uh 2025 uh thinking about moving the meeting which has been the second Thursday of the month at 3: and moving that to 8 in the morning on that same uh second Thursday uh other than that they did first year items much like we did here this morning um they still are trying to uh um fill a vacancy for a district technician uh their application period is running through January and hopefully to get some qualified people um their uh main goal within legislative session uh is uh trying to again working along with their s swcd Aid last year uh they had received $15 million but in their uh in the uh approval from legislature it falls down to 12 the following 12 million the following year so they'll be lobbying hard to see if they get that three million back um which they utilize very very well and they need those funds um I think outside of that I think that covers that meeting pretty well and then on Friday uh we had for the prtf we had another teams meeting um representative niler was not in attendance on that one but SE Senator kupek was and it was a really good meeting I thought one chance to talk just uh directly to Senator kek um the main part of that meeting was how we uh will move forward and looking at co-authors for the bill who will be in the the important people to be leading this in in the Senate as we move forward uh also as uh part of that um will be a presentation that um myself and Steve will be going down to the Minnesota Indian Affairs Council and and they have their quarterly meeting I believe it is uh at Treasure Island Casino down there and we're going to go down and give a present ation of of our uh need of the psychiatric Residential Treatment Facility uh the grounds for the reasoning of why we need it why it's really beneficial to have it here in Clay County and uh we are going to be asking them to um consider signing a resolution uh for us to move forward uh in support with us uh in having the U uh um Indian Affairs Council involved and then uh after that I had a meeting with Quinn Jagger um uh in regard to the collaborative uh we did um last month uh come up with a uh entity that will be being our collaborative coordinator and that is reach out of Holly and we did have it signed their coordinator contract signed and um we moving forward I look I think they're really going to step it up to another level uh one of the people involved uh Peggy uh who is part of this team has been a um a coordinator before for 10 years so we're coming in with some experience and uh I think they're going to do some really good things for that program with that that's my report thank you commissioner Mojo thank you last week we had a prtf um collaboration meeting with our architect and gerts and uh staff as we continue to work forward in in dialing um The Proposal in before legislative session yesterday I attended the Metro Cog executive committee meeting we talked about the status of the 2050 MTP there's some additional requirements that Federal Highway and North Dakota do is requiring uh and then we talked about um various upcoming items for 2025 as we move forward and then agency updates from the director uh a little bit of an issue getting a quorum at the beginning as as with new elections coming on not everyone's aware of the new rotation quite yet so um we're a little short for a while and then also attended the um uh prtf um juvenile uh space predesign study yesterday uh covering a lot of um bases in regards to the um the project narrative that we're going to be utilizing at the capital and then a agency and organizational planning um we talked about um the project uh Financial scope um I can tell you that we're continuing to dial this thing in um as as close as we need to understanding I think for the public that um when you get uh State funds there's some uh additional requirements that we've Incorporated in our other facilities they're called B3 components uh and they can really shift the scope of what that price is quite broadly and so as we um talk a little bit about um components that we want to make sure are part of that um knowing that those B3 components can really um change what that bottom line is drastically and then the only other item we don't need to talk about it very long I just want for the clarification there was a article in the Fargo forum last week that talked about our um tobacco ordinance that we covered on the 17th that that stated there will be a a a April first uh enforcement date my understanding is this entire board has not voted on a date at this point correct uh Mr chair commissioner Mojo that that is correct in talking with Mr Melton because there was nothing uh no date specifically in that uh in in the agreement the ordinance actually went into effect the day that you guys made made the made the agreement as far as the roll out or implementation of that um the board also you're correct did not make any any of those notifications that you you talked about from the paper okay so in the future as we move forward with these pieces I've served on a lot of ordinance subcommittees uh with commissioner Campbell in regards to land use um I I will say that there's a bit of frustration there because um if it was the intention that there would be a soft roll out of a arbitrary date I feel it's a bit of an inservice to our County businesses um to not not have had that as part of the dialogue and then see something in the paper and and so I would hope that we can um maybe do better as we move forward with those pieces but um as as stated when something comes out in the paper that the County Board has not acted on that puts us in a difficult position um specifically since I did have uh two businesses reach out to um me on that um so I guess it's just maybe further comment we can have later but just from the one commissioner's perspective and that concludes my reports Mr thank you all right I last week on January 2 I was also I also attended along with commissioner kravinoff the uh playay County intergovernmental committee um commissioner krabu reported on that well um I think we we spent an awful lot of time talking about legislative priorities and there was an awful lot of discussion from the school districts about mandates that that involved a lot of what they do that really um really have an impact on on them financially and you know so I you know there was a request maybe that from the part of the school districts that that maybe we should try to come up with some sort of a a meeting with with all of us that also can maybe talk about some of the mandates that we have and and at that point in time I reminded or I I mentioned to them how Klay County used to have a Saturday morning session with our local legislators and we' bring in all of our County department heads and this might be an opportunity to maybe to follow up with something like that and and and see if our legislatures could come and not necessarily focus on everything that we want to see but maybe the impacts of what mandates do to us um that just so that our legislators are are aware of the impacts of of those U mandate so and maybe we can you know we can work with Steve and um I know the school districts would be very interested in having that discussion with us and I we did go over the our Retreat agenda and I have you had an opportunity to reach out with um Steve from Solutions regarding um I have we've invited him to participate as he is he willing to do that I believe he is okay I think that's really good so because one of the one of the items that we're going to have on there is the sign significant conversations about the prtf and and Steve was going to lead that panel and on the panel was going to be commissioner Mojo and myself and commissioner Mojo is really involved with the legislative process and so you know so giving the report there uh my side of it has been more of the building component of it what we're doing in terms of design and maybe we can show a few things in that design well one of the one of the things that we kind of felt was really important would be to have the the programming component of it there and how that how that programming can benefit um these individuals so I'm glad to hear that and hopefully we can follow up and make sure that that goes through all right and then um yesterday we did have the um meeting with the non-secure prtf predesign that is moving along quite well we're compared to some early estimates that we were hearing I think we're there's a little bit of encouragement in terms of the prices coming getting more in line there's an awful lot of work to be done between now and the 15th and a lot of that work's going to fall on on the in the hands of our County Administrator to prepare some documents that they're needing to be able to present in terms of a letter to the state uh so I want to thank Steve in advance for the efforts that are going to be done to go and whoever else is involved providing all that detail that's going to go into that um and then um then that same day as the interg government Retreat uh I did also I was requested on behalf of some attorneys for land owners regarding the diversion project um the as chair of the um mored Clay County Joint powers board uh we were invited to a meeting myself along with the chair of the Cass County Joint Resource District to meet with some County attorneys or not County attorneys but landowner attorneys they had some concerns about um how the negotiation process and when they're negotiating uh items you know you know are do the negotiators actually have the authority to approve those negotiations and and basically what we we said to them is that no uh nothing is finalized that requires the full every each board uh each board member has the ability to raise questions um and ultimate you know and I gave one example on the MCC jpa there was one uh and and it's quite rare but we had one of our commissioners that raised a question on on one issue and so that delayed that and and but there was there didn't seem to be a concern on the part of anybody that it was delayed um but ultimately every every board member has that right to ask questions we we are the pur string for for those all of that money and so we have to have that ability to raise questions and I and we basically gave that message to those attorneys and their their concern was okay well they're going there on behalf of their attorneys and and the negotiation process and then you know they're concerned that okay if if they come to an agreement then the board doesn't approve it but I asked them to give me one example of where that didn't where it wasn't approved on on the Clay County MCC gapa and there wasn't one you know so and basically what we said is we have full confidence on our legal team and land land Comm lands people who are working on this that when they bring something in a negotiated settlement before our board um we almost always have that their back and the backing of what they've negotiated uh because they are following all the rules and regulations as a federal project and all those things so um and they and they were after we had that meeting they as a matter of fact before that meeting I think they had said that they were pulling some of their negotiations until they got some answers and I you know they left there I think um okay with with what was done and they they started the process then to renegotiate so and and I mentioned to them that that and so did the chair of the C County Joint you know we we understand what all those land owners are giving up they're the ones who are giving up an awful lot and we need to be as Fair as possible with those land owners you know also understanding that we are the ultimate respon we're ultimately responsible for that taxpayer dollar so so there was a it was a long meeting but it was a a good meeting and then lastly I just want to point out I did bring my NDSU jacket and and I would like to go in in my locker just for a second and come back out here and and I'll explain but just give just give me 30 seconds it's great it's great feel like we should be playing thunder struck or [Laughter] something go for um richer Mojo I just want to uh point out to you that uh this year was the year of the Bison national champ iions and the bunnies were in Brookings so that ends my report Steve do you have thank you Mr chair uh on the second I participated in the intergovernmental Retreat uh that uh that has been previously dis discussed that afternoon that morning I went over and uh went around the toured the the new detox withdrawal Management Facility uh as I shared I think in an email with each of you uh as you recall in our old facility we had up to 16 beds most of the time because of the population we may have 10 to 12 um on on the second we had 20 21 individuals in our detox facility and so uh again unfortunate need but uh glad that we were be able to provide that service and the second I also met with sheriff empting on our issue that we had this morning and several other issues on the third I met with Joe uh we're having a strategic planning meeting for the courthouse continuing to work with uh with court administration and also Department of Corrections on trying to have the best layout here at the F at our courthouse uh uh on the third I met with Dan Molly and Derrick Leo we talked about legislation uh legislative priorities flood mitigation Border City legislation also talked about uh resource the resource recovery upcoming meeting uh that we'll be having and the third was also participating in the prtf uh legislative discussion that's been addressed uh yesterday participated with commissioner krainov and in tweaking our presentation for the Minnesota Indian Affairs Council and also participated in the prtf and non-secure detention meeting that's been addressed uh again I would just say uh we have management tomorrow I apologize for any confusion uh with the with the ordinance uh we will have a discussion tomorrow about making sure from a from a uh communication standpoint from the county uh that everyone's clear as far as how that procedure should work um just a note next um next Tuesday we'll also uh at 1:00 be having our quarterly EDC Eda meeting uh here at 1M and then lastly uh you may have seen it on social media uh but uh we have uh we are partnering with cap LP uh and Senior transportation in providing shuttle services on Mondays uh from 8:00 a.m. to 11:30 and then 12:30 until uh 3:30 for transportation from the Walmart parking lot in Morehead uh up to the DMV withdrawal management uh campuses or locations uh and so we're pleased to have that partnership and and working with us uh and if that goes well uh it sound like they would be open to have additional discussions about uh other times that they could maybe provide that service with that I yield all right thank you Steve Darren do you have anything for us Jackie you do you want to take a [Laughter] picture good morning Mr chair and Commissioners um I just wanted to give a brief update on our website um we've added some information um the communications team is always looking at information that can be added to our website since that is the main route that we communicate and provide information to community members and citizens um so if we go to the Board of Commissioners page um we have added a legislative priorities uh section and once you click into that we have the three um legislative priorities that the board has approved for 2025 um with the ability to expand um and provide additional information in graphics you'll see it's the same as our handouts um so we we'll be able to update this um whenever needed or when we're going to be adopting and improving the the um legislative priorities for the following year um but just wanted to let you guys know uh that that is available on our website and if you're on about talking to folks or people and you don't have the handouts on you you can GE um lead them to this website so that is all thank you that looks good and then um lastly I know tomorrow we are um commissioner bar and I are meeting with West Central initiative regarding some funding issues uh hopefully some planning dollars that will be going towards the um West Center Regional water project so all right uh seeing nothing else uh we will be adjourned e