--------- Good morning everybody. It's 8:30. We'll call this morning's meeting of the Klay County Board of Commissioners to order for Tuesday, May 6th. Our first item is the approval of the agenda. Move for approval. Second. Have a motion by Commissioner Eiger, second by
Commissioner Bayer. Any further discussion? Any further discussion? Seeing none, all in favor signify by saying I. I. Oppos the same. Motion carry. Just a note on that that under the consent agenda, there was a
donation from Johnson's auto repair. Uh they they are a proud supporter of the sheriff's department and their K-9 program. And uh they sell candy bars in their shop. And the proceeds of those candy bars go to the sheriff's
department. This time around it was $70 in cash. So, thank you to Johnson's Auto for that. Next, we have some employee recognitions. All right, our first one we have is for Seth. 25 years,
huh? Well, congratulations. This is a showing our appreciation for your 25 years of dedicated service. Thank you. Thank you very much. Justin, do you want to Yeah. So, Seth is in our um one of our senior engineering technicians. So, throughout the last 25 years, he's worn
many different hats. Um throughout the last 6 years that I've been here, he's kind of been transitioning into our team leader for our bridge inspection program and he does a phenomenal job at that. I mean, Seth is comes to work every day early with a smile on his face and
couldn't ask for a better employee and thank you, Seth. All right, next we have Jennifer Thomas. And this one is celebrating 25 years of dedicated service on her behalf. Okay.
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. No. So Justin, you want to talk? Yeah. I'll say a few words. Um Jyn was unable to be with us today. She's currently in New York on vacation. But um I have a few words for her. Um, Jen has been a big part of our non-secure program for the last 25 years, evolving through different roles
with working with our youth. She's very passionate about her job and it shows with the work that she does with the kids that she oversees. Jen has also used her knowledge and experience with this job to assist our newer staff and guiding them to gain the confidence need to involve in their roles as well. I'm grateful that Jen has been working with
us as long as she has. And when she gets back from vacation, I'm looking forward to seeing what uh talking to her about what her next 25 years at the facility is going to bring. All right. Thank you. Next, we have Nick Togus, and he's not here today either, right? So, uh,
the sheriff is here, too, and he has 15 years of service. So, Nick has been with us for uh 15 years. He cannot be here today. He's currently in Canton, South Dakota becoming a taser instructor. Um, but he started actually in the correctional
center. On a side note, this week is National Corrections Week, so we appreciate the work that all of our correctional officers do in keeping the inmates safe over at our facility. Um, but when Nick went to pursue his uh law enforcement career, he did stay with us in a part-time capacity and started
working um as a deputy and doing port security. And he did that for several years while he was uh working for both the Glendon and White Earth Police Departments. And in 2018, he uh was hired full-time as a deputy. and he's been with us ever since. He is a police
training officer, so he trains our new staff. He is also our less than lethal instructor, so he's all things less than lethal for us. And he does a great job for us. And I I joke about having other people up here and staying for 15 years. I truly think Nick will be here for another 15 years. We appreciate his
work. So, thank you. All right. Thank you, sir. Thank you. All right. Next, we have citizens to be heard. Uh, do we have any citizens in the audience to be heard on items not on the agenda? It looks like we have none. Steve, anything from online? Uh, Mr.
Chair, I I did receive uh a information from four different citizens in regards to the casino uh and uh and issuing a letter of support for the wider earth casino complex. Uh the four letters I provided each of those to you uh on your
desk. We received a letter from Janine Hansen, Mike and Sarah Lilrand, Terry Milby, and Chris Rosall. Uh again, all of these uh were um uh speaking not in favor of the letter of support. And if it uh is all right with the the bo board
chair and the commission, I would uh rather than read these submit these uh to be part of the packet uh that would be published uh published uh um next week or two weeks. All right. So these will be become part of the minute
record. Right. Anything? No other citizens comments. All right. Next, we'll approve the payment of bills and vouchers. So move, Mr. Chair. Second. Have a motion by Commissioner Bear, second by Commissioner Abinger. Any further
discussion on the motion? Any discussion? Seeing none, all in favor signify by saying I. I. Oppose. The same sign. Motion carried. Excuse me. Approval of minutes from April 15th and
April 22nd. Move to approve the minutes for April 15th and April 22nd. I'll second that. We have a motion by Commissioner Krabanov, second by Commissioner Bear. Any further discussion? Any further discussion?
Seeing none, all in favor signify by saying I. I. I. Oppose the same. Motion carried. All right. Next item is the request request approval to hire a registered nurse for public health. Good morning, Kathy.
Good morning, Mr. Chair and commissioners. Uh we will have an opening in our family home visiting program um for a full-time registered nurse. I've listed some of the responsibilities they have in regards to their home visits and we have evidence-based um programs for those.
So, they're seeing um lots of families in their homes. Um they also provide um child care consultation for um child care uh facilities across our community in our county. They're backup for vaccines, car education, car seat
education and installation, child and teen checkups um in our clinic. So, a variety of um things that the family home visiting nurses do. I believe that you just received
the salary calculation worksheet. Um yes, I passed this morning. Um so um it lists um uh the the the differences if we hire on step two or step three at the bottom
there. So there would be um some savings in both of those. who are still having challenges um recruiting nurses. We have like three open positions in our adult health and now we have one in family health and it's uh really been
challenging to recruit um the nurses that we need in those program areas. So um we may depending on what we have to offer a nurse there may be less savings in hiring. I also requested
um to backfill if there's a need, if there's a nurse that's in another program area and wants to provide services in our family health area. Mr. Chair, did this go through pick? Did this go through pick? Uh this one this one did not. No, there's this is
replacing a current nurse. Yes. Commissioner Bar, is this a two-year or fouryear RN? Warrior is the requirement for home visiting nurses. Any other questions? Sorry. Move for approval to advertise
and hire for a full-time RN position in family health. Second. Motion by Commissioner Krabanov. Second by Commissioner Abbinger. Any further discussion? Further discussion? Seeing none, all in favor signify by saying I. I oppose the
same sign. No. Okay. Okay. I I have another question for Okay. Yep. Sure. Go ahead. About beginning middle of April there, we you came in here to go after some grant money. I was just wondering update on that if that uh the substance
use prevention education grant was received or not. Unfortunately, we got a denial letter yesterday from that. We're still waiting on the other grant that the other grant we also received a denial letter. So, Rory is following up on that to see how
many applicants there were and why we received a denial. All right. Thank you for that update. Sure. Thank you, Kathy. All right. Next, we have a um case manager position in the secure residential unit. James is here this
morning. Good morning, James. Morning, Mr. Chair, commissioners. I'm here today um to request permission to rehire a soontobe open um case manager position in our SKU residential unit. Um he'll be out of here in about two weeks. Um he did great
work for us. He liked working here. Um he's just he's originally from down south and he's moving back closer to family. Um and requesting to fill his uh refill the case manager position which is a line 17 um with back fill.
Okay. Any questions? I'll make a motion to approve with backfill. I will second that. Motion by Commissioner Motel, second by Commissioner Bayer. Any further discussion? Any further discussion? Seeing none, all in favor
signify by saying I. I. Oppose. The same. Motion carried. Thank you. Good luck. Before I get out of here, uh I do have a quick update. Um James's team is phenomenal as we all know, but that has been told to the entire state through
our dialogues at the capital. Uh yesterday our PRTF allocation for the renovation grant passed the first major hurdle in the house yesterday and uh Representative Keeler talked at length about how phenomenal your staff is and
how phenomenal your staff is at meeting each individual case uh kids where they're at. And I I know you know this. I know you work really hard. I know you're also really great at uh tiling, which I saw the new fireplace stone over at the family service center, but uh
this uh this huge step is not the work of this board. Uh for us to get to that level at the state is a true testament to the work that your staff does and all of the uh other staff from other departments that work with your employees. And uh James, you've just
been really great at uh constantly meeting. I know you hate the we all hate these recurring meetings, but you always bring everything to the table, all of the documents, all of the extra work. Uh, and so I just really want you to know that I really appreciate the work and the the culture in which you've
built over there. So, thank you. All right. Thanks, James. All right. Next, we have our Metrocog update for 2026. Ben. Okay. Good morning, Ben. Morning, chair,
commission, Mr. Administrator. A little I'm a little horse, so I apologize for sounding like a frog. Um um it's always good to come and come and speak with y'all and let y'all know what's going on. Um we've been doing a lot of uh projects, but first, I just
wanted to do a quick a quick um update or a quick review of what we do and who we are. You know, we're a bystate metropolitan planning organization. We cover both uh Minnesota and part of North Dakota as well. Um we have an urbanized area of 178 square miles. Our
2023 population that we serve is 262,620. So we're a we're a small TMA transportation management area, which is a type of an MO, but we're a fairly uh large MO for the for the region. So it's
depending on how you look at what we do, you know, it's it's kind of, you know, it depends on which lens you want to look through. One of the most important stats that I think that we have here in the area is a 1.81 unemployment rate. It's the second lowest in the US. And I
think y'all are aware of that and and talk that up at every opportunity. I know I do whenever I speak to a group, whether they're local or or whether out of state. Um, I think the the lowest uh unemployment rate I believe the last I
checked was in Sou Falls, South Dakota. So that's I think that's pretty significant. Um, we have 2 and a half billion vehicle miles vehicle miles traveled and and that equates out to 9,451 vehicle miles traveled per capita.
Those are pretty big numbers for an area this size. So that's a lot of folks driving on a lot of roads. We also have over 1 million MAT bus riders. Again, that's a pretty significant number for uh a transit agency that's that's this
size that serves an area this size. We have over 60 TIP projects. Those are transportation improvement program projects. Those are the construction projects that y'all see. That's the that's the rebuilding and reconstruction and construction of new roads and and and infrastructure. And the valuation of
those of those projects are over $86 million. So that's a pretty significant amount. Some of that money comes from Mandot, some of it comes from North Dakota DOT. We just total it up because we are a regional NPO. We have 253 miles of shared use bikeway paths in the area
and that's constantly being added. Um, our policy board, of which Miss Mojo is the chair, is very u very supportive of of our bike ped program and and expanding our our shared youth pathways. And it gets a lot of support from all our jurisdictions and residents in the
area as well. They really like those programs. And we were, as I talked earlier, we were designated as a transportation management area on June 5th of 2023. And I'll talk a little bit about that in a little bit, but I wanted to give y'all a couple of a couple of updates. We're a
council of governments. We've been a council of governments since, I believe, 1961. So, um, there were some forward-thinking folks at that time that realized that their strength in numbers and all the local jurisdictions needed to work together toward common goals.
out of that council of governments. The the MOO was established in in the early 70s with the with one of the federal highway transportation bills that was passed at the time under the Nixon administration that basically treated transportation funds like community
development block grants for HUD. Chunks of money came to the states. They were distributed to NPOS if they were 50,000 population or higher to deal to to deal those out for for various planning and construction projects. So, an NPO is
created by federal legislation. We're formed by state governments. The the governors of both states have to sign off for anything that we do as far as becoming an NPO or our our most recent case becoming a TMA. And we work real closely with the local jurisdictions.
There's representatives on our policy board. We have full members of which Klay County is one. We have seven full members and we also have seven associate members. Our newest associate member was the city of Kindred that came on about this time last year. So, they're not dues paying members, but they are able
to participate. They're non- voting. they can apply for funding for projects and um but they again they're not a voting member in projects and they can participate in both our technical committee and on the policy board. Again I talked about you know
we're a bystate we're a bystate no we prepare comprehensive and transportation plans for smaller communities in the area. We're preparing one for Kindred right now. That was part of the reason why they wanted to come on board as an associate member. Dworth is uh another
community in the area here that we're updating their comprehensive plan as I speak. So, they had wanted to do that last year and with some of with all the growth that's been going on, they wanted to take care of some zoning issues first and they asked us if we could do their uh comprehensive plan update this year,
which we're well underway. We had an open house at the at the city depot uh two weeks ago. Had a pretty good turnout from that. We conducted a regional housing market study in 22 2022 and 2023 that was adopted by the policy board. Uh
we also support the Caslay food commission. They meet monthly in our um in our conference room and we support several of their subcommittees as well. We also provide support for the Mattbus uh coordination committee board. They meet monthly in our conference room. Um
there's several members made up from the local jurisdictions and with their latest reorganization um I sit on that board as well as executive director of Metrocog. We also maintain traffic counting equipment and data for regional jurisdictions. We've
done that for for almost 40 years. Um but now the rules have kind of changed a little bit at the federal level. We're having to be kind of creative in how we how we purchase that equipment and how we use it going forward. they kind of uh changed the rules on us in the middle of the night and didn't let us know about
it until after the fact. So, it kind of caught us by surprise. And we also develop a a single 4-year fiscally constrained annual transportation improvement program. Again, these are the construction projects that you see in the area that use federal dollars.
And we often get asked, why do you do one for the entire area? Why don't you do one for the Minnesota side and one for the North Dakota side? And that's because we're a regional NO. We try to ac try to accommodate all of the um policies and and statutes from both
legislators and from both DOS. It's getting more and more difficult, especially this year with the executive orders that have come about and kind of the the changes that have been coming through the Department of Transportation. A lot of things that were very forward thinking, especially on the Minnesota side, such as
greenhouse gas emissions and and carbon reduction programs have been stripped and will probably be stripped some more. Y'all may recall the NEVI program, which was an electric vehicle recharging network, was cancelled almost immediately at the end of at the at the beginning of the new administration.
That was that was a real um rock in their shoe that they didn't really like. That was a real popular program in Minnesota throughout the state. So, that kind of that kind of hit Minnesota a lot harder than other states. Um we also do a four-year a four-year um plan and
we're required to do a four-year plan. We've talked about doing a six-year plan because some of our jurisdictions do a five-year capital improvement program and we felt like that a six-year tip would kind of mirror that and kind of keep up with what's going on. But both
the DOS uh suggested that we stick with the four-year program because of how federal funding is is authorized and and um and approved and allocated. So, they didn't want to get too far out. There's a few large NPOs I I'll say like Dallas,
Atlanta, Chicago that do a six-year tip, and that's probably good for them because they're a large, you know, large metro area. Um, we talked about doing it again because to match folks that have a five-year capital improvement plan, but um, as it is right now, we're going to
stick with our four-year plan. Um, we we follow a a three C planning process. It's continuing, cooperative, and comprehensive. And Miss Mojo will probably tell you sometimes it's not so cooperative with our oversight agencies. They seem to have
different interpretations and different timelines and schedules than than we do here. Um, and I and I say that jokingly, but you know, we're we're a large metro area. We're fast growing. I'm I don't have to tell y'all this. y'all know this, but when you compare us to the
other NPOS um on the North Dakota side in particular because North Dakota DOT as our oversight agency and but also with areas on the Minnesota side um we're we're really growing and we got a lot of projects and and we work real close with District 4 on projects on
this side of the river with the Fargo district on the North Dakota side. There's a lot there's a lot that could be done that is is uh you know that's not just because there's not funding enough. So it's it's it's a challenge. I always say there should be
four C's to transportation. It should be communication because that's very important communicating up and down the line with with our state and federal oversight agencies and also with all the jurisdictions. Uh Miss Mojo and Mr. Krabenhoff to tell you I can talk the years off of Billy Goat sometimes, but I
spend a lot of time talking to the jurisdiction staff. Um Matt and and Justin in in y'all's in in y'all's organization are great to work with. Um I met with them last week because we're working on our our our 26 27 work program and budget. Um and I go around
and meet with all of them at least twice a year and I'd rather I'd like to do that more often to be honest, but just it's kind of hard to get out and do that. But I think the communication should be a fourth one that should be added because that's almost a constant. This is our our metropolitan planning
area and you see it covers both both sides of the river. Um it it covers it doesn't cover the entire county as far as the planning areas but um it does cover a significant portion um of of of both counties. And then the colored the
colored municipalities that you see there in the center, Fargo, Morehead, West Fargo, uh, Horus, and, um, Dworth are are member organizations as well as Clay and Cass counties. Um, the other
cities that you see are associate members, which I talked about briefly. They're non- voting, non-despingaying members, but they do participate in in some projects from time to time. This is our urbanized boundary. It was approved at the end of 2023. Um the red
line forms the boundary. Um the the blue line at the far left hand side is the diversion authority boundary as as we all are aware aware of and the squiggly line in the middle there is the red river and it divides it divides obviously divides the states and the
counties. So we've got several Excuse me. I have asthma, so when I cough, it's really bad. It sounds bad, but it hurts worse. But I'm sorry about that. That's why I've been sucking on cough drops all
morning, hoping I wouldn't be doing this. Um, we have several projects that are going on. We've got about a dozen planning projects going on throughout the area right now. And we have several that are going on here in Klay County. And the first one that y'all are probably all familiar of because y'all probably seen Dan Farnsworth from our
office in here talking to y'all a couple of times over the last several months for the H Heartland Trail Study. So the Hartland Trail study is has been real important. We've been wanting to get started on this for quite a long time. The current trail is 49 miles from Park Rapids to Cass Lake. It
was one of the first rails to trail projects in the country. Um, it was actually started in 1976. So, it takes a lot longer to get these things built than it takes to get them planned. The current plan that we have going on now builds on the master
plan, excuse me, that was done in 2011. And it specifically looks at the portion of the trail here in Klay County. And these are the key tasks that we're looking at as far as as far as trail development and eventual eventual design
and construction for Hartland the H Heartland Trail. And this I wanted to get to this slide because this shows you we don't look at any one alignment. We look at a corridor or a series of alignments to try to figure out what are the best ones. One of the things that we have
found with this corridor study is nobody really wants to be along US 10. they don't want to be along a busy highway if they don't have to. But unfortunately, it's looking more and more like parts of the trail are going to have to be along this highway. Um, we've had a lot of property owners that have been very
opposed to the trail, and that's understandable. There's always it's something new. And, um, one of the things we try to get them to do is talk with others who have the trail adjacent to their property, maybe that are, you know, that that farm their land or or that, you know, have similar use of
their land. So they can see that there's it's a very minimal impact and that's that's a tough that's a tough hurdle to to jump. But you know people are people will be that way and if it's something new and then when they can talk to their peers that have the same issues and and that have have not had any problem it
really helps us a lot move forward. We're also working on a transit development plan for Matt Bus. This is a five-year plan that's done every every again every five years to be updated. And we cover a lot of different areas as far as the bus service. They look at
what their needs are as far as for routes. I know that's been a sore subject here with the with the new DMV center and and we're still working with with Matt Bus on that. I think I think the current staff since they've merged and they've become a single agency with
us becoming becoming a TMA Matt bus which was historically two separate transit agencies is now merging in in the process it's not 100% complete but it's pretty close they're merging into what's called a large urban and on the one hand that's good it opens up some
funding potential for them but on the other hand it it kind of it kind of limits them because with them becoming a large urban transit agency. I believe the the amount of funding that they had dedicated funding as a smaller one was about5 or $600,000. So, they're trying
to make up for that and that's been really tough. It's already it's already tough enough for transit. So, some of the things we do in the transit plan is we look at we look at their routes, we look at their needs. Um they're also that with this current plan, they're looking at microtransit. They're also
looking at transit on demand where readers or or writers call. Um they've done a pilot program in the industrial park and it's worked pretty well. Um that program could probably be expanded to others um possibly for par similar to
paratransit but um more when they get a enough riders that like an industrial park at at an employer that can catch a ride to work and catch a ride home in the afternoon that seems like something that's doable. Couple years ago it wasn't, but now with everybody with a
cell phone and and having Wi-Fi and wireless connections, it's working out a lot better. There's also a lot of new scheduling software that helps them coordinate those bus routes and those drivers a little bit too. Another project that we just finished up in
December was the Morehead safe routes to school plan. Their plan was about eight years old and we updated it for them. It included every school in the Morehead School District except for the high school. So, um, we look at the six E which are
education, encouragement, engineering, engagement, evaluation, and equity. Used to there was enforcement and I'm sure the sheriff may remember that enforcement was a big part of that, but that was kind of negative and we got put I say we all the folks that work in in
safe routes got some push back from that. So I think enforcement became encouragement and that's worked out really well. You know, taking a little lighter approach to that than simply writing out a ticket and it's worked out pretty well. A lot of it is just getting the parents and the schools on board.
And when we had our kickoff meeting with the Morehead Project, we had every principal from every school at the meeting, including most of the uh school resource officers. So that helps us get started, get off to a good start. And a little bit of what they do is this
program does is try to make it safer for kids to walk and bike to school, which doesn't sound like a lot, but as any educator will tell you, and I'm definitely not an educator, but any school teacher will tell you, kids that ride a bike or walk to school are more alert. They're better students. They
make better grades. They're more physically alert and active in class, and they're better behaved. And if if I when I go to a school district or to a school and tell them this, every teacher's head nods. That's what I've been missing. I got to get these kids to
walk to school. I'm kidding. Uphill in the snow both ways. 10 miles. No, I'm just kidding. So, um, this chart's kind of interesting because it shows in the span of 40 years how much how much the the numbers of kids that walk and ride to school has dropped. And it's dropped
for a lot of different reasons, but that's a significant drop from 48% to 13%. And this chart is something that we put together from a lot of our engagements and it shows reasons why folks don't want their kids to walk or ride a bike to school. And we found this
out through our engagement and through our research with the schools and with the uh with the resource officers as well as with the parents. And you can see it's pretty st excuse me it's pretty straightforward. But the blue lines are things that we don't have any control over. Whereas the light green lines are
things that we can have some control over and that we can work on to make to make those more amunable to to riding or or or riding a bike or walking to school. We've also got several other projects and I just listed a few of them here. Some of them are completed. We're
wrapping up the Morehead I94 20th Street interchange study that has gone on for quite a while. Um the uh most recent twist in that in that project has been the Anhouser Bush property uh being available for sale. So now the city of
Wad's concerned about how that would develop and Mandot is actually been concerned, excuse me. Mandot has been concerned with how that redeveloped property may impact access to I94. and they're doing an I94
study right now that just got underway from the Red River Bridge all the way, coincidentally enough, to Highway 336. So, I I believe the administrator was talking about the casino and and the tribal land purchase there. That's something that's, ironically enough, this project
was planned well before that announcement was made. And that's something that that one of our staff members, Dan Farnsworth, who most of y'all know, he's been in front of y'all before, he sits on that on that review committee. and that's now been a big focus of that study going forward. Um,
we're also currently doing a metro railroad needs study. We're looking at all the crossings and that's not just in town but also in our rural areas and BNSF has been very cooperative and and they've been very open about concerns that they have. And they've been just as
concerned with with with rail crossings in in in rural areas as they are with urban areas. And when we asked them recently, you know, that's kind of an odd approach, you know, that we didn't expect. And their response was, we've seen in some areas that of of high
growth, like in Texas, Florida, and Cal in California with other with other railroads that if if you don't get out in front of this and the growth happens almost overnight, there's no going back and making these these crossings safe. to the point that they said in the state
of Texas they they have multiple fatalities every year because there they they built the uh jurisdictions allowed construction right up to the right ofway line on the railroads. So they appreciated that we were doing this with some foresight to look at that. Um the
Dworth 8th Avenue corridor study was finished in December of last year as was the 15th Avenue corridor study. Um I know um Justin in the engineering department is we've been working real close with him. We've also been working real close with uh a couple of townships
and how that's how that roadway is going to develop and we have it programmed to pave I believe one mile of it in 2027 I believe. So there's you know there's this that study almost immediately kicked off a construction
project to to to pave a gravel road. Um the US10 study in Dworth was completed two years ago. 15th Avenue and 8th Avenue studies kind of kind of spun off of that. Um prior to the Morehead study, uh we completed a Dworth Glendon Felton
safe routes to school plan and we do those those safe route studies are done inhouse. We don't use a consultant for those and Dan Dan Farnsworth generally leads those. We also do regional traffic counts about every three years. We're getting ready to start one next year. Um, we originally thought it would be
27, but it got moved up. Um, that took us by surprise. Um, we did an interstate operations analysis, which kind of led the way to the I9420 Street interchange study and also kind of got MNDOT to look at the I94 corridor between the Red
River Bridge and Highway 336. So, one study kind of tumbles into another. And since we're the regional area, we do a lot of those first studies that get things started with our not only with our local jurisdictions sometimes, but also with the state DOS. And also I have
listed on there a regional freight plan. Um, our last freight plan was was was done in 2016 and 2017 and it was adopted in January of 2018 and that's becoming a high priority. We want to try to get our rail study completed first. And we'd
like to get our regional freight plan done or updated before we do our next metropolitan transportation plan, which is our five-year master transportation plan that that we use as a guide for all of our programs and projects. And we just we adopted in September, but our
federal friends decided they wanted us to to adopt it again and redo it, which we did that uh this uh last month. So, that's um now we have a and we have a new five-year horizon that we work on and go from there. Um I know that's a lot to chew
on. And before I conclude, I just wanted to let y'all know that uh one of the reasons that I'm here is every year we uh we we we ask y'all for funding to help fund our program and and what we do. And there's a there's a percentage
that the uh jurisdictions have agreed on. Every 10 years they review that when the census comes out. It's based on population. Klay County's percentage is 6.1%. So that's a real bargain. To give you an idea, Fargo, which is obviously the largest jurisdiction in the in the
region, um they are their share is 50%. And it can exceed that by stat federal statute. So whenever populations change and again we look at it every 10 years, you know, we look at that. We have to we have to divvy that out. So, as a TMA
now, we don't receive additional funding. Everybody thought we would receive additional funding. I thought we would receive additional funding. Um, however, we do receive dedicated funding, so that's kind of a plus. We don't have to compete with all the other fish in the sea for it. So, that helps.
But probably the bigger the the the bigger plus of being a TMA is that not only do we receive dedicated funding, but we also have direct control of that funding and how it's spent, how how projects are how projects are chosen and
how they're prioritized and then how they're funded. And I say we, it's the policy board. I point to Miss Mojo and Mr. Kravanhoff. It's a policy board that makes those decisions and they make those decisions based on what our staff provides but more importantly what the
technical staff which is your your engineering and planning department staffs who serve on that tech committee that provide recommendations to the policy board. So as we go forward right I mentioned earlier right now I'm working on our 26 27 work program and
budget and I have very rough numbers. Um, I'm still trying to we're trying to figure out I've got an amendment for our 25 budget going to our technical board this week and it'll go to policy board next week making some minor changes hopefully. Um, but those minor changes
will probably affect one or two projects that may spill into next year. So, I'm still trying to move all those pieces in place and I should have a um an estimate for y'all within the next couple of days. I hope I was hoping I could have that today, but after I completed working with all the jurisdictions and
listening to what their needs were and what they would like to do going forward, it looks like we're going to have to do a little bit different. And just for reference, last year um our our um amount the the amount for Klay County was $18,2584.
Now, that did not include some of the local match that was required for the um H Heartland Trail project, and that was probably the the most significant project within the Klay County jurisdiction. And we kind of sped that one up because we were going in a pretty
good clip last year. So, we were able to get more done last year so we can get done earlier this year. in that project. I believe there's a final, excuse me, there's a final draft floating around right now that should be um be brought before the policy board
probably next month for approval and submittal to our our um well, it would be Mandot oversight agency for that pro particular project. So, with that, I'd be glad to answer any questions y'all may have. Um, I know there's always some interest
on on transit and that's a that's a that's been an ongoing u an ongoing issue with um their transition just like we are. We've been working real close with them and if you weren't aware um this the state of Minnesota has always
valued transit and they submit a lot of state monies to the transit agency on this side of the river. North Dakota has not. But this year, um, the four large cities in North Dakota that have transit agencies, including Fargo, they really
worked hard with the legislature to to get some dedicated funding. They did get some funding for this year and for next year because their legislature meets every other year and they and they did fund a project to identify long-term funding for the transit. So hopefully
that'll change and in and the state of North Dakota will take a different look at transit like the state of Minnesota does. So with that, I I'll be glad to answer any questions y'all may have. Thanks, Ben. I know we're up against the public hearing that we have to have here, but Yes, sir. But I I there's just a couple
of points to make. Uh uh later in our um agenda today, we're asking for another letter to go to the city of Fargo uh regarding the um Matt bus issue. The route. Yes, sir. And then something that just came to our attention uh my
attention just very recently uh that I I've asked to have it put on our highway tracking committee meeting which we're meeting later today is the study that Fargo is doing regarding the 12th to 15th a Avenue bridge. Yes sir. Uh that's
that is a very very important uh corridor um for not only Morhead but for Klay County in terms of our it's really an economical tool that we have you know for transportation purposes. So so as if Matrick gets involved with that
certainly I think it's extremely important to understand how we support that uh whatever is going to be done there. We do not want we would never want to see that bridge closed and I know it's in need of some repair. So, um with that I um just really briefly if
you might uh thank you Ben for the presentation. Uh as noted I serve as chair of Metro Cog this year. It's just really a vibrant organization that helps pivot to study and address uh ongoing issues but also issues on the horizon.
And you're right, the state of uh legislative requirements and federal highway and state highways uh tricky and so Ben and staff do a great job of trying to meet uh that changing target and so I really appreciate being able to serve in that capacity. So thanks for
being here today. Thank you, ma'am. You certainly have a stellar staff to help. We do. They shine. We really do. Thank you. All right. All right. Thank you, Ben. Thank you. Y'all have a good day. You too. Take care of that cough. I'm
trying. It's actually getting better. Believe it or not, I don't know what to do. All right. Next, we have our public hearing. And we have a public hearing this morning
uh in regards to a reszoning of this of agricultural general to highway commercial. Good morning Matt. Do you want to miss you? We'll give a brief explanation then we'll open the hearing. Okay. Absolutely. Thank you uh Mr. Chair and good morning commissioners. Um this is a
petition for reasonzoning um from agricultural general to highway commercial uh just southeast of Baker. It's about 1.2 2 mi south of Highway 52 on the east side of County State Highway 21. Uh looking to uh do the resoning. Um
basically used to be a home occupation business um that's become very successful and kind of outgrown the that home occupation classification. So, okay, Mr. Chair, I'll make a motion to open the public hearing. Okay, we have a motion to open. Second. Second by Commissioner Bear. Any further
discussion? Seeing none, all in favor signify by saying I. I oppose the same motion carried it. Okay. So, we um and this went through planning commission did. Yep. Okay. Yep. So, yes, the request is to to reszone the property
from egg general to highway commercial. Uh it's currently um an industrial residential. There's about just under 20 uh,000 square feet of industrial buildings in one residence. Uh this would meet all of the highway
commercial standards for minimum lot size, minimum yard width or lot width, uh our front yard setback regulations, uh rear yard setback regulations, sideyard. Uh and then lot coverage regulations as well and the big one
being an access to a public right of way. Uh so it started as a home occupation has grown substantially. They have 31 employees. They have plans for an 8,000 foot um building expansion. Uh and the owner just intends to move the
residence from the property just because when you have a home occupation, it's typically the business is kind of accessory to the residence. And this has gotten to the point where he's been so successful that the um residence is now kind of accessory to to the business on
the property. So, all right. Um we haven't received any comment from the township. We've received comment from um the Barnesville EDA. They're in support of this um just because the EDA doesn't support just businesses and growth in the city of
Barnesville, but also the Barnesville School District uh of which this is a part of. Uh and then we just did receive one comment from a neighboring landowner just uh wanting some information on property value impacts.
Right. Uh so this would meet all of our um comprehensive plan goals and objectives um relative to this request. The planning commission did make positive findings of fact. Uh so essentially
based on on the recommendation of the the planning commission um and staff recommendation would be to approve the the request to reszone the parcel from egg general ty commercial. uh timing on this um just because there is a residence on the property um I would add
the caveat that the resoning shouldn't take effect until the residence is removed from the property. So that would be the trigger that would essentially um uh result in the resoning and the applicant is aware of that. Yep. Yep. We've talked kind of extensively about
that as well and agree agreeable to that. Okay. Any questions of the board? Questions of the board. Any applicant any Okay, Matt covered all right. Okay. Um, yes, Commissioner. Thank you, Mr.
Chair. I just uh might add also a comment in regards to the economic development component. Uh, this business has been a longstanding business in Klay County. There's been some ownership changes and obviously Mr. Severson is doing a great job. Uh the ability to
employ uh folks out in the rural areas of Klay County is really important. My husband worked at that uh classic cabinets in high school and it's just really great to have um all sorts of different economic opportunities for folks looking for employment but also uh
to foster business within Klay County. And I really appreciate uh the staged approach to this. Uh I know the applicants worked with the wershed in regards to addressing some challenges with uh drainage and highway. The highway department has also been really active in that too. And so I I
wholeheartedly support what's being asked of us today. All right. Anything else? We have a motion to close hearing. So moved. Second. Okay. Motion by Commissioner Abby or second by Commissioner Kraven. Any further
discussion? Seeing none, all in favor signify by saying I. I Oh, it's the same sign. Motion carried. All right. What's the board's wishes? Just uh would uh make a motion to
uh approve the reasonzoning of the subject property uh as presented in the packet. And that would also then um we would also then adopt the planning commission's findings of fact. Yes. Okay. Right. I'll second that. Have a motion and a second. Okay. Any further
discussion? Any further discussion? Seeing none, all in favor signify by saying I. I. Oppos the same. Motion carried. All right. So that goes into effect as soon as that house is removed. Correct. All right. Very good. All right. Thank you, Matt.
Thank you. Our next item is bid opening for SAP 014645002. Okay, we got to wait now. Oh no, we're on time. Okay, we're good. Here we have our engineer. Good morning, Justin. Good morning. So, the first item that I have
is a bid opening. So, it's for the Milan Overlay project in Dworth. Um, we did receive three complete bids this morning. I will start start with the engineers estimate at $382,592.50. The first bid we received was from Central Specialties
Incorporated. Their bid was $332,2980. $332,2980. The second bid we received was from Mark Sand and Gravel Company. Their bid was 304,747 $747.50. $34,747.50. And the final bid we received was from Northern Improvement
Company out of Fargo. Their bid was $237,7725. $237,7725. Guess any questions? Yeah, there's quite the difference. One question, Mr. Chair. Could you uh give the public a overview of that project and deal with what
street that is? Yep. So, it's Cass 45. So, it goes from the stoplight right by the Casey's gas station. Um, south two blocks and then east to the BNSF railard and then north on 7th to Highway 10.
It's just a little horseshoe in Dworth, right? And this is um subject to Dworth approval to then Nope. So Dworth uh about a month and a half ago. So it's required by state aid. They have to pass a resolution just saying that they agree
with the project. Okay. There is no Dworth funding on it. It's okay. So it's all CASSA Casawa municipal. With that, Mr. Chair, I'll make a motion to approve Northern Northern Improvement Company with the low bid of $237,77 and 25 cents as long as there's
no errors on the bid. I'll second the motion. We have a motion by Commissioner Bear, second by Commissioner Mojo. Any further discussion? Seeing none, all in favor signify by saying I. I oppose the same. Motion carried. All right. Uh, so the
next item I have is requesting approval to advertise for SAP14 599106. So this is a project that's been out there for quite a while. It's a bridge removal project in Elmwood Township on 110th Avenue South. This is
just north of Baker a little bit. Um, I believe the township was first approached in 2019 with this project because the bridge had met its service life and could no longer be open. So, we had initially put together a set of plans to just remove the bridge and
close it. And then one landowner had kind of expressed interest in having a horseshoe by the railroad tracks. So, we explored that option. The landowner wasn't willing to sell the rightway. So, the township went back to the initial just removal with a culde-sac put in at the end of it. And I did get Elmwood
Township's approval on this. Um, being it is a bridge removal project, Elwood doesn't have to pay anything for this project. It's all covered by township bridge funds. Okay. And then the proposed letting date would be June
3rd. All right. Do we have a Oh, do you put an estimate in something like that or We do um pull it up. That's not But that isn't something that we show on our five-year plan, right?
Right. It's fully funded by the bridge fund. Township bridge fund. Township bridge fund. Okay. just over 200,000. All right. So, we're looking for a motion to approve the bridge
removal. Mr. Chair, I'll make a motion to approve the advertisement of the removal project uh with the letting date of June 3rd as reported. I'll second. We have a motion by Commissioner Mojo, second by Commissioner Bear. Any further discussion? One question. Yep. Township
bridge funds that that does not come out of the county budget, correct? No. That's all I had. It's something that's in our budget as kind of an in and out, but it's not it's something that comes the township bridge fund gets based on how many deficient bridges you have and
then it's a portion of the gas tax. Yep. but dictated by the state. Correct. Any further discussion? Seeing none, all in favor signify by saying I. I oppose. The same. Motion carried. All right. Next, we have
the grant agreement. Yes. So, this is I'm requesting approval of the mind grant agreement and resolution. So, this is for the bridge replacement project on County Road 51 southeast of Comtock right by the trap club. So we did open bids and accepted bids on this project
and as required by Mindot for the use of bridge bond funds. I have a grant agreement in the supporting resolution for your consideration and approval. All right. So we are looking for approval of resolution 2025-14. Mr. Chair, I'll make a motion to approve
MINDOT agreement 1057885 and resolution 2025-14. Do we have a motion? Second. Motion by Commissioner Mojo, second by Commissioner Bear. Any further discussion? Any further discussion? Seeing none, all
in favor signify by saying I. I. I. Oppos the same. Motion carried. All right. Just I will just make one note on that bridge project. Um, Commissioner Mojo, I know we had discussed potentially opening it just for the vehicular traffic. So, we did go inspect
it yesterday. We will be opening it this week with the heavy restriction on it. All right, that's really good news. Thank you. All right, so next we have a um proposal for an engineering design
services. Yes. So the next item I have is a proposal from Houston engineering to provide engineering design services. So this is for the Klay County 37 foot road improvements on CASAW 1 and CASA 26. So this work is included with our 37
foot with the diversion authority and the fees that are incurred by Houston will be reimbursed by the diversion authority and this is one of those items that the diversion authority has agreed that engineering and the studying and all
that stuff is is to move forward. Correct. Okay. All right. Looking for a motion to approve the proposal from Houston Engineering. Mr. Chair, I uh put forth motion to approve the proposal from Houston
Engineering. Okay, we have a motion. Motion by Commissioner Abby, second by Commissioner Kavanagh. And um I noticed the time frame on that design study goes
into 2026. Um so the the intent of the design would be um so CASA 26 is on our five-year plan for next year. So I didn't want to do the mill and overlay before this project. I wanted to do them at the same
time. The intent would be to have the CASA 26 portion done early in 2026 to where hopefully we can bid that project out next spring. That's kind of a packet. Okay. Okay. So, you don't think it'll take
till the 27th of March of next next year? Hopefully not. Okay. Yeah, because that's kind of a that's kind of a critical component to the whole project. Definitely. And it's something that I've been working with Houston on too. A lot of times they just
in case there is changes to the actual um proposal or anything like that, they put a date in there that covers them essentially. All right. And we do have a motion. Yeah. Okay. All right. Any further
discussion? Any further discussion? Seeing none, all in favor signify by saying I. I. Oppos. Same. Motion carried. All right. Next. We're a little bit ahead, but we can go ahead with a closed session ahead of schedule. Right. All right. So, our
next item is a close session to discuss highway easement acquisitions for attorney client coverage pursuant to Minnesota statute 13D.05. 05. Is there a motion to close? So move. We have a motion. Second and a second by
Commissioner Abinger. Any further discussion? All in favor signify by saying I. I. Oppose. The same. Motion cleared. We are now in close session. All right, we are back in session. Um, Sarah, we had Commissioner
Ebinger do the motion to open, second by Commissioner Krabanhoff. So, so all right. So uh we have some discussion regarding the highway 52 CASA 52 and CASA 12 road
project and um we have been presented with uh an appraised value on those to go forward to the land owners. What's the board's wishes? I'll make a motion to uh move forward with appraised value of said property on
CASA 52 and CASA 12 roundabout improvement project. A second. Okay, we have a motion by Commissioner Bear, second by Commissioner Krabanov. Any further discussion? Does that define the enough in the for the record what we're doing?
Okay. All right. Any further discussion? All in favor signify by saying I. I oppose the same. Motion carried. All right. Thank you, Justin. All right, we are just about five minutes out of
schedule. Is Matt Who's going to do the Here he goes. All right. Next we have on our agenda uh it's a request for approval of the retail cannabis fee schedule.
Matt, morning commissioners. Um so as you know uh we're getting close to cannabis um licensing um going through in the state of Minnesota. I would anticipate we could potentially in Klay County see some sort
the office of cannabis management reach out for their um basically pre-registration of businesses site evaluation zoning compliance and things like that happening this month. Um so with that uh just kind of requesting
that we uh um set a cannabis uh and lower potency edible product fee schedule. This would be for the retail components of um of the cannabis industry. Retail cannabis businesses are
required essentially to register with um whatever jurisdiction that they're going to operate in. They cannot operate without that registration. And um we have the ability to to set fees for each type of business. uh an initial registration fee
and then a subsequent uh annual renewal fee. And so what I'm proposing is essentially the maximum for every um category that we would be allowed to um uh that that we would be that we'd be allowed to
um for registration. Um, and then also with violations as well, um, there can be a up to, uh, $2,000 uh, penalty per violation for each occurrence and or, um, up to a
30-day suspension of a registration. And so that is included in there as well. I just figured let's go with the my proposal just go with the maximum for that as well. Matt, you're uh these fees would only be for the un unincorporated areas. It
would be for the unincorporated areas and then if any um community like Georgetown or Felton or Yulan decides to delegate their registration authority to the county, then it then they would come to to us as well. And so what this would
do too is um allow public health to do their annual compliance checks and then us to do our zoning verification inspections as well. Again, I've always I've always uh felt that we our fees we shouldn't be in the
money-making business by having fees, but I I I think because this is so new, I guess I don't mind starting there, but then um because, you know, it's uncertain to what level of work you might end up having to do based on what
the state passes down for requirements for inspections and those types of things. So, I think it's appropriate to start here. Uh, but I I do think that we should end up having um a review of this after it's been up and running for a little bit. That's my personal opinion
on it. That that um again, I don't I don't want to be charging anybody who's doing business in Klay County fees that exceed what our costs are to implement uh the permits. So, M. Yes, Commissioner. We have had discussions
with public health. Commissioner Grabinoff and I are working with them at um looking at the retail ordinances and enforcement on this. And these are uh the fees and the penalties as described by the state and it's approved to the
maximum. Yes, at the maximum. And it's prudent to start there and as you've indicated once we and we don't even know what all the rules are yet, right? Once we have have a good lay of the land on what what's involved here, it'll give us
a better perspective. Easier to go back and cut back to it than to to argue an increase. And as far as the enforcement goes, the state's going to have a lot more of a say in that than we're used
to. uh but to identify the maximums uh that are within the guidelines now is probably the best place to start. And then my other question would be um you know obviously we have cities who
have decided to develop their own and have their own so they're establishing how how have they established fee structures? Are we comparing to what, for example, the city of Morhead has done, the city of Dworth, the city of Morhead has, and I know ours would be
very similar to to what they've um adopted. Again, I you know, I think I think a comparison is probably appropriate. I I think they're they're also doing this the same with in terms of the license fee and then the registration. Um the
only difference um between what um what public health and planning and zoning is proposing for this compared to Morehead is Morhead's got more of a tiered um structure for violations. Mr. Chair, I I I like your idea of
establishing and reviewing just for discussion purposes just uh both the governor's budget and the house omnivous bill uh has the removal of of the aid or the the 20 the 20% cannabis gross receipts funding that we are going to potentially be receiving. So if that
legislation does go through, uh we we wouldn't have those funds to fall back on uh for the to cover the costs. So all right. Yeah. So, any other comments or are we ready
to take action on this? Mr. Chair, I'd move that we adopt the uh retail cannabis uh fee schedule that's been included in the motion, which is maximum under state uh guidelines and um also the penalties
as well. Okay, we have a motion. Is there a second? Motion by Commissioner Eber, second by Commissioner Kavanagh. And can we can we establish the review period time frame where this
comes back? I think that would be um I would include that in in the motion. Uh six months. That might be early. That's too early. I think to I would maybe a year. A year. So, yeah, you're might be even too early
with Right. I was I was in Minnesota. Who knows how I was actually thinking maybe 18 months or two years, but Well, it it would help to get through a couple legislative sessions. So, two-year review on this would be good. Right. Is that Are you willing to include that in your include in your second as well? So,
we have a motion then to approve the fees with a review to occur two years in two years time frame. All right. Any further discussion on that motion? Any further discussion? Seeing none, all in favor signify by saying I. I. Oppose the
same sign. Motion carried. We will take a fivem minute break. Thank you, Mr. Chair and commissioners. Thank you. All right, we are now back in session. Item number 13 is the request approval for
justice center plan with the Department of Corrections. And I just want to point out that items 13, 14, 15, and 16 on today's agenda have all gone through um multiple discussions at our building committee
level. Uh Joe is have been really informing us over these plans as they've occurred. And so all these presentations that are we're going to be doing on these four items have all uh gotten the approval of the building committee after
some um considerable discussion. So Joe, um we'll start with you on 13. Uh thank you for that, Mr. Chair. Good morning um uh board members. So yes, we're going to talk uh the probation uh justice center plan first. And there's a lot of moving
parts to this, so I'll try to um keep it explain as simple as I I can. I have Dale here to uh just in case you have any operational from the DOC questions. Um I've definitely uh worked uh we've worked um I would say this past year, I think we've had several meetings and
visiting on um their future needs and um what what we're proposing today is um a probation, we're calling it a probationary justice um center plan. And um as you guys know, prior to 2018, there were two there's there really is
two departments, two divisions, I guess. Um one is called juvenile uh probation, we'll call it, and the other one is adult felony probation. And and so there's two of those uh divisions prior to 2018. They both uh resided over in the in the juvenile center. And um once
once 20 uh or once that project, the remodel of the juvenile center happened, uh we needed a place for them to stay. So, um, we ended up moving the juvenile division over to the family service center at the time and then at that point, um, adult felony probation moved over onto East End where they currently
reside now. So, uh, one of the one of the visions of the building committee is to is to make the any any tenants in this building in the courthouse would be a true justice center function. And, um, so we've always kind of kept that in mind. And so one of the goals is to try
to get the adult uh felony probation back on campus. And so then so we've worked on a way to do that. Currently right now we didn't feel like we had enough space to get them both together at this point. Um, and so we've come up with some options to um, have the
juvenile adult or the juvenile side move who is currently over on the first floor over into our family service center again back where they where they reside or where they used to be on suite 2011. We would then work with the state to bring them over um, bring the adult side
over and have them be on the first floor as well. And then the state would then bring $150,000 of funding to help remodel um a court. Right now there's a hearing room five down below. Um they would help us remodel that and that would give them
the the the four offices and a private bathroom to give you enough space to operate on the adult felony side. So with with that what we're at we're um we're we're asking to uh move forward with that plan. Um, one of the things that would be open and transparent about
is I've worked with Dar Lee on this. She is H and she rents currently 2011. Uh, puts a little wrinkle in her plan, but but uh I've visited with her and she plans to move her employees back over into Dor. So, um um she is good with this plan as well. And
um other than that, I think uh we're working on a contract. It's going to take a couple. It's going to take a little while. I I would say we're we're going to expedite it, but um we we have all the everything in place. They're going to give us the 150 grand to do it. And um uh with that, Dale, do you have
anything as far as um how you feel this this would work for the adult for your probation in general? Yeah, I think this would um this would this would streamline um the probation role process for our
office because our felony office is not Can you move your mic a little bit closer to you? Sure. Thank you. Because our felony office is not located um on campus. That creates some problems between the time of sentencing and the time of reporting to probation. I think we get the closer that we get to the
courtroom hopefully that eliminates some of those barriers for us. Um as you can imagine when warrants are issued that involves the court, prosecution, defense attorneys, law enforcement, everybody is involved. And so circumventing that by getting them into the office immediately
following sentencing um would really I think benefit the county uh greatly. So I think this is a fantastic move in the right direction. And maybe if I could, Mr. Chair, and I mentioned at the building committee, the county attorney's office would be very
much in support of this. And I I don't exactly want to speak on behalf of the court system, but I know from other meetings previously and talking with judges, I I I am certain they would be supportive of this. just exactly what um Dale was talking about and the idea of streamlining. Oftentimes you're in
court. Uh you're getting done with uh matters in court say at 4:00 4:15 and you're telling a probationer well get in contact with you know tomorrow because you won't be able to get over to their office that kind of thing or so but even just being right there in the same
building or being able to step right out of the courtroom set up your appointment for whenever that is to get your uh probation started. I mean all those matters uh will very much streamline and help to uh with efficiency within the court process. So I think this is very
good and uh will will be very helpful. Yeah. And you know just to kind of expand on that uh the the juvenile side that would be moving into sweet 2011 and the family service center um we did a fitup project in sweet 2011 over there
that was specifically for the juvenile uh pro for their operation. So this the easy move back there won't be any fitup costs there and um um they're connected to the juvenile center. So there are benefits of the juvenile side being over in the family service center and um
should work out pretty good there. If if we end up you know the state's going to fund the 150,000 to to remodel hearing room 5 down there. Um that's going to give the county um some additional revenue um to do that. So, we're going
to uh somewhere uh 14,465 would be extra revenue added above and beyond that we would be making. So, the state would um would actually rent the entire first floor south and southeast northeast side of the courthouse. So, so they would have a
total uh we'd have a total revenue of $66, um $2748. So, that's total for that. And um I did reach out uh Girtz Construction as construction manager. We did get a proposal and we do have a price coming in at
146,079.71. So um we we are um so I guess with with uh well first questions from the board. I not necessarily a question, but I do want to comment that, you know, part of our u long-term strategic goal that we've been talking
about through the building committee was to um obviously this become a true justice center. And so everything that's in this building should really pertain to issues related to um justice issues, the courts and uh county attorneys and
those types of things. So, and unfortunately at this point in time, we don't have room for both the adult and juvenile. Um, but we did feel it was extremely important to keep juvenile on campus. And so, so the best option was
moving them back to the family service center, which is still close by here. any way from that standpoint. Uh who knows down in the future when um more opportunities arise there might be some additional availability within this
building for for them. Uh I I want to my question on on the GES proposal. Y uh is that is that something are how about a bidding requirement? Is there do we have issues there? No. uh since they're they're
going to be the construction manager on that. So they have multiple bids like similar to our other projects that we've did that were larger, they they have multiple bids for painter, drywall, what you know. So from a procurement standpoint, they So we would be hiring them as a construction manager. Correct.
Yep. Yeah. We would hire them, have a contract with them directly, and then um they'd provide all that multiple quotes to it. So I think we should make that clear within our motion then. Yep. We can do that. Yep. Any other any other
questions? Commissioner Krabnoff more just want to know when you um talk about H moving out and then um revenues coming back in what was the rent that H was paying? Uh H was paying um annually
38,275 a year. Yep. So the 66 is that a net? Uh okay. So to explain it this way, um the contract side of Klay County currently right now uh leases down below here on first floor. Uh which is uh
roughly um somewhere around that 49,000. By them moving over into the family service center, they're they're going to actually have a savings of of $10,000. You can call it savings, but the county covers the cost of the rent for the contract side. Yeah. So, we're going to shift that over and they're
going to pay $38,000 the juvenile contract side and then um the state will then come in and pay um for down below. Okay. So, yeah, I'm certainly supportive of it and I'm certainly glad that HR is uh able to
available to make moves. Yeah, I I visited with DAR a few different times and we've had some good conversations. Thank you. Y yes, this this went through the building committee with strong support. So, all
right, Commissioner. Yeah, just u if we're ready to move forward, I'll make a motion uh that the juvenile center plan in collaboration with the Department of Corrections um include the approval to terminate the Klay County HR lease agreement uh
effective September 29th, 2025. Approve the juvenile probation department to lease suite 2011 in the family service center starting November 1st, 2025. Approve adult felony probation department to lease northeast and south
wings of the first floor courthouse starting November 1st, 2025 and approved the proposal from GE's construction for the northeast fitup project on first floor of the courthouse for the amount of
$146,79.71 and Girtz will be the contractor at risk to arrange with subcontractor bid. on this. All right, we have a motion. I'll second that. Motion by Commissioner Ev, second by Commissioner Bear. Any further discussion?
Real quick, I I don't want to embarrass Dale, but we had our first criminal justice meeting this uh last week and you're really stepping up and getting the entire system involved and aware of the progressive things that are going on
here. and I'm glad that we can support you in getting back on campus. And uh I was very impressed by the opportunities that are offered to people who want to straighten their lives out as opposed to uh probation being a coercive mechanism.
So I I am glad we're able to support you in this way. Thank you very much saying that. All right. Very good. Any any other discussion? Seeing none, all in favor signify by saying I. I. And oppose the same. Motion carried. All right. Those
things are done. All right. Thank you, Dale. All right. Next, Joel, we have the approval of the attorney expansion project. All right. So, uh, this project is something also ran by the building committee here.
I worked with Brian, um, Melton over here in the attorney's office. I I we're calling it expansion project. not really expanding the area per se, but we're uh expanding his ability to um put a couple people in this area by adding a couple walls. It's a very minor construction
project. Um maybe Ryan, you want to speak a little bit on your needs of it or I think that's really about it. It's a a fair somewhat smaller project. Uh as as you recall, we moved the victim services uh upstairs across from where
um Dale and probation uh will be, but into that area. They've uh they're comfortable up there now. And that open area that was left by them is area that we can utilize and expand into uh to have office space uh for future attorneys. So this is largely uh future
expansion growth to allow for attorney space and then eventually also legal assistance space. Um and so with some leftover money, this seemed to be a good time to complete that project. Yep. And we do have that uh funding in our fund n our fun 13th building project. So um we
have TF Powers um has given us a price of 13,425 and I guess for permission to move forward on that project. All right. I just have one. This also went to the
building committee with support. So with that, I'll make a motion to approve the attorney expansion project. Second. We have a motion and from Commissioner Bear, second by Commissioner Ev to approve the um attorney expansion
project in the amount of $13,425. Any further discussion? Any further discussion? Seeing none, all in favor signify by saying I. I was the same sign. Motion carried. All right. Item number 15, request approval of light replacement
project. Okay. So, this one here is uh I I did a lighting assessment on the family service center. Uh currently, right now, they're all the the older T8 fixtures. Uh did a light count on that. Um we have a,045 of those left in this building. We put a few in on the first
floor during during CO times and um we were able to see some pretty significant savings on our energy bill there. So, I did a an assessment there and went out and got two quotes and um um what what I'm asking today is to move forward with the project. And what would what that
would do is uh we have about an estimated annual savings of $40,000 to the to the energy bill. Um and so I would would ask to move forward with that. And then with I'd go after a um rebate that has an estimated uh cost of
$20,000. So, um I I have two quotes here and I asking permission to move forward with it using C CB electric the at 106,865 and then um this this fund would would come out of the enterprise uh family service center enterprise fund
and talk with Lori we have a plenty of funds to do that and uh so this looks like it'd be about a roughly a two-year payback after all said and done. So questions? Yeah, again this was Lori serves on our
building committee too and she did agree that there were sufficient funds within the enterprise fund for that um facility to handle that without ruining Joe's budget. So yeah, with a
two-year payback roughly. Yes. Yes. Yep. Yep. Yes. So with that, I'll make I'll I'll make a motion to approve the family service air lighting replacement project using CB electric in the amount of 106,865.
Second. We have a motion by Commissioner Bear, second by Commissioner Kravangh. Any further discussion? Any further discussion? Seeing none, all in favor signify by saying I. I oppose the same sign. Motion carried. And lastly, Joel, we have the request approval for the fitt project
for suite 2404 in the family service center. All right. So, if you recall within about a year ago, uh worked with the building committee, we we got a plan to um for has now moved out and we had a plan
to have family service center or the um social services uh move into that wing. And then on the second floor, uh deaf and hearted hearing will be um leaving at the end of June. And so we have a plan to move in uh public health into that those two wings. So what I've done
is priced out both of them in conjunction together uh with the idea that we would start uh right away on on the fourth floor, get that done and have it in done in time for July 1st and then that's the time we'd get into the second floor. So um what I did is is I met with
both Kathy McKay and Quinn. We went over, you know, what their needs are, their operation, their how they want to see the flow of the office go. And there wasn't too many actual structural changes. So, we do have a little bit of minor construction on the in the fourth floor, but um basically got with them
put together um a price to do this. And uh unlike the the GES one, we're going to be we've kind of really chopped this one down and Brian and I are going to be running it as as the I guess the general uh project managers on this. So, um, you
can see I've attached a list of vendors and we have a total amount of 117,726.90 and we're going to we're proposing to fund this out of fund 13. Um, currently we have 133,859 in there. So, and for for those of you unfamiliar with fund 13, we get,
you know, roughly 50,000 a year in that one through um through a tax system there and and we use that for fitups and carpet paint and all that stuff. So, um, we felt this was a good good projects to use, uh, this one's out of. So,
questions, any questions? Again, once again, this was another one that was approved by the building committee. So, so fourth floor would be done and ready to move in in July. Yeah, July 1st, they'd move in and then um, we'd head right over to second floor and, uh, hoping that wouldn't take, it's a little
smaller, so that we would probably be done um, late summer with that one. So, okay. The board's wishes, Mr. Chair. Yes. Move to approve the cost breakdown vendor list for the total project cost of uh the fitup project for
suites 2404 family service center for total cost of 117,726.90. I will second that. We have a motion and a second by Commissioner Bear. Any further discussion? Discussion. Seeing none, all
in favor signify by saying I. I. Oppose. The same sign. Motion carried. Mr. Chair, if I could, while we have Joe here, I just wanted to be half of the on behalf of the building committee as Joe's leaderships. Uh, as you see, several
projects here today, but it's not just those. uh he he does a great job keeping us up to date with the different things uh that are needed in the project from a planning standpoint that allows that committee to kind of look not just into uh this this time frame but into the future. And so we appreciate Joe's work.
Yeah. Yeah. So I appreciate I was going to say I do apprec the building appreciate the board support on all this but building committee really has helped guide this process. So they they ask me questions tough questions when I uh don't have the answer. So it's I I appreciate it. So thank you.
All right. Thank you, Joel. All right, so we are a little ahead of time. Quinn, are do you have everybody here that you need to have here for this next item? All right, item number 17 on the agenda. Request approval of letter of support for Helping Hands
Wellness PLLC. Morning, Mr. Chair and Commissioners. Good morning. Thank you very much. As you said, I'm here uh requesting a motion to approve providing a written letter of support to Helping Hands Wellness. Um I have their owner and
operators here as well. Uh they're a private provider. They're seeking to establish an integrated outpatient substance use and mental health treatment center here in Klay County. Um in accordance with state certification requirements under Minnesota rules, the provider must obtain a statement of
support from the county board in which the services will be offered. That's why I'm here in front of you today. Um, met with these gentlemen earlier with Person Leard as well. Uh, we had a lot of discussion on what the needs are in our community in terms of substance use treatment. Um, the good news is Helping
Hands, according to my information from these gentlemen, they're ready to begin operations immediately. Um, they've secured a physical office space in Morehead. They have three staff members including a nurse practitioner, an LAC, uh, a behavioral health technician. With this team in place, they are prepared to
begin offering offering integrated outpatient services that address both mental health and substance use disorders through dual focus evidence-based approach. Um, their model is aligned with best practices and has been shown to produce stronger recovery outcomes by treating the co-occurring conditions at the same time in a
coordinated way. Um, a lot of our conversations did go to kind of the needs for adolescence in our community. Um, they're very open to really really exploring the provision of services for adolescence right now. That's a huge need in our community. I believe the conversation was after about six months
of um opening really looking to expand into the adolescent services. So starting with adults right now, but moving into adolescence. Um again, long-term goals in includes potentially expanding into an impatient treatment. I think the more of those that we have um
in our community with having options for folks that need that is good. Um, another unique uh element of Helping Hands in our conversations is the fact that they have a van which will be able to assist in some of the transportation barriers that a lot of our folks see.
Um, I know I was here a few months ago talking about this as well and the location um very close to a bus stop was very appealing. Um, however, Helping Hands has a van which is a wonderful um kind of mitigating factor to a lot of the transportation needs that our
clients see. Um, I believe having another provider based directly in Klay County will improve accessibility to help ensure that our residents can access care without crossing state lines. Um, increasing the number of qualified providers within the county will expand client choice, which I also
think is always a good option, allowing individuals to select the provider that really best best aligns with their needs and preferences. Um, with that I would yield for any questions that you may have either to me or to the two gentlemen sitting next to me. Uh,
Commissioner Mojo. All right. Thank you. Thanks for the presentation. Um, thanks also for the briefing document on the work that you hope to uh provide in Klay County. Uh, can you help me get a better understanding? Are are you currently connected with a like a teleaalth
provider? Is that that the thought is that you'd set up the facility in Morehead and contract with someone elsewhere or is that individual offering the therapy in person? Commissioner Mojo, maybe if I can Quinn, can you just maybe do a quick introduction of these
then they can answer questions? Yes, I've got Benjamin Magby right here. Um, and then can you introduce yourself, please? Okay. All right. Welcome. Thank you guys for having us here today. Okay. So to that that question, are you
anticipating to provide teleaalth or in person? You're going to be in person. Okay. In person. Yes, ma'am. And so is helping hands currently operating a facility or the supports now or are you connected with another group?
Oh, um the clinic are is it a clinic site? Yes, it is. Yeah. Okay. So, is there a physical site in Klay County now? Yes. Okay. All right. And so um just trying to understand a little bit about your organization tried to search
a little bit online and it's there's not a whole lot about helping hands online. Is that correct? Yeah. Okay. Are you connected with TM counseling in the cities? How does that connection? If I can say we we haven't started yet.
So we just need the letter of support. So okay, we can start. Okay. So there isn't a current site in Klay County. The hope is that with this letter that would be the opening. Yeah, we secure an office space already. Okay. So you have
the site. So you're not connected with TM Counseling at all? No, we're not. So we have our own staffs. Okay. And basically we're just waiting for the letter of support to be able to operate. Okay. Yeah. Okay. All right. Thank you.
Okay. Any other questions, Mr. Chair? Yes. Do you have any operating um locations right now within the state? Do you have any offices opened
elsewhere? No sir. No, no right now. Okay. What is your previous experience with providing mental health care? So I used to have and I used to have a group home and I also grew up in a foster in foster care. So I love I love helping
people and my group home that I had in Arizona was melter head and substance abuse. I had two group home. My brother and I was running in it for several years and I passed the business onto him because I move he's one in it right now
and I just move over and say let me let me open something and be in the same field and continue to help people. Okay. Are you going to be able to have the the the level of staffing that you'll be able to bill insurance and and and meet
some of the requirements that the state has for providing this care? Absolutely. Yes. Okay. And right now, how big a staff do you have? Then we have a we have a I think is NPC NP. Yeah, we
have a nurse practitioner. Nurse practitioner. Yeah, we have um LEDC's LEDC and yeah, we have behavioral health technicians. I think those are listed in the um attached document the letter. I have a question. Yes, Commissioner.
This is this is to Quinn. So, what what is this letter of support actually doing? It's my understanding that the rules require the county board to provide a letter of support saying that we could use another treatment provider in the
boundaries of Klay County. Anyone that wants to provide this service within the borders of Klay County is required to get a letter of support from county commissioners. So then they could operate if they don't get the letter of support, they can't operate in Klay County. That's my understanding. That's dictated by the state. Correct.
So Quinn, were you done commission? Yeah. So, um if we're, you know, and of course anytime we put our name to something, we it's kind of important that we have, you know, uh some kind of I guess my question,
Quinn, is what kind of oversight would Klay County have on this? Uh moving forward, is there any oversight on our part? We don't oversee the treatment providers. That'd be the state, the licensing process. Okay. So, so they go through they go through a
strict guidelines and that's provided by the state in order to stay licensed. Stay licensed and and to bill. Yeah. In order to bill insurance and to bill. Okay. Okay. So, they they have to meet all that criteria. Correct. Okay. Hey, and again when you know we you know we
were recently asked to supply another letter of support on something that's proposed in Klay County and and we weren't quite ready to do that because we needed we didn't have enough information uh one way or another to do that and and I guess in this particular
so and so then there's um there's no funding obligation through the county either on this? None at all. um to speak to any sort of cost impact. I I don't expect this to result in any increased spending um in terms of social services budget really by expanding access to
additional outpatient services. Uh there's a potential to reduce reliance on more expensive treatment options um through the behavioral health fund and the the county share that goes into the behavioral health fund. So basically, if folks are able to get early preventative outpatient treatment, they may not need
residential treatment. Well, certainly what they're proposing to do here is something extremely needed. Uh I don't think we can we don't have anywhere near enough in this regard to to help.
Um I I guess can you can you speak to um your the clientele? What you would how how much how much how many different folks would you be able to help at one time? is is and this is all outpatient, correct? It is. Yeah. Okay. So, we're
trying to help as much as we can, you know, because like a for a lot of people need help in in our field. So, we're trying to provide as much services as we can. We're trying to also branch to like listen probably like in 6 months and
months or so. Yeah. Since we noticed that the Klay County need adolescent uh treatment program, Mr. Chair. Yes, Commissioner Moto. Thank you. Um, one, I just really appreciate folks identifying needs in the community
and gaps in care. So, my questions don't negate how important that is. I I really do think it's important. I'm just trying to get a better grasp. I I serve on a a mental health board understanding, you know, the financial
components behind it and the challenging uh scope that we will see with Medicaid um and Medicare and reimburseables and federal funding pieces. So, so understanding that there will be, you know, a question on the the financial
piece of it and so are we are we prepared for that? Do we understand that challenging landscape? Yeah, we prepare for it cuz we already been on this field before. Okay. Yeah. Okay. So, the field before was only Arizona.
Yeah. Yes, ma'am. Okay. Awesome. Thank you. All right. Commissioner, just a comment. I'm certainly wish you all the success. I um uh certainly support this. Uh again the
need is great and I welcome you to our community starting a new business and and uh in a very important area. Thank you. Thank you. I appreciate you. Uh so do you have um will your facility
will will you will will there be recommendations to to will there be referrals to your agency? Is that how that will work? or how how will your clientele know about? Yes, PE referral. We'll have some brochures and also building and we're
also working on our website to build a website as well. Okay. Okay. And I can speak to that too. Once once assuming letter of support is granted and all the necessary licensing is is approved by the state and you open the doors and start serving folks. At that point in
time, Kurten staff will likely we'll bring them to our building. will kind of educate our staff on new new service provider and then give our clients that we serve different choices based on the recommendations um that come from their uh comprehensive assessments.
All right, Kirsten, you have anything you want to say to this? Yes, Commissioner Bear. This is for Quinn. How many service providers are like this in Klay County? Not enough. Not enough. Not enough, but
I don't want to tell you the wrong number. So, Anchorage, I'm estimating four or five right now. Of note, I have been contacted by another provider um looking to get another letter of support as well. However, I'm not prepared to bring that
to board yet. Kirsten and I do kind of a prevetting process before it's brought to you to make sure uh the facility has kind of what's needed. Can they meet the needs? and kind of do a prevetting of the request prior. So, I wouldn't be surprised within the next several weeks
if I'm not back again. You received this in November. Yeah. You know, I I think the, you know, the request here is to, you know, I think our request is to say there is a need for this. That's the request that comes before this board.
we'd be lying if we said we didn't, you know. So, so from that standpoint, but I, you know, and I guess anytime that there's a new facility, you know, we can we can only hope that there's uh uh cooperation and understanding with what the state rules and regulations will be
in operating that that that goes beyond what our um responsibilities are here. Um so, and I I guess with that, I'm kind of with uh Commissioner Kavanagh. I uh thank you for being willing to um
provide a service that is very much needed in this community probably and throughout the state. Um and I you know your work moving forward your work wouldn't necessarily be with us but it would be with the state of Minnesota in
terms of all your requirements that you would deal with and uh certainly working through Quinn and Kirsten and their staff here. Um hopefully they can provide you with uh or pro provide uh some of our residents who might need
these services recommendation to you and moving forward. So thank you Kevin. We appreciate you. Thank you. Thank you very much. Anybody else have any All right. What's the board's wishes? We have a request for a letter.
Mr. Chair, Commissioner. Um, I move that we approve uh providing a written letter of uh support identifying the needs in our community that may be addressed by Helping Hands Wellness PLLC
uh offer which offers substance use and mental health treatment services. A second. And we have a motion by Commissioner Ebinger, second by Commissioner Kraboff. Any further discussion? Any further discussion? Seeing none, all in favor signify by
saying I. I oppose the same sign. I Okay, motion carries. All right, that letter will go out. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you very much, everyone. Have a
wonderful day. Thank you. All right. Next we have the Children's Mental Health Local Advisory Council annual report. Quinn, are you going to I'm just going to introduce and then I'll be quiet. All
right. Um again, Mr. Chair and Commissioners, uh we have Michelle Thorall, our child protection, child welfare uh supervisor from social services. Sorry, gap there. and then Jonie Menwald from the village. I'm gonna let them um give you the annual children's lac update. Thank you for
having us. Um again, commissioners, chair, um the goal of local advisory councils is really to bring together diverse voices and lived experiences to help improve mental health services for Minnesota and Klay County. Um some of the current projects and initiatives
that we've worked on in the last year are updated. We updated our logo for some refreshed branding. It was time. We wanted to increase some visibility in the community and thought that would be a good way to do that. Um, working on updating our resource brochure, which has been around for many years and it
was time for an update. So, that's a work in progress, but something that we're dedicated to doing. Um, working on making our website more accessible to the public. um feeling like that would be a way for people to access information about the LACE if they
wanted to be involved. Um we created a marketing task force where we purchased items for promotional items to be given out at community and school events. Um we did secure a billboard in Morehead in honor of May being mental health awareness month. We've done that for a
number of years. Um and it has our new uh logo on there, so we're excited about that. Um, we also um the the board approved a motion to allocate up to $2,000 to support famil family's mental health needs during the summer months. So, we've received two grant requests
last summer and they were approved um to solutions and Lakeland mental health and both of those grants went to their summer programs to increase availability to families who maybe otherwise wouldn't have been able to access those or and provide other activities um to the kids.
And we also had some uh gift cards that we had left over from a promotional from years ago that we donated to public health for them to purchase some needed items to give to families um such as diapers and wipes. Um one of the biggest projects
that the LACE does is an annual survey that goes out to our community. And so I'll highlight just a couple of the pieces from the survey that we sent out to caregivers and parents within our community. So total this year we had 102 responses on our parent survey and 52
responses on our provider survey. One of the newer things that we offered this year kind of as an incentive um was a raffle to win one of four $25 gift cards to all of those who completed the survey. So that was something um we did this year to see if we could increase
participation. Although we've been doing really well with participation in the last few years, we thought it might just be a nice perk. So, a couple of the questions that we asked that we'll highlight for you this morning is when we asked the parents if they know how to access services in our community when they're looking for
mental health for their children. Um, we were really happy to see that 34% of those asked said that they absolutely felt very confident in knowing how to access mental health services for their kids if they were to be needed. When we asked about any barriers that they have in accessing the mental health
services we offer in the community, it was a pretty close response rate between those who said that they had and had not experienced barriers. The top three barriers that were identified were long wait times in getting in for services, in insurance
challenges, including being underinsured, non-insured, or having high co-pays or deductibles that were unaffordable, and transportation barriers to get to or from those appointments. We also asked the parents and caregivers what were the services
that their children did receive if they were in services. And the top three responses for services that are being utilized by our parents and consu and and um community caregivers were individual and family therapy was first.
Um primary care was second and third was psychiatric or medication management. We also asked the parents how they would rate their child's well-being before receiving mental health services and then after or during the child was
receiving mental health services. We were really excited to see that what what we saw from the respondents is that when kids were getting services, they were getting better. Parents were seeing that it was making a difference. We asked what services were needed but
unavailable in our county and we were the respondents identified mental health services that were free in school or after school counseling, psychological services, more autism supports. Um we
see a need for residential care and therapeutic foster homes as well as residential treatment facilities. Um and again we continued to see daycare as a needed service that was lacking availability. Um in just identifying a little bit about who our respondents
pool was on the parent and caregiver survey, the highest respondents were from the Morehead area followed closely between Ulin and Barnesville for the next level of respondents. So for our professional survey results,
we have a wide variety of respondents. We send it out countywide and and have so we reach a we try to reach a wide net. Um overwhelmingly providers are continuing to see barriers for families in accessing services. 78% say that they do
see barriers. Transportation continues to be the biggest barrier that providers see in accessing services. Um, and I think the next couple uh graphs show that. I won't speak to those, but we did ask the same question in the last three years. And we asked
um, do the families you serve or that you provide services to experience barrier barriers in accessing mental health services? In the last three years, the survey shows that we are moving in the right direction. It looks like they're seeing less barriers in accessing those services. So, we thought that that was something that was worth
mentioning. Um some additional questions that we asked were um what are the services that aren't available in the county or limited um there's a sort shortage of inpatient mental health care options long wait times limited access to different um
services needing more um culturally spec culturally specific supportive services particularly for Native Americans and Spanish-sp speakaking communities um youth focused chemical dependency services are scarce in our region um limited foster care option options
and residential PRTF or QRTP facilities often forcing families to seek care in outstate Minnesota um and access and coordination barriers. So we also ask a ma magic wand wish list. What would you like to see if you had a magic wand? What would you
want? What would you like to see for your families? Increase funding and wages to be um to provide better pay to reduce sta staff turnover. Expanding services for inhome and out of school mental health for flexibility and access. Improving insurance access for
those with private insurance, especially those burdens by burdened by high deductibles and co-pays. Normalizing mental health education, making it a required part of school education, enhancing psychiatric access, and reducing stigma.
Some of the highlights of the LAC's work in the past year was just the continuation of mental health services in the schools. We also continue to seek consumer participation and to collaborate with the Klay County Youth Leadership Council. We have strong meeting attendance and collaboration
between our partners. We offer networking opportunities monthly and have been told by our partners that this is a very valued experience. We executed another successful annual survey to both parents and professionals in the community. We've continued to increase
awareness of services in our community through inviting guest speakers or new um agencies that offer services to children and families to come to our meetings and to speak and share their resources. Um and something really cool that happened this year is a county in southern Minnesota contacted our LAC to
learn more about what we're doing and how we're doing it. um they identified saying that we are one of the few actively operating children's LIC's in the state um which we thought just really highlights the engagement from our community and our partners and our commitment to serving the kids in our
community. A couple of the recommendations for action steps that the LAC has going forward is to address the low reimbursement rates. We continue to see challenges due to low reimbursement rates for those agencies and providers who do serve Minnesota
kids who are on MA or on state funded insurance programs. Unfortunately, this year we've seen a further challenge in that they have reduced reimbursement rates for those delivering CTSS services or children's therapeutic services and supports. And so that is a
classification for children who have um higher mental health needs than um a regular child. So their their needs are higher and unfortunately those that provide those services are no longer receiving any kind of financial reimbursement for the additional work supporting workforce retention and
competitiveness. Agencies are experiencing high turnover particularly among inhome providers. A lot of the professionals are transitioning to private practice where they can see fewer clients and get paid more. Um there's still a significant need for services but shortage of providers limit
the access to those services. Increasing state- funded reimbursement rates would allow agencies to offer a more competitive wage and retain agency staff. There's a noticeable gap in our community for adolescent substance abuse treatment options, both inpatient and
outpatient. Um, we continue to see kids weekly who could benefit from those services, but we just don't have them available to make those referrals. The LACE would like to um continue or to support the continued development of a PRT PRTF facility in Klay County. Uh
there remains a significant regional need for a PRTF. Um establishing a facility in Klay County would allow residents to access the necessary care closer to home, making it easier for families to remain connected and engaged in their child's treatment, ultimately
supporting a more positive and lasting outcome. continuing to support our existing social services, specifically respbit funding the Sibs program, which is a step between um it's like our last community-based step that we can have before we make a referral to a
residential treatment facility. So, it's really critical and also mental health case management services. Um sustaining school-based mental health services, maintaining and expanding funding for school-based mental health programs which play a critical role in early intervention and
access to care. And we'd also like um the board to consider maybe um creating a task force to address transportation barriers, specifically the map bus routes by increasing bus route access and stops for consumers. Commissioner Oer, do you want to comment
on that? I I will speak to that. I think that's really important. I think you um there part of the problem is there's so many different tables in which we talk about all these problems but the tables don't intersect and so um you know when
you have people with lived experience and your staff saying these are major issues and we bring it forward to the the planners of the world. Well, you know, if it doesn't fit into the planning scope, it it's something that maybe isn't needed. And so we have to
get think critically about how we elevate that work. Um I think that's a great point. I I we can I can connect you. We can definitely figure those pieces out. It's a challenge. It is a challenge. Yeah.
But um the other part is that these are vulnerable members of our community and so we have to be the loud voices for them and so we have to continually bring the points to the
decision makers to say why it's so needed. Yes, our our work group had a very lengthy discussion on this just last week and just how important um public transportation is to those who have
transportation barriers. Yeah. Um and we all identify that people are missing appointments, they're late to appointments, um they no show appointments because they just can't get there. And so anything that can be done to help assist with the routes or the timing of the routes would be something
our work group would be very invested in. So maybe because we have this on the agenda today and I know that Steve and I are attending a meeting in the next week or two with the planners, you know, how do we bolster that discussion from what
you just had to items 26? Is it you also including a letter from the dialogue for us to send as part of that packet to say we want to be part of a solution? I mean, you know, I'm trying to piggyback
the efforts together and yeah. Oh, yeah. We'd be very no problem with that. And too, I I'm the chair of Metrocog this year and so if we u maybe aren't seeing what we want in regards to a response from that letter, um let's put you on Metracog.
Sure. Sure. All right. I would I would imagine some of the same issues that we're seeing here in Klay County, they when it when it comes to transportation, they're seeing on the other side of the river as well. I Yeah, I believe so. Mhm.
A lot of people use the busing to go across different ways. So, yeah, the the timing of routes and we heard a little bit this morning from Metrocog, you know, the timing of routes when it comes to public
transportation, it you know, for the for what the needs might be and and timing of those uh that is a really difficult one to solve that problem. Yeah. uh you might have somebody in one home who needs this transportation at this time,
the buses aren't there and somebody else is at a different time and so that that is a problem but um is it something that might require something totally unique and separate at some point in time might be something that needs to be discussed you know
maybe let's follow follow up with it I do think today um because we are going to talk about sending a letter to the Fargo city leaders Maybe it's important that you also um craft a letter together for us to send, you know, you can send that with us. Um let's follow up in a
meeting afterwards to talk about combining the pieces. And then I'm not sure if uh Lakes and Prairie serves on the committee that you were talking about. Um but Lakes and Prairies has a grant that they use to buy a senior transportation bus that they're
currently using um one day a week to shuttle folks back from the DMV and Walmart to get onto the existing route and we're really not having great luck with access and that and so how do we elevate that asset for utilization? So I
think there's a few different tasks we can all tackle together. Perfect. Quinn, I know a lot of these things that have been presented today, too, and and when it comes to low reimbursement rates and and some of those things, um I think
there needs to be active work done at the legislature on some of those issues. And I think following up with um health and human services advocating um is important. And I think it's important for us to have those that information so that we can
pass pass on resolutions of support. Um so I you know moving forward in that regard I you know the one is retention of and competitiveness that's an interesting I haven't heard that before
where the turnover is because they're they're going into private practice. Yeah. So, I'm a provider in the community and I also oversee all of the villages um services in Minnesota. So, I see it through across our our service profile. Um, a lot of providers, even
young providers that are new in the field, are leaving behavioral health agencies to start their own small private practice or group practice. Um, and they are not taking clients who have Minnesota MA or PMAP insurance because the reimbursement rate is so low. And
typically the needs of um those children, families, and adults are much higher. And so they're just doing self-pay. So people who can afford to pay $200 for a 45 or 50 minute session or those who have private insurance where private insurance is at times
reimbursing double what MA is. And so for those of us that continue to serve um the medical assistance and the state funded insuranceances, we have a greater population and we continue to see less because they won't take them. So then we
take them and so then our reimbursement rates are um significantly impacted because the majority of our clientele are reimbursing us at at a much lower rate than if we had a higher commercial population. There was a rate study done in Minnesota um by an outside agency
that they hired two years ago or three years ago and they um connected with a lot of us that were part of the work group, part of the work or part of the study that was completed and their recommendations were significant increases to reimbursement rates because they had not been touched for over 13
years. um unfortunately in legislation that hasn't come through yet and like I said earlier we have seen a decrease actually starting in 2025 um that takes away the little bit additional revenue that we got for serving higher needs kids. Um we're hopeful for this
legislative session that there might be a positive improvement, but we continue advocating as best as we can and talking to those that make those decisions. Um so we're hopeful. So you're uh so you're seeing um difficulty in maintaining
staffing levels then at the village too, right? Yeah. Because they'll leave to go do private practice where they can work half the time and make the same if not more money because they're only taking self-pay or commercial insurance clients. So their income is much higher.
And then that increases the the remaining staff that you have. your clientele numbers. We're getting higher amounts of those on per person that you have working. Yeah. But and our reimbursement doesn't go up. So they want us to pay them more to stay with us
so they don't leave us for private practice. But the revenue that we make on those service lines is not increasing. Well, Mr. Chair, yes. You know, I what you're saying is heard and it's um we're aware of it. that we just have to think
critically about how we continue to ring that bell at a higher level. You know, we've talked about um unsustainable rates for a long time. Um DHS is um defending those and what I what I worry
about is, you know, and with our PRTF bill, they kicked the the rate piece out immediately. I mean, they didn't nobody even wanted to talk about it and so they kicked it out because there are so many different ripples that it would cause. But what what I get really nervous about is all of a sudden you change the scope
of the data. So when you have providers leaving to do their own piece and you're serving a smaller pool, well then from the outside it looks like, oh well the need is going, you know, is going down, there's not as big of a need because we're not seeing the uh that data speak
to that. So it's it's skewed and it's hurtful to the whole piece of it. I think um so the the House had the discussion on the Health and Human Services bill yesterday. There were some tweaks um with increases to rates. Um
not exactly sure if um they're affecting that component specifically. Um but I think we do need to one continue to advocate for the need in the next two weeks of session. But coming out we have to think really critically. Do we bring
this whole LEC lac piece together to have dialogues to bring the you know the state chairs in to see exactly here's what we're seeing here's why providers are leaving this is the broken piece uh with the new commissioner of DHS I think
that's really important um because I think having Klay County be as active as we have been at the state this year has really been helpful to the visibility But I think with all of the sweeping changes and the new cost shares
that we're seeing, we do need to be louder in how we speak uh to the legislature about how these actions are affecting us. So, you know, I think we we have a good framework of the work that's being done here. We just have to strategize how we can elevate it.
Yeah, I think with the I think we're down to probably 10 days left and 12 days left in the legislative session, I it it'd be wishful thinking to think that we're going to be successful in getting something added to what it probably already isn't already on the
docket that's there. But um clearly there's some things here that are deserving of more attention on the part of not only the Klay County board but county boards throughout the state to you know so again dealing with AMC um
Commissioner Mojo also serves on who's on our health and human services it Pauls at you. So, some of these things we should be able to bring um you know through the health and human services too regarding the issues that have been raised here locally and again I'm
assuming it's no different when you get to other counties it's probably all the same. Yeah, when we in our group sit similar discussion, but again I I think it is to follow up what's already been said, elevating it and I I know there
are coalitions, but I think there has to be more task groups within that to uh narrow it down. You know what is because we we'd have lots of priorities but it seems like it's so finite when you get
to the legislative level what can be elevated and uh you sort of got to pick one or two and go with it you know so I really appreciate the discussion on trans transportation I think we can I
think we have such a viable group if you go to page two of what the handout that group is there almost every single meeting a part of it and the dialogue is very robust and and it's a lot of good thinkers out there and a lot of people
that are very committed to the work the providers and the people within it. So just thank you and and for me it's been a treat to be part of this LAC. Well, we certainly appreciate any recommendations that you have when it
come you know in children's mental health. just it's um troubling that um the access isn't there for some of those kids who need the help. Uh I know um our what we will have here today for
approval is the approval of the membership for the children's mental health LAC membership. And I know Commissioner Krabanhoff is listed as a member of that and I'm sure he can keep us informed as to the which
he does and in terms of your meetings and and we'll have to come up with a better strategic plan I think to move forward. So So with that I think we're um thank you for your time and I I guess with that I'd be looking for a motion to
approve the membership. I'll offer a motion to approve the membership. Second. Right. We have a motion by Commissioner Mojo, second by Commissioner Abinger. Any further discussion on the motion? Any further discussion? All in favor signify by saying I. I oppose the
same sign. Motion carried. And the next item we have is going to deal with uh mental health as well regarding a proclamation. So if you want to hang around, you can. Yes. With that with Quinn and Kirsten and Michelle. Um
Quinn, you wanna Thank you for coming. Yes. Okay. Yes. With that and that amazing uh annual report, uh yes, would like to kick it off and see if the board would be uh interested in proclaiming uh May mental health month. And I've attached a
proclamation for your review. Uh any questions that you may have? I think it's a great proclamation. And Ezra, would you care to kick us off? Sure. Proclamation mental health month May 2025. Whereas the mental health is in a
cornerstone of the or over overall health influence how individuals think, feel, act and thrive in their daily lives. And whereas every person regardless of age, background or circumstances faces challenges that can
impact their mental health, well-being, and no one should have to uh navigate those challenges alone. And whereas early identification, open dialogue, and access to timely support are vital to improve outcomes for both adults and
children, strengthening families and building resilient communities. And whereas Klay County remains steadfast in its commitment to advancing a comprehensive community-based mental health system and has established local
advisory councils for both children and children and adults to ensure lived experiences uh shapes uh the care we provide. man. Whereas the responsibility to foster mental wellness and break the stigma
surrounding mental health rests with all of us, businesses, schools, healthc care providers, government agencies, nonprofits, and every citizen. Now, therefore, be it resolved that the Klay County Board of Commissioners hereby proclaims May 2025 as mental
health month in Klay County. We urge all members of our community to recommmit to elevating mental health as a priority, promoting awareness and prevention, supporting those in need, and ensuring equitable accessible care for all.
Who would care to move that proclamation? Like to move the proclamation for mental health month, May 2025. I'll second the motion. We have a motion by Commissioner Koff, second by Commissioner Mojo. Any further discussion?
Seeing none, the proclamation is declared. Thank you. Thank you so much. All right. Next, we have um a proclamation for foster care appreciation month. Yes. I'm going to introduce and then
again get out of the way. Um what we'd like to do, I'll kick it over to Jessica here. Jessica in the licensing unit. I'll let everybody introduce themselves, but what we'd like to do is uh do a a brief presentation on child foster care, request the
proclamation for foster care, move on to a brief presentation on child care, and then do the same, request the proclamation for child care. With that, I will kick it off. Thank you, Quinn. Good morning, Mr. Chair and commissioners. Uh we are here
in recognition of child foster care appreciation month as well as uh child care provider appreciation month. So uh during my annual update to the board um some questions came up with the licensing process uh for both program
areas. So, we thought we would utilize today um as an opportunity to have our experts here uh kind of go through just a brief overview of what it takes to become a licensed provider in these two program areas in Klay County and then
we'll ask that you guys uh uh review the proclamations if you so choose. So, today we will start off with Alex Eshog. She is one of our child foster care licensers. She primarily works with our relative homes.
Morning. Um I just wanted to outline a little bit of the foster care licensing process. Like Jessica said, um our we have about 48 foster family foster homes in Klay County. And um I think a lot of times people assume it's just a lot of
paperwork filling out, which it can be. Um but there's also about 14 hours of training that applicants go through before they become licensed. um they need to fill out an application for foster care. They need to fill out an individual fact sheet. Um there are fingerprint based background studies
that are completed. Um we go through a home safety checklist when we visit with the family. So we walk through their home. We look for um safety items that they have to have included in their home such as smoke detectors, um radio and flashlight that use batteries in case of
emergency, those types of things. Um, and then we also have them fill out an extensive autobiography that has a lot of um, personal information on there. We ask them about their background, their um, relationship histories, um, their adult children, other children that they
may have cared through for throughout their life. We ask about their finances. We ask about the outly outlay of their home to make sure they have room for children. Um they have to come up with policies around drug and alcohol um storage and use in their home. Um
complaint policies in their home and um discipline policies because in foster care you are not allowed to do um corporal punishment which normally is thought of as banking. And a lot of times it can be other things too um such as um which we don't ever want to think a foster parent would do, but it can
include, you know, biting a child, kicking them, saying derogatory things about them or their parents in front of a child. Um and then like I mentioned earlier, they are required to do about 14 hours of online training um to become licensed. And then Gail with her
families is required to do around six hours of orientation where she meets one-on-one with the families and talks about their autobiography and talks about their experience caring for children and why they are interested in being licensed for foster care and the types of and ages of children that they
are interested in caring for. Um when I license relatives um I'm able to include some of the training in my orientation. So, um, that I don't spend always six hours of face to face time with families. Sometimes it's a lot more and sometimes it can be a little bit less
because they already have children in their homes when I'm licensing them. Um, relatives though, I do want to make it clear that um, they're required to complete the same um, expectations to be licensed for foster care. We just do it in a different order. I'm typically
licensing relatives when they're already caring for children in the home where Gail when she licenses traditional foster homes um the children are not placed in the homes yet until after they become licensed. Um and then um licensed foster care providers um are required to do 12
hours of annual training after they're licensed. Um and then um we als we can do a walkthrough of their home every year as well and complete that home safety checklist. um licensed providers um they have a really hard job and I say
this all the time when I talk about licensing for foster care. We ask a lot of our foster or licensed foster care homes. They are caring for children typically that aren't theirs that they um sometimes we drop four children in on grandparents that have not had children
in their home for a long time. And it's a and then they have appointments and they have to set up daycare and they have to make time to meet with me as a licenser and a case manager and it can be a really exciting process and it can
be a really hard process when you know you haven't had a school age child in your home for years and now you're having to call in sick to work because you have a third grader that has the flu. Um it's just a lot of things that people aren't expecting. Um, but we also have a lot of really amazing foster
parents and I I'm really proud to be a part of that. I really I enjoy what I do. I enjoy the families that I work with and I love going into their homes and getting to know them and spending time with them. Um, along with the licensing process, Gail, and I will say Gail because I don't do a lot of the
recruiting, but Gail does a really nice job of recruiting. Um, she has a has a table that she sets up with information and trying to recruit foster parents. Last year she attended KidsFest, the Holly Street Fair, the inclusive
Morehead, um Yuland days, the Midco Kidsfest, um and then the Fargo Dome, the Red River Advocacy Advocacy Training, um and then this year already she has scheduled um they did Kidfest just on Saturday. Um
they will be at the health fair in Holly in June. They'll be at the Klay County Fair in Barnesville in July. and she's always looking for other opportunities to get out there and talk about foster care and recruit our families. All right. Well, yeah, thank you to all those um foster care parents that are
that are out there and we could use more, right? We sure could. We always can. I Before we move on, I think we'll let's deal with this proclamation if that's okay. regarding the foster care appreciation month. Ezra, foster care
appreciation month May 2025. Where's families are the cornerstone of every thriving community, providing children with love, identity, support, and belonging. And whereas foster families in Klay County play a vital role in our
child's welfare system, stepping forward with compassion to provide children and youth with safe, stable, and nurturing homes during times of great need. And whereas foster families selflessly offer guidance, structure, encouragement, and
unconditional care, creating a positive and lasting impact on the lives of children and families. And whereas the influence of foster kinship and adoptive families often exceeds exceeds far beyond placement, offering
enduring support that helps children heal, grow, and thrive, ultimately paving the way for stronger futures. And whereas foster families not only serve with dedication and resilience, but many also open their hearts permanently
through adoption, underscoring the continued and growing need for new foster families in our community. And whereas the month of May is nationally recognized as foster care appreciation month, a time to honor and celebrate the
extraordinary individuals and families who embrace one of the most important and challenging roles in our community. Now there now therefore we the Klay County Board of Commissioners proudly proclaim May 2025 as foster care appreciation month in Klay County. We
extend our deepest gratitude to all foster, kinship and adoptive families and call upon all the citizens to recognize their unwavering commitment. We also encourage community members to take action whether by fostering, supporting foster families or advocating
for youth to help ensure every child has the love and support they deserve. Mr. Chair, I'll make a motion to approve the proclamation. Second. We have a motion from Commissioner Mojo, second by Commissioner Ebinger. Any further
discussion? Seeing none, all in favor signify by saying I. I. Oppose the same sign. The proclamation is declared. Thank you. Thank you very much. All right, Jessica. Yes. Next, we have Julie Clear and Karen Helum to go over a
review of the family childcare licensing process and just talk a little bit about their recruitment that they do in the community. and then our our numbers. So, go ahead. Hello, I'm Julie. Um, our current numbers that are licensed for inhome family childare 130 in Klay
County and we currently have besides that 11 in process applicants. Um, with our recruitment, it overlaps what Gail does for foster care. So, we're often out there together. Um some of the um events include Kidfest, Klay County
Fair, Holly Rodeo, Midco uh Kidfest, Holly Health Fair, City of Barnesville has a growth meeting. So Karen and I have been out there many times trying to enhance um businesses to welcome and support um family child care there.
We've gone to MSUM, the technical college, for their events. Uh we also have on our Klay County website some interviews from current providers that have offered um their assistance in answering uh specific questions to entice people
to apply. Those are still currently on our website. Um we do a no commitment orientation and there is no fee to apply. I'm Karen, one of the licensers. Um some of the committees Julie and I are on, we do a lot of regional meetings
with child care groups, with um other licensers from the region. Uh we're part of the ECI or early childhood initiative. Um we're part of the child care solutions group. That's actually a newer one um that we have that's with
other community members. Um one of the newer ones is the Klay County Early Childhood Fund. I'm a part of that one. Um, I think you got some information on that handout. Um, we're excited about that up and running. The grants are now
open. Um, and the, uh, appreciation groups we send out with collaboration with CAPLP. We, um, will send out um, appreciation acknowledgements in the form of um, some gift cards and things
like that to show our appreciation for our providers. That's center and home base. Um, some of the steps that we take for licensing when an application comes in, it'll either be assigned to myself or Karen. We tell them that it takes
approximately 3 to four months to become licensed. The majority of that is waiting for cleared backgrounds through the Minnesota net study process. Um, anyone in the household age 13 and over needs a cleared background. Once that is
completed, uh we will also check three references of non-related um personal references for themsel. They have a a form to fill out for us where they can note concerns or anything that they um think is important. We do initial home
visits uh with paperwork. We talk about their contract and policies that they must have in place. We look for home safety um issues and see if there's a need for a fire inspection. If there is and they meet criteria for that, we'll
help them with the referral and the $50 um cost that they must pay for the fire marshall to come out. Either Klay County Fire Department or the state fire marshals will do that. Um we help with liaison between um the wayfinder group,
which is another organization that can help support them through the licensing process. um grant coordinators. There's a lot of um Minnesota grants out there that can help them get started and ongoing support as well. Um we also have a mentor program in our uh Klay County.
We have five currently licensed um providers who offer support not only through the application process but as they are licensed they can help mentor them. Um a lot of them enjoy that. The mentors really take pride in being a
Clay County mentor and I believe we're the only county in the state that does mentorship. Um once they've completed their first packet of initial paperwork, we'll go out and do a home inspection for the second time. We'll um make sure
that all of the changes that are necessary to their home to make it safe and for the fire order um we can mark those off and that they've completed them. We collect their 16 hours of training that has specific areas. Uh they must do 16 hours training annually.
Um through the ARPA funds, we have uh a bag, a welcome bag for them with some items in there that they need, radios, flashlights, um some necessary equipment for their go bags. um we'll submit the license and then usually it takes about
a week to get that back and then they can um advertise and be up and running. Um some of the upcoming changes for licensing is that uh providers licenses now are what's called a continued license January 1st to
December 31st. It used to be where provider could be every April or every October and now it's just one licensing period. Um there is legislative draft number two which I'm assuming some of you have maybe gotten some feedback on.
Um that is now out there for um discussion. They're having meetings on that. Um the provider hub that is supposed to be coming in um excuse me, summer of
2025 on net study that we're now at our five-year background study um doing the background studies again after five years. Um there's some statute changes coming numberwise um because in June we
are going from um D or excuse me DHS to DCYF. Um, some of the ARPA incentives, Julia talked about a few of them already, but there's we still have referral bonuses. If a provider refers an applicant, then they can have a monetary
um, reward for that. Mentor program, Julie touched on that. B1 licensing, non-traditional care hours, uh, free trainings that we offer twice a year. Um we have orientation giveway giveaways.
So when provider or when applicants come for orientation if there's more than one then we hand out or we um pull a name for a handout or a giveaway and annual appreciation gifts
to family child care providers. Yeah. And I was just going to kind of piggyback off of Karen's updates for our ARPA. So, we were awarded $87,000 from um the ARPA committee and the board um a few years ago during COVID. Um our balance is currently at
$24,146. Um the majority of that money was utilized for building all of this stuff. So, we had very little marketing materials. So when Gail and Julie and Karen go out to these community events, we had pretty much postcards that we had
printed ourselves and made up. So we've worked with um a few different agencies to get kind of more professional looking things. Um the mentor program, referral bonuses for current licensed providers. We purchased every licensed provider in
Klay County a fire extinguisher. Um we're continuing to offer the free training. So with the 24,000 that's remaining, we're our intention is to continue paying our mentors. They get $500 every year or two years every year.
Every year um to do that and and they that's very minimal for the amount of time that they spend supporting and um really helping out new licensed providers. Julie and Karen can't really offer a lot of um technical support just
because everybody kind of uses their own programs as well as like policies. We don't get into the business side of things. Um so the mentors are able to kind of assist them with developing rates and um you know kind of navigating the business end more than just the
license end which you know we defer you know people back to these two for. Um, and then also continuing to offer the free trainings for our providers. It's just kind of a way that we show support. Um, it's also a good opportunity for us to get our providers
together for the day. Uh, they can, you know, mingle and get to know each other and and things like that. So, um those are what we're hoping to continue ongoing when the ARPA funds um eventually run out, which they they will. Well, we certainly hope that you
will take advantage of those ARPA funds as often as you can in terms of um uh obviously one of the things that always peaks as a primary concern at the county level is is the availability of child
care. So, uh, the recruiting process in that is really significant. And I I just want to make a comment on, um, the rules. Um, you know, every time that some of these state agencies start adopting new rules, we at the county get
very nervous. And I and I would I would think the same could be um you know as we try to recruit and as you guys try to recruit additional um providers, child care providers, the last thing we need is more uh issues for
them to have to hoops to have to go through. And so any ways that that you can provide us information on maybe some of those rules that maybe maybe there's a concern about that we should know about. Again, we're
we're in St. Paul, too, and and we can talk to legislators. Sometimes these agencies adopt rules even without legislative approval, but but we can certainly help advocate for the last thing we need is to make it more difficult. We certainly
want safety in our kids when they go into but I I think that the current regulations we have is adequate there. I've yet to find anybody who's where there's been a problem and if there has it's been dealt with right
away. So um anyway that was uh that was my then and um so there's 130 right now. Is that what you said? and 11 in process. Yes. How does that compare with a year ago?
Is that I think I think the numbers are up, right? But when one, we gain one and it seems like our numbers for in process have gone up. Okay. I think a year ago when I did my update uh for the board, we were at 133. When I was here a month
ago, we were at 127. So, they've licensed three new providers in the last month. And just for some what so we the county deals with inhome child care providers then there's
also centers that are out there and centers are they operate directly with the state. Correct. Correct. So there's your involvement with that is very small minimal. May I voice something for one of my providers? Sure. Absolutely. Um uh
during COVID, I think what happened was um staff and busing issues, especially for some of the smaller communities, they cut out bus routes. So, these younger kids had to walk to school. And I know that a few of my providers have voiced that they just want to quit
because now they either have to walk everybody to school, including infants, or these parents are moving their child to a school program that now takes younger preschoolers because of the busing issues. So now they can't fill
those preschool spots. Um, and I told her to connect with the commissioner for her area. Um, and that would be you. And uh I told her I would also speak to that because some of the busing issues are it's a trickle
down program. Routes are cut from the school. It definitely impacts more than just the residents in that community. I had that happen as a parent to myself with a busing because we were less than a mile from the school and my kids went to an inhome child care provider. So um
it really makes it tricky if your kid has to get picked up after school and you have to go back to work. So again, transportation is a issue and I would also encourage them to talk to Representative Joy about
that and I know Ezra you can do that but um he would be really helpful in elevating that concern. Thank you. Well, thank you for your presentation. Any questions? Now we have one more proclamation here.
Proclamation Childcare Provider Appreciation Day, May 9th, 2025. Where's the Klay County joins communities across the nation in recognizing Child Care Provider Appreciation Day to honor the dedication and impact of child care providers. And whereas more than half of
all children under six in the United States spend part of their week in non-parental care, highlighting the essential role child care providers play in offering safe, enriching, and developmentally supportive environments for children of all backgrounds. And
whereas child care enables parents and caregivers to pursue education and is a critical pillar of strong local economy, enabling working families to thrive and businesses to function. And And whereas high quality child care is
foundational to early childhood development and a vital contribution to the long-term success of our youth, our families, and our entire community. And whereas recognizing and celebrating our child care providers is an investment in
the future of Klay County. Now therefore, we the Klay County Board of Commissioners do hereby proclaim May 9th, 2025 as Child Care Provider Appreciation Day in Klay County. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to all
child care providers who nurture, teach, and support our youngest citizens. We encourage all residents to recognize and thank these dedicated professionals for their critical role in building a brighter future for Klay County.
Good. Thank you. We're not quite done. Mr. Chair, I'll move the proclamation. All right. We have a motion. Second. We have a motion by Commissioner Mojo, second by Commissioner Bear to approve the proclamation. Any further discussion? Seeing none, all in favor signify by
saying I. I. Oppose the same sign. The proclamation is declared. Thank you for your presentation today. You want a break, Commissioner He? Yeah. Okay. Okay.
All right, we are back in session and I just want to do a little bit of house cleaning. I was so um encouraged and excited to uh pronounce the proclamation for mental health uh month that I forgot to vote have the vote taken. So we had a
motion and a second on that proclamation and at this time I would ask all in favor to signify by saying I I opposed the same motion carried. All right then we'll move into item number 23 request approval to higher scale attendant. Good
morning, Corey. Morning, Mr. Chair and commissioners. Unfortunately, our scale attendant has given her two weeks notice and next Monday will be her last day. So, we will be looking to replace her and that would be my request this morning. It is included in the budget. I did not take it to pick because none of
the job description changed. So, it would just be this the same job that we have now. We're just looking to post it. Second. We have a motion and a second. Any further discussion? Further discussion? Seeing none, all in favor signify by saying I. I. I. Oppose.
The same. Motion carried. All right. Next item is the solid waste grant application. Yes, we are looking to apply for a grant through the MPCA. Um, we have the garage in the back of the of the transfer station now
that we're using to store stuff, um, recycling items and that kind of things. We would like to upgrade that facility or that building um, and turn it into a Fre-On recycling. In order to do that, we have to put in a heater and insulate it and this grant came up. Um, I did
take the grant opportunity to SWAC and they approved it. Um, we have to get that sent in. The original ask was for $40,000, but we have actually knocked it down to it's a $22,000 total with a 50% match. Um, so it' be $11,000 and some
change and that would include heating and insulating but no inside steel. We just felt after talking to maintenance that the inside steel would be too costly and too labor intensive. So we backed off on that. But so my request would be to be allow us to send in the letter of intent. So
all right, any questions? Mr. Chair. Yes, Commissioner. Thank you. We discussed this at SWAC as as discussed and since we live in an area of the country where the majority of the year we are not above 40 degrees felt this was really a great opportunity to
leverage some additional funds but to also expand with the freon capabilities at the county would be with the obvious intent of keeping as much of that out of our landfill as possible. So uh certainly um am in in support of what
this request is. So in this one the motion was to approve the grant application for up to 40,000. Do you want that number changed or total grant application that the money we would requesting would be a total of 22,95907 and the grant cap would be
11,47954. Mr. Chair, I'll make that motion to I'll second approve the application. The amounts totaled. Okay, we have a motion by Commissioner Mojo, second by Commissioner Bayer for a grant application in the amount of
$22,959.7. Any further discussion? None. All in favor signify by saying I. I. Oppose. Same sign. Motion carried. All right. Thanks, Corey. Thank you. All right, next item we have a request of letter of Oh, next, excuse me. Before
we get there, a request approval to sign for tax hosting contract. Yeah, good afternoon. Good morning. Morning. Close enough. Almost afternoon. Yeah. Thank you. Uh so this morning I'd like to propose
uh moving to a momentum tax hosted platform. this is something that they would uh host in their online environment. Um after a few few meetings with them and initial price quote that we received back in December, uh the
pricing was just a little too high for us. So we uh us and some other counties and MC we got together to try to figure out, okay, how can we make this a little more affordable for all of us? And after a few months of back and
forth, uh, Mentum came back to us with a proposal that if four counties were to go together, um, then they would, you know, could sustain that uh, price of $60,000 annually with a
$12,500 onetime setup fee. So, that's the uh, proposal I'm bringing you today or this morning. Um the other three counties that would be uh going on with us would be Clearwater, Rice, and Roso County. So, and it sounds like uh those
three are already approved. Just kind of waiting to see what happens here today. Okay. Uh but currently we we host aum tax on premise here and it touches our land records departments. Um it's it's kind of
a system where we have to babysit a lot. they have last minute uh patches and updates that affect our uh time here. So, one of my staff typically works nights and weekends just about every week just to maintain last minute
patches. So a lot of this would really save time in my department but also benefit um you know assessors, auditors, treasures um and some other you know partners we work with as well that that pull in that tax data
uh funding source. So, I met with Lori Johnson on this and to come up with it, um, if we were to host it ourselves again, we'd be looking at a hardware refresh for new servers and the time and cost it would take to do that. We just
decided maybe this proposal to go hosted would be the the best fit for for Klay County. Um, so after meeting with uh Miss Johnson, we were able to determine that uh removing the the hardware off of our internal services list, we would have enough money to pay for uh fiscal
year 25, 26, and potentially 27 with our internal service fund. So we would have basically the three years covered out of this 36 months contract already. Any questions? Yes, Commissioner. just to to uh we had
a difficult time when we were partnered with some other entities here with the social service program. Oh yes. Are are there any security concerns or anything similar to the challenges we face with
that that we might need to contend with in partnering on this? Yeah, we we did ask that question on how how our data would be uh structured up on the on their their cloud platform and everybody is independent of each other. Um the only reason for the additional counties
to on board with us are because of uh cost. If they want to onboard counties, it's cheaper for them to do four at once than it is for individual counties. So that that's the reason of the the joint. So basically, we're still going to operate the same way we we would if we were independent. We're not linked to
them. It's just a a volume deal. Exactly. Okay. Thank you. All right. Any further questions? Wishes? Yes. Um I'll move
that we proceed with the amenum housing hosting contract and funding as described. Okay, second. We have a motion and a second. So, is this um So, what were we funding before for
this? How does what is the fun how has the funding changed? Uh the the cost of hardware is a big portion of it. So, so the for us to maintain it, you know, of course, we have to have servers, uh infrastructure, things like that. Um, so
that that equipment in those line items for internal services would go away and kind of pull together for for annual cost for this. Okay. And is this something that could be considered for um out of
Kim's future? Um, without talking with her, I wouldn't be sure, but was something we could bring up to her. Yeah, I'm just thinking for for the future that might this might qualify for consideration for those
funds. All right. Uh any further discussion on the motion? Seeing none, all in favor signify by saying I. I. I. Oppose. The same sign. Motion carried. All right. Good. Thanks, R. Commissioners.
All right. Next, we have a request of a letter of support to send to Fargo city leaders to include the bus stop at the DMV facilities as part of the 2026 2030 transportation plan. Certainly, we have that letter
attached. Um, yes, Steve, do you want to Yeah, thank you, Mr. Chair. As as we've discussed previously and and had discussion with Mr. Griffith this morning. Uh the city of Fargo is working on their 2026 to 2030 transportation
plan. As we built our our two or three facilities up on 15th Avenue North, uh after the 20 uh through I guess after the 2025 plan, uh we were encouraged to uh to reach out to City Morhead and City of Fargo. Fargo is now in charge of that
transportation plan. Uh and uh so we've uh Commissioner Mojo and I have been part of the planning meetings. We've advocated uh for the plan is my understanding uh based on the scenarios that they have that we continue uh our buildings continue to be outside of the
Matt Bus transportation plan. And so, uh, bringing forward this letter would hope hopefully have, uh, the transit director and subsequently the city of Fargo leadership, uh, to reconsider, uh, amending one of the routes, uh, two of
the routes go in into our into that area or could be utilized through Walmart, route six and route nine. And so, we would be looking for them to to reconsider uh, adding that as they move forward. That ideal for any questions. As I looked at the letter, I I think
it's a good letter. The only the only thing that I would like to see on that is on the very first sentence, I'd like it to start off by saying on behalf of the CL Klay County Board of Commissioners, I am because otherwise it sounds like it's just coming from me and
I think it would be good to have that that language at the very beginning of that letter. I agree. Do you want it to continue to be on Steve's letter head or do you want commission. Uh, no, probably
um, yeah, I think just probably Clay County letterhead I think would be Sounds good, Mr. Chair. I can make those two changes. All right. Um, board's wishes approve. We'd like to get the approval of that letter to go to the
city as well as and CC it as as indicated in the letter. I'll make a motion to approve uh the signing of the letter or sending of the letter. I'll second that. A motion by Commissioner Mojo, second by Commissioner
Bear. Any further discussion? Seeing none, all in favor signify by saying I. I. Oppose the same sign. Motion carried. Thank you. All right. Thanks, Steve. All right. We are going into committee reports.
Uh, Commissioner Krabanoff, we'll start with you today. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Uh, so the fact that we uh didn't have a commission meeting last week because that's our fifth week Tuesday where we don't have on my report will
begin back on April 22nd. Uh that was an afternoon um meeting that we had uh county commissioners along with H with semianual updates and um just how they're doing overall. good educational
piece for us and also a good dialogue about things coming down the the pike in the future here with uh not only what their plans are but also potential changes if uh federal legislation or
state legislation uh changes funding. On Wednesday the 23rd, um, uh, historical and culture society had our board of directors meeting, general business, uh, we had a review,
um, of of job applications that are coming in for a replacement of our executive director um, position that Marine John Johansson's had for quite a few years,
and she'll be retiring in July. And just to note to us and in the public that at the end of May May 29th in the evening uh we will be having the society's uh annual meeting at the impromp
uh from seven and our guest host will be uh Dr. Carol Engelhart who is our 25 our 2025 Clay County Heritage Award recipient. Um, okay. Then, uh, let's see.
Uh, on the 25th, Friday, uh, that we had a, uh, uh, county, um, director's retreat. Um, that was held at the law enforcement center. Um, most of us were there. Uh, I really enjoyed that. It was
done by it was led by uh former sheriff Paul Laney and former dispatch director um Mary Philippy. Uh the focus were on leadership styles and best practices and uh also in the
afternoon which I uh was fun to watch our directors in involving conflict resolution and counseling with employees. uh good one-on-one uh uh uh practicing uh that or showing that
skill and also uh just getting recommendations of their styles uh as they went into those um I'm missing the word here um uh situations where that may occur
um on on 28th on Monday um a short meeting with the public health staff. Um, Commissioner Ever already mentioned it regarding the cannabis. Those issues discussed there were mainly reviewed already with
um Matt Jacobson earlier on on the fees and a few other minor items. Um then on Thursday May 1st uh we had the intergovernmental uh committee meeting. The whole meeting virtually was uh spent
on um truency uh and um having um some discussion about that that may lead to uh discussions uh during the retreat that we have next January. Uh um there's been um we had two people
representatives from schools there work being done to alleviate this problem. Um, Morid or Morid Schools was one of 13 schools offered a state pilot um to work with the attendance review board.
They've got teams um set up through all the elementary and middle school um and uh to address uh different ways uh to evaluate reasons for truency uh to get the teams to make the calls that are
mainly made from teachers to parents and u and just uh have that consistency of what works being done and then bringing that together to have some consist consistency and the reliable according back to the
state and u so just for knowledge truency begins after uh 3 days of unexcused absences and and I was very surprised um me maybe uh other people not so much but that right now trumc
affects 25% of Minnesota students and in elementary schools it's about 10%. So hopefully uh we work on that truency is such a corner corn effect of uh long-term effect of where people go in
the future be it education discipline and other activities they're involved with. Uh then last night would have been my last meeting um with the Morhead Planning Commission and it was uh the only thing that was a public hearing had
to do with some uh text amendment changes regarding u zoning amendments uh in regard to the mixed use parcels and that was approved. Moved on. Also mentioned that um Ward One had a new
replacement. Um Nicole Matson had been in that spot. She's now on city city council and Wayne Wayne is now has that uh spot on the commission. That's my report. Thank you, Commissioner Model.
Thank you. Uh the 22nd uh we had a highway tracking meeting. We discussed the rightway uh necessitation. Um and then other items that this board already took action on today. I attended the
Prairie Lake or that afternoon also attended the um H meeting. I appreciate the opportunity to do that. And then that evening attended the pollinator pint night uh that the soil and water conservation district did at Junkyard. I appreciate their work in the community
there. I attended the Prairie Lakes Municipal Solid Waste Authority meeting virtually the next day. Uh we talked about um basically the financial reports and had the plant manager report. Um talked about the ash management county
highway 75 pilot uh project uh with the Stantic agreement for Becker. Um talked about the medical waste that happened to be an issue at another um county hauler with another county hauler. uh and then
talked about um MPCA grant interest forms and then discussing Senator Coopek's uh bill that talks about a adjustment to the um solid waste tax. Uh the next day I attended the SWAT
committee meeting um uh general updates from all of the folks out there. Talked about uh Earthw week and the success there. uh talked about strategizing um the additional uh tonnages of waste that will be coming in during
um um cleanup weeks. And then after that, I attended a discussion at the family service center with the state Medicaid director. They had different um folks. We had Klay County staff represented there. uh but
different folks discussing how or agencies and organizations are dealing with the uncertainty in regards to Medicaid waiver reimbursements uh was really framed more from a federal standpoint but uh I continued to bring up the fact that there are some major
state components there that will really affect us um uh immediately. So it's counties are trying to triage both of those changes going forward. Uh that afternoon I attended the retirement um um event for the Morehead Business
Association Director Sher Larson. Sherry's been really helpful on a lot of different county uh projects and strategizing and so I really wish her nothing but the best in retirement. It'll be fun to work with the new director uh there. Um Stacy that
afternoon or evening rather I attended the CAPL LP annual meeting that was held at the TAC in Dworth. A great update on all of the vibrant programs that go on there throughout the year. Um so I appreciate that opportunity. Had several
different legislative strategy meetings in regards to how we continue the lift in the final two and a half weeks. So Friday um had the meeting with the Klay County folks, the chamber and the city of Morehead on flood mitigation strategy with the capital investment ask. Uh
that's kind of a moving target. I know this morning the capital investment committee at the house uh position three vehicle bills that will go forward. Nothing's been identified as to what will be in them, but whenever they reach an agreement, they can insert in there.
So, um, we did talk about making sure we had opinion letters to the editor and encouragement. So, I appreciate I know this morning the Star Tribune letter to the editor was printed and then yesterday the uh inform one. So, I
appreciate that. And then also had the opportunity to attend uh with staff the Friday um the department head training. uh always a really great opportunity to um leverage on everyone's strengths and
strategies and how we can continue to meet the needs of our citizens in the best possible way. On Monday, I attended the Lakeland Mental Health Center board of directors meeting. We had um results and approval of the 2024 financial audit. I appreciate that. There was a
small opinion in that, but it it kind of um basically resulted around the fact that our um financial software didn't have the opportunity to report time on a grant specifically integrated in it. And so we've already upgraded that um that
software, so it's able to do that now. And then that also talked about access indicators and key performance indicators. the programs in Klay County continue to um be um really healthy in regards to um appropriate for the
financial aspect and also timing aspect. So I appreciate that. Talked about Minnesota legislation and then we did approve uh two grant awards and it was also the employer recognition. So I appreciate the opportunity to see and discuss uh with our employees
there. had conversations last week with both Matt Hillgart and Matt Freeman from AMC on how Klay County can best strategize with our bills going forward. As I noted yesterday, happy to report that our PRTF piece is included in the
omnimous bill. It's um um gone through the first hurdle at the House. Now we need to um see what the Senate does and then obviously conference committee pieces. But two, there's there's some other major issues that um will continue to affect counties. And yesterday at the Minnesota Rural Counties caucus meeting
that Commissioner Bayer and I attended, uh, we had a really good update from transportation, the transportation chair, Representative Cosnik, uh, on what that bill and how it entails. I I'm thankful that there's some additional funds in there for, uh, counties, but,
um, that that DHS bill really does have some new cost shares, as they're saying. Uh, you know, I'm not sure how we best educate folks. Um, you know, counties are doing the best they can to facilitate those programs. Uh, the
testimony yesterday really seemed to framework that counties are picking the most expensive options and that's why we're in a financial deficit. And so I think it's important that staff is able to um advocate for how that's not necessarily the case. And that concludes
my reports. Thank you, Commissioner Barrett. On the 22nd after county board, we had the HA that has been already been addressed. And then on the 23rd, the building committee met and we addressed everything on the agenda today that we
talked about at that meeting. On the 24th, I had the Klay County Justice Advisory Board meeting is more of an update on the department for all they're doing with with the Justice Department and all it is is an update for everybody that attended. I'll let Commissioner Evaner go into more detail
on that meeting. Then on the 25th, we had the intergovernmental retreat where we where we were led by Paul Laney and Mary Philippi through the drive the road leadership course. I'd like to thank all the department heads to make that a priority to attend those workshops. It
was very informational. On the 28th, I had the West Central Regional Water District Board meeting up in Grand Forks at AE2S offices where we had signed where we have received signed from the cities of Felton, Climax, Pearly, Holstead, and Borup. We also
discussed a draftou for the East Central Water District to be finalized and sent to them before the next board meeting. We're looking we are looking at changing the fiscal host from Klay County to Norman County because of the EPA grant that we will be receiving that has to be
run through Norman County and to simplify the process going forward. After the board meeting, we had a work session for the water district where we uh came up with common
financial policies and common cost distribution goals and approaches and total estimated project costs were all part of that work session. Then later that night, I went to Dworth City Council meeting. They had their 2024
volunteer of the year recognition where Jason Stewart, Brian Christopherson, Gerald Zimmel, and Missy Huard were individuals who extremely who exemplify community spirit and service
through their dedication to local government to local organizations. Congratulations to those four. There was also an update on the Highway 10 design and progress update. They'll be having an open house having an open house on
the highway 10 redesign May 20th 5:30 to 7:30 at the elementary school in Dworth. It is about 30% designed. So they'll have a update there. And then also at that meeting the
White Earth Nation was also there to meeting to discuss the land transfer in the tribal trust. Great discussion again was had there just like at our meeting. They did not give them a letter of support but wanting more discussion
going forward on that matter. And then yesterday I had MRC with Commissioner Mojo where we had a yeah an update on the transportation bill from Representative Kha'Zix and it sounds
like the Senate also passed the transformation bill. So, that'll be going to the conference committee and we'll see what that what they hammer out there. And that is all my reports so far, Mr. Chair. You Commissioner Ever. Thank you. On the
22nd, I also attended the Klay County work session with the H, which has already been covered. Later that day, I attended the Red River Regional Dispatch Center Board of Authority meeting. Uh I had discussion on the uh schedule of the
construction of the new site. Right now we're still on uh course for an early October transition. Moving from the old dispatch center to the new is going to be a process. It may take as long as a month. They're going to do it one console at a time and try and operate
both sites simultaneously in case there's an issue to make sure that uh the fallback position is one where all the services can be met. Uh we did talk about uh the retirement for fire chief Dirkson in Fargo. I just take this
opportunity to say he has been a true public servant during his time here and he has been a remarkable uh force of of uh nature in getting this new dispatch center put together and I wish him good luck in his retirement. He's done a
great job for Fargo and for our region. Um, on the 23rd, following day, I had uh a remote meeting with the Greater Fargo Morehead EDC Executive Board. Uh, we covered the uh 2024 audit. It was clean
with unqualified. It was a good audit. Had a long talk on Innovate 28. um some of the expectations that some of the executive board members had on reporting back and discussions about focus on what we're doing as an
executive board. Um just in some of the being a little more strategic. There's been some questions about refreshing our message. Flourishing seems to be an objective that the uh board is currently pushing and and we
had a long discussion on defining flourishing. Um later that day I had the diversion authority finance committee meeting. Uh there was report on the Minnesota finances um discussing uh look at at the
potential for bonding moving forward for the $60 million and the work that we are doing with uh Representative Joy Keeler and Senator Coupac. Um excuse me. I got so many notes here
I'm losing losing track. On the 24th, uh we had a library executive committee meeting in preparation for meeting we've got tomorrow with the city of Morehead to try to determine a lease uh that uh can be agreed upon for uh the Lake
Agassy Regional Library personnel to be in the new library being built uh by the city of Morehead. Later that day, um I attended a meeting with the criminal justice advisory board. Uh Dale Arnold conducted it and I
I said this earlier when he was was uh here for the building item on the agenda. He went in a great detail on how our our parole and community punishment system
works. and I've been in uh the criminal justice field as a practitioner, a student, and a and a teacher since 1978. And it took 45 minutes to an hour for him to present this, but we are
doing things in this state and particularly in this county that give people an opportunity to turn their lives around. And he's a true believer and his people are true believers. the role of of a parole officer that I knew when I
got in this, it's like night and day compared to what we offer people now. And I was just very impressed with his enthusiasm in this and what we're doing in this county. So, as we move forward, I'm glad they're back in the building and I want us to support them in in what
I think is a really genuine effort to make people's lives better. And it's like we do with our kids here. There's a lot of people in this community that are doing great and we got to support them and and meet their needs. We got a lot of people in this community with
problems and it was great to hear somebody in a position uh where it's a corrections position, but they want to see those people deal with their problems and move over to the other side of the table and be part of the people in our community that's successful. So,
it was a great meeting and I really appreciate what he's bringing uh to the mix. Uh later that day, I had the board of authority meeting for the diversion authority. Again, let me get caught up on
notes. Um the technical dispute uh review board update uh from council uh John Shockley. They have two people but who are both lawyers and engineers who have agreed to
serve on this and at the time of the meeting they were trying to find a chair for that which is another engineer that's selected by the two people we've already got. So, they're working on that. And
uh we had a closed session um for attorney consultation with general counsel regarding an update on the status of ongoing compensation event claims to provide negotiation direction for those claims. And we had a
discussion on that. And on Monday the 28th um myself and Commissioner Krabangh met with Jason McCoy, Rory Beiel, Kathy McCay just to discuss some of the issues involving cannabis retail and the
ordinance that's being developed with that. And on Thursday, May 1st, I uh virtually attended the executive commit uh uh or the emergency communication bure uh board's
legislative committee. And I have notes to that right here. Um there's a lot of house files that are still in limbo and do not look like they're going to advance. One of the
things we had a good discussion on the statutory language which we've been trying to get it updated for five years now. It doesn't look like we'll get a they took it off the table a year ago to hire a mediator to bring all the parties in. That mediation contract is pending,
but it's been pending for the last year and a half. Uh, and they tenatively are saying we will bring back a discussion on this in the 2027 session. So, it looks like it's been put uh put aside
for a while. And that completes my report. All right. Thank you. Good thing about going last, most of my meetings have been already talked about. So uh on April 22nd I started out we had a highway tracking meeting.
Commissioner Mojo was reported on that. We also had the uh HA meeting and then also that afternoon we did have the Red River Regional Dispatch Board Authority meeting. The only thing I would add to that meeting is that we got a report
where there are now 36 of 38 staff in the staff and eight of nine shift supervisors are in place. So that's uh looking good there. On the 23rd um in the morning we had our Prairie
Lake solid waste meeting. Commissioner Mojo report on that and I really don't have anything more to add to that. She gave a good review of that. Uh on that afternoon we had our building committee meeting and most of
those items we've talked about today. I would like to add that we did have some conversations regarding the joint highway roof project. Uh that's about the only other thing that was not there and uh Joe continues to work on that with
our other partners and it looks like our cost share on that is about $240,750 of which previously in our in our plan that number was 300,000. So,
it's down a little bit and all the rest of stuff we've we acted on today. Then on the um 24th in the morning, we had the Klay County Solid Waste Advisory Committee meeting. Uh
that again has been reported on. We get a always get a good report from um Corey on that. I I do I do want do want to go back on the um to the Prairie Lakes meeting.
Um in terms of the deliveries for Klay County, at one time we were like 1,600 tons behind. I want to report that as of February 28th we were actually 83 tons to the good. So we really turned that around. Uh and you know that's a a lot
of work on the part of Corey and a lot of work on the part of Brian and PUM. and it's a tribute to um the facility being able to provide material that is acceptable to
PUM. Then uh on Thursday um we had the diversion authority board meeting as well. Um, I really don't have anything more to add to what
Commissioner Ebinger talked about there. Um, and then Friday we did have the retreat. I do want to thank all of our um, supervisors who were there um, partake in that. I thought it was a good
retreat and I've known Sher I've known Laney for quite some Paul Laney for quite some time and Mary from being with the dispatch center and they really they really put on a a a good a good program.
Um, I do want to point out that uh, Commissioner Mojo touched on it, but u, Mayor Carlson and I and and the um, Buffalo Red, we did sign we did uh, do a letter to the editor for both the
Fargo forum and the Star Tribune which I believe has been already been published uh, you know the importance of the 60.4 $4 million that we have in there and and encouraging um that bond the bonding
bill to be established with those funds for those projects. I believe let me just look here. I believe that concludes my report. Steve, thank you, Mr. Chair. On
the 22nd, I participated in both the highway tracking and HR meeting that's been well covered. Uh on the 23rd, I participated uh with other county and city officials in an emergency management exercise where our EOC was
set up. Uh the exercise determined that a tornado had hit the Fargo Morhead area. Uh and so we went through the different uh processes that would go go through during those situations. Again, uh thanks to Gabe and Cha Chad Stangland from the city of Morehead. Uh it was a
very excellent excellent run uh exercise. Uh 23rd participated in the building committee. It's been well covered. On the 24th, I met with Jill Murray. Uh there's been several tax uh tax court filings that have been made. So we she updated me on those different
things. uh on the 24th also uh wrote a letter to the governor on the board's behalf uh highlighting the different cost shifts. Also sent that to uh to our local legislators and also both Senate and House uh leadership on the 25th participate in
the management retreat. Again, as I shared then thank you the board for your commitment to to uh allowing things like that to happen. And I think one of the things that we hear from our staff on a pretty continual basis is having the opportunities to grow uh and uh this is one of those examp one of the examples
uh that uh that this board supports and so we appreciate that and also again for those in attendance. Um on the 28th I participated in the water district meetings that has been covered by Commissioner Bay. Uh that afternoon met with Sheriff Empty on a series of issues
and that evening participated at the Mid City Council. uh listen to the White Earth uh nation presentation. Uh on the 20 29th, I met with Anna and Darren. Uh we had discussion on salaries, insurance,
um and uh other HR issues. Um on the 20 29th, worked on the city the letter that this board approved to the city of Mor Fargo in regards to the bus bus routes. Uh on the 30th, met with Joe Olsson on the the agenda items today. Uh on the
the 30th, I also met with Anna and Darren again on there are different companies now as we move towards paid family leave uh that are that are going to be working with the state of Minnesota to offer the program. Uh and so uh Hannah and Darren are looking into
those to see if there's a uh cost savings cost-saving measure uh that that could help with that oversight. Uh on the uh 20 excuse me on the first I participated in the intergovernmental retreat meeting again as commissioner
Kavanagh talked about a good portion was talked spoke on truency. I think the other thing to highlight are the presentation that we heard from uh this morning in regards to to youth mental health. One of the things that both of the the representative Dwayne Borgusen
uh from from Morehead School District and also um is it Jack Jack O'Keefe Joe O'Keefe the principal principal from uh DGF has indicated that mental health while it's still continuing to be a
challenge for their schools to face uh the investments that have been put in with the school and schools and this board of having representatives within the school district uh has had an impact. Uh I think the word that they used was almost back to pre- pandemic uh
pre pre- pandemic uh behaviors which still are challenging but I think uh goes to the great investment that this board made uh as far as working with the schools on the first met with commissioner Krabanhoff on a series of issues and also spoke with Derek Leo.
Um, I think that uh one of the things that uh we we may want to to talk about on tomorrow afternoon, I'm going to meet with Derek uh Derek Le Point, uh Dan Molly, and uh um Payton Master from the
city of Dworth just to kind of talk a little bit more about the casino uh the casino uh possibility here within the county. Um, and I think that, you know, from our board standpoint, I think there would certainly would be a benefit to, uh, as we, as City of Morhead takes that
leadership role, being it's in their area, per se. Uh, but I think that having elected uh, elective conversations and committees may be something that this board may want to consider. Steve, on that regard, I, you know, I think
um, I think that's important. I think when we left the the meeting that we had that day, we we talked about some sort of future collaboration amongst the entities to talk and and you know, I think there's probably
um I think there's probably an interest on the part of the city and the county and and Dworth to maybe get together. Um I think it would be appropriate for um that committee to be established. Uh, I
can't speak for the other entities, but that's obviously in Commissioner Bearer's district, and I serve on that 336 corridor area there with the wellhead protection plan. So, from that standpoint, I would like to see the two of us um uh be involved with u the
establishment of that committee. Uh I I'm assuming that Morehead will probably have a couple of council members uh in it, too. and um Dworth has um asked to
be part of that as well. And I do believe it's important that we'd have a member from Glendon Township um be part of that as well. And I, you know, I think there's still we have an awful lot long way to go in terms of these things.
Uh, and I know I just to um, you know, I think early on I think commi commissioner Bar and I had point out that and Steve, we had met with members of the Manomomen County Commission in regards to and I and I
really think it would be good for that committee to maybe to have them come and and talk to that group as well. there. They have a lot of insight into working with um both the um White Earth Nation as well as with a
casino that they have within their county already. So, but I guess I guess from that standpoint, I don't I don't know. Um you said Morehead taking the lead. I Well, I I don't I maybe misspoke just from the standpoint of the it being in
their growth area, right? maybe not necessarily taking the lead, but wanting to be at the table. I think Yeah. And I I think I think it's my understanding that the presentation that was presented to both more the Morhead City Council and the Deo City Council ended up
familiar very similar to way ours ended and that was to have further dialogue and move this thing forward. And I think probably the best way to do that would be to have this group going and if there's I guess if there's no uh unless the county board
thinks differently then I think we should probably proceed with that so we can move this thing along one way or the other. I Yeah, I'm I'm a strong advocate of that. Certainly. Um one of if I can just bring it up. One of the things that uh the public I heard you know whether
it was in at M City Council and here is always making the comparison you know we bring bring a lot of things to the effects that happen in Manowomen and I guess what's in my mind just food for thought when we look at the
possibilities and the dialogue and stuff one of the considerations I think we need to do is what has happened when this type of thing was developed in Shakipi. This is more uh um more in size of what Fargo
Morehead would be. And take a look at that. So we aren't comparing how it looks in some of the where it's next to rural communities. I think it h in my view may have a different effect. Yeah, certainly. I you know and I I
think we will probably as we move along on this and um I think it's important that we take a look at several different areas. I I mean there's been casinos in in quite a few areas in in Minnesota and and
and obviously they're all run by um one of the you know tribal nations. So, um, yeah, but I I think I just think to, um, keep this moving forward and to gather more information, I think this is
the appropriate step. So, if you I don't know if they would care to put that as a committee assignments. Commissioner, I'm I'm just one of the things I really hope we keep in mind is
that as we work with Morehead and and other communities here to get this done, everybody's going to be impacted with the time to make the agreement and each entity needs to needs to vocalize and and document what their needs are.
We're going to have issues in social services, in public safety, corrections, highway. All this is going to have an impact on the county. So, we are not without uh some skin in this game. And really, before anybody signs an
agreement, I hope that we can identify and justify what those needs are and and uh work with the with White Earth to meet them. Just a point of clarification there there is there is not even a request to sign any agreements right
now. Oh, I know. Right. Right now, right now it's a letter of support for what they want to do. And prior to that being done, we need, you know, we need additional information. Uh, and out of that additional information could potentially
be some agreements. uh we don't know that yet, but some of the things and not not being on the committee, I just would like to be heard on my concerns right now. If you take all that acreage and put it in trust, any residential growth is going
to be that this brings is going to be on that property. One of the Morehead City Council members said, "Why not limit the trust to the casino?" uh we just we just we're we're entering into a period where that land's going to
be even more valuable if the jet fuel plant comes in and we're going to have a need for uh residential growth and if that residential growth is taken out of the tax base that could be a problem. I mean all these things I hope we're going to look
at them strong and and go in there with with the needs identified. It's my only concern. Very good. I just want to I fully support forming a committee with Morehead and Dworth and Glendon Township
myself on it. Are you asking for a motion at this time for that for you two on that committee? I'd like to support that. We move that ahead toward the second. We have a motion in a second. And that would be, you know, just a a committee that
researching the wider nation's request and working and working with the wider and and working with them. Yes. Yeah. As well as the city of Morehead, city of Dworth, Glendon Township, and um or not
Glenn. Yeah. And Glendon Township. Yeah. Right. All those things are in my motion. All right. Any further discussion? No, there hasn't been a second yet. Oh, I thought there was. Yeah. Oh. Oh, you second. I second it. Yeah. Yep. Okay.
Any further discussion? Seeing none, all in favor signify by saying I. I. Opposed. Motion carried. Just had two couple other things here. Just received information yesterday. Minnesota Office of Cannabis Management will be announcing on June 1
or June 5th uh the uh social equity uh cannibit for licenses for cannabis cultivators, manufacturers, and mezo businesses. Uh and uh later in the summer, they will also then be having their general applications. Um so that
uh your actions today were timely. Uh yesterday the house uh I mentioned earlier looked at the house bill uh house tax bill. Uh they're looking to extend a moratorium on the half or on the sales tax. Uh and they're looking to have a legislative task force uh to look
at uh at uh sales tax in the future. Uh addressed the homestead market values for veterans increases. Uh and then as I mentioned uh they repealed the cannabis aid uh 20% of the gross receipts that will now go back to the general fund. Um
we while we didn't have a proclamation today did just want to recognize this week is national corrections officer week. We have a correctional facility with a great uh number of excellent trained staff. We're fortunate uh to have have them and so I wanted to make sure that we received that they received
the recognition uh this week. And lastly, as has as happens often, uh Kimberly noted in listening today that that she already does pay roughly $15,000 uh for the tax system uh through her
compliance fund. Uh and that uh as of late, the funds haven't been coming in as quickly as po as it has in the past. Uh and so uh having much more than that may be a challenge, but wanted to pass that along. That concludes my report.
I'm glad they're listening in. Darren, do you have anything for us? I will try to make mine brief here. Um, I also sat in on the H presentation on Tuesday and I also met with the jail administrator and chief deputy and
assistant jail administrator on Tuesday about a veterans preference claim. Um on Wednesday I attended the EOCC training as well and the building committee meeting and also uh Mark and and uh Brian and I met one last time for the
county code uh to update the county code. Thought we were pretty much done with it and then I think Mark found a couple more in a in a drawer somewhere. So we have to uh look at those but we're still hoping to bring that to the full board at the end of May. Um, I sat in on
the April SWAC meeting on Thursday the 24th. I had a discussion with the correctional officer the regarding the veterans preference complaint. Um, sat in a couple meetings with UKG uh RFP meeting. They're trying to do some stuff
there uh with MNC and uh went to the manager's offsite on Friday as well. I thought that was excellent training as well. It's it's fun to see how departments handle difficult personnel issues that come up.
So that was uh good to see and I think a very good training. Um Monday I worked on the veteran preference, did some research on that. Tuesday uh I submitted the 2026 payroll estimate to MCIT. I met with uh Steve and Anna. He
already mentioned this about some compensation ideas. Also, on Tuesday the 29th, I met with Integrity Benefits. Uh, Steve already talked about that, but possibly going with a private vendor uh instead of the state's program on the
paid family medical leave. I wasn't overly enthused about that, but after that meeting, I think it might just be a good a good thing to look into. Um on Wednesday the 30th I sat in and some more RFP meeting RFP meetings with
MC. Um met with Corey on some recycling issues on Thursday. It was uh very interesting. I went with Matt and Corey out to the landfill and there was a representative from Blue Horizon which uh does solar panels and what they're
looking at is possibly using our closed portion of the landfill to put a solar panel field on there. Um it's about 10 acres and uh just basically looking at the site seeing if it would be even possible. But it's a interesting thing
to look at to to possibly use that land that can't be really used for much of anything else to uh produce additional energy. Um so that was that was educational and interesting as well. Um much to still to evaluate on that
though. And then uh Friday was just a bunch of catch-up work. So that's my report. Right. Sarah, do you have anything? Okay. Just to add to my committee reports, I also attended the Delaware City Council and the Mor City Council meetings. All
right. With that, we are adjourned. Part: 2
Good morning everybody. It's 8:30. We'll call this morning's meeting of the Klay County Board of Commissioners to order for Tuesday, May 6th. Our first item is the approval of the agenda. Move for approval. Second. Have a motion by Commissioner Everger, second by
Commissioner Bayer. Any further discussion? Any further discussion? Seeing none, all in favor signify by saying I. I. Oppos the same. Motion carry. Just to note on that that under the consent agenda, there was a donation
from Johnson's Auto Repair. Uh they they are a proud supporter of the sheriff's department and their K9 program. And uh they sell candy bars in their shop and the proceeds of those candy bars go to the sheriff's department. And this time
around it was $70 in cash. So thank you to Johnson's Auto for that. Next we have some employee recognitions. All right. Our first one we have is for Seth. 25 years, huh?
Well, congratulations. This is a showing our appreciation for your 25 years of dedicated service. Thank you. Thank you very much. Justin, do you want to Yeah. So, Seth is in our um one of our senior engineering technicians. So, throughout the last 25 years, he's worn many
different hats. Um throughout the last six years that I've been here, he's kind of been transitioning into our team leader for our bridge inspection program, and he does a phenomenal job at that. I mean, Seth is comes to work every day early with a smile on his face and couldn't ask for a better employee.
And thank you, Seth. Next, we have Jennifer Thomas. And this one is celebrating 25 years of dedicated service. We're expecting it on her behalf. Okay. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. No. So Justin, you
want to talk? Yep. I'll say a few words. Um Jyn was unable to be with us today. She's currently in New York on vacation, but um I have a few words for her. Um Jen has been a big part of our non-secure program for the last 25 years, evolving through different roles with working with our youth. She's very passionate about her job and it shows
with the work that she does with the kids that she oversees. Jen has also used her knowledge and experience with this job to assist our newer staff and guiding them to gain the confidence need to involve in their roles as well. I'm grateful that Jen has been working with us as long as she has. And when she gets back from vacation, I'm looking forward
to seeing what uh talking to her about what her next 25 years at the facility is going to bring. All right. Thank you. Next we have Nick Togus and he's not here today either, right? So uh the sheriff is here too and he has 15 years
of service. So Nick has been with us for uh 15 years. He cannot be here today. He's currently in Canton, South Dakota becoming a teaser instructor. Um but he started actually in the correctional center. And on a side note, this week is national uh corrections week. So, we
appreciate the work that all of our correctional officers do in keeping the inmates safe over at our facility. Um, but when Nick went to pursue his uh law enforcement career, he did stay with us in a part-time capacity and started working um as a deputy and doing port
security. And he did that for several years while he was uh working for both the Glendon and White Earth Police Departments. And in 2018, he uh was hired full-time as a deputy, and he's been with us ever since. He is a police training officer, so he trains our new staff. He is also our less than lethal
instructor, so he's all things less than lethal for us. And he does a great job for us. And I I joke about having other people up here and staying for 15 years. I truly think Nick will be here for another 15 years. We appreciate his work. So, thank you. All right. Thank you, Sheriff. Thank you.
All right. Next, we have citizens to be heard. Uh, do we have any citizens in the audience to be heard on items not on the agenda? It looks like we have none. Steve, anything from online? Uh, Mr. Chair, I I did receive uh a information from four different citizens in regards
to the casino uh and uh and issuing a letter of support for the White Earth Casino complex. Uh the four letters I provided each of those to you uh on your desk. We received a letter from Janine Hansen, Mike and Sarah Lilrand, Terry
Milby, and Chris Rosall. Uh again, all of these uh were um u speaking not in favor of the letter of support. And if it uh is all right with the the bo board chair and the commission, I would uh rather than read these submit these uh
to be part of the packet uh that would be published uh published uh um next week or two weeks. All right. So these will be become part of the minute record. Right. Anything no other
citizens comments? All right. Next, we'll approve the payment of bills and vouchers. So move, Mr. Chair. Second. Have a motion by Commissioner Bear, second by Commissioner Abinger. Any further discussion on the motion? Any discussion? Seeing none, all
in favor signify by saying I. I. Oppose. The same sign. Motion carried. Excuse me. Approval of minutes from April 15th and April 22nd. Move to approve the minutes for April
15th and April 22nd. I'll second that. We have a motion by Commissioner Kavanagh. Second by Commissioner Bear. Any further discussion? Any further discussion? Seeing none, all in favor signify by saying I. I. Oppose the same. Motion
carried. All right. Our next item is the request request approval to hire a registered nurse for public health. Good morning, Kathy. Good morning, Mr. Chair and commissioners. Uh we will have an opening in our family home visiting program um for a full-time registered
nurse. I've listed some of the responsibilities they have in regards to their home visits and we have evidence-based um programs for those. So, they're seeing um lots of families in their homes. Um they also provide um
child care consultation for um child care uh facilities across our community in our county. They're backup for vaccines, car education, car seat education and installation, child and teen checkups um in our clinic. So, a
variety of um things that the family home visiting nurses do. I believe that you just received the salary calculation worksheet. Um yes, I passed this morning. Um so um it
lists um uh the the the differences if we hire on step two or step three at the bottom there. So there would be um some savings in both of those. who are still having challenges um recruiting nurses. We have
like three open positions in our adult health and now we have one in family health and it's uh really been challenging to recruit um the nurses that we need in those program areas. So um we may depending on what we have to
offer a nurse there may be less savings in hiring. I also requested um to backfill if there's a need, if there's a nurse that's in another program area and wants to provide services in our family health area.
Mr. Chair, did this go through pick? Did this go through pick? Uh this one this one did not. No, there's this is replacing a current nurse. Yes. Commissioner Bar, is this a two-year or fouryear RN? Four year is the requirement for home visiting
nurses. Any other questions? Sorry. Move for approval of to advertise and hire for a full-time RN position in family health with Metro. Second. Motion by Commissioner Kavanagh. Second by Commissioner Abbinger. Any further
discussion? Further discussion? Seeing none, all in favor signify by saying I. I oppose the same sign. No. Okay. Okay. I I have another question for Okay. Yep. Sure. Go ahead. About beginning middle of April there,
we you came in here to go after some grant money. I was just wondering update on that if that uh the substance use prevention education grant was received or not. Unfortunately, we got a denial letter yesterday from that. We're still waiting
on the other grant that we the other grant we also received a denial letter. So, Rory is following up on that to see how many applicants there were and why we received a denial. Right. Thank you for that update. Sure. Thank you, Kathy.
All right. Next, we have a um case manager position in the secure residential unit. James is here this morning. Good morning, James. Morning, Mr. Chair, commissioners. I'm here today um to request permission to rehire a soontobe
open um case manager position in our ski residential unit. Um he'll be out of here in about two weeks. Um he did great work for us. He liked working here. Um he's just he's originally from down south and he's moving back closer to
family. Um and requesting to fill his uh refill the case manager position which is a line 17 um with backfill. Okay. Any questions? I'll make a motion to approve with
backfill. I will second that. Motion by Commissioner Motel, second by Commissioner Bayer. Any further discussion? Any further discussion? Seeing none, all in favor signify by saying I. I. Oppose. The
same. Motion carried. Thank you. Good luck. Before I get out of here, uh I do have a quick update. Um James's team is phenomenal as we all know, but that has been told to the entire state through our dialogues at the capital. Uh
yesterday our PRTF allocation for the renovation grant passed the first major hurdle in the house yesterday and uh Representative Keeler talked at length about how phenomenal your staff is and how phenomenal your staff is at meeting
each individual case uh kids where they're at. And I I know you know this. I know you work really hard. I know you're also really great at uh tiling, which I saw the new fireplace stone over at the family service center, but uh this uh this huge step is not the work
of this board. Uh for us to get to that level at the state is a true testament to the work that your staff does and all of the uh other staff from other departments that work with your employees. And uh James, you've just been really great at uh constantly
meeting. I know you hate the we all hate these recurring meetings, but you always bring everything to the table, all of the documents, all of the extra work. Uh, and so I just really want you to know that I really appreciate the work and the the culture in which you've
built over there. So, thank you. All right. Thanks, James. All right. Next, we have our Metrocog update for 2026. Ben. Okay. Good morning, Ben. Morning, chair,
commission, Mr. Administrator. A little I'm a little horse, so I apologize for sounding like a frog. Um um it's always good to come and come and speak with y'all and let y'all know what's going on. Um we've been doing a lot of uh projects, but first, I just
wanted to do a quick a quick um update or a quick review of what we do and who we are. You know, we're a bystate MO metropolitan planning organization. We cover both uh Minnesota and part of North Dakota as well. Um we have an urbanized area of 178 square miles. Our
2023 population that we serve is 262,620. So we're a we're a small TMA, transportation management area, which is a type of an MO, but we're a fairly uh large MO for the for the region. So it's
depending on how you look at what we do, you know, it's it's kind of, you know, it depends on which lens you want to look through. One of the most important stats that I think that we have here in the area is a 1.81 unemployment rate. It's the second lowest in the US. And I think y'all all are aware of that and
and talk that up at every opportunity. I know I do whenever I speak to a group, whether they're local or or whether out of state. Um, I think the the lowest uh unemployment rate I believe the last I checked was in Sou Falls, South Dakota.
So that's I think that's pretty significant. Um, we have 2 and a half billion vehicle miles vehicle miles traveled and and that equates out to 9,451 vehicle miles traveled per capita.
Those are pretty big numbers for an area this size. That's a lot of folks driving on a lot of roads. We also have over 1 million Matt bus riders. Again, that's a pretty significant number for uh a transit agency that's that's this size
that serves an area this size. We have over 60 TIP projects. Those are transportation improvement program projects. Those are the construction projects that y'all see. That's the that's the rebuilding and reconstruction and construction of new roads and and and infrastructure. And the valuation of
those of those projects are over $86 million. So that's a pretty significant amount. Some of that money comes from Mandot. Some of it comes from North Dakota DOT. We just total it up because we are a regional NPO. We have 253 miles of shared use bikeway paths in the area
and that's constantly being added. Um, our policy board, of which Miss Mojo is the chair, is very uh very supportive of of our bike pad program and and expanding our our shared youth pathways. And it gets a lot of support from all
our jurisdictions and residents in the area as well. They really like those programs. And we were, as I talked earlier, we were designated as a transportation management area on June 5th of 2023. And I'll talk a little bit about that in a little bit, but I wanted to give y'all
a couple of a couple of updates. We're a council of governments. We've been a council of governments since, I believe, 1961. So, um, there were some forwardinking folks at that time that realized that their strength in numbers and all the local jurisdictions needed
to work together toward common goals. out of that council of governments. The the MO was established in in the early 70s with the with one of the federal highway transportation bills that was passed at the time under the Nixon administration that basically treated transportation funds like community
development block grants for HUD. Chunks of money came to the states. They were distributed to NPOS if they were 50,000 population or higher to deal to to deal those out for for various planning and construction projects. So, an NPO is
created by federal legislation. We're formed by state governments. The the governors of both states have to sign off for anything that we do as far as becoming an NPO or our our most recent case becoming a TMA. And we work real closely with the local jurisdictions.
There's representatives on our policy board. We have full members of which Klay County is one. We have seven full members and we also have seven associate members. Our newest associate member was the city of Kindred that came on about this time last year. So, they're not
dues paying members, but they are able to participate. They're non- voting. they can apply for funding for projects and um but they again they're not a voting member in projects and they can participate in both our technical committee and on the policy
board. Again, I talked about, you know, we're a bystate we're a bystate no. We prepare comprehensive and transportation plans for smaller communities in the area. We're preparing one for Kindred right now. That was part of the reason why they wanted to come on board as an
associate member. Dworth is uh another community in the area here that we're updating their comprehensive plan as I speak. So, they had wanted to do that last year and with some of with all the growth that's been going on, they wanted to take care of some zoning issues first and they asked us if we could do their
uh comprehensive plan update this year, which we're well underway. We had an open house at the at the city depot uh two weeks ago. Had a pretty good turnout from that. We conducted a regional housing market study in 22 2022 and 2023
that was adopted by the policy board. Uh we also support the Cass Clay Food Commission. They meet monthly in our um in our conference room and we support several of their subcommittees as well. We also provide support for the Mattbus uh coordination committee board. They
meet monthly in our conference room. Um there's several members made up from the local jurisdictions and with their latest reorganization. Um I sit on that board as well as executive director of Metrocog. We also maintain traffic counting equipment and data for regional
jurisdictions. We've done that for for almost 40 years. Um, but now the rules have kind of changed a little bit at the federal level. We're having to be kind of creative in how we how we purchase that equipment and how we use it going forward. They kind of uh changed the
rules on us in the middle of the night and didn't let us know about it until after the fact. So, it kind of caught us by surprise. And we also develop a a a single four-year fiscally constrained annual transportation improvement program. Again, these are the construction projects that you see in
the area that use federal dollars. And we often get asked, why do you do one for the entire area? Why don't you do one for the Minnesota side and one for the North Dakota side? And that's because we're a regional NO. We try to accommodate all of the um policies and
and statutes from both legislatores and from both DOS. It's getting more and more difficult, especially this year with the executive orders that have come about and kind of the the changes that have been coming through the Department of Transportation. A lot of things that were very forward thinking, especially
on the Minnesota side, such as greenhouse gas emissions and and carbon reduction programs have been stripped and will probably be stripped some more. Or y'all may recall the NEVI program, which was an electric vehicle recharging network, was cancelled almost immediately at the end of at the at the
beginning of the new administration. That was that was a real um rock in their shoe that they didn't really like. That was a real popular program in Minnesota throughout the state. So, that kind of that kind of hit Minnesota a lot harder than other states. Um we also do
a four-year a four-year um plan and we're required to do a four-year plan. We've talked about doing a six-year plan because some of our jurisdictions do a five-year capital improvement program and we felt like that a six-year tip would kind of mirror that and kind of
keep up with what's going on. But both the DOS uh suggested that we stick with the four-year program because of how federal funding is is authorized and and um and approved and allocated. So, they didn't want to get too far out. There's
a few large NPOs I I'll say like Dallas, Atlanta, Chicago that do a six-year tip, and that's probably good for them because they're a large, you know, large metro area. Um, we talked about doing it again because to match folks that have a
five-year capital improvement plan, but um, as it is right now, we're going to stick with our four-year plan. Um, we we follow a a three C planning process. It's continuing cooperative and comprehensive. And Miss Mojo will probably tell you sometimes
it's not so cooperative with our oversight agencies. They seem to have different interpretations and different timelines and schedules than than we do here. Um, and I and I say that jokingly, but you know, we're we're a large metro area. We're fast growing. I'm I don't have to tell y'all this. Y'all know
this, but when you compare us to the other NPOS um on the North Dakota side in particular, because North Dakota DOT as our oversight agency and but also with areas on the Minnesota side, um we're we're really growing and we got a lot of projects and and we work real
close with District 4 on projects on this side of the river, with the Fargo district, on the North Dakota side. There's a lot there's a lot that could be done that is is uh you know that's not just because there's not funding enough. So it's it's it's a challenge. I always say there should be
four C's to transportation. It should be communication because that's very important. Communicating up and down the line with with our state and federal oversight agencies and also with all the jurisdictions. Uh Miss Mojo and Mr. Krabenhoff to tell you I can talk the years off of Billy Goat sometimes, but I
spend a lot of time talking to the jurisdiction staff. Um Matt and and Justin in in y'all's in in y'all's organization are great to work with. Um I met with them last week because we're working on our our our 26 27 work program and budget. Um and I go around
and meet with all of them at least twice a year and I'd rather I'd like to do that more often to be honest, but just it's kind of hard to get out and do that. But I think the communication should be a fourth one that should be added because that's almost a constant. This is our our metropolitan planning
area and you see it covers both both sides of the river. Um it it covers it doesn't cover the entire county as far as the planning areas but um it does cover a significant portion um of of of both counties. And then the colored the
colored municipalities that you see there in the center, Fargo, Morehead, West Fargo, uh, Horus and, um, Dworth are are member organizations as well as Clay and Cass counties. Um, the other
cities that you see are associate members, which I talked about briefly. They're non- voting, non-designing members, but they do participate in in some projects from time to time. This is our urbanized boundary. It was approved at the end of 2023. Um the red
line forms the boundary. Um the the blue line at the far left hand side is the diversion authority boundary as as we all are aware aware of and the squiggly line in the middle there is the red river and it divides it divides obviously divides the states and the
counties. So we've got several Excuse me. I have asthma, so when I cough, it's really bad. It sounds bad, but it hurts worse. But I'm sorry about that. That's why I've been sucking on cough drops all morning, hoping I wouldn't be doing this. Um, we have several projects that
are going on. We've got about a dozen planning projects going on throughout the area right now. And we have several that are going on here in Klay County. And the first one that y'all are probably all familiar of because y'all probably seen Dan Farnsworth from our office in here talking to y'all a couple of times over the last several months
for the H Heartland Trail Study. So the Hartland Trail study is has been real important. We've been wanting to get started on this for quite a long time. The current trail is 49 miles from Park Rapids to Cass Lake. It was one of the first rails to trail projects in the country. Um, it was
actually started in 1976. So, it takes a lot longer to get these things built than it takes to get them planned. The current plan that we have going on now builds on the master plan, excuse me, that was done in 2011. And it specifically looks at the portion
of the trail here in Klay County. And these are the key tasks that we're looking at as far as as far as trail development and eventual eventual design and construction for Hartland the H Heartland Trail. And this I wanted to get to this
slide because this shows you we don't look at any one alignment. We look at a corridor or a a series of alignments to try to figure out what are the best ones. One of the things that we have found with this corridor study is nobody really wants to be along US 10. They
don't want to be along a busy highway if they don't have to. But unfortunately, it's looking more and more like parts of the trail are going to have to be along this highway. Um, we've had a lot of property owners that have been very opposed to the trail. And that's understandable. There's always it's something new. And, um, one of the
things we try to get them to do is talk with others who have the trail adjacent to their property, maybe that are, you know, that that farm their land or or that, you know, have similar use of their land. So they can see that there's it's a very minimal impact and that's that's a tough that's a tough hurdle to
to jump. But you know people are people will be that way and if it's something new and and when they can talk to their peers that have the same issues and and that have have not had any problem it really helps us a lot move forward. We're also working on a transit development plan for Matt Bus. This is a
five-year plan that's done every every again every five years to be updated and we cover a lot of different areas as far as the bus service. They look at what their needs are as far as for routes. I know that's been a sore subject here
with uh with the new DMV center and and we're still working with with Matt Bus on that. I think I think the current staff since they've merged and they've become a single agency with us becoming becoming a TMA Matt bus which was
historically two separate transit agencies is now merging in in the process it's not 100% complete but it's pretty close they're merging into what's called a large urban and on the one hand that's good it opens up some funding potential for them but on the other hand
it it kind of it kind of limits them because with them becoming a large urban transit agency. I believe the the amount of funding that they had dedicated funding as a smaller one was about5 or $600,000. So, they're trying to make up for that and that's been really tough.
It's already it's already tough enough for transit. So, some of the things we do in the transit plan is we look at we look at their routes, we look at their needs. Um they're also that with this current plan, they're looking at microtransit. They're also looking at transit on demand where readers or or
writers call. Um they've done a pilot program in the industrial park and it's worked pretty well. Um that program could probably be expanded to others. Um possibly for par similar to paratransit, but um more when they get a enough
riders that like in an industrial park at at an employer that can catch a ride to work and catch a ride home in the afternoon, that seems like something that's doable. Couple years ago it wasn't, but now with everybody with a cell phone and and having Wi-Fi and wireless connections, it's working out a
lot better. There's also a lot of new scheduling software that helps them coordinate those bus routes and those drivers a little bit too. Another project that we just finished up in December was the Morehead safe routes to school plan. Their plan was about eight
years old and we updated it for them. It included every school in the Morehead School District except for the high school. So, um, we look at the six E, which are education, encouragement, engineering, engagement, evaluation, and equity. Used to there was enforcement, and I'm sure
the sheriff may remember that enforcement was a big part of that, but that was kind of negative, and we got put I say we all the folks that work in in safe routes got some push back from that. So I think enforcement became encouragement and that's worked out
really well. You know, taking a little lighter approach to that than simply writing out a ticket and it's worked out pretty well. A lot of it is just getting the parents and the schools on board. And when we had our kickoff meeting with the Morehead Project, we had every principal from every school at the
meeting, including most of the uh school resource officers. So that helps us get started, get off to a good start. And a little bit of what they do is this program does is try to make it safer for kids to walk and bike to school, which doesn't sound like a lot, but as any
educator will tell you, and I'm definitely not an educator, but any school teacher will tell you, kids that ride a bike or walk to school are more alert. They're better students. They make better grades. They're more physically alert and active in class. And they're better behaved. And if if I
when I go to a school district or to a school and tell them this, every teacher's head nods I've been missing. I got to get these kids to walk to school. I'm kidding. Uphill in the snow both ways. 10 miles. No, just kidding. So, um, this chart's
kind of interesting because it shows in the span of 40 years how much how much the the numbers of kids that walk and ride to school has dropped. And it's dropped for a lot of different reasons, but that's a significant drop from 48% to 13%. And this chart is something that
we put together from a lot of our engagements and it shows reasons why folks don't want their kids to walk or ride a bike to school. And we found this out through our engagement and through our research with the schools and with the uh with the resource officers as well as with the parents. And you can
see it's pretty st excuse me it's pretty straightforward, but the blue lines are things that we don't have any control over whereas the light green lines are things that we can have some control over. and that we can work on to make to make those more amunable to to riding or
or or riding a bike or walking to school. We've also got several other projects and I just listed a few of them here. Some of them are completed. We're wrapping up the Morehead I94 20th Street interchange study that has gone on for quite a while. Um the u most recent
twist in that in that project has been the Anhouser Bush property uh being available for sale. So now the city of Morhead's concerned about how that would develop and MDOT is actually been concerned, excuse me, Mandot has been concerned with how
that redeveloped property may impact access to I94 and they're doing an I94 study right now that just got underway from the Red River Bridge all the way, coincidentally enough, to Highway 336. So, I I believe the administrator was talking about the casino and and the
tribal land purchase there. That's something that's ironically enough, this project was planned well before that announcement was made. And that's something that that one of our staff members, Dan Farnsworth, who most of y'all know, he's been in front of y'all before, he sits on that on that review
committee, and that's now been a big focus of that study going forward. Um, we're also currently doing a Metro Railroad needs study. We're looking at all the crossings and that's not just in town but also in our rural areas and BNSF has been very cooperative and and
they've been very open about concerns that they have and they've been just as concerned with with with rail crossings in in in rural areas as they are with urban areas. And when we asked them recently, you know, that's kind of an odd approach, you know, that we didn't
expect. And their response was, "We've seen in some areas that of of high growth like in Texas, Florida, and Cal in California with other with other railroads that if if you don't get out in front of this and the growth happens
almost overnight, there's no going back and making these these crossings safe." to the point that they said in the state of Texas they they have multiple fatalities every year because there they they built the uh jurisdictions allowed construction right up to the right ofway
line on the railroads. So they appreciated that we were doing this with some foresight to look at that. Um the Dworth 8th Avenue corridor study was finished in December of last year as was the 15th Avenue corridor study. Um I know um Justin in the engineering
department is we've been working real close with him. We've also been working real close with uh a couple of townships and how that's how that roadway is going to develop and we have it programmed to pave I believe one mile of it in 2027 I believe. So there's you know
there's this that study almost immediately kicked off a construction project to to to pave a gravel road. Um the US10 study in Dworth was completed two years ago. 15th Avenue and 8th Avenue studies kind of kind of spun off
of that. Um prior to the Morehead study, uh we completed a Dworth Glendon Felton safe routes to school plan and we do those those safe route studies are done inhouse. We don't use a consultant for those and Dan Dan Farnsworth generally leads those. We also do regional traffic
counts about every three years. We're getting ready to start one next year. Um, we originally thought it would be 27, but it got moved up. Um, that took us by surprise. Um, we did an interstate operations analysis, which kind of led the way to the I9420 Street interchange
study and also kind of got Mandot to look at the I94 corridor between the Red River Bridge and Highway 336. So, one study kind of tumbles into another. And since we're the regional area, we do a lot of those first studies that get
things started with our not only with our local jurisdictions sometimes, but also with the state DOS. And also I have listed on there a regional freight plan. Um, our last freight plan was was was done in 2016 and 2017 and it was adopted
in January of 2018 and that's becoming a high priority. We want to try to get our rail study completed first. And we'd like to get our regional freight plan done or updated before we do our next metropolitan transportation plan, which is our five-year master transportation
plan that that we use as a guide for all of our programs and projects. And we just we adopted in September, but our federal friends decided they wanted us to to adopt it again and redo it, which we did that uh this uh last month. So, that's um now we have a and we have a
new five-year horizon that we work on and go from there. Um I know that's a lot to chew on. And before I conclude, I just wanted to let y'all know that uh one of the reasons that I'm here is every year we uh we we we ask y'all for funding to
help fund our program and and what we do. And there's a there's a percentage that the uh jurisdictions have agreed on. Every 10 years they review that when the census comes out. It's based on population. Klay County's percentage is 6.1%. So that's a real bargain. To give
you an idea, Fargo, which is obviously the largest jurisdiction in the in the region, um they are their share is 50%. And it can exceed that by stat federal statute. So whenever populations change and again we look at it every 10 years,
you know, we look at that we have to we have to divvy that out. So, as a TMA now, we don't receive additional funding. Everybody thought we would receive additional funding. I thought we would receive additional funding. Um, however, we do receive dedicated
funding, so that's kind of a plus. We don't have to compete with all the other fish in the sea for it. So, that helps. But probably the bigger the the the bigger plus of being a TMA is that not only do we receive dedicated funding,
but we also have direct control of that funding and how it's spent, how how projects are how projects are chosen and how they're prioritized and then how they're funded. And I say we, it's the policy board. I point to Miss Mojo and Mr. Krabanhoff. It's a policy board that
makes those decisions and they make those decisions based on what our staff provides but more importantly what the technical staff which is your your engineering and planning department staffs who serve on that tech committee that provide recommendations to the policy board. So as we go forward right
I mentioned earlier right now I'm working on our 26 27 work program and budget and I have very rough numbers. Um, I'm still trying to we're trying to figure out I've got an amendment for our 25 budget going to our technical board this week and it'll go to policy board
next week. Making some minor changes hopefully. Um, but those minor changes will probably affect one or two projects that may spill into next year. So, I'm still trying to move all those pieces in place and I should have a um an estimate for y'all within the next couple of
days. I hope I was hoping I could have that today, but after I completed working with all the jurisdictions and listening to what their needs were and what they would like to do going forward, it looks like we're going to have to do a little bit different. And just for reference, last year
um our our um amount the amount for Klay County was $18,2584. Now, that did not include some of the local match that was required for the um H Heartland Trail project, and that was probably the the most significant
project within the Klay County jurisdiction. And we kind of sped that one up because we were going at a pretty good clip last year. So, we were able to get more done last year so we can get done earlier this year. in that project. I believe there's a final, excuse me, there's a final draft
floating around right now that should be um be brought before the policy board probably next month for approval and submittal to our our um well, it would be Mandot oversight agency for that pro particular project. So, with that, I'd be glad to
answer any questions y'all may have. Um, I know there's always some interest on on transit and that's a that's a that's been an ongoing u an ongoing issue with um their transition just like we are. We've been working real close with them.
And if you weren't aware um this the state of Minnesota has always valued transit and they submit a lot of state monies to the transit agency on this side of the river. North Dakota has not. But this year, um, the four large cities
in North Dakota that have transit agencies, including Fargo, they really worked hard with the legislature to to get some dedicated funding. They did get some funding for this year and for next year because their legislature meets every other year and they and they did
fund a project to identify long-term funding for the transit. So hopefully that'll change and in and the um state of North Dakota will take a different look at transit like the state of Minnesota does. So with that, I I'll be glad to answer any questions y'all may have.
Thanks, Ben. I know we're up against the public hearing that we have here, but Yes, sir. But I I there's just a couple of points to make. Uh uh later in our um agenda today, we're asking for another letter to go to the city of Fargo uh
regarding the um Matt bus issue. Oh. Yes, sir. And then something that just came to our attention uh my attention just very recently uh that I I've asked to have it put on our highway tracking committee meeting which we're meeting later today is the study that Fargo is
doing regarding the 12th to 15th avenue bridge. Yes sir. Uh that's that is a very very important uh corridor um for not only Morehead but for Klay County in terms of our it's really an economical tool that we have you know for
transportation purposes. So so as if Matricog gets involved with that certainly I think it's extremely important to understand how we support that uh whatever is going to be done there. We do not want we would never want to see that bridge closed and I
know it's in need of some repair. So, um with that I um just really briefly if you might uh thank you Ben for the presentation. Uh as noted I serve as chair of Metrocog this year. It's just really a vibrant organization that helps
pivot to study and address uh ongoing issues but also issues on the horizon. And you're right, the state of uh legislative requirements and federal highway and state highways uh tricky and so Ben and staff do a great job of
trying to meet uh that changing target and so I really appreciate being able to serve in that capacity. So thanks for being here today. Thank you ma'am. You certainly have a stellar staff to help we do. They shine. We really do. Thank you. All right. All right. Thank you,
Ben. Thank you. Y'all have a good day. You too. Take care of that cough. I'm trying. It's actually getting better. Believe it or not, I don't know what to do. All right. Next, we have
our public hearing. And we have a public hearing this morning uh in regards to a reasonzoning of this of agricultural general to highway commercial. Good morning Matt. Do you want to miss you? We'll give a brief explanation
then we'll open the hearing. Okay. Absolutely. Thank you uh Mr. Chair and good morning commissioners. Um this is a petition for reszoning um from agricultural general to highway commercial uh just southeast of Baker. It's about 1.2 2.2 mi south of Highway
52 on the east side of County State Highway 21. Uh looking to uh do the resoning. Um basically used to be a home occupation business um that's become very successful and kind of outgrown the that home occupation classification. So
okay, Mr. Chair, I'll make a motion to open the public hearing. Okay, we have a motion to open. Second. Second by Commissioner Bear. Any further discussion? Seeing none, all in favor signify by saying I. I oppose the same motion carried. Okay. So, we um and this
went through planning commission did. Yep. Okay. Yep. So, yes, the request is to to reszone the property from egg general to highway commercial. Uh it's currently um an industrial residential. There's about just under 20 uh,000
square feet of industrial buildings in one residence. Uh this would meet all of the highway commercial standards for minimum lot size, minimum yard width or lot width, uh our front yard setback regulations,
uh rear yard setback regulations, sideyard. Uh and then lot coverage regulations as well and the big one being an access to a public right of way. Uh so it started as a home occupation has grown substantially. They have 31 employees. They have plans for
an 8,000 foot um building expansion. Uh and the owner just intends to move the residence from the property just because when you have a home occupation, it's typically the business is kind of accessory to the residence. And this has gotten to the point where he's been so
successful that the um residence is now kind of accessory to to the business on the property. So, all right. Um we haven't received any comment from the township. We've received comment from um the Barnesville EDA. They're in support of this um just
because the EDA doesn't support just businesses and growth in the city of Barnesville, but also the Barnesville School District uh of which this is a part of. Uh and then we just did receive one comment from a neighboring landowner just uh wanting some information on
property value impacts. Right. Uh so this would meet all of our um comprehensive plan goals and objectives um relative to this request. The planning commission did make positive
findings of fact. Uh so essentially based on on the recommendation of the the planning commission um and staff recommendation would be to approve the the request to reszone the parcel from egg general Ty commercial. uh timing on
this um just because there is a residence on the property um I would add the caveat that the resoning shouldn't take effect until the residence is removed from the property. So that would be the trigger that would essentially um uh result in the resoning and the
applicant is aware of that. Yep. Yep. We've talked kind of extensively about that as well and agree agreeable to that. Okay. Any questions of the board? Questions of the board. any applicant
any Okay, Matt covered all right okay um yes commissioner thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you Mr. Chair I just u might add also a comment in regards to the economic development component uh this business has been a longstanding business in Klay County there's been some ownership
changes and obviously Mr. receivers is doing a great job. Uh the ability to employ uh folks out in the rural areas of Klay County is really important. My husband worked at that uh classic cabinets in high school and it's just
really great to have um all sorts of different economic opportunities for folks looking for employment but also uh to foster business within Klay County. And I really appreciate uh the staged approach to this. Uh I know the applicants worked with the wershed in
regards to addressing some challenges with uh drainage and highway. The highway department has also been really active in that too and so I I wholeheartedly support what's being asked of us today. All right. Anything else? We have a motion
to close the hearing. So moved. Okay. Motion by Commissioner Abby or second by Commissioner Kraven. Any further discussion? Seeing none, all in favor signify by saying I. I oppos it's the same sign. Motion carried. All right. What's the board's wishes?
Just uh would uh make a motion to uh approve the reszoning of the subject property uh as presented in the packet. Yeah. And that would also then um we would also then adopt the planning commission's findings of fact. Yes.
Okay. Right. I'll second that. Have a motion and a second. Okay. Any further discussion? Any further discussion? Seeing none, all in favor signify by saying I. I. Oppos the same. Motion carried. All right. So that goes into effect as soon as that
house is removed. Correct. Right. Very good. All right. Thank you, Matt. Thank you. Our next item is bid opening for SAP 014645002. Okay, we got to wait now. Oh no, we're on time. Okay, we're good. Here we have our engineer.
Good morning, Justin. Good morning. So, the first item that I have is a bid opening. So, it's for the Milan Overlay project in Dworth. Um, we did receive three complete bids this morning. I will start start with the engineers estimate at
$382,592.50. The first bid we received was from Central Specialties Incorporated. Their bid was $332,2980. $332,2980. The second bid we received was from Mark Sand and Gravel Company. Their bid was 304,747
$747.50 $34,747.50. And the final bid we received was from Northern Improvement Company out of Fargo. Their bid was $237,7725. $237,7725. Guess any it's a little different questions. Yeah, there's quite the
difference. One question, Mr. Chair. Could you uh give the public a overview of that project and deal with what street that is? Yep. So, it's Cass 45. So, it goes from the stoplight right by the Casey's gas station. Um south two
blocks and then east to the BNSF rail yard and then north on 7th to Highway 10. It's just a little horseshoe in Dworth, right? And this is um subject to Dworth approval to then Nope. So Dworth uh
about a month and a half ago. So it's required by state aid. They have to pass a resolution just saying that they agree with the project. Okay. There is no Dworth funding on it. It's okay. So it's all CASA CASA municipal. With that, Mr. Chair, I'll make a motion
to approve Northern Northern Improvement Company with the low bid of $237,77 and 25 cents. As long as there's no errors on the bid. I'll second the motion. We have a motion by Commissioner Bear, second by Commissioner Mojo. Any further
discussion? Seeing none, all in favor signify by saying I. I oppose the same. Motion carried. All right. Uh so the next item I have is requesting approval to advertise for SAP14
599106. So this is a project that's been out there for quite a while. It's a bridge removal project in Elmwood Township on 110th Avenue South. This is just north of Baker a little bit. Um believe the township was first approached in 2019 with this project
because the bridge had met its service life and could no longer be open. So we had initially put together a set of plans to just remove the bridge and close it. And then one landowner had kind of expressed interest in having a horseshoe by the railroad tracks. So we
explored that option. The land owner wasn't willing to sell the rightway. So, the township went back to the initial just removal with a culde-sac put in at the end of it. And I did get Elmwood Township's approval on this. Um, being it is a bridge removal project, Elmwood
doesn't have to pay anything for this project. It's all covered by Township Bridge funds. Okay. And then the proposed letting date would be June 3. All right.
Do we have a Oh, you put an estimate on something like that or we do um pull it up. That's not But that isn't something that we show on our five-year plan. Just Right.
It's fully funded by the bridge fund. Township bridge fund. Township bridge fund. Okay. just over 200,000. All right. So, we're looking for a motion to approve the bridge removal. Mr. Chair, I'll make a motion to approve
the advertisement of the removal project uh with the letting date of June 3rd as reported. I'll second. We have a motion by Commissioner Mojo, second by Commissioner Bayer. Any further discussion? One question, Mr. Township bridge funds that that does not come out
of the county budget. Correct. Nope. That's all I had. It's something that's in our budget as kind of an in and out, but it's not it's something that comes the township bridge fund gets based on how many deficient bridges you have and then it's a portion of the gas tax. Yep.
but dictated by the state. Correct. Any further discussion? Seeing none, all in favor signify by saying I. I. Oppose. The same. Motion carried. All right. Next, we have the grant agreement. Yes. So,
this is I'm requesting approval of the mind grant agreement and resolution. So, this is for the bridge replacement project on County Road 51 southeast of Comtock, right by the trap club. So we did open bids and accepted bids on this project and as required by Mindot for
the use of bridge bond funds. I have a grant agreement in the supporting resolution for your consideration and approval. All right. So we are looking for approval of resolution 2025-14. Mr. Mr. Chair, I'll make a motion to approve MINDOT agreement
1057885 and resolution 2025-14. We have a motion. Second. Motion by Commissioner Mojo, second by Commissioner Bear. Any further discussion? Any further discussion? Seeing none, all in favor signify by saying I. I. I. Opposed the same. Motion
carried. All right. Just I will just make one note on that bridge project. Um, Commissioner Mojo, I know we had discussed potentially opening it just for the vehicular traffic. So, we did go inspect it yesterday. We will be opening it this week with the heavy restriction
on it. All right. That's really good news. Thank you. All right. So, next we have a um proposal for an engineering design services. Yes. So the next item I have is a
proposal from Houston Engineering to provide engineering design services. So this is for the Klay County 37 foot road improvements on CASAW 1 and CASA 26. So this work is included with our 37 foot with the diversion authority and the
fees that are incurred by Houston will be reimbursed by the diversion authority. And this is one of those items that the diversion authority has agreed that engineering and the studying and all that stuff is is to move forward. Correct.
Okay. Right. Looking for a motion to approve the proposal from Houston Engineering. Mr. Chair, I uh put forth motion to approve the proposal from Houston Engineering. Okay, we have a motion.
Motion by Commissioner Abby. second by Commissioner Krabangh. And um I noticed the time frame on that design study goes into 2026.
Um so the the intent of the design would be um so CASTA 26 is on our 5-year plan for next year. So, I didn't want to do the mill and overlay before this project. I wanted to do them at the same time. So, the intent would be to have
the CASAW 26 portion done early in 2026 to where hopefully we can bid that project out next spring. That's kind of a packet. Okay. Okay. So, you don't think it'll take till the 27th of March of next next year? Hopefully
not. Okay. Yeah, because that's kind of a that's kind of a critical component to the whole project. Definitely. And it's something that I've been working with Houston on too. A lot of times they just in case there is changes to the actual
um proposal or anything like that, they put a date in there that covers them essentially. All right. And we do have a motion. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. All right. Any further discussion? Any further discussion?
Seeing none, all in favor signify by saying I. I. Oppos. Same. Motion carried. All right. Next. We're a little bit ahead, but we can go ahead with a closed session ahead of schedule. Right. All right. Right. So, our next item is a close session to
discuss highway easement acquisitions for attorney client privilege pursuant to Minnesota statute 13D.05. Is there a motion to close? So, move. We have a motion. Second. And a second by Commissioner Everinger. Any further discussion? All in favor signify by
saying I. I. Oppos the same. Motion cleared. We are now in close session. All right, we are back in session. Um Sarah, we had Commissioner Ebinger do the motion to open, second by Commissioner Krabanhoff. So that was
approved. So all right. So uh we have some discussion regarding the Highway 52, CASA 52 and CASA 12 road project. and um we have been presented with uh an
appraised value on those to go forward to the land owners. What's the board's wishes? I'll make a motion to uh move forward with appraised value of said property on CASA 52 and CASA 12 roundabout improvement project.
A second. Okay, we have a motion by Commissioner Bear, second by Commissioner Krabanov. Any further discussion? Does that define the enough in the for the record what we were doing? Okay. All right. Any further discussion? All in favor signify by saying I. I.
Oppose. The same. Motion carried. All right. Thank you, Justin. All right. We are just about five minutes out of schedule. Is Matt who's going to do the Here he
comes. All right. Next, we have on our agenda, uh, it's a request for approval of the retail cannabis fee schedule. Matt, morning, Mr. Chair, commissioners. Um, so as you know, uh, we're getting
close to cannabis, um, licensing, um, going through in the state of Minnesota. I would anticipate we could potentially in Klay County see some sort of the office of cannabis management reach out for their um, basically
pre-registration of businesses, site evaluations, zoning compliance, and things like that happening this month. Um, so with that, uh, just kind of requesting that we, uh, um, set a cannabis, uh, and lower potency edible
product fee schedule. This would be for the retail components of, um, of the cannabis industry. Retail cannabis businesses are required essentially to register with um, whatever jurisdiction
that they're going to operate in. they cannot operate without that registration. And um we have the ability to to set fees for each type of business uh an initial registration fee and then a subsequent uh annual renewal fee. And
so what I'm proposing is essentially the maximum for every um category that we would be allowed to um uh that that we would be that we'd be allowed to um for registration. Um and then also
with violations as well. Um, there can be a up to uh $2,000 uh penalty per violation for each occurrence and or um up to a 30-day suspension of a registration. And so that is included in there as well. I
just figured let's go with the my proposal just go with the maximum for that as well. Matt, you're uh these fees would only be for the un unincorporated areas. It would be for the unincorporated areas and then if any um community like
Georgetown or Felton or Yulan decides to delegate their registration authority to the county then it then they would come to to us as well. And so what this would do too is um allow public health to do their annual compliance checks and then
us to do our zoning verification inspections as well. And again, I've always I've always uh felt that we our fees we shouldn't be in the money-making business by having fees, but I I I think because this is so new,
I guess I don't mind starting there, but then um because, you know, it's uncertain to what level of work you might end up having to do based on what the state passes down for requirements for inspections and those types of things. So, I think it's appropriate to
start here. Uh, but I I do think that we should end up having um a review of this after it's been up and running for a little bit. That's my personal opinion on it. That that um again, I don't I don't want to be charging anybody who's
doing business in Klay County fees that exceed what our costs are to implement uh the permits. So, Mr. here. Yes, Commissioner. We have had discussions with public health. Uh Commissioner Grainoff and I are working with them at
um looking at the retail ordinances and enforcement on this. And these are uh the fees and the penalties as described by the state. And it's approved to the maximum. Yes, at the maximum. And it's prudent to start there. And as you've
indicated, once we and we don't even know what all the rules are yet, right? Once we have have a good lay of the land on what what's involved here, it'll give us a better perspective. Easier to go back and cut back to it than to to argue
an increase. And as far as the enforcement goes, the state's going to have a lot more of a say in that than we're used to. uh but to identify the maximums uh that are within the
guidelines now is probably the best place to start. And and then my other question would be um you know obviously we have cities who have decided to develop their own and have their own so they're establishing
how how have they established fee structures are we comparing to what for example the city of Morhead has done the city of Dworth the city of Morehead has and I know ours it would be very similar to to what they've um adopted
again I you know I think I think compar comparison is probably appropriate. I I think they're they're also doing this the same with in terms of the license fee and then the registration. Um the only difference um between what
um what public health and planning and zoning is proposing for this compared to Morhead is Morehead's got more of a tiered um structure for violations. Mr. Chair, I I I like your idea of establishing and reviewing just for
discussion purposes just uh both the governor's budget and the house omnimous bill uh has the removal of of the aid or the the 20 the 20% cannabis gross receipts funding that we are going to potentially be receiving. So if that legislation does go through, uh we we
wouldn't have those funds to fall back on uh for the to cover the costs. So all right. Yeah. So, any other comments or are we ready to take action on this? Mr. Chair, I I
move that we adopt the uh retail cannabis uh fee schedule that's been included in the motion, which is maximum under state uh guidelines and um also the penalties as well.
Okay, we have a motion. Is there a second? Motion by Commissioner Ebinger, second by Commissioner Krabangh. And can we can we establish the review period time frame where this comes back? I think that would be um I
would include that in in the motion. Uh six months. That might be early. That's too early, I think, to I would maybe a year. A year. Is that Yeah, you might be even too early with Right. I was I was in Minnesota. Who knows how deep. Yeah.
I was actually thinking maybe 18 months or two years, but Well, it it would help to get through a couple legislative sessions. So, two-year review on this would be good. Right. Is that Are you willing to include that in your include in your second as well? So, we have a motion then to approve the fees with the
review to occur two years in two years time frame. All right. Any further discussion on that motion? Any further discussion? Seeing none, all in favor signify by saying I. I oppose the same sign. Motion carried. We will take a five minute break. Thank you, Mr.
Chair and commissioners. Thank you. All right, we are now back in session. Item number 13 is the request approval for justice center plan with the department of corrections. And I just want to point out that
items 13, 14, 15, and 16 on today's agenda have all gone through um multiple discussions at our building committee level. Uh Joe has been really informing us over these plans as they've occurred.
And so all these presentations that are we're going to be doing on these four items have all uh gotten the approval of the building committee after some um considerable discussion. So Joe, um we'll start with you on 13. Uh thank you
for that, Mr. Chair. Good morning um uh board members. So, yes, we're going to talk uh the probation uh justice center plan first. And there's a lot of moving parts to this, so I'll try to um keep it explain as simple as I I can. I have Dale here to uh just in case you have
any operational from the DOC questions. Um I've definitely uh worked uh we've worked um I would say this past year, I think we've had several meetings and visiting on um their future needs. And um what what we're proposing today is um
a a probation we're calling it a probationary justice um center plan. And um as you guys know, prior to 2018, there were two there's there really is two departments, two divisions, I guess. Um one is called juvenile uh probation, we'll call it, and the other one is
adult felony probation. And and so there's two of those uh divisions. Prior to 2018, they both uh resided over in the in the juvenile center. And um once once 20 uh or once that project the remodel of the juvenile center happened uh we needed a place for them to stay.
So um we ended up moving the juvenile division over to the family service center at the time. And then at that point um adult felony probation moved over onto East End where they currently reside now. So uh one of the one of the visions of the building committee is to
is to make the any any tenants in this building in the courthouse would be a true justice center function. And um so we've always kind of kept that in mind. And so one of the goals is to try to get the adult uh felony probation back on campus. And so then so we've worked on a
way to do that. Currently right now we didn't feel like we had enough space to get them both together at this point. Um and so we've come up with some options to um have the juvenile adult or the juvenile side move who is currently over
on the first floor over into our family service center again back where they where they uh reside or where they used to be on suite 2011. We would then work with the state to bring them over um bring the adult side over and have them be on the first floor as well. And then
the state would then bring $150,000 of funding to help remodel um a court. Right now there's a hearing room five down below. Um they would help us remodel that and that would give them the the the four offices and a private
bathroom to give you enough space to operate on the adult felony side. So with with that what we're at we're um we're we're asking to uh move forward with that plan. Um, one of the things that would be open and transparent about is I've worked with Dar Lee on this. She
is H and she rents currently 2011. Uh, puts a little wrinkle in her plan, but but uh I've visited with her and she plans to move her employees back over into Dillworth. So, um um she is good with this plan as well. And um other than that, I think uh we're
working on a contract. It's going to take a couple it's going to take a little while. I I would say we're we're going to expedite it, but um we we have all the everything in place. They're going to give us the 150 grand to do it. And um uh with that, Dale, do you have
anything as far as um how you feel this this would work for the adult for your probation in general? Yeah, I think this would um this would this would streamline um the probation parole process for our
office because our felony office is not Can you move your mic a little bit closer to you? Sure. Thank you. Because our felony office is not located um on campus. That creates some problems between the time of sentencing and the time of reporting to probation. I think we get the closer that we get to the
courtroom hopefully that eliminates some of those barriers for us. Um as you can imagine when warrants are issued that involves the court, prosecution, defense attorneys, law enforcement, everybody is involved. And so circumventing that by getting them into the office immediately
following sentencing um would really I think benefit the county uh greatly. So I think this is a fantastic move in the right direction. And maybe if I could, Mr. Chair, and I mentioned at the building committee, the county attorney's office would be very
much in support of this. And I I don't exactly want to speak on behalf of the court system, but I know from other meetings previously and talking with judges, I I I am certain they would be supportive of this. just exactly what um Dale was talking about and the idea of streamlining. Oftentimes you're in
court, you're getting done with uh matters in court, say at 4:00, 4:15 and you're telling a probationer, well, get in contact with, you know, tomorrow because you won't be able to get over to their office, that kind of thing. Or so, but even just being right there in the
same building or being able to step right out of the courtroom, set up your appointment for whenever that is to get your uh probation started. I mean, all those matters. uh will very much streamline and help to uh with efficiency uh within the court process.
So I think this is very good and uh will will be very helpful. Yeah. And you know just to kind of expand on that uh the the juvenile side that would be moving into sweet 2011 and the family service center um we did a fitup project in
suite 2011 over there that was specifically for the juvenile uh pro for their operation. So this the easy move back there won't be any fitup costs there and um um they're connected to the juvenile center. So there are benefits of the juvenile side being over in the
family service center and um should work out pretty good there. If if we end up you know the state's going to fund the 150,000 to to remodel hearing room 5 down there. Um that's going to give the county um some additional revenue um to
do that. So we're gonna uh somewhere 14,465 would be extra revenue added above and beyond that we would be making. So the state would um would actually rent the entire first floor south and southeast northeast side of the
courthouse. So so they would have a total uh we'd have a total revenue of 66,000 um $2748. So that's total for that. And um I did reach out uh Girtz Construction as construction manager. We did get a proposal and we do have a
price coming in at 146,079.71. So um we we are um so I guess with with uh well first questions from the board. Well, I not necessarily a question, but I do want to comment that, you know, part of our uh long-term strategic goal that we've been talking
about through the building committee was to um obviously this become a true justice center. And so everything that's in this building should really pertain to issues related to um justice issues, the courts and uh county attorneys and
those types of things. So, and unfortunately at this point in time, we don't have room for both the adult and juvenile. Um, but we did feel it was extremely important to keep juvenile on campus and so so the best option was
moving them uh back to the family service center which is still close by here anyway from that standpoint. Uh who knows down in the future when um more opportunities arise there might be some additional availability within this
building for for them. Uh I I want to my question on on the GES proposal. Yeah. Uh is that is that something are how about a bidding requirement? Is there do we have issues there? No. Uh since they're going to be
the construction manager on that. So they have multiple bids like similar to our other projects that we've did that were larger. They they have multiple bids for painter, drywall, what you know. So from a procurement standpoint, they So we would be hiring them as a construction manager. Correct. Yep.
Yeah. We would hire them have a contract with them directly and then um they provide all that multiple quotes to it. So I think we should make that clear within our motion then. Yep. We can do that. Yep. Any other any other questions?
Commissioner Kraov more just want to know when you um talk about H moving out and then um revenues coming back in what was the rent that H was paying? Uh H was paying um annually
38,275 dollars a year. Yep. So the 66 is that a net? Uh okay. So to explain it this way, um the contract side of Klay County currently right now uh leases down below here on first floor. Uh which
is uh roughly um somewhere around that 49,000. By them moving over into the family service center, they're they're going to actually have a savings of of $10,000. You can call it savings, but the county covers the cost of the rent for the contract side. Y So, we're going
to shift that over and they're going to pay $38,000 the juvenile contract side and then um the state will then come in and pay um for down below. Okay. So, yeah, I'm certainly supportive of it and I'm certainly glad that HR is uh able to
amable to make the moves. Yeah, I I visited with DAR a few different times and we've had some good conversations. Thank you. Y Yes, this this went through the building committee with strong support. So, all
right, Commissioner. just uh if we're ready to move forward, I'll make a motion uh that the juvenile center plan in collaboration with the Department of Corrections um include the approval to terminate the Klay County HR lease agreement
uh effective September 29th, 2025. Approve the juvenile probation department to lease suite 2011 in the family service center starting November 1st, 2025. Approve adult felony probation department to lease northeast and south
wings of the first floor courthouse starting November 1st, 2025 and approve the proposal from GE's construction for the northeast fitup project on first floor of the courthouse for the amount of
$146,79.71 and Girtz will be the contractor at risk to arrange with subcontractor actor bids on this. All right, we have a motion. I'll second that. Motion by Commissioner Ev, second by Commissioner Bear. Any further
discussion? Just real quick, I I don't want to embarrass Dale, but we had our first criminal justice meeting this uh last week and you're really stepping up and getting the entire system involved and aware of the progressive things that
are going on here. and I'm glad that we can support you in getting back on campus. And uh I was very impressed by the opportunities that are offered to people who want to straighten their lives out as opposed to uh probation
being a coercive mechanism. So I I am glad we're able to support you in this way. Thank you very much saying that. All right. Very good. Any any other discussion? Seeing none, all in favor signify by saying I. I. And oppose the
same. Motion carried. All right. Those things are done. All right. Thank you, Dale. All right. Next, Joel, we have the approval of the attorney expansion project. All right. So, uh, this project is something
also ran by the building committee here. I worked with Brian, um, Melton over here in the attorney's office. I I we're calling it expansion project. not really expanding the area per se, but we're uh expanding his ability to um put a couple people in this area by adding a couple
walls. It's a very minor construction project. Um maybe Ryan, you want to speak a little bit on your needs of it or I think that's really about it. It's a fair somewhat smaller project. Uh as as you recall, we moved the victim services u upstairs across from where um
Dale and probation uh will be, but into that area. They've uh they're comfortable up there now. And that open area that was left by them is area that we can utilize and expand into uh to have office space uh for future attorneys. So this is largely future
expansion growth to allow for attorney space and then eventually also legal assistance space. Um and so with some leftover money, this seemed to be a good time to complete that project. Yep. And we do have that uh funding in our fund n our fun 13th building project. So um we
have TF Powers um has given us a price of 13,425 and I guess for permission to move forward on that project. All right. I just have one. This also went to the
building committee with support. With that, I'll make a motion to approve the attorney expansion project. Second. We have a motion and from Commissioner Per, second by Commissioner to approve the um attorney expansion project in the
amount of $13,425. Any further discussion? Any further discussion? Seeing none, all in favor signify by saying I. I. Oh, it's the same sign. Motion carried. All right. Item number 15, request approval of light
replacement project. Okay. So, this one here is uh I I did a lighting assessment on the family service center. Uh currently right now they're all the the older T8 fixtures. Uh did a light count on that. Um we have a,045 of those left
in this building. We put a few in on the first floor during during CO times and um we were able to see some pretty significant savings on our energy bill there. So, I did a an assessment there and went out and got uh two quotes and um um what what I'm asking today is to
move forward with the project. And what would what that would do is uh we have about an estimated annual savings of $40,000 to the to the energy bill. Um and so I would would ask to move forward with that and then I'd go after a um
rebate that has an estimated uh cost of $20,000. So, um I I have two quotes here and I'm asking permission to move forward with it using C CB electric the at 106,865 and then um this this fund would
would come out of the enterprise uh family service center enterprise fund and talk with Lori we have a plenty of funds to do that and uh so this looks like it'd be about a roughly a two-year payback after all said and done. So questions.
Yeah, again this was Lori serves on our building committee too and she did agree that there were sufficient funds within the enterprise fund for that um facility to handle that without
ruining Joe's budget. So y with a two-year payback roughly. Yes. Yep. Yes. So with that, I'll make I'll make a motion to approve the family service air lighting replacement project using CB
electric in the amount of 16,865. Second. We have a motion by Commissioner Bear, second by Commissioner Kravangh. Any further discussion? Any further discussion? Seeing none, all in favor signify by saying I. I oppose the same sign. Motion
carried. And lastly, Joel, we have the request approval for the FIT project for suite 2404 in the family service center. All right. So, if you recall within about a year ago, uh worked with the building committee, we we got a plan to um
for has now moved out and we had a plan to have family service center or the um social services uh move into that wing. And then on the second floor, uh deaf and hearted hearing will be um leaving at the end of June. And so we have a plan to move in uh public health into
that those two wings. So what I've done is priced out both of them in conjunction together uh with the idea that we would start uh right away on on the fourth floor, get that done and have it in done in time for July 1st and then that's the time we'd get into the second
floor. So um what I did is is I met with both Kathy McKay and Quinn. We went over, you know, what their needs are, their operation, their how they want to see the flow of the office go. And there wasn't too many actual structural changes. So, we do have a little bit of minor construction on the in the fourth
floor, but um basically got with them, put together um a price to do this. And uh unlike the the GES one, we're going to be we've kind of really chopped this one down and and Brian and I are going to be running it as as the I guess the general uh project managers on this. So,
um, you can see I've attached a list of vendors and we have a total amount of 117,726.90 and we're going to we're proposing to fund this out of fund 13. U, currently we have 133,859 in there. So, and for for those
of you unfamiliar with fund 13, we get, you know, roughly 50,000 a year in that one through um through a tax system there and then we use that for fitups and carpet paint and all that stuff. So, um, we felt this was a good good projects to use, uh, this one's out of.
So, questions, any questions? Again, once again, this was another one that was approved by the building committee. So, so fourth floor would be done and ready to move in in July. Yeah, July 1, they'd move in and then um, we'd head right
over to second floor and, uh, hoping that wouldn't take, it's a little smaller, so that we would probably be done um, late summer with that one. So, okay. Words wishes, Mr. Chair. Yes. Move to approve the cost breakdown vendor list for the total
project cost of uh the fitup project for suites 2404 family service center for total cost of 117,726.90. I will second that. Have a motion and a second by Commissioner Bear. Any
Further discussion discussion seeing none all in favor signify by saying I I oppose the same sign motion carried Mr. Chair, if I could, while we have Joe here, I just wanted to as behalf of the on behalf of
the building committee as Joe's leadership's uh as you see several projects here today, but it's not just those uh he does a great job keeping us up to date with the different things uh that are needed in the project from a planning standpoint that allows that committee to kind of look not just into
uh this this time frame, but into the future. And so, we appreciate Joe's work. Yeah. Yeah. So, I appreciate I was going to say I do apprec the building appreciate the board's support on all this, but building committee really has helped guide this process. So, they they ask me questions, tough questions when I
uh don't have the answer. So, it's I I appreciate it. So, thank you. All right. Thank you, Joe. All right. So, we are a little ahead of time. Quinn, are you have everybody here that you need to have here for this next item? All right. Item number 17 on the
agenda. Request approval of letter of support for helping h hands wellness PLLC. Morning, Mr. Chair and commissioners. Good morning. Thank you very much. As you said, I'm here uh
requesting a motion to approve providing a written letter of support to Helping Hands Wellness. Um we have their owner and operators here as well. Uh they're a private provider. They're seeking to establish an integrated outpatient substance use and mental health treatment center here in Klay County.
Um, in accordance with state certification requirements under Minnesota rules, the provider must obtain a statement of support from the county board in which the services will be offered. That's why I'm here in front of you today. Um, met with uh these gentlemen earlier with Leard as well.
Uh, we had a lot of discussion on what the needs are in our community in terms of substance use treatment. Um, the good news is Helping Hands, according to my information from these gentlemen, they're ready to begin operations immediately. Um, they've secured a physical office space in Morehead. They have three staff members, including a
nurse practitioner, an LAC, uh, a behavioral health technician. With this team in place, they are prepared to begin offering offering integrated outpatient services that address both mental health and substance use disorders through dual focus evidence-based approach. um their model
is aligned with best practices and has been shown to produce stronger recovery outcomes by treating the co-occurring conditions at the same time in a coordinated way. Um a lot of our conversations did go to kind of the needs for adolescence in our community. Um they're very open to really really
exploring the provision of services for adolescence right now. That's a huge need in our community. I believe the conversation was after about six months of um opening really looking to expand into the adolescent services. So, starting with adults right now, but moving into adolescence. Um, again,
long-term goals in includes potentially expanding into an inatient treatment. I think the more of those that we have um in our community with having options for folks that need that is good. Um, another unique uh element of helping hands in our conversations is the fact
that they have a van which will be able to assist in some of the transportation barriers that a lot of our folks see. Um, I know I was here a few months ago talking about this as well and the location um, very close to a bus stop was very appealing. Um, however, Helping Hands has a van which is a wonderful um,
kind of mitigating factor to a lot of the transportation needs that our clients see. Um, I believe having another provider based directly in Klay County will improve accessibility to help ensure that our residents can access care without crossing state lines. Um, increasing the number of
qualified providers within the county will expand client choice, which I also think is always a good option, allowing individuals to select the provider that really best best aligns with their needs and preferences. Um, with that, I would yield for any questions that you may
have either to me or to the two gentlemen sitting next to me. Uh, Commissioner Mojo. All right. Thank you. Thanks for the presentation. Um, thanks also for the briefing document on the work that you hope to uh provide in Klay County. Uh, can you help me get a better
understanding? Are are you currently connected with a like a teleaalth provider? Is that that the thought is that you'd set up the facility in Morehead and contract with someone elsewhere or is that individual offering the therapy in person? Commissioner
Mojo, maybe if I can Quinn, can you just maybe do a quick introduction of these then they can answer that question? Yes. So, I've got Benjamin Magby right here. Um, and then can you introduce yourself, please? Okay. All right. Welcome. Thank you guys for having us here today.
Okay. So, to that that question, are you anticipating to provide teleaalth or in person? You're going to be in person. Okay. In person. Yes, ma'am. And so is helping hands currently operating a facility or the supports now or are you
connected with another group? Um the clinic are is it a clinic site? Yes, it is. Yeah. Okay. So is there a physical site in Klay County now? Yes. Okay. All right. And so um just trying
to understand a little bit about your organization. and tried to search a little bit online and it's there's not a whole lot about helping hands online. Is that correct? Yeah. Okay. Are you connected with TM counseling in the cities? How does that
connection? If I can say, we we haven't started yet. So, we just need the letter of support. So, okay, we can start. Okay. So, there isn't a current site in Klay County. The hope is that with this letter that would be the opening. Yeah, we secure an
office space already. Okay. So, you have the site. So, you're not connected with TM counseling at all? No, we're not. So, we have our own staffs. Okay. And basically, we're just waiting for a letter of support to be able to operate.
Okay. Yeah. Okay. All right. Thank you. Okay. Any other questions, Mr. Chair? Yes. Do you have any operating u locations right now within the
state? Do you have any offices opened elsewhere? No sir. No, no, right now. Okay. What is your previous experience with providing mental health care? So I used to have and I used to have a group home and I
also grew up in a foster in foster care. So I love I love helping people and my group home that I had in Arizona. It was me head and substance abuse. I had two group home. My brother and I was running in it for several
years and I passed the business on to him because I move. So he's the one that run in it right now and I just move over and say let me let me open something and be in the same field and continue to help people. Okay. Are you going to be able to have the the the level of
staffing that you'll be able to build insurance and and and meet some of the requirements that the state has for providing this care? Absolutely. somewhere. Okay. And right now, how big a staff do you have? We have
a we have a I think is NPC NP. Yeah, we have uh nurse practitioner. Nurse practitioner. Yeah, we have um LDC's LC and yeah, we have behavioral health technicians. I think those are listed in the um
attached document the letter. I have a question. Yes, Commissioner. This is this is to Quinn. So, what what is this letter of support actually doing? It's my understanding that the rules require the county board to provide a letter of support saying
that we could use another treatment provider in the boundaries of Klay County. Anyone that wants to provide this service within the borders of Klay County is required to get a letter of support from county commissioners. So then they could operate if they don't get the letter of support they can't to operate in Clayton. That's my
understanding. That's dictated by the state. Correct. So Quinn, were you done commission? Yeah. So, um, if we're, you know, and of course, anytime we put our name to something, we it's kind of important
that we have, you know, uh, some kind of I guess my question, Quinn, is what kind of oversight would Klay County have on this? Uh, moving forward, is there any oversight on our part? We don't oversee
the treatment providers. That'd be the state, the licensing process. Okay. So, so they go through they go through a strict guidelines and that's provided by the state in order to stay licensed. Stay licensed and and to bill. Yeah. In order to bill insurance and to bill.
Okay. Okay. So, they they have to meet all that criteria. Correct. Okay. Hey, and again when you know we you know we were recently asked to supply another letter of support on something that's proposed in Klay County and and we weren't quite ready to do that because
we needed we didn't have enough information uh one way or another to do that and and I guess in this partic so and so then there's um there's no funding obligation through the county either on this? None at all. um to speak
to any sort of cost impact. I I don't expect this to result in any increased spending um in terms of social services budget really by expanding access to additional outpatient services. Uh there's a potential to reduce reliance on more expensive treatment options um
through the behavioral health fund and the the county share that goes into the behavioral health fund. So basically if folks are able to get early preventative outpatient treatment, they may not need residential treatment. Well, certainly what they're proposing to do here is something extremely needed. Uh I don't
think we can we don't have anywhere near enough in this regard to to help. Uh um I I guess can you can you speak to um your the clientele what you would how how much how much how many different
folks would you be able to help at one time? is and this is all outpatient, correct? It is. Yeah. Okay. So, we're trying to help as much as we can, you know, because like a for a lot of people need help in in our field. So, we're
trying to provide as much services as we can. We're trying to also branch to like listen probably like in 6 months or so. Yeah. Since we noticed that the Klay County need adolescent uh treatment program, Mr. Chair. Yes, Commissioner Moto. Thank
you. Um, one, I just really appreciate folks identifying needs in the community and gaps in care. So, my questions don't negate how important that is. I I really do think it's important. I'm just trying to get a better grasp. I I serve on a a
mental health board understanding, you know, the financial components behind it and the challenging uh scope that we will see with Medicaid um and Medicare and reimburseables and federal funding pieces. So, so
understanding that there will be, you know, a question on the the financial piece of it and so are we are we prepared for that? Do we understand that challenging landscape? Yeah, we prepare for it because we already been on this field before. Okay.
Yeah. Okay. So, the field before was only Arizona. Yeah. Yes, ma'am. Okay. Awesome. Thank you. All right, Mr. Just a comment. I'm certainly wish
you all the success. I um uh certainly support this. Uh again the need is great and I welcome you to our community of starting a new business and and uh in a very important area. Thank you. Thank
you. I appreciate you. Uh so do you have um will your facility will will you will will there be recommendations to to will there be referrals to your agency? Is that how that will work? or
how how will your clientele know about Yes, from referral we'll have some brochures and also building and we're also working on our website to build a website as well. Okay. Okay. And I can speak to that too. Once once assuming letter of support is granted and all the
necessary licensing is is approved by the state and you open the doors and start serving folks at that point in time Kurten staff will likely we'll will bring them to our building. We'll we'll kind of educate our staff on new new service provider and then give our clients that we serve different choices
based on the recommendations um that come from their uh comprehensive assessments. All right, Kirsten, you have anything you want to say to this? Yes, Commissioner Bear. This is for Quinn. How many service providers are
like this in Klay County? Not enough. Not enough. Not enough. But I don't want to tell you the wrong number. So, Anchorage, I'm estimating four or five right now.
Of note, I have been contacted by another provider um looking to get another letter of support as well. However, I'm not prepared to bring that to board yet. Kirsten and I do kind of a prevetting process before it's brought to you to make sure uh the facility has kind of what's needed. Can they meet the
needs? and kind of do a prevetting of the request prior. So, I wouldn't be surprised within the next several weeks if I'm not back again. You received this in November. Yeah. You know, I I think the, you know, the request here is to,
you know, I think our request is to say there is a need for this. That's the request that comes before this board. we'd be lying if we said we didn't, you know. So, so from that standpoint, but I, you know, and I guess anytime that there's a new facility, you know, we can
we can only hope that there's uh uh cooperation and understanding with what the state rules and regulations will be in operating that that that goes beyond what our um responsibilities are here. Um so, and I I guess with that, I'm kind
of with uh Commissioner Kavanagh. I uh thank you for being willing to um provide a service that is very much needed in this community probably and throughout the state. Um and I you know your work moving forward your work
wouldn't necessarily be with us but it would be with the state of Minnesota in terms of all your uh requirements that you would deal with and uh certainly um working through Quinn and Kirsten and their staff here. Um hopefully they can
provide you with uh or pro provide uh some of our residents who might need these services recommendation to you and moving forward. So thank you Kevin. We appreciate you. Thank you. Thank you very much. Anybody else have
any All right. What's the board's wishes? We have a request for a letter. Mr. Chair, Commissioner. Um, I move that we approve uh providing a written letter of uh support identifying the needs in
our community that may be addressed by Helping Hands Wellness PLLC uh offer which offers substance use and mental health treatment services. A second. And we have a motion by Commissioner Ebinger, second by
Commissioner Krabanov. Any further discussion? Any further discussion? Seeing none, all in favor signify by saying I. I. Oppose the same sign. I Okay, motion carries. All right, that letter will go
out. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you very much, everyone. Have a wonderful day. Thank you. All right. Uh, next we have the Children's Mental Health Local Advisory
Council annual report. Quinn, are you going to I'm just going to introduce and then I'm be quiet. All right. Um, again, Mr. Chair and commissioners, uh, we have Michelle Thorall, our child protection, child welfare, uh, supervisor from social
services. Sorry, gap there. and then Jonie Menwald from the village. I'm going to let them um give you the annual children's lac update. Thank you for having us. Um again, commissioners, chair, um the goal of local advisory councils is really to bring together
diverse voices and lived experiences to help improve mental health services for Minnesota and Klay County. Um some of the current projects and initiatives that we've worked on in the last year are updated. We updated our logo for some refreshed branding. It was time. We wanted to increase some visibility in
the community and thought that would be a good way to do that. Um, working on updating our resource brochure, which has been around for many years and it was time for an update. So, that's a work in progress, but something that we're dedicated to doing. Um, working on making our website more accessible to
the public. um feeling like that would be a way for people to access information about the LACE if they wanted to be involved. Um we created a marketing task force where we purchased items for promotional items to be given out at community and school events. Um
we did secure a billboard in Morehead in honor of May being mental health awareness month. We've done that for a number of years. Um and it has our new uh logo on there, so we're excited about that. Um, we also um the the board approved a motion to allocate up to
$2,000 to support families mental health needs during the summer months. So, we've received two grant requests last summer and they were approved um to solutions and Lakeland Mental Health and both of those grants went to their summer programs to increase availability to families who maybe otherwise wouldn't
have been able to access those or and provide other activities um to the kids. And we also had some uh gift cards that we had left over from a promotional from years ago that we donated to public health for them to purchase some needed items to give to families um such as
diapers and wipes. Um one of the biggest projects that the LACE does is an annual survey that goes out to our community. And so I'll highlight just a couple of the pieces from the survey that we sent out to caregivers and parents within our
community. So total this year we had 102 responses on our parent survey and 52 responses on our provider survey. One of the newer things that we offered this year kind of as an incentive um was a raffle to win one of four $25 gift cards
to all of those who completed the survey. So that was something um we did this year to see if we could increase participation. Although we've been doing really well with participation in the last few years, we thought it might just be a nice perk. So, a couple of the questions that we
asked that we'll highlight for you this morning is when we asked the parents if they know how to access services in our community when they're looking for mental health for their children. Um, we were really happy to see that 34% of those asked said that they absolutely felt very confident in knowing how to
access mental health services for their kids if they were to be needed. When we asked about any barriers that they have in accessing the mental health services we offer in the community, it was a pretty close response rate between those who said that they had and had not experienced barriers.
The top three barriers that were identified were long wait times in getting in for services, in insurance challenges, including being underinsured, non-insured, or having high co-pays or deductibles that were unaffordable, and transportation
barriers to get to or from those appointments. We also asked the parents and caregivers what were the services that their children did receive if they were in services. And the top three responses for services that are being utilized by our parents and consu and
and um community caregivers were individual and family therapy was first. Um primary care was second and third was psychiatric or medication management. We also asked the parents how they would
rate their child's well-being before receiving mental health services and then after or during the child was receiving mental health services. We were really excited to see that what what we saw from the respondents is that when kids were getting services, they were getting better. Parents were seeing
that it was making a difference. We asked what services were needed but unavailable in our county and we were the respondents identified mental health services that were free in school or after school
counseling, psychological services, more autism supports. Um we see a need for residential care and therapeutic foster homes as well as residential treatment facilities. Um, and again, we continued to see daycare
as a needed service that was lacking availability. Um, in just identifying a little bit about who our respondents pool was on the parent and caregiver survey, the highest respondents were from the Morehead area, followed closely between Ulin and Barnesville for the
next level of respondents. So for our professional survey results, we have a wide variety of respondents. We send it out countywide and and have so we reach a we try to reach a wide net. Um
overwhelmingly providers are continuing to see barriers for families in accessing services. 78% say that they do see barriers. Transportation continues to be the biggest barrier that providers see in accessing services. Um, and I think the next couple uh
graphs show that. I won't speak to those, but we did ask the same question in the last three years. And we asked um, do the families you serve or that you provide services to experience barrier barriers in accessing mental health services. In the last three years, the survey shows that we are
moving in the right direction. It looks like they're seeing less barriers in accessing those services. So, we thought that that was something that was worth mentioning. Um some additional questions that we asked were um what are the services that aren't available in the county or a limited um there's a sort
shortage of inpatient mental health care options long wait times limited access to different um services needing more um culturally spec culturally specific supportive services particularly for Native Americans and Spanish-sp speakaking communities um
youth focused chemical dependency services are scarce in our region um limited foster care option options and residential PRTF or QRTP facilities often forcing families to seek care in outstate Minnesota um and access and
coordination barriers. So we also ask a ma magic wand wish list. What would you like to see if you had a magic wand? What would you want? What would you like to see for your families? Increase funding and wages to be um to provide better pay to reduce sta staff turnover. Expanding
services for inhome and out of school mental health for flexibility and access. Improving insurance access for those with private insurance, especially those burdens by burdened by high deductibles and co-pays. Normalizing mental health education, making it a
required part of school education, enhancing psychiatric access, and reducing stigma. Some of the highlights of the LAC's work in the past year was just the continuation of mental health services in the schools. We also continue to see
consumer participation and to collaborate with the Klay County Youth Leadership Council. We have strong meeting attendance and collaboration between our partners. We offer networking opportunities monthly and have been told by our partners that this is a very valued experience.
We executed another successful annual survey to both parents and professionals in the community. We've continued to increase awareness of services in our community through inviting guest speakers or new um agencies that offer services to children and families to come to our
meetings and to speak and share their resources. Um and something really cool that happened this year is a county in southern Minnesota contacted our LAC to learn more about what we're doing and how we're doing it. um they identified saying that we are one of the few actively operating children's LIC's in
the state um which we thought just really highlights the engagement from our community and our partners and our commitment to serving the kids in our community. A couple of the recommendations for action steps that the LAC has going forward is to address
the low reimbursement rates. We continue to see challenges due to low reimbursement rates for those agencies and providers who do serve Minnesota kids who are on MA or on state funded insurance programs. Unfortunately, this year we've
seen a further challenge in that they have reduced reimbursement rates for those delivering CTSS services or children's therapeutic services and supports. And so that is a classification for children who have um higher mental health needs than um a regular child. So their their needs are
higher and unfortunately those that provide those services are no longer receiving any kind of financial reimbursement for the additional work supporting workforce retention and competitiveness. Agencies are experiencing high turnover particularly among inhome providers. A lot of the
professionals are transitioning to private practice where they can see fewer clients and get paid more. Um there's still a significant need for services but shortage of providers limit the access to those services. Increasing state- funded reimbursement rates would allow agencies to offer a more
competitive wage and retain agency staff. There's a noticeable gap in our community for adolescent substance abuse treatment options, both inpatient and outpatient. Um, we continue to see kids weekly who could benefit from those services, but we just don't have them available to make those
referrals. The LACE would like to um continue or to support the continued development of a PRT PRTF facility in Klay County. Uh there remains a significant regional need for a PRTF. Um establishing a facility in Klay County would allow residents to access the
necessary care closer to home, making it easier for families to remain connected and engaged in their child's treatment, ultimately supporting a more positive and lasting outcome. continuing to support our existing social services, specifically respbit
funding the Sibs program, which is a step between um it's like our last community-based step that we can have before we make a referral to a residential treatment facility. So, it's really critical and also mental health case management services. Um sustaining school-based
mental health services, maintaining and expanding funding for school-based mental health programs which play a critical role in early intervention and access to care. And we'd also like um the board to consider maybe um creating a task force to address transportation barriers, specifically the MAT bus
routes by increasing bus route access and stops for consumers. Commissioner Ojo, do you want to comment on that? I I will speak to that. I think that's really important. I think you um there part of the problem is there's so many different tables in which we talk
about all these problems but the tables don't intersect and so um you know when you have people with lived experience and your staff saying these are major issues and we bring it forward to the the planners of the world. Well, you
know, if it doesn't fit into the planning scope, it it's something that maybe isn't needed. And so we have to get think critically about how we elevate that work. Um I think that's a great point. I I we can I can connect
you. We can definitely figure those pieces out. It's a challenge. It is a challenge. Yeah. But um the other part is that these are vulnerable members of our community and
so we have to be the loud voices for them and so we have to continually bring the points to the decision makers to say why it's so needed. Yes, our our work group had a very
lengthy discussion on this just last week and just how important um public transportation is to those who have transportation barriers. Yeah. Um and we all identified that people are missing appointments. They're late to appointments. Um they no show
appointments because they just can't get there. And so anything that can be done to help assist with the routes or the timing of the routes would be something our work group would be very invested in. So maybe because we have this on the agenda today and I know that Steve and I
are attending a meeting in the next week or two with the planners, you know, how do we bolster that discussion from what you just had to items 26? Is it you also
including a letter from the dialogue for us to send as part of that packet to say we want to be part of a solution? I mean, you know, I'm trying to piggyback the efforts together. And yeah. Oh, yeah. We'd be very no problem
with that. And two, I I'm the chair of Metrocog this year and so if we u maybe aren't seeing what we want in regards to a response from that letter, um let's put you on Metracog. Sure. Sure.
All right. I would I would imagine some of the same issues that we're seeing here in Klay County, they when it when it comes to transportation, they're seeing on the other side of the river as well. I Yeah, I believe so. A lot of people use the busing to go
across different ways. So, yeah, the the timing of routes and we heard a little bit this morning from Metrocog, you know, the timing of routes when it comes to public transportation, it you know, for the for what the needs might be and and timing
of those uh that is a really difficult one to solve that problem. Yeah. uh you might have somebody in one home who needs this transportation at this time, the buses aren't there and somebody else is at a different time and so that that
is a problem but um is it something that might require something totally unique and separate at some point in time might be something that needs to be discussed. So you know maybe let's follow follow up with it. I do think today um because we are going
to talk about sending a letter to the Fargo city leaders, maybe it's important that you also um craft a letter together for us to send you know you can send that with us. Um let's follow up in a meeting afterwards to talk about combining the pieces and then I'm not
sure if uh Lakes and Prairie serves on the committee that you were talking about. Um but Lakes and Prairies has a grant that they use to buy a senior transportation bus that they're currently using um one day a week to
shuttle folks back from the DMV and Walmart to get onto the existing route and we're really not having great luck with access and that and so how do we elevate that asset for utilization? So I think there's a few different tasks we
can all tackle together. Perfect. Quinn, I know a lot of these things that have been presented today, too, and and when it comes to low reimbursement rates and and some of those things, um I think there needs to
be active work done at the legislature on some of those issues. And I think following up with um health and human services advocating um is important. And I think it's important for us to have those that information so that we can
pass pass on resolutions of support. Um so I you know moving forward in that regard I you know the one is retention of and competitiveness that's an interesting I haven't heard that before
where the turnover is because they're they're going into private practice. Yeah. So, I'm a provider in the community and I also oversee all of the villages um services in Minnesota. So, I see it through across our our service profile. Um, a lot of providers, even
young providers that are new in the field, are leaving behavioral health agencies to start their own small private practice or group practice. Um, and they are not taking clients who have Minnesota MA or PAMAP insurance because the reimbursement rate is so low. And
typically the needs of um those children, families, and adults are much higher. And so they're just doing self-pay. So people who can afford to pay $200 for a 45 or 50 minute session or those who have private insurance where private insurance is at times
reimbursing double what MA is. And so for those of us that continue to serve um the medical assistance and the state funded insuranceances, we have a greater population and we continue to see less because they won't take them. So then we
take them and so then our reimbursement rates are um significantly impacted because the majority of our clientele are reimbursing us at at a much lower rate than if we had a higher commercial population. There was a rate study done in Minnesota um by an outside agency
that they hired two years ago or three years ago and they um connected with a lot of us that were part of the work group, part of the work or part of the study that was completed and their recommendations were significant increases to reimbursement rates because they had not been touched for over 13
years. um unfortunately in legislation that hasn't come through yet and like I said earlier we have seen a decrease actually starting in 2025 um that takes away the little bit additional revenue that we got for serving higher needs kids. Um we're hopeful for this
legislative session that there might be a positive improvement, but we continue advocating as best as we can and talking to those that make those decisions. Um so we're hopeful. So you're uh so you're
seeing um difficulty in maintaining staffing levels then at the village too, right? Yeah. Because they'll leave to go do private practice where they can work half the time and make the same if not more money because they're only taking self-pay or commercial insurance
clients. So their income is much higher. And then that increases the the remaining staff that you have. your clientele numbers. We're getting higher amounts of those on per person that you have working. Yeah. But and our
reimbursement doesn't go up. So they want us to pay them more to stay with us so they don't leave us for private practice. But the revenue that we make on those service lines is not increasing. Well, Mr. Chair, yes. You know, I what you're saying is heard and it's um we're
aware of it. We just have to think critically about how we continue to ring that bell at a higher level. You know, we've talked about um unsustainable rates for a long time. Um DHS is um defending those. And what I what I worry
about is, you know, and with our PRTF bill, they kicked the the rate piece out immediately. I mean, they didn't nobody even wanted to talk about it. And so, they kicked it out because there are so many different ripples that it would cause. But what what I get really nervous about is all of a sudden you
change the scope of the data. So when you have providers leaving to do their own piece and you're serving a smaller pool, well then from the outside it looks like, oh well the need is going, you know, is going down, there's not as big of a need because we're not seeing
the uh that data speak to that. So it's it's skewed and it's hurtful to the whole piece of it, I think. Um, so the the House had the discussion on the Health and Human Services bill yesterday. There were some tweaks um
with increases to rates. Um, not exactly sure if um they're affecting that component specifically. Um, but I think we do need to one continue to advocate for the need in the next two weeks of session. But coming out, we have to
think really critically. Do we bring this whole LEC lac piece together to have dialogues to bring the you know the state chairs in to see exactly here's what we're seeing here's why providers are leaving this is the broken piece uh
with the new commissioner of DHS I think that's really important um because I think having Klay County be as active as we have been at the state this year has really been helpful to the visibility But I think with all of the
sweeping changes and the new cost shares that we're seeing, we do need to be louder in how we speak uh to the legislature about how these actions are affecting us. So, you know, I think we we have a good framework of the work that's being done here. We just have to
strategize how we can elevate it. Yeah, I think with the I think we're down to probably 10 days left and 12 days left in the legislative session, I it it'd be wishful thinking to think that we're going to be successful in getting something added to what it
probably already isn't already on the docket that's there. But um clearly there's some things here that are deserving of more attention on the part of not only the Klay County board but county boards throughout the state to
you know so again dealing with AMC um Commissioner Mojo also serves on who's on our health and human services that balls at you. So, some of these things we should be able to bring um you know through the health and human services too
regarding the issues that have been raised here locally and again I'm assuming it's no different when you get to other counties it's probably all the same. Yeah, when we in our group sit similar discussion but again I I think
it is to follow up what's already been said elevating it and I I know there are coalitions but I think there has to be more task groups within that to uh narrow it down. You know what is because
we we'd have lots of priorities but it seems like it's so finite when you get to the legislative level what can be elevated and uh you sort of got to pick one or two and go with it you know so I
really appreciate the discussion on trans transportation I think we can I think we have such a viable group if you go to page two of what the handout that group is there almost every single meeting a part of it and the dialogue is
very robust and and it's a lot of good thinkers out there and a lot of people that are very committed to the work the providers and the people within it. So just thank you and and for me it's been
a treat to be part of this LAC. Well, we certainly appreciate any recommendations that you have when it come you know in children's mental health. just it's um troubling that um the access isn't there for some of those
kids who need the help. Uh I know um our what we will have here today for approval is the approval of the membership for the children's mental health lac membership. And I know Commissioner Krabenha is
listed as a member of that and I'm sure he can keep us informed as to the which he does and in terms of your meetings and and we'll have to come up with a better strategic plan I think to move forward.
So So with that I think we're um thank you for your time and I I guess with that I'd be looking for a motion to approve the membership. I'll offer a motion to approve the membership. Second. Right. We have a motion by Commissioner Mojo, second by Commissioner Abinger. Any further discussion on the
motion? Any further discussion? All in favor signify by saying I. I oppose the same sign. Motion carried. And the next item we have is going to deal with mental health as well regarding a proclamation. So if you want to hang around, you can. Yes. With that with
Quinn and Kirsten and Michelle. Um Quinn, you wanna Thank you for coming. Okay. Yes. With that and that amazing uh annual report, uh would like to kick it off and see if the board would be uh
interested in proclaiming uh May mental health month. And I've attached a proclamation for your review. Uh any questions that you may have? I think it's a great proclamation. And Ezra, would you care to kick us off? Sure.
Proclamation mental health month May 2025. Whereas the mental health is in a cornerstone of the over overall health influence how individuals think, feel, act and thrive in their daily lives. And whereas every person regardless of age,
background or circumstances faces challenges that can impact their mental health, well-being and no one should have to uh navigate those challenges alone. And whereas early identification, open dialogue, and access to timely
support are vital to improve outcomes for both adults and children, strengthening families and building resilient communities. And whereas Klay County remains steadfast in its commitment to advancing a comprehensive community-based mental health system and
has established local advisory councils for both children and children and adults to ensure lived experiences uh shapes uh the care we provide. man. Whereas the responsibility to foster mental wellness and break the stigma
surrounding mental health rests with all of us, businesses, schools, healthc care providers, government agencies, nonprofits, and every citizen. Now, therefore, be it resolved that the Klay County Board of Commissioners hereby proclaims May 2025 as mental
health month in Klay County. We urge all members of our community to recommmit to elevating mental health as a priority, promoting awareness and prevention, supporting those in need, and ensuring equitable accessible care for all.
Who would care to move that proclamation? Like to move the proclamation for mental health month, May 2025. I'll second the motion. We have a motion by Commissioner Kramnoff, second by Commissioner Mojo. Any further discussion?
Seeing none, the proclamation is declared. Thank you. Thank you so much. All right. Next, we have um a proclamation for foster care appreciation month. Yes, I'm going to introduce and then
again get out of the way. Um what we'd like to do, I'll kick it over to Jessica here. Jessica in the licensing unit. I'll let everybody introduce themselves, but what we'd like to do is uh do a a brief presentation on child foster care, request the
proclamation for foster care, move on to a brief presentation on child care, and then do the same. Request the proclamation for child care. With that, I will kick it off. Thank you, Quinn. Good morning, Mr. Chair and commissioners. Uh we are here
in recognition of child foster care appreciation month as well as uh child care provider appreciation month. So uh during my annual update to the board um some questions came up with the licensing process uh for both program
areas. So, we thought we would utilize today um as an opportunity to have our experts here uh kind of go through just a brief overview of what it takes to become a licensed provider in these two program areas in Klay County. And then
we'll ask that you guys uh uh review the proclamations if you so choose. So, today we will start off with Alex Eshog. She is one of our child foster care licensers. She primarily works with our relative homes.
Morning. Um I just wanted to outline a little bit of the foster care licensing process. Like Jessica said, um our we have about 48 foster family foster homes in Klay County. And um I think a lot of times people assume it's just a lot of
paperwork filling out, which it can be. Um but there's also about 14 hours of training that applicants go through before they become licensed. Um they need to fill out an application for foster care. they need to fill out an individual fact sheet. Um there are fingerprint based background studies
that are completed. Um we go through a home safety checklist when we visit with the family. So we walk through their home. We look for um safety items that they have to have included in their home such as smoke detectors, um radio and flashlight that use batteries in case of
emergency, those types of things. Um, and then we also have them fill out an extensive autobiography that has a lot of um, personal information on there. We ask them about their background, their um, relationship histories, um, their adult children, other children that they
may have cared through for throughout their life. We ask about their finances. We ask about the outly outlay of their home to make sure they have room for children. Um they have to come up with policies around drug and alcohol um storage and use in their home. Um
complaint policies in their home and um discipline policies because in foster care you are not allowed to do um corporal punishment which normally is thought of as banking. And a lot of times it can be other things too um such as um which we don't ever want to think a foster parent would do, but it can
include you know biting a child, kicking them, saying derogatory things about them or their parents in front of a child. Um and then like I mentioned earlier, they are required to do about 14 hours of online training um to become licensed. And then Gail with her
families is required to do around six hours of orientation where she meets one-on-one with the families and talks about their autobiography and talks about their experience caring for children and why they are interested in being licensed for foster care and the types of and ages of children that they
are interested in caring for. Um when I license relatives um I'm able to include some of the training in my orientation. So, um, that I don't spend always six hours of face tof face time with families. Sometimes it's a lot more and sometimes it can be a little bit less
because they already have children in their homes when I'm licensing them. Um, relatives though, I do want to make it clear that um, they're required to complete the same um, expectations to be licensed for foster care. We just do it in a different order. I'm typically
licensing relatives when they're already caring for children in the home where Gail when she licenses traditional foster homes um the children are not placed in the homes yet until after they become licensed. Um and then um licensed foster care providers um are required to do 12
hours of annual training after they're licensed. Um and then um we als we can do a walkthrough of their home every year as well and complete that home safety checklist. um licensed providers um they have a really hard job and I say
this all the time when I talk about licensing for foster care. We ask a lot of our foster or licensed foster care homes. They are caring for children typically that aren't theirs that they um sometimes we drop four children in on grandparents that have not had children
in their home for a long time. And it's a and then they have appointments and they have to set up daycare and they have to make time to meet with me as a licenser and a case manager and it can be a really exciting process and it can
be a really hard process when you know you haven't had a school age child in your home for years and now you're having to call in sick to work because you have a third grader that has the flu. Um it's just a lot of things that people aren't expecting. Um, but we also have a lot of really amazing foster
parents and I I'm really proud to be a part of that. I really I enjoy what I do. I enjoy the families that I work with and I love going into their homes and getting to know them and spending time with them. Um, along with the licensing process, Gail, and I will say Gail because I don't do a lot of the
recruiting, but Gail does a really nice job of recruiting. Um, she has a has a table that she sets up with information and trying to recruit foster parents. Last year she attended KidsFest, the Holly Street Fair, the inclusive
Morehead, um Yuland days, the Midco Kidsfest, um and then the Fargo Dome, the Red River Advocacy Advocacy Training, um and then this year already she has scheduled um they did Kidfest just on Saturday. Um
they will be at the health fair in Holly in June. They'll be at the Klay County Fair in Barnesville in July. and she's always looking for other opportunities to get out there and talk about foster care and recruit our families. All right. Well, yeah, thank you to all those um foster care parents that are
that are out there and we could use more, right? We sure could. We always can. I Before we move on, I think we'll let's deal with this proclamation if that's okay. regarding the foster care appreciation month. Ezra, foster care
appreciation month May 2025 where's families are the cornerstone of every thriving community providing children with love, identity, support, and belonging. And whereas foster families in Klay County play a vital role in our
child's welfare system, stepping forward with compassion to provide children and youth with safe, stable, and nurturing homes during times of great need. And whereas foster families selflessly offer guidance, structure, encouragement, and
unconditional care, creating a positive and lasting impact on the lives of children and families. And whereas whereas the influence of foster kinship and adoptive families often exceeds exceeds far beyond placement,
offering enduring support that helps children heal, grow, and thrive, ultimately paving the way for stronger futures. And whereas foster families not only serve with dedication and resilience, but many also open their hearts permanently through adoption,
underscoring the continued and growing need for new foster families in our community. And whereas the month of May is nationally recognized as foster care appreciation month, a time to honor and celebrate the extraordinary individuals and families
who embrace one of the most important and challenging roles in our community. Now there now therefore we the Klay County Board of Commissioners proudly proclaim May 2025 as foster care appreciation month in Klay County. We extend our deepest gratitude to all
foster, kinship and adoptive families and call upon all the citizens to recognize their unwavering commitment. We also encourage community members to take action whether by fostering, supporting foster families or advocating
for youth to help ensure every child has the love and support they deserve. Mr. Chair, I'll make a motion to approve the proclamation. Second. We have a motion from Commissioner Mojo, second by Commissioner Ebinger. Any further
discussion? Seeing none, all in favor signify by saying I. I oppose the same sign. The proclamation is declared. Thank you. Thank you very much. All right, Jessica. Yes. Next, we have Julie Clear and Karen Helum to go over a
review of the family child care licensing process and just talk a little bit about their recruitment that they do in the community. and then our our numbers. So, go ahead. Hello, I'm Julie. Um, our current numbers that are licensed for inhome family childcare are
130 in Klay County and we currently have besides that 11 in process applicants. Um, with our recruitment, it overlaps what Gail does for foster care. So, we're often out there together. Um some of the um events include Kidfest, Clay
County Fair, Holly Rodeo, Midco uh Kidfest, Holly Health Fair, City of Barnesville has a growth meeting. So Karen and I have been out there many times trying to enhance um businesses to welcome and support um family child care
there. We've gone to MSUM, the technical college for their events. Uh we also have on our Klay County website some interviews from current providers that have offered um their assistance in answering uh specific questions to entice people
to apply. Those are still currently on our website. Um we do a no commitment orientation and there is no fee to apply. I'm Karen, one of the licensers. Um some of the committees Julie and I are on, we do a lot of regional meetings
with child care groups, with um other licensers from the region. Uh we're part of the ECI or early childhood initiative. Um we're part of the child care solutions group. That's actually a newer one um that we have that's with
other community members. Um one of the newer ones is a Klay County Early Childhood Fund. I'm a part of that one. Um, I think you got some information on that handout. Um, we're excited about that up and running. The grants are now
open. Um, and the, uh, appreciation groups we send out with collaboration with CAPLP. We, um, will send out um, appreciation acknowledgements in the form of um, some gift cards and things
like that to show our appreciation for our providers. and that's center and home base. Um, some of the steps that we take for licensing when an application comes in, it'll either be assigned to myself or Karen. We tell them that it takes
approximately 3 to four months to become licensed. The majority of that is waiting for cleared backgrounds through the Minnesota net study process. Um, anyone in the household age 13 and over needs a cleared background. Once that is
completed, uh we will also check three references of non-related um personal references for themsel. They have a a form to fill out for us where they can note concerns or anything that they um think is important. We do initial home
visits uh with paperwork. We talk about their contract and policies that they must have in place. We look for home safety um issues and see if there's a need for a fire inspection. If there is and they meet criteria for that, we'll
help them with the referral and the $50 um cost that they must pay for the fire marshal to come out. Either Klay County Fire Department or the state fire marshals will do that. Um we help with liaison between um the wayfinder group,
which is another organization that can help support them through the licensing process. um grant coordinators. There's a lot of um Minnesota grants out there that can help them get started and ongoing support as well. Um we also have a mentor program in our uh Klay County.
We have five currently licensed um providers who offer support not only through the application process but as they are licensed they can help mentor them. Um a lot of them enjoy that. The mentors really take pride in being a
Klay County mentor and I believe we're the only county in the state that does mentorship. Um once they've completed their first packet of initial paperwork, we'll go out and do a home inspection for the second time. We'll um make sure
that all of the changes that are necessary to their home to make it safe and for the fire order um we can mark those off and that they've completed them. We collect their 16 hours of training that has specific areas. Uh they must do 16 hours training annually.
Um through the ARPA funds, we have uh a bag, a welcome bag for them with some items in there that they need, radios, flashlights, um some necessary equipment for their go bags. um we'll submit the license and then usually it takes about
a week to get that back and then they can um advertise and be up and running. Um some of the upcoming changes for licensing is that uh providers licenses now are what's called a continued license January 1st to
December 31st. It used to be where provider could be every April or every October and now it's just one licensing period. Um there is legislative draft number two which I'm assuming some of you have maybe gotten some feedback on.
Um that is now out there for um discussion. They're having meetings on that. Um the provider hub that is supposed to be coming in um excuse me, summer of
2025 on net study that we're now at our fiveyear background study um doing the background studies again after five years. Um there's some statute changes coming numberwise um because in June we
are going from um D or excuse me DHS to DCYF. Um, some of the ARPA incentives, Julia talked about a few of them already, but there's we still have referral bonuses. If a provider refers an applicant, then they can have a monetary
um, reward for that. Mentor program, Julie touched on that. B1 licensing, non-traditional care hours, uh, free trainings that we offer twice a year. Um we have orientation giveway
giveaways. So when provider or when applicants come for orientation if there's more than one then we hand out or we um pull a name for a handout or a giveaway and annual appreciation gifts to family child care
providers. Yeah. And I was just going to kind of piggyback off of Karen's updates for our ARPA. So, we were awarded $87,000 from um the ARPA committee and the board um a few years ago during COVID. Um our balance is currently at
$24,146. Um the majority of that money was utilized for building all of this stuff. So, we had very little marketing materials. So when Gail and Julie and Karen go out to these community events, we had pretty much postcards that we had
printed ourselves and made up. So we've worked with um a few different agencies to get kind of more professional looking things. Um the mentor program, referral bonuses for current licensed providers. We purchased every licensed provider in
Klay County a fire extinguisher. Um we're continuing to offer the free training. So with the 24,000 that's remaining, we're our intention is to continue paying our mentors. They get $500 every year or two years every year.
Every year um to do that and and they that's very minimal for the amount of time that they spend supporting and um really helping out new licensed providers. Julie and Karen can't really offer a lot of um technical support just
because everybody kind of uses their own programs as well as like policies. We don't get into the business side of things. Um so the mentors are able to kind of assist them with developing rates and um you know kind of navigating the business end more than just the
license end which you know we defer you know people back to these two for. Um and then also continuing to offer the free trainings for our providers. It's just kind of a way that we show support. Um it's also a good opportunity for us to get our providers
together for the day. Uh they can, you know, mingle and get to know each other and and things like that. So, um those are what we're hoping to continue ongoing when the ARPA funds um eventually run out, which they they Well, we certainly hope that you will
take advantage of those ARPA funds as often as you can in terms of um uh obviously one of the things that always peaks as a primary concern at the county level is is the availability of child care. So, uh, the recruiting process in
that is really significant. And I I just want to make a comment on, um, the rules. Um, you know, every time that some of the state agencies start adopting new rules, we at the county get very nervous. And I and I would I would
think the same could be um you know as we try to recruit and as you guys try to recruit additional um providers, child care providers, the last thing we need is more uh issues for them to have to hoops to have to go
through. And so any ways that that you can provide us information on maybe some of those rules that maybe maybe there's a concern about that we should know about. Again, we're we're in St. Paul, too, and and we can
talk to legislators. Sometimes these agencies adopt rules even without legislative approval, but but we can certainly help advocate for the last thing we need is to make it more difficult. We certainly want safety in our kids when they go in
the but I I think the the current regulations we have is adequate there. I've yet to find anybody who's where there's been a problem and if there has it's been dealt with right away. So anyway, that was uh that was my
then and um so there's 130 right now. Is that what you said? and 11 in process. Yes. How does that compare with a year ago? Is that I think I think the numbers are
up, but when one we gain one and it seems like our numbers for in process have gone up. Okay. I think a year ago when I did my update uh for the board, we were at 133. When I was here a month ago, we were at 127. So, they've
licensed three new providers in the last month. And just for some what so we the county deals with inhome child care providers then there's also centers that are out there and
centers are they operate directly with the state. Correct. Correct. So there's your involvement with that is very small minimal. May I voice something for one of my providers? Sure. Absolutely. Um uh during COVID, I think what happened was
um staff and busing issues, especially for some of the smaller communities, they cut out bus routes. So, these younger kids had to walk to school. And I know that a few of my providers have voiced that they just want to quit because now they either have to walk
everybody to school, including infants, or these parents are moving their child to a school program that now takes younger preschoolers because of the busing issues. So now they can't fill those preschool spots. Um, and I told
her to connect with the commissioner for her area. Um, and that would be you. And uh I told her I would also speak to that because some busing issues are it's a trickle down program. Routes are cut from the
school. It definitely impacts more than just the residents in that community. I had that happen as a parent myself with a busing because we were less than a mile from the school and my kids went to an inhome child care provider. So um it
really makes it tricky if your kid has to get picked up after school and you have to go back to work. So again, transportation is a issue and I would also encourage them to talk to Representative Joy about that and I know Ezra you can do that but
um he would be really helpful in elevating that concern. Thank you. Well, thank you for your presentation. Any questions? Now we have one more proclamation. Proclamation Childcare Provider Appreciation Day May 9th, 2025. Whereas
the Klay County joins communities across the nation in recognizing Child Care Provider Appreciation Day to honor the dedication and impact of child care providers. And whereas more than half of all children under six in the United States spend part of their week in
non-parental care highlighting the essential role child care providers play in offering safe, enriching, and developmentally supportive environments for children of all backgrounds. And whereas child care enables parents and caregivers to pursue education and is a
critical pillar of strong local economy, enabling working families to thrive and businesses to function. And And whereas high quality child care is foundational to early childhood development and a vital contribution to
the long-term success of our youth, our families, and our entire community. And whereas recognizing and celebrating our child care providers is an investment in the future of Klay County. Now therefore, we the Klay County Board of
Commissioners do hereby proclaim May 9th, 2025 as Child Care Provider Appreciation Day in Klay County. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to all child care providers who nurture, teach, and support our youngest citizens. We
encourage all residents to recognize and thank these dedicated professionals for their critical role in building a brighter future for Klay County. Good. Thank you. We're not quite done. Mr.
Chair, I'll move the proclamation. All right. We have a motion second. We have a motion by Commissioner Mojo, second by Commissioner Bear to approve the proclamation. Any further discussion? Seeing none, all in favor signify by saying I. I oppose the same sign. The
proclamation is declared. Thank you for your presentation today. You want a break, Commissioner He? Yeah. Okay. Okay. All right, we are back in session and I
just want to do a little bit of house cleaning. I was so um encouraged and excited to uh pronounce the proclamation for mental health uh month that I forgot to vote have the vote taken. So we had a
motion and a second on that proclamation and at this time I would ask all in favor to signify by saying I I oppose the same motion carried. All right then we'll move into item number 23 request approval to higher scale attendant. Good
morning, Corey. Morning, Mr. Chair and commissioners. Unfortunately, our scale attendant has given her two weeks notice and next Monday will be her last day. So, we will be looking to replace her and that would be my request this morning. It is included in the budget. I did not take it to pick because none of
the job description changed. So, it would just be this the same job that we have now. We're just looking to post it. Second. We have a motion and a second. Any further discussion? Further discussion? Seeing none, all in favor signify by saying I. I. I. Oppose.
The same. Motion carried. All right. Next item is the solid waste grant application. Yes, we are looking to apply for a grant through the MPCA. Um we have the garage in the back of the of the transfer station now
that we're using to store stuff um recycling items and that kind of things. We would like to upgrade that facility or that building um and turn it into a freeon recycling. In order to do that, we have to put in a heater and insulate it. And this grant came up. Um I did
take the grant opportunity to swack and they approved it. Um, we have to get that sent in. The original ask was for $40,000, but we have actually knocked it down to it's a $22,000 total with a 50% match. Um, so it' be $11,000 and some
change. And that would include heating and insulating, but no inside steel. We just felt after talking to maintenance that the inside steel would be too costly and too labor intensive. So, we backed off on that. But, um, so my request would be to be allow us to send in the letter of intent.
All right. Any questions, Mr. Chair? Mr. Commissioner, thank you. We discussed this at SWAC as as discussed and since we live in an area of the country where the majority of the year we are not above 40 degrees, felt this was really a great opportunity to leverage some
additional funds, but to also expand with the freon capabilities at the county would be with the obvious intent of keeping as much of that out of our landfill as possible. So certainly um am in in support of what this request is.
So in this one the motion was to approve the grant application for up to 40,000. Do you want that number changed or total grant application that the money we would requesting would be a total of 22,95907 and the grant cap would be
11,47954. Mr. Mr. Chair, I'll make that motion. I'll second approve the application the amounts totaled. Okay, we have a motion by Commissioner Mojo, second by Commissioner Bayer for a grant application in the amount of $22,959.7. Any further
discussion? None. All in favor signify by saying I. I oppose the same sign. Motion carried. All right. Thanks, Ry. Thank you. All right. Next item. We have a request of letter of Oh, excuse me. Before we
get there, a request approval to sign for tax hosting contract. Rory, good afternoon. Good morning. Morning. Close enough. Almost afternoon. Yeah. Thank you. Uh so this morning I'd like to propose
uh moving to a momentum tax hosted platform. this is something that they would uh host in their online environment. Um after a few few meetings with them and initial price quote that we received back in December,
uh the pricing was just a little too high for us. So we uh us and some other counties and MC we got together to try to figure out, okay, how can we make this a little more affordable for all of us? And after a few months of back and
forth, uh, Mentum came back to us with a proposal that if four counties were to go together, um, then they would, you know, could sustain that uh, price of $60,000 annually with a
$12,500 onetime setup fee. So, that's the uh, proposal I'm bringing you today or this morning. Um the other three counties that would be uh going on with us would be Clearwater, Rice, and Roso County. So, and it sounds like uh those
three are already approved. Just kind of waiting to see what happens here today. Okay. Uh but currently we we host aum tax on premise here and it touches our land records departments. Um it's it's kind of
a system where we have to babysit a lot. they have last minute uh patches and updates that affect our uh time here. So, one of my staff typically works nights and weekends just about every week just to maintain last minute
patches. So, a lot of this would really save time in my department, but also benefit, um, you know, assessors, auditors, treasurers, um, and some other, you know, partners we work with as well that that pull in that tax data,
uh, funding source. So, I met with Lori Johnson on this and to come up with it, um, if we were to host it ourselves again, we'd be looking at a hardware refresh for new servers and the time and cost it would take to do that. We just
decided maybe this proposal to go hosted would be the the best fit for for Klay County. Um, so after meeting with uh Miss Johnson, we were able to determine that uh removing the the hardware off of our internal services list, we would have enough money to pay for uh fiscal
year 25, 26, and potentially 27 with our internal service fund. So we would have basically the three years covered out of this 36 months contract already. Any questions? Yes, Commissioner. just to to uh we had
a difficult time when we were partnered with some other entities here with the social service program. Oh yes. Are our there any security concerns or anything similar to the challenges we face with
that that we might need to contend with in partnering on this? Yeah, we we did uh ask that question on how how our data would be uh structured up on the on their their cloud platform and everybody is independent of each other. Um the only reason for the additional counties
to on board with us are because of uh costs. If they want to onboard counties, it's cheaper for them to do four at once than it is for individual counties. So that that's the reason of the the joint. So basically, we're still going to operate the same way we would if we were independent. We're not linked to them.
It's just a a volume deal. Exactly. Okay. Thank you. All right. Any further questions? The board's wishes? Yes. Um I'll move
that we proceed with the amenum house hosting contract and funding as described. Okay, second. We have a motion and a second. So, is this um So, what were we funding before for
this? How do what is the fun how has the funding changed? Uh the the cost of hardware is a big portion of it. So, so the for us to maintain it, you of course we have to have servers, uh infrastructure, things like that. Um, so
that that equipment in those line items for internal services would go away and kind of pull together for for annual cost for this. Okay. And is this something that could be considered for um out of
Kim's future? Um, without talking with her, I wouldn't be sure, but we certainly could bring up to her. Yeah, I'm just thinking for for the future that might this might qualify for consideration for those
funds. All right. Uh any further discussion on the motion? Seeing none, all in favor signify by saying I. I. Oppose. The same sign. Motion carried. All right. Very good. Thanks, Commissioners.
All right. Next, we have a request of a letter of support to send to Fargo city leaders to include the bus stop at the DMV facilities as part of the 2026 2030 transportation plan. Certainly, we have that letter
attached. Um, yes, Steve, do you want to Yeah, thank you, Mr. Chair. As as we've discussed previously and and had discussion with Mr. Griffith this morning. Uh the city of Fargo is working on their 2026 to 2030 transportation
plan as we built our our two or three facilities up on 15th Avenue North. Uh after the 20 uh through I guess after the 2025 plan uh we were encouraged to uh to reach out to City Morhead and City of Fargo. Fargo is now in charge of that
transportation plan. Uh and uh so we've uh Commissioner Mojo and I have been part of the planning meetings. We've advocated uh for the plan is my understanding based on the scenarios that they have that we continue uh our buildings continue to be outside of the
Matt Buzz transportation plan. So, uh, bringing forward this letter would hope hopefully have, uh, the transit director and subsequently the city of Fargo leadership, uh, to reconsider, uh, amending one of the routes, uh, two of the routes go in into our into that area
or could be utilized through Walmart, route six and route nine. And so, we would be looking for them to to reconsider uh, adding that as they move forward. That I'd yield for any questions. As I looked at the letter, I I think it's a good letter. The only the only thing that I would like to see on
that is in the very first sentence, I'd like it to start off by saying on behalf of the CL Klay County Board of Commissioners, I am because otherwise it sounds like it's just coming from me and I think it would be good to have that that language at the very beginning
of that letter. I agree. Do you want it to continue to be on Steve's letter head or do you want commission. Uh, no, probably um, yeah, I think just probably Klay County letterhead, I think, would be
Sounds good, Mr. Chair. I can make those two changes. All right. Um, board's wishes. Approve. We'd like to get the approval of that letter to go to the city as well as NCC it is as indicated
in the letter. I'll make a motion to approve uh the signing of the letter or sending of the letter. I'll second that. Motion by Commissioner Mojo, second by Commissioner Bear. Um any further discussion? Seeing none, all in favor
signify by saying I I oppose the same sign. Motion carried. Thank you. All right. Thanks, Steve. All right. We are going into committee reports. Uh, Commissioner Krabanov, we'll start with you today. Thank you, Mr.
Chair. Uh, so the fact that we uh didn't have a commission meeting last week because that's our fifth week Tuesday where we don't have on my report will begin back on April 22nd. Uh that was an afternoon
um meeting that we had uh on the commissioners along with H with semianual updates and um just how they're doing overall. good educational piece for us and also a good dialogue
about um things coming down the the pike in the future year with uh not only what their plans are but also potential changes if u federal legislation or state legisl
uh changes funding. On Wednesday the 23rd, um, uh, Historical and Culture Society had our board of directors meeting, general business, uh, we had a review, um,
of job applications that are coming in for a replacement of our executive director um, position that Marine John Johansson's had for quite a few years, and she'll be retiring it in July.
And just a note to us and in the public that at the end of May May 29th in the evening uh we will be having the society's uh annual meeting at the imp center uh from 7 and our guest host will
be uh Dr. Carol Engelhart who is our 25 our 2025 Clay County Heritage Award recipient. Um, okay. Then, uh, let's see. Uh, on the 25th, Friday, uh, that we had
a, uh, uh, county, um, director's retreat. Um, that was held at the law enforcement center. Um, most of us were there. Uh, I really enjoyed that. It was done by it was led by
uh former sheriff Paul Laney and former dispatch director um Mary Philippy. Uh the focus were on leadership styles and best practices and uh also in the afternoon which I uh was fun to watch
our directors in involving conflict resolution and counseling with employees. a good one-on-one u u uh practicing u that or showing that skill and also uh just getting
recommendations of their styles uh as they went into those um I'm missing the word here um uh situations where that may occur um on on 28th on Monday um a short
meeting with the public health staff. Um, Commissioner Abero has already mentioned it regarding the cannabis. Those issues discussed there were mainly reviewed already with um Matt Jacobson earlier on on the fees
and a few other minor items. Um then on Thursday May 1st uh we had the intergovernmental uh committee meeting. The whole meeting virtually was uh spent on um currency uh and um having um some
discussion about that that may lead to uh discussions uh during the retreat that we have next January. Uh um there's been um we had two people representatives from schools there work being done to alleviate this problem.
Um, Morid schools was one of 13 schools offered a state pilot um to work with the attendance review board. They've got teams um set up through all the elementary and middle school um and uh
to address uh different ways uh to evaluate reasons for truency uh to get the teams to make the calls that are mainly made from teachers to parents and u and just uh have that consistency of
what works being done and then bringing that together to have some consist consistency and reliable according back to the state and u so just for knowledge truency begins after uh 3 days of
unexcused absences and and I was very surprised um me maybe uh other people not so much but that right now TRMC affects 25% of Minnesota students and in elementary schools it's about 10%. So
hopefully uh we work on that truency is such a corner corn effect of uh long-term effect of where people go in the future be it education discipline and other activities they're involved with. Uh then last night would have been
my last meeting um uh with the Morhead Planning Commission and it was uh the only thing that was a public hearing had to do with some uh text amendment changes regarding u zoning amendments uh
in regard to the mixed use parcels and that was approved and moved on. also mentioned that um Ward One had a new replacement. Um Nicole Matson had been in that spot. She's now on city city
council and Wayne Wayne is now has that uh spot on the commission. That's my report. Thank you, Commissioner. Thank you. Uh the 22nd uh we had a highway tracking meeting. We discussed
the the rightway uh necessitation um and then other items that this board already took action on today. I attended the Prairie Lake or that afternoon also attended the um HA meeting. I appreciate the opportunity to do that. And then
that evening attended the pollinator pint night uh that the soil and water conservation district did at Junkyard. I appreciate their work in the community there. I attended the Prairie Lakes Municipal Solid Waste Authority meeting virtually the next day. Uh we talked
about um basically the financial reports and had the plant manager report. Um talked about the ash management county highway 75 pilot uh project uh with the Stantic agreement for Becker. um talked
about the medical waste that happened to be an issue at another um county hauler with another county hauler. Uh and then talked about um MPCA grant interest forms and then discussing Senator Coop's
uh bill that talks about a adjustment to the um solid waste tax. Uh the next day I attended the SWAT committee meeting. Um uh general updates from all of the folks out there. Talked
about uh Earth Week and the success there. Uh talked about strategizing um the additional uh tonnages of waste that will be coming in during um um cleanup weeks. And
then after that I attended a discussion at the family service center with the state Medicaid director. They had different um folks. We had Klay County staff represented there. Uh but different folks discussing how or agencies and organizations are dealing
with the uncertainty in regards to Medicaid waiver reimbursements. uh was really framed more from a federal standpoint, but uh I continued to bring up the fact that there are some major state components there that will really affect us um uh immediately. So, it's
counties are trying to triage both of those changes going forward. Uh that afternoon, I attended the retirement um um event for the Morehead Business Association director, Sher Larson. Sherry's been really helpful on a lot of different county uh projects and
strategizing and so I really wish her nothing but the best in retirement. It'll be fun to work with the new director uh there. Um Stacy that afternoon or evening rather I attended the CAP LP annual meeting that was held at the TAC in Dworth. A great
update on all of the vibrant programs that go on there throughout the year. Um, so I appreciate that opportunity. Had several different legislative strategy meetings in regards to how we continue the lift in the final two and a half weeks. So Friday, um, had the
meeting with the Klay County folks, the chamber, and the city of Morehead on flood mitigation strategy with the capital investment ask. Uh, that's kind of a moving target. I know this morning the capital investment committee at the house uh, positioned three vehicle bills that will go forward. nothing's been
identified as to what will be in them, but whenever they reach an agreement, they can insert in there. So, um, we did talk about making sure we had opinion letters to the editor and encouragement. So, I appreciate I know
this morning the Star Tribune letter to the editor was printed and then yesterday the uh inform one. So, I appreciate that. and then also had the opportunity to attend uh with staff the Friday
um the department head training. Uh always a really great opportunity to um leverage on everyone's strengths and strategies and how we can continue to meet the needs of our citizens in the best possible way. On Monday, I attended
the Lakeland Mental Health Center board of directors meeting. We had um results and approval of the 2024 financial audit. I appreciate that. There was a small opinion in that, but it it kind of um basically resulted around the fact
that our um financial software didn't have the opportunity to report time on a grant specifically integrated in it. And so we've already upgraded that um that software so it's able to do that now. And then that also talked about access
indicators and key performance indicators. The programs in Klay County continue to um be um really healthy in regards to um appropriate for the financial aspect and also timing aspect.
So I appreciate that. Talked about Minnesota legislation and then we did approve uh two grant awards and it was also the employer recognition. And so I appreciate the opportunity to see and discuss uh with our employees there. Had conversations last week with
both Matt Hillgart and Matt Freeman from AMC on how Klay County can best strategize with our bills going forward. As I noted yesterday, happy to report that our PRTF piece is included in the omnimous bill. It's um um gone through
the first hurdle at the House. know, we need to um see what the Senate does and then obviously conference committee pieces. But two, there's there's some other major issues that um will continue to affect counties. And yesterday at the Minnesota Rural Counties caucus meeting that Commissioner Bayer and I attended,
uh we had a really good update from transportation, the transportation chair, Representative Cosnik, uh on what that bill and how it entails. I I'm thankful that there's some additional funds in there for uh counties, but um that that DHS bill really does have some
new cost shares as they're saying. Uh you know, I'm not sure how we best educate folks. Um you know, counties are doing the best they can to facilitate those programs. Uh the testimony yesterday really seemed to framework that counties are picking the most
expensive options and that's why we're in a financial deficit and so I think it's important that staff is able to um advocate for how that's not necessarily the case and that concludes my reports. Thank you Commissioner Bar.
On the 22nd after county board, we had the HA that has been already been addressed. And then on the 23rd, the building committee met and we addressed everything on the agenda today that we talked about at that meeting. On the 24th, I had the Klay County Justice
Advisory Board meeting is more of an update on the department for all they're doing with with the Justice Department. And all it is is an update for everybody that attended. I'll let Commissioner Evaner go into more detail on that meeting. Then on the 25th, we
had the intergovernmental retreat where we where we were led by Paul Laney and Mary Philippi through the drive the road leadership course. I'd like to thank all the department heads to make that a priority. Attend those workshops. It was very informational.
On the 28th, I had the West Central Regional Water District Board meeting up in Grand Forks at AE2S offices where we had signed where we have received signed from the cities of Felton, Climax, Pearly, Holstead, and Borup. We also discussed a draftou for the East Central
Water District to be finalized and sent to them before the next board meeting. We're looking we are looking at changing the fiscal host from Klay County to Norman County because the EPA grant that we will be receiving that has to be run
through Norman County and to simplify the process going forward. After the board meeting, we had a work session for the water district where we uh came up with common
financial policies and common cost distribution goals and approaches and total estimate of project costs were all part of that work session. Then later that night, I went to Dworth City Council meeting. They had their 2024
volunteer of the year recognition where Jason Stewart, Brian Christopherson, Gerald Zimmel, and Missy Hubard were individuals who extremely who exemplify community spirit and service
through their dedication to local government to local organizations. Congratulations to those four. There was also an update on the Highway 10 design and progress update. They'll be having an open house having an open house on
the highway 10 redesign May 20th 5:30 to 7:30 at the elementary school in Dworth. It is about 30% designed. So they'll have a update there. And then also at that meeting the
white earth nation was also there to meeting to discuss the land transfer in the tribal trust. Great discussion again was had there just like at our meeting. They did not give them a letter of support but wanting more discussion
going forward on that matter. And then yesterday I had MRC with Commissioner Mojo where we had a yeah an update on the transportation bill from Representative Kha'Zix and it sounds
like the Senate also passed the transformation bill. So, that'll be going into conference committee and we'll see what that what they hammer out there. And that is all my reports so far. Mr. Chair, you Commissioner Ever. Thank you. On the
22nd, I also attended the Klay County work session with the HA, which has already been covered. Later that day, I attended the Red River Regional Dispatch Center Board of Authority meeting. Uh I had discussion on the uh schedule of the
construction of the new site. Right now we're still on uh course for an early October transition. Moving from the old dispatch center to the new is going to be a process. It may take as long as a month. They're going to do it one console at a time and try and operate
both sites simultaneously in case there's an issue to make sure that uh the fallback position is one where all the services can be met. Uh we did talk about uh the retirement for fire chief Durkson in Fargo. I just take this
opportunity to say he has been a true public servant during his time here and he has been a remarkable uh force of of uh nature in getting this new dispatch center put together. And I wish him good luck in his retirement. He's done a
great job for Fargo and for our region. Um, on the 23rd following day, I had uh a remote meeting with the Greater Fargo Morehead EDC Executive Board. Uh, we covered the uh 2024 audit. It was clean
with unqualified. It was a good audit. Had a long talk on Innovate 28. um some of the expectations that some of the executive board members had on reporting back and discussions about focus on what we're doing as an
executive board. Um just in some of the being a little more strategic. There's been some questions about refreshing our message. Flourishing seems to be an objective that the uh board is currently pushing and and we
had a long discussion on defining flourishing. Um later that day I had the diversion authority finance committee meeting. Uh there was report on the Minnesota finances um discussing uh look at at the
potential for bonding moving forward for the $60 million and the work that we are doing with uh Representative Joy Keeler and Senator Coopac. Um excuse me. I got so many notes here
I'm losing losing track. On the 24th, uh we had a library executive committee meeting in preparation for meeting we've got tomorrow with the city of Morehead to try to determine a lease uh that uh can be agreed upon for uh the Lake
Agassy Regional Library personnel to be in the new library being built uh by the city of Morehead. Later that day, um, I attended a meeting with the criminal justice advisory board. Uh, Dale Arnold conducted it and
I I said this earlier when he was was uh here for the building item on the agenda. He went in a great detail on how our our parole and community punishment system
works. And I've been in uh the criminal justice field as a practitioner, a student, and a and a teacher since 1978. And it took 45 minutes to an hour for him to present this. But we are
doing things in this state and particularly in this county that give people an opportunity to turn their lives around. And he's a true believer and his people are true believers. the role of of a parole officer that I knew when I
got in this, it's like night and day compared to what we offer people now. And I was just very impressed with his enthusiasm in this and what we're doing in this county. So, as we move forward, I'm glad they're back in the building and I want us to support them in in what
I think is a really genuine effort to make people's lives better. And it's like we do with our kids here. There's a lot of people in this community that are doing great and we got to support them and and meet their needs. We got a lot of people in this community with
problems and it was great to hear somebody in a position uh where it's a corrections position, but they want to see those people deal with their problems and move over to the other side of the table and be part of the people in our community that's successful. So,
it was a great meeting and I really appreciate what he's bringing uh to the mix. Uh later that day, I had the board of authority meeting for the diversion authority. Again, let me get caught up on
notes. Um the technical dispute uh review board update uh from council uh John Shockley. They have two people but who are both lawyers and engineers who have agreed to
serve on this and at the time of the meeting they were trying to find a chair for that which is another engineer that's selected by the two people we've already got. So, they're working on that. And
uh we had a closed session um for attorney consultation with general counsel regarding an update on the status of ongoing compensation event claims to provide negotiation direction for those claims. And we had a
discussion on that. And on Monday the 28th um myself and Commissioner Krabangh met with Jason McCoy, Rory Beal, Kathy McCay just to discuss some of the issues involving cannabis retail and the ordinance that's being developed with
that. And on Thursday, May 1st, I uh virtually attended the executive commit uh uh or the emergency communication bure uh board's legislative
committee and I have notes to that right here. Um there's a lot of house files that are still in limbo and do not look like they're going to advance. One of the things we had a good discussion on the statutory language which we've been
trying to get it updated for five years now. It doesn't look like we'll get a they took it off the table a year ago to hire a mediator to bring all the parties in. That mediation contract is pending, but it's been pending for the last year
and a half. Uh, and they tenatively are saying we will bring back a discussion on this in the 2027 session. So, it looks like it's been put uh put aside for a while. And that completes my
report. All right. Thank you. Good thing about going last, most of my meetings have been already talked about. So, uh, on April 22nd, I started out, we had a highway tracking meeting. Commissioner Mojo was reported on that.
We also had the, uh, HR meeting and then also that afternoon, we did have the Red River Regional Dispatch Board Authority meeting. The only thing I would add to that meeting is that we got a report where there are now 36 of 38 staff in
the staff and eight of nine shift supervisors are in place. So that's uh looking good there. On the 23rd um in the morning we had our Prairie Lake solid waste meeting. Commissioner Mojo report on that and I really don't
have anything more to add to that. She gave a good review of that. Uh on that afternoon we had our building committee meeting and most of those items we've talked about today. I would like to add that we did have some
conversations regarding the joint highway roof project. Uh that's about the only other thing that was not there and uh Joe continues to work on that with our other partners and it looks like our
cost share on that is about $240,750 of which previously in our in our plan that number was $300,000. So, it's down a little bit and all the rest
of stuff we've we acted on today. Then on the um 24th in the morning, we had the Klay County solid waste advisory committee meeting. Uh that again has been reported on. We get
a always get a good report from u Corey on that. I I do I want do want to go back on the um to the Prairie Lakes meeting. Um in terms of the deliveries for Klay County, at one time we were like 1,600
tons behind. I want to report that as of February 28th we were actually 83 tons to the good. So we really turned that around. Uh and you know that's a a lot of work on the part of Corey and a lot of work on the part of Brian and PUM.
and it's a tribute to um the facility being able to provide material that is acceptable to PUM. Then uh on Thursday
um we had the diversion authority board meeting as well. Um I really don't have anything more to add to what Commissioner Ebinger talked about there. Um then Friday we did have the retreat.
I do want to thank all of our um supervisors who were there um partake in that. I thought it was a good retreat and I've known sh I've known Laney for quite some Paul Laney for quite some
time and Mary from being with the dispatch center and they really they really put on a a a good a good program. Um, I do want to point out that uh, Commissioner Mojo touched on it, but
u, Mayor Carlson and I and and the um, Buffalo Red, we did sign we did uh, do a letter to the editor for both the Fargo forum and the Star Tribune, which I believe has been already been
published. Uh, you know, the importance of the $60.4 $4 million that we have in there and and encouraging um that bond the bonding bill to be established with those funds for those
projects. I believe let me just look here. I believe that concludes my report. Steve, thank you, Mr. Chair. On the 22nd, I participated in both the highway tracking and HR meeting that's
been well covered. Uh on the 23rd, I participated uh with other county and city officials in an emergency management exercise uh where our EOC was set up. Uh the exercise determined that a tornado had hit the Fargo Morehead
area. Uh and so we went through the different uh processes that would go go through during those situations. Again, uh thanks to Gabe and Cha Chad Stangland from the city of Morehead. Uh it was a very excellent excellent run uh
exercise. Uh 23rd participating in the building committee. Uh it's been well covered. On the 24th, I met with Jill Murray. Uh there's been several tax uh tax court filings that have been made. So we she updated me on those different
things. uh on the 24th also uh wrote a letter to the governor on the board's behalf uh highlighting the different cost shifts. Also sent that to uh to our local legislators and also both Senate and House uh leadership on the 25th participating in
the management retreat. Again, as I shared then thank you to the board for your commitment to to uh allowing things like that to happen. And I think one of the things that we hear from our staff on a pretty continual basis is having the opportunities to grow uh and uh this is one of those examp one of the
examples uh that uh that this board supports and so we appreciate that and also again for those in attendance. Um on the 28th I participated in the water district meetings that has been covered by Commissioner Bayer. uh that afternoon met with Sheriff Empt on a series of
issues and that evening participated at the Mor city council uh listened to the White Earth uh Nation presentation. Uh on the 20 29th I met with Anna and Darren. Uh we had discussion on salaries, insurance
um and uh other HR issues. Um on the 20 29th worked on the city the letter that this board approved to the city of Mor Fargo in regards to the bus bus routes. Uh on the 30th met with Joe Olsen on the the agenda items today. Uh on the the
30th I also met with Anna and Darren again on there are different companies now as we move towards paid family leave uh that are that are going to be working with the state of Minnesota to offer the program. Uh, and so, uh, Anna and Darren
are looking into those to see if there's a, uh, cost savings cost-saving measure, uh, that that could help, uh, with that oversight. Uh, on the, uh, 20, excuse me, on the first, I participated in the
intergovernmental retreat meeting. Again, as Commissioner Krabanov talked about, a good portion was talked spoke on truency. I think the other thing to highlight are the presentation that we heard from uh this morning in regards to to youth mental health. One of the things that both of the representative
Dwayne Borguson uh from from Morehead School District and also um is it Jack Jack O'Keefe Joe O'Keefe the principal principal from uh DGF has indicated that uh that mental health while it's still
continuing to be a challenge for their schools to face uh the investments that have been put in with the school and schools and this board of having representatives within the school district uh has had an impact. Uh I think the word that they used was almost back to pre- pandemic uh pre prepandemic
uh behaviors which still are challenging but I think uh goes to the great investment that this board made uh as far as working with the schools on the first met with commissioner Krahoff on a series of issues and also spoke with Derek Leo point. Uh I think that uh one
of the things that uh we we may want to to talk about on u tomorrow afternoon I'm going to meet with Derek uh Derek Le Point uh Dan Molly and uh um Payton Master from the city of Dworth just to kind of talk a little bit more about the
casino uh the casino uh possibility here within the county. Um, and I think that, you know, from our board standpoint, I think there would certainly would be a benefit to, uh, as we, as City of Morhead takes that leadership role, being it's in their area, per se. Uh,
but I think that having elected, uh, elective conversations and committees may be something that this board may want to consider. Steve, on that regard, I, you know, I think um, I think that's important. I think
when we left the the meeting that we had that day, we we talked about some sort of future collaboration amongst the entities to talk and and you know, I think there's probably um I think there's probably an interest
on the part of the city and the county and and Dworth to maybe get together. Um I think it would be appropriate for um that committee to be established. Uh, I can't speak for the other entities, but that's obviously in Commissioner
Bearer's district, and I serve on that 336 corridor area there with the wellhead protection plan. So, from that standpoint, I would like to see the two of us um uh be involved with uh the establishment of that committee. Uh I
I'm assuming that Morehead will probably have a couple of council members uh in it, too. and um Dworth has um asked to be part of that as well. And I do believe it's important that we'd have a
member from Glendon Township um be part of that as well. And you know, I think there's still we have an awful lot long way to go in terms of these things. Uh, and I know just to um, you know, I think early on I think
commi commissioner Bar and I had point out that and Steve, we had met with members of the Manomomen County Commission in regards to and I and I really think it would be good for that committee to maybe to have them come and and talk to that group as well. they
have a lot of insight into working with um both the um White Earth Nation as well as with the casino that they have within their county already. So, but I guess I guess from that standpoint, I don't I don't
know. Um you said Morhead taking the lead. I Well, I I maybe misspoke just from the standpoint of the it being in their growth area, right? maybe not necessarily taking the lead, but uh wanting to be at the table, I think.
Yeah. And I I think I think it's my understanding that the presentation that was presented to both more the Morhead City Council and the Dior City Council ended up from very similar to way ours ended and that was to have further
dialogue and move this thing forward. And I think probably the best way to do that would be to have this group going. And if there's I guess if there's no uh unless the county board thinks differently, then I think we should probably proceed with that so we
can move this thing along one way or the other. I Yeah, I'm I'm a strong advocate of that. Certainly. Um, one of, if I can just bring it up, one of the things that, uh, the public, I heard, you know, whether it was in at M City Council and
here is always making the comparison, you know, we're bringing a lot of things to the effects that happen in Man. And I guess what's in my mind just food for thought when we look at the possibilities and the dialogue and stuff
one of the considerations I think we need to do is what has happened when this type of thing was developed in Shakipi this is more uh um more in size of what Fargo Morehead would be and take a look at
that so we aren't comparing how it looks in some of the where it's next to rural communities. I think it h in my view may have a different effect. Yeah, certainly. I you know and I I think we will probably as we move along
on this and um I think it's important that we take a look at several different areas, right? I mean, there's been casinos in in quite a few areas in in Minnesota and and and obviously they're all run by
um one of the you know, tribal nations. So, um yeah, but I I think I just think to um keep this moving forward and to gather more information, I think this is the appropriate step. though if you I
don't know if they would care to put that as a committee assignments. Commissioner, I'm I'm just one of the things I really hope we keep in mind is that as we work with Morehead and and
other communities here to get this done, everybody's going to be impacted. the time to make the agreement and each entity needs to needs to vocalize and and document what their needs are. We're going to have issues in social services,
in public safety, corrections, highway. All this is going to have an impact on the county. So, we are not without uh some skin in this game. And really before anybody signs an agreement, I hope that we can identify and justify
what those needs are and and uh work with the with White Earth to to meet them. Just a point of clarification there there is there is not even a request to sign any agreements right now. Oh, I know. Right. Right now right now it's a letter of support for what
they want to do and prior to that being done, we need you know we need additional information. uh and out of that additional information could potentially be some agreements. Uh we don't know
that yet, but some of the things and not not being on the committee, I just would like to be heard on my concerns right now. If you take all that acreage and put it in trust, any residential growth is going to be that this brings is going
to be on that property. One of the Morehead City Council members said, "Why not limit the trust to the casino?" Uh, we just we just we're we're entering into a period where that land's going to be even more valuable if the
jet fuel plant comes in and we're going to have a need for uh residential growth. And if that residential growth is taken out of the tax base, that could be a problem. I mean, all these things, I hope we're going to look at them strong and and go in there
with with the needs identified. It's my only concern. Very good. I just want to I fully support forming a committee with Morhead and Dworth and Glendon Township myself on it. Are you asking for a motion at
this time for that for you two on that committee? I'd like to support that. We move that ahead toward the second. We have a motion in a second. And that would be, you know, just a a committee that
researching the wider nation's request and working and working with the wider and and working with them. Yes. Yeah. As well as the city of Morehead, City of Dworth, Glendon Township, and um or not
Glenn. Yeah. And Glendon Township. Yeah. Right. All those things are in my motion. All right. Any further discussion? No, there hasn't been a second yet. Oh, I thought there was. Yeah. Oh. Oh, you second. I second it. Yeah. Yep. Okay.
Any further discussion? Seeing none, all in favor signify by saying I. I. Opposed. Motion carried. Just had two couple other things here. Just received information yesterday. Minnesota Office of Cannabis Management will be announcing on June 1
or June 5th uh the uh social equity uh cannabate for licenses for cannabis cultivators, manufacturers and mezzo businesses. Uh and uh later in the summer they will also then be having their general applications. Um so that
uh your actions today were timely. Uh yesterday the house uh I mentioned earlier looked at the house bill uh house tax bill. Uh they're looking to extend a moratorium on the half or on the sales tax. Uh and they're looking to have a legislative task force uh to look
at uh at uh sales tax in the future. Uh addressed the homestead market values for veterans increases. Uh and then as I mentioned uh they repealed the cannabis aid uh 20% of the gross receipts that will now go back to the general fund. Um
we while we didn't have a proclamation today did just want to recognize this week is national corrections officer week. We have a correctional facility with a great uh number of excellent trained staff. We're fortunate uh to have have them and so I wanted to make sure that we received that they received
the recognition uh this week. And lastly, as has as happens often, uh Kimberly uh noted uh in listening today that that she already does pay roughly $15,000 uh for the tax system uh through
a compliance fund. Uh and that uh as of late, the funds haven't been coming in as quickly as po as it has in the past. Uh and so uh having much more than that may be a challenge, but wanted to pass that along. That concludes
me. I'm I'm glad they're listening in. Darren, do you have anything for us? I will try to make mine brief here. Um, I also sat in on the HR presentation on Tuesday and I also met with the jail administrator and chief deputy and
assistant jail administrator on Tuesday about a veterans preference claim. Um, on Wednesday I attended the EOCC training as well and the building committee meeting and also uh Mark and and uh Brian and I met one last time for
the county code uh to update the county code. Thought we were pretty much done with it and then I think Mark found a couple more in a in a drawer somewhere. So we have to uh look at those, but we're still hoping to bring that to the full board at the end of May. Um, I sat
in on the April SWAC meeting on Thursday the 24th. I had a discussion with the correctional officer the regarding the veterans preference complaint. Um, sat in a couple meetings with UKG uh RFP meeting that they're trying to do some
stuff there uh with MN triple C and uh went to the manager offsite on Friday as well. I thought that was excellent training as well. It's it's fun to see how departments handle difficult personnel issues that come up. So that
was uh good to see and I think a very good training. Um Monday I worked on the veteran preference. Did some research on that. Tuesday uh I submitted the 2026 payroll estimate to MCIT. I met with uh Steve and Anna. He
already mentioned this about some compensation ideas. Also on Tuesday the 29th, I met with Integrity Pet Benefits. Uh Steve already talked about that, but possibly going with a private vendor uh instead of the state's program on the
paid family medical leave. I wasn't overly enthused about that, but after that meeting, I think it might just be a good a good thing to look into. Um on Wednesday the 30th I sat in and some more RFP meeting RFP meetings with
MC. Um met with Corey on some recycling issues on Thursday. It was uh very interesting. I went with Matt and Corey out to the landfill and there was a representative from Blue Horizon which uh does solar panels and what they're
looking at is possibly using our closed portion of the landfill to put a solar panel field on there. Um it's about 10 acres and uh just basically looking at the site seeing if it would be even possible. But it's a interesting thing
to look at to to possibly use that land that can't be really used for much of anything else to uh produce additional energy. Um so that was that was educational and interesting as well. Um much to still to evaluate on that
though. And then uh Friday was just a bunch of catch-up work. So that's my report. Right. Sarah, do you have anything? Just to add to my committee reports, I also attended the Delware City Council and the Mor City Council meetings.
Right. With that, we are adjourned.