--------- Good morning. Um, welcome to our uh May 6 board meeting here in Kenyon. And uh Todd Gresith, this is his district, so we're going to have him do a welcome. all the staff here in all the residents who showed up. So, we just want to say
welcome and and thank you for coming. All right. And with that, we will start with the pledge of allegiance. America to the republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible
with liberty and justice for all. And this morning we will have uh students from Kenyon Wamingo joining us uh from former commissioner Dan Rzicle's class. Um they will be here somewhere around 9:20.
Um so with that uh first item disclosures of interest are there any seeing none previous board meeting minutes from April 15th? Um motion to approve second been moved
and seconded to approve the minutes from April 15th. Any further discussion? Seeing none. All those in favor say I. I motion carries. Next item is to review the agenda and
the only item I know is the um land use issue with Bombay Dairy. If the students aren't here yet, we're going to delay that, push that back to a little bit later so they can be here when we go through
that. Any other additions? There are no other additions. Wow, that was loud. You should be on the radio. Uh, okay. Is there a motion to approve the agenda with that one uh change if it
happens? Move to approve. Second. We'll move and second to approve the agenda. Any further discussion? Hearing none. All those in favor say I. I. Oppos the same. Motion carry. Consent agenda and
there are five items. The only one I questioned and I talked with staff was on the trail grant um and they assured me we should sign that because it also covers Canon Valley Trail and they need it signed for some
other items. But I know that um that discussion on the snowmobile trails will come up probably at our AMC district meeting and staff have been meeting about it with other county staff. No.
Motion to approve the consent agenda. So move. Second. All those in favor say I. I. Opposed. Same sign. Motion carries. We're going to go to land use. And the first item is
the WOIC or WOJ farm edition uh item, the preliminary plat. Megan. Yep. Good morning to the commissioners. Um the agenda uh item today is the loge
farm edition preliminary and final plat. Included with your agenda is location maps that show the general vicinity, meeting minutes from the planning advisory commission, meeting minutes from Hay Creek Township, a copy of the
application that was submitted, and then a copy of the preliminary plat and the updated final plat. The summary of the request is that a request has been submitted by Landpros on the behalf of Dwayne Wjek located at
34399 County2 Boulevard, Redwing, Minnesota for a preliminary and final plat review of the proposed Woge Farm addition comprising of a total of 235 acres to facilitate the sale of the property.
The plat would create four lot, a small outlot and dedicate rightway for the following roads. Valley View Road, Prairie Rose Lane, and Good Hugh County 2. Property is zoned A2 agricultural district and located in Hay Creek
Township in section 26. In summary, the um surveyor RAP land surveying has prepared the preliminary and final plat in accordance with the county's subdivision regulations and Hay Creek Township subdivision regulations. Um any subdivision of land that creates
three or more acres does need to follow the county's platting process. The plat does depict the separation of wooded areas and the tillable acres into separate lots. It also proposes the creation of a new 4 acre lot for the
existing home on the site with frontage along Prairie Rose Lane. Regarding density in this section, the county zoning ordinance allows a density of up to 12 homes per section in the A2 district. Five homes already exist in this section, meaning that up to an
additional seven homes could potentially be added in the future. I wanted to go over the three separate rights of way that are being dedicated on this plat. They all have slightly different issues related to them. First is Valley View Road. Um Valley View Road
is a township road. It currently runs north south and it ends in the northeast corner of the WOJ property. The applicant is proposing to dedicate rightway that is 33 feet wide and approximately 310 ft in length along the
western edge of the property. Rightway dedication is a platting requirement and the new rightway will terminate where it meets along at a private driveway where there is an existing home. Um Prairie Rose Lane is also a township road. Currently, the road
begins where it meets with Valley View Road and is a gravel road maintained by the township at a distance of approximately 3,000 ft. It has a relatively flat elevation and currently serves six parcels and three homes.
Similar to Valley View, the likelihood that Prairie Rose Lane will be extended to connect to County 2 is minimal due to topography. And I had calculated the drop in elevation to be approximately 250 ft if it were to be connected to
county 2, essentially finding that the likelihood that this deadend road would be connected to county 2 virtually nil if it follows that alignment. Um the it should be noted that our
county surveyor did find that the actual center line of Prairie Rose Lane is not perfectly aligned with the quarter section line of 20 of section 26. Um over time it has shifted slightly to the
south onto WJAC lands. If the plat is approved, the 66 foot wide roadway easement will remain, but additional rightway would be dedicated south into the WOJ property. Um, this widening of Prairie Rose Lane is approximately 2,000 ft in
length and will vary in width um from a few feet to up to 9 ft. This is essentially that long skinny um piece of property right south of Prairie Rose Lane um on the plat. and I can I can show it to you as we get to that. I wanted to summarize the planning
commission review. Uh the planning commission held a public hearing on March 17th to consider the preliminary plat. The primary concern discussed at the meeting was how much, if any, new rightway should be platted and if the rightway should correct how the gravel
road has meandered over time or if it should follow the original 66 ft township roadway easement. Um the planning advisory commission at Good Hugh County was also made aware of the fact that the applicant had not at the time submitted its plat to Hay Creek
Township for review. So it did affix a condition that prior to being presented to the county board that the applicant did need to obtain approval from H Creek Township before it could be forwarded to the board. Um that did happen. The Hay Creek Township met on April 14th and
recommended approval of the plat as attached. I did want to note that between the March 17th planning advisory commission meeting and the April 14th Hey Creek Township meeting, there was a slight modification to
um Prairie Rose Lane. Um it will now terminate in what we call a turnout feature. Um, this is not necessarily a culde-sac, but it's an opportunity for the owner at the end of that driveway to get access to their property, but also
for um larger buses and delivery trucks to turn around in that area without trespassing on private property. Um, the staff recommendation is to adopt the staff report into the record, to accept the application,
testimony, exhibits, and other evidence presented into the record, and to recommend that the county board of commissioners approve the request for a preliminary and final plat of the Woge Farm addition with the following condition. that the platted lands, if the platted lands include a registered
feed lot parcel, that the new owners will update any feed lot permits with the soil and water conservation district. Um, with that, I don't know if there's any questions. Um, but I'm certainly available for questions. I do, um, see that the, um, representative on
the behalf of the property owner, Landros, is here as well, um, Brian Hogan. So, if there's any questions, questions, have one. Go ahead. The Is there already a feed lot on the
property? We the county does have um a registered We had a registered feed lot on um the home site. Um but I don't know if it's still an active it's probably an inactive feed lot. Um but if it were
ever to go back into active status with more than 10 animals, it would need to be registered. Okay. Got it. Thank you. Just a question on Valley View. So there's 33 feet being dedicated. Is the other 33 feet already
dedicated on the opposite? I mean, that's half the road there. So the Wge family does not own the other half of that section line. So that is not dedicated. So it's still a t It's still a township easement. They have the easement. Yeah, they have the easement.
This would just dedicate 33 ft of rightway. The presumption is that if the property on the other side of the road were to ever be platted, the county would match that rightway dedication requirement and they would also have to
dedicate 33 ft to get a total of 66. So then when you say dedicated versus easement, does that mean that the property changes hands and there's a title change from Wax to Hick Township
or does it just mean it's dedicated as in it can only be used for public rightway? the the former what you had stated second basically what right of way is is it does not create a new parcel um but
it's essentially a one step up from an easement meaning it is in my opinion it's um it's clearer title to public access so an easement is subject to the terms of the easement agreement meaning
every easement agreement is nuanced written a little bit differently um right ofway is very clear. It's a specific distance that's meant for public use. Um the rightway will ch will change the legal description. Um but it doesn't create its own separate tax
parcel, if that makes sense. It's just it's dedicated to the public. It's out there. It doesn't have its own tax parcel ID. It has a legal description, but it doesn't have a deed. Okay? because that's where I that's where
I it in the tax world in in Leavon's area. Who who becomes the owner of that? I mean, every it's kind of in no man's land is
where I that's where I feel like it's kind of it's not it's not it's not the township that owns it because they don't have title to it yet. It's not it's not in the plat. So there's not a title to it there. So that's it's just to me it's
just kind of no man's land. And I'm not going to hold this up over that. I just think going forward we need to figure out do we really need to transfer that title when the county is buying title to
rebuild County Road 2 to rebuild County Road One blah blah blah. We're buying the title and there gets to be a legal description. Mhm. This just doesn't quite meet that because it's not owned by the county. It's not owned by the
township. It's not owned by the land owner on that side. That's the part that I just get a little bit questionable about. I know this is the legal process. Go ahead. You you need to come up and state your
name. State your name first. I'm Dave Rap. I'm the land surveyor that's involved in this. Um when we prepared the plat, we actually dedicated the roads. We call them the public ways on the plat. So
technically the owners of this road is the public because it for our dedication. Uh it says right on here has caused the same to be surveyed as W farm addition and does hereby dedicate to the
public for public use the public ways as created by the plant. So technically the public owns the roads. Okay. So, it's not a tax parcel. Um, and it's not really owned by the township either.
It's the public that and I understand that's the legal way they do it. Yeah. It just gets complicated because um who has jurisdiction
then? Not the township, not the county. No, but um it's still it's still uh recognized as uh like Rose Creek Way or whatever it is. Prairie Rose and Rose Prairie and um county 2
boulevard, you know. So technically it's maintained by the county or the township andor the county. So um do they have jurisdiction? I can't answer that. But I can just say that the roads are dedicated to the public. Okay.
And I and I understand that we had that discussion in the land committee. It just it's just fuzzier than if we actually transferred title to Goodyu County or to the township.
So I thank you. Any other questions from the board? What's your wishes? I'll make a motion we approve this. And uh I want to thank Megan for her extra work. I want to thank the patience of the applicants. I know there's a long
process in the township and uh so I will move this forward. There second. It's been moved and seconded to approve the plat for WJ. Um any further discussion hearing? None. All those in
favor say I. I. I. Oppose. The same. Motion carries. Thank you. Thanks for all your work. Um we'll skip the next one and we'll go to public works. Amend the 5-year bridge construction plan.
Morning, commissioners. Uh this item actually includes uh two requests. One to amend the 5-year bridge construction program and one to approve an agreement with Leyon Township to reconstruct culverts on 357th Street Way in the
township. The approved program, the approved 5-year bridge program currently includes two township structures to be replaced, uh neither of which are in Leyon Township. uh the county typically admin administers these projects on
behalf of the township. The program also includes uh this particular structure on 357th way in Leyon Township uh which consists of two 48 in culverts uh for replacement in 2029. The existing crossing which is the
two 48inch culverts currently does not meet the definition the state definition of a bridge. However, this structure has been sized uh by a consultant and and the proposed replacement is for two 72inch culverts uh to go in in place of
these 48in culverts. Those 72-in culverts would meet the definition, the state definition of a bridge and and our understanding is it would be eligible for the use of town bridge dollars uh for the replacement. The township earlier this
year restricted travel on 357 Street Way, basically narrowing the lanes because of structural deficiencies found with it with with these two structures. There's a there's a picture of these two structures in your in your on your item.
Um because we're looking at two culverts, the design and construction of these is is pretty simplified compared to boxes and also more cost effective as well. Um these could be bid these could
be designed this year and bid with the two township structures that we already have in our program. Uh and that would fit fairly nicely within the program this year if the board chose to amend the program as such. Um, also there would be really no impact
to the county financially as the township and townbridge dollars would cover the funds uh to replace these structures. So because of that uh the because of that staff is recommending uh to amend the program and also approve
the agreement to outline our responsibilities and roles uh with replacing these structures uh if that were done either this year or in 2029. So with that, um, a copy of the agreement and the resolution for both actions, uh, is in front of you. And at
this point, I would stand for any questions. Questions? You need two separate motions. One for changing the bridge program and one for doing or do them both together. Okay. Do them together. Yep. The only the only thing that I
would request is in this process that that road be surveyed and get dedicated the rightway because right now um most of that road appears to be
on Clifford Hansen's property and he has no exception for a township road in his taxes. So he's paying tax on what is a a public road which shouldn't happen. So that I would request that and it
actually touches Doug Christristies too a little bit but I would request that not the county do the survey but township's got to survey that road and we need to get that description to Donald Mitchell so it can get
recorded and removed from taxes. Yep. And typically with these with these bridge projects with the township, the township, you know, we'll assist the township in providing documents uh to acquire the right of way. They actually have to acquire the right of way. Um and
then we'll help them with recording so we can we can pass that uh that request down to the township. I just want that kind of included in what we're approving that they that has to happen. Commissioners, uh, good morning. Um, I I
did speak to the township about that and they're they started the process of getting it reported appropriately. So, we are working on it. All right. As long as it happens. Anything else? What's your wishes? Well, I'd make a motion that we amend
the bridge contract as presented and also approve the agreement with Leyon Township with the understanding that you'll pursue the correct legal actions for this uh right away and so this man's not taxed on property doesn't get to use. Second. It's been moved and
seconded. We approved the amended 5-year construction program and the bridge replacement agreement pending them getting right away straightened out for tax purposes. Any further discussion? Go ahead. Thank you for the picture. The
picture um speaks a thousand words, so that makes a huge difference. Thank you. Are you saying you don't want to drive across that bridge? That's exactly what Well, I did. I I did today just to see it. So, yeah. All right. All those in
favor say I. Oppos the same. Motion carries. Biometric testing. Jessica. Hey, good morning commissioners. This is a tricky mic. All right. Here we go. All right. Good morning,
commissioners. Um before you today, we are here to talk about biometric testing contract. As part of its wellness program, Good Hugh County started to offer biometric testing and health risk assessment in 2013 and made the program available to employees as well as
spouses or retirees who are covered on the health insurance plan. Biometric testing and health risk assessments can help identify areas of concern that employee may otherwise be unaware of. Early identification of health concerns can prompt an employee
to seek treatment or make behavioral changes before risks become greater or develop into a chronic condition. Good Hugh County employees have, as a result of biometric testing, discovered major health issues and sought out appropriate
treatment. Early detection of these concerns benefited the employees health and well-being. And if not for the early intervention, the county could have experienced substantial expenses in the form of high-cost claims and thus
increasing the overall cost of our health insurance. The employer health benefits 2024 annual survey conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation notes that among large firms of more than 200 workers offering health benefits in
2024, 56% offer workers the opportunity for a health risk assessment. 44% offer workers the opportunity to complete biometric screening. And 79% offer workers one or more wellness programs
such as programs to help them stop smoking or lose weight or lifestyle or behavioral coaching. Since 2013, the county has contracted with Health Check 360 to provide this biometric screening and health risk assessments. and our current
provider has been an excellent partner over the years, but we felt it was important this year to review options um to evaluate options to ensure that we're getting the best value and quality for those services. So, we conducted an RFP in March to solicit proposals from
other vendors and reviewed two finalists, the incumbent health check 360 and on-site health diagnostics. You can see from the report we um outlined the program costs including the cost for the testing, the cost for um
online portals and and things like that. I should note that the testing is not completely identical. Um there are some things that on-site does not do such as um it's they don't do a nicotine test. Our incumbent does do that. We could certainly add that and I've outlined
what the additional charge is for that. Historically, we've also offered a TSH, which is a thyroid stimulating hormone test, or a PSA, which is a prostate hormone test for folks who are in the correct demographic for those tests. And
so, I've outlined the cost of those tests as well. We also have the opportunity to add a hemoglobin A1C test to the suite of labs that that are conducted as part of biometric testing and that can help identify pre-diabetes, diabetes, and
chronic kidney disease. All of which have potentially potential to have significant impact on the county's health plan. We budgeted $28,000 for biometric testing and health risk assessment in
2025. And you can see um how those um quotes stack up. Obviously, the on-site health diagnostics is significantly less than that. Um moving on to participation, the counties had pretty good participation. Um employees are
generally satisfied with the program, but we have seen participation start to flatten. Additionally, the county has since its inception offered incentives to help employees participate in this program. The current incentive structure
has been in place for the last nine years and provides a $50 incentive for participation and up to an additional $50 based on outcomes. And so, everyone who participates gets a $50 incentive. And those who have a um score over 70
receive an additional $50. Repeat testers who are below 70 but who have improved their score by five points or better also receive that $50 incentive. So a vast majority of participants receive $100 incentive and then a small minority receive just a $50 incentive
for participating. And those incentives are just for employees. The spouses and retirees can participate and receive the testing but do not receive an incentive. Since the incentives have not been reviewed in a few years, we are um putting out a couple of options and I'm
not going to go through each of those. There's different um um four different options that are presented before you. Um one that keeps it as is, one that keeps that participation component and the outcome component, and then two that
have just um a participation component to them. So, the recommendations before you today are to accept a proposal from On-site Health Diagnostics and enter into a one-year contract for the biometric testing and health risk assessment for
employees, to continue offering the TSH and PSA screening for eligible participants, to consider adding the hemoglobin A1C testing for all participants, and to consider updating the incentive structure and adopt option B, which provides an incentive for
participation and not outcomes. So with that, I'll cease and take any questions that you might have. Questions. I think I asked my questions already. So, the one thing with this is, you know,
and I've done it several years. um you can take those results right to your doctor and hand them to them and now they enter those in your chart and then you don't have to do those tests at the doctor's office which of course saves us
dollars too because it's way more expensive to have it done there than it is to do it through this system and I know you know the the um A1C at South Country we are constantly talking about how do we catch people
earlier and get that get them on a the correct diet for A1C to to get those numbers lower and keeping them from advancing with uh a higher cost of diabetes treatment. So I think all of
those are good. The PSA screening I know has worked. We found people in our county that that's how they found out and yeah it catching that early is absolutely critical. So I I think it's a
good program. I just the one question probably is do the incentive would be direct would not come out of the employee retention committee dollars is my
understanding it right now historically it's come out of compensated absences it works to come okay all right what's your wishes go ahead well I'll make a motion that we accept the proposal from On-site Health Diagnostics
for a one-year contract to continue offering the TSH and the PSA screening that we add hemoglobin A1C testing. Um though I would also go with
number A, keep existing incentive structure based on participation and outcomes. I'll I'll second that motion. Been moved and seconded. We do all of one through three and under we would use
option A instead of option D. Any further discussion? All those in favor say I. I. I. Opposed. Thank you. Thank you. Uh we could go backwards, but we're just
going to keep going forward. Uh tax forfeited land DNR, and Lucas is going to handle that. Morning, commissioners. Uh this morning, I'm bringing a request from the DNR to acquire some tax
forfeited land. Um, this is one of the last steps in a process that's been uh worked on for several years now. Uh, back in 2019, staff received an inquiry from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Division of Parks and Trails. The DNR
stated that they had been working with the state chapter of the Isaac Walton League on acquiring three parcels. During that donation and transfer process, it was discovered that the state chapter didn't actually own those parcels. It was a local chapter. uh the Zumbroa chapter number 220 who had um
since then gone defunct. Um that's the chapter that actually owned the parcels. So at that time the DNR was informed that the parcels had delinquent taxes and if those taxes remain delinquent, they would end up going tax forfeit. The three parcels went forfeit May of 2021
and the ownership was changed to the state of Minnesota in trust for local uh taxing districts. On January 11th, 2022, staff received a notice from the DNR requesting the ownership of the parcels as part of the Good Hue Pioneer Trail extension from Zoma to
MZeppa. On February 1st, 2022, the county board approved the DNR's request for acquisition. Since then, staff have been working with the DNR to transfer the ownership of those parcels. On August 15th, 2024, the parcels were reclassified as conservation land. And
most recently, staff was notified on March 25th of this year, that the DNR was no longer interested in one of the parcels, that's 72120370, which is actually within the uh city of Zimroda city limits. Um, in
close with the report, there's uh the DNR's executed application for release of tax forfeit land and a resolution required to release the lands from the taxing districts. Once the DNR receives the executed resolution, they will draft
a certificate of acceptance that will ultimately be recorded and that will complete that transfer. Um, so staff recommends that the Goody County Board approve the resolution transferring parcels 47029-1900 and
470302100 to the DNR. And I'll stand for any questions you may have. Questions? How does how does the new tax forfeite law and payback or whatever to the state, how does that affect this
transfer? It does not impact this transfer. So, so this is not part of that um where they had to go to a public auction um because they were classified as conservation lands. They're part of the trail system that the DNR has been working on. That's the catch is it's
conservation land. Yes. So the last parcel that they're not going to take. How are we going to dispose of that? Staff is working on that. This is the next step of moving these parcels to the DNR as part of that trail system and we need to revisit that that parcel within
the city of Zimroda. So, they don't it doesn't fit into their trail program or it doesn't uh somewhere since 2019 they decided that it no longer fits what they want to do with it. So, um we'll need to
revisit that and um determine what's best. Okay. What's your wishes or questions? I'll move approval staff recommendation second. Been moved and seconded. We transfer the two parcels to the DNR
uh for continuation of the um trail section in Zroa. Any further discussion? All those in favor say I. I. Pose the same. Motion carries. Thank you. And now
we will go back to consider the request for a conditional use permit for a feed lot expansion for Bombay Dairy. Megan morning. This agenda item is titled consider a request for a conditional use permit for feed lot
expansion at Bombay Dairy. An application has been submitted by Bombay Dairy located at 5429 County Road 30 Boulevard, Kenyon, Minnesota to construct a manure storage facility that will store over five 50 million gallons
500 million gallons of manure um which is the threshold for needing to obtain a conditional use permit under the county's feed lot and zoning ordinances. The proposed dimensions of the concrete pit are 150 ft by 250 ft and it would
store up to 3 million gallons of manure at full capacity. The pro the operators of Bombay Dairy are proposing to pump the pit in the fall of each year and to spread on land that has been approved for such application of manure. The
property is zoned A1. It is 82 acres in total area and is located in Wanamingo Township. The county has the farm registered as a registered feed lot for 770 animal units of mature dairy cows
and 200 dairy heers for a total of 970 animal units. The initial conditional use permit for the feed lot was approved in December of 1998. The county planning advisory commission and staff did review the application in
accordance with the county's feed lot regulations which are found in its zoning ordinance. Um the ordinance requires a conditional use permit as I had mentioned for any manure storage facility over half a million gallons. In addition, the following
requirements specifically relate to the request. Manure storage. Any animal manure when used as domestic fertilizer shall not be stored for longer than one year and shall be applied at rates not exceeding local agricultural crop nutrient requirements except were
allowed by permit. Local agricultural crop nutrient requirements can be obtained at local natural resource conservation service offices or the Minnesota extension. Animal manure. Any animal manure not used as domestic fertilizer
shall be treated or disposed of in accordance with the applicable state rules and it is the owner's duty of any feed lot shall be responsible for the storage, transportation and storage of all animal manure. Based on staff's review, the
conditions that apply to this um project have been met and the recommendation to the planning advisory commission was to recommend approval of the um manure storage expansion. I'll provide an overview of what the planning commission considered when they held their public hearing on
April 21st of 2025. Um during that meeting, the commission reviewed one emailed comment that was in opposition to the project. The other feedback that they did hear from was from the applicant, Wayne Lexfvold, who explained um went over
some of the manure storage or manure application techniques. This feed lot um upgrade would allow them to um instead of having to apply manure daily on adjoining fields would allow them to just apply it annually, which would reduce in odor and wear and tear on
roads and manure being transported daily on local roads. Um Kelsey Pettit from the Good Hugh County Soil and Water Conservation District was always also there to explain to the planning advisory commission how this project was in full compliance with the feed lot
application and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency laws. Uh the planning commission held their hearing um and voted unanimously to recommend approval to the board recommending approval of the conditional use.
I do want to note that in subsequent review with the conditional use permit, the board of adjustment did also review a variance request for this project related to odor offset. Um the application was to vary from the 91%
odor offset to go down to 88%. That was heard at the board of adjustment on April 28th and was approved. Um the condition that the PL that the board of adjustment affixed to their motion was that essentially it could the the conditional use could not move
forward unless the odor offset was obtained because the placement and location of the manure storage facility hinged upon um the conditions in the conditional use permit. So the variance and the conditional use essentially were both needed for this project to move
forward. I'll go over the findings of fact. Um, number one, the conversion of an earthn mound manure lagoon to concrete will not impede the normal and orderly development and improvement of surrounding vacant property for uses predominant in the area. Number two, the
proposed use will comply with good county zoning ordinance article 4 requirements to obtain a conditional use permit. Number three, the proposed use will not be injurious to the use and enjoyment of other property in the immediate vicinity for the purposes already permitted, nor substantially
diminish and impair property values within the immediate vicinity. Number four, that the establishment of the use will not impede the normal and orderly development and improvement of surrounding vacant property for uses predominant in the area. Number five,
that adequate utilities, access roads, drainage, and other necessary facilities have been or are being provided. Number six, that adequate measures have been or will be taken to provide sufficient off- streetet parking and loading space to
serve the proposed use. Number seven, the use will not be injurious to the use and enjoyment of the property in the immediate vicinity for the purposes already permitted, nor substantially diminish and impair property values within the immediate vicinity. And number eight, that adequate measures
have been or will be taken to prevent offensive odor, fumes, dust, noise, vibration, so that none of these will constitute a nuisance and to control lighted signs and other lights in such a manner so that no disturbance to neighboring properties will result. And
number nine, that the feed lot is not in conflict with the county's comprehensive plan. There are three recommended conditions of approval. One, that a building permit for the new manure storage lagoon be obtained by the county. Number two, that the feed lot must be compliant with all state and
federal permits. And number three, the owner will cooperate with any inspections of the facility in accordance with land use staff. With that, the recommendation is to accept the staff report into the record to accept the planning advisory commission recommendations, findings of fact and
conditions, and approve the conditional use permit request for a feed lot expansion submitted by Bon Bay Dairy. Thank you, questions. Megan, on uh the variance from the county is 91% odor offset.
Is that what our minimum is in the county? 91% is the minimum. Um, and it's based on how close a house is in relationship to the manure storage facility. So, there's a model that the county uses that was developed by the
University of Minnesota that measures essentially um the total distance between the closest house, which I believe is around 750 ft to the feed lot. And it um uses a essentially a predictive model to predict how many
days out of the week or year will there be odor present and it essentially came at an 88% readout and we require 91. So, a variance was applied for the actually the adjoining neighbor was at the um board of
adjustment meeting and said that they um believe the new manure manure pit will actually reduce odor odors and will be um they essentially were supportive of the project. So, the variance got approved. Um yes, that that was something that was talked about. Okay,
thank you. Any other questions? Go ahead. I believe you said one person wrote in opposed and what was their concern? Yeah. Um the one of the adjoining land owners wrote in and were they were opposed about environmental issues related to large manure storage
facilities and essentially the sensitive uh topography of southeastern Minnesota and potential pollution in streams and lakes. And there's no reason to believe this would be a significant risk. So, um,
again, and I'm leaning heavily on my conversations with our soil and water conservation district, but essentially what my understanding is is that going from daily application where you're running the risk of rain, snow,
wind, disturbing the manure application to a once a year application where it's more injected into the land, you have less of a risk of runoff into receiving water bodies than you would with daily application. um because they're putting in such a large lagoon, they're able to
transition from these daily applications to basically an annual application. Um and that that also means that there's just less um transportation from fields, too. So, a lot of times you sometimes see manure on the roads and township
roads, it's because you have to transport it from point A to point B. That'll all be eliminated by just having to do a once a year application. Thank you. Aren't they Aren't they currently going from a earthn storage to a cement storage? Yes, they're proposing earthn
storage that is small that is um to the point where they need to you know um spread manure almost daily to this concrete um concrete storage and anytime you can move from an earthn storage to a concrete storage that's a
good thing. Yes. And the um if the commission does um want to look, there are engineered plans that are being done by ProAG engineering which specifically relate to
concrete design standards and specs for a concrete storage lagoon that is specifically designed with safety redundancies in place to per even if it does crack. There's redundancies in place in the concrete to protect it from leeching into groundwater.
or second. I will second that with some comments. I just appreciate the family looking at the future of this farming operation and and they are they are taking care of this and this is this is definitely the correct direction to go. So, thank you. Anything else? If not, all those in
favor say I. I oppose the same. Motion carries. Thank you, Megan. Uh for your information, capital plan report, debt service report, ditch fund report, fund balance report, first
quarter financial report, project status report, and staffing report. Could you say that again, please? Yes, but not any faster. All right. And then uh there's no
questions on that. We have a new item, a new and old business. And under new business, a letter to the editor that was worked on by uh Linda and is asking for us to review that and
hopefully make a recommendation that it come from the county board along with uh our county attorney and and our other elected county sheriff. We know that the funding
streams are changing. um and that we're getting shifts from the state and I think this lays out a little bit of what that looks like to Goodyu County for the public to understand what difference that makes.
Explain where it came from. Go ahead. All right. So on the uh from the association of Minnesota counties on their board of directors, the executive director Julie Ring um was going to submit letter to the editor to several
newspapers about the cost shifts from the states down to the counties and what what this means to counties and county taxpayers. Um, so she had also asked if
commissioners and boards would also submit letters to their local um, papers so that we could help start educating the public on what really is starting to happen with the budget and ideally keep
eyes on the budget process at the state level because at the moment the shift coming down to the county are quite large. So, we worked, Brad and I worked on a letter trying to keep it very respectful, very
polite, uh very appreciative for what uh public servants do do for us at the state level and also just letting people know. So, that was the point of it. And we did ask the sheriff and the county attorney if they would join in because
it would affect their budgets. questions. I don't know if you saw the uh AMC update yesterday. There were it it listed several letters. I know Candyohigh County, Mer County, uh Lacapar County. Now, I think there were a couple
other ones, letters that had gone from commissioners to their local papers and some of them were a little more pointed than this. But I think uh I think this really um makes the public aware that uh when a shift happens, we only have one
place to get taxes. Um so I think that's what it points out. And will this go to all the newspapers in the county? That's that was the intent. Yeah, that was the intent. Thank you. To make sure it gets widely spread and I think it's good to get it on people's radar screens. So thank you
guys for doing that. This this needs a motion. I would say we should uh do a motion or we could do it by consensus, but it would be come from the intent is to come from the county board of commissioners,
um the sheriff and the and the county attorney as elected officials also. So, I'll make go ahead. I'll make a motion to approve the letter and send it to all the local newspapers. I'll second it. Been moved and seconded. We do that.
Is this letter okay with the Okay, we have uh a head nods from the sheriff and the county attorney. Um any further discussion? All those in favor say I. I. Oppos? Motion carries. Any committee
reports? I have another new and old business. Um it was brought to our attention that there's a a big windmill um farm supposedly coming in west and south of Kenyan here and I just wanted to touch base with land use management. I've been on the phone with you in
public works. If you've heard any updates, anything new on that, any any other information? I have. Okay. Land use, you've never heard anything either. So, Dodge County, Steel County, which county? It's still here in
Goodyu County. And I think it goes into Dodge, I believe. Oh, it is in Good County. It is in Good County, just south of Kenyon here. So, Oh, I hadn't heard about that one at all. No. But now that operation will be so large that we won't have any say in it is my understanding and it goes to the Yep. We do have we do
have a section on on wind farms in Good County. So in our planning commission so it may have to do maybe some stipulation we have especially around um roads and and that
kind of stuff. uh commissioners, the county does have some wind regulations that may or may not apply. I I haven't seen an application. Um but normally what these um large companies I believe try to do is reach
out to the local um governments and you know essentially obtain compile relevant documents, comprehensive plans, ordinances that help them develop their plans. I haven't seen anything specifically nor have I had any inquiries um to development but I can
certainly keep the commission updated. Um we have setbacks for example based on the length of the turbine blade um where the essentially double the length of the turbine blade is what the setback has to
be from the property line. Um that may not apply if it's a state perid permitted facility. Um, but like I said, I haven't seen I haven't seen this specific case or I don't know how large it is. Thank you. Yep. One question. Do
you have a sense that the people of the area are in favor or opposed or Well, I think there's a mixture because when they start um companies come in like this, the solar, and they start throwing big dollars at people and and I think there's I think there's a mixed uh reaction to it, you know, and uh I know
when um Minnola Township fought years ago, you know, to not have it up in Minnola. So, Minnola and Bel and yeah, you know, so I don't know what where the actual direction of this is going to go. So, Go ahead.
I do think the last time we had a hearing on the uh windmills was in at was held at the Kenyan Wanamingo High School and I believe former commissioner Retszicle was on the board at that time. How'd it go? It was well
attended. Kind of on that same vein, I I attended the open house they had at uh Canon Falls for a data center that's like right next to Cannon Falls. It's actually in Dakota County, but a parcel
of what they did next would be in Goodyu County. Not that they'd be building on that part of it, but um it was very interesting to hear the information about that and then kind of spurs you to dig a little deeper into that part. But
we all know we all got cell phones and we all got iPads and computers and we all want data and it's got to be stored somewhere. So it's kind of a catch 22 whether it goes forward or not.
But anything else? If not, uh, review and approve county claims. Second. Been moved and seconded. We approve the county claims as presented. Any further discussion? Hearing none. All those in
favor say I. I. Opposed. The same. Commissioner or commissioner, former commissioner Retszicle, would you like to enlighten us about the students that are here today and what class it is and just a little bit about uh what what
they're learning about government. Thank you, Mr. Can you do it at the podium, please? That's protocol. I've been most Thank you, Mr. Chairman, members of the board, uh, for coming down to Kenyon for today. This is always a fun trip to do
during the last couple weeks of school and, uh, this weather made it very easy to get the kids excited to get out of school for a little bit. Uh, so this is a mixture of three government classes for up at high school. We do uh we start
with the going through the federal government constitution work our way to the state and then we go down to the county township and uh city level and uh Commissioner Anderson, Commissioner Greset, you might have ran into a few students at the township annual meetings
back in March. So uh focus on it and uh we go to the county website. Again, I just like to put in a plug. You have a wonderful website and it's real easy to navigate and the kids all have to check to see if uh they have any warrants out for their arrest and we came through
clear this year again. This is Yep. So 28 years in a row so that's good. Thank you. Thank you. Is there any further business? Seeing none, is there a motion to adjurnn? So moved. Second. Been moved and second we
adjourn. All those in favor say I. I. I. Oppose the same. Thank you. We are adjourned and Part: 2
Uh we will call the committee of the whole to order and we will who's starting and we'll start uh with uh administrator Arnison. Uh good morning everybody. We'll go ahead and get started with our committee to the whole.
I'm Scott Arnison, the county administrator. Um, and I'm just going to go through a a few different slides here and then we've got a quick video and I'll tell you a little bit about how I got into county administration and then we've got a number of other uh people that are going to talk about the career paths uh they
took and what career opportunities uh there were for for them. Um, so it's a pleasure to have the Kenyon Wamingo High School students here again. Uh, thank you Dan for inviting us. I don't even know how many years this has been, but it's great. um the last three or four
years we've done kind of a career path uh and I think that uh that's uh good for you and it's good for us. So and I know uh HR did a survey so some of this is catered to the areas that you were interested in. So uh go we'll go ahead
with the presentation at this point talk a little bit about how I got into county administration. Uh during college, I was a biology and chemistry major um premed and I got out of college was ready to go to start working on my
doctorate and I had this fear that I was going to do the same thing every day for the rest of my life and at the time my brother was working on the Mega Mall as the developer for that and was building it and I thought that was fairly interesting. Um and at that time I started uh down the path of going into
public administration. Um and I did get my degree in public administration. Um, and during that time I started working for the city of Farbo. Um, and I did a lot of economic development and housing projects uh, while I was there. Um, and
then, uh, I did transition from there into county government. Uh, I worked in Aken County, Minnesota for 11 years and, uh, then I moved down here and I've been here for the last 18 or 19. So, um, anyways, I didn't have like a linear path into county county administration.
there are more linear paths, but um anyways, uh I'll talk a little bit about uh data uh for the county. We have a population of about 47,000 people. It puts us uh ranked at about 20th in the state of Minnesota. Uh so obviously there's some counties that are much
smaller than us, but some that are much larger than us. Um we also have se uh square miles of 756, which puts us in the top third. Um there are uh counties such as the one I just named Aken County
that are very much larger. Almost all of those are located in northern Minnesota. Um that that county there was 1,800 square miles. Um we have 10 cities uh in our uh uh county and we have uh 21 townships and we also uh have the
pleasure of having Prairie Island Indian Community uh within our uh boundaries. Uh from a staffing standpoint, we have 350 employees. Uh we have additional positions that are unfilled. That puts us up closer to uh 380 employees. Um but
we have uh within that spectrum, we have all kinds of jobs that uh can fit just about anybody's interest. So, and today we're going to be talking a little bit about those. So, um and rather than me explain everything a county does, uh we've got a fiveminute video that we're going to play for you that does it very
well. It did play an hour ago. Would have liked it. Thank you. And now I'll ask Jessica Sade to come up from Health and Human Services. Hello. So my name is Jessica Sad. I am the communication specialist for Goodyu County Health and Human Services and I
have been with the county for 11 years now and in my profession for 13 years. So, I'm going to tell you a little bit today about what it's like to work in a health and human services agency. Um, our mission is to promote, strengthen, and protect the health of individuals, families, and communities. And our
vision is to work for a safer, and healthier Goodyu County as a trusted, skilled, and innovative health and human services um agency. So, what does that mean? It means we work with all different types kinds of people at all different times of their lives, cradle
to grave. As you know, people go through a lot of different things during their lifetime and it's a lot of our services that cover many aspects of that. There um so we have three divisions within HHS. Um social services, economic
assistance, and public health. If you're a person who enjoys thinking outside of the box and would like to support and provide resources to individuals and families facing various challenges including mental health issues, substance use, poverty, and other social
pro problems, social social services would be great for you to look into. A lot of public health is about focusing on the health of a whole population, a community rather than only individual patients with the goal of preventing diseases and injuries and promoting
healthy lifestyles. So public health is super broad and is everything from policy work to emergency preparedness to making sure people have access to health care, nutrition, and things they need to have the opportunities to live healthful lives.
Everything around us impacts our health. So there are a lot of different career opportunities within public health. Working with economic assistance involves providing support and resources to individuals and fam families experiencing financial hardship. Um so
it's promoting self-sufficiency while ensuring basic needs are met. Um it is impossible to thrive when your basic needs aren't being met. So if you have great attention to detail and are able to multitask, that would be right up your alley. So as you can see from the previous
slide that we had, HHS covers a lot of different areas and here are just a few of the job titles for the people doing the great work. Each job title has different education and experience requirements and with some needing specific
licenses at GCHHS. So good county health and human services. We also have internship opportunities, job shadowing, and we also work with Americanore. If you're interested in learning more about what you what we do, you can always call us up and see if um any of those
opportunities are open. Um and sometimes people get hired for one job and then they move either up or laterally within our agency. So there's lots of room for movement. I'll get that. So what is it like to work in health and human services? Um it's a lot of working
directly with people. Um you can definitely make a real difference in people's lives. Um salaries can vary. Uh it can be tough especially depending on the different aspect that you work in. Um but it's really meaningful work. It's
also usually in most of our areas it's never the same. So um many different tasks, many different days and like I said working with many different people. So it's really awesome to work at health and human services. I made that as quick as possible. So,
thank you. There's additional HHS career resources. If you're interested in looking at a realistic job preview of what it's like to work in child protection, um that is an amazing video that shows it's like 3 to four minutes long and you can look at it. And also, if you're ever interested in job
opportunities, trainings, events, learning more about HHS in general or health and human services, um I put the link for it's called a mailbag and it has anytime a new job is open, if there's internships open, all of that information is in one place, so readily
available for you to look at. And with that, I will pass it on to Tim. Good morning. Um, I'm Tim Redingham, facilities maintenance director. Um, I don't generally talk fast, but I know we're we're limited here, so I'm going
to try to move along as quick as possible. Um, I'm going to start with this. Um, I've lived in Zumbroa Township for about 27 years. Um, my picture of my family up there. So, I I brought that up. I just I talked to my daughter about doing this presentation. And I told her, "Hey, I
got to do a presentation for a bunch of uh high school kids on careers." And she said, "Oh, no." And I said, and I said, "Yeah, I kind of agree." But um but I asked her why she's thought that, and she said, "Well, a lot of times um high school kids don't like sitting through
PowerPoint presentations, especially if you're just going to read a bunch of stuff off the screen." So, um so I modified my screen or my uh slides a little bit. Uh why do I have a town I grew up in? Thereund something people. Um, I feel like that's where a lot of my career
started there. I did a lot of um, uh, fixing things, taking things apart, putting things back together. Um, I had a really good buddy. It was a farm kid. We had access to a lot of tools. My dad was an auto mechanic, so we were always fixing, breaking, um, rebuilding
things. Um, how did I end up here? Uh, after high school, I went to Mano Technical Institute um for HVAC. Uh shortly after that I joined um the Navy and I served on board a ship. Um surprisingly doing a lot of the same
same things that I do for Good Hugh County. Um we did uh auxiliary systems and ship support. So um air, water, steam, mechanical systems, HVAC, um small engines and electrohydraulic equipment. Um out of the service I went
to work for Northern Tool and Equipment um in the facilities department kind of where I started my official facilities career. Work for Harris Mechanical was a large mechanical contracting company. And then in 2005 I uh switched over to the public sector and kind of have been
in the public sector ever since. So who works uh in the facilities department at Goodh County? Um there's four positions. I'm going to focus on two of them. Uh the facil facility service technician is kind of our entry level position. Um they're the
custodians. They do light maintenance. They do uh maintain equipment. Um you know, some of the smaller equipment. They do indoor and outdoor work. Um they'll change light bulbs. They'll do you know small minor repairs. The facilities maintenance technicians going to be like a semi-skilled to a skilled
position. They're working on mechanical equipment, building systems. Um they're working on the computer. We have automated systems for our HVAC mechanical systems, uh, lighting systems. Um, so they're a little more, uh, technical. They, uh, they hold
boiler licenses and they, um, do some snow removal in the winter time. Uh, so what do we do here? Um, I kind of broke it down in two different things. There's the things, the three pictures on top are, um, they're the visible things that we do. So those are
things that people see when they come to our buildings. And um as you can see, they're wellkept, but um I like to point out the shiny floor and the skylights um because we do maintain that and we do get compliments and comments on that. Um the three pictures on the lower side are
are things that people generally don't see. So those are mechanical systems, uh infrastructure in the building from basically parking lot to rooftop. Um very complex and expensive equipment. Um just quick note like that chiller on the
lower left um serves our law enforcement center justice center complex just that component there not anything attached to it. Um that's a half a million to 3/4 million piece of equipment. So it makes sense to maintain that and spend time on that. We do daily checks. Um we do
operational checks um annual maintenance year our quarterly maintenance as well. So um there's uh again a lot a lot of our work is just unseen. Um but it's important because that's how we keep our buildings functional. So with that being
said, um my career path kind of went that way. We have a lot of different career pathways. We have uh we have entry level positions. We have um uh ways that we can we we do a lot of on on the job training. We do um you know, we'll offer boiler certifications for
people. Um so as you come into those into this position um and then all of my people had different backgrounds there. none of them kind of went through that facilities management path. They they have varied degrees um of education and experience. Um there is something now
that um when I was your age, I did not have a career path in facility because there it really didn't exist. So now there are courses specifically for facilities engineering and facilities management. Um, I did a I just I'll rattle them off quick because I know we're out of time, but just some
colleges that offer programs. Uh, RCTC, Henip Tech, Centry College, Dunwitti, Bamiji State, uh, Northwest Technical, and U of M. They all have programs. So, you know, if you're interested in this, check that out. Uh, the International Facility Management Association is another really good resource. A lot of
lot of information there. There's actual um training courses there as well. They have a young professional group. Um it's uh their website's ifma.org. So ifmma.org. Um and just just so you understand um just like every other industry um there's a lot of retirements
and we're facing a lot of retirements. So my staff I have 50 to 60% of my staff is either at retirement age or approaching it quickly. So um there is a need for for people coming into this industry. Um and we do have we do have opportunities. So um if you're
interested at all, take a look at it. Um, feel free to contact me. My information is on the website uh under the facilities management tab. So, thank you very much. All right. Um, first off, I want to lead off by thanking the board and Sheriff Kelly for inviting me down to uh
to speak to you all today. Uh, my name is Cody Tedman. I am a school resource deputy uh for the Goody County Sheriff's Office. Currently, I am serving at the Zimroto Mazeppa School District. Um, and um, I'm going to lead off with I've got a short video for you and then I'll I'll
try to try to talk fast. For those of you who know me, I could probably talk all day on this. So, I'm going to do my best here. So, as you can see, the uh the sheriff's office goes a lot deeper than just uh bunch of SUVs driving around out on the road. We have tons of different
different jobs, different people, and different functions going on uh throughout the sheriff's office. A little bit about myself. Um Zero Mappic grad uh and from there I went on to serve in the Minnesota National Guard for six years as a medic. And uh from
there I went on to Winona State. I have a bachelor's degree in criminal justice. Um I did my internship with the Goodyu County Sheriff's Office between my junior and senior year. Uh graduated in 2015 and then I went to the skills
program at RCTC. uh from there and actually at that time it was very tough to get a job in law enforcement. So I actually went and worked in Greenville County, South Carolina. Uh it's a county about the same size as Goodyu County but with like 490,000 more people. So um I
worked there for about four years. Um and eventually kids come around and stuff like that wanted to move home. So I I started with Goodyu County in 2019. I started as a patrol deputy. I'd love to explain to you uh what what a typical shift is for a patrol deputy, but I
don't think that's possible to describe. Uh that's the be beautiful thing about this job is that once you put this this vest on, you hop in that car, you have no idea what what what kind of day you're looking at. It can be anywhere on the spectrum of intensity and some days when you finish your shift, you look
back on the day and what just happened, you know? So, um it it can really vary on a lot of different things. Um, as far as my role as a school resource deputy, um, I work full-time at the school. I start my day right at the school. Um, my
my duties involve, um, state safety and security of the school. I check make sure that there isn't u uh any unauthorized entry, anything like that. I also act as a liaison to the district as far as um security measures that
they're taking, updating their crisis plans. We just put a new crisis plan in place um from the I Love You guys Foundation. Um so we just uh we just implemented that. Um and then I also um as part of the vast array of things that
we can do at the county, I'm also a member of the uh the county ERT or the SWAT team. Um, so I've been doing that for a couple years now, too. Um, so it's a I I like to tell people that I have more irons than I do fire at some days. Um, but it it's it's definitely an
exciting career. Um, it's a lot of fun. Um, and uh, yeah, that's uh, that's about all I've got for that. So, but thank you all for coming down today and showing your interest in uh, in government jobs. So, thank you.
Just update a little bit what Cody said. We do have a lot of things we can do. I mean, a lot of our jobs are are entry level, meaning you need a high school diploma to do a CO, which is a corrections officer,
a dispatcher, you need a two-year degree to be a patrol deputy. But a lot of those jobs are just finished a pay study and I think the county board of commissioners would agree that that most of our jobs get
paid very well. Um and we are we are a county that a bunch of other counties in our state look up to that and we're very proud of that. I would say most of our divisions are second to none. Um because I do hear that too. So we are we are
leading the way and we are fully staffed also on patrol. I've went 60 days being fully staffed in our deal until last week. Um but that was
impressive. We are hiring often. We would welcome you. So that I'm Jake Rezac. I'm a licensed civil engineer and I'm the deputy uh public works director for Goodw
County. Uh public works, we have four different divisions. Engineering, where we demolish and rebuild roads and bridges. Maintenance, where we do a lot of our patching and just keeping our roads in working order along with snow plowing in the winter. Uh we have a
recycling center where we process uh recycled goods um and we we deal with a landfill as well at this point anyway. And then last our last division is parks and trails where we operate where we maintain and operate uh three uh parks
in our county uh most notably Bill Bsby. We have a number of different options for careers as far as public works is concerned. All of these are under the umbrella of the public works director who's also a licensed civil engineer. Uh maintenance, we have
equipment operators that are out and about on the roads almost daily. Um it's an outside job. It's it's got quite a bit of variety. In engineering, I'll focus on our technicians who are typically uh responsible for surveying our projects and inspecting
construction. Again, another outside job uh that has a lot of variety. And then we have uh recycling center operators who process the materials that we receive at our recycling center primarily. So for me um what I wanted to do is kind of talk about why I'm why I
got into civil engineering mainly from the standpoint of what life was like for me out of high school. Um after high school I really didn't know what I wanted to do. Uh but I but I liked math and I liked science. So I enrolled at I
enrolled at a very very prestigious university uh in a general engineering program. As part of that engineering program, we actually had to take three seminars. Um so engineering 101, we had three seminars to attend. Uh computer
engineering was my first thought of a major. Uh aerospace engineering was another seminar I took because it looked cool. And civil engineering I actually took because it was the only other one I can make it to. Go figure. Well, after I decided uh that I might actually blow
something up in computer engineering, um I remembered when I went to the civil engineering seminar, they showed me all these nice pretty pictures. If they come up, they show me all these pretty pictures of things that you can do in civil engineering. A lot of it
structural related. you can you can get into a field that allows you to build build really extravagant buildings, bridges, uh environmental features, power structures, and and such. So, fast forward a year into my college career, I
left computer engineering and thought, well, this looked really cool. And so, I enrolled as a civil engineer, graduated four years later, and I'm still with it today. I'm going backwards. Oh, there you go. So, with
that, I had Good morning, Kenyan Waningo students. Uh, my name is Megan Smith. I am the land use management director for Good Hugh County. Um, thank you for coming today. I'm going to tell you a little bit about the land use
department. Um the first thing is that the department is organized into three different divisions. You've maybe noticed this is a theme at the county. We have departments that then have divisions within them that helps the department operate smoothly and stay well organized. Um our building
department. So this is what you see on the land when you're driving through the county when you see houses or sheds or buildings. Um, our building department reviews building permits for compliance with the state building code. Job titles that we have at the county include
permit technician, building inspector, and building official. These are all jobs that um you can go to school for and essentially get hired at the county doing um planning and zoning. That is where I started with my career. Um, we
have zoning technicians, zoning assistant, planners, and zoning administrators. These are the people that really answer the phone calls and are the first point of contact when somebody comes in and says, "What can I do with my property? Or, can I build a
shed here? Can I build a house here? Um, can I extend my um driveway further towards the lake? Can I put a dock out over this stream? Can I can a lever a dock over a bluff? These are all zoning
related questions that get regulated through the county's zoning ordinance. Um environmental health is our division that really handles what you typically don't see um on the land, but it is super super critical that to everything that happens. So, it's going to be your
wells and your septics. Um well and septic is what we all deal with on an daily basis and oftentimes take for granted if it um especially if it's not working properly you you definitely notice it. Um this is a really important job. Um we also have so we have well
inspectors, septic inspectors and sanitarian which is a really interesting job that combines well and septic plus public health. This is our job that is a partnership with um health and human services and you had heard from Jessica earlier
um areas of study. If you are interested at all in the field of land use management and you're looking maybe at uh colleges or universities, you might want to be looking at things that are called urban and regional planning, uh land use
planning, housing, community development, community studies, and environmental science. Uh if you're interested in environmental health and working to essentially protect the environment, um you're going to be working you're going to be looking
for careers or educational degrees that have titles that are called that are that are somewhere around the titles of water treatment, solid waste, air quality, pest management. Um, the MPCA is the Minnesota Pollution Control
Agency and they have a a septic certification program for inspectors. And the Minnesota Department of Health is the state agency that oversees water and water quality and um, what is in your water and your wellwater. And they also have a certification program for
well inspectors. Um, and our sanitarian is like I had mentioned earlier a hybrid between well and septic and public health. They're the ones that are inspect that are going out and looking at public health nuisances in the community. If you are interested in
building and construction, we often see people who maybe start off um in construction with maybe helping their parents, grandparents, or neighbors with building a deck or building a shed or putting an addition onto the house and getting really interested in the
building trades. Um, if you want to ad if you like that and you want to advance that, you're going to be looking for areas of study um, in the building trades, building inspection technology, building construction, architecture, and building engineering. Um, Jake had
mentioned earlier about civil engineering. There's definitely a cross between building, which is construction codes and architecture, and then the civil engineering, which is basically ensuring that it stays up and it's going to stand the test of time and it's going
to be safe. Um, you can also get a degree as a building official or a building inspector. One thing I'd like to point out is that the this career path is a really common career path that combines experience um so actually, you
know, out in the field getting your hands dirty um on a job site, but then also getting certifications through examinations showing that you do know that know those construction codes. Um I'm going to talk a little bit
about how I got interested in land use. It's usually towards the back side of your local newspaper. Um, where some people might call it the boring section, I think it's the exciting section because it's the real estate listings and it's the public hearing notice. So,
a public hearing notice is required by state law um whenever there's a specific land use change happening in your city, your township, um or your county. The reason that those get published in the newspaper and often on a bulletin board
or on a website is because we want the public to know about them. We want public participation. Um you don't have to be a land owner. You don't even have to be a member of the community to show up to a public hearing. You can go to a public hearing two counties over if you
want. If there's an issue that you're passionate about, the idea here is state of Minnesota in many states have rules related to public notification. Um the idea here is that again you you stay involved in your community. You know what's going on. Um my um public my
first public hearing I went to was for a small town who was in central Minnesota that was looking at putting in a Walmart. Um I went to that hearing. I learned all about zoning. I learned about highway interchanges. I learned about traffic management and traffic
engineering. I learned about storm water pond. I learned about exterior lighting. Um I learned about all of those things through that period. This bullet list is some things that you might be able to get involved in locally by either serving on a border commission
or just showing up to their meetings. So, your local soil and water conservation district, your township planning commission and township board, um your town or your county's planning advisory commission, your board of adjustment, your city boards and
commissions for the city of Kenyon. I haven't checked recently, but more than likely is once you turn 18, you can serve on the city of Penion or one of Lingo Sports. Um, your economic development authorities, your local chambers of
commerce, and then of course, um, I listed the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, the DNR, and the Minnesota Department of Health. A lot of those state agencies are headquartered in St. Paul, which is what they call their central office. But almost all of them
have districts throughout Minnesota. Those districts have regional offices and they're often looking for volunteers. Everything from water quality monitoring to stream bank um like erosion and sediment control monitors to people who can just
literally get go out there and count butterfly habitat or certain certain number of weeds that are growing in a specific area. Um it's a really really good way to get involved in land use. Um, and so just some ideas for you to start thinking about how you maybe spend your summer and um your career path
going forward. So that is it. I'll turn it over to Jessica and human resources. As she said, my name is Al County. You may be wondering what HR is. And
those of you who've heard the vast simplification of HR, that's hiring and firing, it really does the career field a disjustice, an injustice. This chart shows a little bit of of the work that we do in human resources. So, we partner with employees
to come up with benefit programs that are meaningful to them. We help improve the wellness of our employee population and their families. We work with recruitment and making sure that we get the right people in the right roles as evidenced by the wonderful presenters that you telling you about the careers
that we work on retention keeping the employees that we have and advancing them throughout the organization and making sure that they have enrichment opportunities as well. We look at classification and compensation. And so, does the job description reflect what job duties we
are asking our staff to do and are they paid appropriately? And then also processing their payrolls every two weeks. They've got money to pay their bills. We look at performance management and making sure that folks are operating at the standard that we expect them to.
Um, we look at safety, preventing injuries on the job. We look at workers compensation when there are injuries and illness and making sure that people have an opportunity any rate and they're not losing anything financially during that period of time. And then a big portion
of our job is employee and labor relations. So when staff have um complaints or concerns, we're working through those issues with those individuals. And then we have six labor contracts. And so we're negotiating terms and conditions of employment.
All right. How did I get to where I'm at in human resources? I am a graduate of Great City High School. Um, from there I went to RTCC and took my generals. I took a little bit of time. I got some um work experience during that season
before um pursuing my bachelor's degree at Buffalo University. I did one year of undergrad before getting hired into a corporate HR job. And so at that point, I switched my major um and I switched from being a full-time day student to
being a full-time night student while working in in my field. And so by the time I graduated, which was during an economic downturn, I had a couple of years of experience in the field. So it's a great opportunity that was presented to me. Um and from there, I moved into a site HR role in Lake City.
And then um from there I moved into public sector human resources working for the county for about eight years as a generalist and for the last three years as an HR manager. So again not linear. Um I I've worked both public and private sector HR. I've been a community
college student. I have been a four-year college student. I've been a night student. Um and all of those have had just um what I want to say is that um I've had a variety of different experiences there and so again look your college experience is going to look
different from you know just a wide so some opportunities that exist at good county for students our presenters have talked about there's opportunities for um internships which generally are available to students who are pursuing higher education
give you experience to increase credit, give you some real world experience, help you to grow your network professionally, not just in the staff of college, but those to interact with. So that may be um people on different commissions, different boards, people in cities and other municipalities as well.
This summer we've got opportunities in administration and in town attorney's office in IT as well as others. We also up offer opportunities for summer help and so that is really doing handson work uh at public works at a risk equity
center. We've got an opportunity in the HR department to be a summer helper as well. There's not college credit but again it gives you that opportunity to shadow and to see what employment in county government really. All right trying to be mindful
of of time here. I do want to hit a couple of tips for you because if I was a student going, how do I get into the workforce? These are some things that I would want to know. When you are applying for a job, please take your time and read through the job posting and think about what you're being asked to do and what the
organization is like. And when you're building your resume, take a little bit of time to um rework your resume to highlight skills and experiences that you have that are relevant to the job posting at hand. I'm not talking about inserting different keywords. I'm taking
I'm talking about taking some time to consider what's being asked and what skills that you can bring to that situation. I would encourage you to be a little bit extra. Include a cover letter. Include some references or letters of recommendations. If you have any work samples or specialized training
that you've been through, make sure to highlight those experiences in your application process. But don't overdo it. More is not necessarily better. make sure it pertains to um the opportunity that you're looking. Know that whenever we post a job, we have a specific job description
result. A lot of times we will attach that and that gives you a better idea of some of the types of work that you might do. Um and we use that because the veterans preference applies to our hiring process. And so we have to be very rigorous and and demonstrate um
specific criteria and we have to evaluate every single job applicant identifies criteria and go through a scoring process. So, every bit of attention that you paid to reading a job description, reading a job posting, and tailoring your resume toward that
opportunity helps that you point and helps you rise to the top of the list, so to speak, when you're going through. So, those are some things that are a little bit different than hiring processes in the private sector. And I think it's helpful for you to know
as those are the end of my slides. I am so thankful for our presenters back here today. I'm so thankful for all of you who have given us your time and attention. Thankful for the Lord for giving us this opportunity to read it throughout here. And I don't know that we have time for any questions even
because I'm keeping an eye on the time here. But certainly any questions that you receive during each and links too. Well, a nice round of applause for all the presenters. If all of that wasn't enough, you can
always pay 50 bucks to get your name on the ballot. Dan was probably one of the youngest county commissioners in Goody County ever. and he uh did a fantastic job. Laid some good foundations for us to work with. So, appreciate that and thanks for being
here and we'll be back next year. Ajourn