uh good morning everyone and welcome to the Tuesday March 18th 2025 meeting of the Candyo High County Board of Commissioners Uh please stand for the pledge I aliance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic
for which it stands One nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all First item of business for the board is approval of the uh agenda U Mr Chair I'll make a motion that we
approve the agenda Thank you Uh Commissioner Dwayne Anderson Is there a second I'll second it Commissioner Dale Anderson Thank you Discussion questions All in favor signify by saying I I All opposed Motion carries The next
item is approval of the consent agenda These are uh typically routine items including approval of the March 4th 2025 county board legal minutes approval of the auditor's warrants and claims and the human services warrants and claims
uh paying the bills and a uh uh exempt permit for Habitat for Humanity of West Central Minnesota Move on the consent agenda Mr Chair Thank you Commissioner Mdeick Is there a second Mr uh B Commissioner Berg will second it Thank
you Any questions discussion Anybody wish to pull any of those items All right hearing none All those in favor say I All opposed Motion carries Thank you Our first uh item of general
business discussion and updates is a victim services report Uh and we have uh two of our uh folks here today Oh I see Shane getting up All right
Um and then uh Jen Hovind and Bridget Peterson uh as well And Shane you're going to lead this off for us Uh yes I will Thank you Okay Uh good morning Shane Baker Kenya County Attorney When you think of our office if
I'm sure the general public or even those who work with the county um it's like a law firm So you think there's attorneys in the office there's going to be legal assistants You might even know what a parallegal is but victim services coordinators is
something that raises an eyebrow What do they do Why are they involved Why are they needed Um the short very short answer to that is because we deal with a group of individuals who are the only ones that
we deal with that didn't ask to be a part of the process We applied for the jobs or got elected to the position Law enforcement got hired Defendants through their bad choices became involved with the system
but victims didn't have that choice So and there are a number of statutory rights that are in play that we need to uphold um those in this role as you're beginning off by Sam and Jen and Bridget
victim services coordinators I'll let them more fully introduce themselves but I do want to point out at least one thing about each of them is that we've had this position since 2006 so we're coming up 19 years next year will be 20
years except for about the first six months of 2006 these two individuals have held this role for the county in that period of time First Bridget came on in 2007 was here through
2013 She departed Jen came on and then we had a second position opened in 2018 hired Bridget back So between the two of them we're talking about coming on 25 years of experience
doing this service for victims of Candia County Now again why this role Well there are a number of statutes and victim rights that are in those I'll discuss those later on They're kind of in this pamphlet here that are
mandated that we uphold So we have to make sure those things are followed And in the short description of them they're mostly notice and input kind of rights But it's also a service You know we could do n number of these things just
by just letter lack of contact beyond that But that doesn't deal with the individuals who have in some cases gone through very significant trauma and suffering through the act Some are just looking for a restitution
They're all in a different place and that's they're the main speakers today and and their part of the presentation is to show what service they provide It's wrapped up in their t job title victim service coordinator Um why is this presentation
now We're trying to coincide that with National Crime Victim Rights Week which is coming up on April 6 through the 12th Um I spoke that there were a number of rights in the statute and OJP which is the office of justice
programs out of Minnesota Department of Public Safety provides a guide to professionals and many of these rights it's incumbent upon a prosecutor's office to uphold them Um I want to list some of those
just to give you an idea of the breadth of the responsibility But when cases begin victims have right to be informed and participate in the pro criminal prosecution process They have a right to be notified
of those rights early on in the case And if you want to look this up on your free time this is mostly all outlined in chapter 611A Um so after or with this notification of their statutory
rights their involvement begins early on their they have a right to be given to have their information presented to the judge regarding release of any criminal defendant They have a right to notification of the
plea agreement and the right to provide input into that plea agreement and to appear at the plea hearing if well right to appear at the plea hearing and speak to the court if they don't support the
agreement Um they have right to be at sentencing and at that sentencing hearing they have a right to provide a victim impact statement where they provide a summary of harm trauma economic loss damage and their reaction to a proposed sentence In other words what they think
should happen in a case after or with that sentencing It's our office's responsibility to inform them what was the disposition the judge gave Um of course in this sense it assumes
that the cases go or are tried or charged but in certain cases they have a right to be told that my office declined to charge the case And those are criminal sexual conduct domestic assault
harassment kind of cases and we first have to make reasonable efforts to speak with them phone not just send them a letter or text but reach out to them directly Um in addition they have rights to or they could ask our office to ask
for a speed trial In some cases have their address information or employment address kept confidential And then even after a case is done at least as far as sentencing there's post sentencing rights and those have been
some of the more recent push them the victim while that case is pending Um and we give them a summary of victim rights and of what's going to happen at the court hearing that day and in the few steps moving forward And we
always encourage them that we we know they're not going to remember most of what we tell them that day because there's been a lot that's gone on For some of them maybe the worst thing that's ever happened to them And uh we don't expect that they're going to remember all of that And we encourage them to contact us We have the capacity
through our software to text with victims which has been a godsend It is a a phenomenal way for us to keep in touch with people but they can also call us They can also come in And sometimes when a victim is having a particular particularly difficult time especially
if they don't agree with some of the things that are happening that's when we try to pull them closer and bring them in so we can hear them and we can share information with them as well The other way that we are notified that there is a case is that they might be someone might
be summoned into court Not everyone who is charged with a crime has a first appearance in court following an arrest Sometimes they get a letter from the court after our office files charges saying you are being summoned in to appear at court on this date And so when we see that hearing come up on our
calendar because we are assigned a victim services coordinator we divide by the alphabet based on the defendant's last name Then uh we know to make contact with the victim of that crime And then sometimes there are cases that are still
being investigated and a victim may call law enforcement to get an update and oftentimes thankfully we have a wonderful partnership with our law enforcement uh law enforcement will say "You know what Call victim services." And so they do And then we can let them know in a general way if the case is
still being investigated or if it's under review by our office and encourage them again to stay in touch but let them know that we will they will get noticed one way or another As Shane indicated and we'll talk a little bit about later when charges are declined there are
different ways that that notification happens based on the kind of crime that um has been committed And one of the things that Jen talked about when we first talk with victims is we kind of give them a summary of their rights but like she said it's very
overwhelming The amount of information that they're given at any given time is just a lot So we are in the business of repeating ourselves and we're okay with that And we tell people that we will answer the same question 85 times if that's what you need You just keep asking it because we want you to be
informed It's very very vital and a core um of the victim rights act is that you're informed that you know what's going on you know what point of the process it's in and you're free to ask questions and as many times as you need
to Um one of the one of the rights and one of the things that we get asked a lot about is is restitution If someone it's a it's a general crime position So kind of the elevator speech is it's anything from shoplifting to murder and everything in
between Well that in itself creates not only trauma on the person but also um there's there's repercussions They have lost time of work or their property is damaged or stolen or they need to um that harm needs to be repaired in some
way And one of the ways to do that is through the restitution process And so we spend a lot of time talking to people about what is restitution what qualifies as criminal restitution what can they ask for and then helping them navigate the paperwork and navigate the court
system so that they can get their documents in and get their proof in to make that request and we work handinhand with the attorney assigned to the case to make sure that we're putting forward the best restitution claim to the court that we can and as clear of language as
possible so that um the court can make a determination on what is owed Um but with that also is a lag time and a waiting period and we we talk with people about those issues that arise like how long is this going to take this
isn't a quick process and we're with them throughout that process every step of the way as they navigate it themselves In general terms the next stage of the process usually is looking at options to resolve cases whether that involves trial and Bridget will talk
about that in a minute or a plea negotiation Most of our cases are resolved by a plea U most cases do not go to trial and that's for a myriad of reasons Um victim input is really important in that Um a victim's thoughts about whether or not they should testify
at trial can have tremendous implications all over the map Um we talk to them about the Minnesota sentencing guidelines because that's something we can't move really And so we talk about well prison is not an option in this
case given this person's criminal history score or the severity level as assigned in statute to the particular crime that they're pleading guilty to Um and but there are a lot of other things and this is where we also partner with community corrections that could be options in terms of different kinds of
programming and supervision and that's tremendously helpful that victim input is a right that they have to give us through statute 611A and it is very valued in our office We're really grateful to work under a county attorney who is very victim centered and that's
incredibly important Um but that doesn't mean that victims always get to have an outcome of a case that they want And Bridget alluded to that earlier And we tell victims all the time you know what we're always going to be upfront with you and honest with you about what can
and cannot happen in a case um and what may happen And if the prosecutor makes a decision that is different than what the victim wants we will let them know why Um and that's where Shane spoke about a victim having the right to let the judge know if they're not in agreement with a
plea Um but we are never going to not notify a victim just because they disagree with our office or maybe are upset or frustrated by that process or our office Uh sometimes even us Um it's a it's fraught with emotion
um some of these cases and situations and that's okay That's part of the work that we do is to meet people where they are and to validate their frustrations This is not an easy system It's not a simple system It's not a perfect system
It's a it's a good system and it's the one we have And so we try to work as interpreters um for both the system and quite frankly our attorneys They have their own language as we all know I'm going to write that down Okay
Prosecutor interpreter I'm put on my resume Um the next the next step like let's say the we're at a point where the the plea is not an option This case is going to trial and that's for certain Um every every offender has a right to go
to trial And so we always know that that's that's an outcome that could be So we talk to people about we have two tracks that kind of run parallel of each other We got the plea offer but we also are prepping for trial pretty much at the same time So trial prep is is vital
for making sure that um victims and witnesses have a good um experience with our office and understand what's needed of them in the system And we do trial prep um a two-prongedo approach The victim services coordinators help trial
prep victims and our parallegal helps trial prep witnesses And so that is one of the most fear inducing things is to come and testify at court And there isn't any other way to do it
except in person And so we work with them We give them tours of the courtroom We help them understand what it'll be like where they'll sit We talk to them about who can be there Um we talk to them about what's expected of them And we answer all of their questions And we
we do that as many times as necessary to make that person feel comfortable um to coming to court And this includes children It is not just adults who have have to testify at court It's it's anybody Anybody that's a victim if they are a needed witness in the case they
come to court and testify And so sometimes we are prepping children as well And so that we would never want a situation where someone is coming to court for the first time on the day of trial And and that's huge We we navigate
that with them and with the attorney And our attorneys um do a great job of making sure that they are available to these victims and witnesses in our community uh to help them understand what's coming And then assuming they're the defendant
is found guilty at trial or if they've plead guilty the next step is sentencing And we reach out to the victim Again they get notifications by letter throughout the process And they also get phone calls from us throughout the process And they have the right to give a victim impact statement at sentencing
either in writing prior to the hearing They can submit that to our office Uh as soon as we receive it we're required to file it with the court So the judge gets a copy the prosecutor gets a copy and we're also required to send a copy to the defense attorney Um and then it can
also be read aloud during the hearing or a victim can just show up the day of the sentencing and give their statement either something just that they do spontaneously or if they want to read something written or oftentimes Bridget or I will read that statement for the victim if they don't feel comfortable
doing that So they really have a number of ways to get that their input submitted And we see it make a difference for victims in multiple ways but judges take those very seriously And we've we've heard judges quote parts of
those statements back to defendants when they're making their statement to the defendant about the impact that this has had on the community And so we know that they're very powerful that way And we're really grateful when victims take the time to do that But we also know that there are some times when victims choose
not to because they they're worried that it could affect their safety if they choose to speak out So sometimes we have conversations with the prosecutor about some of those concerns Uh but safety of the victim is paramount in the work that
we do Could I could I ask a question Mr Chair Commissioner Anderson So thank you Um so with the victims when they come with a plea deal uh how much control or how much weight does the victim have on on a
plea deal agreement Do they have 100% say or they or is it what the judge decides or how does that work Do you want to answer that I'll answer that Um they don't have 100% say they don't
have a veto power They you know I can talk certainly from the front end of case you often hear about they don't want to press charges they don't get to make that decision nor do they get to make the decision about what the plea agreement will be they have a right to provide
input and that is one of the skills they have to deal with is interacting with people who have a right to say what they want may get it or what we're willing to do it may not be that either so that can be frustrating for the individual victim
Um so but we do take it highly into account Um you know they're the ones that were harmed so their opinion you know matters first but there might be other factors we got to consider instead of strictly what they want Cuz sometimes
you know they might want the harshest of you know lock the key throw away don't think about it for really the most minor offenses And then we have others that don't want us even to be involved in the case either You know just dismiss
it drop it although it's a violent act I'd like to um uh piggy back on that last uh statement because I had a question all teed up Uh under what circumstances might a victim decline to uh uh participate
They can always decline to participate Uh we're not we're not in the business of using them as a tool um if if they decide that that participating in our with our office is is not what they want to do um we'll respect that We have
statutory rights that that we have to uphold Um and we'll talk with them about that You know these letters still might come these notices still might come You can always come back and participate like that We always leave the door open
Um but many times it um we talk about victims um are the experts in their own lives and so if they um determine that it is not safe for them to participate then we have to respect respect that um but we also have to uphold our statutory
obligations So we still fulfill them Um what else do you want to say on that That it doesn't mean that a case automatically gets dismissed or goes away Um so we will discuss with them what those options are because we'll tell them sometimes if we if our best option is to go to trial and they tell
us "I just can't." Um because it's too traumatic Um the the system can be ret-raumatizing especially when you have to talk about the worst thing that ever happened to you in front of a group of strangers and the person who hurt you We don't ever take that lightly and
thankfully our attorneys don't either Um but we also try to have the conversations with them about okay let's work through this And that's why we do trial preparation to give them as much information so they know what to expect We talk about safety We talk about safety planning and using our community
partners in in that Um we talk about going back a little bit to what Shane said and your question Commissioner uh we talk about prosecutorial discretion So the prosecutor is the one who has the authority to make those kind of decisions in the cases Certainly the judge has ultimate authority but
regarding what offer the prosecutor is willing to extend lies with the prosecutor alone And sometimes that's comforting to a victim because it takes the heat off the victim And we tell them all the time and our attorneys are great about it Especially our first assistant she's like "Throw me under the bus." You
know tell your family tell your friends tell whoever This is my decision It's not yours victim That's okay because it's the truth We're not we're not co you know sugar coating anything by saying that Um but they don't have to worry about our feelings in any of that
We're okay if they're mad at us U some of the skills that we possess that I think is necessary in this role is working um diligently with angry people without becoming angry ourselves and
still helping to uphold their rights Uh and uh I'm going to follow up with that then I was thinking also specifically uh about victims who might also be undocumented persons Uh does that uh present a special challenge I
mean I assume they have the right to go through this process Yeah as well We wouldn't necessarily know their status I'm sorry We wouldn't necessarily know their status when we're working with them It's not a factor in how we work with them We don't ask Now does it affect the public and coming forward
Maybe but it's probably a little out of my depth and being able to speak on Yeah I was thinking I guess you know of the idea that some of them might decline to participate because they might fear any exposure to uh the justice system at
all Uh I mean I I I assume you've in one way shape or form run across this before It's very possible that that is happen Okay thank you Um do you have any more that you want to uh uh present or can we
go to questions Um we we do have more if you want Um we but I don't want to infringe on no time Yeah we're a little we're a little behind and I want to leave a little time for questions if that's all right with you I think I think we're getting the gist of it Okay
perfect Any questions uh from the uh members Thank you Mr Chair Um you know appreciate the difficulty you guys work with You know as an owner of a small business even a modest shoplifting fe feels like a tremendous violation So I
can imagine anything more serious than that how they how they feel But uh one of the things that I wondered about is that um because some of you who I know very well participated in the very first restorative justice uh uh case here in
Canyo County Is it you or at what time does that conversation come up about whether or not somebody might be a candidate for restorative justice Because I know that the victims are often involved in that Um that that comes up before the case is
even charged Um typically the ones we route through the system are for reserve to justice are juveniles and we have two separate individuals who work with that program Okay Commissioner but we also have a victim
offender dialogue program that is sim that feels very much like restorative justice that is comes through us um after sentencing If the judge orders victim offender dialogue and the victim is willing then one of our restorative justice staff facilitates that process
and that when it happens which isn't very often can be very helpful Thank you Mr Chair Um just a a couple comments first but first and I just want to say your passion for what you're doing for everybody in is very
commendable I mean this is really good stuff to hear This is really good transparency to hear that So often in the media we hear about the victim or I mean about the perpetrator and not the victim and how complex things really are and and I'm just really excited in Kandui County you know this kind of
government we have and we're looking at after people's rights and the victim's rights especially and the collaboration with all the different agencies you work with pretty fantastic Um any I do have a couple questions though You know reading the news you see a lot of uh victims
possibly and it looks like large case loads What case load sizes do you have and also a little can you just comment for the public as well about the funding for the program too um case size is I would say
approximately 450 between between the two that's counted um active cases some warm cases How can May I follow up How can you get it all done then Well and that's the thing that I hope people understand is
that we have two pe our county just for for example for the felony prosecution we have half the number of the entire eth district 13 counties what most of them also have victim services coordinators so we and this is one county with two people those
are 12 counties with I'll call it 10 people so 10 people are doing the work that the two of them are doing So that's vital funding Um that's it's mostly through the the budget that you
offer We have received a grant for some money about 70,000 years So okay small percentage Thank you Thank you for your job as well Anyone else Uh I do want to uh uh thank Commissioner
Mdeck for uh reminding me of restorative justice uh simply because my uh my wife served on that very first uh board for I believe 10 years uh and that was one of those passion projects for her Uh and so I certainly understand the passion that
you bring uh to this work Uh any parting thoughts for the board Just thank you for the opportunity to be able to tell you about our work um we we do it day in and day out but we did um provide there is a victim who came forward to speak about how victim services impacted her
life and her experience So there is a copy of her letter for each of you in this envelope and then you can hear about her personal experience with our office Can I ask Mr Chair Yes Is that confidential information It's just she
was fine with me reading it here today So um but it's for you guys to read Okay Well thank you so much for the work that you do and thank you for the update and uh appreciate having you before us today Thank you Next item of business 2024 feed lot
annual report Uh Russ Hilbert Russ good morning Morning Thank you Uh my name is Russ Hilbert Kai County Feed Lot Officer I'm here to present the 2024 annual report requesting approval and signature on it
Uh the annual report shows the the work that I did in the feed lot program for the 2024 year Um and then anything above uh minimum program requirements is assigned performance credits Um so in the case of like inspections there we're
required to do 7% of uh feed lots required to register in our county uh for compliance inspections and I I go above that number We generally do about a quarter of the feed lots per year uh for compliance inspections that are required to register Um so those ones
above that 7% receive performance credits Um at the end of the report there's a total uh performance credits given and those uh get assigned a a numerical value a dollar value um based on the the total number that all
counties in in the state have for performance credits and then they they divvy up the performance credit pot of money based on those performance credits Uh we actually received those funds partway through the year then and uh that adds to our feed lot program budget
All right And uh Commissioner B Thank you Mr Chair Uh can you comment a little bit more on the performance credits because looking through the report uh looks like we done really well on that and is that typical and can you just uh elaborate a little bit more on what's
for the public what's involved in an uh summarize in an inspection that you do Sure Um so the first part of your question they did change the the formula for performance credits for starting in 2024 Um in the past I think as a as a
whole we were sending money back to the state because we were not utilizing all the performance credit pot of money Um so they changed the funding So our our number looks a little higher this year Um I do try to maximize how much we get
and and work pretty hard to gain credit for all the work that I that I do um every every inspection every uh permit every complaint Um so I try to get as many as we can maximize the uh the
amount of educational credits we receive Um the second part of your question can you remind me again what that was Oh just a a brief overview What's involved in an inspection Okay Uh so compliance inspection I would uh go on site schedule that with the with the owner
and go on site and take a look at the the overall site for any potential uh discharge issues um to any any water resources And then if if they're required to have minor management records I would receive a copy of those
and review those as well and then uh see if the everything is compliant on the site And then at the end I I fill out a an inspection checklist and that gets loaded into the the state system And then I also mail out a letter letting the FELAT owner know within 30
days whether or not they're compliant and what what portions they may or may not be compliant with So any cor assign any corrective actions if necessary Okay Thank you Commissioner Dale Anderson Hey Russ um piggybacking on that a little
bit there's a lot of new feed lots and a lot of new things coming into our county and around the area Can you kind of give us a background of what the process is to you know whether it's an old farm or a new feed lot that wants to start can you just I know this a little off but
just so everybody in the public kind of knows the process of of getting a feed lot started just a rough one Yeah So it kind of depends on what size they're thinking If if they're under 300 animal units then only a notice of construction expansion uh would be required to be
submitted Um they they would submit that to my office and that provides notification that they're proposing to expand Um and that notification also is provided to the zoning authorities as well whether that be a township or the or the county Um if
you're 300 nanometers or more proposing that then you would be required to submit a permit application to my office Uh unless you're way higher than that like a thousand atom units that then you'd submit permit application to the state Um that would also involve zoning as
well So we try to work with zoning at the same time just to verify that they they're going to meet all setbacks so that their application can move forward Can I follow Yes So I the other thing that I guess I would wonder then because we're we're
farmers and we like to be independent So what happens if somebody doesn't contact your office and they just start planning something How do you how do you address that I guess um that's happened in the past quite often and and generally I just send them a letter and let them know hey you know I notice you have
number of livestock required to register um we'd like to inspect your feed lot for compliance and then I can provide uh whether it be a permit application or a notice of construction expansion at the same time and try to get them back into
compliance work with them on that and um I'm not here to you know find people and assign any kind of penalty to them So one more No and I appreciate that Russ And you know being a farmer all my life I do
want to thank you for what you do I think that you do try and help the farmers and help everybody stay in compliance and and do the right thing for what for our water and our environment and and try to help out the farmers to do the right thing too So thank you
Any other questions for Mr Hill Mr Chair I'd like to make a motion Oh thank you I'd like to make a motion to approve the 2024 annual feed lot report I think uh I think this is uh is this an action item Okay Uh then the motion is
order Is there a second Yeah A second by Commissioner Mck Thank you Discussion All righty Very good All those in favor of accepting the report say I I I All opposed Motion carries Thank you so much
for your work Appreciate it Next item is planning commission recommendation and uh Christa Krupa is with us today Good morning Mr Chair members of the board My name is Christa Krooa I am in the environmental specialist with planning and zoning or
the environmental services and I'm here today with a recommendation from the planning commission who met on March 10th Um this recommendation is to improve approve the request of Ross Arenson um to or for conditional use permit to
construct a storage rental facility um with the findings and three conditions that you saw in the draft minutes from the meeting that was within your packet Mr Chair I would move uh citing the uh
staff findings and conditions There's a motion to accept the recommendation with the conditions and findings Is there a second I'll second that Mr Chair Commissioner Dwayne Anderson Thank you U any questions comments discussion
commissioner B Mr Chair thank you very much Uh in the packet you included a map of that too Uh can you show that and explain a little bit more uh about the location and how you get into it and uh the closeness to the neighbors and so
forth Yes So I apologize This is a black and white map Pardon me This is a black and white map I don't know if you guys want to if you have it So this is Green Lake here County Road 8 is over here So this would
be your location right over here So this is old Arie Road or Charlie Arney Road here coming from Green Lake And so it would be this location here City limits has a little patch that's right here but otherwise it's located here These are
the um kind of the pole buildings that are off of County Road 8 Okay Does that help Yes Thank you All right Any other questions There's a motion to and a second to approve the planning commission recommendations with the
findings and conditions All those in favor say I I All opposed Motion carries Trist thank you Thank you Next item of business is on this uh Mel Odens Uh you
have several items Mr Chair You're you're by the way I mentioned this earlier Uh you're going to you're going to take up a large portion of our day today So good to see you You know I will be I will be feeding you lunch so you'll be good Uh once again Mel Odens county engineer here in Canua County Um I do
have a few things on the agenda here The first one is the batuminous uh paving that we did last year in the city of Wilmer It's we consider it our urban paving It's part of the local option sales tax project that um we've been
we've been progressing on So u this project was completed last year Bids were received in April DonX there was two biders DonX was the low bid in in the amount of two 2.137 million Um we had four overlay projects One on Wilmer Avenue the fourlane the county office
building the Salsbury Beach parking lot but the majority of this project was Wilmer Avenue Um it began last year in July and part of the part of the staging of this project did did cause some um
some cost impacts The other thing that did it you can see it was over the contract but part of the the the rationale for that is we're in a major urban environment And normally when we go through a community we don't replace all
the driveways but we had a like five or six set up to replace And once people get assessed and not everybody gets in your driveway you can see how this snowball starts to go And so we since it was a sales tax that these people are
paying both assessments and part of the sales tax revenue that the county received we we switched it to doing all the driveways and um and then also that adds to more urban gutter that adds to more sidewalk Hence there is a cost but
the revenue is is still under the revenue that we had set up for this project So my it's my recommendation to accept a project and authorized final bid or final product in um in the final retainage of $26,995.33
Uh there we have a request Uh is there a motion Mr Chair I so move to approve payment of those and the chair will second Uh discussion Mr Mber Yes I went to uh not too often we do uh county
roads through a major city and this was a major project like you said involved a couple of our districts but the end product turned out really nice Turned out really nice and it's good to have that behind us Yeah you know on on these major commercial corridors and
residential it's hard to do where you we had detours set up but people don't like to use detours when you're in town and so there's just a lot of things and so we did a lot of it under traffic and
just follow up Yes Yeah At the same time too the city of Wilmer was doing some projects near the same area and and so then some people didn't quite understand all that who was responsible for what Yeah it was it took longer than what we
had anticipated but I think the final product turned out wasn't that much longer though No but thank you And I noted uh uh in your summary that there were uh several drainage issues that had to be uh fixed as well right And so
anything in particular It did rain last year and so when you're replacing curbon gutter and you look and it's like 20 ft away there's water standing that like you you think you know this road hasn't been touched in 70 years but we should just replace it you know and so you can
see how when you do a couple miles it it's hard to leave water standing in an urban environment Um not that we would anyway but you can see how it kind of grows Mr Chair just one more comment too
Looking back at some some of the stuff I had just the other day I realized what a history you have working on on the city of Wilma roads as well So you knew the territory and it's interesting I'm sure for you to uh look at the roads around there after many years of of doing this
in our community And thank you Yep Thank you All right Anybody else There's a motion and a second to approve the recommendation of staff to uh uh uh pay the uh final retainage to
uh Dunic Incorporated All those in favor say I I All opposed Motion carries Mel go ahead Okay The next one is we do four maintenance projects every year At least we we we attempt to Um I do want to
remind the board that if we have a bad winter these are the projects that we maybe don't do Okay we take one and that's why we it would primarily the cracking or the seal court are the two that are like the ones that we would
take out if we needed money if that makes sense because it's levy dollars Um so the first one is crack filling Uh we're we're doing 54 miles One of the things you will note on this and I'm doing this one first because it came in over bid but if you look at the
bid tabs they're all over bid and so it's the market Um if we rebid it we wouldn't get any cheaper So my recommendation is to continue to proceed with it It's it's within the revenue sources that we have in our
2025 project So um my recommendation would be to award this bid And so bids were re were open on March 11 We do these electronically I believe everybody was sent a opportunity to log in to watch the bid process We started doing
that like two three years ago Um it's about 46,000 linear feet 54 miles of road The map is in here of where it of where it is and um Knife River was or no there's
four biders were Northwest Asphalt Men of Three River Falls was read low and so it's my recommendation to award the bid to Northwest Asphalt Maintenance in the amount of $426,85545 You've heard the recommendation of staff
to award the bid for crack filling Is there a motion So uh Commissioner Mck move second it Commissioner Dale Anderson seconds Any discussion Hearing none All those in favor of the recommendations signify by
saying I I I All opposed Motion carries And you have three more bid awards to I do The next one is the chloride U We do about 52 miles a year 52 to 54 miles a year We do about 300 homes um along our gravel roads every year And
when we do some continuous some continuous um chloriding on just a few roads that where the homes are relatively close So you it's just easier to do a continuous So um this one is
this one came in only 5,000 over bid at 200 Our estimate was 240,000 and it came in on $245,850 Um my recommendation is to award the chloride project this year to Knife River uh North Central out of Sock
Rapids in the amount of $245,850 Heard the recommendation of staff Is there a motion I'll make that motion Mr Mr Chair Wayne Anderson moves Is there a second I'll second discussion
Hearing none All in favor of awarding the bid to uh uh Knife River Corporation or Central signify by saying I I All opposed Motion carries Go ahead The next one is the annual payment restriping We do all
of the urbanized areas except the city of Walmart but the other 15 communities And we do and this year we do the northeast quadrant of the county And um this is an annual thing So we do every
we I think it's a three-year rotation Um but this one came in under bid by 19,000 So my recommendation is to accept the or award the contract for the 2025 striping to sir lines a lot out of Edina
Minnesota in the amount of $139,550 Still move Mr Chair Thank you Commissioner Mdeck Is there a second Mr Chair u I'd be more than happy second a motion to uh bid that came under Commissioner B seconds Is there any discussion
Hearing none All in favor say I I I All opposed Motion carries And the last one I have is this is the seal coat project And once again this came under by $7,800 And so bids were once again open on March 11th It's my recommendation to
award the bid to Asphalt Surface Technology out of St Cloud in the amount of $161,930 97 cents Heard the recommendation Is there a motion Also moved Commissioner Dale Anderson moves Is there a second I'll second that Mr
Dwayne Anderson Thank you Discussion I have one question here Fog seal What What does that mean Is that the reflective part or or what is that No because it says seal coat and fog seal So what we what we've done is um
I'm not sure exactly that might be a misprint but on some of the on some of the ones that we'll do is we'll do a seal coat where it's the the granite chips Okay And then once you've swept and everything they'll come through and do a fog seal black It's a It's a uh
batuminous fog you know like an asphalt where it's sprayed on and and that kind of seals up It kind of tightens the rocks up It does make the striping more visible but the I'm not sure if the jury's out I mean the jury's out to me
if it's actually it cost just a little bit more money but I'm not sure it really is accomplishing anything because you the first layer of of oil that you put down that you put the chips on is what does the work you know and then everything else is
like locking in the rock But when we use an A4 granite or an A2 granite it locks up pretty well Okay Thank you Any other questions And let's see We do have a motion in a second on this
Yes Thank you If there are no further questions uh all those in favor of the of awarding the seal coat contract asphalt surface technologies of St Cloud signify by saying I I All opposed Motion carries Thank you Um you can stay here
if you want We take a break Mr Chair Uh we will recess for five minutes it Are you It are you ready And Ohio County Board of Commissioners is back from recess Uh at this time we'll have uh uh Kelsey Baker County
Administrator on uh two items uh a letter of support and a letter of commitment Yes Good morning Kelsey Baker Kyoi County Administrator Uh before you today within your board packet is uh kind of a general board request for grant requests meaning letters of
support Um and so I was talking with our public works uh director two weeks ago regarding letters of supports when it comes to grants And sometimes we're under a time crunch and we need the support from these to strengthen our
application And so I just listed a few of the federal state grants that we are looking at applying for or if an opportunity came about um uh for instance it would be late quality improvements uh single family homes or more more for housing um additional
housing grants professional devel development training opportunities uh the family resource center which has been talked about within our health and human services department trail amenities uh water tower rehabilitation playground equipment emergency management technical opportunities
county park upgrades um just to name a few The but these have been identified um within our primacy strategy group our federal lobbyists that these would be potential grant opportunities So today I would ask that the board would authorize
staff um specifically um department heads myself or specific department heads which the grant would pertain to would have the authority to prepare and submit letters of support um relevant to each grant application
um to issue a letter of support for this application use the organization our county letter head and then allow designated staff or department heads whoever it may be to coordinate the drafting and submission of the letter All right you've heard the uh recommendation of the uh administrator
Uh any questions Well I do have some questions but do you want a motion first I'll make a mo motion to approve All right Yep Very good We have a motion to approve the recommendation of the administrator Is there a second I'll second that Mr Chair Commissioner Berg second Thank you Uh
Commissioner Thank you So um just trying to think how this would work So the staff will draft the letter and then um assuming you're looking for ultimately they'd be looking for uh
support from the board So then it would come to the board if we have the opportunity But if we don't have the opportunity because of time structures then what happens Then that would mean that the staff would have the authority to authorize and submit the letter But
then they would do it on whose behalf because um I think we had this conversation yesterday that sometimes you don't always not everybody not all five commissioners might be in support depending on the issue So then it would be coming from the respective department
So whether that's staff Yep So community corrections the administration department public works Um and then if the opportunity were to happen like you mentioned it would come to board That would be our ultimate uh goal is to
have Okay Yep And I I I assume there are some efficiencies in terms of uh time crunch for getting these applications in and and and that and that's why this authorization would be useful Yep Yes Commissioner B Thank you Mr Chair Um
first off I like I like that it was laid out that we see see and do all these grants in Canui County each year the possibilities of that and that's really nice to hear that So my concern is too since it wouldn't be coming to the board initially uh and I understand where we
want to go with this but some feedback that we get along the way you know we'd get feedback if we got the grant but it's just nice us to know and the public to be able to hear that So is there some way to kind of summarize it or whatever that we get that kind of feedback what kind of grants are
being I'm not trying to micromanagement how do we get that and the public get the information that all these good things are we're trying to get other dollars right and typically if a department head does apply for a grant that typically does come through the
board okay um or the update might be made or we might need uh the board chair to authorize the grant submission And so that's what we're looking for is to not stall that process is that that we can keep moving forward with it so we don't have to hold up or call a special
board meeting that we can authorize and move forward There's many times where Mel might need to sign something or I would sign something um and so we wouldn't have to wait for that board meeting to address and miss an opportunity with a grant The other reason why I wanted to call out some of
these specific ideas is because like I mentioned earlier these were the the grant ideas um that we came up with with our federal lobbyists representatives And I wanted to call these out and specifically because these are the grant opportunities that are available right
now and that we are actually uh working to apply for grants Um for instance the family resource center we um are working on something with that the water tower rehabilitation We're looking at playground equipment grants uh for our
county parks professional development opportunities Um we're always looking at uh options and grant ideas for that so that we don't have to use levy dollars to bring in a speaker or anything like that And so I wanted to make this a uh these options aware to the county board
that these are specifically what we are going after right now Thank you Yep Mr Chair Commissioner MD but this action today is just about the letter of support not about because I don't think we need to give department heads our
blessing to apply for a grant do we Some do Some do but this is only addressing the letter of support Correct Are any other questions Go ahead M Mr Chair I I think um and and there's that that's you do bring up a
good good point because like we're going to have road and bridge after this and we have revenue identified to accommodate this year's work and next year's work Okay If there's a
grant that could make that cheaper then you the administrator is right we might submit for highway safety grant I I don't specifically bring that back to the board because maybe from
history or whatever it's like we can do that but like why wouldn't you do more safety if you can get a safety grant for something that's already funded And so I think we have maybe two different things going on here
One is like projects that are already funded that you could either make cheaper or do more of versus projects that are perhaps ideas that we can't fund but maybe a grant could you know we might have a 10% match and then that
might be more of ones where we would bring it to the board like hey you know for this $2 million project for you know 50,000 we could do this project if we went after CDS funding for instance as an example So I I think there's kind of two different um I don't want to get the
board to think that you know people just go after grants that on their own You know what I mean To me it's more of a situation if it's funded already and has opportunity to make it cheaper if we could get to the board Yes You know like I would tell
you today at at Road and Bridge that I'm applying for safety money every year for edge line striping or intersection repair or quarters of commerce for the new London interchange or real crossing grant for you know what I mean These are things that are somewhat routine
business in my world of So does that did that explain it a little bit And then maybe the priority projects where we would have federal projects that perhaps aren't funded that we would have the ones we should go after And then I had one other uh kind
of a clarification thing in those instances and I know this happens and will happen again where we are not able to convene the board before a letter of support is desired um whether it's a department head or uh
an individual um u commissioner as long as we are you know not representing that that letter that signing of the letter it represents the whole board we can do that as well
Yep And and just to clarify Mel what Mel's point was too in typically all of our departments our department heads are looking for grant opportunities It is I mean uh just was it a couple weeks ago
family resource center grant came available through the sour family Um Caroline with health and human services submitted a grant for that Tammy Joe with community corrections submits grants for uh professional development opportunities um where I think this specifically and I
agree there's kind of two it's just twofold but this we I also wanted to specifically call out these grant ideas and opportunities that we're facing right now so that you all are aware of that So if there does come a grant for a trail grant or a uh equipment grant that
you're aware of that and that you are all signing off on that these are appropriate opportunities for federal and state grant opportunities some of uh when when I say yes and no because some state grants do require county board approval Um if you go back to the ORAC
grant the opioid grant where we got the two extra staff the community liaison those two we did bring through board because it was a $750,000 ask So that something like that we do bring to board and like what Commissioner Mdike was saying our first
priority would always be to bring to the board first But this is where if timing doesn't allow then the staff or myself have the authority to sign off on that letter of support And again I'm sorry Uh followup Yeah And
again this this particular action today is just the letters of support not the grants Um and this list to be clear uh administrator Baker is not exhaustive right because I do think there was some other things like uh there was daycare
there were some other things that were on originally on this list Yeah Mr Thank you Mr Chair And I'm assuming then too you've been looked at and the grants I think I'm kind of concerned or the board might be concerned those that might have tales that yes the county is
got to chip in so many dollars or in kind services and if it's a significant amount it would affect the levy We want to know that but uh it's not involved in this way I understand Right Are any further questions for the administrator
Uh Mr Odens did you want to offer clarity You know I and maybe the administrator and I talked about this and part of the reason this came up was at the last board meeting we asked for a letter of support for the water towers from Senator Cloverar's
office Well fishbox and Smith's came open Well the action was for Cloer's office I'm thinking well the intent was to do letters of support for the water towers It wasn't for maybe one particular
congressional office but the action said Columbus's office I'm thinking well now what Okay I don't have permission to go to Fishbox and Smith And it just seemed like uh like unintended consequence We
should have just do you support the water tower to go after federal or state dollars kind of period you know but we I'll admit I messed it up I I said one particular office and I should have just said you
you you like this project because it will make it cheaper than bonding for it And that's where I said the revenue is there to do the project We fully intend to do it but this is going to reduce our rates by 2% So that that's that was kind
of where the administrator and I talked like okay yes that that's kind of how this discussion started As commissioner yeah as I understand what it sounds to you opportunity to talk to that person at that point and it's very understandable those kind of kind of
things do happen All right Any other questions And we have a motion and a second to approve the recommendation of uh staff on uh this uh grant uh on the grant requests uh process All in favor
signify by saying I I All opposed Motion carries Thank you Uh administrator Baker then we have the two letters of the support and commitment uh items Yes I will be presenting on the Prairie Lakes and Sarah will be doing the letter of
commitment Um so with in your packet today is a letter of support for Senator Clolobashar's office Um this would be for a congressional directed spending uh grant This is due March 31st There's a little caveat with this
Um working with Prairie Lakes and the they're going through some transitional periods as well So I've been working with the Prairie Lakes board chair We don't know if we'll be able to submit an application by March 31st that we will have everything ready to go However I wanted to ask the board for approval
with this letter of support that if we did have everything ready by March 31st that I'm you know we're not coming back or you know we the grant request prior to this was an afterthought putting this together Um but the letter lays out what
um kind of explaining what Prairie Lakes Youth Program is um we would be going after technology uh funding And so there's two like I said this is a caveat I don't know if we'll be we'll have time to submit this application but I wanted to have this letter of support
specifically from the Candy County Board because Prairie Lakes is held within our county and we do own the facilities However um we could be going after a cops grant as well I don't know the deadline for that I think that will be maybe in April And so having these ready
will just help us in general And I know working with the board chair with Prairie Lakes he will be talking with the other four counties within Prairie Lakes um to also submit letters of support And I'll be working with him on um other community partners And so it
Candy County would be the applicant um for this request In talking with Jordan Hager with Primacy Strategy Group he does recommend that it would be a county um and so recommends that it would be us that would submit that instead of Prairie Lakes youth program There would
be other opportunities Uh like I said I don't know if we'll get this application in on time but I will keep the board updated on when that application is submitted But today I would be asking for approval on this specific letter of support Uh you've heard the
recommendation of staff Mr Chair I entertain a motion to approve this letter of support Uh we have a motion Is there a second I'll second it Commissioner Dale Anderson spoke up first Commissioner Dwayne Anderson Yep Thanks Mr Chair So uh it's it's a letter
addressed to Senator Clolobachar You know we have Senator Smith we have uh Representative Michelle Fishbach Is this just generically saying that it's just herb as an example or are we going to go after all the options of We would go after all the options as
well This was addressed to Senator Clolobashar because of the draft that we used um and then I was out last week and Jordan reviewed reviewed this draft um prior to submitting for the board application So yes this would be prime example of what Mel just explained is
that we would also go after who um okay write letters of support to Smith and Fishbach as well Okay All right Thank you And uh you mentioned uh uh administrator Baker you mentioned the other grant possibility Uh are you going
to need something like this or did we already take care of that with our previous uh item uh if uh if if you have an April deadline or are we going to have time to see that uh at one of our board meetings I think there would be time but the
previous request might have also fixed that with the deadline but once I find out that deadline they haven't even released the date yet I will do my best to keep the board updated You just keep us posted Very good commissioner Thank you Mr Chair Um and I certainly uh will
defer to the lobbyists um advice on this but the last paragraph where it says on behalf and and that we support the Candyo High County application this is on behalf of Prairie Lakes Youth Program which with which is a joint powers and there are four other
counties uh involved Um I'd be a lot more comfortable if all four all five of the counties were involved uh were named on as the application uh applicant or Prairie Lakes itself Um I'm just a little nervous that some of our requests
we we only get may only get one bite of the apple here And if we go back for a request regarding Prairie Lakes they may have already checked that box and said "We did this last year we're not you know going to entertain uh something for
this year Uh Commissioner B Commissioner you have a really good point and I'm assuming the board from Prairie Lake youth program would be doing that as well submitting a letter of support as part of that U and we have a a meeting tomorrow morning Tomorrow morning So I'll bring that up
Okay But to be clear Mr Chair I mean to be clear we're talking about the application not the letter of support Right Right We'll be discuss that Okay And I do understand Commissioner where where you're coming from Yeah I did point like
I said I did specifically ask and he said the county that was also one of the things when we were out in uh DC this fall that we did ask all the reps of who would be the best applicant Would it be Prairie Lakes youth programs Would it be Candy County And they all recommended
one county Um I get your point I I hear you on it Um I can I I can double check before we submit the application as well Um and so I I will continue to look further into that and if it does need to
be changed um I can do so but per his recommendation he did say the county Yeah And uh and I was on that uh uh excursion as well And yeah I I recall specifically the uh recommendation that
uh uh the application come from us Understood Commissioner Burke Yeah thank you Mr Chair And I'm I think we're looking at this grant you know as as a board and what we're going to be doing you know for the application for a large grant of some kind I think we'd have
board discussion on that for sure but this is not a major major grant type of thing that we're going to own a building or whatever like that Yeah All right It's a matter of getting the grants into our dollars for this program and whatever it takes I It's important But
any other questions made Anything else All right We have a motion and a second to approve the recommendation of staff All those in favor say I I All opposed Motion carries Thank you And then we have Sarah Vandar uh from PAC 4 families
uh collaborative Uh and you are requesting a a letter as well Yes I am Good morning Um so um a little bit of background the partners for success program um which runs through PACT it's a substance use prevention program um started in 2020 and goes through 2025 um
is ending in August and due some due to some funding limitations um related to population size We have had to do a couple of things different with this next proposal Um with populations less than 250,000
people we can only get $250,000 So our previous grant was for $300,000 and it covered three counties Um for this grant we are expanding into Mer County and submitting two separate proposals One for Candy Ohio and Mer and one for Renville and Yellow Medicine County So
we'll have a more regional um approach to prevention substance use prevention for our youth um in Candy Ohio County and then again in Yellow Medicine County So um this letter of commitment is asking basically for you to continue doing what you're already doing for the Drug-Free Communities Coalition and the
Partners for Success Grant which will be ending in August So we want to make sure that we are continuing um to sustain the efforts that are already occurring because we've seen some really positive outcomes for our youth Um and that's evident through our pack chair survey um
through the Minnesota student survey showing that substance use is down We don't want um funding gaps to create increases in substance use So basically to continue what we're already doing um we also ask that we look at leveraging
county dollars which you already do So you would continue to do that through the mini grants that you offer through public health Um so that would just be a continuation and then just engaging lo local partners continuing to work in your communities share the information about the project and what we're doing
through our coalitions um actively engaging Um Commissioner Gardner sits on our DFC coalition and that's wonderful We would ask that that continue Um and then ensuring the sustainability just having sustainability conversations so that we can look at other funding opportunities
because this is a five-year grant and we'll want to of course continue our prevention efforts afterwards So um we will continue to be committed to offering the leadership and coordination of the grant um all the reporting and also the evaluation and continuous improvement which is something that we
always do with all of our um SAMA grants And then we'll continue to work with youth and schools and other community partners to promote um prevention efforts positive community norms and um different community events as they occur in the community So any questions about
the actual letter of commitment or any of of the project Are there any questions for Sarah Mr Chair I will move that we approve this letter of support for Pat Uh Commissioner Berg moves on the letter and I'll second it Commissioner Dwayne
Anderson seconds Uh any discussion Uh I do on the drug free coalition I apologize for not being able to be there again this month conference So I don't know if you're available or if you're going to the same I'll I'll have to check my schedule I
think I have a meeting that day but I'll I I'm pretty sure you do as well So well we appreciate when you can be there We know you're very busy people So yes All right Anything else All right then All those in favor of the
uh motion uh approving the letter signify by saying I I All opposed Motion carries Perfect And I am submitting the grant today So if I can get my hands on wonderful I submitted the other one yesterday so
we're well on track But then we'll cross our fingers we get it Yes Absolutely Not knowing what's going to be happening Yes It takes a long time We won't know until end of August So wow Thank you so much And there you are Thank you And you as
well All right And uh now we have uh our hu health and human services director Caroline Khan Community call to action update Yeah good morning commissioners My name is Caroline Khan I have the opportunity to serve as the health and human services director for Candy Ohio County And this morning I just have an
invitation informational update for you uh making our community and yourselves aware of our upcoming community call to action This is a our next meeting in a series of meetings that helps form how public health will engage with our community over the next five years Last summer we did our community call to
action that help invited our community partners and uh neighbors to come forward and help us identify our top health needs That goes through a rigorous process to narrow it down to three of our top health needs that's approved by our community health board Um as mentioned earlier we have a lot of
partnerships with Renville County and they are our partner in our community health board um for public health So we will be moving forward now as our top three uh community health needs are identified as substance use uh mental
well-being as well as our aging community which is the first time that aging community has elevated to the top uh top three of our health uh needs for Candy Ohio County and Renville County So on April 2nd from 1 to 4 p.m we'll be holding a a meeting We would love to see
your participation our community partners' participation and as many lived experiences as possible to come help shape the framework in which public health will be identifying areas to focus on over our next 5-year community health improvement plan Uh we've also
invited Creating Communities Consulting to join us on behalf of our uh community health board to help frame this uh work in a results-based accountability framework and help ensure that our community partners are engaged in carrying this work forward uh versus it
just landing on public health staff So we're really looking forward to a robust five-year plan Uh but we really would like to see the community's voices uh be heard and participate in in shaping this framework moving forward So again just to remind uh everyone April 2nd
Wednesday downstairs in the multi-purpose room here at the Health and Human Services building in Wilmer um we'll begin that work and and going through a a very interactive experience to help come forward with uh specific project ideas
Any questions Are there any questions for Director Khan I'm just going to uh make a comment here Um uh I also sit now on the uh state community health services advisory committee's uh uh executive uh committee
representing the southwest region And we just had a meeting last week and uh it is amazing all of the different things that come across our desk here that actually have to do with uh public health uh just looking at our uh
directly or indirectly you know just looking at our agenda today uh the uh feed lot uh report you know clean water that's uh that's important Um and uh you know some of the other things that we do uh uh think about broadband and and its
implications for uh uh public health Well you know providing teleaalth services to uh uh some of our rural communities Uh road bridge ditches Uh that's all uh related a lot of it's related to water quality as well Uh if
you like uh if you like safe food uh you know that's a that's a function Inspections are a function of our public health departments as well Uh and so I just want to thank you for the uh uh for the work that you do Uh and uh I do want to encourage everyone to uh be able to
uh participate in this uh uh in this session on uh April 2nd Anything else other than you gave me a great that's public health campaign We could just add that to everything on the board agenda That's public health So there it is
Thank you Caroline Thank you so much Thank you We are now at uh towards the end of the agenda and uh uh of our of our business portion at least Uh are there any uh administrative updates that you wish to uh address Kelsey
Not at this time All right And uh are there any appointments calendar committee reports I know that we're we we are going to recess this uh meeting and reconvene at 11:00 at the uh um uh public works
conference room Uh and uh we'll be carrying on some uh some business there as well We'll start getting one of our was it now three annual uh meetings that we have with you guys up on this Yep And
uh so uh does anyone have uh any of the commissioners have anything that they do want to specifically address very briefly as part of a uh abbreviated uh report out All right Hearing and seeing none then we will recess the uh candy county
uh board of commissioners meeting and we will reconvene at 11 o'clock uh at the public works conference room