Special Meeting of the Board of County Commissioners s1

SPECIAL MEETING OF THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS Lac qui Parle County, Minnesota January 15, 2008

The Board met in the Commissioners Room in the Courthouse in the City of Madison on Tuesday, January 15, 2008. Chairman Ivey Vonderharr called the meeting to order at 1:00 p.m. with all members in attendance. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited. 14-08 BE IT RESOLVED, That the Lac qui Parle County Commissioners accept the action of the Lac qui Parle County Welfare Board dated January 15, 2008. Meeting was called to order at 1:00 PM. Chairman Ivey Vonderharr asked if there were any additions to the agenda. Auditor- Treasurer Sieg and Commissioner Solem added several items to the agenda. A motion was made and seconded to accept the agenda. Upon vote, all voted in favor. County Engineer Steve Kubista presented a resolution for approval of the final contract payment of $12,191.25 to Sather Construction for the construction of the new Bellingham Highway Shop. The final project total was $243,255.00 which is $3,555 more than the original contract amount. Mr. Kubista noted that the extra amount was for change orders made during construction. The following resolution was passed unanimously: 15-08 WHEREAS, The Bellingham Shop, have in all things been completed and the County Board being fully advised in the premises. NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, That we hereby accept said completed project for and in behalf of the County of Lac qui Parle and authorize final payment in the amount of $12,191.25, to Sather Construction and Building Supply Co., PO Box 355, Dawson, MN 56232. Mr. Kubista presented a resolution for amending a prioritized bridge replacement list. This resolution was passed unanimously: 16-08 WHEREAS, Lac qui Parle County has reviewed the pertinent data on bridges requiring replacement, rehabilitation, or removal supplied by local citizenry and local units of government, and the regional development commission; and WHEREAS, Lac qui Parle County has identified those bridges that are high priority and has previously established a list of those that require replacement, rehabilitation, or removal; and WHEREAS, the following additional bridges have since been identified as also requiring replacement, rehabilitation, or removal; NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the following deficient bridges are added to the list of high priority bridges and Lac qui Parle County intends to replace, rehabilitate, or remove these bridges as soon as possible when funds are available,

Old Road Total Township or Federal Local or Proposed Bridge Number Project State Bridge Funds State Aid Construction Number or Name Cost Funds Funds Year L7754 TWP 40 $80000 $75000 $ 5000 2008

FURTHERMORE, Lac qui Parle County does hereby request authorization to replace, rehabilitate, or remove such bridges; and FURTHERMORE, Lac qui Parle County does hereby request financial assistance with eligible approach grading and engineering costs on township bridges, as provided by law. Mr. Kubista requested approval to purchase three new computers for the highway department. Steve commented that this was a budgeted item. The old computers are not completely obsolete, but the engineering software requires more powerful computers. Steve will give the old computers to the county’s technology consultant, who will decide how they can best be used. A motion was made and seconded to approve the purchase of the new computers. Upon vote, all voted in favor. Mr. Kubista requested approval to purchase a color printer for the highway department. This purchase was also budgeted for 2008. Steve recommended purchasing a Canon Printer from Best Business Products of Watertown at a cost of $3,199. A motion was made and seconded to approve the printer purchase. Upon vote, all voted in favor. Steve presented a petition from Jon Willand of Minneapolis, MN, to designate CSAH 20 as a Natural Preservation Route. According to Minnesota Statutes, “any person may make a written request to designate a county state-aid highway as a natural preservation route.” The statute says that this request must be made to the county board and that the county board has to act on the request within 60 days. Mr. Kubista informed the commissioners that as part of the application process for designation as a Natural Preservation Route a 13-item list would need to be submitted to the State Commissioner of Transportation. This list would be very labor-intensive to prepare, and would take away time from other projects that the county highway department is working on. A motion was made and seconded to acknowledge receipt of the petition and to direct Mr. Kubista to do a preliminary study to consider factors set forth in the statutes. Upon vote, all voted in favor. The Board directed County Attorney Rick Stulz to write a formal letter to Mr. Willand explaining this decision. Mr. Kubista presented the annual report for the Road & Bridge department. Mr. Kubista recommended changing the balances of the designated funds in the highway department for 12/31/07 as follows: Eq. Capital Outlay $223,400, Land & Building Cap Outlay $101,900, and County Highway and Other Construction $1,314,000. A motion was made and seconded to accept the recommendation. Upon vote, all voted in favor. Bid letting for construction of the Marietta Shop was set for 2/19/08. Steve discussed the county’s membership in WACCO (Western Area City County Cooperative). The county buys all sand/salt through this co-op but is not a member. The co-op is now requiring membership for purchase. Steve explained that even with the membership costs, the flexibility and cost savings over purchasing through the state program make membership a good idea. The Road Safety Audit results will be discussed after the March 18 commissioner meeting. Gloria Tobias of Countryside Public Health appeared before the board to discuss the county’s emergency preparedness plan. Also present for this discussion were various county department heads. Gloria recommended that each department head identify and classify all department functions according to importance then formulate a plan explaining how each function will be performed if there would be an emergency where multiple county employees would be unable to work. Gloria will distribute classification guidelines and service charts to the department heads. After the charts are completed Gloria will advise the board on the next step in preparing a county emergency preparedness plan. Matt Skaret, Madison City Manager, appeared before the board to discuss the joint Mueller building demolition project. The asbestos inspection showed 3 areas of contamination that must be taken care of before the building can be demolished. Quotes for asbestos abatement were as follows: Quad States $37,122 MAAC $32,900 Matt reported the city approved the low quote. A motion was made and seconded to accept the low quote from MAAC and for the city and county to share 50/50 on the cost-sharing. Upon vote, all voted in favor. A bill in the amount of $45,867.00 was presented from MCIT for county worker’s compensation and property insurance premiums. A motion was made and seconded to approve the bill. Upon vote, all voted in favor. A-T Sieg presented a letter of sponsorship whereby Lac qui Parle County agrees to sponsor the LqP EDA for membership in MCIT. This sponsorship has no effect on premiums or liability for the county, but MCIT requires it to allow new members. A motion was made and seconded to accept the letter. Upon vote, all voted in favor. A motion was made and seconded to remove Darrel Ellefson from the county’s list of appointments to the resource committee. Upon vote, all voted in favor. A motion was made and seconded to approve a rural signage fee of $30. Upon vote, all voted in favor. A motion was made and seconded to authorize Auditor-Treasurer Sieg to issue a courthouse entrance key to Gloria Tobias. Upon vote, all voted in favor. Commissioner Overlander informed the board that Madison Bottling has agreed to purchase ten recycling bins and split costs 50/50 with the county. In the previous meeting the board approved the purchase of six bins with the county paying for the entire cost. A motion was made and seconded to split the costs of purchasing ten bins with Madison Bottling instead of purchasing six bins as previously approved. Upon vote, all voted in favor. A motion passed in a previous meeting was amended. Commissioner Harold Solem recommending appointing Loren Femrite and Ken Schueller to the County Park Board to replace John Tollefson and Ruben Winge. A motion was made and seconded to approve the appointments. Upon vote, all voted in favor. Commissioner Vonderharr reported to the board that John Witte had investigated the possibility of hooking up the Historical Society to the county’s internet. This can be done with some initial setup work and a monthly line charge of about $30. Ivey said that the Historical Society could pay for the setup work but requested approval for the county to pay for the monthly line charge. A motion was made and seconded for the county to pay for the monthly line charge in addition to the Historical Society’s annual appropriation for 2008. Upon vote, all voted in favor. Dan Meyer, CVSO, presented his monthly department update to the commissioners. Auditor-Treasurer Jake Sieg discussed some initial remodeling plans for the Auditor- Treasurer’s office. The current setup of the rooms does not allow for the most efficient setup for the six employees in the department. Commissioner Vonderharr recommended that the courthouse building committee be consulted before any further steps are taken. This is to ensure that the historical features of the building are preserved and that any changes made are compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Ivey also commented that if possible, any new furniture should fin in with the original décor of the building. The commissioners also recommended that an office space study be considered before any major changes are made to the courthouse. A motion was made and seconded to close the meeting at 4:05 PM for the purpose of discussing a personnel matter. Upon vote all voted in favor. No action was taken as a result of the discussion. A motion was made and seconded to open the meeting at 4:35 PM. Board adjourned at 4:35 PM

______Ivey Vonderharr, Chairperson ATTEST:

______Jacob Sieg, Auditor-Treasurer