The Polk County Board of Commissioners met at the Polk County Government Center on Tuesday morning to hear from Polk County’s Planning and Zoning Department’s Jacob Snyder on plans to approve grants for the Income-based Septic System Fix-Up Program.
CONSENT ITEMS
The board began the meeting by approving the Commissioner Warrants, signing the Audit List, and approving the payment to the US Bank in St. Louis, Missouri, in the amount of $15,815.30 for procurement card purchases. The final item on the Consent Agenda was to approve a satisfaction of mortgage for James L. and Mary Jo Wallace. The board approved the agenda unanimously.
JACOB SNYDER- PLANNING AND ZONING
The board was then approached by Assistant Environmental Supervisor Administrator Jacob Snyder, who asked the board to award grants for an income-based septic system fix-up program. “This spring, we usually put our application packet together for our low-income guidelines to fix existing septic systems,” Administrator Snyder explained. “So, with that program, we’re looking at adjusted gross incomes and fitting the guidelines of the money that we received through the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) and this year, unique Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources (BWSR) put in more money to fix existing non-compliance septic systems for our county.” He explained that they have been accepting applications to get applicants interested in the Low-Income Subsurface Sewage Treatment Systems (SSTS) fix-up grant to receive the funds, which became available through a grant from the MPCA through the Clean Water Act and MPCA Block Grant to fix two imminent public health threats, and one system failing compliance to soil separation through the program and is offered as an 80% or 60% grant to qualified applicants based on their adjusted gross household income.
Snyder said they currently have six applicants for the grant and were awarding three on Tuesday, with them waiting for two more to be finalized, which will utilize 70% of the current MPCA grant funding and 30% of the BWSR grant funding. In which Polk County will pay the winning bid contractor the entire cost of septic system installation but ends up covering 80-60% of the system upgrade, and applicants will pay the 20-40% remainder. He explained that thanks to additional funding from BWSR, they have an additional $25,450 which allows them to pay $2,500 off the total project cost, then use MPCA funds to fulfill the grant funding. The remaining balance and septic permit fee will be paid by the applicants to the county as a down payment. He then asked for a motion to award a low-income septic fix-up grant to Kenneth Lomen to upgrade his failing septic system and award the bid to Kicks Backhoe, Wade Delage, in the amount of $14,500 to install it. He then requested the same for Cole and Tara Jenkins and award the bid to Olson and Sons Excavating, Tim Olson in the amount of $14,500 to install theirs. And again, for Richard Monson to upgrade his failing system and award the bid to Great Northern Septic, Brandon Maygra, in the amount of $12,600. The board approved all bids unanimously.
American Relief Plan funding for existing SSTS fix-up
Snyder then requested the board to award an American Relief Plan (ARP) Fix-Up to fund a 50/50 match to upgrade failing SSTS that were not covered in their grant program. “We have a little bit more of a different set of standards for our ARP money,” Snyder explained, “The county received that money, and we’re trying to fix as many septics as we can, so if they don’t meet some threshold of our low-income program, we try to help them out, within reason.” Snyder explained that $50,000 were allocated to the Polk County Planning and Zoning department to fix priority systems not covered by the program, with the remaining balance of $30,076.50, in which the county would pay the lowest bidder 50% of the cost and the applicant would pay the other 50%. He requested the board to motion an ARP Fix-Up Grant to Cynthia Lecy, who had submitted an application to upgrade her failing septic system, but didn’t meet the requirements due to the project being done for the construction of a new house that had burned down in a fire, and because they exceed the income guidelines by 9% for a household of five and award the bid to Ryan’s Backhoe Service, Ryan Sherman, who was the lowest bidder in the amount of $16,696, in which the grant will cover $8,298 when he completes the project. He requested the same for Mackenzie Best, who didn’t meet the requirements due to making 23% over the income guideline threshold for the grant and the system failing to meet septic codes and needing replacement and award the bid to Ryan’s Backhoe Service, Ryan Sherman, who was the lowest bidder in the amount of $11,042, in which the grant will cover $5,521. The board approved all bids unanimously. Snyder then revealed that even with these bids awarded, the office still has funds available to fix septic systems that fit the requirements of either grant. “People that are interested can contact the Planning and Zoning Office at 218-281-5700, we still have funding available on a first-come, first-serve basis now,” Snyder explained, “We seek applications until June 1 and prioritize those and award them as needed, then after that, it’s a first-come, first-serve.”
ALECIA HELMS – HUMAN RESOURCES
Alecia Helms then approached the board to review the county’s hiring practices and any issues they had. She reported that the Center is losing or has lost many experienced workers around the departments and they are trying various methods of advertising around the county, such as radio and newspaper advertisements and the use of Indeed.com. She mentioned that they had also updated the Polk County website’s Job Openings page, showing that the page notes that the county includes affordable healthcare plans through Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS), with the Public Employees Retirement Association (PERA) with contributions made by the county, and that the county is a qualified employer for the Public Service Forgiveness Program. The goal is to create consistent descriptions of the jobs and benefits across all forms of advertisement. Though the board noted that the description on the paper may be too long, which would cause people to skip it, in which Helms reported that they were working with Social Services to condense it or take the description out of the paper to persuade people to go to the application sites to learn more.
KAREN WARMACK – SOCIAL SERVICES
Social Services Director Karen Warmack then approached the board to request the board to approve a refill in the Case Aide position and any internal subsequent position vacancies. She explained that the position would have to perform administrative duties and provides work direction to other incumbents in the Office Support Specialist classifications. The board approved the request unanimously.
The next Commissioners’ meeting will take place on Tuesday, July 26, at 8:00 a.m. in the Polk County Government Center.
