The Polk County Board of Commissioners met inside the Polk County Government Center on Tuesday morning.
CONSENT ITEMS
The board began the meeting by first approving the Auditor Warrants and the Board Minutes from their meeting on August 2. They also approved a payment to the US Bank in St. Louis, Missouri, in the amount of $95,344.50 for procurement card purchases and a payment to Morris Electronics in Morris of $9,604.30 for a Cisco Threat Defense License for the MIS Department. They also approved and signed the 2021 Emergency Management Performance (EMP) Grant and a payment to Heppner Consulting Inc. in Warroad of $400 for software installation for the Finance Department.
SOCIAL SERVICES- KAREN WARMACK
Social Services Director Karen Warmack first approached the board to request their approval for replacing a family-based service provider in the East Grand Forks office along with any other internal subsequent position vacancies occurring because of this action. She explained that the position assists in the prevention of mental health problems, child abuse, and neglect and works directly in homes to prevent out-of-home placements and reunify families in out-of-home placements. The board approved the motion unanimously.
RETIRED SENIOR VOLUNTEER PROGRAM (RSVP)- MITCHELL BERG
RSVP Coordinator Mitchell Berg then approached the board to request that the county board raise their annual contributions to the RSVP’s Rural Resident Volunteer (RRV) program from $2,400 to $3,000 to support their program for the 2023 Fiscal Year. Since their current funds do not permit them to reimburse their volunteers for their current milage rate to help recruit and retain volunteers, the expanding number of SAIL sites, and their other running programs.
FINANCE- RON DENISON
Finance Director Ron Denison then came forward in the place of the absent Polk County Administrator Chuck Whiting to discuss amendments to the 2022 Budget. Denison explained that as the board had been working through the American Rescue Plan program funding, they had found some inconsistencies in the budget on the local levee. Denison said Whiting had repeatedly seen ARPA funds set aside for various Social Services initiatives figured by the Social Services department totaling $425,917. Whiting had incorrectly assumed the expenses were included in their 2022 operating budget. The same amount was applied against their 2022 revenue budget with ARPA funds to offset the expenses that had not been budgeted, making these ARPA funds offset 2022 operating expenses instead of ARPA programming, which made the property tax levy needed for Social Services short by $425,917.
Denison reported there was a similar case for Polk County Public Health, saying that the board’s budget spreadsheet had the department’s initiatives at $268,672 in 2022, but they did not budget their expenditures, as they instead added the revenues to offset the expenditures. Not realizing this, Whiting allocated $268,672 of ARPA revenue to these expenses, making their tax levy short by $268,672. Whiting has since asked each department head to find a corresponding operating budget reduction for the remainder of 2022, which both had done.
Denison then requested for the board to amend the Social Services budget for reductions totaling $425,917 and the Public Health budget for reductions totaling $107,816. Denison said Whiting had made preparations to avoid similar issues for the 2023 budget by having them both show ARPA expenses and offsetting revenues. When the board asked how this would affect the budget in the future, Denison explained that the revenues and expenditures would be accounted for, so now, these will not affect the levee. The board approved both motions unanimously.
PLANNING & ZONING- JACOB SNYDER
The board then heard from Assistant Environmental Supervisor Administrator Jacob Snyder on awarding a grant to Olson and Sons Excavating, Tim Olson, in the amount of $10,200 to upgrade Kenneth MacDonald’s failing septic system in Fertile with the Low-income Septic fix-up program. Snyder explained that MacDonald had met the qualification criteria to receive the program’s 80% grant payment allocation as it was an imminent public health threat as the septic could leak into public waters. Snyder reported that they currently had enough funds to complete one more fix-up and was hoping to meet with the Board of Water & Soil Resources to have them lend more funds or allocate MPCA funding to help other people that need the grant. “We will carry a balance for our BWSR money into next year. Since it’s a new thing, we won’t know if we’ll be able to get that moving forward. We welcome the money. We can use it to fix priority septics,” said Snyder. “We can get applicants in the door, but the way they have it locked down on the breakouts, so what we can use and the maxes we can use are really challenging. We’ll be seeking those two agencies to couple the funding together so that we can run one program without two different restrictions.” The board approved the grant unanimously.
Fertile Community Conservation Club Update
Snyder then gave an update on the Fertile Community Conservation Club that had come to them to get a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) for a shooting range and had been getting complaints of shooting activity in late May from a local family that went against the CUP’s conditions. Snyder reported the club had sent a letter saying they were in full compliance and had erected gating, fencing, and added signage around the range on August 5. Snyder said he would meet with them in one of their meetings to complete some final parts of the project but ensured that the club knew who to contact in case operations changed or if there were any changes in how the site gets used.
HIGHWAY- RICHARD SANDERS
The board then heard from County Engineer Richard Sanders, who came forward with a quote he had received from Total Lawn Care in Crookston of $182 per time for mowing the Government Center Lot and the Transfer Station for 2022-25. The board approved the motion unanimously.
Polk County Lease/Maple Lake Park Land
Sanders then came forward with six leases to back lots off of Sykes Lane SE to residents with front along Maple Lake occupied by Polk County Maple Lake Park and Campground. “The Maple Lake Polk County Campground has approximately 40 acres to it, and as part of that, we own property that abuts Sykes Lane along Maple Lake on the back side of the campground. The landowners that own those lots along the lake also take out leases with us for property that we’ve dedicated to those backlots so that they can put a portable shed or other nonfixed items on there,” said Sanders. “So, we had the board approve a ten-year lease with those landowners that are good from August 6, 2022, until August 2032.” The board approved the motion unanimously.
Bridge Improvement Program Application
Sanders final item was half of a bridge that the county-owned across the Red River of the North with Norman and Clay County, with the other half owned by Cass and Traill Counties in North Dakota. He explained that he was looking for funding for the Nielsville Bridge, which has been closed since 2016 and Bridge Improvement Program Applications for it and three other bridges that connected Polk, Traill, Cass, Clay, and Norman Counties were due in September. “I came to the board today and had them approve spending $15,000 with Widseth in order for them to do a Bridge Application for us. As part of that Bridge Application, we’re bundling three bridges, the Nielsville Bridge between Traill County and us, the Hendrum Bridge between Norman and Traill County, and the Georgetown Bridge between Clay and Cass County,” Sanders explained. “So, we’re putting in an application. Hopefully, the feds will approve the application and fund us at 80% to replace those three bridges.” The board approved the motion unanimously.
HUMAN RESOURCES- ALECIA HELMS
The board finished the meeting hearing from Human Resources Director Alecia Helms, who reported that MIS Director Evan Bruggeman had submitted his resignation and is leaving for a new position, with his last day with Polk County being on Friday, September 2. She reported that she is currently working with an interim director in the interregnum and requested the board to authorize filling the vacant position and other subsequent positions that become vacant with its filling. The board approved the motion unanimously.
The next Polk County Commissioners meeting will take place on Tuesday, August 23, at 8:00 a.m. in the Polk County Government Center.
