The Polk County Board of Commissioners met on Tuesday morning in the Polk County Government Center. The agenda included Polk County Engineer Richard Sanders and a pair of county ditch maintenance requests featuring the Red Lake Watershed District, Mark Dietz from Facilities to discuss a new UPS Battery Replacement, Jacob Snyder asking for ARP Funding for SSTS Fixups, and a performance review of Polk County Administrator Chuck Whiting.
RICHARD SANDERS
Polk County Engineer Richard Sanders brought a pair of County Ditch hearing requests, one of which was requested by the Red Lake Watershed District (RLWD). Sanders discussed what the requests are for. “The first request was for County Ditch 140, and that’s located near our County Road State Highway 44,” said Sanders. “There is an approach that has a Culvert issue, and it looks like it needs to be cleaned up a bit.”
The board approved that ditch, and plans will be put into place to complete the project. The second ditch was requested by the RLWD, and Sanders spoke more on the request. “The second one was with county ditch 66, which is the outlet to the Euclid East Impoundment,” said Sanders. “The watershed district by law needs to make sure they have adequate outlets for their impoundments.”
The board also approved this request, and the Watershed District will start work with watershed funds from the impoundment location to two miles West of Euclid to make sure they have adequate outlets.
UPS BATTERY REPLACEMENT
Mark Dietz of Facilities stopped by to discuss the replacement of the 911 and Tri-County Jail UPS Batteries. Eaton Corporation filed a quote to replace the Tri-County Jail UPS Battery for $17,663,80 and the 911 UPS unit for $14,952,30. The facilities will be receiving new batteries, as the board approved both.
PLANNING & ZONING
Jacob Snyder of Polk County Environmental Services brought a request for ARP Funding for Septic fixups. The department received more applications than expected and is looking for more funding to fix as many as they can. The board approved $50,000 for the department to fix up more septic systems within the county. The systems owners will need to pay up to 50% to be eligible for the program and will need to meet a set of criteria to qualify.
The board had previously tabled the matter at their last meeting at the beginning of August to have more time to review the matter. The timing now means more septic systems will be fixed this year before the ground freezes over.
CHUCK WHITING
Polk County Administrator Chuck Whiting also updated the board on the American Relief Program Status and a 2022 budget update. Everything is moving along smoothly, and there will not be much to update until the end of the year.
The board of commissioners also conducted a performance review of Whiting. The evaluation went well, and the board is satisfied with Whiting’s performance this year.
OTHER ITEMS
Other items and people that came before the board included Karen Warmack of Social Services for a few position updates.
Sarah Reese of Polk County Public Health to discuss a few agreements and renew service contracts for Inter-County Head Start Health Consultant and Nutritional Consultant. Reese did not discuss the ongoing rise of COVID-19 and the numbers within the County at this meeting.
And a reviewal of the HRA 2021 Levy & Program Review with NW MN Multi-County HRA was presented before the board.
The next board meeting will take place next Tuesday, August 24, at 8:00 a.m. inside the Polk County Government Center.
