The Polk County Board of Commissioners met on Tuesday morning at the Polk County Government Center.
CONSENT ITEMS
The board’s Consent Items included the board approving the Auditor’s Warrants and the board minutes from their meeting on January 24. It also included approving a resolution accepting a Financial Award on Behalf of the Polk County Sheriff’s Office from Wild Rice Electric Board of Trustees through the Operation Roundup Program and a financial donation on behalf of the Polk County Coordinated Victim Services from the Trinity Lutheran Church WLECA in Crookston. The board approved the Consent items unanimously.
NW REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION-LYNNELL POPOWSKI
The board was first approached by NW Transportation Coordinator Lynnell Popowski with a resolution to improve access to affordable transportation in the region. He explained he was looking for a representative from the board to serve on the Northwest Regional Transportation Coordination Council (NWRTCC) and work in one of their work teams. After some discussion, Commissioner Warren Strandell chose to join and partake in their council.
COUNTY BOARD MEMBERS ISSUE FORUM
The board then began by reviewing the updated assignments each board member had given for the Association of Minnesota Counties Conference from their last meeting on January 24. Polk County Administrator Chuck Whiting first asked who would fill in two committees they did not elect to replace Gerry, which were the Down Payment Assistance Program and the Sandhill Watershed District Advisory Committee. Commissioner Mark Holy nominated himself to take the Down Payment Assistance Program Committee, which the board approved unanimously. The complete list of committees can be seen below-
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Open in new tab HIGHWAY-RICHARD SANDERS
County Engineer Richard Sanders then approached the board with a contract on the Maple Lake and East Shore Rydell Lot. He explained that Rydell owned the south half of the East Shore and have agreed on an appraisal of $50,000 with a signed warranty deed for the property.
2023 Road Restriction Map
Sanders then brought forward an updated Road Restriction Map for 2023. He showed there were no changes to the map from 2022, so the restricted roads from 2022 will be restricted again, even with the overlay they added over the summer. “If you look at our map, a lot of our roads are already nine or ten-ton roads, so as we do overlays, the restrictions on those roads won’t change. They’ll remain at nine or ten tons,” County Engineer Richard Sanders explained. “Not all of our roads are ten-ton, we have a grid system setup that allows for 10-ton movement during Spring Load restrictions, but the remainder of the roads are either nine- or seven-ton roads, and based on the overlays that we did in 2022, none of those roads are changing.” The road map can be seen below-
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Certificate of Performance/Final Acceptance for CSAH 66, 41, 23, and 20
Sanders then came forward with the certificates of Performance/Final Acceptance for Northwest Asphalt & Maintenance of Thief River Falls after they completed the crack-sealing work required on the contract for CSAHs 66, 41, 23, and 20. He reported that the original contract amount was $129,720, but the final contract amount came to $132,480. The board approved all motions unanimously.
PUBLIC HEARING
After a short break, the board opened a Public Hearing to discuss an emergency interim ordinance prohibiting the establishment of new uses or expanding existing uses related to the sales, testing, manufacturing, and distribution of THC products. The board had recognized a significant public interest in a new state law that took effect on July 1 to make it legal to sell certain edibles and beverages infused with THC. The board was first approached by County Attorney Greg Widseth, who explained they had completed a moratorium the board had requested in November to conduct a study on the sales of the THC products. He explained the law went through without a lot of regulatory processes, and one of the biggest concerns was the impact it could have on youth. The moratorium states that no business, person, or entity may establish a use or expand an existing use to the sale or distribution of Cannabis Products authorized by the law. The probation included testing, manufacturing, or distribution of edible cannabinoid products for at least 12 months from the new ordinance. During the time, the county cannot issue any license or permit to accept applications for uses related to a sale, testing, manufacturing, or distribution of those products. However, this wouldn’t apply to any lawful products tested, sold, or manufactured before the Act or for those authorized by the Act. The ordinance would allow them to discuss a study on the product and its effect on individuals.
Public Health Director Sarah Reese came forward with the results of a survey taken last spring for students in 5th, 8th, 9th, and 11th grade. She shared that after a 30-day use, about 6% of the 9th graders said they used marijuana at least once, and about 9% had in twelve months, while 13% of 11th graders had said they used it in the last 30 days, but about 18% had used it in the previous twelve months. When asked how their parents would feel if they used the product, 76% of the 9th-grade students believed their parents would be upset if they used the product, but several were still engaging in the activity. She voiced her concern about the general public’s view of the product not being harmful to them, as they had seen an increase in poison control calls.
The board was then approached by District 1 candidate Travis Johnson, who voiced his opposition to the moratorium voicing that the THC businesses would cause more problems to youth and other businesses that already were here and potentially drive away other potential businesses while causing more problems for law enforcement and the county’s youth. “The main reason they kept bringing forward was the protection of children, but what they did does not protect the children anything more than what was in place. All it does is that it makes it harder for adults to get illegal products. It’s going to shove the market underground,” said Travis Johnson. “That’s what happens with probation is that when it’s not legal, the market is still there. It just moves underground where you have no control or visibility of it.”
John Reitmeier of Canna Corners approached the board and began by sharing his family’s history in becoming one of the first licensed hemp farmers in Polk County and that the moratorium would potentially run out his business, as he would not be able to expand his fields outside of Crookston. He explained his business worked under the federal program and allowed customers to use credit for purchases, and the ordinance would limit the amount that he could sell to his customers, which would affect him and his family, who also worked in the business. Commissioner Joan Lee answered that the ordinance wouldn’t impact his business as its goal was to halt the growth of new hemp distributors until the Act was cleared with the State Government.
Crookston School Resource Officer Don Rasicot then approached the board, sharing that he had seen incidents of middle school students bringing in THC-filled vape pens and got so sick in class that they were sent home. He explained that THC-oil-filled vape pens were the leading cause of issues for the police in the schools and was having dire effects for the schools just this year, but the current laws prevented the police from doing full searches and other actions against vape pens. When he asked students where they had gotten their vape pens, some answers he received were from the THC stores, while others refused to answer. Reitmeier responded that his stores do not sell them at all, so there must be another source they were receiving their pens.
After closing the Public Hearing, the board decided to accept the ordinance with a vote of 3-1 in favor of accepting it, with Commissioner Mark Holy voting against it. Commissioner Gary Willhite voiced his thoughts of researching the topic further to help enforce it properly. “We do need more additional research if we’re going to expand this. We already have businesses in the Crookston community that are selling THC. The legislature did not really set any stipulations other than the age and percentage of THC, and of course, at least as far as I’ve been aware, there have been some businesses increasing that number of THC to really dangerous levels,” Commissioner Gary Willhite explained. “So I think before we do any more expansion within the outskirts of our cities, we want to take a look at this before we allow a lot more establishments. Crookston, Erskine, and Fosston can set their own regulations, and I think the state legislation is looking at bills too.”
The Polk County Commissioners will next meet on Tuesday, February 21, at the Polk County Government Center.
