The Polk County Board of Commissioners met inside the Polk County Government Center on Tuesday morning at 8:00 a.m.
JAMES TADMAN – SHERIFF
The meeting began with Polk County Sheriff James Tadman giving the Monthly Sheriff Reports for June. He reported that they drove a total of 8,990 miles in their transport vehicles for the month, and they took 3,064 calls for the month, with 715 being for Emergency calls and 2,349 being for non-Emergencies. He also reported that they had a total of 117 Services, with 37 of them being for Summons on a complaint. He reported that they had 888 total calls for service, with 252 of them for Civil Process, 248 for Traffic Stops, three gas drive-offs, and that they had found one missing girl. He said it was a busy time of the year, which is normal for June, with people vacationing and using the lakes while some officers try to take vacations themselves.
Retirements, Promotions, and Advertisements
Tadman then asked for a resolution to approve the retirement of Patrol Sergeant Randy Sendrol and to promote a Deputy from the Justice Center to Patrol Deputy. He then asked for a resolution to approve the beginning of the advertisement and the hiring of a new Transport Deputy. His final item was to accept the retirement of Telecommunicator Sheila Menard, who is retiring on Thursday, August 11, and begin the advertisement and hiring process for a new Telecommunicator. The board approved all motions unanimously.
KURT ELLEFSON – VETERANS
The board then heard from Polk County Veteran Service Officer Kurtis Ellefson on a resolution to award a CVSO Operational Improvement Grant of $10,000 from the Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs to the Polk County Veteran Service Office for advertising and travel around the county. The board approved the motion unanimously.
COUNTY ATTORNEY – GREG WIDSETH
The board then heard from County Attorney Greg Widseth to request that the board pass a motion authorizing him to begin establishing a Student Attorney Externship with the UND Law School to employ students in the Government Center to work with and assist attorneys in the office under student practice rules and supervision. “Student attorneys will come in and work under the supervision of our assistants, work in our office and hopefully develop some talent,” Widseth explained. “Under the student practice rule, they can appear in court and draft documents, they just have to be supervised by an attorney, so they’ll be doing everything that an assistant would be doing other than trying serious cases. It allows them to get experience to see what the jobs like, and hopefully allows us to develop some talent that we can tap into in the future.” He said he would use his own funds to cover the student’s salaries and oversee them and their work to help prepare them for these or other offices. He heard there were many applications for the opportunity, but due to the University’s application process being close to closing for the semester, he believes that they will begin the externship program by the spring of 2023. The board approved the motion unanimously.
PUBLIC HEALTH – SARAH REESE
The board then heard from Public Health Director Sarah Reese, who first requested the board to move a contract with the Altru Clinic in Crookston to fill a vacancy of a Nurse Practitioner in the Public Health Department to ensure it still has services available to their clientele. “We are establishing a contract with Altru Clinic. Our medical consultant is also through Altru, so it’s a nice partnership that we have. We will have a Nurse Practitioner who will provide services for our clients, specifically in the reproductive and sexual health area.”
Public Health Nurse Advertisement
Director Reese then requested the board to begin advertisement and the hiring process for a 1.0 FTE Public Health Nurse (registered nurse) and any subsequent vacancies within Polk County Public Health until the end of December after the retirement of Judy Ophus. She explained that the program requires extensive training and focuses on family home visiting and the nurse-family partnership model, and wanted to bring the new nurse in as soon as possible to have the appropriate training and have the families, Judy, and the new nurse spend time together before the retirement at the end of the year. The board approved both motions unanimously.
COUNTY ENGINEER – RICHARD SANDERS
The board then heard from County Engineer Richard Sanders on the Wheelage and Local Option Sales Tax that he brought to the board’s last meeting on July 19 to raise the Local Option Sales Tax from .25% to .5% and the Wheelage Tax from $0 to $20, which they had stopped collected in 2020. Sanders predicted that it would bring about $700,000 to the county and department if it was implemented, depending on sales, and would implement them for both in-person and online sales. The board said they saw good reasonings for changing them for the budget but felt the current system was fine and had a better option with the ARPA funds that could help him with his budget and projects for 2023. “In 2020, when COVID first hit, our gas tax and motor vehicle sales tax receipts that came into Polk County, we lost about $1.2 million. Because of that, the board has decided that out of the $6 million in ARPA funds, the Highway Department will get that $1.2 million back,” Sanders explained. “So, my fund will be zeroed out from that $1.2 million that I lost, and I’ll be able to use that money on future construction.” After some debate, the board chose not to make a motion or action to raise the taxes but agreed to allocate the ARPA funds to the Highway Department.
The next Commissioner’s meeting will take place on Tuesday, August 2, at 8:00 a.m. in the Polk County Government Center.
