The Polk County Board of Commissioners met for the first time in 2025 on Tuesday, January 7, at 8:00 a.m. at the Government Center.
Commissioners-Elect Paul Reese, Mark Holy, and Gary Willhite, as well as Officers Elected, were administered the Oath of Office. Commissioner Holy was elected Board Chair, and Joan Lee was Vice Chair.
The regular agenda for Tuesday’s meeting started with a public hearing. The public hearing was for the Housing Incentive Program and Property Tax Abatements for the City of East Grand Forks. There were four new properties in East Grand Forks receiving the Proposed Tax Abatements. The hearing was opened and closed, and the resolution approving the proposed Tax Abatements was approved unanimously. This means that Polk County will abate its share of property taxes on four new homes for two years as an incentive for building.
Polk County Sheriff James Tadman gave his December report to the board Tuesday. “I think the month of December, which is during the holidays and usually is pretty busy, seemed to be down in counts with calls, and that’s a great thing,” says Tadman. “We had a lot of crashes. I think there was a total of 23, two of them with injuries, but I think that’s the weather and the slippery, but all in all, it was a very good month.”
Sheriff Tadman shared that milage was down on the Transport Log for the month of December and there were 645 calls for service. The top five reasons for calls were, Traffic Stops, Civil Process, School Patrol, Public Assist, and POR Checks.
Sheriff Tadman also came to ask the Board’s approval to hire a few positions. “One of our Sargents with our Sheriff’s Office resigned and went to another agency, so we are looking at hiring another deputy to fill that patrol position,” says Tadman. “And then we will promote another sergeant position from within the office.” The Board of Commissioners approved the motions to post and hire for an open deputy position and an open telecommuting position.
Alecia Helms from Polk County Human Resources came to the board Tuesday asking for approval of the Collective Bargaining Agreement for the Local 49ers Solid Waste Management. The board of Commissioners approved the agreement unanimously.
County Engineer Richard Sanders came to the board of commissioners for approval of two resolutions with regard to Federal Transportation Alternative Funds Grant Applications. “Today I came to the county board as Polk County is submitting a federal application for a multi-use trail along County State Aid Highways 12 from the Pavillion into Mentor,” says Sanders. “We previously applied for a state grant for a multi-use trail from Maple Bay to the Pavillion; this stretch of trail would tie Maple Bay all the way into Mentor.”
Sander says the Maple Lake Association would really like to see both of those trails built, so Polk County is in the process of applying for Federal Funds. “We needed to have the County Board pass two resolutions, one, sponsoring the project and the second saying we own it and maintain it after it’s built,” says Sanders. “Those resolutions are required for the federal funds and so they approved those today.”
The City of Fosston also seeks sponsorship from Polk County for Federal Transportation Alternative Funds. “Because the City of Fosston is a city of less than 5000, Polk County has to be the sponsor and fiscal agent for their projects,” says Sanders. “The County Board approved the resolution sponsoring their project as well.”
The last item Sanders had for the Board was a motion to approve signing a letter of support for the application for a RAISE Planning Grant. “The last item on the agenda was a letter of support for the City of East Grand Forks’ RAISE Grant application through the Feds,” says Sanders. “A planning grant for the possible Marifield Bridge and or Inner City Bridge.” The board unanimously approved the motion to sign the letter of support.
Every year, Polk County designates a Polk County Official Newspaper and a publication for Polk County’s Delinquent Tax List Statement. Director of Property Records Sam Melbye was given the bids at 9:15 a.m. Of the six publishers Melbye reached out to for bids, three were returned. “Annually, the County reaches out for bids to be the official newspaper for the county and to publish our delinquent tax lists,” says Melbye. “We notify all the newspapers in the area, plus we publish it for anyone in the area to submit bids to the county.” The bids were opened and listed on a tally sheet for discussion by the board. “The official newspaper is going to be The McIntosh Times, and The Fertile Journal will publish our delinquent tax list for us.”
Karen Warmack from Polk County Social Services came to the board today with two motions for filling positions in the Social Services Department. The first was to replace a Social Worker – CPS in the Child Protection Unit under the supervision of Alicia Kieckbusch. The second is to hire a Case Aide position in the East Grand Forks Office. The board unanimously approved both of these motions. Warmack was also given approval for the Children’s Mental Health Respite Care Grant Contract Amendment. The grant is in the amount of $178,698 and is effective January 1, 2025, through June 30, 2027. Last for Warmack was a motion to approve the Housing Services Contact with Tri-Valley Opportunity Council, which provides housing services and housing stabilization services from January 1, 2025, to December 31, 2025, and is not to exceed the amount of $167,648. The board unanimously approved the contract.
Polk County Administrator Chuck Whiting presented the board with the 2025 Mileage, Meals, and Lodging Reimbursement Rates. The board adopted the IRS 2025 Mileage Reimbursement Rate of $.70 per mile, the 2025 Federal Meal Reimbursement Rates for Minnesota and other states, the Federal Lodging Reimbursement rates for Minnesota and other states and amended the Personnel Manual Regarding Tip Policy.
The last item of the meeting was a resolution to Reallocate the American Rescue Plan Act Funds for 2024 Eligible Expenses. Two approved sub-recipient agreements have expired with unused ARPA funds, thereby requiring the reallocation of those funds to eligible expenses. The unused funds totaling $176,400 are from a scholarship program at UMC through the Crookston Rotary Club and from the City of Fertile, where efforts stalled on a remodeling project at the Agassiz Environmental Learning Center. As was discussed at the last board meeting, the unspent ARPA funds will be reallocated to the 2024 Sheriff’s Department wages. The resolution to do that was approved unanimously.
