The Polk County Board of Commissioners met Tuesday morning in the Polk County Government Center. The agenda featured April Swenby from the Sand Hill River Watershed District, Polk County Engineer Richard Sanders for a work order to design a roundabout, Sherriff James Tadman discussing a financial donation vested in the K9’s for Polk County K9 Program, and Polk County Administrator Chuck Whiting for an American Relief Program Status.
SAND HILL RIVER WATERSHED DISTRICT
April Swenby gave an annual report of the 2020 year regarding the Sand Hill River Watershed District, as well as some things they’re currently working on. “In the report, it highlights all of the things we did the past year,” said Swenby. “We did a legal ditch system; we wrapped up a lot of habitat waterfronts on the Sand Hill River. That spread all the way from Fosston to West of Fertile.”
The other topics were three separate general tax levy petitions that would help projects the Sand Hill River Watershed District is working on. The board approved all three.
ROUNDABOUT COMING TO POLK COUNTY
Polk County Engineer Richard Sanders discussed two actions with the board regarding designing and installing a roundabout at the CSAH 21/TH 75 Intersection. The roundabout will be designed to tailor to Semi’s and truck drivers to fit through the roundabout without any issues. After a lengthy discussion from board members, they approved both actions, and the project is expected to be complete by 2024. Will have a full story on the roundabout later this week.
SHERRIFF JAMES TADMAN
Sherriff James Tadman wanted to inform the board regarding K9s for Polk County K9 Program and a vested interest in donating to the program. This donation will go towards their new K9 Rex. “I just wanted to acknowledge that we received a sponsor from vested K9, which is a non-profit organization,” said Tadman. “They provide donations for law enforcement K9s. The department received a sponsorship from Joan & Mark Lee, and Tadman wanted to thank you and allow the board to recognize the donation. Rex will be wearing the new tactical vest he will wear on duty within a month, thanks to the sponsorship.”
2022 BUDGET STATUS
Polk County Administrator Chuck Whiting discussed an American Relief Program Status update and the 2022 Budget status update. “We’re about where we normally are at this time of year,” said Whiting. “we’re working on our department budgets, and staff will get their preliminary budget numbers into me at the end of the week. From there, I will spend some time figuring out priorities and calling out any issues that may be in the budget.”
This process will stay the same until towards the end of the year. The board will continue to review the budget over the weeks until Christmas, which Whiting noted seems like a long way away, but budget-wise comes quickly.
OTHER ITEMS
Karen Warmack from Social Services brought forth an Eligibility Worker Replacement Request for the board to review.
Environmental Services Administrator Jon Steiner went over the costs and potential changes made to the Polk County property insurance for facilities. The first action that took place was an agreement with Mahoney Group of Mesa, AZ, for $25,000 in administering the property insurance for the R.R.F. The second action was to execute a contract from property insurance with Starr of Chicago,
IL, for August 1, 2021, until July 31, 2022. The exact amount of insurance premium it will cover will be determined at a later date.
The next Polk County Board of Commissioners meeting will occur next week, Tuesday, July 27, at 8:00 a.m. in the Polk County Government Center.
