The Polk County Board of Commissioners met on Tuesday at the Polk County Government Center.
The meeting started with Polk County Public Health Sarah Reese seeking approval for advertising and hiring a nurse practitioner position. “Last Fall, we had brought a proposal to the board to advertise and rehire our nurse practitioner position,” said Reese, “After posting the position, we were unable to fill it. So we had to work out contractional services to have some nursing resources available.” The board approved this position to be filled.
NORTHWEST MINNESOTA MULTI-COUNTY HOUSING AND REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY LEVY PROGRAM REVIEW
Executive Director of the Northwest Minnesota Multi-County and Redevelopment Authority Charity Brault presented the renewed levy and program review to the commissioners. Brault reported that the Multi-County Housing Authority met with the legislature in 2022 and extended their levy to 2033.
Brault also reported the current interest rates for housing and how it has made an impact. “Interest rates right now, last I’ve heard, is around 7.8%,” said Brault, “We’ve seen more down payment assistance. Many people are deciding to rent versus buying homes, so we’ve seen a drastic change.”
The Northwest Minnesota Multi-County and Redevelopment Authority serves each county in Northwest Minnesota with its down payment assistance program. Each committee decides GAP financing, and after that is decided, the Redevelopment Authority seeks qualified applicants for the assistance program.
FACILITIES DEPARTMENT UPDATES
Polk County Facilities Director Richard Langlois requested approval for the new metal parapet cap change order. This would be used for the Justice Center re-roofing project. The commissioners approved this.
ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES
The final item that the commissioners approved was the purchase of two AMP Robotics Micro-Jets for the Environmental Services Department, which currently uses one of these machines.
The Micro-Jet technology can decipher and eject material from the waste’s conveyor belt. Director of Environmental Services, Jon Steiner, said before purchasing the Micro-jets, employees would manually pick the unwanted material from the belt, and these positions were challenging to keep occupied. “We’ve had a horrible time for the last four years, hiring and keeping people in those quality control areas to clean that material up before it goes to market.” Said Steiner.
The cost of using these machines seems to be significantly less than the wages for employees. Each Micro-Jet costs $12 per hour, equating to approximately $27,000 per year. “When the machines are not operating, we don’t pay for it,” said Steiner, “Lunch breaks, morning breaks, if we have a breakdown, we don’t have to pay for that. They don’t take vacations, and they don’t call in sick.”
The consent agenda included the approval of minutes from the October 3 County Board meeting. It also supported bills and disbursements in the amount of $129,618.25.
Tags:
