The Polk County Board of Commissioners met inside the Polk County Government Center on Tuesday morning at 8:00 a.m. to discuss their budget for 2023, ARPA funds, and Conditional Use Permits for multiple people.
PROPERTY RECORDS – SAM MELBYE
The board first heard from the new Director of Property Records, Sam Melbye, who first requested the board to authorize him the ability to enter an extended 5-year service contract for the Assessor Website from Vanguard Appraisals Inc. at the cost of $5,775 per year for a total of $28,875. The price is the same as when it was for their last 5-year contract with them from 2017-22.
Tax Statement & Valuation Notice Printing & Mailing Contract
Melbye then requested the board to make a motion the authorize him to enter a printing and mailing service contract for the TNT notices, Property Tax Statements, and Valuation Notices from The Master’s Touch, LLC of Spokane, Washington. He noted that their previous provider, StreamWorks, had been unable to provide them with another contract and the new contract only costs $4,186. The board approved the contracts unanimously.
JACOB SNYDER – ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES
The board then heard from Assistant Environmental Services Administrator Jacob Snyder to give a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) to construct an accessory 30’ x 53’ (1,590 sq. ft.) shed located on a riparian lot on Cable Lake to make an 88,228 sq. ft. riparian lot in Section 5 of Woodside Township to David Lende for a garage used for personal cold storage. He also mentioned that during a meeting with the Planning & Zoning Department, they would be taking down the minimal amount of trees to construct the shed so ample vegetation will remain between it and the lake. “The process involves going through if they have ample vegetation between the ordinary high-water mark and the structure and what the specifics are on the site does weigh in on if it’s obtainable,” Snyder explained. “If we’ll allow larger sheds if they’re screened from the ordinary high water on this situation in Cable Lake.” He noted that it already had an existing septic system that had been installed in October of 2018, and it does not require a septic compliance inspection. Snyder then read a comment from Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Area Hydrologist Stephanie Klamm, saying that she approved the application and wished for the county board to approve it to begin work. The board approved the motion unanimously.
1W1P Middle-Snake-Tamarac Watershed District Plan
Snyder then motioned the board to approve a 1W1P for the Middle-Snake-Tamarac Watershed district represented by Mark Holy on the Policy Committee and 1W1P Steering Committee. He explained that he had been to a public hearing on July 13, and the district and its partners have been developing a 1W1P for the watershed, specifically for the Board of Soil & Water Resources (BWSR). He explained that the district wants to develop water plans to follow water shed lines instead of county lines as the boundaries don’t align for them. He explained that Polk County is a partner of the group, and the 1W1P is seeking approvals from all of its partners, including Polk, Marshall, and Roseau Counties, to let them proceed with the planning process and submit their proposal and final plan to the regional, and state BWSR board to review. “Watersheds are complex. They don’t follow boundaries like our county lines, so jurisdictions can often get muddy, asking, “Who’s is it to fix?” so this is to sure up that we’re all partners in it and want the same things,” Snyder explained. “This is just part of the process. It’s about a little shy of two years from start to finish, so it’s not an overnight thing, we’re formulating a good plan, and hopefully, BWSR feels the same way.” He explained that the district still had many more plans for future steps of the Watershed plan, with Marshall County giving the funds to the project. The board approved the motion unanimously.
Conditional Use Permit Update on Fertile Community Conservation Club- Shooting Range
For his final item, Snyder brought in homeowners Rachel and Jarrod Gunufson to help explain their situation for the Fertile Community Conservation Club (FCCC), who had applied for a CUP and was granted a site to operate a shooting range in section 36 of Liberty Township. In late May, a neighboring property owner made the Planning and Zoning office aware of some shooting activity on the site on June 5, which is not allowed under the CUP’s conditions. There was a meeting at the Gunufson’s property, where several items were brought up about ways they could lessen the noise, explain how operations worked on the site, and secure the site with gates to allow members who know how to use the site to gain access to the range. The FCCC was given a 60-day window to have the range locked and gated to restrict access and ensure no more shootings until things were sorted. The site has had limited use over the summer as the FCCC secured and locked the site and has yet to have another shooting incident, and be locked until Monday, August 8. The site must put up proper signage and a gate with fencing by then, and if the FCCC fails to meet the deadline of August 8, the county will proceed with enforcement of the CUP. The Gunufsons approached the board voicing their concerns about the safety of their property and children, and the FCCC had gone about this in a way where they didn’t reveal enough about it. Voicing that the site was never completed or in compliance before its opening as there’s no actual signage. They also reported that FCCC members don’t always use the site, and the club doesn’t know who is shooting on it. They also said they sometimes have witnessed people using the range on days when the club is not open. They explained that they wished for the site to remain closed until it meets compliance conditions and for the county to enforce the CUP’s enforcement if the conditions are not met by August 8.
ADMINISTRATION – CHUCK WHITING
The board finished the meeting hearing from County Administrator Chuck Whiting, who first came forward with more updates on the American Rescue Plan. He reported that right now, requests they had received for the funds had them over the allocation by $565,822. He then brought up County Engineer Richard Sanders again to explain that Polk County lost $1.2 million in tax revenue during the pandemic due to people not driving their cars, and another $600,000 became available thanks to sewer and landfill complex projects being stopped during that time as well. To compensate for this, Commissioner Gary Willhite agreed to allocate $1.2 million out of the $6 million ARPA funds to the Highway Departments’ budget for 2023, and the $600,000 would be used for the budget for 2024. He also said he had to meet many other departments to discuss their budgets and requests with, including the Polk County Sheriff’s Department, the Public Fair Association, and Public Health. The board agreed and approved the allocation unanimously. After some more discussion, the board decided to close ARPA requests for the year as they were already over budget allocations and would make more decisions on which requests they would grant in future meetings.
2023 Budget Status
The board then began discussing the budget for 2023. He reported that most of the departments had submitted their proposed budgets for review and would begin meeting with them soon. “The department heads have put together their proposed budgets, and I’ll meet them here in a couple of weeks, and we’ll try to sort out what we’ve got and keep the board up to speed every meeting and work our process through the fall,” said Whiting. He mentioned that he would start meeting with these departments’ heads on Wednesday, August 3, and Friday, August 5, to receive their initial summaries for the year and present them to the board in their second and third meetings of August. They would also discuss the preliminary levees in September to have them ready by the end of September.
LELS Sheriff Essential Supervisors Group
The final item of the meeting was to reveal that negotiations and mediation with the LELS Sheriff Essential Supervisors group will approve a contract on Thursday, July 28. The contract will include 1.25% wage increases every year starting on July 1 with a 1.5% increase in 2024 and will consist of monthly benefits contributions of $1,200, $1,275, and $1,350 for 2022, 2023, and 2024. Other changes included changing language issues as the group had switched from Teamsters to LELS for this contract. The board approved the contract unanimously.
The next Commissioner’s meeting will take place on Tuesday, August 2, at 8:00 a.m. in the Polk County Government Center.
