The Polk County Board of Commissioners met on Tuesday morning at the Polk County Government Center.
CONSENT ITEMS
The board began the meeting by approving payments to Wade Lufkin of Mentor for $6,250 for painting the Public Health building, Kiecker Coatings, in McIntosh in the amount of $8,437.59 for sealing at the Juvenile Center, Wagner’s Landscaping Inc. in Fisher for $10,580 for landscaping the Human Service Center and Government Center buildings for the Facilities Management Department, and to Palmer Masonry & Concrete in Crookston for $21,326 for landscaping and concrete work at the Government Center. The board approved the agenda unanimously.
POLK COUNTY SHERIFF- JAMES TADMAN
Polk County Sheriff James Tadman first approached the board to give the July Monthly Sheriff Report. He reported that they had received a total of 2,642 calls, with 1,961 being non-emergency calls, and made a total of 914 calls for the month, with 18 of them being for Animal Complaints, with 4 of them being for Mistreatment, 182 for Civil Process, two for Burglary and Domestic Violence, and 327 for Traffic Stops. They had also put on 6,457 miles on their transport log, giving them 51,507 miles for the year, which was close to their miles amounts from 2021 but still lower than the miles in 2018 and 2019.
ELECTION INTEGRITY PRESENTATION- JENNIFER PETERSON-ROSS
The board then received a presentation about Election Integrity from Jennifer Peterson-Ross, who came forward with multiple people to voice their concerns about the voting process and election integrity. Peterson-Ross asked the board about the software of the voting machines they used and if there were things that may have been done to them to change the election’s results. She showed them two videos of trailers to movies questioning the credibility and security of the 2020 presidential election, particularly focusing on the people delivering the ballots selectively and on the investigation of the machine’s companies paying them to leave some out. Peterson-Ross said that there might be some suggestive breaching of the machines and asked the board if they could set new protocols for election protection and ensure that the public’s votes would be counted appropriately, as there is an election coming up in November and they want to make sure the people’s choice is elected. Commissioner Joan Lee noted that there are many tests the machines go through, and Election Official Michelle Cote said that the ballots and images of them were maintained after the elections. “Things have changed in our nation, and I think we need to pay attention to our P’s and Q’s, and I was here to ask about the CVR (Cast Vote Record) function in the election machines,” said Peterson-Ross. “Michelle Cote has now told us that function has been selected on the machines, so virtually what that will do is create a photo image of the ballot that is fed through the machine, and it creates a better checks and balance system as far as breaching or fraud of the machines.” One of the people that came with her, Laurie Wagner, questioned if a ballot drop box and paper ballots would be the best result as there have been counties and boxes that have been vulnerable to fraud and influence by the developers of the machines. Peterson-Ross then asked if they had cameras for the ballot box and if they maintained protocols to make sure the ballots were counted correctly and prevented ballots from being duplicated or not counted in, to which Cote responded that they did. Laurie Wagner said that the voting machine’s developers had put in algorithms that could change the results that were submitted by the counties. The board said it would think about the presentation but said they had to adhere to what they were required to do to complete the elections as securely as possible.
PUBLIC HEALTH- SARAH REESE
Public Health Director Sarah Reese approached the board next to request the advertisement and re-hiring of a budgeted 1.0 FTE Clerk Typist Cashier III within Polk County Public Health and to fill any subsequent vacancies that may come from it. The board approved the motion unanimously.
PROPERTY RECORDS- SAM MELBYE
Property Records Director Sam Melbye then approached the board to request signing authority for the Deputy Director of Property Records, Annalee Jones, to sign vouchers and payroll in his absence.
He then reported that one of the License Center Clerks/Typists/Cashiers III had recently submitted their resignation from the Polk County License Center. So, he requested to begin the advertisement and hiring process for a license center clerk typist/cashier III. The board approved both motions unanimously.
ADMINISTRATION- CHUCK WHITING
The board finished the meeting by hearing an update from Polk County Administrator Chuck Whiting on the status of the American Relief Program. Whiting asked if there were any other departments the board wished to discuss when he was absent last week, such as the Humane Society. Commissioner Willhite explained that he had visited the canine kennel the Humane Society had come forward with the previous week and seen the parts they wanted to use ARPA funds to fix. Willhite learned that the adoption area and the process of installing the canine kennel would cost about $38,000, with a renovation for the second floor costing around $20,000, and the outdoor play area for the dogs was an estimate they were still trying to come up with. They had taken a bid from Adams Heating and Cooling on an H-VAC system to make a total of $50,000 in requests. Whiting reported that they had asked the board for $38,000 in ARPA funds to help cover the installation of the kennel as well as the annual appropriations they received from them. Commissioner Willhite recommended giving out $38,000 for them to build the kennel but was less inclined to award them the appropriations. “They’d asked for ARP money and our annual appropriations,” said Whiting. “The board seemed less inclined to award the annual appropriations, but by consensus, they gave me the go-ahead to work with Scruffy Tails to give them $38,000 on improvements to their facility in Crookston, so I’ve got to get to work on that.” The board approved the consensus unanimously.
2023 Budget Status
Whiting then gave an update on the budget for 2023, presenting the first draft of the budget, but it did not have the amendments included that had been made last week for Social Services and Public Health. But with those additions, Whiting reported that the initial levee had increased about 17% but noted that this would change by the end of September, where they would set up a preliminary revenue. “We’ve got a ways to go here before we can get too serious about these numbers. The department heads will meet with the board for two days in September, the 20th, and the 21st, to go over individual department budgets,” Whiting explained. “I’ll be working with departments prior to that. By the end of September, we do have to set a preliminary levee, and the target is going to be much lower than that, easily by one or two-thirds.”
The Polk County Board of Commissioners will have their next meeting on Tuesday, September 6, at 8:00 a.m. in the Polk County Government Center.
