REGULAR MEETING OF THE KOOCHICHING COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
Held on Tuesday, February 06, 2001; 9:45 a.m.

MEMBERS PRESENT: Commissioners Hanson, McBride, Lepper, Chezick

MEMBERS ABSENT: Commissioner Pavleck

OTHERS ATTENDING: Pam Lagoo, Dennis Hummitzsch, Bob Anderson, Susan Baratono, Bill Mason, Mary Beth Tuohy, Terry Carew, Doug Grindall, Andy Nicollette, Bob Cook, Richard Lehtinen, Lee Hervey; Reporters Laurel Beager and Roger Jerome

2001/02-01 Motion by Lepper, seconded by McBride to approve the agenda with additions and deletions. Voting yes: Hanson, McBride, Lepper, Chezick. Motion carried.

2001/02-02 Motion by McBride, seconded by Chezick to approve the minutes of the January 23, 2001 special meeting. Voting yes: Hanson, McBride, Lepper, Chezick. Motion carried.

2001/02-03 Motion by McBride, seconded by Chezick establishing an Environmental Trust Fund for deposit of revenue derived from the sale of lakeshore parcels as acquired from the State under special legislation and that said Fund be interest bearing. Voting yes: Hanson, McBride, Lepper, Chezick. Motion carried.

2001/02-04 Motion by Lepper, seconded by McBride to approve payment of the Auditor bills in the amount of $64,182.94 to include $20.70 of non-board expenses; to authorize Board Chair’s signature to the Auditor’s January 2001 vendor payment listing verifying its review; to approve payment in the amount of $240.00 to Johnson, Killen & Seiler, P.A. for personnel legal service with payment from the Administration Budget; to approve payment in the amount of $925.41 to Flaherty and Hood, P.A. for lobbyist service with payment from the Administration Legislation Budget; to approve payment in the amount of $105.00 to Griffith Law Office for legal service in the development of a cooperative agreement for Voyageurs National Park with payment from the Administration Legal Budget; to approve payment of the January 2001 Board of Prisoners Claim in the amount of $1,590.00. Payment detail on file in the Auditor’s Office. Voting yes: Hanson, McBride, Lepper, Chezick. Motion carried.

2001/02-05 Motion by Chezick, seconded by McBride authorizing Board Chair’s signature to the 2000 audit agreement with the State Auditor and to a two-year contract providing for the development of cost allocation plans based on 2000 and 2001 financial data with Minnesota Counties Research Foundation. Voting yes: Hanson, McBride, Lepper, Chezick. Motion carried.

2001/02-06 Motion by McBride, seconded by Lepper authorizing the Board Chair to appoint a Board member to the Arrowhead Library System Board of Directors. Said appointment of a Board member will allow the County Board to be more informed as to the organization and activities of the Arrowhead Library System. Voting yes: Hanson, McBride, Lepper, Chezick. Motion carried. (Board Chair appointed Commissioner Chezick to serve the upcoming term of July 1, 2001 to June 30, 2004 and Commissioner Hanson will serve as alternate.)

000 The Board discussed the Governor’s budget proposal to eliminate the $2.4 million of attached machinery aid to eleven counties. The impact to Koochiching County is $487,627. The Board Chair stated that Representative Anderson has already issued a press release on the matter and suggested the County send letters to the Governor and Tax Committee requesting their support to maintain the aid for the counties. The Board agreed that strength in numbers was vital to this issue and agreed to take the lead to contact affected counties and form a coalition with their lobbyist and legislative representatives to seek repeal of this proposal. In addition the Board would request a position from Senator Robert Lessard who authored the governor’s budget proposal.

2001/02-07 Motion by Chezick, seconded by Lepper directing the Board Chair to send a letter to Senator Robert Lessard requesting his position on the elimination of the attached machinery aid for the eleven counties, which includes Koochiching County, as proposed in the Governor’s bill in which he authored. Voting yes: Hanson, McBride, Lepper, Chezick. Motion carried.

2001/02-08 Motion by Chezick, seconded by McBride directing administration to contract the eleven counties receiving attached machinery aid and the County’s lobbyist to coordinate efforts to oppose the Governor’s budget proposal to eliminate machinery aid to counties and directing the Board Chair to send letters to the Tax Committee members requesting their support. Administration will report back to the Board at the next meeting with information from the eleven counties and the County lobbyist. Voting yes: Hanson, McBride, Lepper, Chezick. Motion carried.

000 Commissioner Chezick informed the Board that St. Louis County indicated a willingness to allow the group to use their legal staff, which has expertise in federal law, for the development of a cooperative agreement with National Park Service for Voyageurs National Park. He stated that a rough draft is in the mail to the Board members and requested their feedback. He will be attending a meeting in St. Paul tonight with St. Louis Commissioners and legislative delegates to discuss the cooperative agreement. He anticipates a proposal for the National Park Service’s consideration in two to three weeks.

2001/02-09 Motion by Lepper, seconded by Chezick to set the 2001 Board of Equalization meetings as follows: open session on Monday, June 18, 2001, take initial appointments on Tuesday, June 19, 2001 in the afternoon and closing the session on Friday, June 29, 2001. Voting yes: Hanson, McBride, Lepper, Chezick. Motion carried.

000 The Recorder provided the Board a Satellite Office Agreement with the Minnesota Secretary of State to maintain the county’s involvement with UCC transactions. The Recorder stated that this is not changing how things are done at this end but came about by changes at the State level. Currently the charge for this service is $15.00 with $5 to the State and $10 retained by the County. Under the new agreement, the charge will be $20.00 with the County retaining the full amount, which will increase revenue for the County. The only additional work involved in this agreement is a one-time scanning of the County’s UCC filings but there are not many filings. The County Attorney has reviewed and approved the agreement.

2001/02-10 Motion by Lepper, seconded by McBride approving a Satellite Office Agreement with the Secretary of State for maintaining the County’s involvement with UCC transactions and authorizing the Board Chair and other County officials to execute said Agreement. Voting yes: Hanson, McBride, Lepper, Chezick. Motion carried.

2001/02-11 Motion by McBride, seconded by Lepper to add a letter of support to Anoka County for their endeavor to maintain HACA aid for counties. Voting yes: Hanson, McBride, Lepper, Chezick. Motion carried.

2001/02-12 Motion by McBride, seconded by Lepper authorizing the Board Chair to send a letter to Anoka County supporting their position and efforts to maintain HACA Aid for counties and will support their efforts in the 2001 legislative session. Voting yes: Hanson, McBride, Lepper, Chezick. Motion carried.

2001/02-13 Motion by Lepper, seconded by McBride approving sale of granular material from tax forfeited land to the County Highway Department for subcontract to Gladden Construction, Inc. of approximately 14,000 cubic yards of sandy material @ $.50 per cubic yard for the County Road 30 upgrade project. Voting yes: Hanson, McBride, Lepper, Chezick. Motion carried.

2001/02-14 Motion by Chezick, seconded by Lepper authorizing reimbursement to the State in the amount of $2,200.00 for expenses incurred in appraising state and county parcels for exchange of State lakeshore lots under special legislation with expenditure from the Tax Forfeited Trust Fund (Fund 72) and with expense reimbursed to the County upon sale and payment of the lakeshore lots. Voting yes: Hanson, McBride, Lepper, Chezick. Motion carried.

000 The Land Commissioner reviewed the results of the January 19, 2001 timber action. All tracts were sold for a total of 20,282 cords at a total auction sale value of $639,743.78. A comparison of the County’s average price to Cass County’s average price was provided.

2001/02-15 Motion by Chezick, seconded by Lepper approving a Memorandum of Understanding with the Forest Resources Partnership for promoting forest health and productivity which builds on existing County policy as recommended by the Land Commissioner. Voting yes: Hanson, McBride, Lepper, Chezick. Motion carried.

2001/02-16 Motion by Chezick, seconded by McBride to release in full the $59,000 capital improvement grant to the Airport Commission as set in the 2001 Budget with release date subject to the Treasurer’s discretion for cash flow purposes. Voting yes: Hanson, McBride, Lepper, Chezick. Motion carried.

2001/02-17 Motion by Lepper, seconded by McBride to defer a request for a $100,000 short-term loan to the Airport Commission to the February 13, 2001 Koochiching Development Authority meeting and request the loan be granted to allow for needed land acquisition for the airport zone. Federal grant dollars are guaranteed for repayment of the loan after final land acquisition cost is known and submitted for reimbursement. Voting yes: Hanson, McBride, Lepper, Chezick. Motion carried.

000 Recreation Director Bill Mason presented the Board with a funding request for $19,000 annually to cover administration and staffing cost for the City Beach due to budget/funding shortfalls for the International Falls Recreation Program. The Board agreed that they are involved in parks so from this standpoint they could consider the request. However, consideration as a long-term commitment to fund the Recreational Commission raises questions for the Board. First there is the question of funding commitment from others involved and having say in the budget and secondly the fact that if the County supports one recreational program it will be asked to fund others in the County which creates a larger financial commitment. City Councilor Terry Carew understood the Board’s concerns and the need to have more time to consider this request. He stated his strong support for the program for the kids and the community. The Commission is hoping the Board will look favorably on this funding request for those purposes and that the Commission is willing to have funding considered on a year by year basis. The Board agreed they would defer the issue to committee for late March to further review/discuss with the Recreational Commission. The Board requested that a copy of the Recreational Commission budget be provided beforehand.

2001/02-18 Motion by Lepper, seconded by McBride accepting the recommendation and certification by the Highway Engineer for inspection of bridges under Koochiching County jurisdiction in accordance with state statutes. Voting yes: Hanson, McBride, Lepper; absent for vote: Chezick. Motion carried.

2001/02-19 Motion by McBride, seconded Lepper to accept the recommendation of the Highway Engineer for awarding the annual fuel bids. Bid results on file in the Highway and Administration Departments. Voting yes: Hanson, McBride, Lepper; absent for vote: Chezick. Motion carried.

2001/02-20 Motion by Lepper, seconded by McBride to accept the recommendation of the Highway Engineer for awarding low bids for nuisance beaver removal. Voting yes: Hanson, McBride, Lepper; absent for vote: Chezick. Motion carried.

000 Andy Nicollette, dealer for Ziegler, Inc. addressed the Board to review his motor grader bid. He stated that though his bid price was higher, factoring in used sale price after 4-5 years provides long-term savings and thus lowers the purchase cost. The machine is under a five-year warranty and has a guarantee buy back option after five years. The Highway Engineer stated that the motor grader being replaced is at least fifteen years old. He also stated that the buy back option was once in the bid specs because it was such a great deal but over the years the option became less desirable and therefore was taken out of the bid specs. Bob Cook, dealer for John Deere and low bidder, stated that the buy back option is a crap game as the value of the buy back after five years is not known. He also stated that his bid met all the terms of the bid spec and that the buy back option was not in the bid spec. The Highway Department has purchased John Deere equipment and he is not aware of any complaints. Per the Highway Engineer, the department had a problem with a fourteen to sixteen year old piece of machinery but agreed they have had no problems with other John Deer equipment. Mr. Cook stated that John Deere has made many improvements in the last fourteen to sixteen years.

2001/02-21 Motion by Lepper, seconded by McBride to accept the low bid of $139,000 from Nortrax, Inc. for a John Deere 770CH motor grader for the Highway Department as recommended by the Highway Engineer. . Voting yes: Hanson, McBride, Lepper; absent for vote: Chezick. Motion carried.

2001/02-22 Motion by Lepper, seconded by McBride to approve the revised Sheriff’s non-union secretary position description for title and task clarification changes per County policy and procedures. Voting yes: Hanson, McBride, Lepper; absent for vote: Chezick. Motion carried.

000 The Board Chair called for public comment at 11:50 a.m. No comment was presented.

2001/02-23 Motion by McBride, seconded by Lepper to clarify the agreement date recommended by the Solid Waste Advisory Committee in the Fielder Hauling Service payment plan as approved in Board Motion, 2001/01-09, to be retroactive to December, 2000 therefore superceding the previous payment agreement and applying the December, 2000 $1,000 payment to the new agreement, which was the intent of the Solid Waste Advisory Committee. Voting yes: Hanson, McBride, Lepper; absent for vote: Chezick. Motion carried.

2001/02-24 Motion by Lepper, seconded by McBride to adopt the following resolution authorizing signature of Board of Water and Soil Resources Natural Resources Block Grant documents:

NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Koochiching County Board of Commissioners approves of Koochiching County entering into a Grant Agreement with the State of Minnesota to receive state funds for the implementation of its comprehensive local water plans, the administration of the wetland conservation act, administration of the DNR shoreland program, MPCA feedlot permit program, and MPCA ISTS Program, under the terms of the Grant Agreement and all statutory requirements; and

BE IT RESOLVED, that the Koochiching County Board of Commissioners authorizes the 2001 expenditure of $3,448.00 cash and $22,323.00 in-kind contributions to match the Natural Resources Block Grant and the Grant Agreement.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Chairperson of the Koochiching County Board of Commissioners and the County Coordinator are authorized to execute the Grant Agreement together with all related documents. Voting yes: Hanson, McBride, Lepper; absent for vote: Chezick. Motion carried.

2001/02-25 Motion by Lepper, seconded by McBride authorizing a transfer of funds in the amount of $5,000 from the Administration Projects Budget to the Environmental Service Fund for the Model Performance Code Project as approved in Board Motion 200/01-38 and further authorizing the Environmental Service Director to submit payment for services rendered up to $5,000. Voting yes: Hanson, McBride, Lepper; absent for vote: Chezick. Motion carried.

000 The Environmental Service Director attended a meeting hosted by the Department of Natural Resources at which the DNR offered training services to local decision makers and staff to include shoreland standards, floodplain mapping, variance and other related topics. The Director was looking for Board interest in such training. The Board responded favorably to their training offer and requested they be provided training session information.

000 Commissioner Lepper informed the Environmental Service Director that he would be sitting on the Basin Planning Committee as a Board representative and that members of the Northern Reliance group may be requesting a seat on the Committee. He stated that the Northern Reliance Group is currently restructuring and wants to represent its membership in the basin planning process.

2001/02-26 Motion by McBride, seconded by Lepper to add a letter of support for a STA permit for KQDS (Fox Broadcasting) to the agenda. Voting yes: Hanson, McBride, Lepper; absent for vote: Chezick. Motion carried.

000 Lee Hervey informed the Board that KQDS Acquisition Corporation received special temporary authorization (STA) from the FCC to broadcast until they received their license. KQDS now needs to renew the temporary permit as they have not received their license to date. KQDS is requesting a letter of support from the County to the FCC to grant another special temporary authorization. If the temporary authorization is not granted, KQDS would have to go off the air until their license is received.

2001/02-27 Motion by McBride, seconded by Lepper authorizing the Board Chair to send a letter to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) supporting the issuance of a special temporary authorization to KQDS Acquisition Corporation for continued fox broadcasting until such time as they receive their license. Voting yes: Hanson, McBride, Lepper; absent for vote: Chezick. Motion carried.

2001/02-28 Motion by McBride, seconded by Lepper to adjourn the meeting at 2:10 p.m. Voting yes: Hanson, McBride, Lepper; absent for vote: Chezick. Motion carried.