REGULAR MEETING OF THE KOOCHICHING COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
Held on Tuesday, April 17, 2012; 3:45 p.m.

MEMBERS PRESENT: Commissioners McBride, Adee, Hanson, Ecklund, Pavleck

MEMBERS ABSENT: None

OTHERS IN ATTENDANCE: Brian Jesperson, Kathy Sikkila, Terry Glowack, Terry Murray, Dale Olson, Mark Thorson, Ernest Lund, Jeff Hatlewick, Deb Bowman, Doug Grindall, Arden Barnes; Reporter Laurel Beager

2012/04-17 Motion by Adee, seconded by Pavleck to approve the agenda with additions and deletions. Voting yes: McBride, Adee, Hanson, Ecklund, Pavleck. Motion carried.

2012/04-18 Motion by Hanson, seconded by Ecklund to approve the minutes from the April 3, 2012 regular meeting. Voting yes: McBride, Adee, Hanson, Ecklund, Pavleck. Motion carried.

2012/04-19 Motion by Hanson, seconded by Ecklund approving the summer hire of Andrew Jespersen for the Sheriff Department Boat and Water Safety Patrol as recommended and authorized by the Sheriff and under the County Temporary Hire and Student/Intern Policies. Voting yes: McBride, Adee, Hanson, Ecklund, Pavleck. Motion carried.

2012/04-20 Motion by Ecklund, seconded by Pavleck that due to a temporary and unique situation whereas the federal government has ordered increased security on our borders and the fact that there is insufficient numbers of local law enforcement to provide this additional cover, the Undersheriff be provided overtime at time and one half for work hours beyond his normal work as Undersheriff for a period of January 1, 2012 to December 31, 2012 to provide border security under the federal directive; providing there is a need for the position to serve in this capacity. For grant funding purposes the Department of Homeland Security requires that hours of service be reported and reimbursed on an hourly basis and it is for this reason the Undersheriff as a salaried exempt employee, will be compensated on an hourly basis for this particular extra duty. Voting yes: McBride, Adee, Hanson, Ecklund, Pavleck. Motion carried.

000 The Board received notice that Jan Hendrickson was hired to the position of Deputy Recorder-Office Systems Technician on April 16, 2012 and Lindsay Frank was hired to the position of Deputy Recorder on April 19, 2012.

2012/04-21 Motion by Hanson, seconded by Ecklund that due to the increase in caseload, to accept the Personnel Committee’s recommendation to increase the work hours of the Veteran Services Officer position from 25 hours per week to 32 hours per week effective June 1, 2012, with office hours Monday through Thursday, and closed on Fridays and to be reviewed in a year. Voting yes: McBride, Adee, Hanson, Ecklund, Pavleck. Motion carried.

2012/04-22 Motion by Pavleck, seconded by Hanson to authorize under the County Hiring Policy the transfer of an employee to an open position and hire Jeff Arnold to the Assistant Custodian position effective May 1, 2012 as recommended by the Complex Superintendent. Voting yes: McBride, Adee, Hanson, Ecklund, Pavleck. Motion carried.

2012/04-23 Motion by Adee, seconded by Ecklund to approve payment of the Courthouse claims in the amount of $26,561.80 and the Highway claims in the amount of $125,557.26. Voting yes: McBride, Adee, Hanson, Ecklund, Pavleck. Motion carried.

2012/04-24 Motion by Ecklund, seconded by Adee to approve the 2012 Boat and Water Safety Grant Agreement with the State of Minnesota allocating funds to Koochiching County in the amount of $5,455.00 on a reimbursement basis with no county match requirement and further, authorizing the Sheriff and Board Chair to sign said Grant Agreement. Voting yes: McBride, Adee, Hanson, Ecklund, Pavleck. Motion carried.

2012/04-25 Motion by Hanson, seconded by Ecklund to authorize Board members’ attendance to the International Falls Customs and Border Protection Citizens Academy (to be held in the upcoming months for a total of six night forums) as a County Board activity as requested by the Agency to gain a better understanding of their mission and services and to help address public questions and concerns; further, to request that Agency representatives consider attending a County Board committee session for the same purpose since time constraints will not allow all Board members to participate in the Academy forum. Voting yes: McBride, Adee, Hanson, Ecklund, Pavleck. Motion carried.

2012/04-26 Motion by Hanson, seconded by Adee to authorize Board members’ attendance to the International Conference of Understanding on the Rainy River Mound-Builders hosted by the County Historical Society and Rainy River First Nations on May 17 and 18, 2012 as a County Board activity. Voting yes: McBride, Adee, Hanson, Ecklund, Pavleck. Motion carried.

2012/04-27 Motion by Adee, seconded by Pavleck to approve the implementation of the contract for provision of children mental health services with Northland Counseling effective May 14, 2012 as recommended by the Community Services Director, thereby displacing two County social worker positions with resulting reduction of two staff to be administered through the Bargaining Unit Contract and County Policy. Voting yes: McBride, Adee, Hanson, Ecklund, Pavleck. Motion carried.

2012/04-28 Motion by Ecklund, seconded by Adee to approve the employment separation of Social Services Case Aide Tammy Jo Braaten-Crawford effective May 21, 2012. Voting yes: McBride, Adee, Hanson, Ecklund, Pavleck. Motion carried.

2012/04-29 Motion by Ecklund, seconded by Adee to authorize the Community Services Director to fill the vacant Social Services Case Aide position as requested. Voting yes: McBride, Adee, Hanson, Ecklund, Pavleck. Motion carried.

000 The Environmental Services Director reviewed the Planning Commission’s unanimous recommendation to approve a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) to Mark Sand and Gravel to open a rock quarry and temporary hot mix plant operation approximately 13 miles west of Birchdale. The applicant was awarded a contract with Gladen Construction to do the paving for a portion of State Highway 11 West. This application went before the Planning Commission for a hearing with the public hearing notice also published in the affected area, and no public comment in opposition was received. With exception of the hot mix plant, the conditions approved for this CUP are the same as those placed on a quarry operation two miles away. Pending a vote on a motion by Ecklund and seconded by Hanson to accept the Planning Commission’s recommendation, the Board Chair opened the meeting for Board discussion and public comment. Mark Thorson for Mark Sand & Gravel Company stated predominately the operation is needed for the State Highway 11 Project and asked reconsideration of two conditions placed in the CUP. The first is the hours of operation as road projects gain momentum as they progress and restricted hours of operation will hold back their progress, which further impacts the public’s travel and property owners in and around the construction area. They would like the hours of operation at 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. on weekdays and 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on Saturdays and just for the Highway project. They would also like the 20 foot depth restriction removed as with this depth, not all rock material is extracted and causes more area to be quarried. With other gravel materials depleting, hard rock is the resource now and should be fully extracted in the mined area. The Environmental Services Director stated that the depth was set as done for the other quarry. Also at the hearing the applicant stated they could live with the 8 conditions proposed for the permit (to include hours of operation and depth) but could not live without the hot mix plant operation. The Director stated that the permit is up in five years for review but the applicant asked that the conditions be considered now as it makes a difference in planning the utilization of the permitted area to its fullest potential to extract materials. He stated normally the depth is 35 feet. The landowner leasing the property for the quarry operation asked that the change in depth be considered so that it impacts less of his land. A Board member stated his hesitance to change the depth for one application and not for the other. A Board member stated concern with this permit allowing for a hot mix plant operation when the one down the road was denied the hot mix plant as it provides an unfair playing field when it comes to bidding projects. Jeff Hatlewick for Mark Sand & Gravel Company stated that they did say at the hearing they could live with the conditions in the permit but the requested changes better meets their operational needs for the Highway project. Deb Bowman thanked the Board member for recognizing the discrepancy in the CUPs in this area as their company spent three years trying to establish their quarry and when approved, the hot mix plant operation was denied. The applicant stated that the consideration of depth should be county-wide as at 20 feet, there is rock resource left behind. The District Commissioner stated that in the last quarry application in this area, it was hugely opposed and the applicant tried everything but could not get the area’s support. In asking if this hot mix plant was needed, the applicant stated yes. The County Engineer stated that in the normal course of business in construction season, contractors run from dawn to dark as the season is short and they have many projects lined up. In response to the inquiry on whether the Board could delay the decision for one week, the Environmental Service Director stated that the 60 day limit on the application decision is up on April 21 but if the applicant agrees to an extension, the decision can be delayed. In response to the inquiry, the applicant stated that other permits and area prep work is needed before they can start processing materials and the sooner they know this decision, the sooner they know the direction they have to go. The landowner in reference to public opposition on the quarry operations in the area, stated that the reason there was no public opposition for this operation is it is far back on his 600 acres and not next to other properties. The Board Chair stated that in his view, permits can not be treated the same due to varying situations. The Board Chair closed discussion, stated that if members want to act on the request to reconsider two of the permit conditions, to do so in separate motions and called for a vote on the original motion.

2012/04-30 Motion by Ecklund, seconded by Hanson accepting the recommendation of the Planning Commission to approve Conditional Use Permit #1202 to Mark Sand and Gravel Company for a rock quarry operation for the mining and processing of aggregate including drilling, blasting and crushing and set up and operation of a portable hot-mix plant and with operations limited by the conditions set by the Planning Commission for the permit; quarry is located on property described as the NE ¼ and part of the SE ¼, Section 20, Township 160N, Range 29W. Voting yes: McBride, Adee, Hanson, Ecklund; voting no: Pavleck. Motion carried.

2012/04-31 Motion by Ecklund, seconded by Hanson to amend the hours of operation for the hot mix plant operation in Conditional Use Permit #1202 to Mark Sand and Gravel Company to 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Monday through Friday and 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on Saturday under the request by the Company to reconsider the hours of operation for this State Highway Project. Voting yes: McBride, Hanson, Ecklund, Pavleck; voting no: Adee. Motion carried.

2012/04-32 Motion by Pavleck, seconded by Hanson that under the VNP Clean Water Joint Powers Board for establishing municipal sewer for properties in and around the VNP water basin, to support the contract extension with S.E.H. for 2012 and approve up to $25,000 for the County’s share of the cost, to be paid to St. Louis County as Fiscal Agent for the Joint Powers, and contingent on St. Louis County providing their share of the cost and the contract extension approved by the Joint Powers Board. County funding recommended from the 2012 KDA Budget. Voting yes: McBride, Adee, Hanson, Ecklund, Pavleck. Motion carried.

2012/04-33 Motion by Pavleck, seconded by Ecklund accepting the recommendation of the Environmental Services Director to reactivate the Littlefork/Rat Root River Board and Citizen’s Advisory Committee and approving the membership as presented by the Director. Voting yes: McBride, Adee, Hanson, Ecklund, Pavleck. Motion carried. (For the two County Board members to serve on the River Board, the Board Chair appointed himself and Commissioner Ecklund.)

000 The Board Chair called for public comment at 4:55 p.m. Arden Barnes inquired on the controls for limiting communication tower placements due to the number of towers being erected. Board members explained that federal and state communication law support communication tower placements for public purpose so it leaves local governments in a difficult position when there is disagreement on tower placements. With no other comment, comment period was closed.

2012/04-34 Motion by Pavleck, seconded by Hanson to adjourn the meeting at 5:00 p.m. Voting yes: McBride, Adee, Hanson, Ecklund, Pavleck. Motion carried.