Board Meeting Information & Materials - Regular Meeting

Good morning. Welcome to the Bloor County Board of Directors, Board of Commissioners meeting of August 11th, 2026. We begin with the pledge. Those who can, please stand and join us in the pledge. Thank you. Agenda review?

Madam Chair, there are no changes to the agenda.

Move to approve. Second. Motion is second. Any discussion? All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Motion carries. All right. We have some public comment this morning. So the public comment portion of the board meeting allows an opportunity for citizens to address the county board in a public setting. We have several individuals. Reach out to provide public comments to the commissioners. Please note that this meeting is being recorded and there is a five minute time limit. I've asked the county administrator to give you a one minute warning and let you know when you've used the allotted time. Comments from the public are expected to be civil and respectful. The board will not take any action today but will direct county staff to respond appropriately to issues raised. Mary? Yes. Thank you. State your name and address for the record, please. Sure.

My name is Mary Kramer. My address is 26 Lake Avenue, Madison Lake, Minnesota.

Morning. Good morning. Morning. Go ahead.

All right. So greetings to Chair O'Connor and members of the board. Thank you for the opportunity to speak today. I'm just retiring, actually, this month after being a professor at MSU. And I've worked in public health for over 40 years. And I was born and raised here in southern Minnesota, but I worked in several other states. And I purposely chose to come back to Minnesota. and to end my career here, because things make sense here in Minnesota. I'm proud to be Minnesotan. We get things done, we value our quality of life, we have good healthcare, we have great educational systems, and we vote. In 2024, Minnesota, as you might know, Minnesota had a 76% voting rate, which is among the highest in the nation. So I'm really proud that in 2023, Minnesota passed new election laws that went into effect. And we are really into voter participation and election security. So that's all good. But unfortunately, we are watching other states do just the opposite. Openly restrict voting and undermine faith in elections to comply with the current administration. There have been many threats in the last 18 months to indicate federal government resources may be used in our upcoming election to undermine our elections. So people are uncertain and afraid. If you think about it, what's been going on in our county in the last 18 months, people are demanding change. There were thousands of citizens in the streets. For the No Kings Rally, there were people expressing concerns in letters to the editor, if you're following the Maikato Free Press. Lots of letters to the editor, lots of op-eds. So I also witnessed firsthand at MSU one of our students being detained who committed no crime, no offense, but he was detained for 40 days and treated extremely inhumanely. So many of us are doing things we had never done before because we're deeply concerned. Our food supply is facing threats, and even most recently, our water supply here in Minnesota, if you're following what's going on. Just yesterday, an executive order was signed that further spreads misleading information about vaccines. So we are... in some dark times, and I'm here to ask you, county commissioners, to do something you have never done before. And I'd like you to actively, proactively protect our free and fair elections. My first ask is, I'm asking that the board inform the public, remind the public, educate the public about your existing procedures and legal safeguards for voting. Can you communicate? Can you address things like how will voters be protected from intimidation at poll places? How will ballots be protected through the chain of custody? I know they will be, but we need to inform the public because so much is uncertain and we are in such shaky sand. How will election information and misinformation be addressed? So that's happening. So we need to know before election day that Blue Earth County residents feel safe and come out to vote. My second ask is I'd like to ask each of you as elected leaders responsible for overseeing elections to sign the pledge to protect our freedom to vote. There's an actual pledge that's online that individual elected leaders were asking you to sign that you will pledge to protect our freedoms. So I hope that you will discuss amongst yourselves or maybe at the next meeting in a public way and communicate to your constituents before November.

One minute remaining.

So I'm asking you, how will you help protect our free and fair elections? Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Then we'll have Teresa Zeman. Please come to the podium and state your name and address for the record.

Yes, my name is Teresa Zeman. I live at 117 Rita Road.

Thank you.

Go ahead. My name is Teresa Zeman. I live in Mankato. And I never imagined that at my age, in 2026, I would decide to stand before a county board of commissioners and plead for their leadership in ensuring a free and fair election. I suspect that you also maybe didn't expect that one of the most important and urgent duties that you would have as an elected official would be defending the basic right of every eligible voter in Blue Earth County to safely and confidently fill out a ballot and know that it counted. And yet, here we are. I probably don't need to inform you, as Mary did, about the very real threats to the 2026 general election that are circulating. And I hope that you share my belief that a bedrock foundation of a democracy is that all people trust that they have an equal voice in how they are governed. This afternoon, I will solemnly go fulfill my duty as an election judge for the state primary election at my precinct in Mankato. I have received excellent training from the Blue Earth County election staff. I have seen how much preparation goes into administering a safe and transparent election in this state and in this county. I am so glad that I live in a state and a county that takes good government seriously. And yet, many of my neighbors are understandably not assured about the reliability of the process and their safety in exercising their constitutional right to vote. Given the events of the past year in Minnesota and the rhetoric delivered by federal officials. So I am here today asking you, my elected county board, to publicly address your willingness and ability to fulfill your crucial role in ensuring that every eligible voter feels safe to vote and that their vote will be counted. One way that you could do that would be to individually or as a group sign the Freedom to Vote Protection Pledge, which calls for your public commitment to abide by the US Constitution and state election laws, refuse to comply with unlawful executive orders or data requests from the Department of Justice that seek to restrict voting. And pledge to faithfully play your role to certify and or see the rightfully elected winners of elections this November, regardless of their party affiliation. Thank you for your serious consideration of this fundamental issue of our time. We will be relying on your leadership in the months to come. Thank you.

Thank you very much, and thanks for serving me as a judge. Now we'll have Barb Keith come. State your name and address for the record, please.

Hi, my name is Barb Keith. I live at 100 Palmer Path in Mankato. This is not too bad. I keep getting shorter and podiums keep getting taller. Might have to take these off. Thank you for allowing me to offer some thoughts about the upcoming election. I also have complete confidence in the ability of Michael Stahlberger and his team to administer elections in the same confident way they have in the past. But what I am concerned about is that this election has great potential to be different from any election held here in the past because of forces outside of the county and its trained election workers. So, my being here, I was going to say it was my first step above and beyond my usual actions, but I've been taking a lot of steps. And this is one of them in being a responsible voting citizen. I wish I didn't feel necessary to tell you that I support you in your elected and appointed roles like this. but we are no longer living in an era of free and fair elections, but rather in an environment in which those in power want to decide who can vote and what the outcomes are in order to hold on to power. I need you to join me in going above and beyond your usual actions in order to ensure all eligible voters are allowed to vote and all eligible votes are counted and verified. We've all experienced the retribution of this administration to Minnesota during metro surge this past winter, not only in the metro but also right here on the streets of Mankato. As well as their illegal withholding of allocated federal funds to meet the needs of our county residents and laying the cost back on us here in the county. When we've already paid the taxes that should be coming back to us, we can't just sit back. And let them roll over us. We have to be over prepared on all levels for their voter sabotage, which is evident from the current talks and actions. As elected county officials, the box stops with you if things go wrong. You have a stake in this election and you need to have a plan in place. I know Michael has all the bases covered if all parties act legally. I have not spoken to him recently to find out whether or not he's received additional training per the Secretary of State's office on how to respond to illegal actions such as what we've seen in the past. Intimidation of voters in threatened groups such as immigrant citizens, voters of color, and vulnerable groups such as disabled and elderly, and even women in general. The president knows that these voters do not support him with their votes, and it's in his interest to keep these voters from voting. He seeks to maintain power no matter what the cost to the rest of us. He has no qualms about violating our constitutional rights or physically harming us. I have a simple ask of you as you accept your mission to ensure our 2026 Blue Earth County election is run properly and that the results reflect the will of the workers. And these demands are actually just you doing your job, and they're the same ones that Teresa and Mary have stated. Abide by the US Constitution and the state election laws. Refuse to comply with any unlawful executive orders or data requests that seek to restrict voting. faithfully play your role to certify and seat the rightfully elected winners this November, regardless of party. I ask for a written response by each commissioner in whatever form makes sense to you, whether that be a joint document signed by all commissioners and published in local media, or an email response to me and others who might ask the same. Thank you for serving our county and your role as commissioner. Feel free to reach out to me if you can name a specific way that those of us concerned citizens in the room can support you in this unprecedented endeavor. Thank you.

Thank you very much. Thank you. Now, Steve Kidder, please come to the podium and state your name and address for the record. Steve here? All right, then we'll move on to Marlene Steingreiner.

Hello. Good morning. Thank you for letting me speak. My name is Marlene Steingreiner. My notes are what they have already said. I am far out of my comfort zone today. But I want to really thank you for what you do and ask you to please, please sign the pledge because I have friends, I'm still living in Albert Lee for a long time, rural, southern Minnesota. And I've had a couple friends that have called me or that we've just been chatting. One of my friend's moms is afraid to vote. She's just like a little woman with an oxygen tank. white, which is so sad that I need to explain that. And she's nervous because of what she sees on the news and what she's reading and hearing from other people. And fortunately, I went to one of your You had a thing talking about how voting works. And I saved your resources and I shared them with my friend and I continue to share them with people who are concerned. And I do really, really believe that your voice, your public statements and signing the pledges are going to help some of these people and me and my kids and everyone to know that we We are not going to walk away, we are not going to turn our heads and our eyes from any wrongdoing in what has already been established here in our country, in our state, in our county. And I just really feel that so many people aren't tuning in tight, elected officials coming forward and easing people's minds that it is safe to vote, that it does matter to vote, that things will be upheld in whatever manner necessary. It's imperative to all of us moving forward. And thank you.

Thank you. Thank you very much.

Is Jeff Kagemeyer here? I don't see them either.

Okay. Madam Chair, I'll move to recess for Economic Development Authority.

Thank you. Do I have a second?

Second.

I have a motion and a second. Any discussion? All in favor?

Aye.

Opposed? Motion carries. Thank you all for coming.

Appreciate the comments.

We'll move on to Economic Development Authority agenda review.

There are no changes to the agenda, Madam Chair.

Thank you.

Move the agenda. Second.

Motion and a second. Any discussion? All in favor?

Aye.

Opposed? Motion carries. In the minutes of June 9th.

I'll move the minutes.

Second. I have a motion and a second. Any discussion? All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Motion carries. All right, we'll move on to the housing trust fund allocation. Come on up.

Morning, Andrew.

Good morning. Good morning, everybody.

sure that's on thank you board chair and commissioners for having me for the record my name is Andrew Peach human service supervisors I serve as the county staff representative for the housing trust fund advisory committee I'll be presenting in place of Nancy Boekelman who was unable to be here today So the Housing Trust Fund Advisory Committee is requesting the EDA Board authorization to allocate the Housing Trust Fund resources to support housing navigation staffing at Partners for Housing for individuals experiencing homelessness and housing instability. This is one-time funding request while Partners for Housing pursues long-term funding through a joint application to the Regional Continuum of Care and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, HUD, with the Mankato EDA and the Salvation Army. The requested allocation will provide interim support for a housing generalist position that delivers coordinated housing navigation and street outreach services. The background, the Street Outreach and Housing Navigation Initiative is designed to improve the community's response to individuals and families living outdoors in vehicles or in places not meant for human habitation. The primary objective is to help individuals quickly transition out of homelessness into safe, stable housing while ensuring they are treated with dignity, respect, and compassion. The housing journalist meets individuals where they're at, builds trusting relationships, provides voluntary person-centered support. The position focuses on connecting individuals with housing opportunities, health care, behavioral health and recovery resources, food assistance, income support, collecting identification documentation, public benefits, and other essential services. The staff position also assists individuals with applications, appointments, and navigating our complex service systems that often present barriers to obtaining stable housing. The outreach initiative relies on extreme collaboration among shelters, crisis response teams, public safety agencies, other housing providers, and community partners to create a coordinated and consistent response. Rather than requiring individuals to navigate multiple agencies independently, the Housing Journalist serves as a central point of connection, creating a more seamless and effective service experience. The request overview is that Partners for Housing is requesting $28,512 from the Housing Trust Fund to support half of the annual salary taxes and benefits for this Housing Journalist position. Again, the housing generalist serves as an accessible knowledge point of contact, helping these individuals understand the housing continuum, identifying appropriate next steps based on their very unique circumstances. Through this collaborative problem-solving approach, the position provides real-time assistance by connecting the individuals with available shelters, exploring housing prevention options if the households are at risk of losing their housing, identifying community resources that address their barriers toward housing stability, completing coordinated entry assessments on that same day or the next day to ensure timely access to our housing systems to reduce the length of time those individuals and families are experiencing homelessness, providing individualized assistance to housing applications and benefits, receiving or finding identification documents and ongoing housing navigation, maintaining follow-up communication to ensure the individuals remain connected, not lost within our system. The accessibility and responsiveness of this position have consistently been identified by clients as the most valuable aspect in our community's homeless response system. By combining immunity assistance with education and long-term resource navigation, the Housing Generalist strengthens our housing stability and helps individuals successfully access and maintain permanent housing. The status of our Housing Trust Fund right now, since established, the Housing Trust Fund has invested $1,870,283 of the $1,902,887 allocated to the fund over the last four years, leaving a current unallocated balance of $32,604. The Housing Trust Fund investments have supported a wide range of housing priorities throughout the community. These include $1,135,000 to the Partner Community Land Trust that's created affordable home ownership opportunities, $135,283 to Connection Shelter, expanding summer shelter operations and increasing emergency shelter capacity, and the $600,000 most recently to the Bullworth County EDA to support the Rental Assistance Demonstration, or RAD, blend conversion of public housing, preserving long-term affordable housing within our community. The requested allocation of $28,512 continues the Housing Trust Fund's strategic investment in addressing housing needs by supporting housing stability services to help individuals experiencing homelessness access and maintaining permanent housing. The Housing Trust Fund Advisory Committee recommends the EDA Board adopt the attached resolution authorizing allocation of the Housing Trust Fund resources to Partners for Housing in the amount not to exceed the $28,512 to support housing navigation services for individuals experiencing homelessness or housing instability. Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Move to approve.

Second. I have a motion and a second to approve. Any discussion?

Madam Chair, I just have one quick question, and then my first is a comment. Thank you for all your work, Andrew. I think this is a really good program. Well, this person, is it housed in our department, or where is this person at? Can you explain a little bit of that to me?

Yeah, so this is a Partners for Housing staff. Okay. The Marks Committee. Yeah, this is a current position. The staff is currently in-house. I know that Partners for Housing did not have long-term funding for this position. And so this is a gap filler, one-time funding, again, while Partners for Housing is applying for to secure long-term funding for this position.

Good. Well, I'm glad you came and asked us to keep the program going.

Yeah, very important.

Thank you. That's my only question, Madam Chair.

Thank you. Any other discussion? All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Motion carries. Thank you for coming.

Thank you.

All right, Ryan from Public Works.

I'm going to adjourn. Thank you.

I had a second. Any discussion? All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Curious? Sorry, I always forget closing that part. Good morning.

Now it's your turn. Sorry, Ryan.

No, I called you. I'm excited.

Good morning, Commissioners. A couple of action items for consideration today. The first being an intent-to-cost participate agreement with the City of Mankato for the reconstruction of County State at Highway 26. This is the segment known also as Industrial Road, and then it connects and comes to the south, ties in with South 57, which is North Riverfront Drive. So the intent is to reconstruct the segment effectively from the railroad tracks to the east on Industrial Road, and then from that connection where Lyon Valley Road takes off to the north, come to the south, pass the Sakata Trail and tie in to Kasau 57. The agreement covers agency responsibilities and cost participation for project development and design. This is consistent with past agreements that we've had in place where we cost participate for the road and utility designs and things of that nature and overall project development and prorate it based on total anticipated project cost share. So with that being said, it also outlines responsibilities of each agency and then we'll enter into a cooperative construction agreement once we have the project plans completed and final engineer's estimate or bid amount determined. So I would recommend approval of said agreement.

Motion to approve.

Second.

Motion to second. Any discussion? All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Carries.

All right. Action item number two is consideration of approval of a land surveyor certificate of correction to plat number 46 for Cassaw 27 right of way. This is a discovery that Bolton and Mink brought to us. They discovered a discrepancy in the section corner location in their original plat that was filed for the 2021 reconstruction of County State at Highway 27 in Eagle Lake, which led to an incorrectly shown boundary line. This certificate of correction documents the revised correct section corner and boundary lines for this plat. So this was brought to us again by our partners in industry. After they discovered this, I would recommend approval of the resolution, I'm sorry, of the certificate of correction to plat.

So, second. Motion is second. Any discussion on this? All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Motion carries.

All right, thank you. And last action item is consideration of a right-of-way acquisition resolution for repairs to the Red Jacket Trail. We'll need to acquire temporary and permanent right-of-way for the trail repairs due to the need for the culverts going in in lieu of the timber bridges and just some staging areas and workspaces obviously very tight in there. We did meet with most of the highly impacted landowners. There's a family that kind of owns different parcels that are all related. We met with them. They were very supportive of the project, so we don't anticipate, knock on wood, the need for use of them in the domain, but it's typical in our resolution. So this would give us the authority to acquire right away, necessary right away for getting that trail project wrapped up, get it out to bid, and get the trail reopened. I would recommend approval of set resolution. I move approval. Second.

Motion is second. Any discussion? Seems like a real positive thing. It's great the neighbors are supportive otherwise it could be a pain.

Absolutely.

Even longer.

All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Motion carries.

All right, thank you. Discussion item. Consideration of the Union Pacific Railroad submitted a request to me to jointly replace their crossing on County State Highway 5, which is 3rd Avenue, between Kasota and Mankato next year in calendar year 2027. So this would be the segment on the curve as you go past Betterstone. The estimated county cost of the... Railroad work would be roughly half the cost of the crossing replacement at $72,000. The county will also be responsible for traffic control and bituminous pavement patching, which is consistent with past practices when they would repair a crossing. We've historically been supportive of railroad crossing replacement and safety improvements. This was an unbudgeted item, so it's not in our five-year transportation improvement plan. Wanted to bring it to the county board just for discussion. We do include construction contingencies available to cover this project cost. So we'll just look for discussion with the board and or support or consensus to move forward with this replacement.

And anytime you can get the railroad crossing improved is a positive for everybody. And that one certainly needs it. I've been up and down that road so many times over the years. That crossing certainly needs a good improvement. So 72,000 seems like a low amount to improve that crossing.

The big concern with this crossing is the fact that numerous times trains will sit on it and block the crossing. We've had meetings with the railroad, with the city, with the rail police, with our own law enforcement, the county sheriff, and the city police departments. There's a state statute that makes it a misdemeanor to do so, but who do you cite? And then the railroad will cite federal rail code that supersedes any state statute. So we've tried to come to an accord with them that if they're gonna block a road, industrial road is the One that'll be consistently blocked is they queue their trains and try to avoid this one, but I know there was a residence to the north that burned down while the fire trucks were waiting to try to get in while the train was blocking the tracks. So we're looking into systems that maybe could communicate that the tracks are blocked, but the issue is the communication between the devices and the distances that you'd have to go to divert traffic a different way. So we haven't come across a really good method for it yet.

Did I get a motion?

There was no, it's just a discussion. Okay.

I'm okay with it.

Okay, thank you.

Yeah, I think it's positive.

Fantastic. All right, I will let Noah move forward as an agreement is brought forward. I believe Josh would have the authority to sign that then. Just wanted to make sure everybody was aware of it and supportive. Project updates. Holtmeyer Construction is working way on County State at Highway 5 from Riverfront Drive. To Summit Avenue, their crews anticipate completion of the city water and utilities south of the railroad tracks in the coming weeks. They'll continue with storm sewer south of the railroad tracks after completion of the city utilities. They're simultaneously working on road construction from the south to the north, so following the utility replacement. Curb and gutter is installed from riverfront to AMCOR, which is approximately probably 1,200 feet north of riverfront, so that's getting ready to be paved. Center point energy gas main relocation replacement is not on schedule. They've fallen behind, they're going through quite a bit of rock. so there are going to be some necessary temporary measures between pine street and brooks street to be able to reopen the road we're still trying to determine where that is so we're meeting with them and still coordinating and seeing how their progress goes we had planned to replace that large box culvert and that required quite a bit of complicated coordination so we were going to put in half They were going to come through, put their pipe in. We were going to come in and put the other half in. And we also have to drill water main under the railroad in that same location. So there's a lot going on in a short stretch. That piece is going to be pretty complicated. And we're not optimistic that by the time they get done with their work, we'd be able to properly put the road back together. So we're working through that. It's very frustrating for us as well as it is for the public.

Well, you knew you were going to have challenges. We had these conversations. You knew it was going to be a hard project. It's unfortunate, but be glad when this one's done. It seems like we say that a lot, right? We do. I agree.

It could be our mantra. Kasah 4 bridge replacement down by Mapleton is complete and reopened to traffic. County State Highway 10 from the West County line to Kasah 20 work is completed with the exception of final shaping of the Becker Borrow site. So I will give the board a heads up. We did have a discrepancy in the plan that missed a big chunk of the borrow site. So there was quite a bit of more excavation that was necessary. So I'll be bringing a substantial change order and I'll be talking about the funding for that. I think pretty confident we have that covered. But that'll be coming once we get that sign back from the contractor at a coming board meeting hopefully next month.

So are we done done with the asphalt or is there one more lift?

There's one more lift that was approved in the bituminous overlays, and so that's the one we change ordered in. That has to happen, yeah. Okay. Yeah, so that CASA 10 and then 11 is left for them to come in later this summer and finish bathing. Okay. Yeah, but they're still kind of sweetening up the borrow site.

Before fall?

Yes, that's the intent. Well, define fall, like October 1st or...

Will it be a 10 ton road and soybean harvest?

That would certainly be our intent.

Divine fall.

It might be later this year.

I just want to make sure you don't think it's September 1st.

You know, Vance, that the best bean combining day is usually a Tuesday. Yeah.

All right, so they are still finishing. You will see if you go through there, some of the material, the excess borrowed material from the Becker site has been put up in some remnant right-of-way parcels, and we're actually strategically doing that so that we can utilize it for future projects. So while it's going to cost us more on this project, we anticipate it's going to save us on a future project because we'll have the borrow site within a few miles of the future bridge project that we want to do in 2025. We're trying to mitigate future costs by incurring these as well. Trying to make the best of it. County State Highway 69 in Lahillier, Lorenz crews are still working on phase one. The curb and gutter and concrete work is completed as well as all the storm sewer. That's the segment kind of going up the hill. It's scheduled to be paved this week and reopened to traffic next week, which is good. They've begun pavement removal on Phase 2, which is to the west. They've left the pavement in on Casa 33, where it zigzags as it goes north-south. And they'll continue with their work on that west segment once they can get 33 reopened and push traffic down the hill. 15 and 28 in St. Clair paving on the segment of Kasaf 15. I'm sorry, Lorenz is scheduled to be paved this week and then reopen, I think I said that. Then they'll jump probably right from Conner Road 69 to St. Clair and pave that segment of 15 from the piece where 28 goes to the north. So they'll pave 15 east later this week. And then they're still working on the utilities west of 28 north. The contractor does have, I believe, a September 1st completion date. I will be skeptical that they'll hit that. That doesn't look like he'll be ready. No. Then the last, and at least the overlays, I think I already hit on that. I saw 10 and 11 are left. And then there's also that little piece of the 12 trail from where it stopped to down to Minnesota Highway 83. When we designed that road, I think we anticipated development getting there a lot faster. We're seeing a tremendous amount of use on that segment of high school, cross country to attract teams and stuff like that. So we want to get that piece in.

Nice.

We've got some maintenance activities. Crews are hard at work, seal coating. Gravel resurfacing with our maintenance gravel contract, culvert repairs, prepping area for the bunker panels at the new shop, so they've got that cut out into the berm. Looks pretty good, I'm excited to see those get put in. Dura-patching, moving out right-of-way to right-of-way, mowing out the right-of-way in the middle third of the county, and then parks have been putting the new dock together at Daly. This is a dock we got from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, and they discovered a void on the shoulder of County Road 57, kind of just north of Centerpoint Energy, north of Highway 14. There was an old pipe that was left abandoned under the road and plugged the ends, but the joints failed and started sucking material, and there's a pretty large chasm, so we jetted out the old pipe and Put some flowable grout, filled it all in. They got it fixed within a day or two. We had to close off the lane. So that's been addressed. That void is filled, and our crews took care of it. Awesome. Yeah, they do a great job. On the last but not least, rapid and dam update included in the board packet. For the Nine Bridge, we'll start with that. The project construction, the plans were authorized by MnDOT on July 10th. FHWA did provide them with $15 million of federal funds towards this event, meaning our bridge should now be fully funded. MnDOT and FHWA worked together to fill any remaining funding gaps. On the 14th, I did talk with Chris Novak from MnDOT and just discussed regulatory agency feedback we had and where the permits were. We did advertise the projects without having those permits in hand, but we did have good communication with the DNR and the Corps that they're coming. So we wanted to keep things moving. It's advertised for bid letting date of August 26, 2026 at 10 a.m. And we plan to bring the bids to the September 8th county board meeting for consideration as long as all the state approvals that have to happen after bid letting prior to the county board meeting are done in a timely manner. We did receive the DNR public waters permit on July 29th. We received the MPCA permit on August 3rd. I actually just got the core permit yesterday.

So we have all of our... That's exciting.

It is. To finally get that one, get the rubber to meet the road. So is that...

That's a two-year project, correct? Yes, that's correct. The building? Absolutely. Would it start next year? It would start this fall.

Yes, this fall and winter. I would anticipate access, and then we'd want to get those pier foundations in the ground. The borings. And hopefully maybe even get the piers up and out of the water before.

I think everybody here would like to see that bridge done. Absolutely.

I concur. On the dam, July 2nd, we met with Bar Engineering, talking through project plans. Deliverables, I won't really hit on the older stuff because it's, you know, it kind of changes as we go. On July 6th, we had a meeting with FEMA. We did notify them. We will accept the revised estimated project cost of $28 million. FEMA does need the county scope for their NEPA process, including these 60% plans, which I know we're pushing to have done and evaluated by the board by the end of the month. We are advancing, again, both Alternatives 2 and 4 to 60% plans, incurring some additional cost in the engineering, but so that we can capitalize on time is of the essence now. FEMA has begun their ship-out coordination, and our previous manager of the project, Delaney Walsh, is stepping away. Her boss, Jennifer Grob, will be the new contact and carry the project out. On the 6th, that same day, administration provided written acceptance of FEMA's estimated project cost. On the 8th, SHPO submitted a letter to the FERC providing their concurrence with the FERC's determination that the historic property will not be adversely affected so long as the conditions proposed are followed. So that was a big step for us to get SHPO concurrence with FERC's determination. On the 13th, we met with the FERC and BAR regarding licensure surrender and talked through the necessary steps for that. On the 16th, we met with BAR, again, working through project design and permitting elements. We did talk about options for the sloping and where we want to tie in on the east bank. So that's been a discussion topic. We've kind of tried to go with a middle. We talked about, I think, the slope stability. And now we're talking about kind of what do we do with the tow. And really I think the intent is not to put a big bloom of riprap out into the river, but properly armor the tow that if the river does undercut, it'll kind of slide its way down the hill and we should be able to supplement at the top if need be. SHPO did revise their earlier letter on the 20th to make it public information. I believe they removed the two archaeological artifact sites because that's not public information. We had another multi-agency meeting on July 27th with the BAR, MPCA, DNR, and the Corps. We provided them an overview of our two plans that we're bringing to 60% for options two and four and discussed project timing. We'd like to get a bid package planned for winter slash spring 2027 as long as the environmental side of things moves forward appropriately and the necessary approvals. That helps them back a time frame in so that now they know what we're targeting they can kind of back their work in. The Corps is going to need some additional documentation on why we selected the options we did. Didn't sound like that was going to be anything insurmountable. Really, when we get in there and get the dam out, because nobody really knows what was done at the base of the dam, there may have to be a contract change. If it's a straight vertical drop-off, we may have to do some rock excavation and kind of taper it to fit the river profile better, if that makes sense. So that's just going to be a, we've got to get in there and find. We don't know what we don't know at this point.

Yep.

On the 27th, the revised environmental assessment worksheet was submitted to the Bloor County PDR department, the FERC, and FEMA. So that was a big step as well. On the 29th, we met with the MPCA and Bar Engineering to discuss section 401 environmental permitting. We provided some clarification. She's been super helpful to us in this process in pushing the other agencies to get their permitting and being fairly aggressive understanding the challenges we're facing. So they're going to allow us to submit the 401 water quality decision request as soon as we have committed to the 60% plans. This will allow the review process to begin while we're working through the EAW. Typically, they would want to wait until the EAW is approved, but they're willing to allow this to go forward in parallel because they know the county's committed to getting the EAW done. So that saves us several, several months, which is huge. They borrowed anticipate that EAW kind of final EAW submittal in mid-September, assuming there will be another round of comments from the PER department. We talked about just kind of some other miscellaneous forms and things of that nature, but the PCA will submit notice to the FERC and the Corps so that they're aware that they're moving forward with their decision. And we would expect something six to eight weeks from us submitting it to them. That would put them in a position to be able to sign their permit immediately after the AW approved. They can't do it before. On the 30th we met with Barr again. On the 3rd we met with FEMA. Recapping that agency meeting and the continued coordination that's happening. It also notified them that we anticipate having a decision on the design direction by the end of the month.

Is there an issue with that?

With respect to? Timing? We are still going to be up against it, I think, from a construction standpoint. If we can get it bid out in early winter slash spring of 2027 and get a contract awarded, obviously we've become highly dependent and on river flows and when we can work in the riverbed. I think it'd be tough to get it all done by June of 2028. We'll certainly try to put some aggressive measures in there, but again, it's out of our control. But based on conversations, I think there's, they haven't closed the door to giving an extension if we have it under contract and we're actively working on it. That's been my impression.

Yeah, I would concur. That's the big thing is once we get it done and we have it under contract and we're well underway, that it's more promising, but we're also at the mercy of FEMA and the federal government on that as well.

So that's, I think, as soon as we get it out the door, that's one of the things we'll want to kind of spool up and we'll start working on that and getting our justification. I think we've got some arguments that can certainly be made on the delays that we incurred from FEMA from FEMA and some of the process things, and we've also gotten some arguments that help support the fact that we've tried to accelerate this, bringing both plans to parallel, developing both plans in parallel to 60% is not a common practice.

And additional cost to us.

Exactly.

So we're trying to build a war chest for that. So explain, Madam Chair, explain the process for, is it a reimbursement process or after the bid is done? So where I'm going with this is what's our exposure at the end of the day? So if they get three quarters of the project done, they say they're not going to pay the rest.

How's the funding mechanism? So the funding would be, reimbursable, my understanding, at a 10,000 foot view. The funding would be reimbursable based on how much we expend. If they were to say, sorry, you don't get a time extension on that date in June of 2028, we'd have to cut a pay voucher documenting all the quantities that were incurred and the work completed. and that should all be eligible for reimbursement, and then hypothetically anything after that may not be eligible, but again, I'm very hopeful that that's not the case.

And so am I, and I'm confident you'll get it done, but I'd just like to know what our exposure is. At least it's not the whole $28 million.

No, and I think we'd have a pretty large chunk of it done by then.

Okay, that's helpful to me.

Unless the feds claw it back.

Well, there's that. So the sooner we can get it allocated, the better. You've got to get it allocated.

And as Ryan mentioned, the river flows. I mean, a project like this, we're so highly dependent on being able to get in there and the river flows. And depending on what that spring looks like or rainfall, we just can't predict that. Spring, summer, fall.

That's why we want to give them that, hopefully get that project out and give them a chunk of time in the winter that they can work before spring runoff.

That'd be really nice.

All right, that concludes my report, unless there's any additional questions.

anybody else thank you very much very very informative thank you very much thank you thank you county attorney Mr. McDermott madam chair thank you again the report speaks for itself I just want to mention

We did last week have a meeting with District 77 regarding our truancy intervention program, and the student attendance review team will be meeting with other school districts before school starts and whatnot, but that's something that I just wanted to point out, that last year we had 338 truancy intervention program meetings, and 147 student attendance review team meetings, and that includes, the SART meetings are with probation as well, and just in our efforts to keep kids in school so they can graduate and be more productive members of society. If you have any questions, concerns, or comments, please let me know.

How long have you been running that program?

I want to say, Esther, high school because of the resource issues and what not. After the first year, the school districts came back and said would you please do this in the middle schools as well because they felt it would have a larger impact the earlier we could catch things later on. So ever since we've been doing that, and I believe it was 2019, Josh, when did you become the deputy administrator?

I came down in 2019.

19, because that's when John, that's when we started the student attendance review team meetings was 2019. So it's been pretty productive in the great scheme of things because there's a lot of crossover between the truancy issues and the juvenile protection and the child protection. So Josh could probably tell you more stories about it than I could.

Well, thanks for doing that. Thanks for your report. Josh, administration.

Yes, first item we need for approval, Madam Chair, is the minutes.

Move to approve. Second.

Motion to second. Any discussion on the minutes? All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Motion carries.

All right, Madam Chair, next we have the two weeks of bills for approval. I'll move the bills.

Motion for the bills. Second. And a second. Any discussion? All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Motion carries.

next we have the human resources agenda all the items are informational for this meeting first we have a promotion of a maintenance technician one to a maintenance technician two at the public works department and then our recruitment initiated for a maintenance technician one we have an employment of a licensed center specialist a promotion from a case aid and financial assistance to an eligibility specialist and then a recruitment for the case aid position Then we have a resignation of a eligibility specialist and then recruitment initiated for eligibility specialists. Resignation of a social worker in disability services and then recruitment initiated for a social worker for disability services. Then we have employment of two part-time correctional officers. We also have a change of employment from a full-time correctional officer to a part-time with no change in salary, and then resignation of a correctional officer, and then the recruitment initiated for two correctional officers. And just a note for these, when you see there's several recruitment each time, and we're still, with where we're at for budget, we're taking a look at each one of these, but if you look at a lot of them like this time, in that eligibility round, this is something just we, in the past, we had cut some staffing there, but with the changes that are coming into 2027, This is something we're trying to move ahead quickly, just knowing that there's changes to the processes from HR1 that they're going to be working through. So we're looking to refill all of those positions.

Thank you. All right, Commissioner reports. As always, Commissioner Pat.

Since our July 28th board meeting on the 29th, we had the True Transit Advisory Committee We also hosted the DNR commissioner here where we talked about some drainage issues as well as the public water's inventory process which Blue Ridge County is in the middle of. And August 7th at JD 24 and the JD 16 landowner meetings. That completes my report.

After our last board meeting, I also had some drainage issues. I had drainage dish 45 landowner meeting, which went very well, but we didn't have nearly as many people there as I'd like to, and it's a couple million dollar project, so we are going to redo another meeting after some people get out there and figure out how much it's gonna cost. I was over in Waseca County for JD 11. We had a joint meeting with them with some issues with the ethanol plant over there, trying to resolve some issues Drainage tile issues, was at the department head meeting on Wednesday at 11. Everything's going very well there. Planning's ordering, we had like four items on the agenda. They all went pretty well, nothing major. We'll see them at the next board meeting. Had my SECB legislative meeting. Nothing new to report there. Kind of winding down and getting things ready for the next session already. And we did hear from our new SECB director, which they hired one a couple months ago. So he was there and gave a little presentation. And then I attended the SWCD meeting that Thursday afternoon. And that is my report. Madam Chair.

Thank you. Thank you.

After our last meeting, I had a Minnesota Social Security Association legislative breakfast on Friday morning, the 31st. Got to meet, listen to all our folks running for state legislation and office and a lot of county commissioners also that were there. Other than that, I had on August 3rd, I had a financial committee meeting for MRCI and a board meeting for MRCI, and that's the end of my report.

Okay, Mark?

Okay, and department heads, it was on August 5th, then they had a meeting at Partners that following, that was Thursday, so that concludes my reports.

On July 29th, I went to the League of Women Voters. They had this person from Secretary of State come down and talk about elections, and that was pretty informative, and they had a good crowd. On the 30th, I went to the Highway 14 open house out at MnDOT. On the 15th, I attended the United Way Women with Heart event down at the Civic Center. I think there were over 900 participants, and Laura always gets a good group from Bloor County to go. And on the 15th, I went to the LifeWorks ribbon cutting, and their new space is really nice. My sister actually started working there when they came to Mankato, so she went with me. That was fun. And that's the end of my report.

Madam Chair, I'll move to recess to the joint meeting with Pinkler County. I have a motion to recess.

Second.

And a second. Any discussion? All in favor? Aye. Opposed? We are in recess. Thank you.