Board of Commissioners - Regular Meeting

call on Tara from the chamber to introduce um I believe it's Alexandria Leadership. Yes. Good morning, county commissioners. Um as you know, the leadership Alexandria program has been going for about 33 years. Uh January was government services day. So our class spent some time with the Douglas County Sheriff, with the police department, with the fire department, some time at city hall, and some time here with Douglas County. And so part of the program also asks that they attend a city council meeting and a county board meeting. So we do have a portion of the group with us today. If you guys could just stand where you're at and and say out very loudly your name and the company you're with. And Megan, we'll start with you.

I'm the director of rehab services. Johanna Flowers public health with the chamber. Thank you. And again, that's just a portion of our class. Our full class is 24 individuals every year, but um they're here to learn more about county government. So, have a good meeting.

Thanks for coming. I hope you uh learned something from us today and hopefully you can uh pass it on, use it for other things in your life because running these meetings and doing them are kind of fun some days. So, let's call the meeting to order. Let's approve the agenda. Len. Uh Mr. Chair, you can strike the preliminary plat West Darling Ridge and preliminary plat forester estates from land and resources items. Uh, other than that, we are starting with resolution 26-17 today. I'll make a motion to approve. I'll second. Thanks, Jerry. Thanks, Tim. Any other further discussion? Len, please. Rap. Yes. We Yes. Meer, yes. Schmidt, yes.

Kina, yes. Motion carries. Thank you. Um, any additions or corrections to the minutes? Len, Mr. Chair, I'll approve the minutes. Okay. Both sets. Second. Thanks, Charlie. Thanks, Jeff. Len, please. We Yes. Meer, yes. Schmidt, yes. Kina, yes. Rap. Yes. Motion carries. Thanks, Len. At this time, we'd like to call up Tim Ericson

for the public hearing on the five-year highway improvement plan. Morning, commissioners. Morning.

So, as you said, we're going to walk through the 5-year construction plan for Douglas County. Um, as you guys are all aware, this is really just a planning document is all it is. So, we look at the funding that's coming in over the next five years, the different sources where that's coming, um, and then figuring out how we're going to allocate that money to go and address some needs around uh, Douglas County for our infrastructure. Um, this is a kind of a living document, a active document. So, this is always going to change. So, I think that's one of the reasons I think I come to you guys almost every year is because projects on here are going to change. So, just because we have this on the the the map doesn't necessarily mean that that's the year that we're going to build something in, even the year that that construction is going to happen or even the project itself. Um, but ultimately, it's just kind of for us to get an idea of what that might uh that that construction might look like. Um, you know, we do say that again documents for planning purposes only. projects that are listed in the year of construction are subject to change. That's because funding changes, priorities change, um our staffing changes, commissioners change, engineers change. Um and we want to be able to address those needs as those changes happen. So that's why we I I like to call this a living document and that for that purpose. Um, also the other thing that we use this drawing, this document for, um, as we start laying out where we're going to be addressing needs, we might find out that some of our other partners, whether it's the city, the the utilities, could be some of the other counties or mindot, they might be having projects in about the same area. And if there's ways that we can work together, we use this to kind of figure out how and address those, identify those areas we can work together and and then work together. A great example of that was County Road 46 that we built last year. We were initially going to build that in 2024.

As we were talking with uh with the city, with ALP, ALASD, they both realized, hey, we have utilities in this corridor. It would be great if we were able to address those at the same time that the county's coming through. We were able to push that construction back a year and address all of those needs together in one project. So, so that's kind of the other purpose for this uh this document. Um, real quick before we get into the individual projects, let me talk a little bit about our funding sources because as I mentioned, that's really all we're doing is we're looking at the funding and matching that funding to our needs. So, there's five main sources of funding for our road construction. Big one is our state aid, the gas tax. So, there is a search charge on every gallon of gas sold in the state of Minnesota. The state collects all that. It runs through some fancy formula. About 29% of that goes out to the counties. Our share of that is about $9.5 million. That goes for both construction and maintenance of our state aid system. So there are certain routes that we have listed as state aid. That's what we can use that gas tax for. Um that breakdown between construction and m and maintenance is roughly 6040. So there's about $5.6 million is coming into construction of that 9 million. That also includes our municipal state aid. So those little communities in Douglas County, there are also some county routes that are in those areas. They get part of that gas tax money comes through us for us to construct and maintain those um some of those roads within those smaller communities. City of Alexandria is out of that because they are big enough that they get their own gas tax money. So they're not part of that. So our county roads within the city of Alexandria we use our regular construction account for

that's how we handle those. Um another funding source that we have is the local option sales tax. So in 2014 the county board passed a half cent sales tax on everything in Douglas County that went to a list of projects. it could only be used on those initial 13 projects. In December of 2024, we added more projects to that list so we could keep that going. Um that sales tax, that half cent brings in roughly $5 million a year. So decent chunk of change coming in just from that. Um again, that can only be used on those specified projects. Third funding source that we have is some federal funds. So every year the federal government sends money over to the state. The state breaks that out to the districts. The district breaks some of that out among the 12 counties in our district. Um when they do that, um essentially the way that our district handles that is we figure out what your amount of that would be and it kind of goes in for lack of a better term a checkbook. And once you get enough money coming in there where you can actually put a decent project together, it's your turn to run with the project. Um, at most that federal funding can be 8020. So 80% federal fund. We would still have to come up with a local share for the other 20, but we can only use that on a routes that are considered um collectors or higher, which is going to be our state aid route anyway. So that other 20% is eligible for the gas tax. So we we know how that is funded. A fourth funding source is going to be what a grant funds could be available. Um so there's always all kinds of different grants out there for for different transportation purposes. Um, if we have a project, so another reason for the the plan here, if we have a project that can meet one of those requirements and we want to decide to

try to get some other outside funding, we now have that as part of a plan so we can go forward and we can try to get that money coming in. Um, along with that, I'm going to put something new that we've got coming up this year that we haven't had in quite a while. Um, we do have a legislation legislative aortionment. So we have an earmark in state government coming to the county. That's for the bridge on trunk highway 29. So Mary Franson worked very hard to get money coming in to replace that culvert that's between Geneva and La Hamadoo. And the reason that I'm kind of uh putting that one in with the grant funds is ultimately the way that that money gets dispersed through the agreement that comes through to the county is under the bonding bill. and that's where most of our grants are are specified anyways through that bonding bill from the state. So, it just kind of makes sense to kind of put that in with that funding source is kind of the way that I look at that. And then last and certainly not least, but if if all else fails, if we can't fund a project with any of those other funding sources, we do still have the local property tax levy is available to us. So, we have some roads that uh like

I might think so.

I may think so. As Commissioner Meyer says, if if all else fails and we still need we need to address some need and we can't find another way to do that, that that would be the last funding source is to put that on the the local property tax payers. The grand majority of our construction is not funded by the local property tax levy. And that one's kind of key. Um, so as I rambled through that real quick, let's start looking into the projects that we have on the map. Um, so starting in 2026, um, we have some final surfacing on CASA 4 and CASA 8. So those projects we built under the gas t or the sales tax, excuse me. Uh, we built those roads in 2024. The way that we do our grading, we pretty much we build the road. We leave it gravel because no matter how well we pack it, it's still going to settle through a freeze thaw cycle. Following year, we add a little bit more gravel. We do a first lift of asphalt because it still could be moving. And then it gives us a chance to address those areas. That third year, we come through and we hit it with the last lift of asphalt. So, those two projects are County Road 4, um County Road 8 between the interstate and the roundabout. Um, we're looking to finish those projects out through that sales tax. Um, as long as we're in that area, we're also going to do County Road A to reclaim and pave. So, we're just going to grind everything up, turn it to gravel, repave over the top of that going from the roundabout over to County Road 82. So, within the last two years, we will have County Road 8 all the way out to the county line um, brand new.

Um, chair, I got a question for Tim. Go ahead. 114 is going to get redone. Yes. From the bridge south to 27. Are you coordinating with them so there isn't a major traffic issue? Yes, we are. And so, like I mentioned earlier about using this uh plan to kind of coordinate with different groups. That's one of the reasons why we've got number eight going when we do along with number 40 is coming this this summer as well,

north of the bridge, north of 114. so that we can try to coordinate all that together. We couldn't put it all in the same uh contract because the state's doing the stuff going to the south, we're doing the stuff going to the north. Um but if we can kind of coordinate with all of that coming in around the same time, quite honestly, it's probably going to be the same contractor that ends up doing everything. Um number 40 and number eight, the paving package is out for bid right now. It's being advertised. Okay. Thank you.

You bet. You bet. Um, actually since I just talked about number 40, let's we might as well talk about that as well. So, County Road 40 is one of those federally funded projects that we talked about. Um, the way that that's penciling out, we're right around 6040 on that. So, 60% federal, 40% is going to come in for uh local share. That'll be state aid that's going to pay for that. Our gas tax will pay for that 40%. Um, what's next on our list? County 14 grading. So, this is outside of Miltona. Last summer we put in all the center line culverts. We're going to start the grading work this summer. Um county road 23. Um we we'd be looking at a shoulder widening and some storm sewer. So this would be from 81 um straight south to underneath the interstate bridge is where that would come in. Um longer term, there's some uh um there's some traffic that we see coming into that area. So that's why we're widening that road now. We're going to take care of some of that drainage issues um now and just re really be prepared for when that's coming through. Um county road 40 we discussed uh county 46 a final surfacing. So that's the part of town that we built last summer. I'm doing a last lift on that. That's out for bid right now as well. Uh 46 we have a shared use path. So, this is a 10-ft wide concrete path um on McKay Avenue going from County 82 or really the Central Lakes Trail all the way north past Henry's Food, past Discovery Middle School, um connecting up to uh Drunk Highway 29 to the north at the lights. So, in other words, we're we're making a a concrete path to get kids off that busy road. They can actually walk, bike, they can get to school. Actually, we're getting everybody, not just kids, off

that busy road. Um, getting pedestrian traffic off that. That's one of those grant funded projects. Uh, active active transportation. Uh, funded that one. Um, we've got County Road 86, a reclaiming in Batuminous Surface. That is one that we've got funded through the property tax levy. and the trunk highway 29 bridge replacement that we kind of talked about earlier, the earmark that Mary got for us. Um, so that's our our 2026 construction. Tim, I got a question before you move on. Have you heard anything from the state when they're starting? You haven't heard anything yet

for the bridge a start date? We don't have that yet. Um, they have preliminary plans now is it has to be done in 3 months once from start. So once we start that, that's what we're going to write into our proposal. Okay. is we're going to give them really till the end of October to build it, but once they come in to start, they have to stay and they've got three months to do it. Um the way that that funding is set up, um we have to have the money at least allocated. So, we have to have it at least under contract for 2027. So, we're we're pushing to get it done this year so that um if something out of our control happens, correct?

We can still make sure that we can use up those funds. Yep. And then on 14, you're going to do grading. Is that going to get one tar in before the end of the year? No, it will not. This will stay gravel. Got it. Yep. Yep. That'll set gravel for this winter. Well, it kind of sat this winter, too, but that was just for culverts. Correct. Got it. And then I was going to comment on 46 by the mall there. That looks nice. I've gotten a lot of compliments on it. You did a good job with that. Straighten it out nice and wide. And now you'll close it to retar it or put a layer of tar on it. Should be a day. But it's good. It's really a nice road. Those are good problems. Yeah. What's that?

Compliment. And now you're going to close. Yep. And now you're going to All right. Sorry. Not a problem. I just wanted to say before you move on.

Not a problem. Thank you. I appreciate that. I will pass that on to my guys. Uh 2027 construction. We are going to start out county road one is a reclaim and pave. And so that's going from Evansville North to County Road 24. Um since we're actually in that area of the map, and I've had my pointer backwards. Since we're in that area of the map anyway, I might as well touch on County Road 24. Um going from 82 through Melbby over to County Road One. That'll all be a reclaim and pave. Um both of those projects are in on our gas tax. Um county road five, which would be between County Road 6 and County Road 34, um that's a reclaim and pave. That one's also on our gas tax. Um Commissioner Wei, since these are both in your district, um I know on County Road One there is a farmer that wants to do a cattle pass. On County Road 5 there is also a farmer that wants to do a cattle pass. Um, if they contact you, let them know that this year would be the year to put the cattle pass in because next year we're going to come through and reclaim and pave. So, it'll give that time to settle out. If they contact you, just have them call us.

All right. Uh, next project on that list, County Road 7. So, this is from County or from State Highway 27 running all the way north to County Road 8. This one is in on our sales tax. um we'd be regrading. There's some of those curves that I'm going to try to see if we can realign if possible. It may not be possible, but that's one of the things that we're looking at. Um with that one coming through, you'll see uh CASA 14. So again, what we build this year, we're going to pave next year. The first lift um county 22. So the reason I say reconstruction instead of grading, it means the exact same thing. Um, this is actually in the city of Garfield. So, when I write reconstruction, that tells me that it's going to be an urban section. So, there's probably going to be some curb and gutter, that sort of thing. Um, what we're looking at is going from County Road 12 to the east and pretty much stopping on the other side of the school. So, where we have some issues through some of the lower areas, um, trying to correct some of those. Replacing curb and gutter, we'd be replacing sidewalk. Um, our main concern is going to be with the fireh hall, the the height of that. We can only raise the road so much. Um, we'll be working and being in touch with the city of Garfield. They're already aware of this project, but we'll when we have plans put together, we'll be reaching out and talking with them as well. Um, so that's what that project is. Uh, county 23. So, the part that we're going to do a grade widening and do some storm sewer this year, we should be able to leave most of the pavement in this year. There will be a couple of cut acrosses where we do some storm sewer that um that would get taken care of this year. Next year we would look to reclaim and pave that whole area. Um 24 I have already talked about county 46 a roundabout. So this is uh sales tax funded. This would be that roundabout at

Pioneer where this where the stop lights are right now north of the school. Um county road 66. Would I have a reclaim and pave? That is the stretch from uh Rose City going east. So we are up in this area. Um that's one that we can actually move that wherever we need to. So we can move it to 2028 if we absolutely needed to. We're going to be in that area with paving. Um that's why we're looking at putting something in our 5-year plan to take care of that little stretch um that's paved in town. Um so that is our 27 moving into 2028. Um county 7 our initial surfacing on that which again that's a sales tax project. Uh county 14 our final surfacing. That's where we also included this county 18. And I know I jumped ahead there. Um but because we're going to be in that area with that last lift of pavement, it would make sense that we're paving that as well. We won't be in that corner of the county um anytime soon if we don't address that in 2028 or 27. We could do 18 as well. Um 18 would be a gas tax project. Um I've got county 14 grading. So this is the stretch north of Lake Miltonum between County 6 and uh trunk highway 29. Um I have that down as a grading project. We we initially were looking if we could maybe do just a grade widening and maybe we didn't have to go full into it. I think we're going to need to cut down some of those hills if we can. Um so that's kind of the the approach we're going to take on that one. That one is gas tax funded. Um we have another roundabout on County 46. This is the one on South Broadway. Um we're working with the city on that one. The city has a carbon reduction grant uh to pay for about a third of

that. Um we put in for local road improvement grant um for the really for the other two/irds. If we're not successful with that grant that that would end up being gas tax funded. Um and then the city would we'd split that one 50/50 with the city due to funding sources. um our county road 61 grading. So this is the full way from county 22 over to uh 34. That's a sales tax project. County road 102 is actually right around by Lake Irene. And because it looks like I skipped a part of 14. When we do that last lift on that part of 14, we're going to actually come through Miltona with our with a reclaim and pave as well. Um, and since we'll be right there, it kind of makes sense to hit 102. We can also move 102 back a couple of years. So, anytime we're paving between six and the state highway, we can hit it in that time, too. So, we've we've got some flexibility with that project. Um, then that last project for 2028 is on County 46, ass shared use path. We got more active transportation grant dollars. This would go from the railroad tracks by the ALP building over to the existing roundabout north on McKay and connect to the tunnel at Woodland School. So, we'd be tie all of that in. Um, there's also a little uh leg in that grant to go from the roundabout back on 23 over to Rosewood so we can get that foot traffic back over as well. We still got to figure out how we're going to cross 23. That's That's coming.

You got the tunnel at Woodley. Yeah, that's how we cross 46. Oh, 23 years.

We got to figure out how we cross 23. Um, but we got a couple years to plan on that one. Um, 2029, 2030. Um, I'm going to hit those very, very quickly because quite honestly, those are the years that if there's any in the five-year plan that's going to change, chances are it's the ones that are further out that are going to. Um, but we were looking at a grade widening on County Road 3. Um, going east of County 30, do the grade widening in in 2029. We would do a reclaim and pave in 2030. We've got a grading job on County Road 4. So, where we finished all of our grading um from our sales tax project, the one that we're going to do, the last lift connecting up to 29, take that back around coming to 29. Um, we would do grading and then uh pave it the next couple of years. Uh both of those jobs that I talked about are gas tax jobs. Um we have two different reclaims and paves on 82. One of those is federally funded. That's the one that's going out from Evansville out to the uh West County line. We also have a little stretch in town and that's from uh 22 where the lights are going back towards Broadway. Um, that one might turn into a bigger job than we anticipate because we're having issues with drainage out there as in we don't know where the drainage is. That's a pretty big issue.

Mellin might know. Mellin may have a Yeah, they may have an idea. I I think it goes back to when that was still trunk highway 55. Oh, you think?

Oh, yeah. So, that's kind of why we don't know where some of that stuff is. Um some high points in 2030 we have a CASA 17 grade widening. So from the bridge at the interstate going all the way south. Um as you guys know somewhere down the line in the 2030s I'm looking at getting a interchange online um I94 and 17. So we're starting out with getting our our infrastructure ready to handle that. Um that would be the first step in that project that whole process. Um, and then 116 is a good one to point out. So, our Pilgrim Point Park, uh, in Ida Township off of Lake Ida. So, we would be going from the top of the hill, everything that was graded going down, we're leaving that, but we're going from the top of the hill all the way east to 11. We would continue that path even that's on the south side of the road all the way out to 11. Um, and that's a sales tax project. So, I have been rambling. Are there any questions?

Mr. Mr. Chair, I got a question. Go ahead. On the 46 and Pioneer roundabout, is the city taking any responsibility on that or not? That is going to be up to you fellas. You You know what my my opinion on that is because it is funded through the sales tax and our sales tax is collected from all sales within Douglas County. So, I'm going to say the the county residents, including the city residents, have paid. Okay. And that that's my take on it. You guys have the burst strings, not me. And I'm aware of that, too. Okay. Because that's all sales tax money because it is that one is all sales tax. Correct. Okay. Thank you. Okay.

Any more questions? Tim? Nothing. Well, at this time, I would like to open up the public meeting for our five-year highway improvement plan. Has anybody got any comments from the public? We're gonna shut them all down. We We will Okay, Vicki, could you come up to the mic because I didn't hear what you all asked at all.

My question, Mr. chair is um what is the impact going to be on our polling places in the even numbered years? Good point. We've got August um Minnesota primaries are the the Tuesday after the second Monday in August and then we have the November general election is the first Tuesday in those even numbered years. So in 20 this year so 26 28 and 2030 because we use good sheeperd

big well we've got Lun Township which is out You know, we start up in the upper corner. We got Leaf Valley, County Road 5, Miltona, that's County Road 14, runs through Miltona. Um Bell River, we've got the that church out there on County Road 3. Um Lake Mary Town Hall, County Road 4, but that should be the I don't know when the surfacing will be done, but this year. and then Mo Township which impacts county people use county road 8 to get out there but county road 7 runs north and south just past the Mo Town Hall Road. So there's a few pulling places that I'm concerned about.

Yes, there are. Um so what we have in all of our uh construction contracts, they have to provide reasonable access to land owners. When we know that there's something coming up, we like a like an election. We make sure that we talk with that contractor. we know when election day is. We make sure that we can get people to the polling place. Um any of our reclaim and pave that gets done under traffic anyway, so we don't shut the road down. It's more of those grading projects that um that we would have to be looking at. And if we need to stage things as we start getting into those construction areas, we can do that. Just making sure you're aware of them. I knew you would. I knew you'd be on me. Yep. We we will make sure that we can uh get people to go vote. Perfect. Very important. Yes. Thank you. Thanks, Vicki.

Yep. Good. Any other comments? Anyone else? Anyone else? Okay. At this time, I guess we'll close the public hearing. Supposed to do that.

All right. Moving on to uh Tim Ericson, public works director, county engineer, for his resolution to approve his 5-year highway improvement. So, one piece for you guys to be aware of with this resolution, passing this resolution does, like I mentioned, does not lock everything in. What this does is it gives me the approval from the five of you to start spending money uh preparing those projects for construction. So, it's it's not even giving me the approval to build them yet. we come back to you for both approval to advertise and then to award that contract when those are when those times are up.

Mr. Chair, I'll make a motion to approve resolution 26-17. I'll second. Thanks, Charlie. Thanks, Tim. Any further discussion? Len, please. We Yes. Meer, yes. Schmidt, yes. Kina, yes. Rap, yes. Motion carries. There you go, Tim. Get spending this time. Yeah. At this time, I'll call up Troy Wilbur, the sheriff.

Good morning. Morning, Troy. It's hard to follow that. I mean, I'm only going to be up here for seconds. Well, you get us back. I feel like I should have added some stuff to You can get us back on time then. So, today all I have is one item. It's a $100 donation from Karma Tucker, and she would like uh that those dollars uh designated to the sheriff's office K-9 unit. So, I'd ask the board to accept that donation. I'll make a motion to accept resolution 2618. Tucker donation.

I'll second that. Any further discussion? Len, please. Meer, yes. Schmidt, yes. Kina, yes. Rap, yes. We Motion carries. Thank you. Thanks, Troy. At this time, I'd like to call up Jacob Turner, Veterans Services. How we doing, Jake? Good morning.

Good morning. Um, mine's going to be pretty quick, too. So, uh, we have a a few donations that we need to get accepted. Uh, most of them are for the the veterans vehicle that we already purchased uh to help recoup some of those funds. The first one is from the Fergus Falls chapter of the DAV uh for $2,500. I'll make a motion to accept resolution 2619 from the disabled American veterans donation. I'll second that. Thanks, Jerry. Any discussion? Len, please. Schmidt, yes. Helina, yes. Rap, yes. Weey, yes. Meer, yes.

Motion carries. Thank you. Uh, the second one is from Oh, there we are. Uh it's another donation. It's from Richard and Marie Mertin uh for $100 to help go to veterans in need. So that'll be used for purchasing uh fuel and gas cards or food and gas cards. I make a motion to accept the resolution 2620 accept the donation of funds of $100. Second. Thanks Jeff. Thanks Charlie. An please. Kina. Yes. Rap. Yes. Weey, yes. Meyer, yes. Schmidt, yes.

Motion carries. And then the final resolution, uh, is actually it's a it's a couple of different checks put together. Um, but it's $9,682 total. Uh, there's a private donation in there and then there's a couple businesses uh that also donated as well. I'll make a motion to accept resolution 2621, vehicle donations. Second. Thanks, Tim. Thanks, Jerry. Len, please. Rap, yes. Weey, yes. Meer, yes. Schmidt, yes. Kina, yes. Motion carries.

And just so you guys are aware, that would make us uh that vehicle fully fully covered. She crew donations and insurance. Yep. Good job. Great. Good job. Thanks. extra $3,482. Gas cards. Oh, we can't use them for gas cards, but yeah. So, thank you, gentlemen. Thanks. At this time, I'd like to call up Nick Larson from data.

Good morning, gentlemen. Morning, Nick. Um, as part of data trails, we have the opportunity to apply for a grant from the state of Minnesota in the amount of $76,000. We are asking, we are applying for a grant for 52,500 of that 76,000 to replace a tractor that we have for data trails. We use it mainly for mowing and discing of fields. Uh, this tractor would so we would be applying for $52,000. Of that amount, $39,000 would come from the state of Minnesota. Our matching 25% would be $13,000. Uh, the tractor would give us a newer tractor. We go from a 1998 to a I'm sorry, like a 2013 tractor. It's going to have less than half the hours, more horsepower. Uh the biggest thing is it's going to have high flotation tires. We ran into a problem last fall with the wet year of getting the tractor stuck or not getting through areas um causing ruts out in farmers fields. So, this is going to help us as well as the farmers in reducing compaction and us getting stuck. Um, so we you as our sponsor need to sign off on this if you would approve it.

Nick, I got a question. Where are you getting the 13,125? That will come from our charities portion of data trails. Okay. So, you got it covered. Yes. I'll make a motion to approve resolution 2622 to go ahead and get the grant for data trails. I'll second thanks Jerry. Any discussion? Len, please. Weey, yes. Meer, yes. Schmidt, yes. Kina, yes. Rap, yes. Motion carries. Mr. Mr. Chair, just a question for you. Yes.

Uh, how the trails doing this year, would you say? For the snow conditions we've got, they're good. We have some places that have blown clean. It's not much we can do about that, but every place else it it blows and drifts in and we can we can work with that. Good. Good. All right. Thanks. Thank you, gentlemen. Thanks.

At this time, I'd like to call up Emma Jean, executive director of Douglas County H. Good morning, commissioners. Um, you know who I am. This is Kevin Strand, our maintenance staff person, our head maintenance guy. And, um, this is just informative. I ran into Commissioner Rap at a chamber conference and brought this up. It's something that's been a concern of Kevin's. He's more on the ground than I am, of course, so he sees it happens dayto-day. And as the property around our Cardinal Lane um projects and the other housing there uh gets developed, there was just some things that Kevin's been noticing and wanted to inform you guys to keep in mind as we plan forward. So,

good morning. Morning.

H we have seven duplexes. So, there's like 14 rental units that we have there. So, I spend a fair amount of time on Cardinal Lane. So, I see a lot of the traffic. Cardinal Lane is always been a dead end road. There's never really been a a good turnaround area. It ends at a lock gate. That's when ALP had their storage area at the time. And then there's um just a paved turnaround area that's originally was about 18 wide and about 26 ft long. And that's where most of the vehicles could turn around. that school buses would have a hard time turning on that big turnaround. They would back up. We lost a few of our mailboxes and they would back around and um so there are issues back then, but now after the new county building was put in, the the turnaround area has been fenced off. So now there's only a 12ft little stub off on the east side of the end of the road. So I was just out there yesterday and a snow plow came down. And they had a they turned around, but they did a lot of jocking around and they had to angle their plow to miss their mailbox as they turn to go back out. And the uh for a while we had a school bus coming down the street. We had a tenant with a uh disabled child. So the bus come down, they bring them out in a wheelchair and that bus had to back all the way out to the main road if that's Willow Road or something. So the bus would snow or anything and if there's cars parked in either side of the street that just narrowed it up more. So just uh a lot of the passenger vehicles coming in they turn around in our rental property driveways. Extra wear and tear in our driveways. So I'm just wanted to point out that the

turnaround area was shortened up. So mostly large commercial vehicles, garbage trucks, they have difficult time turning around or they use our driveway.

So we're just wondering if there's it can be looked at to widen it or make a bigger area or move the fence back to where the originally was so there's a bigger turnaround. I don't know if the the old pavement is still there or not, but might have been taken out. That's mainly mainly my concerns from all the time I spend down there. I see the big trucks. Anybody comes in with a trailer with lawnmowers, they they can't turn around. They got to back all the way out. This is kind of a safety issue possibly. But just wanted to H Mr. Chair. Yes. H owns the seven or the

the seven units. Yeah. And to clarify that red line, I should have clarified that red line is where the fence is now. And it wasn't before. If you see the little on the lower corner there, that kind of little square out, that used to not have a fence in front of it, and that's where larger vehicles and and garbage trucks and stuff would turn around.

Um, and so yeah, so the three in the bottom, the three duplex on the top, the two on the top to the end, and then on that end, we have four more units of public housing. The country estates are down there. Yeah, like Kevin said, in total quite a few units. So, these are family units and uh so there's a lot of children um typically going to be in that area. The Cardinal Estates properties are going to be assigned to the state being at home vouchers and that's for families with children underneath the age of 18. So, it's going to again up the amount of children in that neighborhood. So buses are going to be needed in different transport. And so yeah, that was just a concern that Kevin wanted to bring up to you guys as you guys future plan that area and work with it.

Mr. Ericson's in the building say Tim, I think we need to take a look at that if we can help out a little bit and and come up with an option down there, especially to Yeah. Got to be in that corner that we own in the east there, right? Yep. As long as we can figure something out, Emma. We'll we'll get on it. I've heard I've heard about this before. Yeah. And I I know a couple people that live on Cardinal and Yeah. Okay. Okay. Thank you guys so much for uh listening to us and taking some look at it. Take care. Thank you. Yep. Thank you.

At this time, I'd like to call up Lee, County Coordinator, HR Director. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Commissioners, first item I have is just preparing for our seasonal positions. As you might know, we do hire quite a few seasonals. Um the first category is in our land and resource department for taking care of our water areas, uh various lakes in the area. And so, uh, we'd like, uh, to to make room for up to 14 watercraft inspectors, uh, to handle that job. And it's a typically it's a grade three job. So, you can see the wages there. We do have two levels. Um, level one and level two. Level two have additional training capabilities. And, um, so you can see the u corresponding pay rates there. The other group would be for our public works area taking care of our parks with mowing. So we plan on bringing in three parks maintenance seasonal people there. That's also a grade three job. And then also uh auditor treasure we have um up to 18 um seasonal election assistants that Vicki and the auditor treasures department um anticipates on needing. So, just looking for the commissioner's approval to move ahead with those uh seasonal hires this year.

Mr. Chair, I got a question here. Lee, uh, is the watercraft inspectors paid from a grant or is that paid through the county? So, I've spoken to Dave Rush. I don't know if he's sitting behind me still, but um, yeah, there is certain amount of state grant and I believe some of the county budgeting also is included in that in those wages.

Okay. he's anticipated or we've discussed about if those dollars from the state continue to erode, but it sound like for this year he's set. Um, but we definitely have talked about what we would do long term if those state wages or state dollars were removed or lowered as we saw maybe in some of those budgetary talks last year. Well, I'll make a motion to approve the seasonal positions and wages. Second. Thanks, Tim. Thanks, Charlie. Any further discussion? Len, please. Schmidt, yes. Helina, yes. Rap, yes. We Yes. Meer,

yes. Motion carries. Thank you.

My next item's about wages as well. um salaries, so to um to be specific. And uh by resolution, we need to set the minimum salaries for elected physicians of attorney, auditor, treasurer, recorder, and the sheriff. And so on your resolution before you, I've listed out those minimum salaries that um I would like the board to approve on the resolution. Just how we got to those numbers. I This is only done, I think, every four years. So, I just looked back at where we were at at that time and applied the various cost of living or general wage adjustments the county's been through since that time and came up with those wages you see in front of you.

Mr. Chair, I got a question for Lee. Uh, are these uh done in uh you might say compared to other counties? Is that what we're following here? No, I did not do that. We do check on that every year when we do budgeting. Then we check in with the other counties that we consider comparable counties. Um but in this aspect of it, I um just looked at the last time we set minimums and raised them by how much we've experienced when cost of living adjustments since then. And it's just their minimum. It's just the minimum. So yeah, good point, Mr. Chair. when we do it on an annual basis, we're looking at what they're actually earning,

right? Because this sets the ground floor and um we're usually above that because we have experienced elected officials. or tuition. I'll make a motion to approve the resolution 2623 for minimum wages for elected salaries. A second.

Thanks, Jeff. Any further discussion? Anyone? Len, please. Kina, yes. Rap, yes. Weey, yes. Meyer, yes. Schmidt, yes. Motion carries. Thank you. Thanks, Lee. Okay, at this time, we're going to take about a five minute break here and then we'll have David up. We need longer than that. Okay, maybe 10 minutes. I am here, Shane. I've seen that. Thank you. I didn't have to text you.

Okay, I'd like to bring the meeting back to order. At this time, we'll call up Dave Rush. And Dave's already up here, our land and resource director.

I am, Mr. Chair. Thank you. Uh have a number of items. I think you see on the agenda, we had two items that were not brought forward from our planning commission meeting. Uh so it looks like we have three items for you today. The first will be licenses and if we could uh divide the question here and I'll uh mention that later too but uh into two parts. One being uh disposal haulers and we'll take that separately from excavators. So you have a number of disposal hauler licenses listed and we recommend approval of those licenses.

Mr. Mr. Chair, I make a motion we approve the licenses for the disposal haulers. I second. Thanks, Charlie. Thanks, Jeff. Any discussion? Len, please. Weey, yes. Meyer, yes. Schmidt, abstain. Kina, yes. Rap, yes. Motion carries. And then the next category is excavator landscaper. And we recommend approval of the licenses you have listed in your packet. I'll make a motion to approve excavator landscaper licenses. Second. Thanks, Tim. Thanks, Charlie. Any discussion? Len, please. Meer? Yes. Schmidt? Yes. Kina? Yes. Rap?

Yes. We motion carries. Very good. Thank you. Uh, the next item I have, actually the next three items are from our planning advisory commission meeting last Tuesday. The first is a preliminary plat. This is in Hudson Township. It is a one lot plat. Planning Commission recommended approval of this preliminary plat with no conditions as presented.

I'll make a motion to approve preliminary plat on Ruby's third edition. Second. Thanks Tim. Thanks Charlie. Any discussion on it? Hearing none. Len please. Schmidt. Yes. Kina. Yes. Rap. Yes. We Yes. Meyer. Yes. Motion carries.

Thank you. The next item is another preliminary plat. This is in Carlos Township in the Pines. Uh it is three platted lots today that two owners would like to uh combine them into two platted lots on which they're already developed. So they're seeking to make fewer lots. Planning commission reviewed this and recommended approval with no conditions as there's already road sewer connection. Other utilities are present. I'll make a motion to approve the preliminary plat for Pinehaven first edition.

I'll second. Thanks, Tim. Any discussion? Len, please. Kina, yes. Rap, yes. We Yes. Meer, yes. Schmidt, yes. Motion carries.

Thank you. The last item I have for you today is a uh amendment to a conditional use permit. Um this was uh on Lake Darling Resort back in October. Planning Advisory Commission had a public hearing on this application uh which ultimately resulted in the planning commission tableabling the application for some additional information and that information was provided to us and this item put back on the agenda for the planning commission's January meeting which was last week. Um there are a number of items within this amendment. Uh I think I want to start by uh reminding the board that back in 2016 a conditional use permit was issued to expand an existing resort in this location. So there had been a uh resort in this location. uh Viking Trail had existed for many decades uh was purchased and uh renovated and expanded based on the standards that we have in our ordinance. Conditional use permit was issued in that t at that time for the expansion and included a number of conditions. Fast forward to today, the owners of this resort were seeking to uh bring additional property in and make some other uh changes on the resort, all of which require an approval of uh through the conditional use process. So, they're seeking to amend that permit. I I want to separate out for conversation sake and point out to the board these aspects of the amendment. The first is that they're seeking to add some additional

real estate to this property. Um the original resort was owned by the Holman family and when it was sold uh the Holman's remained on a piece of the property uh and lived there until uh I believe their passing or or were no longer able to maintain that property. Um it's my understanding. I don't know the exact details, but the resort, I believe, had a first right of refusal on that property and then purchased it from the Holtman's after they no longer wanted it. So, that property sits right on the uh eastern edge of the resort right before you get to the creek between Calgary and Darling.

David, hold up a second. Nate, would you put this picture up? Thank you. Now, go ahead. It kind of lays it out better for us.

Yeah. Perfect. Um, there is another property uh just to the east of that that's part of a a plat that's many years old, Lynen Beach. It's a strip of land that sits just north of County Road 22. It actually includes portions of the county highway. Uh, and that property uh sits just under the creek there to the east of the resort. And the third piece of property is uh a five plus acre about 5 and a half acre property on the south side west side if you will of County Road 22. Um that property borders the the bike trail and uh today has a large pole style storage building on it. So that adding that real estate in is is one of the objectives. The second is is that they would like to add a lot. And what we mean by lot is, as you can see on the drawing or or image up there around each one of the units and some of the the buildings on this property, it's been platted out into a lot, which allows for ownership of that building or unit separate from the ownership of the common elements of the resort property. Um, I think by now you're familiar with this. uh you've allowed Arowwood Resort and many other resorts to sell units and then maintain those units in the rental pool of the resort. And that was the case back in 2016. The owners are seeking to have that uh possibility on the additional property that they would be adding in here. Now, that's not to say that they're seeking to add a resort unit. They are seeking to add a lot which

means it just means that that that property can be owned separately. The third item um the resort is seeking to uh add some amenities. One of them being a public meeting room andor restaurant. um they'd like to have some space that they can uh be used by their guests if they'd like to hold some sort of event and then also provide food and beverage and then make that available to the general public not just to resort guests. Um so slightly uh nuanced uh item there that they are adding. The fourth would be recreational equipment rental. Uh, I think uh it's it's been going on for a little bit that the resort would like to rent out uh snowmobiles in the wintertime and and other items that can be used in the winter as well as jet skis and and pontoon boats in the summertime. Not an uncommon thing for resorts in our area. Um but they'd also like to make that available again to the general public, not just to resort guests. The fifth item would be they're seeking to add some overnight mooring. So in a plan unit development resort, uh any time that you change the number of docking spaces, it would uh since those are controlled through that conditional use permit, an amendment is required. They're seeking to add um they're asking for 20 additional spaces. your recommendation from the planning commission was to allow them to have 12 additional mooring spaces. And then the sixth item um in relation to the 5 1/2 acres and the metal pole shed there, our understanding is is they want to use that building for storing items uh from the resort uh and from the rental

business and some of those items would be stored outside. Our ordinance dictates that outdoor storage requires a conditional use permit. So that's an item that's added into here as well. So that just to give you uh an understanding of the components of this amendment. Um planning commission uh really extensively looked at this application. Uh lot of consideration there about these these various components. I would say the components that uh generated the most discussion had to do with uh where the docking the additional docking was that they were proposing the public meeting room restaurant and uh and that yeah and the mooring. So that discussion, a lot of it focused on and comments from the public related to uh the docking. Uh the applicants proposed that docking off of a piece of property that's uh we'll call Lynen Beach. Um, there were many comments from the public about uh the visibility and the aesthetics of having docking there as well as the potential that if docking was located in in that uh off of that property that it may interfere with existing activities out on the lake as well as use of the creek for recreational purposes. I think we're all aware that lots of people float down that creek and come out into the lake, climb back up onto the the shoreline there at the bridge, and then walk back up to do it again. Um, they also raised concerns about the fact that if docking was placed on that property that to get to the resort, uh, it would increase the pedestrian traffic along County Road 22. And um you know there were concerns

raised about that that I'll get into. Uh the applicants uh heard those comments. Um they provided some information to the planning commission about the visibility that they felt that uh there's a high bank there and that the watercraft would be not nearly as visible. that they would propose to plant vegetation in there along that shoreline in order to stabilize the shoreline and to limit the visibility of that watercraft. And as well from a safety standpoint, the applicants propose to add to the sidewalk that exists along 22 there to extend it uh further to the west uh from their the bridge and onto their property. Um ultimately in in that situation the recommendation from planning commission was that uh the docking could be allowed but that it must be located on the main resort property namely the piece that they would acquire that was formerly the Holman's uh homestead. Additional discussion then uh continued lots of discussion about the public meeting room restaurant and um obviously many concerns about noise and traffic hours of operation. Uh I know some of that was uh addressed by the applicant indicating that they did not intend to have this be open late into the evening. Um and they even uh suggested that uh it could close when the resort office closed. Um, planning commission did include a condition in their recommendation that the uh, restaurant could not operate between the hours of 11:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. Um, additional questions and concerns were raised about the parking. The applicants have shown

on a on a schematic uh, a proposed restaurant uh, with a capacity for about 185 people. And yeah, Len, if you want to go ahead. Perfect.

Yeah. 185 people. And so, uh, associated with that would have to be parking spaces. And the county has an ordinance that requires, uh, parking spaces based on the amount of seating area in the restaurant as well as the square footage of the kitchen area. And uh I believe my calculation of that proposed space came up with about 99 parking spaces that would be required. Um the applicant was proposing to have those parking spaces both around the restaurant uh building itself as well as to the southwest across County Road 22 on a piece of property that they currently lease for parking purposes. um they would have approximately uh 30 to maybe 40 parking spaces on that leased property. Um lots of discussion about pedestrian safety in that regard. Then um as I think the board may be aware, uh the public made the county and the planning commission aware of the amount of pedestrian traffic uh that there is in that area today just because of the creek and the bridge and uh just the busyiness of that area. and that there's also uh resort guests that walk across to uh West Lake Calgary Road to access the bike trail and folks that come off the bike trail uh and go down to the creek to look at the lake and so on. Um it was also noted by the public that there's a lot of pedestrians on County Road 22, cyclists, people who walk, live in the area, whether they be from the resort or from neighboring properties. and great concern raised about the number of vehicles that travel that road as well as the speeds that they're

traveling at. It was noted um that in that area the speed limit is 40 miles an hour. That speed on County Road 22 drops to 40 miles an hour at County Road 104, which we know as Arowwood Drive, and then uh continues to remain at that speed until you get into the city limits where I believe that speed then uh is metered down to as as slow as 30 miles an hour, but I'm not certain of that. Um so, lots of discussion there about how uh pedestrians could safely cross the street. what are some things that could be done to calm traffic in that area? And uh so ultimately planning commission did uh in their recommendation to approve this included a number of conditions that would require the uh applicants to install some uh crossings, some marked crossing areas with the uh with the flashing lights and the paint on the road as well as to have signs up on their property uh and sidewalks and other things that direct pedestrian traffic to those crossing areas. Um so there uh parking there was some discussion as well about the parking um how much was on the resort, how much parking um for guests there was currently uh as well as the number of parking spaces which would then be required for the restaurant. The applicant did indicate that they believe that a number of the guests using the restaurant would come from the resort as well as from the lake. So that some parking should be considered within the resort property as well as the boat docking. Um and then there would be less or perhaps an equal amount that would

use the parking um in other places. So there's a a number of conditions that you have. Planning commission really spent some time considering this. I think it's notable that uh it it was not a unanimous vote. Um but it was brought forward to you with a uh 42 vote recommending approval uh with 16 conditions. Some of those conditions have subp parts to them. uh and I'd be happy to uh answer questions about the conditions, answer questions about the comments that were made or any other concerns that you might have on this. Um so, Mr. Chair, back to you. Thanks, David. I have a question right away. Have you looked into emergency vehicles, fire trucks, ambulances, some of the stuff that we received in emails? One of the comments was that is that they cannot get in and out of that area. Uh that's an excellent question in in terms of how it the property is laid out. Um obviously there's a difference between what you see on paper and what happens on the resort. But um to answer your question on paper in design there's adequate spacing there uh between units. There's parking that's been designated. There is a uh in drive that goes uh into and through the resort. So from a layout standpoint, there should be adequate passage for emergency equipment. Now how that uh plays out when the resort is operating at capacity uh in terms of where vehicles are parked, I I have not gone out there nor has my staff gone out there and looked at the resort um when it's in at full capacity. What we did here, as you did too, is that when it is at full capacity, there's more vehicles there than there are parking spaces and

it can be very tight um moving through that resort property. And I also seen that you're going to have overflow parking on top of the hill up on top where the storage shed is. So, the applicant has indicated to us that there is parking 15 spaces available there. um those spaces uh I mean if resort guests were going to park up there or park trailers or other equipment up there in terms of the proposed meeting room restaurant um there is a condition in that recommendation from planning commission that says that the parking has to be within 300 ft of the restaurant.

Okay. The parking adjacent to that building is over 500 ft from the restaurant. So, it would not be eligible to be used as parking for the meeting room restaurant. Thank you. Any other questions?

I'll just run this one past. Is there any accommodations for vehicles, uh, towing trailers, boats? So our understanding is that uh the leased property across the road on the corner of West Calgary and 22 that was the initial purpose of that property was to alleviate some of the uh u traffic on the resort by putting boat trailers and and overflow parking in that area. Our understanding now is is that with the addition of the five and a half acres that boat trailers that guests would bring um you know some overflow parking could be accommodated up on that property so that there uh the area of the least space uh would be opened up and available for restaurant meeting room parking. I got one more question then back on the emergency side. I still see there's only one entrance and one exit. There is no other way to get into that.

So what if something happens at that intersection and they need to get in there? Yeah, Mr. Chair, that's always my concern. You know, I was a firefighter at one time and we've been blocked out before. Okay. Uh, excellent question. So, when the resort was approved in 2016, uh when it was Viking Trail, there was another driveway access uh further to the northwest on 22 um kind of just below the hill as you come down the hill. Um in discussing with public works department at that time, that entrance to the resort was considered to not be a safe entrance on and off of 22

visibility from the west. So, it was asked that that entrance be closed and that the resort only have one entrance, which you can see that main entrance in the middle of the resort. Um, with this application, with the additional of the Holman property, um, they would be seeking to keep the approach that they have off of that property, uh, that is directly across from Westlake Calgary Road. Uh there is a condition proposed by the planning commission in here that would allow that additional uh access to County Road 22. Okay. Thank you,

Mr. Chair. I drove out there yesterday and uh I was not impressed with all the congestion in there. It is very tight, especially when you get to the northwest end where the road continues on to other property owners. I drove there with a pickup and there was just barely enough room to get through with a pickup. I don't know what it's like when the snow is gone, but the road was gated farther down, so I didn't go in there. So, I had to back out, turn around in front of one of the cabins. And then on the way out, I seen there was a bunch of snowmobiles sitting there. So, are they renting out snowmobiles now?

Uh, Mr. Chair, it's my understanding that for their resort guests, there's snowmobiles available for rental.

Okay. And then when I went to leave, I went out the northwest driveway, the one farthest out, I could not see past that driveway up towards the hills because of the trees that are there. And now there's no leaves on the trees. What happens when there's leaves on the trees in the summertime? The visibility is terrible from that driveway. And not everybody is going to go all the way to the east to drive out that driveway because that's the safest one, the farthest one east. But I went out the one to the northwest there, right next to where that green mark is there. And there's trees all along that area all the way up around the corner. And the visibility is terrible. So that's one thing, safety issue. But I still when I drove in there, I don't see how there can be 104 parking spots on the resort because in front of each cabin there's basically four vehicles that can park. Two of the cabins only could park two in front of each one. And uh I'd like to see where all the parking spots are located. And another thing is when they open their restaurant, they got 20 parking spots and 20 parking spots are going to be taken up by employees running the restaurant. I don't see any extra parking available for employees or anything because I'm sure if you're going to have 185 people in that restaurant, you're going to need at least 20 employees. So right there, the parking for that area is already taken. So there is no guest parking left. That's my two cents.

Anyone else? Mr. Mr. Chair. Yeah. Mr. Rush, when uh when they open to the public on the um rental and all those things, is there any other parking required for that in addition? because it's not from the resort anymore. That Yeah, that's a little bit more challenging because our ordinance speaks to the to the business itself and the square footage and it would be mostly parking for employees because the expectation is is,

you know, they they would come and pick up whatever it is that they need and, you know, not necessarily park there. But um you know I used to live in this area. The land is of a premium. There isn't much land.

It's a very aggressive operation and it I don't blame them at all. But um it is tight. I I the parking numbers don't and opening to the public makes it difficult. I I don't know. I I hate to think that we can shut you know they should be able to do with their land what they want, but We can't create something that isn't safe. I think we we got to take a look at this thing a lot closer. I I don't expanding the resort by buying more land that part. Why not? That's a good thing.

Well, the other thing is the impervious by adding this that it helps their impervious. But prior to that, got to let them do some things. No, no, I know. But prior to that, the impervious isn't wasn't meeting code. She's tight.

Yeah, Mr. Chair, that when the resort was originally uh the expansion was proposed in 2016. Yes, we we received uh you know, engineered plans for um the layout of the resort, the roads, the driveways, all those things, and a storm water uh plan, which they were required to meet. Um and I think over the time uh that it took them to develop this project which they explained to the planning commission last week it was you know seven or nine years to do that. Um I don't think there was a um concerted effort at one time to go through and make sure that impervious surfaces across the resort met the limits as well as did the storm water uh plans that were proposed in 2016. Uh were they properly installed and functioning properly and not damaged by some of the continued construction work. So, um, the applicant did hear that from the planning commission back in October and they, uh, hired an engineering firm to go and look at the, uh, existing, uh, conditions there. And Len, if you next item down, SWPP. So they went out and looked at it and yes, in fact, they have some impervious surface areas that need to be removed uh to bring them into compliance as well as the additional property will certainly help with that. But um what the engineering firm found was there were areas that um storm water collection and treatment was supposed to go in or it didn't go in as planned. But looking at the property now that that development is complete, there are some opportunities to take some of those areas and uh complete some of that or add in additional storm water collection

and treatment uh which they are uh proposing to do and it would uh exceed the standards that we required in the 2016 permit. Having said all of that, uh, planning commission, I think the members of that board, uh, were in agreement with what you're finding and, uh, in their recommendation for approval had two conditions that required the applicants before they implement anything that would be approved in this amendment that they have to be in compliance with those conditions for storm water uh, and vegetation and impervious surface coverage. Thanks. Anything else? Anyone, Mr. Chair, if it benefits the board just to sort of refresh your uh your memories or inform you of of the various options that you have before you. Um obviously um you're well aware you have options. You can approve or deny permits. Uh that's certainly something that you commonly do. Uh another option is uh in uh thinking about the number of requests in this amendment. It is possible to uh approve parts of this and not others or change conditions that may affect how these uses are implemented. your planning commission uh does that on a regular basis as they look at these applications and consider well we we think this is a reasonable use but it's got to meet these conditions if it's going to be implemented safely and and

in some cases they say well this use is is probably not something we want to see although the other uses are reasonable we're not going to allow this use while we allow the others Another possibility uh in terms of your choices today. I know you've been presented with these materials. You received them on Friday and granted uh what some might consider to be a lot of time to look at these. I'm well aware of what's on your agenda at these meetings and it's a lot for you to consider and evaluate especially if uh you're not as familiar with the property and uh and how these uh uses or proposed conditions might impact that. So, it is possible for you if you chose to to take no action on this uh because you want to consider more uh about the conditions or go and look at the property firsthand as Mr. Kina had done. Uh you can also table the application for that reason or if you're seeking additional information from the applicants because you have questions that are unanswered here with the information that you've been provided. So number of things that you can do. Um but uh just want to lay your options out. Any more discussion? Board's wishes. Well, hearing nothing, I guess I'm just going to move on to the next thing on the list. David, at this point, I guess it sits till we come back or whatever.

If you take no action on it today, we will bring it back to you at your next meeting. Um, you know, because it's an item that ultimately a decision has to be made on. Correct. Um, so I as it doesn't often happen at meetings, but you are uh it is within your your ability to not take action. Robert's rules say that you don't have to make motions on items. Uh they'll just continue to come back up on your agenda. But the landurch They're going to need that for the imperous.

They're going to need that down there no matter what. Right. We could do that piece or not? I don't know. Do we need to do that David on the part the Lynen Beach? Is that what it's called? Yeah, Mr. Chair. I I I did over here Mr. Meyer a little bit. I I would suggest uh I do understand that you might take the various uses here and kind of look at them separately. I I would advise that we do that all at one meeting. Oh, you do? Well, just just because you would when I did discuss it with you, you said we could do bits and pieces and to me if they own all that land, it makes it look a little better. You know what I mean?

We need that for the impervious. I know that. Okay. And the and the reason, Mr. Chair, the reason I suggest that, as you can see, is all of these things and the conditions that they're tied together. They're all tied together. So we can look at them, but then as we do that as a board, you're going to have to consider if you take that action, what might we have to do over here if you're looking at them individually? And and that might be a question uh board members that you individually would want to come to me and ask what happens if in this scenario.

Uh so you know, those are certainly some possibilities that I could discuss with each of you individually if you'd like. I would assume it's probably got some urgency for them on whichever way we're going. But my thought back to you is and it's not it's not winter forever. No, just about my my question back is is what's the possibility of a work session on it? Um or maybe that isn't where this should go. I don't believe you can convene a work session on an item that's been placed before you where you have to make a decision on it in that regard. Now, on the other hand, if you would like to view the property, um, that's true.

Of course, you'd have to advertise if more than three of you or or you do two at a time. If you did, you Yeah, you can go and look at it two at a time. And again, if you have questions uh that that you have about it after you viewed it or discussed or or even some of the public comments and letters that you've received, if they've generated questions that you yet have uh don't have answers for, you can come and ask me those questions. All right. At this time, I think we're not going to take any action on it. We're just going to move on. Very good. Thank you, gentlemen. At this time, we'll call up Tabitha from Community Human Services Director.

Good morning, Tabitha. H. No, really. No. Hold it forward. Is it green? Is it green?

See if that one works. No. Oh, just scream.

Pretend you're talking to your kids. Okay. The um child support division. Uh so we along with several other counties uh in the state worked together to apply for some federal funding that I think the mic is working now. You're welcome.

Thank you, Len. I'll stop shouting. Uh we uh worked collaboratively to apply for some federal dollars that were available uh for this nextgen employment services grant. And so we were awarded those dollars to buy uh the federal grant and uh Douglas County specifically here has received $21,891 in grant funds uh which funnel through the Minnesota Department of Children, Youth and Families Child Support Division. So uh this would provide expanded access to non-custodial parents to receive employment services which has never been an option before uh for them to actually receive those services and have additional support. So this grant would allow us to do that. Um and we are very excited. We have the infrastructure going to do that. So at this point we are just looking for uh board approval for that. This grant contract has a little bit of a unique time frame. You'll see that the term of the contract is November 1st uh 2025 through September 29th 26. Um we just received this contract uh within the last few weeks between this board meeting and the last board meeting. So there was a little bit of a delay in getting that contract out. Uh and the reason for the end date is that the child support uh fiscal year actually runs October through September, which is a little unique from a funding cycle, too. So um I thought I would share that piece just to help that term make a little bit more sense. Um so at this point, we're just looking for board approval to move forward with that contract.

Mr. Chair, I'll make a motion to approve resolution 26-24 for the next gen grant contract. I second. Thanks, Charlie. Thanks, Jeff. Any discussion? All good. Len, please. We Yes. Meer, yes. Schmidt, yes. Kina, yes. Rap, yes.

Motion carries. Thank you. And the second item that I have for you is a resolution uh to accept the donation of five backpack care packages that were donated to our agency. Uh these are individual backpacks that have some specific care items in them uh with the intent of those being passed along to children who are uh in foster care. So I am just looking for board approval to accept that donation. I'll make a motion to approve resolution 2625 for a backpack donation for youth. I'll second. Thanks, Tim. Any discussion? Len, please. Meer, yes. Schmidt, yes. Kina, yes.

Rap, yes. Weey, yes. Motion carries. Thank you very much.

Thanks, Tabitha. Vicki, auditor, treasure. All right, Mr. Chair, I have two items. Uh, both are gambling permits. The first being the Christina Lake Longbeards looking to uh conduct lawful gambling activity in the form of a raffle at Long Lake Lodge uh on March 7th of 2026. I'll make a motion to approve resolution 26-26 for gambling permit for the long beard.

Second. Thanks, Charlie. Thanks, Jerry. Any discussion? Lay, please. Schmidt, yes. Kina, yes. Rap, yes. Weey, yes. Meer, yes.

Motion carries. And the second gambling permit is for Dragonfly Mental Wellness Foundation. Also looking to perform a raffle. Uh this one will be at Crooked Willow Event Center on March 22nd. I'll make a motion to approve resolution 26-27 for Dragonfly Mental Wellness Foundation. Second. Thanks, Tim. Thanks, Jerry. Any discussion? Len, please. Kina, yes. Rap. Yes. Weey, yes. Meyer, yes. Schmidt,

yes. Motion carries. Thank you. Thanks, Vicki. Jill, finance director. Good morning. I just have one item today. Just looking for a motion to approve bills totaling 4,685,21.84. We did have some settlement in there and um principal and interest payments on our debt that were due in January. Bond payments. Yeah.

Make a motion to pay the bills. Second. Thanks, Charlie. Thanks, Jeff. Any discussion? Anything? Len, please. Rap. Yes. We Yes. Meer. Yes. Schmidt? Yes. Kina? Yes. Motion carries. Thank you, Chair. Second. Go ahead. Did you get together with Nate? We're seen that. I've seen that. We're having a meeting tomorrow morning to discuss the hospital debt payments. Good. Good. Do you need any of the commissioners there like Charlie? I don't. Nice try, Mr. Chair. I was just interested. I I seen the emails. Thank you very much.

I did too. I was going to ask you for asking. No, we have a meeting scheduled for tomorrow morning. So, you're good. You don't need neither one of us there. Let us know if you do. Thanks, Joe. Get a bigger hammer. Um, we have a board item. Lakeland Mental Health Center board appointment. That's me. Uh, I'm reappointing Sarah Richards to that position. You made that motion, sir. Yeah, I'd make that motion. I'll second it. Thanks, Tim. Thanks, Charlie. Len, please. We Yes. Meer, yes. Schmidt, yes. Kina, yes. Rep, yes. Motion carries.

Thank you. Um, pdeiums. First one up is Tim.

Okay. Okay. On the 6th of January, we had a regular commissioner meeting and on the 15th, I had West Central Juvenile Center in uh Morehead. They took us on a tour of the facilities and uh all the accomplishments they've made. And on the 16th, planning and zoning viewings, we went out and viewed these properties. And then on the 19th I had Glacial Ridge Trail Association and that was in Wilmer. We had a meeting there at the university. Then on the 20th we had regular commissioner meeting and on 20th we also had a work session and then on 20th in the evening we had a fair board meeting and they are looking at moving the water patrol building to the west side of the racetrack is what they're looking at now. So, they're going to keep the building and move it to the west side racetrack. They're getting bids on what it's going to cost to move from a couple different biders. And on the 26th, I had Lakeland Mental Health in Fergus Falls. We had our annual meeting that day. And then on the 27th, we had planning and zoning in the evening. Then on the 28th, we had a special board meeting. Then on the 28th, we had the drainage conference at Arowwood. And on the 29th, drainage conference at Arowwood.

Thanks, Tim. Charlie. All right. On the 6th, I had commissioner meeting. On the 7th, we had a meeting at public works, Brad. Eighth, rainbow rider. The 12th horizon. 14th LGC meeting. Very good. Well, we took off, but we they were about self-insuring with the city and stuff like that on on some medical stuff. So, maybe we can learn save some money down the road. 15th solid waste board on the 20th had commissioner meeting and a work session. I forgot about Len. Okay.

Putting it on here. And I also forgot that the hospital was taking care of all the meetings. Finance Committee on the 22nd, regular board meeting on the 23rd, and the safety meeting on the 27th. On the 26th, CPT meeting, the annual meeting in Morris, um on the 28th, zoomed on the armor radio meeting 1:00 because we also had that special commissioners meeting at 3:00, special meeting. 29th, Jerry and I had a parks meeting with Bon and Tim at public works. Thanks, Charlie.

Jerry.

All righty. Uh 1219 we had a JD2. Uh 1222 was Sock River Wershed 12 also a Sock River wershed 16 regular meeting 18 prime West 112 Horizon 115 LAC and another one Land and Records on 115 on 120 uh Sock River Wershed 127 road update public works uh 128 drainage at Arowwood 128 8. Uh we also had a special library meeting uh as well as drainage and 129 drainage atwood and then 129 had a meeting with Brad Bon on Pilgrim's Point. That's it.

Thanks, Jerry. I'm up next. Um just I go back into December here on the 22nd I was on open line. On the 23rd, we did uh county negotiations. On the 30th, Pope Douglas solid waste meeting, they pay. Um January 2nd, we had our PIO meeting. On January 8th, our bimonthly county board meeting on 18, Prime West meeting, they pay. On the 12th, Horizon Health, um they pay. January 12th, we had county negotiations again. Same day as Horizon. On the 13th, we had our PIO meeting. Um 120, we had our second county board meeting for the month. Also, we had our work session that day. On the 22nd, Alamir Health executive meeting. 23rd, Alamir Health monthly update. And the 27th was our health and safety meeting. On the 28th, we had that special meeting for the library. 28th, we had egg extension, our uh quarterly updates. On the 29th, Pope Douglas Sidway special meeting and on the 29th we had task force on aging and then on the 30th uh PIO meeting again. Jeff, you're up next please. Um on the 12th of de uh 19th of December of the Chipoa wershed the monthly meeting the 23rd of December the labor negotiation and then we get into January 2nd PIO meeting then the sixth is the county board meeting board meeting and organizational meeting then the eth is the rainbow rider the monthly meeting. The 9th is the Palm Wershed monthly meeting and the 14th is the Douglas

County uh soil and water monthly meeting. The 15th is the library board meeting monthly meeting. The 16th of the Chipa wershed monthly meeting. The 19th is the open line and then the 20th is the county board meeting and work. The 20th is the Viking Library Board meeting at Fergus Falls and they pay the mileage. The 21st is department head meeting. And the 27th the coffee with the public work uh the public work update. Then the 27th is the West Central Community Action and tour home in Evansville that was built by the Department of Correction approved and they pay mile.

Thanks Jeff. Mr. Chair, yes. I want to clarify something on Lakeland Mental Health. I said that it was their annual meeting. Our annual meeting is coming up now in February. We were preparing for our annual meeting, but uh the commissioners, you should all got notice if you wanted to come or not. It's up to you. Or you could go Zoom. Okay, thank you. Any other additions or corrections or No, go ahead. Just I was just going to talk about Rainbow Riders shed is coming along. If you guys swing by out by the sewer district, you'll see

a new barn going up getting pretty much closed in. We have a couple mostly on mine, so I shouldn't say a damn thing. I guess motion. I can make a motion to approve. Thank you. Second. Thanks, Charlie. Thanks, Jeff. Any discussion? Len, please. Meer, yes. Schmidt, yes. Kina, yes. Rap. Yes. We Yes. Motion carries. Thank you. Do uh we have any items from the floor?

Leadership group, Jesse, Dana, anybody back there? You get free time to get up and talk. We won't hold it against you, but thanks for coming. Appreciate it. All right, motion to adjurnn. Second. Len, please. Kina, yes. Rap. Yes. Weey, yes. Meyer, yes. Schmidt, yes. Motion carries. Thanks. Good meeting. So the one thing I