Olmsted County Board of Commissioners - Regular Meeting

Read it for the sake of the audience, here, present and online, and... There are several points to address. You can simply follow the order. The first point is to approve the verbal trial of the meeting of the Council of Commissars of the County of July 7, okay? Secondly, to nominate Kyle Swanson to the Consultative Commission for Planning and to the Council for Zone Adjustment. Then, adoption of the update of the ADA transition plan of public works of the county of Olmsted. Then, approve an addendum and an amendment to the agreement for the supply of apartments for young adults in Gage East. Then, approve a license to sell alcohol for the Jeff Sittel House on Marion Road on... Then, a temporary license of 1 to 4 days for the High Forest Old Settlers at... And finally, to approve an irrevocable license with the Buckeye LLC Flats on 4th and The Landing. So, the points of the order of the day to approve. Members, does anyone want to remove one or approve them in block?

I would like to approve the order of the day. Press.

A motion and a press. Are there any discussions on this subject? Again, we see none. All those who are for, say yes. For. And those who are against, say no. The order of the day is approved. Let's move on to the point of information. The electoral facts 101. This is the electoral period. This is the moment, if it is not something that we do constantly. I think we are doing this in the county of Pchoum. We certainly want to recognize this moment. And Luc Turner is here today to inform us of what is happening as we prepare for the elections of 2026. Luc. Gentlemen, I am Luc Turner.

I am the Director-Associate of Real Estate and License Archives. Je souhaite partager quelques informations sur notre équipe électorale. Aujourd'hui, nous passerons en revue l'équipe et ce que nous faisons pour la tenue des listes électorales. Nous parlerons du conseil électoral, des tests d'équipement, de la sécurité, des communications et de certains processus post-électoraux. Let's start with the electoral team. We have four permanent employees, a supervisor, and three election specialists. Some have been present since 2019. Two were appointed to their post this year. We therefore have a diversity of experience within the team. This team manages the federal and state elections of municipal and special counties in the county of Olmsted. It ensures the precision of the registrations on the electoral lists. It trains and assists the electoral agencies, prepares the bulletins, test the voting material, conduct public precision tests, manage the vote by correspondence for our 111 circonscriptions and carry out the reconciliation, the dispossession and audits after the elections. We will therefore examine a few of these areas today. I would also like to mention that we are carrying out an important cross-reference training. Thus, the electoral team also helps in the civil state register and in other sectors of the PRL outside of electoral periods. Let's start by examining the evolution of the number of voters registered over time. I have the data from 2006 to 2024. I use the number of voters registered before a general election because the list changes constantly. It is a moving target that evolves from day to day. It is therefore more logical for us to use a consistent number over time. Since 2016, we have gone from 80,000 to 550,000 registered voters. In 2026, we expect our number of registered to 7-0 to exceed 110-0 for the general election. The other element we follow closely is the percentage of votes by correspondence in relation to the total. This is the number of voters who choose to vote by correspondence. This includes the vote by correspondence by correspondence. This includes the anticipated vote, as well as the vote by correspondence in person at the office before the beginning of the anticipated vote period. We can see that before 2014, the rate of participation by correspondence was quite low, between 7 and 11%. This was even more so before 2006, if we look at a longer period. We have had significant changes in electoral laws since 2016, especially the vote by correspondence, without justification, which made participation climb. Even ignoring the 2020 COVID-19 outbreak, where we reached 57% of votes by correspondence, we are seeing a trend at the top. There have been other legislative changes that have increased the vote by correspondence over time. Among them, the vote without justification or the automatic vote by correspondence, allowing an individual to receive a bulletin for each election without making a request each year. And finally, the extension of the anticipated vote. This is a very popular practice in the county of Olmsted, where about half of our votes by correspondence in 2024 come from this period of vote anticipated 18 days before the election. This is done as well at the county office as at the city hall.

Mr. President, may I, just by looking at the last two slides, tell you that there are 105,000 voters registered in 2024 and that 37% of them voted by correspondence? Is that right?

The next part concerns the management of our electoral lists. Our electoral staff does this all the time, whether it's one year or the other, it doesn't matter. These operations are carried out continuously. We deal with about 42,000 operations a year, whether there is an election or not. Among the things they do, there is the update of the address pages, electoral files, and I will present to you in the following slide the different ways in which this occurs. We therefore receive requests on paper, online, via the service of driving permits, health files, state reports and new constructions. We add, activate and constantly contest the files of the voters according to the case. The way we carry out the identification process for each of these voters is illustrated in the graph below. The county creates all the registrations. We then check the identification number. Either we check it with the driver's license, or in the absence of correspondence or license, we compare it to their social security number. The first step is to hope that their identification is verified and that the process is complete. If there is no correspondence with the driver's license or social security, we examine the information, contact the voters if possible, but we can finally contest these voters, which means that they may have to provide additional information on the day of the screening. We could not confirm their identification number in advance, so it is possible that they need to confirm it on the day of the vote or to swear in front of the electoral agent. The next thing we do all the time is to check their address. We use postal verification cards for this. Each person registered on the electoral lists automatically receives a postal verification card and when it comes back to us, we make various decisions according to the result. The first option is that the card is successfully delivered, the voter is then registered and we have no other steps to take. The second is that the card has been returned to us, which leaves us with several options. On the one hand, it can be returned and we can determine a reason for this return. It often happens that we receive postal verification cards for apartment complexes. Electoral agents may forget to include the apartment number on the day of the vote, but the voter is still registered at the right address, we simply lack the unit number. We can contact the readers to try to obtain this unit number. We need these files to be as complex as possible, but in the end, they are registered in the right place. This just requires additional work on our part. If there is no label indicating a reason, we can contest. And finally, if there is no satisfactory reason for this yellow label, we are not able to determine. We can contest these voters as contested postal returns, which means that they will again have to make arrangements on the day of the vote. This could be to provide a home certificate or to swear on the honor that I have at this address. So, if this verification is not carried out in advance, the voters will have to complete additional steps on the day of the ballot to guarantee the acceptance of the information. This year, some of these charts come from this examination because the Legislative Auditor's Office reviewed some of our electoral registration processes in the State. The Domestead County was included in this survey through a survey as well as a visit and an interview. They verified that 89,900 were correctly identified. Now, these numbers concern the entire state. I can't detail them as far as the county of Olmsted is concerned. We will simply share some general information at the HLG. Eighty-nine residents followed the appropriate procedures and were carried out correctly. 96% of new registration requests on electoral lists have been examined and treated legally within established deadlines. In the whole, the state has obtained very good results. They have made suggestions, although we do not know which count corresponds to 4% or 1% of errors, we take this seriously and we will apply the lessons learned, whatever happens. One of the things they have demonstrated is the process of rapprochement with the Social Security Administration. This is a point often misunderstood, I would like to talk about it quickly. When we cannot verify the driver's license, I mentioned earlier that it was sent to the Social Security Administration for verification, for verification. There are several possible issues. The first one you see in the upper category, 20 011 have been checked. They are checked. They are checked. It's a good number. 1 400 have not been checked, no correspondence found. This means that additional steps are necessary on the part of the counties to verify these figures. If they are not available without correspondence or without electoral registration, they are simply removed. They are simply removed. So, at the state level, 1,400 out of 200 did not immediately correspond. Among them, 1,200 did not have an electoral file, so they are not registered to vote and are simply put aside. And only 194 of them had an electoral file for which we had to make additional steps to verify their identity. Then, here are the figures from this audit at the state level. The numbers in green are generally good. I'll explain that to you. The 26 were checked after several attempts. It can be as simple as a junior-slash-senior suffix or a spelling error in a first name. The Social Security Administration rejects this as unverifiable, but if we do research, we end up confirming the identity. 16 were verified without documentation. This was done incorrectly. 145 auditing verifications failed, that is, they could not verify them and they failed. And 7 had no verification status. Of the 145 that failed, 141 were the object of an appropriate contestation and 4 were not. So if I look at my two, my three orange blocks, I see that 27 recordings. Of the 21 new ones, 46 initials have been treated incorrectly and this is a sample at the level of the state. Evidemment, nous tirons les mêmes leçons que tout le monde et essayons de minimiser cela autant que possible. Mais ce que cela démontre, c'est que ce processus est incroyablement précis et que les comtés à travers l'État font un excellent travail pour vérifier cela de manière appropriée.

Une petite question de clarification, ce processus se déroule-t-il chacun ?

Oui, ce processus se déroule en continu.

En continu ?

Absolument.

Les 21 zéro-hils sont un instantané ?

Exactement. Le point suivant dont je veux parler est notre résumé. C'est un élément souvent mal interprété. C'est ce que nous présentons au bureau d'épouillement, dont je parlerai un peu plus tard. Le résumé montre différents éléments clés, donc le nombre de personnes inscrites à 7h00, et c'est le nombre que j'utilise pour montrer la croissance de notre électorat au fil du temps. Le nombre de personnes inscrites le jour de l'élection, le nombre de bulletins fédéraux par correspondance, et le nombre total de personnes votant. Ces chiffres sont trompeurs. Le nombre de personnes inscrites à 7h00 plus le nombre d'inscriptions le jour de l'élection n'est pas toujours nécessairement égal à notre nouveau nombre total. Bon nombre de ces personnes qui se sont inscrites le jour de l'élection était déjà inscrite. Nous mettons à jour le dossier, nous n'en créons pas à nouveau. De plus, certaines personnes auraient pu s'inscrire pour voter dans un autre comté, ce qui réduirait notre total. Donc, les calculs ne peuvent pas être utilisés, être utilisés comme un chiffre pour déterminer le nouveau total. En réalité, le comté devrait examiner nos dossiers après l'élection pour obtenir un total exact. And it's the same thing for the total number of people voting and the number of votes by correspondence. Votes by correspondence are included in this total. This has been added and demonstrated before in various examples, but this is not how the figures work. So these 15,000 and these 23,000 are included in the total of 68,000. So again, it's a public document that is simply often misinterpreted. I wanted to explain this a little more in detail. So the next process I will talk about is our dismissal commission. So, it is a group composed of both electoral judges, appointed by the main political parties that we hire or integrate from the lists of parties, and county staff trained in the process of the dismissal commission. The vote office has several key roles in the vote by correspondence process. We really integrate them into our team. We welcome them and allow them to participate in many tasks. But we use it for two reasons. First, we are committed to having a voting office and it helps us manage the bulk of the work related to voting by correspondence. The second is that it is an opportunity for transparency. We like to get judges to come and we often make them come more than necessary so that they see the process and gain this confidence in our work at the county level. Thus, some of their responsibilities concern the examination of the signature envelope. All ballot papers by correspondence received by mail or deposited in person under envelope must be examined by the voting office that accepts or rejects them. And when we talk about signatures, we examine the electoral register and follow the procedures to accept or reject. Thanks to this, I can attest that the voting office accepts precisely what it must accept and rejects with a valid reason. We see that the most frequent reason for rejecting a ballot is simply the absence of a signature. The voter forgot to sign, the witness forgot to sign, as simple as that. Le bureau de vote aide également à la réconciliation du vote anticipé. Le vote anticipé est cette période de 18 jours avant l'élection où notre site et celui temporaire au centre administratif ouvert aujourd'hui fonctionne comme un jour d'élection. Nous faisons cela tous les jours. Pendant 18 jours, en fin de journée, de 17h à 19h, le bureau de vote et le personnel du comté se réunissent pour examiner et réconcilier ces bulletins avec le nombre total de votants, comme le jour de l'élection, pour confirmer ce chiffre. They seal and secure these bulletins exactly like an election day and we keep them for 22 months. Months. Finally, they help us open envelopes. It is a tedious process that we carry out. Once all the bulletins by correspondence are accepted or rejected, we have to open them, reconcile them again and count them. The voting office is present for all these efforts. They are therefore really integrated into our team. These partisan electoral judges see all parts of our process and it is an excellent opportunity to have them among us and to really gain their trust. Then, the next thing I will talk about is the test of our equipment, which is really very robust. This takes place before each election, not only during a general election. We use pre-marked test games to test all candidates and all races for each election. We do not only test our voting aid device, the Omni bulletins, but we also test the tabulator for votes by correspondence, the 950, as well as the tabulators for the day of the vote. What we do is use a test game with a unique number of votes for each candidate. On the screen, here is an example of a test game with dog breeds preferred to... T1 to 31 are the numbers of the test bulletins, and the H1Pingree indicates which bulletin must have a mark for each breed. This allows us to ensure that each candidate obtains a unique number of votes during the screening. Candidate A has one, candidate B has two, and so on. We pass these unique test games and we make sure that the tabulator generates the expected results. It's a process that lasts several weeks and represents hundreds of hours. For the first doubt, here are the numbers. Our test games needed 76 bulletins. 8. A lot of 136 tests have been carried out via the 950, more than 50 zeroed, via the DS200, or a total of 59. 052 reports tested to guarantee our accuracy with 770 results. They must be 100% accurate, otherwise we will start over. Once again, 59,000 is a number higher than we would expect, according to historical trends. A primary election has historically never reached 59,000 votes. We are therefore testing a lot more bulletins in the machines than we will see on the day of the scrutin, and they must all be 100% accurate. After this work, we must also test the state's download process to ensure the link. We use online voting methods on the day of the scrutin, We also use offline methods to program these tabulators. At the far left, you will see your DS-200 tabulator. This is the tabulator used on Scrutin Day. It is never connected to the Internet, never. And it is programmed via the following element, the DS-200 support, which has never been connected to a computer connected to the Internet. The next step, our electoral computer, also never connected to the Internet, is our computer for programming and compiling results. It generates the programming for the election that we transfer via USB and it recovers the results, but once again, without ever being connected to the Internet. The next step is another physical cut with the AirGap network. We use a single-use USB key to transfer the programs to our out-of-line systems or to send the results to the State via a restricted computer used only to access the programming sites and state results sites for increased security. All this is part of the testing process and is also carried out on the evening of the election. At the end of all this, we carry out a public precision test and we invite all residents of the Comté d'Olmsted to attend. We often have the press present. Our PAC team filmed parts of the last test and we are delighted to share it on social networks. I have the two dates of our PAC tests for this year. This is a sample that represents each election on the bulletin. We will therefore not test the entirety of the 59,000 bulletins during the test, but we will test enough machines to represent each election in the Comté d'Olmsted. And we will also invite the public to participate. We let them insert the samples, compare the results and make sure that the equipment works properly. Then I will address a few points related to safety. The first point is the traceability chain plan. It's new this year, it's a new requirement. However, working on its creation, we discovered that many of its components were already in place, we simply did not have a formal plan to expose it. The traceability chain plan generally follows the bulletins, equipment, supplies and serial numbers and explains how we deliver them to the voting office and how they are returned to us. It uses sealed records and documents transfers. It maintains security preparation for the process. I will now detail an element that we follow here. For example, the voting bulletins. We receive the bulletins from our supplier and this is really the beginning of our traceability chain plan. The staff does the inventory, for example, to make sure that we have a zero-zero bulletin for a circumspection, if required. The traceability chain plan explains how they are loaded into the machine, sealed with a single seal, then delivered to the voting office. We have the signatures of the people who make the delivery and those of the people who receive. In addition, at the end of the process, we will have documents that the main judge will retrieve, including the number of seals and the expected number. It also confirms that what is delivered to the voting office corresponds to what left our premises. Likewise, at the end of the chain, once the assessors report all the bulletins, they show us that the sum of the bulletins voted, not voted and canceled corresponds well to the initial thousand. Thus, we know if a bulletin or other element has been injected inappropriately in the process. This perfectly loops our bulletin control chain. 1,000 bulletins have been returned to the assessors, 1,000 have been returned to us. The loop is looped, the loop is looped. The control chain plans really help us to structure this. Le deuxième plan que nous utilisons depuis des années, le plan d'urgence, c'est un plan de haut niveau qui détaille les procédures en cas d'incident tel qu'un incendie ou un changement de lieu de vote. Il définit les responsabilités du personnel et inclut les numéros de contact. En cas de situation critique, les contacts des fournisseurs, des comtés voisins et les ressources électorales sont documentés pour nous rétablir rapidement. or to allow someone less experienced to use this document and put the account back on foot quickly. We also take physical security very seriously. We use superimposed security levels. The first is obviously badge access to the account. Our bulletin room has additional security limited to a limited staff and we always require the presence of two people to enter it. This is where we store our historical data, because our historical bulletins are kept for 22 months, but this is also where the ballot will go. But for the ballot, we add an additional layer. We use safe boxes for ballot boxes. As far as the election is concerned, we are benefiting from this additional level of security. Again, the number of people who have access to the safe is reduced. It is not all the electoral staff, only our employees have the codes. We also collaborate with the Office of the Secretary of State to improve our guides, thanks to their training. The Office of the Secretary of State has done an excellent job by regularly offering training on electoral security to We followed two last year. They allow us to reflect on different scenarios. What to do in the event of a fire? These are opportunities to anticipate many emergencies, hoping that they never, ever But if that were to happen, it will not be the first time that we are thinking about it thanks to these opportunities.

The next point concerns the security of the bulletins.

I mentioned the requests of the staff required for the room. We also demand the presence of two people as soon as we handle the bulletins, whether it is to manage the vote or supervise the voting office by correspondence, it does not matter. This always requires a request from the person. Thus, we always have these two losses. Also note that the bulletins are issued on demand. We do not send any bulletin to anyone without them having made the request. One of the things I would highlight here is that we often receive comments about deceased people having received a bulletin. It is often a request for a bulletin. Some use obsolete lists that do not come from us and that are not correctly updated. Unfortunately, they are allowed to do so. They do this with the best intentions to encourage electoral participation, but this is addressed to people whose files are obsolete. Thus, when we hear about a ballot received and that we investigate, it is generally, or always, a request received from one of these third parties using their interim information. I also want to talk about the process of rapprochement. After each operation, the staff of the voting office makes a rapprochement to ensure that our count corresponds 100% to the expected voters. We therefore follow the number of voters for each district as they arrive via our system reports. We generate this report every evening, not with the names of the voters but the number. Each district has had x voters and we compare this to the accepted bulletin. This figure must correspond to 100%. The process generally consists of what the voting office does the rapprochement the next day. We therefore know that what we have in hand corresponds to what is passed through the doors of our building. Communication and awareness are a more recent process for our electoral team. But we strive to share our information and our experience as often as possible. We attend events such as Thursday's Downtown New York, the Juneteenth, and we have organized an electoral excellence with the Secretary of State to highlight some of our local electoral judges. We intervene with various groups, whether they are partisan, non-partisan or simply interested in the elections. We go everywhere where we are invited to share our information. We are also working closely in collaboration with PAD to develop a series of videos, campaigns on social networks and a continuous information campaign, novelty of this year. We therefore strive to share our experience, our information and our different processes to be as transparent and open to the public as possible. After the election, additional checks are carried out. The first consists of the deployment preparation staff to examine all the results of all the machines well before the deployment council. We add the history of the voters, we treat the inscriptions of the day of the scrutin and we examine the returns. I will therefore talk about the addition of the history of the voters and the treatment of the inscriptions on the day of the ballot. Some of these processes can take up to six weeks. We generally like to finish all this during the month of November. We therefore want to make a lot of progress on this deadline. However, as I mentioned, the lists change constantly and the data can be asked on the State website at various times. It is therefore possible that a member of the public asks for data in November. This list, rightly so, may not be entirely updated by our health care. So, especially with these demands, concerning the voters, I would explain that the electoral staff across the state has six weeks to finish the treatment and that the lists are really only finalized the following year. Once again, the Don's Law County seeks to anticipate this. We usually finished before Thanksgiving. And for the last point, I mentioned the return exam. We are all interested in continuous improvement. We take into account the comments of the assessors, we question all those to whom we send a ballot and we also have the opportunity to question the voters in person. We want feedback and ideas on how to improve our processes, to make them more efficient and simply better each year. I mentioned earlier that the Dispute Council is one of its stages of integrity. Le Conseil de dépouillement du comté d'Almsted est composé de deux commissaires du comté qui ne sont pas candidats du maire de la plus grande ville, donc Rochester, du vérificateur du comté d'Almsted, qui est le directeur des registres immobiliers et des licences, et du greffier des tribunaux. Ces personnes se réunissent après chaque élection et j'ai listé les dates et heures ici pour examiner nos résultats locaux. Le dépouillement est une vérification des résultats de chaque comté effectué au niveau du comté. L'État ne joue aucun rôle dans la génération ou la présentation des résultats au niveau de l'État. C'est notre responsabilité. Bien qu'ils apparaissent sur le site du Secrétaire d'État, ce que nous faisons au sein du Conseil de dépouillement consiste souvent à les valider. Nous disposons donc de cet extrait final qui constitue nos résultats. At the Dispute Council, we sit down and start from scratch with the results of each machine on the day of the screening and the results of the voting machines by correspondence that have been followed by partisan advisors throughout the process here locally. The Dispute Council will examine these data to make sure that our final extract corresponds to what is expected. And the last thing is our post-election examination. We are always questioned about the manual count. We proceed to a mail count. We perform a manual count after each general election. This is a random sampling of selected circumscriptions during the screening. We open them and count them by hand during the post-election review. I have participated in several post-election reviews since my beginnings in 2019 and we have obtained a 100% accuracy rate for each of them. This review is actually used to check that the machines have correctly counted the votes. We therefore keep these bulletins, both by correspondence and in person, to check at the end that everything has been correctly counted.

That's it for my presentation. Thank you. Any questions? An incredible rigor. Thank you. Thank you for your work and for the whole of your department. I find it a really remarkable company with the courier. Une rigueur incroyable et je donne certainement à tous confiance. Alors, membres, avez-vous des questions?

J'ai une question.

Moi aussi, moi aussi. Nous allons commencer par ici.

Merci.

Commissaire Bosque.

Merci, M. Turner, pour votre expertise et pour les assurances que vous nous apportez. Et pour autant, que je puisse en juger, tout ce que vous décrivez repose sur la loi, les faits et la réglementation. Can you mention an aspect of the work of the electoral administration that is related to your interpretation or your discretion?

No, we follow the directives of the Secretary of State and the law and we often request legal interpretations from the counties. But there are very few things that are not described in the guides or the law where we make our own decisions, right? It is therefore a process that follows procedures and laws and not the opinions of local electoral administrators.

Thank you.

Turner, you are right. Yes, thank you, M. Turner. I think most people understand that the way in which the Domstead County manages elections is irreproachable. I think that the concern that the community might have concerns the disturbances of the voting process in the voting offices. So how are judges trained to know what to do in case of disturbances in a voting office? That's a good question.

Electoral judges are required to follow two hours of training at each electoral cycle, plus an additional hour for the main judges. They all go through the county of Olmsted for this training. Part of this training is included, which is authorized or not to be found in a polling station. The law is very clear, the police, the campaign teams and various other people are not authorized in a polling station. So we describe who is authorized or not in the polling station and offer the electoral officials the means to report any possible incident. As a rule, the process wants the electoral officials to contact our office if something unusual happens. For example, the presence of an electoral campaign on the polling station. We would intervene to remind them of the statutes and laws, and if necessary, we would fill out a form of complaint relating to the electoral rights to be transmitted to the office of the county prosecutor,

Would this include, in the end, calls to the police force if necessary?

Exactly. Yes, the elected officials for instruction to call 911 in case of medical or physical emergency. Police forces are allowed to enter the polling station to restore calm in case of emergency, but must leave the premises once the order is restored. Absolutely.

Thank you. Requestion. An intimidation perceived not only inside the polling station, but also outside. I am sure that this is framed by the law. In your opinion, how does an electoral officer act on this? If a complaint is filed, we are quite open to this subject.

We want our means of complaint to be the forms of complaint in electoral law. Si un responsable électoral perçoit une intimidation à son encontre ou envers le processus, nous recommanderions... Envers un électeur. Envers un électeur. Nous recommanderions donc à l'électeur de remplir ce formulaire de plainte en droit électoral et de documenter l'incident. C'est donc leur recours. C'est la voie disponible pour tous les électeurs. Ces formulaires de plainte sont disponibles dans tous les bureaux de vote. Le comté, les fournis et les responsables sont informés qu'en cas de préoccupation, il existe deux types de formulaires. One is more focused on accessibility, and the second concerns Minnesota's electoral law. Thus, if there is a concern about the disrespect of electoral law, or if the voter thinks he can report it to the electoral representative, he can provide him with the means to submit an official complaint. Moreover, if the situation reaches this level, the electoral representatives will call on the election administrators For our area, it is usually one of us in the county who will intervene, or possibly someone from the municipal attorney's office, if it is one of their voting offices, to explain the electoral law and help to resolve or undo the situation. Someone else? Yes.

I think your process is irreproachable. I don't think there is any doubt about it. I think that, you know, there is a concern, whether it is real or imaged, that there may be a form of interference, you know, not inside, but outside the polling station. Questions have been raised about the role of the sheriff to treat, you know, a possible obstruction or, you know, the obstruction of access to the polling station or other... The role of the sheriff to address this or to put an end to it.

So, the process to treat the violations of electoral laws really starts with the electoral assessors who explain the violation and we report it. Our appeal is to contact the County Prosecutor's Office. In general, violations of electoral laws must be the subject of an investigation, and this involves competent law enforcement. So, the city of Rochester, maybe the Rochester Police Department, more broadly, maybe the Sheriff's Office. So, I will not advance on their reaction or that of the County Prosecutor. As an electoral administrator, our role is to signal the situation to competent authorities, then to let them handle it.

Anyone else? Questions? I have one, and you know, it didn't appear very recently, but the tabulated machines, as you say, are not connected to the Internet. But after some research on the Internet, it turns out that we can buy some. I don't know if we have any with a wireless capacity. And that's it. So that it could still transmit data. Comment un électeur peut-il être assuré que les nôtres ne transmettent rien via une méthode qu'aucun d'entre nous ne comprendrait techniquement ?

Il est permis aux comtés de choisir d'acheter du matériel avec des modems pour envoyer les résultats le soir des élections. Certains comtés du Minnesota ont fait ce choix. Nous ne l'avons pas fait. Ce que je dirais aux électeurs sur le processus, c'est la façon dont nos résultats nous parviennent. Cela passe réellement par nos assesseurs électeurs. Once the offices are closed, our assessors bring us the USB key containing the results. And they follow the whole process to the end. We examine their documents with them, then we insert the USB key into our out-of-line computer. This is how our results are processed. The chief assessors supervise this transfer from the tabular machine to our computer of results. There is a Soviet Union.

So, regarding this process, is there a rescue solution? Let's say I am an electoral assessor and I have to go to Rochester. J'ai un accident de voiture. Y a-t-il une solution de secours pour que ces votes ne soient pas perdus?

Eh bien, il existe une programmation de secours. En fin de compte, nous revenons aux bulletins. Les bulletins physiques peuvent être traités à nouveau. Nous pouvons reprogrammer une machine en interne et relire les bulletins si nécessaire.

Les bulletins ne sont pas dans le même véhicule que cela.

En fait, ils sont dans le même véhicule. Les bulletins sont scellés et placés dans une enveloppe étanche que nous avons systématiquement. Once back, we can treat them again if something happens to the USB key. There are two assessors who report them to us. This is not an obligation. The county of Olmsted takes this additional measure. We have the main judge, always followed by another assessor to bring the material the evening of the election. This allows us to have increased surveillance and additional responsibility. So, if something were to happen, the second assessor would alert us immediately and we could react.

Merci. Merci. Quelqu'un ? Oui, Commissaire Bogusmy.

Qui sont les commissaires du comté affectés à la commission de recensement cette année ?

Je ne connais pas encore la réponse. Je contacterai Clara pour voir qui participera à nos commissions de recensement. Je peux tout de même trouver l'information.

Quelqu'un qui ne figure pas sur le bulletin. Quelqu'un qui n'est pas sur le bulletin.

Exact.

Y a-t-il d'autres questions ? Thank you for this fantastic presentation. And thank you for your work, especially, as well as that of all those involved in this process. And frankly, the many electoral advisors who are not here today and on whom we count on and who do a great job. Thank you. Bien. Passons au point de discussion et de décision. Le premier concerne la discussion sur le taux journalier du centre de détention pour adultes. Adultes. Je crois que notre shérif va ouvrir le bal au... Cela concerne un taux journalier relatif aux détenus du comté de Dodge. Shérif Targuessa.

Bonjour, et c'est bien moins captivant que la discussion sur les élections. But I don't think it will take too long. We've had a lot of conversations over the last few months. This opportunity allows us to simply come back to you to tell you where we are and we have some new information. But before we get there, the RAPS director is with me. He runs our adult detention center and he will come back on the history of the situation so that we are all on the same wavelength before concluding.

Please introduce yourself.

Je suis le directeur Raps. Je suis l'actuel administrateur de la prison. Alors, avant 2004, nous hébergions des détenus pour le comté de Dodge.

Pourriez-vous vous rapprocher un peu du microphone ?

Est-ce que c'est mieux ? Nous avions donc un accord en vigueur avec le comté de Dodge avant 2004. À cette époque, notre population carcérale était importante et nous étions confrontés à une forte surpopulation. Nous avions des problèmes d'espace et nous étions constamment obligés de leur dire non. Ils ont rompu avec nous pour se tourner vers le comté de style. Nous avons récupéré ce contrat en septembre 2022. Voilà, c'est en quelque sorte l'historique des échanges avec le comté Dodge. Nos tarifs avec eux, et avec tout le monde d'ailleurs, sont restés inchangés pendant des années. Nous avons toujours facturé 50 dollars. Il y a 5 ans, nous sommes passés à 65 dollars. Et depuis janvier 2026, nous sommes à 75 dollars.

As for the fixation of these tariffs, it is a deal concluded by the Association of Sheriff's of the State for as long as I remember. As noted, Director Epps, there have been recent changes dating from last January. Following your questions and our exchanges, I took the opportunity to go see other sheriffs through the state in order to ask them the same questions that you asked me. Au cours de l'une de ces conversations, j'ai appris que le district 6, pardon, le district 3, car l'état du Minnesota est divisé en six districts. Nous nous situons dans le sixième district au sud-est. Le district 3, qui se trouve dans le centre-ouest du Minnesota, près de la frontière du Dakota du Sud et du Dakota du Nord, compte généralement entre 11 et 12 comtés ou shérifs. J'ai appris auprès des shérifs de cette région qu'au cours des deux dernières années, ils avaient adopté une approche différente. Les frais étaient de 75 dollars, comme l'a mentionné le directeur Raps, et il y a, je crois, quatre comtés dans cette région, dans ce district, qui n'ont aucune installation de détention. Donc quatre comtés. Among them, within this group and independently of what the MSA had done, they took the initiative to discuss more and to set different costs. These fees apply to the county having a detention center, and there are cases, the RAPS director can also detail some of these situations, or even if we have an installation, we have to transfer someone to another center for various reasons. In this case, the fees would be 75 dollars. For the counties of District 3 that do not have an installation, they had increased their fees to $100. And they negotiate it as they wish within this district. So was it the first time I heard about it? It was only a few months ago. By adopting this approach, I had many conversations with Sheriff Rose, who runs the office of the Sheriff of the County of Dodge, with whom we have negotiated and discussed our contracts since their return in 2022, and I am a part of it. We had many conversations on this subject. and he finally agreed that it was logical to have higher fees depending on his situation since they do not have an installation and that he would pay the $100 With that in mind, and knowing that the county of Dodge is the only one in our district without an installation, I raised this question because one of the preoccupations of Sheriff Rose was, if you increase these fees, I just risk going to another county where I would pay 75 dollars. Which was the minimum agreed by the Sheriff's Association in ... December last, I think. and applied on January 1st, namely 75 dollars. He therefore said that it was to prevent me from going elsewhere in our district, which, you know, was a very logical conversation. We therefore submitted the question to the 6th district, to the other sheriffs in our region. The vote ended up being unanimous for us to do the same. Ainsi, à l'heure actuelle, au sein du 6e district, le tarif journalier entre les shérifs gérants des prisons resterait à 75 dollars. Si le directeur REPS doit envoyer quelqu'un dans le comté de Goudieu, à Winona ou ailleurs, pour une courte période, le tarif serait de 75 dollars et vice versa. Si Winona devait envoyer quelqu'un ici pour une certaine durée, la même situation se présenterait. for the county of Dodge Sole because it is the only establishment in our region, the only county in our region without structure. The fees are $100, with a slight supplement that would actually arouse a lot of discussion. The sheriffs would then negotiate the increases between them. So in this sense, Sheriff Rose and myself, according to the way we decide whether we sign a contract annually or every two years. Le contrat actuel stipule qu'il se poursuivrait simplement que nous rouvririons ce contrat avec le comté de Dodge après la discussion d'aujourd'hui et nous le rouvririons pour dire que nous négocierions ou parlerions d'une augmentation de ces frais annuellement tous les deux ans ou tous les cinq ans. Je ne voudrais pas aller au-delà de 5 ans. Le directeur Raps et moi en avons parlé. Il semble que nous souhaitions vraiment avoir une sorte de conversation dans un délai de 5 ans. Quoi qu'il en soit, entre 1 et 5 ans, c'est ce dont nous avons initialement parlé. Nous n'avons pas eu d'autres conversations. Je n'ai pas eu d'autres conversations avec le shérif Rose ces deux dernières semaines, mais j'avais discuté avec lui du fait... that once this conversation today with you is over and after reaching an agreement, we will take this step and Director Raps will conduct the exchanges to determine what is most logical for our relationship. And this contract in order to generate income for us, the county of Olmsted, while helping, of course, a partner and a friend in this context. The sheriffs then brought this to a higher level. I'm not trying to complicate things too much, but they made three different decisions that day. The third decision concerned our sheriffs in the front counties, Iowa and Minnesota and the decision was that for them and this law or outside of our district if someone from the metropolis like the county of Hennepin who encountered difficulties a few years ago because they were overloaded very complete and confronted with problems was looking to send prisoners from the county of Hennepin as far as here and he had asked us and at that moment we said no we get out of it very well like that but they said that this would represent higher fees and that each sheriff could negotiate with the outside of the district or the outside of the state. Thus, let's say that the county of Freeborn could negotiate the fees it wants with Iowa, or Winona could discuss with Wisconsin, or any of us if the county of Ennepin comes back to us and could negotiate its fees at the desired level. So it's three distinct decisions, and I'm going to take them one by one. They all agreed that the sheriffs having a prison in our district would remain at 75 dollars, which is the rate on which the Sheriffs Association agreed last year and earlier this year. Then, we increased our fees with the Dodge account to 100 dollars with the possibility for the sheriffs to negotiate if they feel the need. And the negotiations outside the district and outside the state would also be treated by a journal indemnity. And just one last remark again, namely that the vote was an unanimous vote. Sheriff Rose was not present, but he had already agreed with me and with us that increasing the fees to $100 seemed reasonable. At the moment, with, once again, this possibility of negotiating higher fees in the future, So that's where we are. If you have any questions...

Very well. Are there any questions at this stage? We also have the representatives of the Comté d'Olmsted. Maybe, I don't know if you are interested in making comments? Commissioner Thynne?

How much does it cost to host the Comté d'Olmsted? Well, that's the question, and I will probably go back to the RAPS director. There is no clear definition on this subject. The Department of Correctional Services sets a price, and this price is currently 2.

Our current price is 323 bulklays aigern. Basically, no, let's leave the cent part, but it's 323.

And we estimate that this corresponds, if we take our variable costs for a detention center for adults divided by the number of people in it, we would arrive at this amount.

Yes, it is therefore a very detailed report that the Ministry of Correctional Services asks us to do every year. I have just received it, so I have a few months to finish it in order to have the figures for 2025 ready. But it is quite precise. Each line contains a description of everything that the Ministry wants us to complete.

And this simply reiterates something that we talked about before, and I don't know if I took notes on this subject. I did. You know, the LIS are available at the moment, and as the RAPS director declared around 2004, we were complete. We said, on behalf of Dodge, you must leave. So it's obviously there, and Sheriff Horsos certainly understands it. There is therefore this option when we are complete. roughly what covers these fees of 100 dollars and subsequently it will increase very likely. You know, the three meals a day that we provide to prisoners, the whitewashing service that we offer them, the internal medical care. So when they have problems on the spot and the medical staff sees them, we don't pay for the medication, which as you all know, can be very expensive. It is the responsibility of the Doge County and they are very aware of it. All of this is regulated. So internal medical care and the last thing is that when they have an audience at the court, the staff must monitor it and ensure the connection, etc. This is therefore the last part. Most of the audiences that the Doge County organizes are, according to what I know, practically online or on Zoom. Evidemment, pour les procès, choses de ce genre, le comté de Dodge doit faire le travail, les emmener, les emmener à leur tribunal, faire tout cela, et ils en sont responsables. Nous ne levons pas le petit doigt pour cela. Donc, vous savez, ce n'est pas tout ce qui entre en ligne de compte, mais, comme l'a dit le docteur R, la formule est très détaillée quant à la manière dont ils arrivent à ce chiffre de 3,23, le ministère des services correctionnels. Well, it's fair, but I also think that this 323 only represents variable costs. This does not take into account the cost of construction of a prison or another. If we took the cost of construction of this prison 40 years ago to add it to that, I bet that... The cost would be much higher. I don't think the surface is taken into account. Or if... All right. So it's potentially playing a role in this. Once again, it's a mystery. We could talk about it all day, but it's, in a way, a little mysterious to see how this formula works. It's essentially very detailed in terms of what needs to be integrated, but the way in which they apply the percentages and in which all this is articulated is... I do not dispute the calculation itself. I mean, I accept that it costs $3.23 per month,

It doesn't matter.

All right, Commissioner.

I have a clarification question, darling. During our previous discussions, I had understood that currently, with the 75 dollars, as soon as someone in our county passes through our establishment, we apply these 75 dollars at the state level. And now? Not a state law.

At the state level. At the state level. At the state level.

And now I hear you say that we are going to negotiate and have a contract with each county.

qui négociera un tarif, d'accord, alors je... Juste, pour nous, tout comté qui vient nous dire, hé, nous avons besoin qu'un détenu reste chez vous, hé, s'ils sont dans le sixième district, en dehors du... Si c'est au-delà, oui, nous négocierons cela, et ce ne sera peut-être pas un contrat, ce sera un tarif convenu, quel qu'il soit, ça pourrait être 130, 150, 75, ça... When I talked to the other sheriffs, they had this conversation. I don't have precise numbers. It's been a long time, I think, and Director Epsom could have information about it, but I don't remember a recent period when we had someone from outside our district in our establishment. So it's very, very, very occasional. For the counties, once again, because we are a bit the center of our region here, the southeast of Minnesota, for the county of Freeborn, for example. He talked a lot about it because he is on the edge of our county, of our district. So potentially, he has Iowa detainees who come for one reason or another. I don't understand all these reasons, because we've already talked about it. There are extradition problems with that. But for the neighboring counties, I think it's the county of Faribault in the west, it's under our district, yes. It's something that SEGA is dealing with, it's not something that, to my knowledge, we really discussed.

Other questions on this subject? I just have one to clarify. I think I know the answer, but if the county of Dodge wanted in the future sending his detainees to another county in the district would be 100 dollars. Is that right? Okay. Okay. So, other questions? Opinions? The sheriff's recommendation is to pass our fees of 75 dollars to 100 dollars a day. Either I need a motion, or we don't say anything about it and move on to the next point.

Je propose que nous adoptions le tarif de 100 dollars par jour. D'accord, une motion a été déposée. Y a-t-il un second ?

Je... C'est secondé. Des discussions sur les 100 dollars par jour ? Oui.

Euh, je, oui. Si cela est approprié, je souhaite amender la motion à 323 dollars par jour. Eh bien, vous pouvez écouter ceci. Ce serait, euh, mon amendement.

Vous pouvez le faire avec un second. I agree, but I don't think they will accept it. We have a motion and a second to amend the proposal of 100 dollars per day to 323 dollars per day. Discussion on this?

Yes, I would like to discuss it. Thank you very much. The reason why I say that is that our citizens, the people of my district, those of your district, must pay the cost of functioning of the prison and that of the police staff who work there. And they pay about 323 dollars a day for that. Je ne pense pas que les gens de mon district veuillent subventionner un autre comté. Pour moins que cela. Par exemple, nous avons aussi une équipe de poursuites. Alors que se passe-t-il si un autre comté vient et dit, eh bien, nous n'avons pas de procureur dans notre comté ? Nous allons l'emmener dans le comté d'Olmsted et ils poursuivront pour un tiers de moins que ce que cela coûte au comté d'Olmsted de le faire. Et vous pourriez passer en revue tous nos autres services, santé publique et tout le reste pour dire je vais simplement aller dans le comté d'Olmsted, obtenir un accord de leur part et payer un tiers de moins que ce qu'il en coûte au comté d'Olmsted pour gérer ses affaires. That's why I think it's a terrible situation. Why would we want to subsidize another county for the same costs? The county of Dodge has the opportunity to build its own prison. They have had this opportunity for a long time. But why would they want it then that they can come to the county of Olmsted and that we will subsidize all their services in their place? Now, we could go even further and say, let's not build prisons. Let's just send our detainees to other counties that will take them for $100 a day. We would save a lot of money for the contributors of the county of Olmsted by doing this. And that's why I think this situation is unbalanced. I believe that anyone who uses our prison should pay the same price, the same costs as those that our own residents must bear in our detention center.

Very well, let's continue the discussion on the modified motion. Commissioner Tinter.

There is a difference between helping a friend in need by letting him sleep on the couch as long as he gets back on his feet and letting him definitely settle in one of your rooms Le Comté de Dodge est un partenaire à plein temps de Notre-Décès à tout ce point de vue sauf pour le paiement du loyer. Tout comme nous sommes partenaires d'une OCAJDC, je demande simplement qu'ils paient leur juste part. J'aime le Comté de Dodge. J'apprécie les commissaires que je connais du Comté de Dodge. Je veux travailler avec eux en tant que véritable partenaire. Mais je ne soutiendrai pas le fait que les contribuables du Comté d'Olmsted subventionnent un comté de manière non réciproque de manière non réciproque. Nous n'envoyons personne dans le Comté de Dodge car ils n'ont pas de prison. Il n'y a aucun échange. C'est un sens unique. The county of Dodge has the capacity to be a true partner in our prison, alone or with other neighbors. In the current state of things, each contributor of the county of Olmsted pays several times more than a contributor of the county of Dodge to have access to a detention center. I just ask that we be on an equal footing. Other discussions on this subject?

Yes, Commissioner Hopkins.

Just a question for the sheriff. What is the current capacity of the prison? I mean, when I say yes, what is the capacity of the prison? Are we at 100%, 80%, 85%?

Probably around 80% at this stage.

It's really about, I mean, it was written and documented. We have 202 beds. But due to the classifications related to mental health, addictions and all other needs, this number of 202 will never be reached. So, roughly, we're turning around 165, about. Once again, it's really a TK, around Tauric, on which I insist. So yes, we are probably at around 80% at the moment. D'accord. Et donc, quelle part utilisée de manière constante par les détenus du comté de Dodge ? Avez-vous ces chiffres ?

En 2023, nous avions une moyenne de 28 détenus par mois venant de Dodge. En 2024, c'était 23 et en 2025, une moyenne de 25 par mois.

Et quel était le revenu global sur une base mensuelle ou annuelle ?

J'ai les deux. En 2023, nos paiements mensuels moyens étaient de 18, 245, 45 dollars. En 2024, c'était 14, 218 dollars. Et en 2025, c'était 16, 398 dollars. Par an, en 2023, nous avons reçu 218, 940 dollars. En 2024, c'était 170, 200 dollars. 620 dollars. Et en 2025, c'était 196, 780 dollars.

So who would make up for this difference if we no longer had this agreement with the county of Dodge? Us.

I mean, it's them.

Contributors to the county of Olmsted. Thank you. Any other discussion? Just, I have a clarification question. The 28 per month, is there an average per day or per night?

It fluctuates. Sometimes we have five, sometimes ten, and sometimes it's only for the night.

I would have liked to have an average per night. I think we've already discussed it.

Maybe I'll add something to that. Could it happen that the county of Dodge calls to ask to welcome a detainee? It probably never happened. But if it was the case and we were complete, the answer would be no, wouldn't it?

C'est ce que nous avons fait en 2004. Nous sommes arrivés à un point où ce n'était plus possible. Nous avons commencé à dire non. Puis, finalement, nous leur avons dit de trouver un autre endroit. Nous ne pouvons pas le faire. Donc, en fait, nous disons oui s'il y a une place vacante. Exact. Oui, monsieur le commissaire. Cela s'appliquerait à n'importe qui d'autre aussi. Monsieur le commissaire. Cela vaudrait pour n'importe qui, vous savez. Lors d'un appel avec vous, un... Commissaire Rost.

Yes, I'm really in trouble with that. I completely agree with the fact that the contributors of the Olmsted County are subsidizing Dodge. They have absolutely no incentive to build a prison, while I think we will in any case move to a regional model because of the cost of construction, etc. And we are a good partner. We want to continue to be a good partner. Like this. It was said during previous discussions, Olmsted is a logical choice for Dodge because many of their inmates must come here for health care, for health care. So if they went to another county, there would be additional transportation costs, etc. Have we already deepened the discussion to really understand their point of view? Because I think we need to increase the rates. I have a hard time accepting to triple the amount to the exact cost without going there gradually, knowing that we are all facing a major budget crisis and that our budget will be under tension in 2027 and 2028. Mais je suis aussi préoccupée par le fait que les contribuables d'Olmsted subventionnent un autre comté sans leur donner aucune incitation à gérer leur propre service chez eux. Cela arrive dans d'autres services parce que le comté d'Olmsted est très solide. Je ne connais pas d'autres services où le coût est triplé pour nous et où nous le subventionnons à ce niveau sans aucun autre soutien financier extérieur.

Other comments or discussions? The motion in front of us, the amended motion, consists of bringing the proposal of $100 per day to $323 per day, as proposed by Commissioner Wright. We no longer see any other discussion. All those who are in favor of the amended motion at $323, please speak up for ECA, for ECA, for ECA, for ECA, for ECA, for ECA, for ECA, for ECA, for ECA, for ECA, for ECA, for ECA,

Commissioner Tinn. Commissioner Wright.

For.

Commissioner Mueller. President Sinji. Commissioner Rossman. Commissioner Borowski-Smith. For. And Commissioner Hopkins.

Against. What happened? Four against. Four against.

The motion is adopted.

La motion est adoptée. L'amendement est adopté. L'amendement est adopté. D'accord. L'amendement est adopté. L'amendement est adopté. Maintenant, nous avons une motion amendée pour facturer au comté de Dodge 323 dollars par jour. À l'avenir. So we have to vote on this. All those in favour of this motion once again say POUR RECRE. POUR RECRE.

POUR.

CONTRE QUE. CONTRE. CONTRE. And I think it's... Why don't you make the nominal appeal once again? CK CONTRE RECRE.

CK CONTRE RECRE. CK CONTRE RECRE. CK CONTRE RECRE. CK CONTRE RECRE. Commissioner Hasman? Yes. Commissioner Porocki-Smith? Yes. And Commissioner Hopkins?

Yes.

And then I abstain.

By four votes against three, the new rate has been set at 323 dollars per day and by detainees of the Dodge County.

Commissioner, I have an additional remark that I would like to inform you. Obviously, this would mean that the Dodge County will go for it. You asked the question earlier. I did not think until the moment you proceeded with the vote To know if this will take effect today or on January 1st, we must be aware of it. And then, secondly, we had additional discussions on this subject and on the capacity of the Council to count on setting this rate. And the question arises as to whether this concerns only the prisoners sentenced according to the law or all the prisoners housed in an establishment or, in essence, coming from another county. There is therefore a doubt on this subject that we will continue to examine and we will probably contact the office of the county prosecutor Demandez des éclaircissements sur ce point S uniquement pour les condamnés ou pour tous les détenus. Je pense donc que nous reviendrons en discuter une fois que nous aurons obtenu des éclaircissements du bureau du procureur.

Nous avons donc une question juridique vague, mais nous pourrions probablement répondre concernant la date de mise en œuvre. Commissaire Wright, avez-vous une date de mise en œuvre ? Y a-t-il ?

Eh bien, non mais je crois que nous devrions, nous devons... D'accord, je dois réfléchir. Ah, vous ôte une seconde, car je ne sais pas combien de temps le comté de Dodge pourrait mettre si... souhaite prendre d'autres dispositions. Euh... Je ne dis pas que nous devrions mettre leurs gens dehors de la prison, vous savez, à 16h aujourd'hui. Alors quoi ? Dans un mois ? Est-ce raisonnable ?

Commissioner, if I may, I believe that the agreement provides for 60.

Can we align it with the implementation of our tariff grid? I don't know if this rate applies. I would like to make a proposal. This rate does not apply. I really think that we must, you know, I have not seen the contract that currently exists. But I believe that it engages us. until the end of the year. So why not?

If that suits you, by basing ourselves on the board's guidelines here present, leave us a little more time to examine some of the questions currently asked.

I would like to. I would like to propose that this comes into force on January 1, 2027. Very well, you have the right to do so. Is there a second? The proposal is second for a start to the new year. Discussion on the subject? Okay, are there any comments? All those who are for, say for and for. Opposite, say against. I'm going to vote against because I don't want it to be put in place. Okay. So I'm against. I think the motion is adopted by 5 votes against 2.

May I add one last comment? The county of Dodge has long been a trusted partner in the In the field of the application of the law with the Downstead County. We work closely in collaboration with them on many subjects, including probation. The Downstead County has probation officers based in the Dodge County. And I really regret that this is happening, because I fear that this level of partnership will not work. and you know that it is no longer as strong as it was in the past.

I talked to Sheriff Rose about a month ago and I know that he will be disappointed and that it will deteriorate, but that's where we are today and that's how the votes were expressed. So here we go, we're going forward. Thank you Sheriff and thank you to the members of the Dodge County delegation.

Good.

Let's continue with another point of decision, the letter of commitment approval with the Southeast Performing Arts Center. Who will launch the subject for us? Mr. County Administrator, please introduce yourself for the verbal process. Hello, my name is Travis Grantier, County Administrator of Olmsted. Thank you, President Sengem, and dear Commissioner. This is a subject to which you have devoted a lot of time The process really started in December. But this is the first time that this discussion happens in this room in front of the Council in full. The Administrative Committee of the County Council examined the information provided by the Southeast Minnesota Performing Arts Center.

Then, more recently in May, another request was made by SPARC, the Children's Museum.

And so the request that was presented to you today, I included information on the slides that you examined during our last meeting, during the first meeting of July, or to be frank, the only meeting of July. We reviewed these slides that presented the calendar, but this conversation actually started last December. And it has continued to advance throughout this year within this administrative committee, as I have already mentioned. And as it was also mentioned, there was the request of SPARC which was submitted in May. Then SPARC and SEMCAC met and discussed with each other to see if they could potentially live together in this same space. As we have progressed in this process and SEMCAC continues to collect information for its feasibility study, we have reached the point where the committee Tratif voted to submit this to the departmental council. So an agreement or rather a letter of commitment was written by the office of our departmental lawyer and Tom Canan. This letter was examined by the SEMCAC group and they felt at ease with this letter of commitment submitted to the council, at least in terms of the terms and conditions that appeared. And then just yesterday, and I'm going to say this for the verbal trial if you want, but yesterday I received an email from Rick that you now know. Rick and his work with SEMCAC and this was transmitted to you in an email that I sent yesterday, but I just wanted for the rest of the audience who did not have the opportunity to get to know it. And we did not have the possibility to include it in the file before this one was published, I think.

simply, that it is an important context for the council when it examines this request. Today, it is written, we feel that the county envisages our organization for the site of Seneca.

In this case, after an attentive examination of the current proposal, we understand that the available space cannot simultaneously host a building for the arts of the scene, a parking lot and the installations of Spark. Since SPARC has demonstrated its ability to develop and build on a shorter calendar than what our organization can currently achieve, we think it is in the best interest of the community and the objectives of the county to grant SPARC a right of first refusal on the site. If SPARC refuses to build on the site of Seneca, we respectfully ask that our commitment letter for this location be maintained and remain in force. We remain determined to work with the county to find an appropriate solution that serves all parties concerned. Thank you Travis. Sign me if you have any questions. Dan Kutzki will be present at the meeting. And Dan is sitting here behind me. Although I don't know if there will be much to add. So I wanted, by recognizing everything that is in the file, to emphasize that this was received yesterday. As for the advice today, what is in the order of the day is the approval of the letter of commitment that you will find in the file. That's all there is. Questions for our County Administrator before we open the discussion? Very well. The action requested is the approval of the letter of commitment to the group of the Center for the Arts of the South-East of Minnesota. And, sir? The administrator, I have one, to which you might be able to answer, is it an entity constituted in society? Who is the Center for the Arts of the Southeast of Minnesota? Now that we are entering almost contractual areas, or at least related to letters of commitment, are we entering the legal domain here? Yes. Well, we have lawyers in the room, but I can confirm that we have verified that the Center for the Arts of the Southeast of Minnesota is a non-profit non-profit association 501 1C3 registered with the state of Minnesota 3 registered with the state of Minnesota.

501 C3. Yes, okay.

They have therefore submitted their file. They have received their confirmation from the State. Is it a lucrative abutment organization within the community?

That's my question.

I wasn't sure. The action before us is to adopt or not the letter of commitment to the Center for the Arts of the South-East of Minnesota.

I propose to approve the letter of commitment.

Very well, we have a motion and a second for that. Is there a discussion?

I have a question. Go ahead, sir. So I... Mr. Wright, sorry. I want to ask our legal team if you think that this letter of commitment provides for appropriate aid in case things go wrong, both for the county and for the Centre for the Arts of the Show.

When we discussed it for the last time in front of the administrative committee, Je pense vous avoir fait remarquer qu'il ne s'agit pas par exemple d'un accord de vente du terrain au centre des arts du spectacle du sud-est du Minnesota. Ce n'est pas un accord de développement. Je pense que vous vous souvenez que j'avais mentionné que lorsqu'on a un contrat, les avocats vous diront une contrepartie des deux côtés. En gros ? Chaque partie doit offrir quelque chose à l'autre. Ceci est structuré pour conserver un maximum de flexibilité quant aux options du comté à. Il s'agit d'un engagement à sens unique sans aucun engagement formel de la part du Southeast Minnesota Performing Arts Center. C'est un engagement pour voir s'ils peuvent atteindre les seuils définis dans la lettre d'engagement. The idea would then be, if they reach these thresholds, to continue the negotiations in view of either a purchase or an amphitheatrical buy. In fact, it is the amphitheatrical buy that has been discussed rather than a real transfer of the land. Thank you. Any other discussion? No, sir.

Comme nous le savons tous, le groupe des arts du spectacle est en pleine évaluation de faisabilité. Donc à ce jour, ils n'ont même pas les données en main pour dire oui, nous avançons avec ce projet. Ils auront la première version ou une partie de cette évaluation de faisabilité à la fin du mois d'août. Je ne suis en aucun cas à l'aise de signer un accord avec une organisation qui dit, nous n'avons même pas les données nécessaires pour savoir si nous allons réaliser ce projet. Dans 30 jours, nous aurons plus de données. Ils auront plus de données. Ils reviendront vers nous pour nous faire savoir ce que la communauté leur a dit. Dans la correspondence que vous avez tous, ils ont explicitement dit que ce n'était absolument pas gagné d'avance. Il y a beaucoup de variables qu'ils ne maîtrisent pas. But all this will be detailed in the feasibility assessment. So today, I would ask us to think long-term about the commitment we take to wait 30 days to have more data in hand, much more information that will enlighten the path to follow for the group and to review this discussion at this time.

Any discussion? Commissioner Prodolier-Smith and Commissioner Hawkins. Have you? Michel has covered what I wanted to say.

I am part of the planning discussion with the Group of the Arts of the Show since December 2025. Just like Travis, Marc, myself and the Group of the Arts of the Show. All of this in order to obtain un engagement de temps pour que le groupe puisse atteindre les seuils visés pour ses objectifs, pour faire des découvertes, collecter des fonds et obtenir le soutien de la communauté. Il s'agit donc d'un engagement de temps protégé. Jamais au cours de ces discussions ou communications n'a été mentionnée la clause, à moins qu'une meilleure offre ne se présente à Angles and Gear. En fait, tout l'intérêt résidait dans cet engagement de temps protégé, et nous n'avons même pas de consensus sur l'existence d'une meilleure offre. Pour moi, c'est une question distincte qui ne devrait même pas faire partie de cette conversation. Nous avons avancé avec une majorité du Conseil favorable à cet engagement de temps protégé envers ce groupe et ce, dès le début, depuis janvier. J'ai vu une première ébauche de cette lettre d'engagement en avril. C'est un processus de planification qui dure depuis plusieurs mois. Je suis donc évidemment partisan de poursuivre avec cette lettre d'engagement.

M. Hopkins, puis retour M. Haussmann. Alors...

Le groupe du Centre des Arts du spectacle a cédé son droit de premier refus au Spark Children's Museum. L'autre candidat à l'utilisation de cette propriété en raison de l'incertitude considérable en l'un homme situation, leur organisation, leur projet, etc. We have, precisely, the President of the SPARC Board of Directors, here, present. With this calendar, is waiting for 30 days compatible? With your deadlines to make a decision? I'm sorry to put you on Ken's chair, would that bother you?

Yes. Welcome to the Board. Please introduce yourself for the verbal trial.

Je suis Ken Brand, simple citoyen. Je siège actuellement au conseil d'administration du Children's Museum. Est-ce que 30 jours sont rédhibitoires? Si la réponse est oui, nous entamerons immédiatement les discussions pour trouver un accord et avancer car notre calendrier est serré. Nous devons prendre une décision. Nous sommes en processus de planification stratégique, de financement de campaigns and site studies for a few years now. Given the upcoming end of our wave with the shopping center, we will leave by 2030, we must have a secure site built. The current calendar does not concern as much the construction of the building as our collaboration with a very specialized sector, the exhibition manufacturers. Nous devons concevoir et procéder dès maintenant aux engagements pour cela.

Donc, si vous pouvez, en tant que Conseil de comté, attendre 30 jours pour prendre cette décision finale, oui, et entamer des discussions sérieuses sur les coûts et la sécurisation de la propriété, oui. D'autres questions ?

Non. L'hésitation dépend toujours de la rapidité avec laquelle le Conseil peut agir. J'y ai siégé pendant 20 ans.

I have an idea of the speed with which public entities act, but that's where we're going.

We have declared it as an administrative committee and now publicly in front of the cameras.

No follow-up. Thank you very much, Ken, for this very good thing. Well, in fact, I may have a follow-up question. Not necessarily for Ken, but can I modify the motion? Of course. So, a motion to amend the initial motion in order to consider rather a 30-day delay.

OK, there is a motion in progress to delay this decision by 30 days. Is there a second? There is a second. Any other discussion on this subject?

Mr. President.

Well, let's do it. Does the author of the motion explain his point of view on this?

Just that I think that voting on something while Nous venons de recevoir une lettre de cette organisation disant qu'elle cède son droit de préemption. Je pense que leur laisser assez de temps pour avoir les informations nécessaires pour prendre une décision éclairée, ils ne sont clairement pas en mesure pour l'instant de prendre une décision éclairée ou d'avancer sur ce projet, que nous le voulions ou non. Donc je pense qu'un délai serait logique. They would be in a better position and they could come back and tell us if they are not ready at that time and we will have a very viable alternative. Commissioner Smith.

There have been many delays and periods of waiting throughout this process since December and the show's art group has been patient, reactive and totally professional throughout this process and I do not wish any more delays I'm quite ambivalent on this subject.

I think that if we agreed on a deadline, we would have the same result as if we did not agree on it. But I would like to underline that this council, in January and February, was in favor of a close exception, to go ahead with it, and said at the Centre des Arts du Spectacle that we would see them again, literally in a year. And the only thing that has changed in this agreement, in these words, is that we have someone else who comes with a proposal that some of us appreciate. And now our word is no longer worth much. And that bothers me. If we have to put everything in writing for it to mean something, then we are not going to do anything as advice. So my word has value. And I said, we'll see each other again in a year, we'll see each other again in a year, we'll see each other again in... Now, if they come back in 30 days, that we approve this, or that we approve a delay if they come back in 30 days, and say that it was too ambitious, that we can't do it. We'll move on. I don't know if we'll move on to Spark or if we'll move on to something else. I mean, this property is a gift that never ceases to be given, but at some point, we'll get to something that we hope will benefit the citizens of the county of Olmstead. D'autres discussions, commissaire Wright?

Merci beaucoup. Oui, nous nous sommes engagés là-dedans en toute bonne foi avec les arts du spectacle et nous avons dit que nous leur laisserions le temps de le faire... And I believe that the arts of the show need to know that the county of Olmsted speaks up so that they can really develop this necessary plan for this to happen. So I don't want them to wonder if, in six months, the county council could change its mind. They really have to have the idea that we support them in there. So I'm really not for a delay because I think they need the letter of commitment to move forward. And I guess you're talking about the meeting of the Council on September 1st. Would that be 30 days? Would that be 30 days? September 1st is the first. But I wouldn't vote for that anyway.

Maybe just for the verbal trial, would you at least specify, for the verbal trial, what is your intention with the 30-day motion? Does the first meeting of September mean? Yes, Mr. Roux.

I have a comment. Approver quelque chose sans même une étude de faisabilité, nous revenons en arrière, ou nous procédons à l'envers. Nous avons besoin d'un délai. C'est... Parce que si on ne sait pas ce qui est faisable, c'est qu'on revient en arrière. Dans le processus, ou qu'on le fait à l'envers. Donc... Et c'est là que j'en suis.

And in addition, the president would agree. I think that 30 days, this extra time, does not harm the project. This probably helps us better understand the implications of our vote. because it's a letter of commitment and it reads... I mean, the release date is six months, the execution period, the end, the end. It's 180 days in the document, so... So it's just the way it's written. And so I think we have to take note of it.

So unless there are any other questions, is the Council ready to vote?

All those who are in favor of the amended motion, Travis wants to speak to you. Yes, Travis. Excuse me, Mr. President. I feel that I have a point that I just have to clarify, because there was all this discussion over the 30 days.

And just to remind you that Sempex suggested that they have two parts to their feasibility study, right?

The first part of which they plan to conclude by the end of August. The second part that they... planned to conclude by the end of December. So I just want to clarify that it is the information they provided us that there are two parts to this feasibility study from their point of view. August and December. So there have been a lot of discussions over the last 30 days and I just wanted to make sure that everyone understands that well.

Thank you. Maybe Dan can answer that. But my understanding of the first part is that it would tell them if this market could support an art center of the show. And so for me, it's probably the most critical element. It's if this market could really support, you know, what would represent up to an investment of 80 million dollars.

Dame, can you confirm this, please? Well, she has the choice. Mr. Kuski, you can do it or not. The first part. For the verbal trial, Mr. Kuski says that this is what the feasibility study says. Sorry to put you on the spot.

Mr. President. Je sais que vous avez déjà offert votre réfutation, mais je suis vraiment mal à l'aise avec la mesure dans laquelle nous continuons à essayer de gérer les différentes étapes de ce qui devrait être un engagement d'un an de temps protégé, plutôt que d'être sur chaque phase de leurs explorations comme vous le suggérez. Ce n'est tout simplement pas conforme à notre engagement initial d'un an, me. Faites un point avec nous après un an et montrez-nous ce que vous avez fait. Pas d'ingérence. Ce suivi de la première partie de leur étude de faisabilité et la deuxième partie de leur étude de faisabilité va créer tellement de retard et d'attente dans une période de temps protégé que nous sommes censés leur offrir. C'est le temps, pas la microgestion de leur processus. Je vous demande vraiment, Commissaire Senjam, de reconsidérer votre position sur ces 30 jours.

Commissioner Palacky-Smith, we have talked about this in this city in the 90s. And I am sure that this work continues with the interested parties since almost this time at various stages. And so, the idea of 30 days is almost inconceivable. You know, so short in a blink of an eye. in relation to the history of this project that I think we have to listen to the group. Do we think we can do that in this community? Do we think we can build an art center of the second place show?

Mr. President.

Yes, and let me simply finish. And by looking, I mean, by doing the best possible research, we are talking about an average quality installation for about 130 million dollars. C'est beaucoup d'argent à récolter. J'admire énormément ce groupe car ils connaissent aussi ces chiffres. Ce sont des estimations faites sur un coin de table. Ils savent quel est leur défi et ils sont prêts à persévérer, du moins jusqu'à présent. Mais cette question de faisabilité, pouvons-nous lever 130 millions de dollars ? Pouvons-nous construire un centre d'art, du spectacle de 2,8 places dans cette communauté ?

C'est ce qu'il y a de plus ambitieux.

I don't know which private organization has already done that. None, frankly, apart from Mayo Clinic in this community. So it's an important matter. Commissioner Pédaki-Smith?

Yes, but I would remind you that this is the second question. If we cut, if we finish this the first question, we will not even get to the second. We have taken a commitment to these people. They have devoted time and money to get there, and now we are removing the carpet from their feet just because there is an object shining elsewhere. We, are we people of speech or not?

Mr. President. The first.

Commissioner Pélex-Smith.

The first step that will allow the process to continue is the commitment of a protected time. Et cela n'inclut pas de micro-gérer leur processus sur la façon dont ils avancent. C'est une deuxième étape et c'est de leur ressort. Notre domaine est l'engagement de temps. Et je pense que cela commence immédiatement, sans plus tarder. Plus d'attente. Et que nous donnions le ton en honorant notre parole. En honorant notre engagement.

Mesdames et messieurs, nous sommes saisis d'une motion visant à reporter la décision à ce sujet jusqu'à la première réunion de septembre. Y a-t-il d'autres interventions à ce propos ? Sinon, ceux qui sont en faveur de la motion visant à reporter la décision de 30 jours, dites à pour, à pour. Pour. Les opposants, dites contre. Contre. Procedons à un appel nominaire. Je pense que le résultat est de 4 contre 3, mais vérifiez.

Commissaire Thine.

Quand ?

Commissioner Wright, against. Commissioner Mueller, against. Commissioner Sanger, against. Commissioner Rasmussen, against. Commissioner Brooke Smith, against. And Commissioner Hopkins, for. The motion is adopted by 4 votes against 2.

The motion is therefore amended to provide a 30-day delay before the decision. We are waiting for additional information from the promoters. Are there any other discussions on the motion as it presents itself? If not, we will vote again on the amended motion. The members in favor of the amended motion? Well, we have already voted. Let's do it anyway. The members in favor of the amended motion to report this for 30 days, or until the first meeting in September. For. For. For. For. For. For. For. For. Première réunion de septembre et elle est... Adoptée... Très bien. Où en sommes-nous ?

Rapport du conseil. Rapport du comité du conseil.

Rapport du conseil, commençons... Par le commissaire Thine, car je crois que j'ai commencé par l'autre côté précédemment... Oui, pas de rapport. Pas de rapport.

Pas de rapport.

Très bien. Commissaire... Pas de rapport.

I have a lot to say. Yes. Wait. I have a lot of reports. Very good. Okay. Be patient with me. Three reports, all very important. My first report, yesterday, I attended the simulation exercise of the Real Threats of 2026 at the Century High School. C'était une expérience extraordinaire, un exercice vraiment impressionnant. J'ai été constamment impressionnée par le degré de coordination inter-service dans toute la ville de Rochester et le comté d'Olmsted. that in our group of about fifty observers, we were represented by members of the UMR, of the Mayo Clinic, of the Office of the Legislative Doctor, of the Firefighters, of the Sheriff's Office, of the Municipal Council, of the School Council, of the School District, of the Public Health Services, and of the Social Services of the County of Olmsted, of the Salton Light Homeowners, of the representatives of the Office of Senator Claude Butchart and of the Deputy of Finstead, ainsi que d'autres responsables de la ville de Rochester, dont le maire. Les observateurs constituaient un petit microcosme de la douzaine d'agences impliquées dans cette intervention, multi-sites et multi-agences, qui a duré toute la journée pour simuler un scénario de tireur actif. Et j'ai été tout simplement constamment impressionné par le degré de coordination détaillée des interventions à tous les niveaux. Ce que j'ai surtout vu, ce sont des gens qui sont restés calmes, lucides, conscients de leur rôle et de leur relation avec leurs collègues, apprenant au fur et à mesure. Et... Une fois que notre groupe a été éloigné de la zone de menace immédiate, tout le monde en capacité de services sociaux ou organisationnel a fait preuve de soin et de bienveillance. C'était vraiment ? Quelque chose, on aurait dit, une expérience unique dans une vie. Je suis très heureuse d'y avoir participé et je serais ravie de vous en dire plus en détail, vous savez, lors de conversations privées. Plus tôt le mois dernier, j'ai assisté à un sommet sur le handicap organisé par l'UMR et la ville de Rochester. Il y a eu deux tables rondes, l'une composée d'aidants d'enfants en situation de handicap et l'autre consacrée au handicap et au vieillissement. Both were very instructive, educational and perspicacious, and they allowed all defenders of the rights of people with disabilities to thank the political decision-makers and the elected representatives present and to plead for more solutions to needs and areas of improvement. It was a very well-organized summit Je suis repartie beaucoup plus informée et avec le sentiment d'être plus capable de discuter et d'élaborer des politiques liées au handicap en général. Mon dernier rapport concerne la conférence annuelle, la conférence annuelle de la NACO à la Nouvelle-Orléans. Cela ne devrait surprendre personne que les habitants de Louisiane adorent faire la fête. Je crois qu'ils ont placé la barre très haut. Je ne sais pas comment ils ont réussi à rendre une conférence aussi amusante. Ils ont simplement ajouté tous ces éléments sociaux très amusants, stimulants, drôles et joyeux dans toutes nos façons d'apprendre et de communiquer au niveau du comté C'était vraiment génial. Je pense que vous en auriez tous tiré un grand profit. Je sais que ça a été mon cas et je suis sûre que c'était le vôtre, Commissaire St-Jam. Bien sûr, les séances plénières étaient vraiment dynamiques et captivantes, avec des intervenants, notamment un astronaute qui a sorti une guitare à un moment donné pour chanter une chanson de David Bowie. C'était vraiment quelque chose. There was practically no one in the auditorium who didn't have tears in their eyes. The visits! So they proposed municipal visits to the city and the county, such as the 911 emergency call center, a dam, a fight against crime center, in real time. The control of mosquitoes, termites and rodents, which I tell you was fascinating. And they had to pull us out of this visit. And a pumping station with equipment dating from the First World War, still in operation. which still pumps rainwater and storms out of the streets, from the Nouvelle Orléans to the canals, and the Pontchartrain lake, it was so fascinating. I could go on and on, but basically, my idea is that these national legislative conferences of the NACO are incredibly enriching and instructive, and I am simply grateful to have the opportunity to attend them each time. I'm going to take my turn because of the time constraints.

All right. Well, I'll just add a few words. It was also at the Nouvelle-Orléans. I would say that the main lesson, obviously, we talked about this discussion on the evolution of data centers in this country and the incentive, at least, that the counties are involved in these problems and that they largely involve the community. And frankly, the advice was to proceed with the ordinance, because you are going to be taken for granted without one. And then you will find yourself in a moratorium situation. So, these two. Well, the other lesson was more impudent. In terms of local control over county governments and costs transfers, certainly as we have all seen, from state and federal governments towards the counties. the expectation of which the budgets of the counties can absorb it. And of course, we all know that they can't. And so, once again, the incentive was to get involved legislatively, both at the state level and at the federal level, and to send messages to these two entities, if you will, regarding the fact that we are providing the service, but you have to finance the program. Here are my conclusions, at least when leaving New Orleans. On this, is there a motion to raise the session? I propose that we raise the session. The motion is proposed, pressed. All those who are for, say yes. Yes. The session is therefore raised.

President Slimboff.

What is the preference of the council here? The administrative committee must start at 13h00.