Rock County Commissioners meet Oct. 17
Herreid Board Room 9:00 A.M.
Rock County Courthouse Oct. 17, 2023
The meeting was called to order by Chair Thompson with Commissioners Williamson and Overgaard and Reisch present; Commissioner Burger attended via Zoom. Also in attendance were County Administrator Kyle Oldre, Deputy Administrator Susan Skattum, County Attorney Jeff Haubrich and Star-Herald Reporter Mavis Fodness.
The Pledge of Allegiance was recited by those in attendance.
Motion by Reisch, seconded by Williamson, to approve the October 17, 2023,
County Board agenda, declared carried on a voice vote.
Motion by Overgaard, seconded by Reisch, to approve the October 03, 2023,
County Board minutes, declared carried on a voice vote.
Eric Hartman, Land Management Office Director, presented an update of a
recent MN Counties of Planning and Zoning Administrators (MCPZA) Fall
Conference where he was the recipient of the Tina Rosenstein Outstanding Service
Award, an award voted upon by his MCPZA peers. The County Board congratulated
Hartman on his well-deserved award.
Rachel Jacobs, Land Records Office Director, presented a document scanning project informing the County Board that land records from 1897 – 1980 are currently in hard copy books stored in a vault in her office; land records from 1980 and beyond have been digitized. Jacobs stated she would like to digitize the remaining land records and eliminate the heavy oversized books, which are also becoming frail. Jacobs presented a project cost estimate of $128,501.00 from MN Media Conversion which will include: scan, capture, and image processing and project resource management and import. Funding would come from the Recorder’s Technology and Recorder’s Compliance funds in General Reserves. After discussion, motion by Reisch, seconded by Williamson, to authorize the Land Records Office Director to move forward with the project with the down payment of the project ($32,125.25) to be paid from the Recorders Technology fund and the remaining expenditure to be paid from the Recorder’s Compliance fund, declared carried on a voice vote. Jacobs stated that the project will begin after all indexes have been verified and other prep work.
Ashley Kurtz, Auditor/Treasurer, introduced new employee Amy Niebuhr,
Administrative Assistant in the Auditor/Treasurer’s office. The County Board welcomed
Ms. Niebuhr to Rock County.
The claims were presented; motion by Overgaard, seconded by Reisch, to approve,
declared on a unanimous vote. A complete listing of the claims is available upon
request at the Auditor/Treasurer's office.
OCTOBER 17, 2023 CLAIMS OVER $2,000
BYTESPEED, LLC $7,350.00
CHS INC 75,144.63
COUNTIES PROVIDING TECHNOLOGY 6,925.00
ERICKSON ENGINEERING 9,141.00
FALLS ARCHITECTURE STUDIO, LLC 2,325.00
GRAHAM TIRE-WORTHINGTON 9,013.76
KETTERLING SERVICES INC 18,086.47
LYON COUNTY LANDFILL 17,130.40
MORRIS ELECTRONICS 10,909.33
NOBLES COUNTY AUDITOR-TREASURER 4,560.00
ROCK COUNTY OPPORTUNITIES 2,774.39
SIR LINES-A-LOT 2,750.00
STAPLES ENTERPRISES INC 4,280.19
SUPERIOR CAULKING INC 2,385.92
VIKING ELECTRIC LLC 2,732.62
75 PAYMENTS LESS THAN $2,000 36,756.02
TOTAL $212,264.73
The County Board was in receipt of the Fund Balance report which reflected
the collection of the second half of real estate taxes; motion by Overgaard, seconded
by Williamson, to approve, declared carried on a voice vote.
The Auditor/Treasurer and Land Records Office Director requested a tax abatement $2,666.00 on parcel 07-0127-000; a clerical error was made on the valuation of the parcel resulting in a high tax. Motion by Overgaard, seconded by Williamson, to approve the abatement on parcel 07-0127-000 for $2,666.00, declared carried on a voice vote.
Motion by Williamson, seconded by Overgaard, to increase the Petty Cash
Fund at the Transfer Station to $100.00, declared carried on a voice vote.
Mark Sehr, Engineer, presented the following bid results for projects SAP
067-611-0101 and SAP 067-611-011, bridge replacement/concrete box culverts
on CSAH 11 in Mound Township:
Midwest Contracting, LLC $812,330.00
Henning Construction, Inc. 845,950.00
R & G Construction Company 888,768.00
A & Excavating LLC 892,880.00
Motion by Overgaard, seconded by Reisch, to accept the low bid from Midwest Contracting, LLC for $812,330.00, declared carried on a voice vote.
The Engineer gave a brief construction update stating the work has begun on SAP 067-599-186 in Rosedell Township and SAP 067-599-185, both box culvert/bridge replacements and on the historic bridge replacement in City of Beaver Creek.
The Administrator requested approval to purchase a new Exmark lawn mower
for Building Maintenance for $17,679.00 from Rock Motor Sports and transfer
existing equipment to the Highway Department and trade in an older piece of
equipment. After discussion, the County Board directed the Administrator to other
bids for the potential purchase.
The Administrator presented an update on a number building projects:
•Terrace Project/Rock County Veterans Memorial Bldg – project
start date will begin Oct 23rd with a completion date of January 2024
•Soffit Repairs/Rock County Veterans Memorial Bldg – work is
anticipated to begin this week
•Chiller Replacement at Courthouse – work began this week with a
completion date of December 2023
•1st Floor at Courthouse – old carpeting removed as it cannot be
repaired, new sub-flooring will be installed and will patch in carpeting
•2nd Floor LRO and Aud/Treas remodel projects – determine best process
to update offices for enhanced employee security, potential of additional
staff and to streamline customer service transactions; currently meeting
with an architect.
•Library HVAC project – nearing completion
•Rock County History Center – the Highway Department and Community
Corrections are currently assisting with parking lot demolition in
preparation of building expansion project.
The County Board discussed attendance at the upcoming AMC District VIII meeting to be held in Windom, MN on October 26th; presented as information.
Other activities from the Administrator Office included: submission of Emergency Management grant, meetings regarding two potential EDA projects, Hardwick EDA project is moving forward, attended a meeting regarding Cyber Security, working on a rural addressing issue on the west side of the county, currently interviewing for job announcements in Land Management and Community Corrections, orientation of new employees in Auditor/Treasurer’s Office and Sheriff’s Office, preparing for 2024 benefit enrollment and developing a policy and the new Earned Sick and Safe Time benefit.
Commissioner Reisch stated that he attended the following meetings/events:
Commissioner Williamson stated that he attended the following meetings/
events: Rural Water and Lewis & Clark.
Commissioner Overgaard stated that he attended the following meetings/events: AMC Extension Committee, Land Use and Lyon County Landfill meeting; also attended Lynette Jauert’s retirement party and a WEX benefit seminar.
Commission Burger stated that he attended the following meetings/events: Southwest Health & Human Services Negotiation where a 2-year contract had been
accepted; SWHHS budget increase will reflect a 6% increase. Attended an Opioid
Fund Distribution where (3) requests were approved, no requested were from
Rock County.
Commissioner Thompson stated that she attended the following meetings/
events: attended a retirement party for Lynette Jauert.
With no further business to come before the County Board, motion by Overgaard, seconded by Thompson, to adjourn the meeting, declared carried on a voice vote.
(11-16)
