After a 30-minute discussion last Tuesday, the Sherburne County Board of Commissioners voted 3-2 to terminate any DEI practices within the county.
The discussion and vote was in response to executive orders issued by President Trump, which directed federal agencies to pause any activities related to obligation or disbursement of federal financial assistance for foreign aid, nongovernmental organizations, DEI, woke gender ideology, and the green new deal.
Administrator Bruce Messelt said the county should consider dealing with county programs and practices that might conflict with those executive orders.
“The county attorney and county sheriff feel that it would be better to clean the deck, at least for the time being, of activities that may come into focus that are speculative at this point,” he said.
The commissioners discussed their take on the situation, with Commissioners Gregg Felber, Andrew Hulse and Brad Schumacher in favor of terminating any hiring or promotion practices that were not based on performance and merit.
Commissioner Felber said he was against affirmative action programs for that very reason.
“I was bypassed for jobs based on the boxes I could check in 1991,” he said.
Commissioner Hulse said he didn’t want residents questioning what criteria was being used by the county for hiring and promotions.
“I don’t want there to be any perception that anyone in the county got their promotion for anything other than they fact that they deserved it,” he said.
Commissioner Raeanne Danielowski agreed that merit should be the reason for hiring and promotion. But she wanted to be sure terminating DEI didn’t backfire by eliminating future federal funding.
“We want to make sure we’re not overreacting to executive orders that are evolving,” she said.
She suggested suspending DEI instead of terminating it.
Commissioner Gary Gray said they had to be careful about their decision. He wanted to be sure about the motives behind their decision
“DEI means different things to different people,” he said. ‘We’re here for what’s best for our employees what’s best for our residents. This is not a political statement. It’s not a personal agenda.”
The final motion was: All county initiatives, programs, and activities specifically designated, funded, or designed to advance Diversity, Equity, Inclusion will be terminated to the extent allowable under law and the Green New Deal objectives suspended. Other county initiatives, programs, and activities impacted by the identified Presidential Executive Orders be paused until such time as additional guidance, instructions, or clarity is received with respect to applicable Federal Executive Orders.
The board also instructed the County Administrator to compile a listing of county programs, initiatives, and activities that have received or are receiving federal funding, from January 2021 forward, and to identify, to an extent practicable, if such programs, initiatives, and activities contained specific requirements, actions, or incentives relating to one or more of the identified Presidential Executive Orders.
The final vote was 3-2, with Commissioners Hulse, Felber, and Schumacher in favor and Danielowski and Gray against.
Waste Contracts
The board ratified Tri-County Waste Delivery Hauler Contracts for the following nine firms: 1. The City of St Cloud Municipality; 2. B&C Clean Up; 3. LRS of Minnesota; 4. Allied Waste Services of North America DBA, Republic Services of Sauk Rapids 5. Tom Kraemer Inc. LLC; 6. West Central Sanitation Corp.; 7. Borgmann Disposal Services; 8. Jim’s Mille Lac’s Disposal; 9. Waste Management of Minnesota. The term of the contacts is Aug. 31, 2024 through Aug. 31, 2027.
Road Project Bid
The board awarded the contract for the reconstruction of Co. Rd. 83 to Park Construction Company at $2,429,681.33. The company was one of 10 that submitted bids on the project. The engineer’s estimate was $2,846,108.24. Project construction dates will be contracted March 3, 2025 through August 29, 2025.
Other Business
In other actions the board:
• Approved a MN Lawful Gambling Premises Permit to conduct Excluded Bingo in May, June, July, and August at Travelers Country Club in Clear Lake;
• Approved a contract for the 2025 Community Outreach Program Grant award from CAMHI (CommUNITY Adult Mental Health Initiative) in the amount of $152,984;
• Approved fourth quarter donations totalling $7,946 to the Health & Human Services Dept. from various organizations;
• Approved the 2025 Daikin Climate Control Maintenance Service Agreement in the amount of $50,376;
• Approved the appointment of Dalton Keiderling as Orrock Twp. Representative on the Sherburne County Planning Advisory Commission and Peter Owen as the Alternate on the Sherburne County Planning Advisory Commission for the term on Feb. 1, 2025 through Dec. 31, 2027;
• Accepted donations totalling $3,300 to the Sheriff’s Office K-9 Unit;
• Approved a Legal Services Agreement between the Sherburne County Sheriff’s Office and Wiley Reber Law. The firm has provided legal services to the Sheriff’s Office since 2008.
• Approved an updated contractor services agreement with Sarah Gordon, Inc. (SGI) for deceased body removal services;
• Approved an amendment to an existing Interim Use Permit (IUP) for Knife River Corp on a 154.72 acre site in Haven Twp. The IUP for mining/processing, washing, stripping, and storage of topsoil, stockpiling of processed material and truck hauling was approved by the county board on Dec. 8, 2022;
* Approved an IUP for Home Business in Accessory Building - HVAC Business on 5.73 acres on 57th St. SE in Santiago Twp.
