The Sherburne County Board of Commissioners met Tuesday morning and heard several agency updates before approving a proclamation recognizing the efforts of county employees during the COVID-19 pandemic.  

Board chair Raeanne Danielowski read aloud the document, which recognized the commitment and public service excellence of the county’s workforce over the past 18 months, and proclaimed August 3 as the date to celebrate the workers’ accomplishments with a lunch time ice cream social. Danielowski further noted that Sherburne County was one of the few in Minnesota to stay open to the extent possible during last year’s health emergency. The resolution was adopted unanimously by the board, with commissioners Felix Schmiesing and Lisa Fobbe being absent from the meeting.

SSTS Loan Fund

For several years, the county has offered a low interest loan fund for people wishing to bring their septic systems into ordinance compliance. Solid Waste Administrator Dave Lucas presented several amendments to the highly popular program, including an interest rate adjustment and a provision allowing for the funds to be used for water source wells that have to be established or relocated due to the placement of new septic systems.

The fund is set up to help homeowners with the costs of coming into compliance, and the interest rate is set to ensure the county neither makes nor loses money in the process of granting the loans.

The three commissioners all voiced their support for the program and noted that it serves a great public service before granting unanimous approval to the changes.

GRRL Budget

The board heard from Great River Regional Library (GRRL) Executive Director Karen Pundsack regarding the 2022 library system budget.

The library system receives a majority of its funding from the six counties that it serves and their 2022 budget was similar to years past, with Sherburne County being asked to add $33 to its approximately $1 million contribution.

Pundsack outlined preliminary plans for the expansion of open hours service to the branches in Becker and Big Lake, while also noting the elimination of the daily overdue fine system where the libraries would collect “dimes” for overdue books. The practice has little effect on the budget and in many cases adversely affected library usage, especially among youth with transportation barriers.

Despite the elimination of the daily fines, the system will still seek restitution for any materials that are not eventually returned.

RSVP Update

Director Jennifer Wucherer was present to update the board on the efforts of the county’s Retired Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP).

While the current efforts will maintain its RSVP title, it is now being administered as part of the AmeriCorps Seniors program and will continue to promote healthy aging and volunteerism in adults over age 55.

Wucherer noted that the numbers of volunteers is down slightly from pre-COVID-19 participation, but still has nearly 1,000 active members from the participating counties.

Program-wide, volunteers provided 8,500 hours of transportation services during 2020, while Sherburne County is home to 221 active members.

Local efforts have been focused on K-12 Education, as well as Health and Wellness based promotions.

In total, Sherburne’s volunteers contributed well in excess of $200,000 worth of services to the programs, including staffing the front desk at the government center.

Initiative Foundation

The final agency update came from the Initiative Foundation, as Carl Newbanks, the organization’s grants and development manager, explained their pandemic-related efforts.

He explained that the organization played a significant role in emergency relief and recovery efforts during the pandemic, including awarding 10 emergency business loans in the county that helped create or maintain 65 local jobs.

Since its inception in 1986, the Initiative Foundation has received $1.3 million in donations from across Sherburne County and that has resulted in $7.5 million in investment returned into the county’s business and nonprofit communities.

In Other Business, the Board:

• Approved maintenance worker Kevin Davis to attend the National Maintenance Expo competition after he finished second in the state competition;

• Heard from County Attorney Kathleen Heaney about a faith community outreach event hosted by several county departments that focuses on mental health and substance abuse trends;

• Reviewed several RFP’s for 2022 legislative session lobbyist services and set a process to interview the firms;

• Approved several standard and simple plat requests from the Planning and Zoning department;

• Adopted the Sherburne County ARPA guidelines and procedures document as presented by Assistant Administrator Dan Weber;

• Appointed Lynn Waytashek as Planning and Zoning Interim Administrator, while also giving consensus to a recommended procedure to find a permanent successor for the department after the retirement of current administrator Nancy Riddle, whose last day was Friday.