The Sherburne County Board of Commissioners met Tuesday morning and approved a number of amendments to programs to assist businesses and nonprofits who are being negatively affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.  They also approved a new program that will aim to help with mortgage and lease payment reimbursements for small businesses.

The board regularly approves expenditures that relate to CARES Act funding, but they have also been focusing on programs to bring outreach to businesses and nonprofits who are experiencing distress during these difficult financial times.

The Business Relief Fund has recently been reopened with a few changes in the eligibility criteria, while the nonprofit program has been expanded to try and make more organizations eligible for the funds.

The original nonprofit fund had restrictions such as the number of employees to be eligible and required 501(c)3 status, whereas the new guidelines should make it easier for groups to qualify.

Commissioner Tim Dolan favored removing the minimum employee provision altogether, as he felt even volunteer organizations should be eligible.

“If that organization goes under, the burden falls to us as taxpayers and also as a county,” said Dolan.  “Organizations that are run by volunteers should not be penalized.”  Ultimately the board agreed and that provision will be removed.

Overall, the board discussed outreach programs that could be implemented to make sure that residents of the county are aware of the help that is available.  The county works with cities, townships and chambers of commerce to get the word out.  In addition, staff sends out press releases and makes the information widely available on the website but some commissioners felt that residents and business owners are sometimes still unaware of what is available.

Discussion was had regarding more advertising in local print media, as well as possibly on the radio.  Direct mailing was also discussed as a means to engage more businesses that could benefit from the assistance.

One new program was approved by the board and it is for smaller businesses such as sole proprietorships who otherwise do not qualify for the business relief.  This new mortgage relief program would allow eligible individuals to receive up to 50% reimbursement for their mortgage or commercial leases.

It was noted that the program could not only be beneficial to the business owners but can also help commercial landlords, many of whom are struggling with low rates of occupancy or businesses who are unable to pay their monthly lease payments.

YMCA Childcare

The board decided to move forward with a contract with the YMCA to provide childcare services to county employees who are required to be at work in person rather than telecommuting.

The program will reserve space for the county to access the childcare for children ages 4-14 and will also provide support for distance learning.  There is a provision that would allow county employees to keep using the service once the CARES Act funding expires at the end of the year.  An employee survey recently indicated that 21 children would utilize it immediately while 63 children total could eventually access the program.

SCSO Drone

The board held a public hearing with no one commenting regarding the Sheriff’s Office purchasing of a drone.  Chief Deputy Steve Doran of the sheriff’s office spoke to the board pertaining to some specifics of the drone and its potential uses.  Most of the deployments will require a search warrant and possible uses outlined included searching for a missing child, a missing hunter in an area such as the Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge or on a rare occasion the apprehension of a suspect.

A total of ten pilots from within the SCSO will be trained by the FAA and the drone will be made available to other agencies within the county for work such as mapping a drainage ditch.

Public Forum

Two members of the public addressed the board during the public forum.  Paul Braun invited the board to come and see the training facility that is planned for Palmer Township which will include a gun range, while Mike Neuman asked the board to consider what could be done to encourage additional projects to serve smaller neighborhoods within the county that have limited or no access to broadband service.

In other business, the board of commissioners:

• Approved several compensation policies and insurance programs to align non-union workers with recently negotiated union contracts;

• Held the regional railroad authority meeting and approved the levy at 0%;

• Approved several zoning requests as presented by Nancy Riddle;

• Approved the hiring of the early interventionist social worker as the position will help to provide the parent support outreach service.