The Sherburne County Board of Commissioners met Tuesday and tackled several issues, including the restructuring of the County’s Economic Development Authority (EDA).  Currently, many EDA board positions are held by staff members from surrounding municipalities and the county’s intent is to have more business people serve in this capacity.

The idea was originally discussed March 24, but with the pandemic ramping up at that time it was put on the back burner.  Assistant Administrator Dan Weber presented the board with several recommendations, all of which were adopted.

With the new structure, starting in January all members to the EDA will be appointed by the commissioners and they will each serve a single, six year term.  Municipal reps will still serve, but as ex-officio members.

Commissioner Tim Dolan asked that the staff put forth an “organized and thoughtful effort to identify people in the community who want to be part of the effort.”

Weber responded that they have a draft of an application process ready and the recruitment will begin very shortly to identify interested citizens who want to serve on the EDA.

Farm Family

Lori Vicich, U of MN Extension Regional Director, appeared before the board and updated the commissioners on her department’s efforts during the recent pandemic.  This included a video presentation showing some of the unique programs that are offered.

Vicich also presented the Farm Family of the Year award to Tom and LuAnn Wingard, who farm three miles to the west of the Government Center.  The entire Wingard family was honored for their efforts in giving back to the community, as it is a complete family affair including cousins and the couple’s grandchildren.

Their operation is a fourth generation farm and it was originally relocated to Big Lake township in 1956 where they still raise potatoes and other crops.

Tom Wingard briefly addressed the board regarding their efforts to keep their 30 workers healthy during the pandemic and the extra precautions they took during the season.

CARES Act

County Administrator Bruce Messelt shared a bit of good news, as the county received approximately $60,000 in FEMA grant funds that they applied for at the beginning of the pandemic.  This will offset other CARES expenditures meaning they had more money to divert to business grants and other efforts.

However, the county faces a tight deadline to finish allocating approximately $2.5 million of the original $11 million they received from the federal government.  In addition, the auditing of the process will being shortly so those services can also be part of the COVID-19 reimbursement.

Messelt outlined a schedule for the remaining weeks, as all of the departments are in a rush to put together final expenditures, including salary reimbursement expectations through the end of the month.

Several purchases were brought forward and gained approval, including a body scanner for the jail, as well as a rapid testing machine and kits.  Both items will help tremendously with safety for both staff and inmates.  The scanner will also increase safety as it can detect contraband either inside or outside of the inmates and will be less invasive for all of the parties involved in the intake process.  The antigen testing machine and kits will also provide results within 15 minutes, again aiding in any potential COVID-19 isolation issues that could arise in the jail.

Weber next presented 12 business relief grants, totaling over $250,000 in funding for local companies.  He said that so far, 143 applications had been received and over $3.6 million had been allocated in that fund.

In the commercial rent application category, another five applications were brought forward, making it a total of 26 that have been granted.  Over $70,000 has been awarded in this category, much of it going to small companies including sole proprietorships.

Messelt reported on the nonprofit funding stream with an additional four approvals totaling $161,000 to help these organizations.  This brings the total to 35 applications that were received for funding requests in this area.

Messelt next shared with the board that a vast majority of counties in Minnesota were utilizing CARES funding to provide support to school districts on a per pupil basis, as the national government has signaled approval for such expenditures.

The board had extensive discussions about how this could work, what amounts might be equitable and the process for looking at this possible allocation.

Messelt will work with legal counsel to provide several options to the commissioners at their November 17 meeting with regard to school funding.  These would be dollars that are “last out”, meaning all existing allocations had been maximized and the funds used would be dollars that were going to have to revert to the state of Minnesota.

In other items, the board:

• Listened to Brett Collier, Big Lake, as he spoke about the Northstar Light Rail during the open forum section of the meeting.  Collier is asking the board to consider shutting it down during the pandemic because of subsidy costs;

• Heard from Messelt that the construction projects are on track to be done by November.  This will expand constituent offerings in areas such as Veterans Services;

• Watched as Michelle Ashe, County Recorder, presented the Oath of Office for County Assessor Michelle Moen;

• Approved a zoning plat request for Sunrise Ranch and also approved a one megawatt solar farm for Thomas Hammer in Clear Lake Township;

• Held a closed session pursuant to Minn. Stat. § 13D.05 Subd. 3(b) regarding pending litigation;

• Concurred with Messelt, who noted the many efforts of county staff members in helping with this year’s elections.  He reported that it took many members from across the departments pitching in to make it a successful and safe experience.