Sherburne County residents now have another tool to help them in making their trips to the Government Center more efficient, as county staff debuted a virtual tour function on the county’s website at Tuesday morning’s Board of Commissioners meeting.
Communications Media Specialist David Unze demonstrated the function for the commissioners and showed how a resident could take a virtual tour before coming to the building for an appointment.
By watching the video, a resident would be able to find the location of the department they are planning to visit and could also click on a link in the video to learn more about the functions and services offered by the county.
Unze explained that the project will help educate people about important information, as well as provide a visual to help people maneuver through the building. Many departments were relocated as part of the recent building project and this new feature can help to make the building more accessible for those who may not have yet navigated the new layout.
The project is just one of the latest efforts by the commissioners and staff to engage the taxpayers and focus on customer service for residents.
Along that theme, County Administrator Bruce Messelt reminded the board of an upcoming workshop that will focus on outreach efforts related to communicating with residents. Recently, the commissioners have discussed adding a newsletter or other print publications to help residents better understand the efforts undertaken by the county.
Broadband
Throughout the past couple of years, broadband (high speed internet) has been one of the issues at the forefront of the county’s efforts in terms of infrastructure.
To that end, Midco’s Government Relations Manager, Melissa Wolf, appeared before the board to share the company’s efforts to expand access within the county.
She reported that they have installed one million feet of network fiber within the county and have 5,421 passings (connections) to businesses and residences.
Currently, they are working on an expansion just north of Lake Ann and everything they are installing is direct fiber cable rather than wireless connections.
The company is also working toward some conduit lease agreements with the county, as well as several Federal grant programs, one of which resulted in $893,000 being invested in Sherburne just last year alone.
The commissioners and Wolf discussed the funds expected to be available as part of the recent Federal legislation and pledged to work together where possible to continue increasing access for residents.
Law Library
County Attorney Kathleen Heaney appeared before the board to discuss the law library, a statutorily mandated service provided to residents.
She introduced Benjamin Rydlund, who recently took over duties as the Law Librarian.
Rydlund reviewed some of the services offered at the library, which is staffed from 8 am -4:30 pm on Tuesdays, Wednesday and Fridays. He also mentioned that he has been providing some computer and tech assistance to patrons, as well as doing outreach to places such as the YMCA, Senior Centers and churches.
As covid becomes less of an issue, Rydlund is hopeful for increased traffic and more visits from residents seeking assistance.
Watershed Plans
In recent years, Minnesota counties have been moving toward a more regional approach to managing water resources with an approach referred to as One Watershed, One Plan.
This allows partners to collaborate more on water quality efforts and also establishes a framework for planning and zoning efforts.
With those goals in mind, the commissioners approved two resolutions at the meeting. The first established planning boundaries for the Mississippi River - St. Cloud watershed and separates it from the Mississippi River - Sartell region. The second resolution approved a grant application for the St. Cloud planning area since 89% of Sherburne County falls within that jurisdiction.
Parks
Parks Coordinator Gina Hugo was at the meeting to solicit input from the commissioners regarding the establishment of a Park Dedication and Memorials Policy.
As the county continues to establish more park land, the issue of donations and memorials has been coming up on a more frequent basis.
Many other park systems have a similar policy in place, therefore Hugo was trying to be proactive in developing some parameters to help in the installation, maintenance, size, design and replacement of memorials (benches, etc.).
The policy would also cover larger types of donations, for instance if someone wanted to establish something more robust such as a picnic structure or play structure.
The board directed Hugo to come back in April with some specific recommendations in the selection and design of materials to keep it consistent within the theme for individual parks.
Another general consensus was for the policy to be prescriptive enough that staff could handle the vast majority of future decisions based on established procedures, thus not requiring commissioner approval for every donated park bench, etc.
In other park related news, Public Works Director Andrew Witter brought forward the low bid for work to be completed in the Bridgeview Park.
JL Theis was the low bidder, although the amount of $587,462 was nearly $150,000 higher than the engineer’s estimate. Witter stated that the funds are available, which includes a state grant for $250,000. In addition, staff has worked with the contractor to reduce costs by $40,000 already and more savings are being explored.
In Other News, The Board:
• Approved a complete re-write of the zoning and subdivision ordinance;
• Received an update on current bridge load restrictions within the county and learned that many wooden structures are now nearing the end of their life cycles and will need replacement or additional restrictions;
• Received the HHS Annual Report from Director Amanda Larson and learned of the department’s efforts at helping residents achieve self-sufficiency;
• Heard of Public Health’s plans to being the new mobile wellness van to a pair of Sherburne’s food production businesses this week to conduct vaccination clinics.
