The Murray County Board of Commissioners met on Tuesday, April 01, 2025. All five members of the board were present. They include: Dennis Welgraven, Roger Zins, Mark Carlson, Jackie Meier and Loy Woelber. All meetings begin with the Pledge of Allegiance and approval of the agenda and minutes of the previous meeting.
Auditor Treasurer Heidi Winter asked for approval of five liquor licenses for 2025-2026 with required paperwork submitted for each of those businesses. Approval was given to a Gambling Premises Permit Application to allow the Westbrook Firemen Relief Ass’n to hold gambling at the Rolling Hills Golf Club.
Ditch Inspector Travis Radke discussed five different ditch petitions for repairs. Included in the list were repairs on CD 61, CD 65 CD 49 and two on different portions of CD 43.
Luke Schryvers, CEO, Murray County Medical Center presented his monthly report.
Dr. Klinger’s final day prior to retirement will be May 17th.
The center is grateful for the seven years he has provided his services. There is still a need for a physical therapist and a speech therapist. The PT position comes with a $30,000 sign on bonus. Three providers are using a new AI program to provide almost instantaneous outstanding claims. The month of February began as busy but soon began a slower pace. All areas with the exception of swing bed days were below those of a year ago. Receivable income is at $6.5M with $3.5M expected to be received. 49% of insurance claims are returned as income to the facility. The month ended in a net loss of $71,989 with a net for the year of $567.00.
Highway Engineer Randy Groves presented a series of documents for approval in advance of the reconstruction of CSAH 13 (Valhalla Rd). The contract for the installation of the Iona Township bridge was awarded to R & G Construction at a cost of $353,198. This will mark the final township bridge replacement in Murray County, according to Groves. There are some County highway bridges remaining, however, those funds come from a different source.
Zoning Administrator Jean Christoffels presented two Conditional Use Permits for approval of the Board. Les & Adam Miller will be expanding their feed lot to 900 animal units with the addition of a building to house the animals. Eric Carlson needs additional storage space to house his business, EC Electric. He will be obtaining some additional land for the building.
Christoffels discussed some amendments to the Comprehensive Land Use Plan. The plan addresses the need for additional emergency services located near the lakes citing the increase in full time residences in addition to the seasonal population. An auxiliary living structure (home) will now be allowed along with a non-farming residence on a forty acre parcel. This was previously allowed only if both residences housed someone involved in a farming operation.
A Resolution was approved recognizing April as Sexual Assault Awareness Month.
The wages for seasonal employees was raised 50 cents per hour. This amount is in-line with salaries of other employees. Howard Konkol and Mike Carlson were rehired for seasonal park maintenance with April start dates. Two additional positions will be hired for parks maintenance, four as museum assistants at End O Line Park and one Surveying Tech for the Highway Department.
At the conclusion of the business meeting the board members recessed to tour County owned buildings in the community.
