The Murray County Board of Commissioners met on Tuesday, August 24, 2021. Commissioners Walgraven, Thiner, Kluis and Gunnink were present in the meeting room while Commissioner Malone joined them via Zoom.
County Assessor Marcy Barritt requested consideration of the hiring of a temporary Assessor Intern with a limit of 500 hours. The intern would be computer inputting of data from the field books that will be needed by the office. The workload of the office will be increasing as Township Assessor Lee York is approaching retirement. A former intern will be offered the position with an increase in salary as outlined in the personnel policy.
Chief Deputy Heath Landsman requested the hiring of two individuals in 2022 for Boat and Water Patrol. Funds from the MN Department of Natural Resources Grant and Aquatic Invasive Species Grant will be used to fund the positions. After discussion with Human Resources Director Ronda Radke concerning the difficulty of hiring for part time positions, it was decided to combine the jobs of part time patrol officer with the duties of boat and water patrol to create a full time position that may be more enticing to applicants.
Radke also brought before the Board the update policies #709 and #709b dealing with Holiday and Personal Leave. The final date to use personal leave was moved up to December 1st to avoid carrying any days into a payroll period spanning to the new year. Each full-time employee receives two personal days per year and is encouraged to use those days before using vacation time that carries over into the new year if not used.
The Death and Medical Examiners will be receiving an increase from $3.50 hr to $3.75 hr for on call time. The $200 for the first two hours of a call out was not changed. The examiners are available 24/7 in the event of an unattended death.
Approval of an updated Golf Cart Ordinance was delayed during the public hearing on changes made in the policy. The Commissioners would like to see a written listing of the roads on which the golf carts will be permitted prior to final approval. The ordinance covers County roadways only as communities set their own policies for use on their streets.
Ag/Zoning Director Jean Christoffels requested approval of a contract with Sidwell Legal Training for five county employees using GIS in their jobs. These included the GIS Tech, the assessor’s office and ag/zoning employees. Ten employees from nearby counties have indicated a desire to join the in person training session and to share the cost.
County Administrator Tom Burke and Emergency Services Director Carl Nyquist updated the Board on Covid within the county. Cases have shown a sharp increase recently. Murray County’s Declaration of an Emergency is still active as no end date had been set; however no actions are deemed necessary at this point. There are $795,794 in Covid relief funds in the county’s account for projects. Tom Burke will be putting together a list of people to serve on a committee to determine a use/uses for the monies. There is an expiration date of in 2026 for completion of the projects.
