The regular meeting of the Murray County Board of Commissioners was held on Wednesday, July 31, 2024. Ditch Inspector Travis Radke had only four petitions for ditch repairs: One each in Ellsborough and Dovray Townships and two in Lime Lake Township.
Ag and Solid Waster Administrator Jon Bloemendaal requested approval for out of state travel. As a representative on the NAISMA his expenses will be paid for to attend a conference in Montana. His request was approved.
Dean Ackerman and Stan Larson represented the Fair Board in requesting the 2nd installment of $17,000 in county support of the fair. Originally intended as an emergency fund the 2nd payment money is now needed for the increased costs of providing a free fair. With full funding of $34,000 in 2023, there was still a loss of nearly $4,000.
Shelly Lewis requested the quarterly allocation of $49,069.75 for the Soil & Water Conservation District. She enumerated the various projects currently approved for funding.
IT Manager Jason Lohrenz outlined the purchase of computers and laptops for county offices. Going forward the laptops for the Sheriff’s office will be placed on a rotation basis to lessen the need for large expense in any one year. The total IT package comes at a cost of $17,915.
Zoning Administrator Jean Christoff els requested waiving the fee for construction of the new picnic shelter on East Lake Sarah. Following current policy the fee was waived. The old shelter was sold for $1775 to an individual and has been moved to a new site.
An appropriation will be added to the 2025 budget in the amount of $2000 to the Small Business Development Center. The center drives economic growth, job creation, innovation training needs in Murray County. In 2023 SBDC provided 164 hours of service to 13 clients in the county. These efforts resulted in securing $1.32 million in capital and starting one new business.
Approval was given to the Memorandum of Understanding with the Extension service. Employment costs will increase from $216,300 to $222,810. Office support staff costs will increase from $62,470 to $64,346. The 50% staff position has not been filled and may possibly remain open until 2025. Nobles County will be sharing the other 50%.
The contract with Prairie Lakes Youth Placement will be canceled as of August 31 with the approval of the notice approved by the Board. The youth currently housed at the facility will now become the fiscal responsibility of Southwest Health & Human Services.
A tentative date was set in September for an Open House at the new Highway Department Building. Plans for other activities at the time were discussed and will need to be finalized.
