By Joanne Bergman Joint meetings were held with the Board of Commissioners from the counties of Cottonwood, Nobles and Lyon-Redwood on July 1st. Action was taken with each of the boards to establish a Joint Board to administer ditch systems that drain acres in each of the counties. In Cottonwood County these include JD5, JD22, JD23, and JD 24. In Nobles County JD7, JD20 and CD30 have acres draining into the ditch. In Redwood County the Commissioners voted to exclude the thirty-three acres involved.
This action was needed to approve the action of the Murray County Board two years ago to Redetermine Benefits for each of the ditches within its borders. Every landowner with acres draining into a ditch system is assessed for the costs of maintaining the system based on the benefit received. Therefore, landowners in each of the nearby counties will also be assessed for costs.
Luke Schryvers, CEO, Murray County Medical Center presented his monthly report of activities at the facility. Dr. Koenig, an orthopedic surgeon, has visited. A start date in September is anticipated following the credentialing and privileging process. Dr. Koenig will be providing two or three days of surgery a month. Additional days of service were recognized as needed at MCMC. Dr. Kamlitz, a general surgeon from Windom Area Health, will start outreach in the coming months giving the facility an opportunity to offer additional services.
The statistics for the month of May show year to date there have been four less acute care admissions. Swing bed numbers have increased for the year by thirty-four days. Surgeries procedures have increased by forty-four. ER visits have dropped but Clinic visits have increased by three hundred sixteen.
Cash on hand has decreased with a total available of $10.3M. Receivables are at $6.3M with expectations of 52.5% to be paid by insurance, Medicare and private pay. Year to date net income is still positive at $29,135.
Sheriff Heath Landsman received approval for the purchase of three APX portable radios at a cost of $16,568. Two of the radios will be paid for with 911 funds. They are used in the case of an outage of the dispatch center.
Parks Director Justin Hoffmann has reached an agreement with Rock County for the use of a portable stage during the fair. In exchange, Murray County will provide portable bleachers for use during the Rock County Fair saving each fair the cost of renting. Replacement of trees around the racetrack will begin on the north side following the discovery of Ash Borer in the area. Greenspire Linden and Fall Fiesta Maples are the chosen varieties. New trees will be added at East Sarah Park, Sundquist Park and Swenson Park. Costs of a new picnic shelter at Sundquist Park are being sought to replace a previous shelter. It will be located near the swimming beach with construction this fall.
Facilities Manager Nathan Wurpts explained a patio expansion at Sunrise Terrace. There are two current areas that will be connected by Hegstad Concrete Construction at a cost of $6,750.
Nick Demuth, Historical Museum Director, explained three grant opportunities that he is pursuing. One for $175,000 will be used to replace the windows of the Dinehart Holt House. The second grant if successful will replace the collection management software for End O Line Park to a cloud system. The current system has not been updated since 2010. The third grant is available as a result of the disaster declaration of 2023/24 due to the floods. These monies would be used to fix the turntable and restore the stone pit at End O Line Park. That cost is estimated between $75,000 and $150,000.
County Administrator Carolyn McDonald announced the hiring of Hku Hku, a recent graduate of MN West Community College, as a new Sheriff’s deputy.
