County to share roundabout cost
The Faribault County Commissioners prepared for some upcoming changes that are scheduled to take place this summer, including road work and staffing switch ups.
County Engineer, John McDonald was present at the March 19 County Board meeting to give a report from the public works department.
Discussion briefly fell on the upcoming road work set to take place on Highway 169 this summer.
The Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) will attend the next regular board meeting to enter into an agreement with the county regarding that project.
“There will be some cost participation for the county with the roundabouts,”?McDonald says.
The cost participation is due to the fact that county roads are to be incorporated with the roundabouts.
McDonald adds that the amount hasn’t been pinned down at this time.
“We will be discussing the county’s amount of participation with MnDOT,”?he says. Some of the commissioners were concerned with the cost becoming much higher than they had thought.
“That final number will be determined at the next meeting,”?McDonald says.
He also updated the board on the County Road 13 project. A public hearing was held on March 14 in the Ag Center to receive input from residents.
“It was a well-attended meeting,” Commissioner John Roper says. “All of the residents sound like they are ready for that road to be updated.”
McDonald reported that most residents that will be affected by the project along County Road 13 were present at the hearing.
Road construction wasn’t the only update the board discussed, they also revisited the upcoming retirement of Central Services Director, Brenda Ripley.
The board had spent some time at the Feb. 19 meeting working out the details of the job description and decided that the issue would be settled this month.
The commissioners came to a consensus that the new hire should be made by June 1 and will be hired as a “just cause” employee, meaning the individual is protected from unfair termination.
“We want them in so they can work with the current staff before Brenda retires,”?Commissioner Tom Loveall says. “We want a smooth transition.”
A motion was made to accept the job description and to begin advertising for the position.
In other business;
Prairieland Solid Waste, a joint board between Faribault and Martin counties, requested an additional $9,829 from their fund. This request put them 60 percent into their budget for the year.
“And we are still in the first quarter,”?Commissioner Tom Warmka adds.
The commissioners approved having Prairieland Express Transit put one of their buses on an auction.
This fourth bus owned by Prairieland Express was to be used for transporting students but that arrangement hadn’t panned out.
It was asked if the bus could be auctioned off since it wasn’t being used.
“This way we won’t have to continue to pay for ongoing services,”?Commissioner Bill Groskruetz explains.
Milton Steele of the Faribault County Fair Board invited the county commissioners to hold their last meeting in July at the fairgrounds again this year. The commissioners accepted the invitation.