Two of the five members on the Faribault County Board of Commissioners were welcomed back onto the board after being sworn in last Tuesday, just before the County Board meeting.

Commissioner Tom Loveall was re-elected to represent District 4 while Commissioner Greg Young will continue to represent District 2 for his second term.

In addition to Commissioners Loveall and Young reciting the oath of office, Commissioner Bill Groskreutz, Jr. will now serve as this year’s chairman of the board, and Commissioner Tom Warmka will serve as vice chairman.

Earlier in the week, Sheriff Mike Gormley was also sworn in to continue his position as Faribault County Sheriff, but last Tuesday, he and Deputy Scott Adams were at the meeting to submit a proposal to the board for their consideration.

The resolution called for the Board of Commissioners to designate the Faribault County Sheriff’s Office and the Faribault County Soil and Water District as the supervisors of aquatic invasive species (AIS) prevention in the eight lakes throughout the county.

The prevention plan and money distribution does not include rivers, streams or other non-lake bodies of water.

According to Sheriff Gormley, the Department of Natural Resources provided the county with a $35,212 grant for 2015, more than double the amount received last year.

The allocation of funds will help to prevent AIS, such as the wildly invasive Zebra mussels, from harming “the ecological, economic, and recreational vitality of lakes in the county.”

It is unknown at this time whether any of the lakes actually contain AIS, but this program will prevent a potential spread.

The resolution states that AIS spreads between lakes by way of human activity; therefore, the Sheriff’s department and the County Soil and Water District were inquired to develop a plan to allocate the funds and implement “positive approaches” to prevent the spread.

Such approaches include: thorough boat inspection upon entering and exiting the water; tourist and boater education by way of broadcast and print media; and developing partnerships with “water recreation-based businesses, individual lake associations, and local government units.”

However, the two county departments had to first gain approval from the Board of Commissioners before accepting the grant money and developing a County?AIS Plan.

In a unanimous vote, the board passed the resolution.

In other news:

Blue Earth’s city administrator Tim Ibisch informed the board that the city council has accepted a bid for the demolition of the Ankeny Radiator Repair building and the reinforcement of the neighboring law office.

The City Council accepted a bid from G &?S Drainage Excavation of which the county would pay half.

Ibisch was seeking the board’s approval to accept the G?&?S bid, but all five of the commissioners were apprehensive of moving forward too quickly.

“I?want this ironed out before we move ahead with this process,” said Commissioner Warmka. “I don’t want to find out what’s happening after it’s already happened.?We’ve got to get everything out on the table so we know exactly what we’re getting into.”

The board voted to table the discussion until County Attorney Troy Timmerman had a chance to review the details of the 50/50 payment agreement to gain a better understanding of how the funds were to be spent.

The board also requested to meet with the owner of the neighboring law office, William Barke, before demolition.

Next, the Veteran’s Service Office received 16 applications for the assistant Veteran’s Service Officer position, and eventually, the pool of applicants was narrowed to seven candidates.

Central Services director Dawn Fellows, Veteran’s Service Officer Dave Hanson and Commissioner Warmka were all present for the first set of interviews last Wednesday.

Lastly, the board considered per diem and mileage rates for committee members, which was set at $30 per day for per diem and set at the IRS standard rate for mileage in 2014.

Commissioner John Roper suggested a raise in per diem rates from $30 to $40 per day in 2015.

Roper was not alone in his requisition Commissioner Loveall noted that he had contemplated asking for a raise in per diem for several years.

“I’m not saying that anyone is in this job for the money,” he said, “but these meetings aren’t always convenient for everybody. I’ve been stewing over this for a few years, but now Roper has beat me to the punch.”

Considering the amount of time that some committee members give up in order to travel throughout the county, the Board of Commissioners voted in favor of increasing per diem to $40 while maintaining the IRS standard rate for mileage.