Boys and Girls County delegates for Faribault County are pictured front row, left to right: Seth Mathews, Leah Becker, Dana O’Campo, Braxton O’Rourke. Second row: Reagan Bromeland, Coral Garcia-Ortiz, Kiahna Korn, Nolan Polkow. Third row: Brady Lorenz, Jamie Johnson, Jerry Passe, Gavin Schluter.

The Faribault County Board of Commissioners had some special guests attend a portion of their meeting on Thursday, Dec. 8.

Students selected as Boys County and Girls County delegates were able to view local government in action while attending the County Board meeting. Prior to the beginning of the meeting, they were able to visit with the commissioners and partake in a question and answer session. The delegates also had the opportunity to visit other county offices during the day.

During the County Board meeting, action taken by the commissioners will result in drivers traveling between Blue Earth and Fairmont being able to make their trip a little bit faster when utilizing County Road (CR) 16 in Faribault County and CR 26 in Martin County.

However, while the posted speed limit will be raised to 60 miles per hour in Faribault County, in Martin County the speed limit will remain at 55 mph, at least for now.

“It has been the plan to have the speed limit be 60 mph all of the way from Blue Earth to Fairmont,” Daly said. “We first submitted a request for a speed study to the Minnesota Department of Transportation in July of 2019.”

Daly shared the results of that study showed CR 26 met the 60 mph requirements but CR 16 did not.

“At that time, CR 16 did not have paved shoulders or rumble strips,” Daly explained. “In October of 2021, we advised MnDOT that Faribault County had completed work on CR 16 which included four foot paved shoulders and rumble strips.”

A new speed study was conducted and completed in October of this year.

“Now, CR 16 was approved for 60 mph but CR 26 was not,” Daly said. “MnDOT wants CR 26 kept at 55 mph for another year. This is because of three crashes which all happened at one intersection in a 30 mph zone on the eastern edge of Fairmont. Martin County has since made significant safety improvements to that area.”

Daly noted that he and Martin County engineer Kevin Peyman, have advised MnDOT that they do not agree with MnDOT’s findings.

“We provided additional information to MnDOT but we have not received a response from them yet,” Daly commented. “We are also recommending that we increase the speed limit to 60 mph on CR 16 and put up 55 mph signs on CR 26.”

After some discussion the commissioners passed a motion to raise the speed limit on CR 16 beginning west of the Blue Earth Industrial Park to the Martin County line.

“I will also remind the commissioners the speed limits are no longer reduced when traveling through Guckeen or Brush Creek which you had previously voted to do,” Daly said.

Daly also provided an update on the installation of the Street and Avenue signs in the county.

“We have 100 percent of the signs up in the western part of the county,” he mentioned. “We are about 50 percent done in the eastern half.”

Daly also brought forth a request to designate unspent 2022 funds, in the amount of $449,000, to be spent in 2023 for two Mack tandem dump trucks with snowplow equipment.

“We have had them ordered but have not received them,” Daly explained.

The commissioners passed a motion to designate the funds for use in 2023.

Jennifer Howard, representing the County Economic Development Authority, was at the meeting seeking the renewal of the county’s contract with CEDA (Community Economic Development Associates).

“The county has had a contract with CEDA since 2018,” Howard said. “It is a four-day per week contract with a five percent increase.”

“They have done an outstanding job for us,” commissioner Bill Groskreutz noted. “It has been a good relationship.”

The commissioners approved the proposed contract.

Action was also taken by the commissioners to pass a motion giving a three percent general wage increase (cost of living adjustment) to non-union employees of Faribault County, effective Jan. 1, 2023.

Gertrude Paschke and Brady Rauenhorst of the County Assessor’s Office attended the meeting to request approval of an updated contract with Beacon.

“We would like to add layers to the program which would enhance productivity regarding quintile/field work,” Rauenhorst explained. “It will allow a lot of our information to be displayed on the Beacon map and will be an easy visual of areas we are working on.”

The setup cost is $2,352 with an annual fee of $1,216 beginning in 2023.

“We currently have the funds to pay the setup cost this year and the annual fee going forward,” Paschke told the board members.

The request to update the Beacon contract was approved.

Action was also taken by the board to appoint David Roper to a six-year term on the Faribault County EDA board.

Roper had been filling out the term of Jack Heinitz who resigned from the board last year.

The commissioners approved seven construction pay applications, in the amount of $627,384, related to the HVAC (heating, ventilation, air conditioning) Project at the courthouse.

In other business, the commissioners:

• Approved the application for a gambling permit for Heartland-Faribault County Pheasants Forever to operate bingo and a raffle at the Golden Bubble on Feb. 25, 2023.

• Voted to issue a county credit card to Central Services director Pam Krill.

• Approved the Help America Vote Act phase two election grant which will make $4,288.94 available to the county to improve security and accessibility for elections. There is no timetable for spending the funds.

• Passed a resolution allowing Darren Esser and Kathryn Anderson of the Faribault County Treasurer’s office to make electronic funds transfers on behalf of Faribault County for one year.

• Approved the training requests of John Oswald to attend a Bridge Safety Inspection Refresher course and Sarah Van Moer, clerk to the board, to receive training on the different roles of the clerk.