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Number of variances causes concern

County Board questions need for changes in some ordinances

By Kevin Mertens - Staff Writer | Jan 8, 2023

Nate Carr of the Soil and Water Conservation District and Sara Hauskins of Planning and Zoning addressed the County Board on Tuesday.

The Faribault County Board of Commissioners met for the first time in 2023 on Tuesday, Jan. 3. Much of the agenda was filled with “housekeeping” type issues such as making appointments to various boards.

Most of these appointments are handled with very little discussion. However, when it came time to appoint someone to the Board of Adjustment, concerns were raised with the number of variances being granted by the current board.

Faribault County has an ordinance requiring a rural home owner’s parcel of land to be at least five acres in order to make any improvements, such as a new building or the remodeling of the home, and this is where much of the concern has arisen.

“We have an ordinance in place and I feel too many variances are being granted,” commissioner Bill Groskreutz offered.

Commissioner Tom Loveall agreed and added he thought the granting of a variance should be more of a rare occurrence.

Commissioner Bruce Anderson, who was elected to serve as the board chairman at the beginning of the meeting, had a different opinion.

“I like what the Board of Adjustments has been doing,” he said. “There are a lot of rural houses that are going to change hands over the next five to 10 years. We need people to stay in Faribault County. We already have a housing shortage.”

Discussion was held where the commissioners felt perhaps people were purchasing acreages less than five acres without being aware of the restrictions which came with the purchase.

“If the board feels we need to change the ordinance to reduce the number of acres, then maybe that is what we need to discuss,” Groskreutz commented.

The board decided to delay making appointments to the Board of Adjustment until their next meeting on Jan. 17.

Planning and Zoning administrator Sara Hauskins was at the meeting and offered a proposal to reappoint Robin Stenzel and Dennis Koziolek to the Planning and Zoning board which the commissioners voted to do.

Hauskins was joined by Nate Carr of the Faribault County Soil and Water Conservation District to review the contract for services between the county and the SWCD for 2023.

There were some minor changes to the contract and it was approved by the board.

Chief Deputy Sheriff Scott Adams attended the meeting with a request to approve the purchase of one of the three squads in the budget for 2023.

“We would like your approval to purchase one 2022 Ford F150 from WoodHouse Ford in Blair, Nebraska,” Adams said. “The quoted price is $51,189.”

The commissioners asked if the Sheriff’s Department had sought other bids.

“We had a bid from Fairmont Ford which was $4,000 higher,” Adams answered. “We have dealt with Woodhouse Ford before, but it has been at their Omaha dealership.”

The board approved the purchase.

Public Works director Mark Daly was also at the meeting.

“I do not actually have anything for you today,” Daly said. “I am just here to answer any questions you may have.”

Daly was asked if his department was able to purchase the three pup trailers they were seeking to acquire through an auction.

“We were,” he replied. “As usual, all of the action took place during the closing minutes of the auction, but we were still able to acquire all three pups for a total of $27,875, which is less than was budgeted.”

Central Services director Pam Krill had a number of issues for the board to consider.

“You need to pass a resolution to officially set the board salary and the per diem,” Krill informed the board.

The commissioners passed a resolution setting the annual salary of each County Commissioner at $23,314.72 and the per diem at $80 per day.

Next, the board set the meal rates for when they are out of the county.

“The maximum reimbursement rate has been $11 for breakfast, $13 for lunch and $25 for dinner,” Krill said.

Due to inflation, the board voted to increase the rates to $12 for breakfast, $15 for lunch and $30 for dinner.

The board also voted to keep the monthly mobile device stipend rate set at $50 per month.

At the request of Krill, the board also approved the purchase of membership in the Association of Minnesota County’s Human Resources and Technical Assistance Program at a cost of $4,900.

The program provides consultation and training for human resource leaders.

Billeye Rabbe, the Solid Waste coordinator for Faribault County, was at the meeting and presented eight applications for solid waste haulers to operate in Faribault County and six applications for recycling licenses for the county.

The eight businesses requesting solid waste hauling licenses were B & B Sanitation of Winnebago, Dulas Disposal, LLC of Wells, Hansen Sanitation, Inc. of Kasota, Hometown Sanitation of Windom, LJP Waste Solutions of North Mankato, the city of Minnesota Lake, Thompson Sanitation of Clarks Grove and Waste Management of Fairmont.

The same businesses, minus Hansen Sanitation, Inc. and the city of Minnesota Lake, also requested recycling licenses.

The commissioners also made a decision regarding the County Library Board.

Because of the increasing difficulty of finding community members who are willing and able to serve on the County Library Board, the commissioners passed a resolution to abolish the board and conduct any future needed county library business not able to be conducted by city library partners.

In other business the board:

• Approved an HVAC mechanical change order in the amount of $3,696.

• Approved pay application No. 5 to Kraus-Anderson Construction Company in the amount of $69,952.

• Granted the request of Amy Huber, of the treasurer/auditor’s office, to take a course on legal description training.

• Approved the request of Daniel Killion of the Sheriff’s Department to attend a CPR Instructor Recertification class offered by the American Heart Association.

• Voted to approve the hiring of Linda Adams to fill the administrative assistant position in the Planning and Zoning Department effective Jan. 17.

• Approved the hiring of Jacob Pettit as a full-time deputy for the Sheriff’s Department.

• Selected the Faribault County Register as the county’s official newspaper for publications.