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County getting new STS crew leader

Board also gets construction update on local MnDOT projects

By Kevin Mertens - Staff Writer | Aug 7, 2023

Greg Ous and Angie Piltaver of the Minnesota Department of Transportation District 7 office attended the Faribault County Board meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 2. They provided an update on the progress of the current projects in the county and outlined the reconstruction plans which will take place in the future.

“We have filled the position of the Sentence to Serve crew leader for Faribault County,” Department of Corrections supervisor Sarah Eischens told the Faribault County Board at their meeting on Aug. 1.

Jason Casias, who has been employed as a corrections officer for the Faribault County Sheriff’s Department, will be taking over the position which was previously held by Tom Hennis, who moved to the same position in Martin County in June.

“Tom will work with Jason to help him get started in Faribault County,” Eischens said. “We appreciated your patience. We know we were not able to help out at the County Fair like we have in the past.”

In her report, Eischens said the crew size from April 1 to May 31 averaged 2-3 persons. She noted $500 of fines and over $800 of retribution had been paid off through the program.

County attorney Cameron Davis expressed an interest in utilizing the Sentence to Service program more.

“I think we need to make sure our courts, attorneys and others involved in the judicial process have a clear understanding of the Sentence to Serve program,” Davis commented. “We might be able to utilize the STS program with juveniles. Our parole department has developed a list of community service projects.”

The board also heard from Greg Ous and Angie Piltaver of the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) District 7 office about upcoming highway plans along with the progress of current construction projects taking place in the county.

“As you know, the big project underway in Faribault County is the resurfacing of both the eastbound and westbound lanes of Interstate 90 from Highway 169 at Blue Earth to Highway 22 south of Wells,” Piltaver, a senior planner with MnDOT, said. “This two-year project involves not only the resurfacing of the highway, but also repairing six bridges, culverts and lighting. The sidewalks at the two I-90 Rest Areas will be improved to comply with the American with Disabilities Act (ADA). The total cost of the project is $80.2 million.”

Ous, who is the district engineer, expanded on the bridge repairs.

“Just because a bridge may be in poor condition does not mean it is a hazard to the public,” he said.

Piltaver shared that work on Highway 22 between Mapleton and Wells is almost complete and that the road has been reopened.

If there was some disappointing news, it was the timeline for when work would begin on Highway 22 from the city of Wells to the Iowa State Line.

“Reconstruction on Highway 22 from Wells to County Road 16 is not scheduled to begin until 2029,” Piltaver noted. “The work on Highway 22 from County Road 16 south to the Iowa state line is not scheduled to begin until 2031. Work on the Highway 109/22 project within the Wells city limits is still set for 2026.”

Ous also reported MnDOT is working with the city of Elmore about resurfacing Highway 169 through the town.

“We are waiting to see if they wish to make other improvements to their infrastructure before we proceed,” Ous explained.

Amy Wachlin of the License Bureau also attended the meeting to give a report to the commissioners.

“We received non-targeted funds in the amount of $17,682 from the state,” Wachlin said. “There were no stipulations from the State of Minnesota on how the money was to be spent.”

Commissioners Tom Loveall and Bill Groskreutz expressed their thoughts that the money should stay with the License Bureau and the other board members agreed.

Wachlin also reported on the use of credit cards at the bureau.

“It has been a big hit,” Wachlin said. “We have already had $450,000 charged since we added that option in December of 2021.”

Wachlin noted the bureau had 16,200 paid transactions last year.

“One other change is that as of today, Aug. 1, if you move to Minnesota from another state you no longer have to take a written test to get your Minnesota driver’s license,” Wachlin concluded.

During the meeting the board also held a public hearing to consider a resolution approving a five-year property tax abatement for Ron and Carolyn Howe for new housing construction in the city of Winnebago.

The board passed the resolution but also discussed the need to fine tune their tax abatement policy to address what the tax abatement covers. The board felt the policy needed clarification on what was covered, whether it was just a new house or if it covered other property also.

County attorney Davis also mentioned the language in the policy should possibly be changed to say the application for the abatement must be made before any building begins.

Since the Economic Development Authorities of Blue Earth, Wells and Winnebago originated the abatement policy, they were going to be asked to consider making the necessary clarifications.

During the public comment portion of the meeting, Charlie Carlson of Amboy addressed the County Board expressing his disappointment in what he perceived as a lack of action concerning County Ditch 24 and damages which have resulted to landowners and taxpayers, both economically and in the form of land use.

Carlson used the three minutes alloted to him to talk about some of the issues and then left the board with a 30-plus page document outlining his concerns.

Daly provided the board with a brief report on road and bridge construction.

“The paving on County Road 9 and County Road 20 should hopefully begin this week,” Daly said. “The deck on the bridge between Winnebago and Verona townships should be poured this week and the pile driving on the bridge south of Huntley should start by mid-August.”

Dustin Anderson of the Faribault County Drainage Department asked the board to consider a motion to issue a combined corrective action notice and administrative penalty order to eight owners of land parcels deemed to be non-compliant with the Minnesota Buffer Law and the Faribault County Buffer Ordinance.

“The letters would be mailed on Sept. 1 and they would have 30 days to appeal,” Anderson explained. “After that, they have 11 months to take corrective action with no penalty. If after that 11-month period the property is still found to be non-compliant, monthly fines would begin.”

The board approved Anderson’s request.

The board also:

• Voted to hire Jaci Miller as a part-time clerk typist in the recorder’s office.

• Approved the training request of Ellen Skaden of the Veterans Services Office to attend the Minnesota Association of County Veteran Service Officers Conference for training and certification purposes.

• Voted to raise the daily pay for the bailiff to $150 per day, or $75 for a half day, to better match what other counties are paying their bailiffs.

• Approved the request of Brandee Douglas, Geographic Information Systems coordinator for Faribault County, to purchase an HP Designjet XL3600 Multifunction Printer from Master Graphics for $10,690.

• Groskreutz informed the board that Tim Hynes had resigned from the County EDA board and will need to be replaced.