County Board chairmen Bill Groskreutz, right, congratulates deputy Barry Meyers on his 25 years of service to the county.

The Faribault County Board of Commissioners passed the preliminary levy and budget resolution for 2025 with a 9.238 percent increase over the previous year’s levy.

“Once we pass this it can’t go up, but it can go down before December,” Faribault County auditor/treasurer Kari Jacobson reminded the commissioners.

The board had spent two work sessions going over proposed budget needs with county department heads before arriving at their proposal.

Commissioner Greg Young had offered a motion to increase this year’s levy by 10 percent, but it was defeated on a 3-2 vote with commissioners Bill Groskreutz, Tom Loveall and Bruce Anderson voting against the motion while commissioner John Roper joined Young in voting for the 10 percent increase.

“I just thought that the 10 percent figure would give us some more wiggle room if we needed it,” Young told his fellow board members.

The county is dealing with a couple unknowns while working on preparing the final levy and budget resolution which will be passed at the December Truth in Taxation meeting.

“Negotiations with the union are not complete and we do not have the final figure on health care costs,” Groskreutz commented.

Loveall then made a motion to adopt the preliminary levy with the 9.238 percent increase. That motion passed on a 4-1 vote with Young casting the only no vote.

Jeremy Monahan, the transit director for Prairie Lakes Transit, attended the meeting seeking a short-term loan of $100,000 to help with a temporary cash flow issue.

“As you will remember, in 2021 we ordered seven new buses, one which was totally funded by the State of Minnesota while 90 percent of the other six buses were funded by the State,” Monahan said. “We hadn’t received any of those buses until this year. Now, they started arriving in the last seven weeks and we will have all of them very soon.”

Monahan shared with the board that the cash flow crunch is caused by a four-month delay in Prairie Lakes receiving the reimbursements.

“We don’t have the funds to handle getting all of the buses in such a short period of time,” Monahan noted. “I met with the Martin County Board this morning and they agreed to the same loan I am asking you for.”

Monahan stated that the loan should be repaid by the end of the year or shortly thereafter.

“It’s really just a cash flow situation,” Loveall said.

“We were fortunate that the funding was available,” Groskreutz added. “We applied not knowing if the funding would be approved.”

Following discussion, the board approved granting the short-term loan to Prairie Lake Transit.

Monahan and the board also discussed pursuing a different site in Blue Earth for Prairie Lakes to keep their buses which are currently stored on Public Works property.

“A building has become available in Blue Earth that would meet our needs,” Monahan said. “The former fire hall that is attached to City Hall has five stalls and would fit our needs.”

Monahan said that Priarie Lakes Transit did not currently have the funds to purchase the building and would need the county to buy the building with Prairie Lakes purchasing it from the county over time.

“The concept has merit,” Loveall offered.

A discussion was then held on whether the county would want to purchase just the garage stalls or the whole facility, including the offices.

Commissioners Groskreutz and Young were appointed to contact the city and gather more information regarding the possible purchase of the property.

Public Works director April Wellman was at the meeting to give updates on construction and federal relief related to this year’s weather.

“We have received word that work on the two bridges south of Frost should begin in the middle of October,” Wellman reported. “The federally funded CIPP (Cured-In-Place-Pipe) project is set to be completed today. Work on the bridge on County Road 1 is scheduled to be completed by the end of this week.”

Wellman reported she had just received word the county will be receiving a $350,000 grant from FHWA (Federal Highway Administration) for pipe lining projects to rehabilitate culverts damaged by this year’s excessive rains.

“I am hoping to receive word that we may receive a little more funding from the FHWA,” Wellman commented. “We also have found out we are receiving $50,000 from FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) for road repair and debris cleanup. We are still investigating bridges for sinkholes around the abutments.”

Planning and Zoning administrator Sara Hauskins came to the meeting seeking the approval of a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) for Buell Consulting/Hooper Corporation.

“Buell consulting is acting on behalf of Hooper Corporation as the construction contractor and project manager in support of the Excel Energy Power Line Project,” Hauskins said. “Hooper requires a laydown yard to facilitate the outdoor storage of their materials, equipment and machinery through the construction phase of the project.”

Loveall spoke up in favor of the CUP.

“The site used to be part of my company’s business,” Loveall commented.

“It is a good location on Highway 169. It is a very appropriate use of the site.”

The board granted the CUP by a unanimous vote.

Hauskins also was seeking guidance in dealing with an OHWL (Ordinary High Water Level) violation by someone who had built an addition on their property.

“The addition should have been a minimum of 150 feet from the OHWL but it is only 120 feet,” Hauskins commented. “Additionally, there was no building permit for the structure.”

Hauskins explained the structure was discovered when someone from the county assessor’s office was out updating the assessments on the property.

“The DNR (Department of Natural Resources) has been notified but they are waiting to see what action the county takes before offering their opinion,” Hauskins said. “So, I am looking for a remedy and enforcement action.”

Groskreutz inquired what kind of enforcement would the county be looking at.

“We could require them to apply for a variance after the fact and put in some erosion control requirements,” Hauskins replied. “We could also require them to get a building permit. The DNR, in other counties, has forced people to take down a structure.”

No action on any remedies was taken at this time pending further research into the matter.

Participation in Faribault County’s 4-H programs has increased dramatically, according to Faribault County Extension Educator, Emily Ovrebo.

Ovrebo attended the County Board meeting to provide the commissioners with an update on the most recent 4-H year which runs from Oct. 1- Sept. 30.

“We have 199 youth enrolled in the county’s 4-H through community clubs which include summer programming and after-school adventures through program agreements,” Ovrebo said. “That represents a 32 percent increase from 2022-2023.”

She also shared that new member enrollment is thriving.

“We have 50 first generation members (families who have never been in 4-H). That number is up 138 percent from 2022,” Ovrebo shared. “There are also 79 new members which is up 147 percent from 2022.”

Faribault County currently has six community clubs. They are the Barber Flyers, Foster Fireflies, Minnesota Lake Voyagers, Elmore Soaring Eagles, Lucky Clovers and Riverside Ramblers.

“The Barber Flyers, with 41 members, and the Elmore Soaring Eagles, with 37 youth, are the two biggest clubs right now,” Ovrebo noted.

Ovrebo shared a lot of effort has been put forth to enroll Cloverbuds (those kids in grades K-2).

“A lot of the credit also goes to my assistant Megan Cook and our growing volunteer numbers,” Ovrebo stated. “We now have 49 screened volunteers which is up over 11 percent from our previous year.”

She also took a look into the future.

“Our goal is to host more events, day camps, clinics and leadership opportunities this year,” Ovrebo concluded.

In other business:

• The board recognized Barry Meyers of the Faribault County Sheriff’s Department for 25 years of service.

• Approved the request of Vincent Do of the Sheriff’s Department to attend Standardized Field Sobriety Test – DWI training.

• Voted to approve the request of Isabella Nelson of the Assessor’s Office to attend a Mass Appraisal Basics course.

• Approved the request of Luke Schonborn of the Drainage Department to take an online course on Frontier Precision Survey Training.