Excellence in Performance Awards were given to, left to right, deputy Jacob Pettit and dispatcher Nick Bleess by County Board Chair Bill Groskreutz, standing.

The question of funding the Extension educator in Faribault County once again came before the County Board at their meeting on Nov. 5. University of Minnesota Extension representative Christy Kallevig explained that the current Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between Faribault County and the University of Minnesota is set to expire on Dec. 31 of this year.

“An updated agreement for 2025-2027 has been recommended by the Faribault CEC (County Extension Committee) for review and approval by the County Board,” Kallevig said. “The new MOA includes a 1.0 FTE (full-time equivalent) 4-H/Youth Development Extension educator and the hiring of a temp-casual position for 440 hours during the summer to assist with community based programming. The Faribault County 4-H Federation will contribute $1,000 annually to assist with the funding of the temp-casual position. The 2025 contribution for the package recommended by the Faribault CEC is $108,930.”

Once the resolution to approve the MOA had been seconded, the board began discussing the proposal.

“There is no question that everybody in County Extension is doing a good job,” commissioner Greg Young offered. “I would propose we put this on hold for now. We have time to consider this and we are currently in labor negotiations and working on finalizing our budget. I would like more time to study this.”

Commissioner Tom Loveall supported Young.

“I agree,” Loveall said. “I would like to wait on this.”

Commissioner Bruce Anderson, who is a member of the Extension Committee, commented, “The people are doing an excellent job and growing the program. When you breakdown the total cost of the program, you will see that we are right in line salary wise.”

Kallevig pointed out that the $108,930 is all-inclusive and covers the cost of travel, benefits and continuing education.

The resolution to approve the MOA passed 3-2. with Young and Loveall voting no.

Two members of the Faribault County Sheriff’s Department were honored by the commissioners during the meeting. Deputy Jacob Pettit and dispatcher Nick Bleess each received Excellence in Performance Awards for their efforts in a life-saving event.

A call came into dispatcher Bleess concerning someone who had gone down at the Blue Earth municipal liquor store. Pettit was the first person on the scene and was able to perform life-saving measures until UHD Ambulance and other responders arrived.

Other members of the Sheriff’s Department were on hand to help honor Pettit and Bleess.

“We are extremely proud of these young men,” sheriff Mike Gormley told the commissioners.

During the public comment portion of the meeting, David Amundson of Frost told the board he felt the signage on County Road 17 during the replacement of two culverts could have been better.

“I think the signs should have said bridge out,” Amundson offered. “Too many people went around the ‘local traffic only’ sign and then had to turn around in my yard. We had way too much traffic in our yard and a lot of those were semis.”

Since this happened during the public comment portion of the meeting, the board did not respond but will take the issue under advisement.

Public Works director April Wellman was at the meeting and said work has begun on the last construction project of the year, replacing a bridge near Bricelyn.

“The tentative completion date is mid-November,” Wellman said. “We will see how well the weather cooperates.”

Wellman also reported that the Ford F150 EV pickup truck was due to arrive at the dealership in Mankato by Nov. 12.

“Every county in District 7 is getting one as part of a grant program,” Wellman reminded the board. “We have to keep it for seven years and we are supposed to have different people use it. Our cost to get it was $20,000 plus the cost of installing a new electric panel. We have funds left over from the new roof we put on one of our buildings which will cover the cost of the panel installation.”

She also informed the board the new fuel monitoring system is set to be operational by Jan. 1 of next year.

“This will enable us to track where the fuel is being used and make our system more secure,” she noted.

During committee reports, Anderson updated the board on the financial condition of MRCI.

“They are operating in the black but only because of their investment income,” Anderson said. “Eighty percent of non-profits are operating in financial distress in Minnesota and non-profits make up 14 percent of Minnesota’s workforce. MRCI is going to have a 15 percent increase in their health insurance costs this year. In the past, they picked up 100 percent of the increase. This coming year they are going to pay 75 percent of the increase and the individual employees will have to pay the remaining 25 percent of the increase.”

The board also took action to update software for two county departments.

The first update approved was for the county’s GIS (Geographic Information System) software. The new agreement goes until 2030 and replaces an agreement that had already been in place.

“The updated agreement offers reduced costs for certain products due to shared county borders and software changes while honoring current pricing,” GIS coordinator Brandee Douglas explained. “There is a slight increase per year as department heads recommended returning to a higher resolution flight in all communities and Bass Lake, instead of just the cities of Blue Earth, Wells and Winnebago. However, we do have money in a fund that will help offset the cost.”

The board approved the agreement with EagleView at an annual cost of $35,693, beginning in 2025 and going through 2030.

Action was also taken to update the current tax system software.

“Our current system, Avenu, is reaching end of life and the current agreement ends in December of 2025. The Minnesota Counties Computer Cooperative (MNCCC) does not know if the software will be supported beyond 2025,” county coordinator Brian Hov told the commissioners. “Staff from Faribault County, including the auditor/treasurer, assessor, drainage/GIS coordinator and the county coordinator, met with Tyler and CPT to choose a new tax solution. Those two companies enjoy the majority of market share in the state. After careful consideration, our review team selected CPT as the best fit for function and value.”

Hov continued by telling the board that the integration and subscription costs for CPT are approximately five times less than Tyler.

Approval was given by the board to approve a prorated three-year contract with CPT with an approximate integration/startup cost of $57,500.

The board also:

• Passed a resolution reappointing Brady Rauenhorst to a four-year term as the county assessor.

• Approved the training request of Sue Yahnke of the Sheriff’s Department to attend an Emergency Management seminar.