Sentence to Serve district supervisor, Holly VanPelt, left, and Faribault County STS coordinator, Jason Casias, right, attended the County Board meeting on April 15 to update the commissioners on the possibility of the State of Minnesota cutting funding for the program.

The Faribault County Board had a number of items on their agenda when they met for their second meeting of the month on April 15.

With possible State budget cuts on the horizon, the commissioners invited the Faribault County Sentence to Serve (STS) coordinator, Jason Casias, along with STS district supervisor Holly VanPelt, to their board meeting.

Casias gave a presentation on a number of projects the STS teams accomplished throughout the year including helping put up a mile of snow fence for the city of Bricelyn, assisting in setting up and taking down for the Faribault County Fair and helping prepare the swimming pools for summer use in the cities of Wells and Bricelyn. Casias also highlighted the work done by his group at New Chances Humane Society in Blue Earth.

“I am very passionate about this program and what we can teach these individuals,” Casias commented. “I know the County Fair Board is very concerned about what would happen if the program were to disappear.”

VanPelt reminded the commissioners that the county currently pays for 75 percent of the cost of the program with the State of Minnesota covering the other 25 percent of the cost.

All five commissioners, county attorney Cameron Davis and sheriff Scott Adams voiced their support for the program.

The board directed Adams and Casias to begin working on a contingency plan to fund the program should the state pull their funding with the goal to have something in place by early June.

“If the state decides to no longer fund the program, Jason’s last day would be June 17,” VanPelt said.

The board went into a closed session for a short period of time to discuss labor negotiations. When they resumed their regular meeting, Human Resources director Amanda Shoff told the public that negotiations had begun with the IUOE (International Union of Operating Engineers) in November of 2024 and that a tentative agreement had been reached in April of this year. The board approved the contract with commissioner Tom Loveall expressing his appreciation for the background information which was provided during the closed session.

The board also passed a motion to set the elected official (excluding commissioners) 2025 COLA (Cost Of Living Adjustment) at three percent with retroactive backpay to Jan. 1 of this year.

During the discussion on the COLA, commissioner Bill Groskreutz addressed Davis about some concerns he has heard from the public in regards to some of the prosecution of some of the cases.

“I understand you have a big case load and you are all by yourself,” Groskreutz said. “That’s the concern I have coming from the public if they are saying we have incidents that are happening and nothing is being prosecuted – at some point they might start taking the law into their own hands and we have people getting into trouble because of that.”

“I had a group of citizens come to my office three or four weeks ago asking why I wasn’t taking any prosecutorial action on reports they had made to law enforcement,” Davis responded. “I advised them that the one complaint I had with respect to the individual they were discussing is actively being prosecuted by my office. They brought me a letter outlining several other instances with respect to that same individual that they had reported to law enforcement. I informed them that my office had received no reports from any law enforcement office. In reviewing that situation further, I became aware that several of those complaints were forwarded to city attorneys because they are city-level prosecutions. Any city matter I have no control over. That would include misdemeanor charges that occur within city limits and would also include certain gross misdemeanors that occur within city limits, so I have no control over those.”

He also addressed the overall status of law enforcement reports which have been referred to his office.

“The oldest one I have sitting in my inbox right now is a little over three and a half weeks old,” Davis commented. “When I took office, I had law enforcement reports that were more than two years old that hadn’t been addressed. So I have taken that two-year turnaround, with half of the staff that was in my office when I took over, and reduced that to the point where all in-custody reports get addressed the next day. I do not leave law enforcement reports nor do I leave our citizens sitting in jail for an extra day or two. We have up to 36 hours. My process is immediately upon receiving any in-custody report, my office reviews it and make a charging decision immediately with the rare exception of when I have a law enforcement officer contact me and tell me there is a bit more work that needs to be done before an appropriate charge and decision can be made.”

He continued.

“Now, if there are citizens that are unhappy with some of my charging decisions – that I understand. I have a job that involves making decisions, like we talked about earlier with the investigations, that no matter what decision I make there will be people that are unhappy with it. There are people who support individuals who are alleged to have committed crimes that desperately hope I see things from their light and don’t want their friends, family and loved ones prosecuted. And there are victims who desperately hope that I see things from their light and move forward. I am bound by No. 1, my independent judgment, No. 2, my adherence to constitutional principles. I will assure this board, and I think anyone you talk to will vouch for me that I take nothing more seriously than the citizens of this county’s constitutional rights. Sometimes I butt heads with law enforcement officers, victims or different stakeholders because I hold those rights in such high regard.”

Groskreutz responded by saying he was just transmitting the information that was brought to him.

“I appreciate your response because that clarifies it a lot to the public as far as how you deal with cases that are in front of you,” Groskreutz said. “I am not saying you are not doing your job, I am just reporting what people are telling me.”

“I did not take it as personal,” Davis replied. “I appreciate the opportunity to respond in public. I do not do my job publicly. It is a very private job. The public is entitled to know what my decisions are. I keep that job private because I believe it is imperative that I keep that independent judgment. It is a difficult job to do because everyone wants to let me know what they want done, but I protect that independence very vigorously.”

Other action taken during the meeting was reappointing Public Works director/county engineer April Wellman to a four year term.

Wellman had previously been appointed to a one-year term on May 1 of last year.

Wellman also provided the commissioners with a brief construction update.

“The rumble strips are finished,” Wellman told the board. “We will be awarding a number of bids at the May 6 board meeting including the overlays on County Road 17 and County Road 35. We will also have the bridge bids to consider.”

Wellman also reported that construction had begun on County State Aid Highways 58 and 64 in Kiester.

Groskreutz shared an announcement he had received in an email concerning Federal Head Start stating that half of the regional offices in the United States will be closing.

“They are closing the Head Start offices in Boston, New York, Chicago, Seattle and San Francisco,” Groskreutz reported. “This is viewed as a cost-cutting measure but will put more pressure on the other regional offices.”

The board also took time to recognize employees for reaching length of service milestones. Tom Elmer was recognized for 15 years of service, Barb Ziegler for five years and Darrel Boeckman, Sue Jahnke, Jordan Paukert and April Wellman for one year of service.

In other news:

• The board passed a motion in support of the Minitex Library Services which facilitates access to a collection of more than 10 million resource sfrom Minnesota’s public, academic, and special libraries for patrons and libraries in every corner of the state. This action had been requested by Traverse des Sioux board representative, John Roper.

• The board approved the training request of Tammy Olsen of the county assessor’s office to attend the Assessment Laws and Procedures seminar and the MAAP Spring Business Meeting.

• Approval was given for Karolyn Bendickson and Brady Rauenhorst of the county assessor’s office to attend the MAAO (Minnesota Association of Assessing Officers) Summer Seminar.

• The board granted the request of Amanda Lukes of the Sheriff’s Department to attend the Minnesota Crisis Intervention Team (MN CIT) Mental Health Awareness training.

• The board approved a solid waste hauler license for Erosion Control Plus, Inc.

• The board heard an update from Nate Carr, a co-program administrator for Faribault County’s Soil and Water District, on the Bass Lake Water Project.