Sonny Berg, seated at the table beside Planning and Zoning administrator Sara Hauskins, received a CUP at the County Board meeting for a cannabis micro-business.

The Faribault County Board, at their meeting on June 17, approved a conditional-use permit (CUP) for StateLine Coop to install bulk anhydrous ammonia storage at their Marna facility. However, the approval wasn’t given until after a lengthy public hearing which featured some opposition to the proposal.

Deborah Manske, Lehlia Paschke and Amelia Paschke-Olson were at the public hearing and all expressed their concerns about the safety of the location of the proposed facility. The three are trustees/heirs to the Howard Paschke estate which includes an old elevator located near the proposed site of the anhydrous ammonia storage.

“I would like to see more specifics about the emergency action/response plan,” Manske stated.

Concerns were also raised about the traffic flow at the site, the number of available roads for escape routes and how those who live/work in the area would be notified if there was an emergency situation.

Commissioner Gertrude Paschke also voiced her concerns about safety.

“I am worried about the traffic congestion,” Paschke said. “Can people get out if there is a problem.”

The CUP had come before the board after being approved by the Faribault County Planning Commission.

Planning Commission administrator Sara Hauskins was at the meeting and provided the board with four conditions to be considered as part of the Board of Adjustment’s decision for the requested CUP.

“First, septic compliance and maintenance must be performed in accordance with Section 23 of the Faribault County Zoning Ordinance and Minnesota Statute 7080. Second, the applicant must apply for and be granted a zoning permit prior to any construction. Third, all state regulations for storage of hazardous materials shall be followed in accordance with guidelines and fourth, the applicant must comply with Faribault County ordinances,” Hauskins said. “A review of the CUP will be completed by the Planning and Zoning Department every two years.

An updated drawing showed that the storage facility would be 617 feet from the nearest residence.

“It sounds reasonable for anhydrous to be at this site,” commissioner Tom Loveall said.

Again, citing safety issues about what would happen if a train derailed, commissioner Paschke moved to deny the CUP.

“We don’t need any more law suits,” she remarked.

Paschke’s motion died for a lack of a second.

A motion was then made to approve the CUP. It passed 4-1 with Paschke casting the dissenting vote.

The board then proceeded with another public hearing.

“Betty Berg and Sonny Berg are requesting a CUP for a cannabis micro-business with a retail operations endorsement,” Hauskins said. “Applicant Sonny Berg has obtained preliminary approval from the Minnesota Office of Cannabis Management (OCM). This notice does not convey license approval. Berg is not authorized to conduct any activities for any license type until final approval from OCM.”

Hauskins went on to say that with his preliminary license approval, Berg will have 18 months to obtain all local government approvals and OCM compliance checks.

“He will then have to submit final documents and application materials to OCM for their review process,” Hauskins noted. “There was no public comment at the Planning Commission meeting and they recommended approving the CUP with conditions.”

Those conditions include complying with Minnesota cannabis laws and regulations, complying with the Faribault County Cannabis Ordinance, applying for and being granted a zoning permit prior to any construction and having a proper septic system installed along with proper maintenance of the system.

The proposed site of the business is in Section 7 of Seely Township, about two miles west of Bricelyn.

“Does OCM do field checks?” Loveall asked.

Yes was the answer he received.

“OCM is tough and will regulate it,” sheriff Scott Adams, who was at the meeting, said. “We follow the law and as long as it meets state guidelines we will not have a problem with it.”

The board unanimously approved the CUP.

“While I am here I will also share with you that the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency is currently in the process of updating their feedlot rules,” Hauskins said. “We will have to wait and see what changes might be made which would require us to amend our ordinance.”

Public Works director/county engineer April Wellman attended the meeting and provided the commissioners with a brief construction update.

“The paving on County Road 17 is set to begin this week,” Wellman said. “The paving on CR 35 is still scheduled for this fall.”

Wellman noted she had pre-construction meetings for the four bridge projects slated to be completed this year. Those projects include a bridge on CR 19 along with one bridge each in Clark, Minnesota Lake and Kiester Townships.

“The bridge on CR 19 will be the first one worked on,” Wellman commented. “It is the only one of the four that needs paving. The work on that bridge should begin in August.”

The board also approved a resolution to accept a grant, in the amount of $113,134 which will help pay for the bridge being replaced on CR 19.

She reported that the city of Bricelyn had awarded the bid for work on CR 56 and that work on CR 58 and CR 64 in Kiester was in progress.

“We have also been informed that the Canadian Pacific Railroad will be removing the abandoned tracks on CR 60 in Wells during the next week,” Wellman added.

Human Resources director Amanda Shoff asked the board to approve Jason Casias as the full-time assistant jail administrator.

“With the promotion of Missy Sonnek to the position of jail administrator in May, the Sheriff’s Department had a vacant full-time assistant jail administrator position,” Shoff said. “The position was advertised internally and interviews were conducted with three internal applicants. An offer was extended to and accepted by Casias.”

The board unanimously approved the hiring.

A lengthy discussion was held on the county’s tax abatement ordinance.

“I believe our intent was that the tax abatement was to be applied for before construction began, but that is not what made it into the ordinance” board chairman Greg Young said. “Our intent was to incentivize people to build, not to reward people for building.”

“I would like to see the written ordinance reflect the policy of the board,” county attorney Cameron Davis commented.

The board directed county coordinator Brian Hov to work with staff to propose tax abatement policy language that reflects the original intent of the County Board.

In other business:

• The board approved the low price bid from Yeager Implement, in the amount of $9,900 for a dump trailer to be used by the Sentence to Serve (STS) program. • Approval was also given to purchase an enclosed trailer the state had available from the STS program. The trailer was valued at $3,500 but a bid of $1,000 by the county was accepted by the state.

• The board approved the training request of county assessor Brady Rauenhorst and GIS coordinator Brandee Douglas. Rauenhorst will be attending a block course while Douglas will be obtaining software training.