Faribault County’s GIS (Geographic Information System) coordinator, Brandee Douglas, left, receives the Excellence in Performance Award from Faribault County Board Chairman, Bruce Anderson, during the board’s meeting on Tuesday, May 19.

County Board members often have to make tough decisions as part of their job. However, the Faribault County Board of Commissioners were able to carry out an enjoyable task at their meeting on May 19 when they awarded Brandee Douglas the Excellence in Performance Award.

“The general purpose of this award is to identify, thank and formally acknowledge those employees of Faribault County that fellow workers feel are deserving of recognition for the special way in which this person functions on the job,” board chairman Bruce Anderson stated. “The person receiving this award may have one or more of the following traits. They are a positive, constructive force for strong productivity, they are a major contributor toward keeping a department running smoothly even in the face of great stress or periods of high demand, they consistently exhibit enthusiasm and a willingness to help fellow workers and they have very recently been the recipient of a special award or recognition given by a community, state or professional agency for meritorious service or achievement.”

The board then unanimously passed a resolution recognizing Douglas, Faribault County’s GIS (Geographic Information System) coordinator, for going above and beyond in assisting with auditor/treasurer and drainage business, for taking a lead role in configuration and implementation of the county’s website project and for having an outstanding attitude in everything she does.

But not everything was good news at the meeting.

During the public comment portion of the meeting, Morgan Meyers of Blue Earth spoke of a continuing problem her family is having with a neighbor.

“I want to give an update on what my family has been dealing with since I haven’t been here for awhile,” Meyers began. “The situation has moved far beyond the annoying neighbor situation. It is affecting our lives, our stress levels, our children, our pets and whether we feel safe on our property.”

Meyers then detailed some of the problems they are experiencing with their neighbors including their neighbor’s two large dogs who are repeatedly off leash and routinely on the Meyer’s property.

“The dogs keep a distance and growl at us leaving us grabbing our children and pets and rushing back inside,” Meyers stated. “Our kids should not have to worry about playing outside because of these dogs.”

Meyers said when they try and talk to their neighbors about the situation, they are met with profanity and deeply disrespectful comments in front of their children.

Meyers went on to outline other incidents and also expressed her disappointment in how law enforcement has handled the situation.

Meyers also referenced a fire which was allegedly set by her neighbors which resulted in damages to a Public Works building.

“From our perspective we continually watch incident after incident happen and ask ourselves, what exactly has to happen before enough is enough?” Meyers remarked. “How many more incidents, how many more calls, how many more evenings where our kids are getting rushed inside and how many more times when we feel unsafe on our own property?”

She then expressed her frustration with how county attorney Cameron Davis is prosecuting and while she stated she understood there were processes which needed to be followed, she is concerned with how long everything is taking.

Davis responded, “I have not received a report on this case. I have no idea what you are talking about. Ms. Meyers, this is not the first time you’ve come to this board to complain about me and I have no idea who this person is. It’s a municipal case and I do not have it in front of me.”

At that time, chairman Anderson ended the public comment.

During committee reports, commissioner Bill Groskreutz said he was informed that MnDOT (Minnesota Department of Transportation) will be doing a micro-mill and overlay on State Highway 22 from the south edge of Wells to the Iowa border.

“That will be starting in mid-August and completed in October,” Groskreutz reported. “It’s considered a temporary fix that is supposed to last five to seven years.

Denny Wick of the Public Works Department was also at the meeting and had information on other construction projects in the county.

“Paving on County State Aid Highway 19 began this morning,” Wick commented. “They have about 40 trucks they are using which are coming out of Glenville, so it will take awhile to complete the paving.”

Wick reported that crack-filling on the county highways has been completed.

“We will start shoulder work today,” he added. “That is in preparation for seal-coating which will begin in July.”

Wick also told the commissioners that the bids for bridge deck mill and overlay projects came in much higher than anticipated and therefore have been canceled.

“It turned out to be more money than the townships wanted to pay,” Wick said. “In some cases, the bridges could be replaced with a box culvert which would be a cheaper option.”

Andrew Mittag, the Human Resources generalist for the county, brought forth the name of Scott Berg to be approved to fill the dispatch-jailer (male) position in the Sheriff’s Department.

“Following a comprehensive recruitment and selection process, the county received eight applications for the male dispatch-jailer position,” Mittag commented. “Of these, the top five candidates were invited to interview. After careful review and consideration, Berg was identified as the top candidate.”

Berg was approved by a unanimous vote.

In other business at the meeting:

• The training requests of Merissa Lore, Dustin Anderson and Luke Schonborn of the Drainage Department to attend the ISG Field Tour in Mankato was approved.

• The request of Eli Redenius of Sentence to Serve to attend a Crew Leader Safety Training Course was approved.