Faribault County Board chairman Bruce Anderson, left, congratulates Brady Rauenhorst on his 10 years of service to the county. Rauenhorst currently serves as the county assessor.

The Faribault County Board of Commissioners met on Tuesday, Sept. 15 for their regular meeting. One of the items on their agenda was to consider a proposal to set the total net tax levy for 2027 at $18,975,495.

“What percentage increase is that over last year?” commissioner Tom Loveall inquired.

“This represents a 14.75 percent increase over last year,” county coordinator Brian Hov replied.

Hov reminded the board that the resolution sets the cap of what the increase can be.

“Remember, it is just preliminary,” chairman Bruce Anderson agreed. “We can lower it before the final levy is set but we cannot go above that number.”

“We need to set it (the preliminary levy) by the end of September according to state statute,” commissioner Bill Groskreutz added.

When the roll call on the proposed tax levy was taken, the resolution passed by a 3-2 margin with commissioners Anderson, Groskreutz and Greg Young voting in favor and commissioners Loveall and Gertrude Paschke voting against.

The board then voted to set the Truth in Taxation meeting, where the final levy will be set, for Dec. 15, beginning at 6 p.m.

“That meeting is required to last at least 30 minutes,” Hov said.

Next, the board voted to change the time of their regular board meeting on Dec. 15 from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

While setting the proposed tax levy was the big task on the agenda, the board also acted on some other items during their meeting.

Public Works director/county engineer April Wellman told the board members that the old culverts from the bridge on County State Aid Highway (CSAH) 8 had been removed.

“The new box culverts should be in place next week,” Wellman said. “We had hoped to have them in this week but the weather has slowed things up.”

Wellman also provided an update on the work in Kiester saying some curb and gutter on CSAH 2 was being removed and that a final lift of asphalt will be done next year.

A policy on hay bales in the county road right of way (ROW) was also presented to the board for adoption.

“Hay bales in county road ROW can result in snow drifting across the road through the entirety of the winter,” Wellman explained. “This creates a hazard for the traveling public and additional work for the Public Works staff to track and plow these locations repeatedly for drifting.”

Under the proposed policy which was adopted by the board, any hay bales in county road ROW should be pushed back onto private property or moved by Oct. 31 of each year. If the bales are not moved, the Public Works Department reserves the right to push the bales into the field. This will occur in the first week of November.

“We are not going to push hay bales into a field if the crop has not been harvested,” Wellman clarified.

A ROW map will be attached to the policy. A person can check if their bales are in the ROW by dividing the ROW footage in half and measure that distance from the centerline of the road.

The subject of roadside memorials was also brought up with Groskreutz bringing up a memorial located on the eastern side of the county.

Wellman expressed concern that some of the memorials are too big and sturdy and could cause harm to someone if they hit them.

“I know we have talked about this before,” Loveall commented. “Do we have a policy on roadside memorials?”

The conclusion was reached that there is not a written policy currently in place and Wellman was directed to draft one for the board to consider.

Faribault County EDA (Economic Development Authority) specialist Danielle Hayter-Johnson brought a $2,500 child care grant before the board for approval.

“A licensed Faribault County family child care provider serving 10 children full-time is requesting $2,500 toward replacement of a bedroom window,” Hayter-Johnson explained. “During relicensing, the existing window was found not to meet required means-of-escape criteria which prevented the room from being used as an approved napping space.”

Hayter-Johnson went on to say that replacing the window would restore the needed napping space, better accommodate infant care and support continued safe, compliant child care.

“The project is also supported by the county child care licensor,” Hayter-Johnson added.

The board unanimously approved the grant.

During the public comment portion of the meeting, pastor Jeanette Bidne, who lives in Kiester Township, thanked the board for stewarding the county’s elections in conjunction with the state of Minnesota.

“I did not realize how much participation there was at the county level and I am here to thank you for the numerous elections you have stewarded,” Bidne said. “In the midst of this election cycle, there are pressures on our elections in our current political climate. I feel it is important that every eligible voter be able to vote, that their vote is honored and that those elected into office are duly seated. So I again thank you for the way you have stewarded our elections.”

The board also:

• Recognized Brady Rauenhorst, who is currently the county assessor, for his 10 years of service in Faribault County.

• Approved a five-year contract for CAMAvision Software with Vanguard Appraisals. This software is used in the assessor’s office.

• Approved issuing a credit card to Human Resources manager Mike McQuade with a limit of $2,500 for uses approved in the Faribault County Credit Card Policy.

• Approved a tax abatement for construction of new housing in Wells.

• Voted to approve an update in the Tax Abatement Policy for New Construction so that there is no maximum or minimum of housing units required for the abatement.

• Approved the request of county recorder Kelly Hendrickson to attend the Local Property Records Industry Association meeting and for Hendrickson and Korissa Libra of the recorder’s office to attend the Recorder’s District VIII meeting.

• Approved the request of Planning and Zoning administrator Sara Hauskins and Linda Adams of the Planning and Zoning office to attend the Minnesota Association of County Planning and Zoning Administrators Annual Conference.

• Voted to approve the request of Faribault County GIS coordinator Brandee Douglas to attend the Minnesota GIS/LIS Annual Conference.

• Approved the request of Erin Beske of the Faribault County Sheriff’s Department to attend training on Mortgage, Foreclosure and Redemption Issues.