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April 3, 2012 Regular Commission MeetingMinutes of the Board of Ward County Commissioners
April 3, 2012
The regular meeting of the Ward County Commission was called to order by Chairman Fjeldahl at 9:00 a.m. with Comms. Gruenberg, Erickson, and Nybakken present; Comm. Christianson attended via phone. Also present were Highway Engineer Dana Larsen, States Attorney Roza Larson, and Auditor/Treasurer Devra Smestad.
Moved by Comm. Gruenberg, seconded by Comm. Erickson to approve the agenda with additions or corrections. Roll call: all voted yes; motion carried.
Moved by Comm. Gruenberg, seconded by Comm. Erickson to approve the minutes from the March 20, 2012 regular meeting. Roll call: all voted yes; motion carried.
Smestad presented the bills. Moved by Comm. Erickson, seconded by Comm. Nybakken to approve Social Welfare bills of $69,681.24 and the regular bills totaling $215,200.88. Roll call: all voted yes; motion carried.
Highway Engineer Dana Larsen appeared to set the Farm to Market Hearing. Moved by Comm. Gruenberg, seconded by Comm. Nybakken to set the Farm to Market hearing for May 24, 2012 at 6:00 p.m. in the Ex-Serviceman’s Room. Roll call: all voted yes; motion carried.
Larsen then summarized information obtained at the April 2nd CDBG meeting. Jason Zimmerman from the Souris Basin Planning Commission also appeared to comment.
Rice Lake Recreational Service District Board member Linda Anderson appeared. Anderson handed out the requested agreement between Robert Magandy and the Rice Lake Recreational Service District. Anderson also stated that the Board has received verbal approval from the State Water Commission for pumping. Once they receive the written approval, they will forward it to the Commission. Sheriff Steve Kukowski appeared and addressed concerns about the boat ramp remaining open. Comm. Fjeldahl asked that the Rice Lake Board, at their next meeting invite Sheriff Kukowski and a representative from the North Dakota Game and Fish to discuss concerns about boating and patrolling the lake.
Emergency Manager Amanda Schooling appeared. Schooling presented the Commission the Agreement for Cost Participation: Ward County Flood Acquisition. Due to several potential issues and questions that need to be addressed, Comm. Fjeldahl asked to review this agreement at the April 17th meeting.
Schooling provided the Commission information that summarized the cost for each individual township for road repairs. This was for informational purposes only.
Kenmare Economic Development representative Jamie Livingston appeared. Livingston asked the Commission to distribute the 2011 fiscal year allocation of $17,500. The Auditor/Treasurer’s Office did not receive a 2011 signed Contract or the invoice so that payment could be distributed. Moved by Comm. Erickson, seconded by Comm. Nybakken to do a budget amendment to allocate $17,500 to the Kenmare Economic Development from the Commissioner Contingency Fund. Moved by Comm. Christianson, seconded by Comm. Gruenberg to table this item until the next regular Commission meeting. Roll call: all voted yes; motion carried.
Captain Bob Barnard appeared. Moved by Comm. Gruenberg, seconded by Comm. Christianson to authorize the Sheriff’s Department to purchase the Load-O-Meter portable truck weighting scales at the approximate price of $49,000.00. Roll call: all voted yes; motion carried.
Moved by Comm. Nybakken, seconded by Comm. Erickson to approve the bid submitted by Kraft Builders for $9,912.00 to add evidence storage space to the garage area of the Ward County Jail. Roll call: all voted yes; motion carried.
Auditor/Treasurer Devra Smestad appeared and presented the Non-Grant Acquisition Committee recommendations. Moved by Comm. Fjeldahl, seconded by Comm. Nybakken to approve the request to add Dallas Lang’s parcel of land located at 5005 33rd Ave SE to which his garage sits on, to be added to the 3rd amended list for acquisition. Roll call: all voted yes; motion carried.
Comm. Nybakken presented the Personnel Committee Recommendation. Moved by Comm. Christianson, seconded by Comm. Gruenberg to approve the following Personnel Committee recommendations:
1. To Create a Planning/Zoning Administrator position at pay range 38 ($56,301 – 61,931); to have the position supervised by the County Engineer with the goal of making this a stand-alone department by January 2013.
2. To Advertise for a building inspector at the current pay range 22 ($42,012 – 46,213); to currently keep this position under the supervision of the Director of Tax Equalization.
4. To provide space for the Planning/Zoning Administrator in the back room of the Auditor/Treasurer’s Office by combining IT into two adjoining offices off of the Election Room. This could be made possible by vacating the election supply room by building shelves on the east side of the Election Room; and move the office supply storage area to the election supply room.
Roll call: all voted yes; motion carried.
Comm. Christianson requested that the recommendation #3 (To approve a budget amendment in the amount of $55,000 from the 2011 General Fund carryover to cover the expenses of the Planning/Zoning Administrator) be brought before the Commission at the next regular meeting with additional information.
Director of Tax Equalization Mike Vendsel appeared. Moved by Comm. Gruenberg, seconded by Comm. Erickson to approve the following application for abatement and/or correction of errors of assessments:
The following have submitted documents and qualify for the disabled veterans exemption:
The following have submitted documents and qualify for the homestead credit:
Roll call: all voted yes; motion carried.
Vendsel presented a prepared letter from Balfour Beatty Communities, LLC. Balfour has been contracted by the United States Air Force to manage all base housing at the Minot location. The letter informs Ward County that the housing will remain tax exempt. Moved by Comm. Gruenberg, seconded by Comm. Erickson to allow the Director of Tax Equalization Mike Vendsel to sign the letter and forward it to Russell P. Love. Roll call: all voted yes; motion carried.
Zoning Administrator/Building Inspector Mitch Flanagan Appeared. Moved by Comm. Nybakken, seconded by Comm. Erickson to approve the plat application submitted by Jerome Walsh for the following described property: Outlot 9 of NE S30-156-82 (McKinley Township). Roll call: all voted yes; motion carried.
Flanagan presented invoice #103114 from American Builders to the Commission regarding the demolition of a home in Ward County. The balance remaining after this payment will be the 20% retainage of $5,442.80 according to the contract. Moved by Comm. Nybakken, seconded by Comm. Erickson to approve the bill from American Builders in the amount of $8,640. Roll call: all voted yes; motion carried.
At 10:18 a.m., Comm. Christianson excused himself from the meeting.
Auditor/Treasurer Devra Smestad appeared. Moved by Comm. Gruenberg, seconded by Comm. Erickson to receive and file the following correspondence: Bremer Insurance – Flood Insurance Alert; North Prairie Rural Water – Sewer District; US Army Corp of Engineers – ND DOT Umbrella Mitigation Banking Instrument; Crowley/Fleck Attorneys – Supplemental Filing of Enbridge Pipelines; ND Dept of Health – Minot Landfill; AES – New Office in Minot; Devra Smestad – Meeting Notice Emails; Commissioner Erickson – Ward County Historical Society. Roll call: all voted yes; motion carried.
Smestad informed the Commission that the events tab on the County web page now has meeting information. She also stated we can only post information we are notified of.
Moved by Comm. Gruenberg, seconded by Comm. Erickson to approve the 2012 Contract with the Makoti Threshers Association. Roll call: all voted yes; motion carried.
Moved by Comm. Erickson, seconded by Comm. Fjeldahl to distribute the 2011 road and bridge funds as follows: Minot City Auditor - $5,828.94; Kenmare City Auditor - $83.14; Berthold City Auditor - $46.95; Burlington City Auditor - $87.35; Sawyer City Auditor - $28.26; Surry City Auditor - $106.51. Roll call: all voted yes; motion carried.
Moved by Comm. Gruenberg, seconded by Comm. Nybakken to approve the raffle permit for Miss Rodeo ND Pageant Association. Roll call: all voted yes; motion carried.
Moved by Comm. Gruenberg, seconded by Comm. Nybakken to approve the Special Use Permit for the VFW for April 13, 2012. Roll call: all voted yes; motion carried.
Moved by Comm. Gruenberg, seconded by Comm. Nybakken to approve the Gaming Site Authorization for 2012 – 2013 for Sertoma Club for the All Seasons Arena. Roll call: all voted yes; motion carried.
Moved by Comm. Nybakken, seconded by Comm. Gruenberg to approve Auditor/Treasurer Smestad to represent Ward County at the North Dakota Insurance Reserve Fund Annual Meeting. Roll call: all voted yes; motion carried.
Moved by Comm. Gruenberg, seconded by Comm. Erickson to approve the following payroll amendments: Kara Currie – Human Service Program Administrator I – Ward Co. Social Service (Level 19); Kayla Haugeberg – Juvenile Detention Officer – Juvenile Detention (Level16); Jennifer Peterson – Administrative Assistant – Ward County Social Services (Level 11); Terry Quinlen – Road Foreman – Highway Department (Level 22); Cassandra Robbins – Correctional Officer – Sheriff’s Department (Level 16). Roll call: all voted yes; motion carried.
Smestad asked the Commission if any would be attending the Economic Development Seminar on April 18th. Comm. Erickson stated he would like to attend.
Moved by Comm. Gruenberg, seconded by Comm. Nybakken to allow the Auditor/Treasurer to advertise the opening of Commission appointed expiring position(s) 6 weeks prior to the expiration date. Roll call: all voted yes; motion carried.
Smestad stated the 2011 Annual Reports from the individual departments were located on the table. These are to be received and filed at the next regular Commission meeting.
Human Resources Director Colleen Houmann introduced Richard Bolonchuk, the new Ward County Social Services Director.
At 10:36 a.m., with no further business, the meeting was adjourned.
ACCEPTED AND APPROVED THIS 17th DAY OF APRIL, 2012.
s/ John Fjeldahl –Chairman, Ward County Board of Commissioners
ATTEST: s/ Devra Smestad - Auditor/Treasurer, Ward County
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