County board moves forward on CR 17 tree removal
News | Published on October 24, 2022 at 12:13pm CDT
By Melanie Stegner
The Pope County board last week accepted a bid proposal from Steve’s Tree Service of Alexandria for the removal of the trees along CSAH 17.
Despite a civil lawsuit pending on the roadway reconstruction, legal representation has determined that there is nothing binding within the civil action that prevents the county from moving forward with the tree removal project as planned.
After much discussion ensuring that the tree-removal company is aware of the situation and understands the parameters, commissioners voted 4-1 in support of the bid with Haggerty voicing the only nay vote.
“We will have someone on site with the crew to ensure everything is done according to the proposed specifications. There were no appeals on the removal of the trees marked when it was discussed and brought before the public,” said Brian Giese, county engineer. “We are prepared to have the sheriff’s department and any other needed protection on hand to complete this portion of the project,” he added.
Last week’s board meeting started off with a public hearing to go over the annual public drainage information. Dave Orlowski, county drainage inspector, presented his report on the status of the public ditches and his budgeting recommendations. Orlowski maintains a fund for each ditch in order to maintain it, it was stated.
His recommendations included an amount for each ditch if it was needed as well as a contribution to the General Ditch Fund. The general ditch fund is in place to pay for various things that are not tied to just one particular ditch but spread out among all of them.
He also maintains a three-year plan for ditch management. The 2022-2023 projects and maintenance that have been completed and are expected to be completed are on ditches 9, 4, 10 and 12 and each requires basic cleaning consisting of removal of trees, sediment, debris, cattails and other brush and vegetation to reestablish proper flow of each system. Orlowski’s requests remain much the same this year as the last several years.
There were no members of the public on hand to make comments, so the public hearing portion of the meeting was closed, and the commissioners voted unanimously to approve the adoption of the annual drainage liens for 2022.
Orlowski also proposed some changes to the beaver bounty resolution. The current bounty is $60 and requires a tail for proof of procurement. The board has approved an increase to $100 for the bounty and a photo will be added to the policy to suffice as proof. This only applies to those who are approved to trap beavers with the drainage board.
The commissioners approved final payments to Duininck, Inc. for work completed on County Roads 1 and 3. “The work went well and nothing remarkable happened. There was some bad soil that had to be removed at the intersection of 1 and 18,” Giese stated.
Veterans Service Officer Hugh Reimers joined the meeting to provide information on a grant from the state. “For decades the State of Minnesota has provided an enhancement grant for County Veterans Service Offices. This grant is not provided by the state without a resolution of acceptance and appointment of a grantee from the county. Process steps are submission to the state of an approved resolution along with other grant documents. The state sends back a completed grant agreement that is signed and returned. The amount of the grant is based on the veteran population of the county. Pope County qualifies for $7500.00. The current veteran population is around 800,” voiced Reimers.
Commissioners approved licensure for Rolling Forks Vineyards for On Sale 3.2 Beer and On Sale Wine with Strong Beer. Third quarter finances, auditor bills and trail balance and fund balance information were approved as well as several personnel policy updates for the handbook.
An agreement for the ag inspector contractor was approved to engage Barry Bouwman into the position as a consultant. The maximum cost to the county will be $15,260 during the course of the agreement. Bouwman is not a new face to the position as a recent retiree of the department. “We are lucky to have him willing to do this as he has a wealth of knowledge and rapport with the operations under his care. It’s also beneficial as we look to hire and train an individual for this position,” stated David Green.
At this point, the meeting went into closed session to consider development of a purchase offer for certain real property on parcel 21-0198-000, it was stated.
