The Pope County Board of Commissioners were told at their regular meeting last Tuesday of the possible presence of Emerald Ash Borer in Pope County.  

Ralph Hanson, Pope County Land Use Specialist II and Barry Bouwman, Pope County Agricultural Inspector told the board that the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) had been in the county investigating EAB and would likely confirm its arrival in Pope County.  (See related story on Page 1A of this issue.)

Both Hanson and Bouwman told the board that EAB had “tentatively” been identified and expected the MDA to confirm its presence here  last week.

The two county officials said they believe that EAB had been in the county “for a while.”  The two were going to view more sites in the county.  They said the first indications of the presence of EAB were found at a site close to the landfill in Glenwood Township.  

The MDA did confirm the presence of EAB in Pope County.  Emerald Ash Borer, or Agrilus Planipennis, is native to East Asia. This species was accidentally introduced to North America, where it has proceeded to spread in range and to kill species of ash trees where it exists. Since first being discovered in Minnesota in 2009, Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) has now spread to ash trees in 52 of Minnesota’s counties with the confirmation of spread to Pope County, it was reported by MDA.

A virtual informational meeting for residents and tree care professionals in Pope County will be held on Thursday, June 20, from 10–11 a.m. Experts from the MDA will give a brief presentation followed by a question-and-answer session.  The public can register for that informational meeting at www.mda.state.mn.us/eab.

In other business, the commissioners:

•Heard an update from Pope County Engineer Brian Giese who said the spring rains have been putting a damper on some of the county road maintenance this spring.  He did report that culvert replacement work on County Road 8 has been completed.  Next month expect the final payment request for that work, he told the board.  

He had no new information to report on contracted work on CR 15 which is scheduled to begin in July.  Giese said work could likely start in August and said it is plausible that work would be done on CR 18 before CR 15.  That contract is with Marks Sand & Gravel, the company that is also doing the work on State Highway 114 after Labor Day, so keeping the bituminous work closer to that date would benefit the contractor, he said.  “They would come early if we want them to,” Giese added. 

Giese also stated that the bid opening for work on County Road 17 was scheduled last week, adding that he wanted to have a conference with the board about the bid opening and because there was talk about adding utility conduit under the road that he’d like to confer with the board on upcoming communication with landowners about the project.  If the bids come in favorably, Giese said that project was scheduled to begin sometime after Labor Day.  The utility conduits were put into the bids for every affected property, Giese explained, but the intent was if landowners elect not to participate, “we’ll just delete them from the contract,” he said.

•Awarded a contract to Central Specialty, Inc. of Alexandria, the low bidder for a bituminous overlay project on CSAH 18 between Highways 104 and 29.  The bids received for the project were competitive with the two lowest bids being within $16,000 of each other and both at about 8 percent under the engineer’s estimate.  The low bid was for $2,468,539.

•Approved grant agreement from the state Local Road Improvement Program (LRIP) accepting  $965,000 for the overlay project on CR 18, bringing it to a 10-ton standard.  The board also approved a legal document stating the project is eligible for regular state aid funds.

 •Welcomed two new employees, James Ross and Melanie Siefkes back to Pope County.  James Ross worked at Pope County as a Deputy Sheriff from 2004 to 2008 before going to the City of Alexandria as a police officer.  He rejoins Pope County Sheriff’s Office as a deputy.  Melanie Siefkes worked as a Probation Case Aide at Pope County from 2016 to 2021 before leaving for a job in Kandiyohi County.  While at Kandiyohi Siefkes became a Probation Agent and now rejoins the Pope County Probation team as a Senior Probation Agent, it was stated by Jackie Stevens, Human Resources Director.

•Approved an application from St. John Nepomuk Church to conduct an Bingo and Raffle on August 11 of this year.  Also approved a permit for a one-day, on-sale liquor license for the church event on August 11.