March 5 Board Minutes

HOUSTON COUNTY
PROCEEDINGS OF THE
BOARD OF COUNTY
COMMISSIONERS
Date: March 5, 2024
9:00 a.m.
Place: Commissioners Room,
Courthouse, Caledonia, MN
Members Present: Dewey
Severson, Eric Johnson,
Robert Burns, Bob Schuldt, and
Greg Myhre
Presiding: Chairperson Johnson
Call to order.
Pledge of Allegiance.
Motion was made by Commissioner Severson, seconded by
Commissioner Schuldt, motion
unanimously carried to approve the
agenda.
Wagner said there was one
typo in a name in the minutes.
The typo had been corrected. Motion was made by Commissioner
Burns, seconded by Commissioner
Myhre, motion unanimously carried
to approve the meeting minutes
from February 27, 2024 with the
correction.
APPOINTMENTS
Wagner presented the 2023
Houston County Economic Development Authority (EDA) Annual
Report to the Commissioners. She
said 2023 was a year of positive
growth for the Houston County
EDA and its partners. In addition
to providing assistance for several
business development projects,
the EDA continued to strengthen ongoing initiatives. The EDA
was involved with five grants that
were awarded in Houston County in 2023. The EDA administered
three EDA loans totaling $150,000
to Houston County businesses in
2023. The EDA currently had 13
active loans and at the end of the
year had $441,293.71 available
to lend to starting and expanding
businesses in Houston County. Ongoing initiatives included the Bluff
County Collaborative which had
grown into an established partnership with area schools including all
Houston County School Districts,
many area businesses, and several organizational partners. Other
initiatives included the Childcare
Initiative, Farming Initiative, Keep
Company Co-Working Space, Root
River Trail, and Houston Area Preservation Initiative to name a few. In
2023 the EDA would be working on
housing in addition to the work they
were already doing.
CONSENT AGENDA
Motion by Commissioner Myhre,
seconded by Commissioner Burns,
motion unanimously carried to approve the consent agenda. Items
approved are listed below.
1) Accept the resignation of Linda Ulmen, Custodian II, effective
03/08/2024 and thank her for 3
years of service.
2) Approve initiating a competitive search for a 1.0 FTE Custodian.
3) Approve 2024 contract with
NorthWoods Consulting Partners
for Traverse case document management system for social services.
ACTION ITEMS
File No. 1 – Commissioner Burns
moved, Commissioner Severson
seconded, motion unanimously
carried to approve a contract with
Semcac for family homeless prevention services. The County had
recently received funding from the
Minnesota Department of Revenue
to fully support the contract.
File No. 2 –Commissioner Burns
moved, Commissioner Severson
seconded, motion unanimously
carried to approve purchasing a
new AS400. The cost would be
$43,910.00. IT Director Milde said
installation would be in addition to
the purchase price and be between
$4,000-$6,000.
DISCUSSION ITEMS
Commissioners discussed recent meetings they had attended
and upcoming meetings including
a Workforce Development Inc.,
SELCO Finance Committee, Hiawatha Valley Mental Health, Opioid Settlement, Root River Soil and
Water, and Wildcat meeting.
There being no further business
at 9:37 a.m., a motion was made
by Commissioner Burns, seconded
by Commissioner Myhre, motion
unanimously carried to adjourn the
meeting.
BOARD OF COUNTY
COMMISSIONERS HOUSTON
COUNTY, MINNESOTA
By: Eric Johnson, Chairperson
Attest: Polly Heberlein,
Interim Auditor/Treasurer
THE ABOVE PROCEEDINGS OF
THE HOUSTON COUNTY BOARD
OF COMISSIONERS IS ONLY A
SUMMARY. THE FULL TEXT IS
AVAILABLE FOR PUBLIC INSPECTON AT THE HISTORIC HOUSTON
COUNTY BUILDING AS WELL AS
AT THE FOLLOWING WEB ADDRESS: https://www.co.houston.
mn.us/.
Published in
The Caledonia Argus
March 20, 2024
1381021