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Pipestone County Commissioner Meeting
May 27, 2025
The Pipestone County Commissioners met with Chairman, Chris Hollingsworth, Commissioners, Luke Johnson, Doug Nagel, Dan Wildermuth and Dallas Roskamp.
County Administrator Steve Ewing was also present. Chairman Hollingsworth called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. with the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.
AGENDA
Motion by Roskamp, seconded by Wildermuth to approve the agenda. Motion carried unanimously.
CONSENT AGENDA
Motion by Johnson, seconded by Nagel to approve the consent agenda as follows:
1. Approve Commissioners Minutes 5/13/25
2. Approve Auditors Warrants: 5/16/25, 5/22/25
3. Approve Commissioners Warrants: $116,009.78
4. Approve Hospital Warrants $993,357.03
Motion carried unanimously.
As per Minnesota Statute 375.12 the following Commissioner Warrants information is presented:
Bueltel-Moseng Land Surveying, Inc.(vendor name at payment), 66,960.00 (total amount)
MN Counties Computer Cooperative Lockbox, 12,295.22
Erickson Engineering Co Inc, 7,088.50
U.S. Postal Service (Neopost Postage), 5,000.00
Southwest Health & Human Services, 3,643.34
Quist Plumbing & Heating Inc, 3,097.62
Pipestone County Medical Center, 2,605.00
Surplus Warehouse of Willmar Inc, 2,305.00
Lewis Drug Stores, 2,165.02
American Solutions For Business, 2,114.79
WARRANTS OVER $2,000, 107,274.49
NUMBER OF CLAIMS UNDER $2,000, 93
WARRANTS UNDER $2,000, 8,735.29
TOTAL, 116,009.78
PROJECT UPDATES, PROJECTS UNDER CONTRACT, PROJECTS IN THE PLANNING STAGE
County Engineer Nick Bergman provided information on project updates, projects under contract and projects in the planning stage.
Engineer Bergman requested board approval for a Right of Way payment for project SAP 59-599-143 to Robert D and Jamie L. Jasper for $250.00 and to pay as an Auditor Warrant. Motion by Johnson, seconded by Nagel to approve the Right of Way payment request. Motion carried unanimously.
Engineer Bergman requested board approval to purchase chemicals for weed spraying. Quotes were received from Edgerton Ag., Edgerton, MN for $14,971.25 and Nutrien for $16,593.00. Engineer Bergman recommended the purchase from Edgerton Ag and pay as an Auditors Warrant. There may be a .82% chemical tax, if so it will be added to the price. Motion by Wildermuth, seconded by Roskamp to purchase the weed spray chemical from Edgerton Ag for $14,971. 25. Commissioner Nagel requested that Engineer Bergman check for state contract pricing from Nutrien. Engineer Bergman will confirm the pricing from Nutruien and will purchase accordingly if the county received state bid pricing or if state bid pricing is available. Motion carried unanimously.
Engineer Bergman requested that the board set a bid opening date of June 24, 2025 at 10:00 A.M. for the July through December 2025 fuel purchase. Motion by Johnson, seconded by Nagel to set the fuel bid opening as recommended. Motion carried unanimously.
Engineer Bergman and Facilities Manager Kyle Evans presented a request to purchase an Iron Bull DWB8316072 pickup dump trailer to be shared by Road and Bridge and Maintenance Departments. Quotes were received from Advantage RV, Watertown, SD for $11,549.00 and Empire Motorsports, Sioux Falls, SD for $12,198.00 for a model DTB8316072. Both trailers have electric brakes and the unit from Empire Motorsports has thicker sidewall steel. Recommedation is to purchase the unit from Advantage RV, Watertown, SD. Motion by Wildermuth, seconded by Roskamp to purchase the trailer as recommended from Advantage RV, Watertown SD. Ayes, Wildermuth, Roskamp, Johnson, Hollingsworth. Nays, Nagel. Motion carried.
SAFE STREETS FOR ALL PLANNING GRANT SOUTHWEST REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Mr. Chris Webb, Planning Representative from Southwest Regional Development Commission presented information to the board on the USDOT Safe Streets 4 All Planning Grant. The Southwest Minnesota Safe Streets Action plan, led by the Southwest Regional Development Commission aims to develop a comprehensive safety action plan to enhance road safety for the entire multi-modal transportation network. This plan will address pedestrian, cyclist, and vehicle safety issues, promote safer intersections and road segments, and implement proactive measures to prevent traffic-related injuries and fatalities.
This project will engage local stakeholders, Toward Zero Death coalitions, local law enforcement, transportation sector participants, and a regional engineering firm to analyze current safety data, assess high-risk areas, and prioritize actionable improvements across multiple urban and rural communities.
Local jurisdiction’s commitment would be one elected official and one staff member to attend 3 to 4 policy and technical advisory group meetings. Funding requested from the county would be an 80%, 20% match of approximately $3,000 to $4,000 per county. Time commitment would be 8 to 10 hours over the two year period. Bollig Engineering would be providing the technical portion of the work. Commissioners took the information under advisement and will discuss further at either the June 10 or June 24 board meeting.
U.S FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE REQUEST FOR MOTION
Mr. Eric Earhart and Mr. John Byer attended the meeting to request a board motion of non-objection to acquire properties in fee title or easement using Land and Water Conservation Funds (LWCF) within the Northen Tallgrass (NTP) National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) project area. The project area is the Pipestone Creek Unit of the NTP NWR. Commissioners discussed the request and had concerns regarding the term “non-objection” to the action requested. Commissioners would be agreeable to the term “support” versus “non-objection.” Commissioners took no action on the request and invited Mr. Earhart and Mr. Byer back to a board meeting in June to discuss further.
GIS PICTOMETRY PROPOSAL, BUFFER ENFORCEMENT GRANT
Environment Administrator Kyle Krier presented a request from Eagleview to provide a Pictometry flight of Pipestone County in 2026. It would include a 3 inch area in the cities covering 17 square miles and a 6 inch in the rural areas covering 471 square miles. The last flight was in 2023 and would have flight every other year. Total bi-annual cost would be $60,464.00. Funds would be allocated from the GIS fund. Motion by Johnson, seconded by Wildermuth to authorize the allocation of the GIS funds for the Pictometry, ESRI Software Maintenance Contract and ProWest Contracted Services for GIS Projects. Motion carried unanimously.
PERSONNEL
Human Resources Director Charlotte Seager reported to the board the following:
Current job openings are Administrative Support Specialist Extension, County Assessor, and Deputy Treasurer 1. Pam Thies will be retiring May 30. Pam has been with the county for 32 years. Braxton Thompson has been hired as Full Time Deputy Sheriff, start date to be determined. To increase the county’s efforts to broaden recruitment the HR Department has partnered with College Central Network to connect the county with college students and recent graduates nationwide. HR and Administration have begun a review of our Human Resources Information System (HRIS) and payroll platform. While the current system is functional, it has become increasingly outdated and lacks many of the features and integrations that modern solutions offer. Systems will be evaluated through vendor demonstrations, peer agency benchmarking and total cost analysis.
Chairman Hollingsworth adjourned the meeting at 10:27 a.m.
Chris Hollingsworth
Pipestone County Board Chairman
ATTEST:
Steven Ewing
County Administrator