Stephanie Retzlaff

The meeting included the addition of a final plat named Cavari's Beauty Bay West and a letter of support to the agenda, as well as the removal of the highway capital improvement item. The board adopted a new political activity and Hatch Act compliance policy as part of the employee personnel rules. There was a discussion regarding the request for four new social worker positions in the child and family services unit to prepare for the Minnesota African-American Family Preservation and Child Welfare Disproportionality Act, with a plan to stagger the hiring process. Finally, a presentation was provided on the upstream mental health and well-being promotion efforts, including updates on the Credible Mind platform and local suicide prevention coalition activities.

The board approved agenda changes including a grant for child care project managers, a closed session for property sale discussion, and a discussion on county administrative operations. Key agenda items included the approval of professional service agreements for engineering and hydrogeology at landfills, discussions on legislative bills related to solid waste management, and the certification of four habitat conservation easements. The emergency manager presented the final hazard mitigation project assistance grant agreement for the replacement of a nonfunctional outdoor warning siren in the city of Clifil.

The board discussed and acted on several agenda items, including the approval of the 2026-2027 snowmobile club sponsorship resolution and the addition of the Chris Tungseth Day event to the agenda and administrative operations. Proclamations were passed to declare May as Foster Care Month and to recognize Child Care Provider Appreciation Day, with updates provided on local foster care licensing and childcare expansion projects, such as the Fergus Falls daycare expansion and childcare duplex developments. Additionally, the board moved to declare May as Mental Health Awareness Month and received a mission statement presentation from the LAC co-chairs regarding mental health advocacy and services in the county.

The board approved a collective bargaining agreement and associated memorandums of understanding, including provisions for paid family medical leave, comp time adjustments, and death benefits. Other approvals included the reinstatement of an assistant finance director position, an increase in hours for a lead maintenance worker position, an out-of-state travel request for a communication team member to attend a conference, and an annual resolution to accept donations. Additionally, the board discussed a request for penalty and interest forgiveness on property taxes and held a discussion regarding a work session for Pelican Rapids EMS.

The Board of Commissioners and Drainage Authority discussed several items, including adding staff to the collective bargaining unit, a waste delivery agreement with a local sanitation service, change orders for a construction project, and a resolution for state bonding support for infrastructure improvements. Additionally, they addressed the acquisition of tax-forfeited property for a park and reviewed the countywide transportation plan, along with the continued use of a local option transportation sales tax to fund planned infrastructure projects.