Lake of the Woods County Board Commissioners Meeting Proceedings

APPROVAL OF AGENDA Motion was made by Commissioner Joe Grund, seconded by Commissioner Ed Arnesen and carried unanimously to approve the agenda with the following changes: Add: Permission to Advertise/Interview/hire, Set Road Tour & Ditch Meeting Dates, FY21 Amended Stonegarden Grant, and Closed Session-Williams Creek.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES Motion was made by Commissioner Jon Waibel, seconded by Commissioner Buck Nordlof and carried unanimously to approve the official minutes of September 10, 2024.

SOCIAL SERVICES Claims Motion was made by Commissioner Buck Nordlof, seconded by Commissioner Ed Arnesen and carried unanimously to approve the following claims: Commissioners Warrants $7,691.55; Commissioners Warrants $2,123.38; Commissioners Warrants $11,956.08.

Set Public Hearing Date-Lodging Tax Ordinance Motion was made by Commissioner Jon Waibel, seconded by Commissioner Ed Arnesen and carried unanimously to set a Public Hearing for Lodging Tax Ordinance on October 22, 2024 at 10:00 a.m.

Extension Agreement Motion was made by Commissioner Jon Waibel, seconded by Commissioner Joe Grund and carried unanimously to approve the Extension agreement between Lake of the Woods County and University of Minnesota effective January 1, 2025 through December 31, 2027.

Land & Water Land & Water Director Josh Stromlund gave a brief update on timber sales from the logging of a county owned parcel in the Zippel Bay area.

Public Works Road Upgrade Policy-10 Ton Road Motion was made by Commissioner Joe Grund, seconded by Commissioner Jon Waibel to approve the road upgrade policy for 10 ton roads.

Motion was made by Commissioner Jon Waibel, seconded by Commissioner Buck Nordlof and carried unanimously to approve the request to advertise, interview, & hire for two heavy equipment operator positions.

Updates County Engineer Anthony Pirkl gave an update on various highway projects.

Set County Road Tour Date Motion was made by Commissioner Ed Arnesen, seconded by Commissioner Joe Grund and carried unanimously to set the county road tour date for October 21,2024 at 8:00a.m. 

Set Ditch Meeting Motion was made by Commissioner Jon Waibel, seconded by Commissioner Buck Nordlof and carried unanimously to set the ditch meeting for October 23, 2024 at 6:00 at Arnesen’s Rocky Point.

Opioid Settlement Advisory Council Members of the Opioid Settlement Advisory Council discussed the need for prevention and treatment in the Baudette Area. The recommendation from the councils previous meeting is to spend $13,000.00 from the Opioid Settlement Funds to cover start-up costs for a local treatment service. Motion was made by Commissioner Jon Waibel, seconded by Commissioner Joe Grund and carried unanimously to approve the recommendation to spend $13,000.00 out of the Opioid Settlement Fund to pay for start-up costs for treatment services in the Baudette area.

Sheriff FY21 Amended Stonegarden Grant Motion was made by Commissioner Jon Waibel, seconded by Commissioner Ed Arnesen and carried unanimously to approve the amendment to the FY21 Stonegarden Grant from $119,700.00 to $141,498.00.

Lake of the Woods School Referendum Presentation Jeff Nelson and Tim Lyons gave a presentation regarding the upcoming referendum questions on the November general election ballot. Further information can be found on the Lake of the Woods School website.

Arrowhead Library Executive Director Mollie Stanford, Finance Director Mickey Erickson, Baudette Library Director Kelly Pelland, and Committee Member Colleen Stanton introduced themselves to the board and discussed the projects and budget for Arrowhead Library Systems and how the funds are used locally.

WHEREAS, the Minnesota Open Meeting Law, Minn. Stat. § 13D.03, subd. 1 states that:

WHEREAS, the Lake of the Woods County Board of Commissioners shall hold a closed meeting on September 24th, 2024 at 11:30 AM to consider strategy for labor negotiations.  The closed session shall be held at the Lake of the Woods County Courthouse, Commissioners’ Room, 206 8th Ave. SE, Suite 234, Baudette Minnesota 56623; and BE IT RESOLVED by the Lake of the Woods County Board of Commissioners as follows:

WHEREAS, the Minnesota Open Meeting Law, Minn. Stat. § 13D.05, subd. 3(b) states that “meetings may be closed if the closure is expressly authorized by statute or permitted by the attorney-client privilege”; and

WHEREAS, Lake of the Woods County entered into a Settlement Agreement (“Agreement”) in the Matter of Hibbing Taconite Mine and Stockpile Progression and Williams Creek Project Specific Wetland Mitigation, which Agreement was dated October 6, 2015 (OAH Docket No. 11-2004-31655); and

WHEREAS, the Agreement resolved issues prior to litigation; and 

WHEREAS, parties to the Agreement, are seeking to modify certain terms and conditions of the Agreement; and

WHEREAS, the Lake of the Woods County Board seeks to meet with its attorney, to discuss the modification of the agreement; and

WHEREAS, it would be detrimental to the interests of the Lake of the Woods County Board to hold a public discussion with its attorney regarding the strengths and weaknesses of its legal position(s), strategy, and potential settlement position regarding the requested modifications, where an opposing party or opposing attorney could listen to or be made aware of Lake of the Woods County’s positions; and

WHEREAS, there is an absolute need for the Lake of the Woods County Board to obtain confidential legal advice regarding the potential settlement modifications in order to maintain the attorney-client privilege.

BE IT RESOLVED by the Lake of the Woods County Board as follows:

2.              The specific subjects to be discussed, pursuant to Minn. Stat. § 13D.01, subd. 3, are the legal strategy in the Office of Administrative Hearings matter as set forth in the recital above and any settlement proposals regarding the modifications to the Agreement requested by Cliffs, which may be made by or responded to by the Lake of the Woods County Board.

Adjourn Motion was made by Commissioner Joe Grund, seconded by Commissioner Ed Arnesen and carried unanimously to adjourn the meeting at 12:40 a.m.