Restoration ordered in Birch Lake issue in Todd County

Sherry Kutter spoke candidly to the Todd County Board of Commissioners during the open forum prior to the start of the regular board meeting on Feb. 7.

Kutter and her husband live on a small farm near Big Birch Lake. She talked to the board about the “blatant violations” that have been committed by Blake Elliott who owns property on Birch Lake.

Kutter said that Elliott has removed a lot of trees without permits to do so. She is worried about the erosion that could be caused on the narrow strip of land that connects to an island.

She said that Elliott had shown “very deliberate disrespect” for the ordinances in the county.

“The response of the county is being closely watched to see if the county settles or holds him responsible,” she said.

She said that if a settlement were made by the county there would be a loss of trust and respect and would send the citizens a message that the rich can do whatever they want and the “rest of us have to follow the rules.”

Commissioner David Kircher said that he has been in touch with Planning and Zoning Director Tim Stieber and a member of the Big Birch Lake Association. He said they were also seeing if the Sauk River Watershed District could get involved.

“He needs to be taught a lesson about our rules,” said Kircher.

“This is a blatant violation and it needs to get pushed through,” said Kutter.

Stieber commented that the court case had been heard the previous day and that Elliott had been fined $300. 

The plan for restoration was supposed to be designed by an engineer, but Elliott did not want to pay for that so he is doing it on his own. Stieber said his worry was that the county will have to hire an engineer to make sure it is done correctly.

Stieber said that Elliott pled guilty to the violations and has to complete the restoration project which Stieber described as returning the area to a stable vegetative state. He said the cart way out to the island will also need to be removed.

In other business:

o Approved a seasonal On sale, Off sale and Sunday liquor license for Birchwood Resort, effective April 15 - Oct. 15.

o Approved a one year On sale and Sunday liquor licenses for the Long Prairie Country Club and Saukinac Campground effective April 1, 2017 through March 31, 2018.

o Reappointed Al Loken, District 4 and Dave Determan, At-Large member, for new terms, Jan. 1, 2017, through Dec. 31, 2018, to the Todd County Parks and Trails Board.

o Approved Todd County to enter an agreement with the Minnesota Dept of Transportation to use Todd County State Aid Highway #41 as a detour route during the construction on Trunk Highway #238. MnDOT will pay Todd County $2,321.78 for the road life consumed by the detour.

o Approved the purchase of several pieces of equipment for the public works department (all at state bid price) including:

-Mack Truck from Nuss Truck & Equipment for $110,646.50 (includes trade). 

-Box and plow equipment from Towmaster, Inc. for $91,488.

-Dodge Ram 1500 Truck from Nelson Auto Center for $25,080.89.

-CAT 316 FL Excavator from Ziegler Equipment for $136,320.

The purchase of the excavator is believed to help save the county in the long term because they currently budget $6,000-$8,000 a year for the rental of a machine. Engineer Loren Fellbaum said they reduced this year’s budget by $6,000.

“This machine will pay for itself in 20 years and have resale value,” said Fellbaum.

Fellbaum said they’ve been fortunate and have been able to rent this machine in town, but the machine is aging and the next nearest rental is in Henning or St. Cloud, which takes time and effort to go get.

“By owning it we will save time, money and won’t waste a half a day to a whole day going to get it,” said Fellbaum.

Commissioner David Kircher said that when the department had purchased the crack filler and steamer the productivity of the workers went up because they didn’t have to go get the machine and there was no downtime.

“We’ve a big number of jobs to do in the summer and a short time to do them,” said Fellbaum.

The 2017 Public Works Budget contains $400,000 in funding for the purchase of various pieces of maintenance equipment. The amount will be $390,535.39.

o Accepted the resignation of full-time jailor/dispatcher Sherry Bryniarski and gave approval for her to begin the position on a part-time basis effective Feb. 3.

o Approved, with Kircher opposed, to advertise for a full-time jail programmer. The position is in the budget.

 Sheriff Don Asmus said that they could lose their license, if they don’t hire a programmer.

Kircher said they never fine them and they threaten to, but never close the jails (for not having this position filled).

Asmus said the position would be jail programmer and would also fill shifts as needed.He will advertise the position in-house first.

o Decided that additional security is needed in the court building and that a full-time court security employee should be hired. This position is in the 2017 Court Security budget.

o Approved hiring Andrew Mattson and Jacob Fasching as part-time jailor/dispatchers.

o The board approved the carryover of funds into 2017 from earnings from inmate texting and telephone calls. The sheriff wants this revenue to be used toward a new security camera system. The revenue amount incurred in 2016 is $4,979.79.

o Accepted the resignation of Brandon Spanswick from his position as court security officer effective Feb. 4.

o Approved posting in-house and advertising for part-time deputy/court security personnel and to establish a pool for future employment needs.

o Approved the carry forward of funds for Planning and Zoning totaling $81,359.82; for the Aquatic Invasive Species Program totaling $51,306.76; and for Fund 605 for $10,000 for vehicle purchases from 2016 to 2017 fiscal year.

o Approved an extension until Aug. 7 for three preliminary plats: 1) Maple Hill, 2 lot subdivision on Big Swan Lake, owner Darrell Bacon. 2) Pine Island Cove, 1 lot plat on Pine Island Lake, owner Pamela Borg, 3) First Addition to Ivan Addition, 2 lots, owner Larry Hansen.

o Approved the 2017 County Delegation Agreement with South Country Health Alliance. Health and Human Services Director Jackie Och said that there were no major changes to the agreement.

o Approved the request for HHS to recruit and hire a child support supervisor to fill the position left vacant by the resignation of Beth Shell.

The county had been contracting with Morrison County for 12 hours per week, from May 1, 2014 through March 28, 2016.

The position will be full-time.

Kircher said he thought they should have an additional support staff because of the demands on the staff.

Och thanked Kircher for recognizing those demands on her staff.

Kircher said he knew they were meeting their benchmarks, but that they needed to keep an eye on this.