Month: January 2023

The Polk County Board of Commissioners met for a regular meeting on Tuesday morning at the Polk County Government Center.

HIGHWAY-RICHARD SANDERS

The board was then approached by County Engineer Richard Sanders with a resolution to advance $400,000 of town bridge funds for town bridge and box culvert replacements in the summer. He reported that Polk County’s current Township Bridge Account had no money left, and in order to set a letting date, Funding Letters needed to be approved by State Aid for each project. He reported the county receives town bridge funds every year, but that wouldn’t be enough funding to do more than one Township Bridge replacement. “Typically, the county gets about $170,000 of town bridge funds every year, and right now, about $170,000 would only cover one structure. We have about five or six township bridge requests to have bridges replaced, so by advancing this $400,000. It gives the ability to do more than one replacement this summer,” Richard Sanders explained. “So, we’re hoping to get at least four, if not five, done by allowing this $400,000 advancement.” The board approved the motion unanimously.

PUBLIC HEALTH-SARAH REESE

Public Health Director Sarah Reese then approached the board with a request to recommend more Opioid Settlement Advisory Council Members. The additional members she recommended included Nicole Brandt, Jennifer Berhow, and Kelsey Helgeson. The board approved the recommendations unanimously.

ADMINISTRATION-CHUCK WHITING

The board was then approached by County Administrator Chuck Whiting, who came forward with a resolution to designate the county’s website as the official site for the publication of invitations to bid on Polk County’s transportation projects. The board approved the motion unanimously.

Designating Delegates to the Association of Minnesota Counties & Payment of Dues

Whiting then proposed a resolution to designate the county’s dues to the State and National Association of County Commissioners for 2023 and designate individuals to attend the Association of Minnesota Counties meetings. Whiting stated the board designates all of its members as delegates to serve on various committees for the Association. The board approved the motion unanimously.

2023 Mileage, Meals, and Lodging Reimbursement Rates

Whiting’s final item included the board setting reimbursement rates for meals and mileage costs incurred by county department employees for travel expenses that were set by the IRS. “Generally, our policy is that we follow IRS guidelines for mileage, meals, and lodging reimbursement. Those generally get updated by the IRS this time of year and are usually ready by the first meeting of the calendar year,” Chuck Whiting explained. “We have the board adopt it, and they can vary from it if they want, but our general policy is just to adopt the IRS rates.” This year, he reported that the IRS’s mileage rate for reimbursing employees for travel using their personal vehicles had increased to $.655 per mile, which was three cents per mile over 2022. The board also changed their meal reimbursement rates in 2016 to federal meal reimbursement rates for in and out-of-state meals. He explained there were four areas in Minnesota with location-specific per diem rates specified by the federal government, but the general Minnesota per diems were $98 per night lodging and $59 per day meals. The board approved all three of the IRS’s recommended amounts unanimously.

The Board of Commissioners will next meet on Tuesday, January 17, at the Polk County Government Center.

The post POLK COUNTY COMMISSIONERS APPROVE FUND ADVANCEMENT FOR SUMMER BRIDGE AND CULVERT REPLACEMENTS appeared first on KROX.

The Northwest Regional Corrections Center reported the following arrests.

Arthur James Paulson, 63, of Grand Forks, for 3rd-Degree DUI

Juan Jamie Vielma Martinez, 29, of Grand Forks, for Driving after his Driver’s License was canceled.

The post ARREST/FIRE REPORT-JANUARY 5, 2023 appeared first on KROX.

The Crookston School Board met for a Special meeting on Wednesday afternoon.

CALL TO ORDER

After the Call to Order, the board began with Chairperson Frank Fee welcoming new board member Marcia Meine by having her complete and sign an Oath of Office for the Crookston School Board.

Policy 209

The board then began reviewing School Policy 209: Code of Ethics. Interim Superintendent Dave Kuehn explained that the Policy reminds the board of their responsibilities to the School District and to work with the Superintendent to help improve the district.

Election of Officers

The board then began a process of electing officers for the board. The first position was up for nomination for a new chairperson of the board, where board member Dave Davidson nominated Frank Fee to retake his position. When no other nominations came forward, the board elected Frank Fee unanimously. The next position was for the board’s Clerk. Tim Dufault nominated board Member Mike Theis to take the position, and when no other nominations came forward, the board elected him unanimously. The final position up for election was for the School Board Treasurer. Patty Dillabough nominated Tim Dufault for the position, and when no other nominations came forward, the board elected him unanimously.

MAIN AGENDA

The board then made a motion to designate the official law firms for the school. Board Chairperson Frank Fee recommended that the school hire Fischer, Rust, Stock & Rust, PLLC, and Ratwik, Roszak & Maloney, PA, as the school’s official law firms. Mike Theis motioned to hire both law firms as the official law firms for the school, which the board approved unanimously.

Designating Official Media Outlets

The board then made a motion to designate the official law media outlets for the school board’s meeting. Frank Fee recommended that the board designate the Crookston Times and KROX Radio Station as the school’s media outlets. The board approved the motion unanimously.

School Board meeting dates & times

The board then saw a list of meetings of dates and times for their future meetings, which was designated to be the fourth Monday of each month at 5:00 p.m., with the one exception being their December 11 meeting being at 6:00 p.m. for the Truth in Taxation Hearing. The board approved the dates unanimously.

School Board Committee Assignments

The board then began assigning School Board Committee assignments to members of the School Board. Frank Fee explained that they were keeping most of their assignments the same, with the only chances being that Marcia Meine would be taking former member Adrianne Winger’s position as a member of the Policy and World’s Best Workforce Standing Committees, ECFE Advisory Board, and liaison for Education Foundation. The other changes included Mike Theis as the School Board’s Clerk and making Patty Dillabough the school’s representative for the Northern Lights Academy in the Red River Valley Juvenile Center board.

ICON Architects Presentation on upcoming School Building Projects

The board then welcomed Todd Blixt from ICON Architects to hear a presentation about the two upcoming School Building Projects. The first project they presented was the High School remodel for the addition of a Middle School.
He explained that the project would be built down by the school’s library, where they would convert some of it to be new classrooms. He explained that some of the District Offices used to be classrooms, and they now wished to convert them back into classrooms, which should be easy for them to do by just taking down some of the walls. They would then turn some of the areas in front of the old offices into a Middle School Commons area to have the students have a common area like the High School area. They would also change some rooms in the south side of the library with the IT department and computer lab into three large classrooms (blue area) with walls reaching up to the ceiling instead of just eight feet high to separate them and the IT supply room but keeping the computer lab intact. They would also move the IT department to the other end of the library. Mike Theis asked if the IT department needed an office that big, and Blixt pointed out they could turn it into more offices if they had to. They would then move the District Offices next to one of the Special Education areas near the front end of the school (gray areas). “With some of those classrooms that were needed for that Middle School concept, some of the classrooms that were there when the building was built were converted into the District Office. So, as part of this remodel, the District Office needs to find a new location because it will return to being classrooms, which is what it was back when the building opened. We looked through the area where it will move to within the high school, so it will still be located within the High School building, just a different part of it,” Interim Superintendent Dave Kuehn explained. “There’s still a little bit of work and a few pieces of the puzzle we still need to figure out where we’re going to put up some walls to provide some small group or office space at the High School. But, that project is ready to roll once school is done in May, and we feel comfortable that project will be completed by early or middle August in time for the start of school.”
Blixt said they were still planning some areas for the Special Education and District Offices for the Middle School Administrator and other offices. He also noted they would have to redo the sprinkler system for the new rooms but believed that the project should be completed on schedule. Pictures of the Middle School addition can be seen below-

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The other project presented was the new preschool addition that will be added to Highland Elementary School, which would begin construction in the spring and be completed in the summer of 2024. Blixt explained that the project would be added around the east side of the school, and they would create a new pick-up and drop-off path around the parking lot. However, they would potentially need to hire a few crossing guards to help keep the children being dropped off at the school safe from cars leaving the parking lot. The project would add six new classrooms, a new administration area near the back end of the school (green area), a Sensory room next to one of the classrooms, and several new family restrooms and conference rooms. “The board got a chance to hear and see some of the information about what the preschool addition will look like with the rooms, lockers, cabinets, and some of the other spaces that will be included, like an elevator that will be added in and the parking lot drop-off. There’ll be some major changes to that east side of Highland, and will be a really attractive addition to Highland that will house the preschool and have some areas for parking and a safe drop zone. Some of the challenges is trying to figure out where we’ll put playgrounds and how we’ll move some of those spaces around.” The final additions were a Special Education classroom out of an old room on the north side that was close to the other Special Education rooms and a room for ECFE out of an old storage area that they would make bigger by tearing down one of the walls on the south side. Pictures of the preschool plan can be seen below-

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Snow/Storm Days Exceed Plan

The board then began discussing options for the district to use in case they exceed their five allotted storm days. Superintendent Kuehn reported that they had used three already but wished to collaborate their options with staff and the administration about possibilities they could use as they didn’t have as many good options for snow days over the first half. “When you use three of your five days in December, it puts a little more urgency on having a plan in place on what happens if we do use up the five days allotted by the contracts with our staff. But if we happen to get to a Day six or seven with Storm Days, what’s our plan in terms of how do we get some more student contact time back into our calendar? We’re going to share details with our staff in the next couple of days through our principal groups as it allows our staff and parents to plan accordingly if this happens.” One of the options Kuehn brought forward was using the Monday of Easter break or one of the days of President’s Day weekend. However, he noted that President’s Day would probably not work as many staff members have likely made plans for it as they have to inform the district they will leave within 90 days of a vacation. Another option was using the Staff Development Day on March 20 and turning it into a Student Contact Day. There was another option for the end of the year on June 2, but it was also not a great option for staff and students, with it being after finals. After some discussion, the board said they would communicate more with the staff and noted they were leaning toward using the Easter and Staff Development Day options but would discuss it further at their meeting on January 23.

Superintendent mid-year evaluation preparation

The board then began discussing preparations for the Superintendent’s mid-year evaluation to be reviewed at the School Board meeting on Monday, January 23. Chairperson Fee said they would send the evaluation in an email this week but noted they wouldn’t do an end-of-the-year. The board approved the motion unanimously.

Appointing Election Judges

The board finished the meeting by appointing election judges for their upcoming election for the district’s referendum on February 14. They first brought forward a resolution establishing the Absentee Ballot Board. The board then selected Kathy Altringer and Beth Benoit as the Co-Head Judges of the board, with Jacalyn Coauette, Debby Domier, Ray Dusek, Jan Kelly, Jerry Knutson, Kari Kujava, Paulette Melbye, Marlys Mjoen, Gene/Geri Ovsak, and Tom Skjei to be a part of the Election Judge Roster. The board approved the Ballot Board and Judge Roster unanimously.

The next School Board meeting will take place on Monday, January 23, at 5:00 p.m. inside the Crookston High School Choir/Orchestra room.

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The post CROOKSTON SCHOOL BOARD RECEIVES PRESENTATION ON CHS AND HIGHLAND SCHOOL ADDITIONS appeared first on KROX.