The Polk County Board of Commissioners met on Tuesday, May 20, at 9:30 a.m. at the Government Center on N. Broadway in Crookston. After approval of the consent items and the County Board Member Issue Forum the Board moved to the Regular agenda.
James Tadman – Sheriff
Sheriff Tadman gave his monthly sheriff’s report for April. There were a total of 726 calls for service in April. The top call-related items were 161 Civil Process, 176 traffic Stops, 67 school patrols, 27 assisting other agencies, and 20 public assists. Sheriff Tadman also reviewed the number of calls that went through the dispatch center in April. There were a total of 2200 calls, with 577 of those being emergency, and the other 1623 were non-emergency.
The next two items for Sheriff Tadman were motions to fill positions at the Sheriff’s office. “We have a Community Resource Officer position, and his graduation is coming soon, so that position will be open,” says Tadman. “We also have a resignation from one of our Patrol Deputies, so we have a patrol position to fill as well.” The board approved unanimously of the Sheriff’s Department filling these positions.
The last item for Sheriff Tadman was a motion to approve a quote for remodeling of office space in the Social Services Office in McIntosh for the Sheriff’s Office use. “Social Services and Public Health work out of a building that they rent space in, in the City of McIntosh, and they have a couple of areas that they weren’t utilizing, and we need some areas that our deputies can work out of,” says Tadman. “We touched base with them and got some quotes and brought those forward so we can share some space with Social Services and a spot where our deputies can bring victims or people from the public in and be able to sit down with them and interview.”
The Sheriff’s Department had been using a space at the Transfer Station in Fosston, but Sheriff Tadman says it has never been a good location due to the smell and the flies. No matter what they tried, they could make the space acceptable to bring people into, especially in the hot months. The board approved the motion to remodel the McIntosh Social Services Office space using the quote provided at $11,494.00.
Social Services Director – Karen Warmack
Karen Warmack, Polk County Social Services Director, came to the board asking for approval for a DEED contract amendment. The amendment clarified additional language to further outline operational costs and associated services from Direct Program costs for DEED staff in East Grand Forks in the amount of $10,765.00. Outlining this operational cost did not change the total contract amount, which remains $577,772.00. The board approved the amendment to the DEED Contract unanimously.
Jacob Snyder – Assistant Environmental Services Administrator
There were two items on the agenda for Environmental Services on Tuesday. The first was a resolution for an Interim Use Permit for Richard and Rebekah Kruger, to allow home-based business operation out of an accessory Structure. “I had an interim use permit request for an at-home business out of an accessory structure for a bakery, in rural Polk County, just North of Fisher,” says Snyder. “They got approved today with several conditions. We will contact them to ensure they meet all ordinance standards.” Rebekah Kruger will be storing and selling her bakery items out of the 10’x16’ accessory building for people to stop by and purchase baked goods cooked in the Kruger home on the parcel.
The second item was for approval by the board to purchase window blinds for the Crookston Transfer Station. “I had an action item regarding window coverings at the Crookston Transfer Station Facility,” says Snyder. “I reminded the board it’s been a long time coming. We’ve been dealing with a lot of glare on our west-facing windows, which are most of our offices in that building.” Snyder provided the board with a quote from Crookston Paint and Glass for the window coverings. The total project cost will be $11,025.00, which is included in the budget for 2025. The board approved unanimously of the window blind purchase for the Crookston Transfer Station.
Alecia Helms – Human Resources
Human Resources Director Alecia Helms requested that the board approve licensure premium rates for seven different licensure levels to retain and develop Solid Waste Unit non-represented employees. There are three non-represented employees to whom Polk County will apply the same concept as the union positions regarding licensure premiums. The premium rates are as follows:
Special Provisional Boiler License $1
2nd Class Boiler License (A or B) $2
Waste Combustor License $3
1st Class Boiler License (A or B) $4
In-house Equipment Certification $5
Chief Boiler License $6
Boiler Examiner License $7
Employees may only receive one of the above premium/certification pay rates at a time, and they cannot be aggregated or compounded. The board unanimously approved the Licensure Premium Pay for Solid Waste Non-Represented Position.
Helms also asked the board to approve filling the open Mechanical Maintenance position at the Polk County Resource Recovery Facility. The position is responsible for maintenance and repair work. It is budgeted for 2025 as it was an existing position that was filled until recently. The board unanimously approved the filling of the position at the Resource Recovery Facility.
Polk County Property Records – Sam Melbye
Sam Melbye, in place of County Engineer Richard Sanders, brought to the board the Professional Services contract for Redetermination of Benefits and Grass Strip Acquisition with H2Over Viewers, LLC. Polk County approved of H20ver Views doing the redetermination at a previous meeting, and this was a motion to approve the Polk County Board, acting as the drainage authority, to sign the professional services contract. The board unanimously approved signing the contract with H2Over Viewers for the redetermination of benefits and grass strip acquisition.
Melbye also asked the board to approve redesigning the Polk County Official Newspaper. “The McIntosh Times and Richards Publishing have been discontinued as of the end of May,” says Melbye. “They were the official county newspaper, so we needed to designate a new one. We sent bid requests to the area newspapers, and 13 Towns was the low bid, so that they will be our new County Newspaper.” The board approved The 13 Towns as its designated official newspaper at the same rate per inch as they got with The McIntosh Times.
Polk County Administrator – Chuck Whiting
County Administrator Chuck Whiting asked the board to review and adopt the County Investment Policies by Abdo Financial Solutions and Jean McGann. “We’ve always managed taxpayers’ money here. What we are working on with Abdo, and the board approved today, is a formal investment policy,” says Whiting. “It’s a precursor to working with a broker following this policy. It’s a very conservative policy.” Whiting says they follow state statutes as they are working with public money, and having the policy lays the groundwork for the next steps. “When we have money, when we have expenses, how to tie longer-term investments towards our cash flow,” says Whiting. “We will work with the Finance Committee here in the next couple of weeks and likely talk to a couple of brokers who specialize in managing public funds and go from there.” The board unanimously approved the Investment Policies put before them. The board also adopted their 2026 Budget Calendar as the work is anticipated to begin shortly after Memorial Day.
Lastly, in the absence of Sarah Reese, Public Health Director, Whiting asked the board to approve a motion for advertising and hiring of a .8 FTE Wellness Coordinator, and any subsequent vacancies within Polk County Public Health due to filling the position from within. The board approved unanimously.