by Janet Hansen

 

After a few routine household duties, the board of commissioners Tuesday, Sept. 16 meeting was recessed and a meeting of the Ransom County Park Board called to order. Mike Martin, board chairman, presided over the meeting, which centered around the board’s 2009 budget. 

Martin asked Connie Gilbert, county auditor, to provide the park board with a list of grants which have been awarded by the park board. It was discussed that, at one point, the park board had accumulated approximately $31,000.00 in its reserve fund. It was decided to use those funds to award grants to county entities which applied for park and recreation funds. By awarding a considerable number of grants over the years, the reserve fund has now been reduced to just under $4,000.00. 

The park board had turned in a budget request for $22,061.00 for the next fiscal year. It was discussed that the board is allotted only one mill, which, this year, will amount to $17,869.00, according to Gilbert. The county board, after discussing the park board’s budget at their budget committee meetings, made the following recommendations. It was suggested that the $2,500.00 line item designated for Little Yellowstone Park be reduced to $1,500.00, and the $1,500.00 line item for general fund and the $1,000.00 line item for miscellaneous both be deleted. This would bring the park board’s budget for the upcoming year down to $18,561.00.

In the discussion which followed the proposal, Martin stated that he would rather see the board’s  grant money be cut back and the money for Little Yellowstone, which is generally given to Barnes County to help with their work at the park, remain as in their initial request. He stated that he had many fond memories of Little Yellowstone Park and wanted it to be well-maintained. He appreciated the work that Barnes County has done with it and wanted that work to continue. For the past several years Ransom County has allotted some of their park and recreation funds to be given to Barnes County to help with maintenance of the park. As far as cutting back on the grant funds, Martin said that basically everyone who had applied up to this time had been given a grant. He suggested that he and John Kwapinski, who also serves on the county park board, could set up some kind of guidelines as to how the grant money could be distributed.  Kevin Bishop stated that he disagreed. He believed that since the Ransom County road crew contributes time and energy to the upkeep of Little Yellowstone, the county should not feel obligated to give Barnes County so much money for the park’s upkeep. He stated that Ransom County and the Scenic Byway Committee have also put money into the park, so Barnes County is not the only entity providing for its upkeep. Bishop also pointed out that approximately two-thirds of the park is located in Barnes County while only a third is in Ransom County. He added that he hated to see grant matching funds cut, since he believed the grants had been a good thing which had helped many local parks and recreational entities. He added that the grants were a good thing because the money stayed within the county.

Other board members pointed out that Little Yellowstone Park is not used nearly as much as it used to be.  

After further discussion, Bishop made a motion to approve the park board budget at $18,561.00, as suggested by the budget committee. The motion was seconded by Steve Dick and carried with Bishop, Dick, Wayne Jones, George Bunn, Neil Olerud, and Martin all voting “Aye.”

In other park board business, Skip Milton, McLeod, requested the county park board’s help in getting a grant for the McLeod Historical Society. Milton explained that the McLeod group had applied for a $5,000.00 grant from Garrison Diversion. They were told that their project sounded worthy of the grant, but grant funds could only be given to organizations with a C-3 designation. Since the historical society does not have that designation, it was suggested that they go through the county park board, which does have the C-3 designation. The park board agreed to help by signing the application form, accepting the grant funds and then turning it over to the McLeod Historical Society. Jones made a motion authorizing Martin to sign the letter and allowing the grant funds to go through the county park board. Bunn seconded the motion which passed with Jones, Bunn, Dick, Olerud, Bishop, and Martin all voting in favor.

On another matter, Shawn Mayfield, engineer, Kadrmas, Lee, and Jackson (KLJ), brought a cost proposal for the design engineering and survey services for the construction of a new Ransom County shop building to the Ransom County Board of Commissioners at their Tuesday, Sept. 16 meeting. The fee for the design services would total $83,500.00. That would include $51,400.00 for KLJ’s work; $28,600.00 for work to be performed by the project architect, Dan Smith, Valley City; and $3,500.00 for soils recommendations to be provided by Braun Intertec, Fargo. This would get the project through the bidding process.  Construction engineering services, if required, would be added through a supplemental agreement at a later date.

Mayfield estimated the cost of the construction project at somewhere between $1 million and $1.2 million. He suggested that if the board decides to contract with KLJ for the design engineering, etc., he would expect to be able to start on the plans and specs by mid-October. He would work toward a bid date in April, with construction to begin as early as May.

The board stated that they would have to stay within pretty rigid guidelines as far as expenses. It was brought up that many people in the community have been speaking out against the project and have voiced the opinion that a clear span building of the size suggested (20,000 square feet) would be too expensive. Cost savings in changing the plans to a design with center supports was discussed. Some felt the cost savings might be substantial, but they wondered if the central supports would not defeat the purpose for which the building was being built – that of housing road equipment in the building. The current building is too small to house the county’s equipment and it has a roof that is nearly ready to cave in. The board was concerned that the roof may not hold up this winter if much snow is received. The roof could be replaced, but that would not solve the problem of having inadequate room for equipment. Mayfield reminded the board that Ransom County Road Superintendent Jerry Lamb had been adamant about the need for a clear span building in order to allow access by large road equipment.

Bunn stated that, despite the negative feedback from county citizens, he did not believe there was any choice but to build a new county shop. However, he suggested allowing some time to think about it before voting on the project. He asked Mayfield to come up with some options which might save the county some money and yet not defeat the purpose by sacrificing so much to save costs that the road department does not get what it needs. The board agreed to table the discussion which will be brought up again at the next meeting.

Jennie Krause, KLJ, reported that she and Mayfield had conducted a required inspection of the Jackson Avenue Bridge in Lisbon. Little change was noted since the last inspection. Some smaller bridges will be checked out in the near future as per the request of the county board.

Regarding a maintenance and energy conservation issue, Curt Erickson, territory manager for Marvin/Integrity Windows and Darrell Mennis, Riverside Building Center, spoke to the board about options for replacement of windows in the courthouse. Erickson showed the board two types of windows which could be used. However, he stated that if the board will be working with the Historical Preservation Society, the options would probably be narrowed. The board asked Erickson and Mennis to put together a cost proposal which would allow the county to replace windows one floor at a time. This option is being considered in order to take advantage of a court grant which may be available for replacing windows on the top floor. The remainder of the windows would then most likely be changed in later project phases. 

The board has been asked to review the state policy on redistricting for the purpose of electing county commissioners. They are to forward their questions, comments and suggestions to Terry Traynor, assistant director of policy and programs, North Dakota Association of Counties (NDACo).

Traynor informed the board of a press briefing on Measure 2, and its impact on North Dakota’s economic future, to be held Thursday, Sept. 18, in Fargo. Gilbert suggested that the commissioners attend, since, she stated, the measure would have a big impact on funding for counties.

Gilbert asked the board to consider going along with a web-based program which many North Dakota counties are establishing. The program, which could be set up by Computer Professionals, Morris, MN, would provide information on taxes owed on parcels of land for realtors, banks, and other interested parties via the internet. It would save a lot of time on the part of county officials who are often asked to provide such information. There would be an initial set-up fee, followed by a monthly maintenance fee of $76.83. “It would cut down on a lot of foot traffic through the courthouse as well as phone calls,” explained Gilbert. The board asked Gilbert to invite a representative from Computer Professionals to come and explain the new program before they make a decision on whether to go along with it.

Criteria for the use of the old sheriff’s vehicle, which the board is keeping for the use of public officials, was again discussed. The board will be visiting with Lamb about where to store the vehicle and will then be working out a sign-out system. Rules and regulations will have to be set up and the vehicle will be reserved for county use.