Preliminary county levy set at 3%

The Waseca County Board of Commissioners approved a preliminary tax levy increase of 3%, during its second regular monthly meeting on Tuesday, September 20.

After approval of the agenda, an amendment to the minutes from the June 7 meeting, regarding the cost of crop damage, was approved. Accounts payable (bills) were approved.

A Riparian Protection cost-share contract for the Water and Sediment Control Basin system for 64 acres of cover crops in Alton Township within a ½ mile of County Ditch 30, for a total cost of $2,564 was approved with funds coming from the Department of Revenue for “buffer law implementation and ripariation protection.”

Waseca County Emergency Management has been awarded $19,077.00 for the 2021 Emergency Management Preparedness Grant (EMPG) from Minnesota Homeland Security. The grant requires a 50% match which goes toward emergency management wages. The commissioners approved the agreement and the matching funds. 

The board approved a request for the removal of 158 acres of land owned by Timothy E. Fischer and 7 acres of land owned by David W. and Deanna Kuhns from the Exclusive Agricultural Use Zone Restrictive Covenant. Properties enrolled in the program received a reduction in real estate taxes equal to $1.50 per acre per year. The amount of the reduction is reimbursed by the state of Minnesota.

During a public hearing reviewing a Waseca County swimming pool ordinance, the county repealed language which would have exempted the City of Waseca from some required water testing parameters, which would have left the pool in a state of noncompliance. The new language of the ordinance was reviewed and approved by the Minnesota Department of Health and will correct the deficiency. 

Traffic Marking Service has completed the re-stripe of selected county roads and County State Aid Highways, an annual maintenance effort. The board approved a final payment of $6,600, bringing the total amount paid to $67,351, which actually came in less than the estimate of $88,465, thanks to the paint being less expensive than anticipated. All work has been completed in accordance with the project specifications: Approximately 81 miles of county roadways were re-striped, including the pavement messages on CSAH No. 14 between Janesville and Waseca. 

The original contract funding was proposed to utilize approximately $27,000 of Coronavirus Response & Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act (CRRSAA) to fund the amount of the 2022 budget allocation.  As this project underran by nearly that amount, the CRRSAA funds were redirected and utilized in their entirety ($183,002) to fund a portion of the bituminous seal coat project. 

The board received a Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) Subsurface Sewage Treatment Systems (SSTS) grant. Each year, the MPCA accepts applications to support the Clean Water Legacy Act through subsurface sewage treatment system programs administered at the county level.  This year, in addition to the SSTS base grant of $18,600 the county requested an additional $40,000 to continue with the SSTS low-income fix-up grant program. The county has been successfully administering the low-income grant for five years, and has awarded and disbursed over $143,000 to local residents for their system repairs and replacements. This year the county was awarded $18,600 for the base grant and $33,418 for the low income grant. The board approved appropriation of the funds for 2023 in the amounts of $33,418 for low-income sewage treatment system installations and $18,600 is to assist in the administration of the sewage treatment system programmatic costs. 

Significant damage was done to the courthouse yard during indoor and outdoor building renovations. The board approved the use of federal American Rescue Plan Act funds in order to do some of the repairs. More details to come at a later date. 

After a presentation from Dan Larson from MN Rural Counties (MRC), a county membership with MRC was approved with an annual membership fee of $2,300. 

The county approved its preliminary 2023 net tax levy of $17,918,062, a 3% increase from last year. A truth in taxation public meeting was scheduled for Dec. 20, 2022. 

The next meeting of the Waseca County Board of Commissioners will be October 4, 2022 at 9:30 a.m.