The McLeod County Board approved the following items at its Oct. 19 meeting:
HRA: Adopted a resolution authorizing the amended and restated deficit and tax levy agreement between McLeod County and the McLeod County Housing and Redevelopment Authority. The HRA plans to issue $2.17 million in series 2021 revenue refunding bonds. The agreement takes the place of agreements for 1996, 1997, 1998 and 2017 bonds and does not extend the county's liability.
LEASE AGREEMENT: Approved a lease agreement with Minnesota, Department of Public Safety, Driver and Vehicle Services for space in the McLeod County Government Center. A lease was previously approved. The deputy registrar was contacted by DVS to begin services earlier than the previous Jan. 1, 2022, date. The new dates are Nov. 1, 2021, through June 30, 2025, with correlating office spaces for the driver exam station. As of this past week, the intent of the DVS is that the Glencoe site will be for road tests only, and not for commercial drivers license activity and no written tests. The state could bring those services back, but the county cannot make that choice.
REDI-MIX: Approved a rezoning permit from John Koepp, Rivers Edge Concrete, to rezone 10 acres in Sumter Township for light industrial in order to construct a concrete redi-mix plant. The property is owned by Great River West Trust. The Sumter Township Board unanimously recommended approval, as did the Planning Advisory Commission.
STORAGE: Approved a rezoning permit for business partners David Hansen and Jim Curran on property owned by Schroeder Oil Distributing from agriculture to highway business for the construction of mini-storage units in Sumter Township. The Sumter Township Board recommended approval, as did the Planning Advisory Commission.
SOLAR GARDENS: Approved a conditional-use permit request by Brian Keenan of Impact Power Solutions for a 1-megawatt photovoltaic solar array for the purpose of distribution. Electrical power generated would be connected to Xcel Energy's feeder line for the Winsted substation. An 8-acre lease agreement has been secured for the project southwest of Winsted in Winsted Township. The project's lifetime is estimated to be more than 35 years. The Winsted Township Board unanimously recommended approval. The Planning Advisory Commission recommended denial due to density and close proximity of people affected. Also approved a conditional-use permit request for a 3.35-acre, 0.5-megawatt solar array project known as USS Water Fowl Solar in Hale Township. The County Board previously denied the permit in a 3-2 vote due to concerns for the preservation of land values and the property's status as prime agricultural soil. On Sept. 9, the county received a judgment from the Minnesota Court of Appeals. It found the prior denial to be arbitrary and capricious.
AIS: Approved a request for Aquatic Invasive Species funds of $23,000 by the Lake Marion Improvement Association for a Lake Marion carp clean-out project. Carp is considered a major impediment to he lake. The project must be completed between Jan. 1 and May 14, 2022.
SECURITY FEATURES: Approved a contract quote from SHI of Somerset, New Jersey, to add Microsoft Azure Active Directory Licensing to the County's Microsoft Agreement for a cost of $13,528. The license will allow better digital security and mitigate password attacks. Also approved was a quote from SHI to upgrade the county's Microsoft SQL Server Licensing at a cost of $31,020.
NON-UNION WAGES: Approved setting the 2022 non-union wage increase at 3% and a 1.5% wage scale adjustment across the board. The change was previously approved for union wages.
