“These blizzards are giving us heartburn” was the simple way that County Engineer Todd Larson summed up the winter storm of December 13-16. This was stated at the County Commissioners meeting on December 20 just a few days before the next storm was predicted to move into the area.
The heartburn causing events were not just the storm itself but a shortage of drivers and equipment failure. Some of the equipment breakdowns were fixed, others were just being dealt with and some repairs are being done nearly every day by the on staff highway mechanics. These repairs include engine fan clutch replacement, electrical codes, a broken wiring harness, windshield wiper motor and a broken window in one of the cabs.
The heartburn causing events were not just the storm itself but a shortage of drivers and equipment failure. Some of the equipment breakdowns were fixed, others were just being dealt with and some repairs are being done nearly every day by the on staff highway mechanics. These repairs include engine fan clutch replacement, electrical codes, a broken wiring harness, windshield wiper motor and a broken window in one of the cabs.
Larson stated that with the staff shortage he even took a shift driving the plow. On one day he covered a route that was 76 miles from 5 a.m. to 3 p.m., however actual miles put on to clear the route was over 270 during the course of the shit. Some roads required more than one pass bringing the total miles traveled to 270 miles at the end of the day. He said he ran off the road twice due to poor visibility, there were white-out conditions and hard drifts that knocked the plows off course. He said that it was a good experience and he now has a greater appreciation for the operators.
“We baby this equipment all summer,” Larson stated. “Then when winter comes, we beat the crap out of them.”
In regard to the staffing, they have hired a couple new drivers who are in various stages of pre-employment screenings. One can cover shifts, currently, the other two will start over the next two weeks. The employees are working to keep the equipment running and repairing problems.
When looking forward to the upcoming storm, Larson said that if what is predicted actually comes in, they may not be completely plowed until Sunday, Christmas Day, depending on timing of the wind. He is hoping that they can do some on Saturday, just to give the plow drivers a break, but if it is still blowing hard, that might not happen. He stated that the county will continue to use facebook to let people know if they are out plowing.
In another department update, County Attorney Aaron Jordan repeated his request he first presented the week before during a work session. He was asking for either full time permanent or temporary full time for the current part time employee. He also asked for a grade increase for the current Assistant County Attorney..
Jordan explained that his office wants to do a good job and the bottom line is that they have too much work for the current staff. There are two large trials coming up this year along with some felony cases. He would really like a new position to be created for a full-time Legal Assistant.
“This came up six months ago,” stated County Commissioner Bob Kopitzke District 1. “These people who work in that office should be able to take vacation and not have a huge workload when they return. I am in favor of extending the temporary position.”
Commissioner Jeanne Ennen, District 2, was also in favor of extending the temp position through the two large trials stating that it is a rarity to have two big cases.
“I can understand the need,” stated Commissioner Ron Staples, District 3, “but we don’t have it in the budget.”
County Administrator Rebecca Young explained some of the areas where they could find the funds to cover the extension of time for the temporary employee. Funds could be cut elsewhere in the budget, or taken from reserves.
The commissioners voted to approve the extension of the temporary employee through the end of 2023. The board referred the grade increase issue to the Human Resources Coordinator to research as current policy requires a 25% change in job to qualify for a request for a regrade. They also approved Jordan’s contract for attorney services with the City of Morris for the next four years.
The commissioners approved a Wetland Easement to two parcels of land, one in Darnen township and one in Scott township. The property will remain in private ownership but can not be drained, burned or the wetland basins diminished in any way. However, if the area dries naturally it can still be farmed and the tillable land within the parcels can also be farmed.
Stevens County Sheriff Jason Dingman gave his end of the year report. He discussed a large-scale future project that will entail a change in the dispatch system. He also stated that the squad camera system will be undergoing some updates.
With the promotion of Officer Ron Hensinger to an investigator, the K-9 dog, Odin who worked with Hensinger will be retired from duty. Odin is near the end of his useful K-9 life and Hensinger will be paying the county for him so he can live out the rest of his days with the Hensinger family.
Dingman also had his first experience in dealing with a Snow Emergency. This was something added to the Sheriff’s office duties when taking over the Police Department. He stated that he and his deputies did a lot of work before the declaration, knocking on doors and handing out flyers about the alert system and laws for parking on the street during the snow emergency. He said that it worked because they only had to tow two vehicles during that snow emergency declaration. He also worked with the UMN Campus police to give people a parking lot where they could park the cars if no place was available. He added that the goal is not to tow any cars but rather just get the streets cleaned completely after heavy snow accumulations.
Commissioner Ennen told Dingman that she really appreciated the way he handled it. Her family is in the towing business, and they appreciated not having to tow vehicles all night.
Several other departments also gave end of the year reports. In preparation for the new year, the Commissioners named Jeanne Ennen as the Board Chairman and Bob Kopitzke as Vice Chairman. The Prime Health board members will be Ennen and Rebecca Young.
