Posted: 12/19/06
New county map data almost ready
By David Heiller
Argus News Editor
The Houston County board approved a funding method for a new geographic information system (GIS) data base at its December 12 meeting.
The money will come from the recorderís compliance fund, which is a portion of all real estate recording fees set aside for land use offices for technology-related items.
The motion includes a contract with Schneider, Houston Countyís GIS company, for a product called Beacon, which is software to GIS data on the web.
The county recorderís office also has a contract with TriMin Systems (Houston Countyís land records vendor) for a product called ìLandsharkî. Both of these systems will enable Houston County to put its mapping system on the internet and be linked to tax records, assessors records, and real estate records.
Once these are installed, realtors, lenders, title companies and attorneys will have access to them from their offices.
The maps will have layers that will show things like parcels, roads, soils, and subdivisions. Information that can be obtained at the assessorís office will be on-line, Dan Krzoska, the county GIS/E911 coordinator, said.
Clicking on individual parcels will be tied into tax and assessment data, he added.
Krzoska said he hopes to have GIS information on the county website by January 1, but public access has not been scheduled yet.
County recorder Bev Bauer said she is not sure how the county should charge for those services. Some counties charge for the information and other counties give it away, Krzoska said.
Commissioner Ann Thompson said she favored a user fee to help pay for the countyís computer-related costs.
Bauer said the new maps and technology will benefit different offices in the county such as the sheriff, highway, zoning, and surveyor.
Board chairman Kevin Kelleher asked Krzoska and Bauer to look at how other counties are letting people access the data.
Dental program update
In other business, the board approved a memorandum of agreement between Minnesota State University-Mankato and the county public health service for a dental access program.
Darla Zahn, who runs the grant-funded program updated commissioners in a 10 minute presentation. She said she is meeting with new dentists, and that three new clinical events took place this fall in Blooming Prairie.
Counties that participate are Dodge, Fillmore, Houston, Mower, Steele, and Winona. The Semcac Head Start program also helps with funding, informing families, and coordinating events.
Minnesota State University Mankato supplies dental students and assistants who work with dentists to provide services and education for low-income, underserved children.
Local dentists provide their expertise and the use of their clinics. In Caledonia, both Family Dental Center and Herman Dental Clinic take part.
Zahn appeared with new public health nursing director Deb Rock. For information on the program, call Zahn at 507-725-5810.
Personnel items
The board approved three personnel items. They hired Justin Conway as a temporary employee, and Ryan Buehler as a transport officer to be used as needed.
The board also approved a ìmemo of understandingî with Local 49íers for increased contributions to their pension fund. Employees will put $0.33 per hour into the fund effective January 1, 2007, and $0.51 per hour effective September 1. No county money will be contributed to this fund, personnel director Tim Comstock said.
Outstanding service award
Commissioners praised Kevin Kelleher for receiving an outstanding service award from the Association of Minnesota Counties at its annual meeting on December 5 in Rochester.
ìItís quite an honor to receive that,î Graf said. The county has benefitted greatly by having Kelleher bring back information from state and national county associations meetings, Graf said.
ìAs one of the board members, I appreciate that,î Graf said. ìItís a heck of a commitment.î
Kelleher said meeting with your peers is a valuable thing to do. ìI was honored to receive it.î
Kelleher has been a Houston County commissioner for 16 years.
His term will end on December 31, because he did not run for reelection. Larry Connery is replacing him.
Lodging tax agreements
The board approved lodging tax agreements with City of Houston and the townships of Caledonia, Houston, Black Hammer, Sheldon, and Jefferson.
Houston Countyís Economic Development Authority keeps 5% of the tax for administrative fees, EDA director Joyce Iverson said. The rest goes to Historic Bluff Country for promotion of the county and regional tourism.
The vote means that businesses in those townships and cities can charge a lodging tax, which the state legislature authorized several years ago for the promotion of tourism.
Cities can enact the tax by resolution and townships can only act on it at an annual meeting, Iverson told The Argus on December 18. The City of Caledonia already has it in place. The 3% tax is paid by the visitor on the gross amount of the bill for the room, and not on the lodging owner, Iverson said.
Thompson said it would be nice if all lodging facilities were a part of it. ìIt benefits them, thatís for sure,î she said.
Three percent.
Kelleher asked why some entities didnít sign. Iverson said that some thought it was an additional cost to the owner, but it is not; the cost is on the guest. Entities also were concerned about the possibility of extra paperwork, Iverson said.
Collaborative update
Kelleher gave an update on a meeting of the Houston County Family Services Collaborative that took place on November 28.
It was held to discuss the potential liability that the county has regarding money that the federal government wants back. It also looked at the groupís bylaws, Kelleher said. The county has frozen funds for the collaborative, and is waiting to see who will share in any liability, Kelleher said. The collaborative meets again on January 17, 2007.
The collaborative provides funding for the family support workers in all of the schools in Houston County. Caledonia has a part-time family support worker in both the elementary and middle/high schools.
ìAs the federal funds that support the Collaborative go away, the districts in Houston County will need to find other ways to fund their family support workers or down-size the programs,î school superintendent Michael Moriarty told The Argus on December 13.
Other business
ï Publication bids: The board approved advertising for bids for printing public notices, county board minutes, the annual financial statement, and the delinquent tax list. Bids will be opened on January 2, 2007.
ï Reduction in valuation: The board approved a reduction in value for a parcel of property owned by Caledonia Elderly Housing, LLC, which owns Loretto Heritage Haven. It went from $811,300 to $746,800. Caledonia Elderly Housing will receive a tax abatement for $64,500.
ï CJC update: Kelleher said he and Thompson met the previous week with Arif Quraishi, director of design and construction service for Johnson Controls, Inc. (JCI), the ownerís representative of the proposed criminal justice center. Architect Scott Fettig of Klein McCarthy also was there. They worked on cleaning up details with the design and looked at things like parking issues, Kelleher said. He added that they will have another meeting in a week.
ï Recognition awards: The board will present its annual employee recognition awards on December 19 at 10 a.m.
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