Posted: 1/10/06
Grant applications approved for voting changes
By David Heiller
Argus News Editor
A new voting system in Houston County is one step closer to reality.
Commissioners approved grant applications for an assisted voting system and optical scan voting equipment at their January 3 meeting.
The vote was another step in the overhaul of voting procedures and locations to comply with a federal law passed in 2002 called the Help America Vote Act, as well as a Minnesota law passed in 2005. The board approved a new election equipment plan at a public hearing on November 29.
The plan calls for the purchase of 31 new pieces of election equipment, including 17 assisted voting machines and 14 precinct counters.
Auditor Pete Johnson said that the grants would provide enough money to purchase the equipment and provide two to three years of funding for maintenance.
ìAnd down the road theyíre going to nail us to the wall,î commissioner Dave Corcoran responded
ìThe carrot usually goes away and the stick comes out,î commissioner Kevin Kelleher added.
Corcoran noted that the county will have three extra voting machines in case any townships want to switch over and not go a shared polling place. Some township officials are worried that they will lose identity with the new plan, which creates 12 polling places for the 27 precincts in the county as a cost-saving measure.
Cost will be a downside to that, Johnson said.
The changes take effect in 2006 for federal and state elections. County, city, township, and school board elections wonít have to comply with the plan until 2008.
Houston County will receive $190,603.70 for assisted voting equipment, and $81,000 for the precinct counters.
Land donation discussed
In other business, Caledonia attorney Bill Von Arx and county assessor Dick Walter told the board that a Caledonia man, Robert Botcher, has offered to donate 30-40 acres of land to Houston County.
The land is located in sections 19 and 20 of Sheldon Township.
Von Arx said the donation is for ìpublic purposesî and Botcher wants to maintain the pristine character of the property. Botcher will also want to be able to cut firewood on it for his own personal use, Von Arx said.
Walter added the purpose of the donation is to give an average person or a poor person a place to hunt. The site will require a partial survey to transfer the property, Walter said. He recommended doing a complete survey if and when the county receives the property.
The board gave a consensus to move ahead on the project. Von Arx said he would bring a workable legal document to the board and forward it to county attorney Rick Jackson.
Jackson told the board that he would bring the document with its conditions for the board to review.
Personnel matters
The board approved the resignation of home health aide Hazel Iverson. She is retiring after 17 years with the county, personnel director Tim Comstock said.
Mary Thompson was approved as a new half-time public health nurse at step 5, which is $22.47 per hour.
The board also approved Comstockís request to compile a list of eligible people for the job of maintenance specialist, in case that position needs to be filled in the future.
Public health approvals
Public health director Linda Grupa asked the board to approve a memorandum of agreement with Stratis Health. It is paid by Medicare and does not cost the county any money, Grupa said. The board approved the request.
Stratis does mandatory case reviews, health care quality improvement projects, and communication activities for people on Medicare. The county will provide any needed medical records and information, plus office space for on-site reviews.
The board approved another Grupa request to have her department do scoring of tests of a program called the Ages & Stages Questionnaire. It screens infants and young children for developmental delays during their first five years. The rate of pay will be $120 for the first two hours, then $50 per hour after that. Grupa expects there will be 90-100 exams to score. The test are administered by school districts.
Other business
ï Reorganization: Kelleher was unanimously elected chairperson, replacing Ann Thompson. Tom Bjerke was elected vice-chair person. Kelleher has been chairperson three previous times in the past 16 years.
ï Constitutional amendment: Board members discussed a letter they sent to legislators and the governor in opposition to a proposed amendment to the Minnesota Constitution dedicating all motor vehicle sales tax revenue to transportation.
Bjerke said there needs to be some type of permanent fixture for transportation funding.
Kelleher countered that putting special funding into the constitution would not stop with transportation. Every little group wants its funding institutionalized, he said.
ìAs long as we get some money for transportation,î Bjerke responded.
Kelleher said the Association of Minnesota Counties, of which he is a board member, is working on getting more transportation funding.
ï New drop-site contract: The board approved a three percent cost of living adjustment with Richardís Sanitation of Caledonia. Richardís provides a total of 24 items of service at the countyís five drop sites.He provides 30 and 20 yard containers at the drop-sites and hauls the landfill materials to LaCrosse for disposal.
ï Printing bids: Commissioners awarded bids for county printing to three newspapers. The Houston County News, La Crescent, will do the first printing of the 2005 financial statement at the legal line rate. The Houston Banner will do the second printing. The Caledonia Argus will print the Delinquent Tax List at its legal line rate, as well as official proceedings of the county board. The minutes are printed in all four county newspapers, including the Spring Grove Herald, with the income split among the papers.
Kelleher said county board minutes are important in documenting issues like the new jail. He also praised Char Meinerís work at taking minutes at county board meetings.
Corcoran added that there is no excuse for people not being informed since minutes are in all four county newspapers.
ï Wildcat Park meeting: Commissioners Corcoran and Ann Thompson reported on a meeting about Wildcat Park that was held with Tom Novak and Kevin Berg from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. They were scheduled to meet again on January 3.
Wildcat Park, which is located south of Brownsville, is owned by the Corps and leased to the county.
The discussion has centered on how to operate the park and what policies to put in place, Thompson said, adding that enforcement is a big issue.
ìItís a balance between locals and basically tourists,î Corcoran said.
ìAnd letting people have a good time and not getting out of control,î Thompson added.
Thompson said the Corpsí policy is to not have seasonal camping.
ìBecause you get neighborhoods built up,î Corcoran said.
The park has a maximum of 18 seasonal sites out of a total of 68 sites, Johnson said.
They are also exploring having computerized registration, Thompson said.
ï La Crescent bridge schedule: Commissioner Larry Graf said that bids for the new Highway 14/61 bridge in La Crescent will be let in November or December of this year, with construction probably starting in the summer of 2007.
Caledonia Argus
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