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County applies for $150,000 in energy conservation grants
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By Charlie Warner
Argus News Editor
If all goes as planned, Houston County businesses and the Houston County Courthouse may become “greener.” During the Jan. 12 county board meeting, County EDA Director Jordan Wilms described a two-phased grant that could bring $150,000 to help pay for energy upgrades in Houston County.
Wilms requested permission to apply for the Minnesota Energy Block Grant that would provide $50,000 for businesses to help pay for energy-saving upgrades to heating and cooling systems, efficient lighting and additional insulation.
The $50,000 would be set up in a revolving fund, with businesses being able to apply for grants totaling $5,000 (which would provide for 10 grants). The grant would be 50 percent forgivable and the remaining 50 percent would be paid back in five years at one percent interest.
“This would give us a chance to spread the money around and help more businesses,” Wilms told the board.
The second phase would be a $100,000 grant to replace the old boilers in the Houston County Courthouse. According to Wilms, the current boilers are 60 percent efficient. If the county receives the grant, they would be replaced with boilers that are 94 percent efficient.
Wilms said this would be a simple payback of two to 10 years. Based on their calculations, Wilms said the county could pay the $100,000 grant back in eight or nine years using the money saved in decreased heating costs, thanks to the much higher efficient boilers.
Wilms added the County EDA should know in March if the grant request was approved.
A motion made by Commissioner Tom Bjerke and seconded by Commissioner Jack Miller was unanimously approved.
In other board action:
Justice Center bid opening
The board scheduled a special meeting at 2 p.m. March 30 to open the bids for the Houston County Justice Center. The justice center committee is in the final stages of completing all the specifications and descriptions for the proposed county facility, which will be located in downtown Caledonia.
Commissioner Larry Connery said it will take much of the afternoon to review the 13 different bid packages that the county will have advertised for.
The county will be putting the specs out for bids in the near future, which will be advertised both locally and regionally.
“There are alot of local and area contractors interested in getting work on this project,” Commissioner Dave Corcoran said. “We need to make sure this gets out to everyone, so they all have a shot at it.”
Feedlot grant application
Root River Soil and Water Conservation District Manager Ralph Tuck and Environmental Services Officer Rick Frank requested permission to apply for a $17,296. grant from the Southeast Minnesota Water Resources Board.
The grant, referred to as “Feedlot IV” is a continuation of three prior feedlot grants the board has applied for in the past seven years, according to a memo presented to the board. The focus of the grant is in helping provide technical assistance to livestock producers as well as provide cost-share assistance to producers to help with feedlot run-off issues.
The technical assistance can be used by local SWCD feedlot technicians and the county feedlot officer to aid in design of low cost fixes for existing open lots. The cost share assistance can be provided directly to producers who are doing projects on their farms to reduce runoff from open lots and can be used to cover 50 percent of the cost of the project up to a maximum of $15,000.
The county is currently working under a similar grant “Feedlot III” that allows producers to obtain 50 percent cost share on a feedlot project up to a maximum of $2,000, which is also being used to provide technical assistance to producers.
The deadline to use funds under Feedlot III is August of 2010. The deadline to use funds under Feedlot IV is June of 2011. Both grants can encumber expenses immediately for the upcoming construction season.
The balance of the funds still available from Feedlot III is $34,795. If the county’s grant request is approved, there will be an additional $17,296 available through Feedlot IV.
“This has been a great program,” Frank noted. “We have had great participation in it. It has done alot of good and helped to keep our streams much cleaner. It’s made a big difference.”
A motion made by Corcoran and seconded by Commissioner Bob Augedahl to move forward with the grant application was unanimously approved.
Wetland impact report
Frank and Tuck presented a copy of a wetland application for a bridge replacement project planned for County Road 5 in Winnebago Township.
By law, when a governing body plans construction work on or near a wetland, stream, river or lake, a Road Maintenance Short Form Notice must be filled out and made available to the public.
The bridge replacement project is over an un-named tributary to Winnebago Creek. The project will begin approximately 250 feet west of the stream crossing and will end approximately 420 feet east of the stream crossing.
Tuck said he and County Engineer Brian Pogodzinski inspected the proposed construction site and said there would be no impact to the existing wetlands.
The short form will be sent to the Bureau of Water and Soil Resources (BWSR). Anyone interested in reviewing the county’s plans can do so and if they have any concerns, they can be appealed to the BWSR.
A motion made by Corcoran and seconded by Miller to approve the notice and make it available to the general public was unanimously approved.
You can contact Charlie Warner at
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