FAIRMONT– On Tuesday Chief Deputy Corey Klanderud shared with the Martin County board of Commissioner some projects that the Public Safety Aid Committee is working on.

Klanderud explained that back in 2023 the Minnesota legislature granted some one-time funds for public safety aid and Martin County was allotted $352,000. After that a local committee was formed which identified three areas to focus on: radios, cameras and mental health checks.

He said that the Sheriff’s Office already had a list of items and technology that needed to be replaced, as well as a wish list, so the areas of focus stemmed from what was on that list.

“The ones (radios) that we’re using in the jail aren’t even serviced by Motorola anymore because of their age and ability. The first portion (of the funds) is to replace those… and the radios in our squad cars,” Klanderud said.

The breakdown of cost for 35 radios and installation is about $183,000.

Moving to cameras, Klanderud said one of the recommendations of the 2017 safety audit of the courthouse was to increase safety.

The quote for the cameras, which will cover the law enforcement center/courthouse path and general courthouse area, comes out to about $98,000.

“With those, it takes some wiring to get the proper cabling to the spots that were decided so the wiring bid… comes in at $38,373,” Klanderud said.

Finally, the committee had recommended wellness checks for all employees.

“It’s unfortunate but it doesn’t get better in today’s society with what the staff in the Sheriff’s Office gets to deal with on a day-to-day basis. These wellness checks are designed to take all staff and give them a 30 minute check-up with a mental health professional to make sure they’re doing well,” he said.

If any of the staff members want to talk further, they will be given the opportunity for future sessions.

An amount of $15,000 will cover check-ups for each staff member and any follow up checks. Klanderud said they just need to get a contract in place with the company they’re looking at.

Commissioner Kathy Smith said that the board will need a contract in place before it can approve the projects. Klanderud said he would get that in place and the board moved ahead with approving the radio and camera projects.

Smith stressed that the projects are adding on to what the Sheriff’s Office already has and Klanderud said the funds are helping them complete some projects that have been in the works for several years.

In other business, County Assessor Mike Sheplee provided an update on 2024 assessments.

“The property tax statements and notices of value will be mailed out any day now,” Sheplee said.

He said that overall the values changed an aggregate 1 percent increase county-wide and that ag land changed 0 percent.

“We kept ag land rates the same. Sales told us that values are holding so we didn’t need to increase or decrease,” Sheplee said.

Commercial/industrial saw a decline, the majority of which was in state-assessed properties. Residential overall county-wide saw a 6 percent increase spread across most property types and locations, with the exception of small cities which seemed to have a strong year sales-wise.

“There were some hefty increases in the city of Ceylon, which had to go up 45 percent, and Welcome, which went up 23 percent and Northrop, 18 percent…,” Sheplee said.

He said the good news is that property is worth a little bit more.

In other action, the board:

— Approved a low bid from Central Specialities Inc. in the amount of $4,302, 937 for bituminous overlay.

— Approved the hire of Martina Nienhaus as Planning and Zoning technician.

— Accepted the resignation of a library branch floater and authorized recruitment to fill the position.

— Set a public hearing time and date of 10 a.m. Tuesday, April 16 for a single-family housing tax abatement request from Nick and Traci Lardy.

— Appointed Commissioner Jaime Bleess to the MRCI Board of Directors beginning with the April meeting.

— Approved a tax abatement request from Brandon and Shanon Klug for construction of a new single-family home in Rolling Green Township.

— Approved a tax abatement request from Levi Ekstrom for construction of a new single-family home in Cedar Township.