BLUE EARTH — The Faribault County Commissioners took the next step in establishing a Local Housing Trust Fund (LHTF) when they held their regular meeting on Tuesday, June 18.

County Economic Development Authority specialists Amber Patten and Jennifer Howard attended the meeting seeking the passage of a motion to schedule a public hearing for an ordinance establishing a Local Housing Trust Fund (LHTF).

“The Faribault County Economic Development Authority approved the attached ordinance to establish the LHTF,” Howard said. “After holding a work session with the County Board in April, we are ready to move forward with the next step.”

Patten explained the next step in the process.

“With your approval we will publish the proposed ordinance in the Faribault County Register for two weeks to allow the public to review the proposed ordinance,” Patten said. “Then a public hearing will be held at the County Board meeting on July 16.”

The county is set to receive a total of $181,054 covering a two-year period of 2023-2024.

“Our main goal will be to partner with Habitat for Humanity and the Minnesota Valley Action Council to utilize these funds,” Patten explained. “We are hoping that the county will continue to receive funds for the LHTF in the coming years.”

The board approved moving forward with the process.

In other business, the County Board also:

• Approved updates to the Faribault County Personnel Policy regarding hours of work and time reporting, Fair Labor Standards Act – Harbor Policy and Remote Work guidelines.

• Voted to accept the 2024 Boat and Water Safety Grant in the amount of $1,277.

• Approved the purchase of additional Fortitoken Mobile licenses from Midwest IT for $1,830. These licenses provide multi-factor authentication and add an additional layer of protection and security for remote access users of the county’s computer system.

• Granted the training request of Jordan Paukert of the Sheriff’s Department to attend a Basic SWAT Training course which is necessary to be a member of the SWAT team.