FAIRMONT– The Martin County Board of Commissioners held a brief meeting on Tuesday where they heard from County Engineer Kevin Peyman regarding two grant agreements for Local Bridge Replacement Program (LBRP) funds.

“They’re both similar, both for projects we talked about last year,” Peyman said. “The amounts changed slightly because the initial agreements were based on the estimates and this agreement is based on the actual bid amounts.”

He recommended that the board approve both agreements so that the county can get the money from the state though the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT).

The board approved the first for bridge 7196 in Cedar Township on CSAH 9, 1.3 miles north of CSAH 44, in the amount of $326,117.50 in LBRP funds.

Commissioner Kevin Kristenson asked when work on it will start and Peyman said that the same contractor (Prahm Construction) is doing some other bridge work in the county and wants to get started as soon as possible.

“I think they want to get started on the closed township one first because that makes the most sense… they are wanting to get going,” Peyman said.

Kristenson asked how long it will take to finish once they get started and Peyman said it’s dependent on weather but that they have 45 working days.

“If things go well, it could be a month but more likely a month and a half-ish,” Peyman said.

The board approved the second agreement for bridge 46515 in Silver Lake Township on CSAH 18, 1.6 miles west of CSAH 53, in the amount of $484,189 in LBRP funds.

Peyman also asked the board for authorization to advertise and sell some equipment that’s no longer needed on MNBID, a Minnesota surplus auction website. The items Peyman recommended to post include two older units, a 2006 Sterling LT9500, purchased in 2005 and a 2008 Sterling LT9500, purchased in 2008.

“They usually bring something in the $10,000 range,” Peyman said, noting that they’ll be advertised locally, too.

The board approved of the request and the replacement tandem trucks for both units were budgeted for and approved at a previous commissioner meeting.

While Peyman was present, Commissioner Billeye Rabbe asked a question about surfacing gravel roads to help with dust control.

Peyman said that sometimes with construction the roads are just watered otherwise he said a chemical can be used but that the county doesn’t do anything for it.

“There’s multiple companies that do it and we do allow it on our county roads. We have a sheet that we ask be filled out if someone is hired and the main reason for that is either the calcium fluoride or calcium magnesium, whatever they use, creates a good bond on the road but once you blade it you kind of lose the dust control so we just don’t want it put down on a road that needs blading,” Peyman explained.

He added that if dust control is going to be done on a road, they try to blade it before hand and then stay off of it if possible afterwards.

On Tuesday County Coordinator Scott Higgins also informed the board that the 2027 budget process is about to begin as department heads have been sent a form to start filing out their requests.

“We’ll have our budget workshops starting June 15. Typically the budget committee sits in on those,” Higgins said.

In other business at Tuesday’s meeting, the board:

— Approved the hire of Mark Niss as a full-time veteran service specialist for the Martin County Veteran Services Office, effective May 11.

— Approved the re-hire of Jacob Singleton as a part-time summer water patrol deputy in the Martin County Sheriff’s Office, effective May 8.

–Set a public hearing time and date of 10:30 a.m. on July 10 for Judicial Ditch #10 Kahler petition for additional lands.