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BLUE EARTH-- Safety in the right of way of county roads was one of the topics of discussion at the Faribault County Commissioners meeting on Tuesday.
A policy on hay bales in the county road right of way (ROW) was also presented to the board for adoption by Public Works/county engineer April Wellman.
"Hay bales in county road ROW can result in snow drifting across the road through the entirety of the winter," Wellman explained. "This creates a hazard for the traveling public and additional work for the Public Works staff to track and plow these locations repeatedly for drifting."
Under the proposed policy which was adopted by the board, any hay bales in county road ROW should be pushed back onto private property or moved by Oct. 31 of each year. If the bales are not moved, the Public Works Department reserves the right to push the bales into the field. This will occur in the first week of November.
"We are not going to push hay bales into a field if the crop has not been harvested," Wellman clarified.
A ROW map will be attached to the policy. A person can check if their bales are in the ROW by dividing the ROW footage in half and measure that distance from the centerline of the road.
The subject of roadside memorials was also brought up with Groskreutz bringing up a memorial located on the eastern side of the county.
Wellman expressed concern that some of the memorials are too big and sturdy and could cause harm to someone if they hit them.
"I know we have talked about this before," commissioner Tom Loveall commented. "Do we have a policy on roadside memorials?"
The conclusion was reached that there is not a written policy currently in place and Wellman was directed to draft one for the board to consider at a future meeting.
The last thing the County Board members did before adjourning was pass the preliminary total net tax levy for 2027 at $18,975,495. This amount represents a 14.75 percent increase over last year.
The board also:
-- Recognized Brady Rauenhorst, who is currently the county assessor, for his 10 years of service in Faribault County.
-- Approved a five-year contract for CAMAvision Software with Vanguard Appraisals. This software is used in the assessor's office.
-- Approved issuing a credit card to Human Resources manager Mike McQuade with a limit of $2,500 for uses approved in the Faribault County Credit Card Policy.
-- Approved a tax abatement for construction of new housing in Wells.
-- Voted to approve an update in the Tax Abatement Policy for New Construction so that there is no maximum or minimum of housing units required for the abatement.
-- Approved the request of county recorder Kelly Hendrickson to attend the Local Property Records Industry Association meeting and for Hendrickson and Korissa Libra of the recorder's office to attend the Recorder's District VIII meeting.
-- Approved the request of Planning and Zoning administrator Sara Hauskins and Linda Adams of the Planning and Zoning office to attend the Minnesota Association of County Planning and Zoning Administrators Annual Conference.
-- Voted to approve the request of Faribault County GIS coordinator Brandee Douglas to attend the Minnesota GIS/LIS Annual Conference.
-- Approved the request of Erin Beske of the Faribault County Sheriff's Department to attend training on Mortgage, Foreclosure and Redemption Issues.