Happy New Year

Happy New Year as we begin 2024. I hope you had a very blessed Christmas. This is truly a special time of the year.

We as a County Board had to deal with a lot of year-end and new-year tasks as we set the tone for 2024 in our last few meetings. We set the 2024 budget, updated county fees for services, made a host of committee appointments for Board members and public members to be appointed, and, with all transparency, we adjusted commissioner salaries. All this needs to be reviewed at the end of and beginning of every year. It’s hard to believe I’m beginning my second year as your commissioner. I was honored to be chosen as vice-chair of the board at our first meeting of the year. 

You should have received the county newsletter in which a county survey was included. Please take the time to complete the survey so we can get a pulse of what you are thinking. You can also go to the county website at stearnscountymn.gov for the survey. 

We selected the architectural firm to begin to guide us in our deeper discussions on the construction of a new jail, and maybe other services. I continue to push for a conservative approach to these discussions. We need to develop a plan that the public will be able to comment on and share their input. These discussions will occur more often, and I ask you to become informed, and I ask for your input.

We approved an appraisal to be done on a property by Paynesville for a potential county park. This property would meet the County Comprehensive Plan of having this type of park in western -Stearns County and the features the Comprehensive Plan calls for. This conversation will continue to occur throughout the year.

Solar development continues to attempt to expand in the Paynesville area. I continue to be concerned that townships and the general public are most times not informed about these potential projects. Zion and Lake Henry Townships recently imposed moratoriums to slow down these projects slipping through. The county board denied an application in Zion Township on a 3-2 vote. I voted with Zion Township to pause any project until things can get worked out.

We received a very interesting report from the Sheriff’s office concerning our 911 Dispatch Center. Please only call 911 if it’s an actual emergency, to allow legitimate emergency calls to be dealt with.

As always, please feel free to contact me with any issues or questions. Feel free to stop me when I am in your community. It is an honor to have assisted so many people in the last year. Thank you for the honor of serving District 3 on the Stearns County Board of Commissioners.