By Robert Williams

Editor

The Otter Tail County Board of Commissioners has declared April 7-13, 2025, as Public Health Week. This special week highlights the importance of public health in keeping our communities healthy and safe. This year is the 30th anniversary of National Public Health Week, with the theme “It Starts Here,” reminding people that good health begins at home, in our neighborhoods, and throughout the county.

Over the past 30 years, public health efforts have made a big difference:

Fewer adults smoke—rates have dropped from 25.5 percent in 1994 to 11.4 percent today, thanks to smoke-free laws and education.

More babies are surviving—infant mortality has decreased from 13.8 per 1,000 births in 1994 to 5.4 per 1,000, thanks to better healthcare, vaccines, and nutrition.

More people are getting help for mental health—awareness and treatment have improved, making it easier to get care.

Even with these successes, some people still face more health challenges than others. Where a person lives can impact their health due to differences in housing, access to healthy food, healthcare, and other essential resources. Otter Tail County Public Health professionals work every day to prevent disease, prepare for emergencies, and promote healthy living for everyone.

“You all do great work and we want to recognize the impact public health has in our county,” said Wayne Johnson, Chair of the Otter Tail County Board of Commissioners. “Public health staff work to keep our communities healthy, and we thank them for their hard work.”

Public health helps people stay well and shifts the focus from treating sickness to preventing it. Residents can participate in Public Health Week by learning more about healthy living and supporting programs that positively impact their communities.

For more information about Public Health Week and local programs, visit the Otter Tail County Public Health website at ottertailcounty.gov/department/public-health/.

Social Work

The commissioners approved a request to convert a vacant Transitioner Coordinator position since September of 2023 into a Behavioral Mental Health Social Worker that will be embedded into the Probation department.

“This is an example of the county utilizing an existing vacancy by replacing it with something else that might be more effective for the county,” said Assistant Human Resources Director Stephanie Retzlaff.

Probation has funding for the position, along with targeted case management through Human Services will be used to fund the position.

Solid Waste

Solid Waste Director Chris McConn explained plans for a one-acre final cover construction project at the Henning Demolition Landfill.

The board approved a Foth proposal of project management, design, observation and documentation reporting for $36,500.

The intent is to build the cover this year, according to McConn.

“This landfill is about eight acres; we would like to modify the whole thing but it’s a chess game,” said McConn. “This is on the very edge and it’s near grade. According to the general philosophy and rules of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) we need to close it. We’ll lose some potential air space doing that but that’s part of the process.”

Facilities

As directed by the board, staff have explored opportunities to enhance energy efficiency and

reduce operational costs across the county’s facilities. To implement such strategies in a thoughtful and strategic manner, staff recommends collecting additional information to ensure that all energy efficiency improvements are backed by measurable cost savings and payback periods.

Staff have held several meetings with representatives from McKinstry, Otter Tail Power and

Michaels Energy. Staff have also collected feedback from McKinstry clients, including county

commissioners, administrators, facility and finance staff, according to a report by Nick Leonard, Deputy Administrator.

Part of the initial analysis was no project plans could be submitted to the county that could not be paid off with the cost savings, Leonard emphasized. 

The base project with no solar would cost approximately $125,000.

“I look around and I see lots of power companies installing solar,” said Commissioner Bob Lahman. “I see lots of homeowners installing solar. I think it’s something we need to take a really good look at because I think it can be a real good savings for the county and the public taxpayers.”

The Energy Efficiency Projects Technical Audit will result in the following final deliverable:

• A report summarizing project implementation recommendations.

• The final deliverable will be presented to the Owner at County meetings as required.

Cost to McKinstry in performing the Directed Engineering Study will be no more than $155,849.

The County and McKinstry will work cooperatively to explore all possible grant and rebate programs available.

Commissioner Steve Sullivan questioned the costs and the burden on taxpayers.

“For me, it’s all about being prudent with taxpayer dollars and I don’t think I’m ready to make a decision on this,” he said.

Commissioner Kurt Mortensen cited cost-saving reports from Blue Earth and Dakota Counties as a driver to support the project.

“I can’t ignore that,” he said. “With prudence being a primary driver here, that is leading me to a conclusion based on the motion I seconded earlier.”

Chairman Johnson cited his opinion that the project “is an investment in our buildings, our facilities, our infrastructure to know what it is we need to do to make these buildings more efficient, including water, lights, heat, everything else, so we can adjust systems and in the long run, whether there’s solar panels involved or not. We can save our taxpayers utility costs because nothing, energy-wise, is going to drop.”

The board held a roll call vote that was 3-2 in favor of the project with Commissioners Sullivan and Dan Bucholz voting against the project.

Parks and Trails

The board approved a change order to the Phelps Mill boardwalk restoration project. Construction began mid-February. The boardwalks are nearly complete, but a change was needed in the stainless steel helix piles that are screwed into the wetland to support the boardwalk. Two boardwalks are being built, the first needs 82 piles and the second needs 52. 

The change order has to do with the depth the piles need to be drilled down to support the boardwalk.

“It ended up being a longer depth that we need to drill down,” said Parks and Trails Director Kevin Fellbaum

Hopes were to be around 30-feet. The first boardwalk averaged between 42 and 58-feet, the second averaged between 15 and 20-feet.

Fellbaum worked out a negotiation with the contractor to pay for material costs but not labor.

Highway

Commissioners approved a capital improvement reimbursement request of a 2024 project costing $16,604 to install six door panels on the NY Mills garage.

Community Development

A public hearing prior to the Board considering adopting a resolution approving the issuance

of Bongards Conduit Revenue Bonds. The aggregate face amount of the Bonds proposed to be issued is presently estimated not to exceed $35,000,000. The Bonds will be a special, limited revenue obligation of the County payable solely from loan payments made by the Borrower to the County pursuant to a loan agreement. The Bonds will not constitute a general or moral obligation of the County, and will not be secured by the taxing powers of  the County or any assets or property of the County.

The county is supporting and facilitating the action in the township area, according to Community Development Director Amy Baldwin.

“There is no financial risk to Otter Tail County to be facilitating this action to support more favorable financing for Bongards,” Baldwin said. “Bongard is covering any direct expenses we would have with our bond council or financial advisor or any of the issuance fees associated with the bond itself.”

Bongards CFO Chris Freeman was in attendance and relayed his appreciation for the partnership with the county.

No other public comments were made, nor any from the board.

The resolution approving issuance and sale of conduit revenue bonds and authorizing execution of documents was approved unanimously.

Broadband

The Federal Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program provides funding for broadband infrastructure for states to achieve “Internet for All” through the expansion of service to areas of Minnesota that are unserved or underserved.

A resolution of support and matching funds from Arvig to BEAD was approved for two projects north of Battle Lake between Silver and Elbow lakes with a construction cost of $90,000. The other area is just off Highway 78 on Silver Lake in the Canterbury Sands trail area with a construction cost of $98,000. Together the work will support 48 homes. 

The county’s match is up to $16,000, not to exceed 10 percent of the total estimated project costs, according to Baldwin.

Veteran Housing

Commissioners approved an HRA property transfer that is planned for future housing for veterans. A property in tax forfeiture was identified in Newton Township near New York Mills. It is five acres with a current value of $31,800, along with two dilapidated structures with an assessed salvage value of $300.

The land is adjacent to approximately 70-acres of property that Mahube-Otwa has purchased in the township to provide housing for veterans specifically.

According to Deputy Administrator Leonard, six to eight tiny houses are what is being preliminarily proposed for the property. 

The transfer to the HRA allows that department to take charge of future recommendations on the property given the potential opportunity with Mahube-Otwa.

The board approved direction to the HRA on the transfer unanimously.