Juvenile probation service sees dramatic improvement

By Robert Williams

Editor

The financial situation of Perham Area EMS was discussed during the general discussion period of the Otter Tail County Board of Commissioners meeting on Tuesday, June 27, in Fergus Falls.

An emergency management meeting was held in Perham Monday night leading to a discussion of the county stepping in or helping out in some way after it was announced Perham Area EMS is down $200,000 in the first five months of operation this year, according to Dan Bucholz, District 1 Commissioner.

Perham Area EMS operates independent of Perham Health and other ambulatory services are run differently throughout the county, with many small towns utilizing levies from townships and cities. 

“There are different ways around the county that this is being done,” said Board Chair Wayne D. Johnson. “This issue has been raised; we’ve had emergency service meetings about it.”

Johnson also noted he has heard concerns from police officers in Pelican Rapids and the county’s Emergency Manager & Continuous Improvement Coordinator Patrick Waletzko about emergency service issues.

According to Bucholz, Perham has seen an inordinate amount of emergency calls (300) for the first five months of the year.

All five commissioners acknowledged something needs to be done, but also noted the challenges in funding emergency services and public health, along with it being inappropriate to use county tax dollars to fund one service but not another.

“It kind of crosses a bunch of lines,” said Johnson. 

County Administrator Nicole Hansen met with Waletzko about the issue and Waletzko stated there is a work group led by West Central EMS member Jim Rieber, other EMS staff and law enforcement members who are meeting to address the funding issue.

Discussions led to having further conversations on the topic with the Association of Minnesota Counties (AMC) and Minnesota Inter-County Association (MICA).

The board would also like the input of Rep. Jeff Backer (R) District: 9A. Backer is a trained EMT and has served on the Emergency Medical Services Regulatory Board.

The board considers this a statewide problem.

“It’s not just Otter Tail County dealing with this,” said Johnson.

Creating a future work session with the above-mentioned group and legislators is going to be made a priority.

Later in the meeting, MICA Executive Director Matt Massman reported on the latest legislative session and the relative impacts on county governments. Nancy Silesky, MICA Health & Human Services Liaison also presented to the board.

Probation

Probation Director Michael Schommer presented the 2023 comprehensive plan for his department, along with a report of successfully reducing caseloads over the past year. Reducing juvenile detention was a priority and over a year the average stay dropped from 28 days per juvenile to just over 11 days.

“The length of time kids are away from home and locked in a cell has also decreased,” said Schommer. “That also created cost savings for the county.”

The cost of secure detention per year under the system dropped from $691,281 in 2020 to zero in 2023.

That has bottomed out and that cost will slightly increase over the next two years, said Schommer.

“We should not be returning to the use we had previously,” he said.

Reduction in the use of secure detention was done by focusing on the enhancement of protective factors so more juveniles are able to remain in the community with their family, according to the report.

The number of juveniles held in secure detention has dramatically decreased from 90 in 2018 and 93 in 2019 to 36, 43, and 39 the past three years. The average number of days in secure detention has also dipped from a high of 27.78 in 2019 to only 11.15 in 2022.

Schommers’ extensive report can be viewed online by searching for 2023 Otter Tail County Probation Comprehensive Plan.

Feedlot meeting

Peter Mursu of Peter Mursu Turkeys and Mursu Brothers Turkeys addressed the commissioners concerning the addition of a 12-14-foot concrete pushway and holding barn for manure at two locations. The exchange was considered a feedlot public meeting.

Typically, changes to a barn facility require a public hearing, however Otter Tail County operates differently than the statute. 

When units are added or a new feedlot is created an actual notice is sent by letter to anyone living within 5,000-feet and a public hearing is held, but this case does not warrant the latter.

“Our notice on the agenda is sufficient and this is a public meeting, not a public hearing,” said county administrator Nicole Hansen.

There is no increase in bird numbers at either location. No other members of the public appeared at the meeting to comment or communicate in writing about the proposed changes. 

“Mr. Mursu is doing probably more than the standard just to keep the neighborhood happy and control his costs on his gravel and a whole bunch of other reasons behind it,” said chair Wayne D. Johnson.

Mursu Brothers Turkeys is located west of New York Mills in Otto Township.

The board approved an expansion to both of Mursu’s Turkey Barn sites on East Diamond Road and 480th Avenue in May. At that meeting, he initially noted future plans to build a large manure building and turkey compost building which would store these items under cover and not out in the open as they are currently. Otto Township has no zoning ordinance, and the board took no objections.

Easement certification

US Fish & Wildlife Service Realty Specialist Blair Mace met with the commissioners to certify eight easements for wildlife habitat protection that were secured from the following landowners. All eight are habitat easements allowing for haying after July 15.

• Leigh and Shana Barry of Richville. This easement is located in Section 22 of Dead Lake Township and consists of approximately 126 acres, to be determined by a survey.

• Dennis Borgos of Fergus Falls. This is a habitat easement allowing for haying after July 15 of each year and grazing throughout the year. This easement is located in Sections 1, 2, 11, and 12 of Dane Prairie Township and consists of approximately 135 acres, to be determined by a survey.

• Joseph and Kimberly Borgos of Fergus Falls. This easement is located in Section 11 of Dane Prairie Township and consists of approximately 21 acres, to be determined by a survey.

• Ervasti Family Farms, LLP (James Ervasti) of Shoreview. This is a habitat easement that includes grazing throughout the year. This easement is located in Sections 12 and 13 of Paddock Township and consists of approximately 604 acres, to be determined by a survey.

• Paul Jaros of Fergus Falls. This habitat easement includes grazing throughout the year. This easement is located in Section 4 of Dane Prairie Township and consists of approximately 34 acres, to be determined by a survey.

• Brett Leitch, of Battle Lake. This easement is located in Section 24 of Erhards Grove Township and consists of approximately 92 acres, to be determined by a survey.

• Lance Leitch, of Fergus Falls. This easement is located in Section 20 of Friberg Township and consists of approximately 76 acres, to be determined by a survey.

• Craig and Maureen Shaver, of Deephaven, and Thomas and Cristen Shaver of Wayzata. This easement is located in Section 13 of Norwegian Grove Township and consists of approximately 99 acres, to be determined by a survey.

The landowners will retain primary responsibility for weed control, recreational use, access and will continue to be responsible for the payment of property taxes.