Dec. 25—KANDIYOHI COUNTY
— The Kandiyohi County Board made big decisions in 2023, from navigating retirements and hiring decisions, improving wages and benefits for county employees, and approving permits for the Tepetonka Golf Club development in the northeastern corner of the county.
Kelsey Baker
started her tenure as the new Kandiyohi County Administrator
in February 2023.
During her first year, Baker focused on employee retention and recruitment efforts. She has also started discussions with staff on future facilities needs and how to continue appropriating both the county’s American Rescue Plan Act dollars and the county’s portion of the national opioid settlement.
However, Baker’s first year has not been without controversy.
There were reportedly disagreements between commissioners during Baker’s six-month review over her job performance. These differences of opinion were big enough that Commissioner Steve Gardner publicly stood up for Baker during a county board meeting.
Baker also applied for the open West Fargo city administrator position,
though she did not get the job.
A proposed nine-month performance review of Baker
was pulled from a November board agenda
after three commissioners disagreed with the need to even have one.
After 16 years as the county’s top man,
Kandiyohi County Administrator Larry Kleindl retired in February.
He actually worked for the county for nearly 30 years, working in child protective services before taking on the human services director role prior to being hired as the county administrator in 2006.
Kleindl led the county through many big events — from the county purchasing the old state mental health hospital, now
MinnWest Technology Campus,
to major facilities upgrades, as well as the Great Recession and the
coronavirus pandemic.
After years of planning and months of work studying the potential environmental impact of the project, the Kandiyohi County Board, on Nov. 21,
approved the conditional use permit
for the Tepetonka Club private destination golf course in Lake Andrew Township.
The decision came after the board decided the project did not need to complete a more intense environmental impact study, after the environmental assessment worksheet found there was not the potential of significant environmental impacts caused by the golf course that could not be mitigated by enforcement of permits and regulations.
The club will include an 18-hole course and nine-hole practice course positioned throughout the landscape, as well as club facilities for members. Membership will be capped at 100 members, each of who will pay $100,000.
There has been significant public pushback of the project. There were concerns regarding the golf course’s possible impact on Shakopee Creek and groundwater aquifers in the area.
The year started with the swearing in of a new
Kandiyohi County Sheriff, Eric Tollefson,
and continued being a year of change, especially for the jail, throughout the next 12 months. Tollefson was elected over incumbent sheriff Eric Hollien in November 2022.
Immediately in January, the Sheriff’s Office had to find
a new medical provider for the Kandiyohi County Jail
after the previous company, MEnd Correctional Care, went out of business following the loss of the medical license of its founder. A contract was approved with Advanced Correctional HealthCare, though the company charged significantly more — a more than $600,000 difference — than MEnd.
The jail also started having significant issues with its meal provider in 2023 and the decision was made to find a new service. A contract was approved in November with TurnKey Corrections Skillet Kitchen. Just like with the new health care provider, TurnKey charged more than the previous company, Summit Foods. The new contract is estimated to cost the county $200,000 to $260,000 more per year.
The county’s Community Corrections department did have a huge win in 2023.
After years of lobbying the state legislature over funding, a new funding formula was approved in May. The new formula will treat all three community correction delivery systems the same. Across the state, funding for community corrections will increase by $46 million.
The Kandiyohi County Board
approved a 5% wage increase for all county employees
in June. While a market analysis showed that Kandiyohi County was highly aligned with the market rate for many positions on both minimum and maximum salaries, County Administrator Kelsey Baker felt the wage increase was important for the county to attract employees in a highly competitive job market.
The county board also approved to compress the salary schedule, meaning an employee will go up the salary schedule at a faster rate, receiving higher annual raises instead of smaller raises over more years.
A change to the health insurance premium distribution was also approved. The county will pay 85% of the premiums for single plans and 70% for family plans, saving the employees hundreds of dollars per month.
The nine miles of Minnesota Highway 23 between Richmond and Paynesville, which were two-lane, are now four lanes after a two-year project.
The project, known as the North Gap of the Highway 23 Gaps projects, was started in 2022. The South Gap project, which will see seven miles between Paynesville and New London turned into four-lane highway, will be completed next year.
Once finished, Highway 23 will be four lanes from Willmar all the way to St. Cloud.
The entire project is being funded through $105 million in Corridors of Commerce funds from the state.
The Kandiyohi County Fair Board commenced on a multi-year, multi-phased improvement project at the fairgrounds in 2023.
The first project saw the east entrance vastly improved with a new paved road and sidewalk, as well as storm water and parking improvements. However, additional improvements at the fairgrounds will need to wait until the fair pays off a significant amount of debt from the initial project, which cost more than was estimated.
The Kandiyohi County Board did approve increased funding for the fair in the 2024 budget — $1 per county resident, or approximately $43,000, which is double the amount the fair got in 2023. The fair board also requested a $100,000 American Rescue Plan Act allocation, though the county board has not discussed it as of yet.
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