This meeting is being recorded. All right. Good morning, everyone. It is Tuesday, January 20th. We'll call the Wright County Board of Commissioners to order. We'll begin with the Pledge of Allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> Glad to see so many people here on this uh super frigid morning. And it sounds like it's only going to get colder as the week goes on. Uh I think we're going to try to shoot for maybe a 2530 below day here coming up. Um so everybody stay warm. But with that being said, we are very privileged here today. We have a celebrity in our uh mint here today. Uh I do want to bring forward and introduce the Princess K of the Milky Way, Mallerie Thorson. Thank you for coming today. >> So it's weird not facing all of you guys. So, I apologize. Um, thank you guys so much for having me here today. It's a complete honor to come back into this building. I've been in this building many times. One to renew my driver's license and multiple times cuz my aunt actually works with the county. So, I have a little in here to say the least. And so, I just want to thank you all so much for always being an advocate for agriculture in the position that you stand in. My term is only a year and yours you last how many like eight years, 10 years, 12 years, however long you serve. And each and every single year you guys have dedicated towards agriculture and in the county. So, as I've been coming to and from college, there's nothing truly better than being home and being in a county that supports agriculture and the future generation like me. So, I just want to thank you all again for allowing me to come here today, say a few words to you, but then also just thank you so much for supporting agriculture and in a great county, Brett County. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Well, Mallerie, we have a few things here. We have, first of all, I want to share a video that we have from uh uh Representative uh Tom Emmer that we'd like to share with you that him and his staff would like to share. Congressman Tom Emmer here. I hope you're all having a great start to the new year. I especially want to recognize one of Wright County's very own Mallerie Thorson for her tremendous accomplishment of being proud in the 72nd Princess K of the Milky Way. As a sixth generation dairy farmer and current dairy production student at South Dakota State University, I can think of no one better suited to represent Minnesota's dairy industry than Mallalerie. On behalf of Minnesota's sixth congressional district, I want to thank you, Mallerie, for everything you are you have done and that you are doing to serve such a critical sector of our state. Minnesota dairy farmers are some of the hardest working people in Minnesota and across the country. And you are all crucial to the success of not only our entire state, but our nation. We're so proud of what you've accomplished and appreciate everything you are doing to promote the dairy industry. Congratulations, Mallerie. >> That was very nice. Thank you, [applause] >> Mallerie. It is such an honor to have someone like you, an individual here from Ray County, uh, representing dairy farmers across the state of Minnesota. We are honored to have you here today. We are honored that you are a citizen of Ray County. And with that, we would like to uh pass the resolution making today Mallerie Thorson, Princess K of the Milky Way Day here in Wright County as January 2026. I would ask that a board member make that motion. >> So moved. >> Second. >> Motion by Commissioner Dietri, second by Commissioner Holland. Uh any discussion hearing? No. Resolution vote. Uh Commissioner Mo. >> I >> I >> I >> I >> I thank you. >> Resolution passes unanimous. Thank you. >> Congratulations and thank you so much for coming here today and visiting with us. We are very proud of you. >> Thank you so much. Again, it's a complete humble honor. Um I do this for the dairy farmers and not for my own self- entitlement by any means. And so to have a special day kind of seems like I have a little bit of an ego here, which is not not the truth. But I want to thank you so much for recognizing the dedication and the hours that I put in to represent not only Wright County, but the dairy farmers of Minnesota. So thank you. Well, thank you very much, >> Mr. Kryer. Just for the record, could you read that resolution? >> Yes, Mr. Chair, Commissioner Moina, resolution declaring Mallerie Thorson, Princess K of the Milky Way Day in Wright County, Minnesota. Whereas the Princess K of the Milky Way program established in 1954 celebrates the contributions of Minnesota's dairy farm families and promotes the importance of the dairy industry to our state and local economy. And whereas the Princess K of the Milky Way serves as an ambassador for Minnesota's dairy farmers, educating the public about the role of dairy farming in providing wholesome, nutritious dairy products to families across the state and beyond. And [snorts] whereas Mallerie Thorson, resident of Waverly, Minnesota, has been selected as the 2025 Princess K of the Milky Way, proudly representing the hardworking dairy producers of Minnesota and exemplifying leadership, community service, and agricultural advocacy. And whereas the dairy industry contributes significantly to the economy of Wright County in the state of Minnesota, supporting thousands of jobs, sustaining family farms, and strengthening our rural communities. And [snorts] whereas the achievements of Princess Mallerie Thorson reflect positively on the residents of Wright County and highlight the county's rich agricultural heritage and commitment to supporting local farm families. Now therefore, be it resolved that the Wright County Board of Commissioners hereby proclaims January 20th, 2026, as Mallerie Thorson, Princess K of the Milky Way Day in Wright County, Minnesota, and encourages residents to join in recognizing the accomplishments of Princess Mallerie Thorson and the importance of the dairy industry to our county and our state. >> Thank you. >> Well, thank you so much and and enjoy your uh Ray County Milky Way uh day here in Ray County. >> Thank you. Thank you, Mallerie. >> Thank you. >> Thank you. We're proud of you. [applause] >> All right. Now, moving on with the agenda, we have the minutes from January 6th. I will stand for any uh modifications or motion for approval. >> So moved. >> All right. Second. >> Motion by Commissioner Shane, second by Commissioner Holland. Any discussion? >> Hearing none. All in favor say I. >> I. >> Oppos. Same sign. >> All right. [clears throat] Motion passes unanimous. Next. Today's agenda. Does anyone like to remove anything from today's agenda for further discussion? >> Mr. Chair, um I I believe there was going to be some discussion on consent agenda item B5, the approval of the opioid settlement advisory council bylaws. And I think that would probably be best suited to move down to items for consideration, probably as um uh administrative item three. All right. So moving B5 from the consent agenda to items for consideration. All right. The A5. Yeah. B5 from the consent to A3 items for consideration. >> All right. >> All righty. Perfect. Uh we'll stand for a motion with the modification. >> It's all moved. >> All right. Motion by Commissioner Moa. Second. I'll second that >> by Commissioner Holland. Any discussion? Hearing none, all in favor say I. >> I. >> Oppos. Same sign. All right. Motion passes unanimous. Today's consent agenda. Would anyone like to remove anything from today's consent agenda for further discussion? >> I'll make a motion to approve the consent agenda. >> All right. Motion by Commissioner Dietrich. Is there a second? >> Second. Second by Commissioner Moina. Any further discussion? >> Hearing none. All in favor say I. >> I. oppos same sign consent agenda is approved unanimous. Now onto our timed agenda items. Uh finance director uh Lindseay Meyer adopting resolution 26-8. >> Good morning Mr. Chair, commissioners. Uh before you is a request to adopt resolution 26-8 to administer special assessments related to the PACE program which is a the property assessed clean energy program that we have entered into a joint powers agreement with the St. Paul Port Authority for a tax administration of their loan program. >> All right, this is we've done this before in the past. So, this isn't anything new. Um, board members, is there any questions? Otherwise, I will stand for a motion. >> Motion to approve resolution 26-8. >> I'll second that. >> Motion by Commissioner Mo, second by Commissioner Holland to approve resolution 26-8 regarding special assessments. Any discussion? Hearing none. All right. Resolution vote. Commissioner Shane, >> I >> I >> I >> I >> I >> resolution passes unanimous. Thank you. On to our next time agenda item, we have Matt Don. It is good to see you, Matt, on this cold morning looking to schedule some public hearings. Yep. Yeah, we got one on the agenda for today. County dish number 23. It's the reestablishment of records pursuant to Minnesota statute 103E 101. Um, I did provide a tenative date that works for our engineer. It would be March 10th at 2 PM. I can't be there. >> I don't know. >> I'm just checking my schedule >> board. That is a workshop day. >> Does it work for the majority? As long as we can get three, preferably four here. Kirby, you good? >> Make it work. >> All right, >> Tina is good. I'm good. All right, we're good. All right, with that, I'll stand for a motion to set uh March 10th at 2 p.m. uh the public are hearing for reestablishment of records on County Ditch 23. Do I have a So moved. >> Motion by Commissioner Shane. >> Second. >> Second by Commissioner Mina. Any discussion? Hearing none. All in favor say I. I. >> Oppos. Same sign. All right. Motion pass unanimous. Thank you. >> All right. Um we're a little too early for our public hearing. We'll move on to items for consideration. And next would be adopting uh resolution 276-7 requesting uh variance from the Minnesota rules and state aid operation design uh is it standards for Chattam Township. >> Yeah, Mr. Chair, this is really just a cleanup on a comment that we received from Mandoting two words from a resolution that was previously adopted in September. So just a clean up to help out mind to get this project approved and done. Okay, I'll make a motion to approve that. >> All right. Motion by Commissioner Dietrich. >> Second. >> Second by Commissioner Moina. Any discussion? >> Hearing none. Resolution vote. I vote I >> I >> I >> I >> I. >> Resolution passes unanimous. Thank you. Next, we have the adopt resolution 2610 uh which is required uh every year there's an election year to set minimum uh salaries for elected officials for the county sheriff's office and for the county attorney's position which is required by law to do so. >> That's correct, Mr. Chair. This is a statutory requirement that we have to do every time our county attorney and county sheriff are up for an election in a year. So, statute requires it be done in January. So here we are in January. >> Mr. Chair, is the amount statutoily set or >> No, we have to set the minimum salary. >> Minimum. Okay. >> So it's not necessarily what the person who would be elected to the office would get. It would just state that if somebody came in with minimum qualifications, uh just out of college, had a post license, and was elected sheriff, no experience, this may be what they'd probably get. >> He's the show. Yep. Thank you. Yeah, >> I'll make a motion to adopt resolution 2610. >> All right, we have a motion by Commissioner Holland. >> Second. >> Second by Commissioner Moina. Any discussion? Hearing none. Resolution vote. Commissioner Holland. >> I I >> I >> I >> I resolution passes unanimous. All right. And we're still ahead of schedule here. We're going to [clears throat] do the committee minutes. >> Mr. Chair, we do we do have item A3, which is the opioids bylaws. >> Um >> Oh, yeah. Sorry. I I believe I heard from a couple commissioners that they're interested in maybe having further discussion on this item. So, I don't know if the board is inclined to either pushing this out to a workshop meeting, which would be in uh March at this point, or we could just do a committee of the whole. >> I think we should have a committee of the whole on it just because I hate to push it that far out. Uh just uh wanting to go through it all with everybody so everybody's good on it. Um, with that, looking to see if there's something in the next couple weeks that we could sit down as a group here to go over the bylaws. >> Can we do after >> Sure. We could maybe do after the 3, February 3rd at 10:30. >> Yeah, we can do February 3rd at at 10:30. That would be a good date. >> Actually, Mr. Chair, why don't we make it 10? That way, we can always meet later. >> I won't [snorts] be here, but I have approval on the call. Does >> that matter? Be here. Let's see here. Otherwise, >> February 3rd. >> Yeah, February 3rd. >> March. >> That's what I say. It's a board day. So, >> yeah, February. I'll be here. >> Okay. February 3rd. Okay. At 10:00. >> At 10 o'clock. Yep. February 3rd at 10:00 a.m. And I'll stand for a motion on that. >> So moved. >> Second. >> All right. Motion by Commissioner Shane, second by Commissioner Holland to set a committee the whole at 10:00 a.m. on February 3rd uh at a room to be determined and posted uh to discuss the opioid council bylaws. Any discussion hearing? None. When would uh [laughter] so when's the the soonest that they would be able to meet then would be when? March. Because if we're not approving them until we're discussing them on the 3, we're not approving them till February 17th. I guess I'm just curious why we didn't set something up for either last week to discuss these or uh today so that we could move them to February 3rd because, you know, if if they're going to be going through the RFP process again this year, they really should be starting to have those discussions coming up here, if not already. and now we're going to push them out until March before there's notifications of changes that are going on and and membership stuff. So, um I I guess Sarah was here to comment on that, but >> um yes, Chairman Bch and Commissioners, I think to answer Commissioner Mo's question, we likely probably wouldn't be able to meet until March. um especially if there's um membership changes uh those members that are currently on um would want I don't believe we have anybody that is out of some um some of the suggested changes that are in draft form don't impact any members but they may want to withdraw based on some of the changes if there are additional changes out of committee the whole people might want to respond to That that's correct. So then a meeting would be in March. >> It does give us it just delays the timeline to get a RFP out. That's correct. >> Which I mean looking historically I mean not to say that that is the best practice. We've been really slow to kind of allocate funds in previous years. This hence the reason trying to make improvements to this. Um, I I I' agree it's not ideally the best situation, but uh we could try and meet a little bit sooner and get it approved on February 3rd. H movie a little bit sooner unless you want to try and uh do it ad hoc right now. uh >> we we had a very robust discussion with the people with the um Sarah and her team. Um that that we feel they were comfortable with and that we feel like the board was comfortable with. Uh so yeah, I don't I don't know what would come out of it, but I I don't know what what any of the commissioners uh um have like problems with. >> I guess I will start it off in there because they're trying to prevent the previous a uh actions of the board repeating itself. Uh, one of the only areas that I have more contentious with it is that we're going to appoint people to this council uh that will be advocating at this board but will not be voting members on that board. And I don't want to have a situation where in the past they are bringing recommendations forward here that the commissioners that sat on there do not support that. Hence the reason needing them to be able to be a voting member uh is important so that when they bring a recommendation forward that the two members that sat through it are standing behind it voted for it so that they are coming to this room to help advocate for it. I I I feel like having those members appointed on to that committee and not having a voting a vote on that committee leads [laughter] us puts us in a position where we could have recommendations coming forward that the board members that sat on there didn't support and which case puts us back in the situation where before where the county board is turning down their recommendations and I don't want that to be the case. >> Mr. chair. I I also had questioned that. So, I I appreciate the the time that we maybe could if there is a time that we can maybe push this forward before the third, but Sarah, I'll ask you, [sighs and gasps] would how much would this delay everything that's going on? Like, would it be that detrimental to do this? I just feel there there was some question in my mind the same way. So, >> um I have two thoughts. Um, Commissioner Shane, um, one is if that's the sticking point, um, that [snorts] seems like that could be resolved today. Um, my other thought is, um, [clears throat] that it would delay the process a month, which just delays the RFP that much, right? Um I can explain um the perspective um and of why that was brought forward and it was discussed with um both Commissioner Moina and Commissioner Holland um which is they would essentially have two votes both a vo a vote at the committee and a vote um here um and [snorts] if that's the board's prerogative that they would like them to have two votes then that is totally acceptable. Um, so >> once again, it's just to prevent recommendations coming forward that that the that won't pass the board. That's >> correct. >> Really the the key behind it. We um pardon me, Commissioner or Chairman Betch, but we also really expressed that we need to hear from both of our commissioner representatives that if something is not the will of the board. Um that that needs to be expressively shared cuz even with two votes, they could be, you know, outvoted. But if something's not going to pass board, >> um, that needs to be shared because [snorts] why would we move forward for something that's going to fail, right? >> Well, and and by them actually voting on it, you're putting record that shows those people on there that these two oppose it and you probably don't want to come into the big room with two nay votes. uh where is if they don't actually take a vote they there may be ambiguity as to where those two commissioners stand on that particular uh grant. >> I see your perspective as well. >> Absolutely. >> If that's the only change, can we do that now? >> Mr. Chair, we can make that change. Um there is a motion on the floor though right now for second [clears throat] to a committee of the whole. >> Was there other issues that people had had? That's the only particular one that I have >> because as uh to to Sarah's point um yes that since it would be Commissioner Holland and myself we would both technically have two votes and I mean to say that as she pointed out we could be outvoted on something which would be their prerogative and we're right back where we were five six months ago when when this all kind of started and on the other side of it that I mean we have two commissioners that are there to voice the potential displeasure of things that are going on which is why I was comfortable not having a a vote and a decision that was made because neither of us I don't think have a problem standing up and saying hey this isn't this isn't going to work this isn't what we're looking for and to really molding things to that way I mean if that is the absolute selling point to get three votes to pass this right now, then that's fine. We can we can do that. But I felt it was an an unnecessary layer that would be added to it since we have two of us. >> I I I understand your perspective because I know both uh Commissioner Holland and Commissioner Moina uh you are both uh well [snorts] in articulating your positions. I'm I'm a little bit more concerned on the longevity of it and who may be sitting on there in 2 4 6 8 years from now and wanting to make sure that we're getting good recommendations that pass the muster of the board. Uh coming going forward, we would first if there is interest in modifying those bylaws, first of all, we'd have to uh get the motion makers to uh remove their motion for the committee of the scheduling the committee of the whole and then a new motion. Uh otherwise, we can continue forward with uh the committee the whole and discuss it at at a greater depth on February 3rd. I will stand for a motion on any >> Well, we have one on the floor. So, >> that's why I say I'll stand for a motion to remove that or to take action on that one. Is there All right. I guess we'll go with the February 3rd. All right. Since there's a motion on it, is there any other discussion? All right. All in favor favor of scheduling a committee the whole on February 3rd at 10 a.m. to discuss the opioid bylaws. Uh all in favor say I. >> I. I >> oppose same sign. >> I >> You've got two too. I got to know where you're at on that one >> to move it forward or not. Yeah. >> To February 3rd. >> February 3rd to schedule a committee to hold to discuss it more on February 3rd or to >> That's fine. >> You're all right. So motion passes 32. All right. We'll have a discussion on February 3rd at 10 a.m. All right. Now moving on to what time is it? 9:24. We got just a little bit more time. We can get to the personnel committee minutes on January 6th. The personnel committee met on January 6th uh with uh administrator Kryser, Sean Johnson, Lindseay Meyer, Clay, myself, and Aen uh to discuss the license center and a backfilling of a position that has become open uh due to the long lines and the popularity of our DMV here in Wright County. The personnel committee uh agreed to backfilling this position. Uh, and with that, I will make a I'll look for a motion to approve the recommendations from the personnel committee mitten on January 6. >> So moved. >> Second. >> Motion by Commissioner Dietri, second by Commissioner uh Shane. Any discussion? >> Hearing none. All in favor say I. >> I. [clears throat] >> Oppose. Same sign. >> All right. Motion passes unanimous. And we'll really quickly get through the minutes from the committee of the whole. Uh, I'm not going to list all the names. We had a great number of people to show up at our committee the whole on January 12th at 9:00 a.m. to discuss legislative matters. Uh it was a very good robust discussion. We discussed uh backyard chickens. We discussed uh the need for relief in residential property taxes. Uh we discussed at great length the need for IT improvements within health and human services. It was a great meeting, great discussion uh with our legislators and our right county delegation. uh hopefully [clears throat] it will be fruitful in this upcoming legislative session. With that, I'll stand for a motion to approve the January 12th uh committee of the whole legislative issues meeting. >> So moved. >> Second. >> Motion by Commissioner Shane, second by Commissioner Holland. Any discussion hearing? None. All in favor say I. >> I. Oppose. Same sign. All right. Motion passes unanimous and we are >> two things I just wanted to note before we jump into the public hearing. Um as far as the legislative meeting went. Uh the [clears throat] first one was is that after that meeting um Kim had put together uh Kim Johnson in HHS a video of uh start to relative finish how the process of them updating someone's um income goes using the Maxis system um which for people who don't know is a system that the state requires counties to use that is from 1989. 9. So, it is still a green screen system that is used on Windows 10, 11, 12, whatever we're on now, 17, I have no idea. But, uh, whatever the most current Windows is, the the application that's used is still from 1989. >> The state system. >> Yeah. The state system that they require. So, >> require them to work on this. >> Uh, so it's it's just a >> archaic and outdated would be very nice words to use to describe it. So, there was a video that was put together of that and uh I had uh have seen the video and I believe I I had asked administrator Kryser to pass that on to all of the the people that were there. Um as far as the legislators go, as well as any other legislator that uh may touch Wright County in some way that represents us. Uh the other thing that just kind of wanted to note too, uh and this has been my favorite talking point over the last couple months, but we had discussion over the DOC commissioner and the uh open litigation now that the county has with the DOC, well that they opened against us and the 10th judicial district. Uh but from discussions we'd had there uh all of the legislators or at least a a large majority of them have already met with the DOC commissioner as well as there's some legislation that potentially is going to be drafted that could remedy this solution uh this problem and give it a solution in the future. So uh it's still very ongoing but just wanted to make a note of those two things. Thank you for updating us, Commissioner Wina. >> Thank you for that information as well. It's unfortunate that, you know, we're going on a uh program this long. [gasps] Well, we have another two more minutes. So, if anybody else wants to share anything from our legislative meeting, which uh it's been quite an uh interesting tobacco within Health and Human Services at the state level. So, >> Mr. share. Can I just add so maybe we have a big room full of people. Um we do have at Ray County a fraud investigator in HHS just so you are aware and that um if there are reports or sus of or suspect of some fraud happening we really encourage people to let us know um and we and we will have that investigated. It's it we have this person for a reason. They've saved us I think we're close to half a million dollars already this year or in the past year two million. Um so so Wright County is on top of this. Um and but it all it's a it's a countywide effort, right? Um you can't know the ins and outs of everything, but we cross our tees and dots our eyes and um and we work for the people of Wright County hard. So um thank you to HHS for for investing in that and knowing um how important that is to be on top of the fraud. Um I I just think of the billions of dollars that um we pay in taxes that is gone and um and how that's impact us probably at least for the last 10 years and um knowing that Wright County has has been consistent and been working together with their clients um to get the most accurate resources to our families that are in need um but also to catch anything that's fraudulent. So thank you. Thank you. And now we're perfectly at 9:30. We will begin the uh public hearing here. At this time, we have a public hearing for the uh lake improvement districts for Buffalo Lake, Deer Lake, Goose Lake, and Mink Lake. Uh at this time, we'll be inviting individuals that want to uh come forward and discuss the topic of the lake improvement district on the uh said lakes. If you wish to come forward and speak at this public hearing, please state your name and your city or township of residency. Uh and please keep your comments to uh less than three minutes and keep it on this topic of the lake improvement district and the named lakes. Uh so at this time, if you wish to comment for the record, please step forward to the podium and state your name and your city or township in residency. [clears throat] >> [clears throat] >> Good morning everyone. Uh my name is Bo Schaefer. I'm a resident of Buffalo. I live on Buffalo Lake. Um today I just want to kick things off with an executive summary of really what the Lake Improvement District is for those of you that don't know. So I'll start with uh Buffalo Lake has experienced poor water quality for decades due to excessive phosphorus. Federal and state assessments in 1972 and 2005 identified the lake as impaired and warned that meaningful improvement requires controlling phosphorous sources from the wershed. Without a lake improvement district in place, the lake has lacked ongoing monitoring and community involvement needed to secure funding and implement long-term restoration efforts. Community support for action is strong. A 2024 survey found that 88% of Lakeshore residents favor creating a lake improvement district with water quality algae blooms as a top concern from the residents. [clears throat] These issues such as poor poor clarity, odor, algae mats, algae mats, and the risk of toxic blooms are all tied to the elevated phosphorus. [clears throat] Um, further evidence here we have the DNR currently giving Buffalo Lake a D for an overall lake health grade. [snorts] Um, so the the proposed LI's primary goal is to reduce phosphorus by addressing both watershed inputs and internal loading. Um, the LI would lead an updated comprehensive study to fill critical data gaps and identify cost-effective solutions. Um expanded water sampling has already begun at key inflow and outflow points due to just volunteer efforts from those on the lake improvement district uh formation committee and board. Uh and then our secondary objectives include uh landowner education, invasive species reduction, promotion of native shoreline buffers and habitat restoration. Establishing an LI uh provides the structure, continuity, and community stewardship needed to reverse on reverse the ongoing decline and protect Buffalo, Deer, Mink, and Goose Lake for the future. >> Thank you, Bo. Thank you. >> Good morning, Jake Ellery, Buffalo. I'm also going to read from a prepared statement. Uh I'm going to explain the the uh differences between the lake association and the LI just to cl clarify that when we first started meeting about Buffalo Lake nearly 3 years ago, we realized there was a need for both the lake association and a lake improvement district. Central to the thinking was the realization that the synergy between the two organizations would make each one more effective. We officially began the lake association first knowing that the communication and engagement it would provide would help gather the right information for setting the purpose goals and methods of the LI. Throughout the process of establishing these organizations, we have been careful to clearly define the roles of each as there is naturally some confusion amongst the residents who may not be familiar with each type of organization. The lake association serves three main purposes. communication amongst the Lakeshore residents and with the community at large, social engagement amongst the residents and community members and fundraising both for its own functions and those of the LI. It operates independent relatively independently of any government agency. The LI in contrast has a singular focus of addressing a significant problem facing the chain of lakes and works closely with government agencies. Each organization has separate boards which meet monthly during the summers and every other month during the winters. Information is shared freely between the two organizations through a shared board member and through published agendas and minutes. In its first full year, the Lake Association has been very successful in all three of its purposes. It has completed a comprehensive survey of Lakeshore residents, helping define the goals for the LI. It engages the community through its Facebook page and has had held several social events. It has raised starter funds independently without the need for seed money. In the near future, we plan on launching a website shared between the lake association and the LI. Pages such as lake news and a calendar of events will be will help strengthen the lake association's commitment to community engagement. The LI will provide residents an easily accessible wealth of data, including such things as current lake levels with trends and alerts, temperature readings, water clarity measurements, phosphorus pollution levels, and blue green algae alerts. This will greatly assist the community in enjoying the lakes maximally and safely and be in line with the LI's goals of promoting economic growth around the lakes while preserving the lakes's natural resources. >> Thank you, Jake. Would [snorts] anyone else like to comment for the record? [clears throat] >> I I have a statement prepared from uh another member of the board. Brett Odin. I know I'm maybe up against my three minutes. Can I >> Yeah, that's who's the individual that you're >> Brett Odin. Brett Dr. Odin. >> Okay. >> All right. >> Yep. Go ahead. >> Uh why no tax? Many lake ma many lakeshore owners request lake improvement districts to be formed for the sole purpose of dealing with nuisance factor factors in their lake such as excessive weeds. Understandably, a costly annual maintenance goal such as this is usually most easily funded by tax. The proposed Buffalo chain of lakes lake improvement district is different and that it seeks to deal with long-term ecological preservation of the lake. As such, we feel that additional taxation is not the best funding mechanism for our goals for three main reasons. First, the lake improvement district concept as defined by the DNR is first and foremost one of an encouraging local involvement over lake management and many successful LIDs have accomplished their goals without taxation. Both the DNR and MPCA highlight the efforts undertaken to reduce phosphorus in Waverly Lake, resulting it in its removal from the impaired water list in 2020. A true success story. Those efforts were funded without any taxation. Secondly, while many see the word grants in our proposal and only think of public funding, we think private funding uh which we think of private funding which far outweighs public funds. When I when I set out on a similar aggressive goal of improving health and fitness in Wright County years ago, my grant proposal was immediately funded uh by a private funer Barb King of Landscape Structures. While I may not be able to continue to receive the these funds, I am fairly confident that the the current economic climate has corporations poised to donate to environmental causes. Thirdly, we have done our homework by surveying lakeshore owners through the Buffalo Lake Association. Most all when asked if they would donate $500 to a project said yes. When asked if they were to be assessed for $500, they said they would vote no at an annual meeting. This is undoubtedly due to the human trade of being proud of doing good electively versus being told what to do. Many Lakeshore residents are worried they may be soon taxed off the lake as they have seen a disproportionate tax increases in recent years. Mine has increased over 60% in just 5 years. In contrast to those who may argue that we will need to rely on an ad valorum tax, we argue that relying on on one one t one tax is a surefire way to not be able to pass any projects at each annual meeting in the future. We admit there will likely be some funding challenges eventually, but but have accomplished quite a quite a bit so far. We are currently doing phosphorus testing very economically after being told it was very expensive. It is amazing what volunteer labor can accomplish compared to paid labor. If your son said to you, "Dad, my friend gave me a spare push mower and it uh and it fits in my car. Can I start a lawnmowing business?" Would you say, "No, son. You you will need a new zeroturn riding lawnmower, a new truck, and a trailer to haul it in order to be successful. So come back and ask me when you have $30,000 in the bank. History tells us [clears throat] history tells us that successful enterprises are built on things like passion, dedication, knowledge, hard work, and community support more so than the amount of initial capital expenditure. Respect respectfully submitted by Brett Odin, MD. >> Thank you. Would anyone else like to comment for the record? [clears throat] >> Hello, my name is Mark [clears throat] Poninan, um, city of Buffalo resident. I've lived on Buffalo Lake for the past 11 years with my wife and two kids. We have really enjoyed everything there is to enjoy about living on a lake. However, we have watched the health of this lake get progressively worse over the years. >> [snorts and clears throat] >> And the main culprit of this progression undoubtedly is excessive phosphorus. It is the single biggest threat to Buffalo and the adjoining lakes, especially as levels continue to increase, leading to waters that are too choked out by weeds to boat on, too unsafe from blue green algae to swim in, and too deficient in oxygen for fish to survive. The key to understanding this problem and developing the best long-term management plan is a comprehensive professional study. In preparation for designing that study, the lid committee has already been performing some phosphorus testing throughout the summer and fall. We have gained some valuable insights on some point sources. So far, the biggest culprit is the water entering the lake through the culvert near the fountain. It has on average three times the phosphorus concentration than the normal lake water. A few other sources have two times the normal lake water. The good news is that all these sources flow through a culvert which would be capable of some sort of filtration. If we can continue to expand upon this with a comprehensive professional study, we are confident that we will be able to develop a management plan that is cost-effective and meet the DNR's goal of reducing phosphorus by 5% and save our lakes from dying. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Thank you, Mark. >> Good morning. >> Good morning. >> My name is Tom Wright. I live at 145 Alderwood Avenue. Um, moved to the area from Michigan about 10 years ago. Found a nice home on Buffalo Lake. It was in April. Looked out over the lake and it was beautiful and clear and was great. By June, the water had risen about 5T, swamped my dock, swamped my lift. But that those things happen. Um, by August the lake turned green. And if you've driven by, you know what it looks like. You know what it smells like. Over the course of the next few years, water periodically went up and down, but every August it lake turned green. So, it's become a problem. in the last three years. Unfortunately, got to blame somebody, but Palaski Lake uh pumps water into Buffalo Lake and along with it came zebra muscles. Good news and bad news. Okay, with zebra muscles, you get they filter the water, you get a little bit better water clarity. Um the bad news is with better water clarity it stimulates weed growth and our lakes are warming better clarity more weeds. Now with curly pondw weed mil foil the lakes started having some serious weed problems. Couple of years ago it was getting worse and getting worse. This past year, it was horrible. The far southwest end of the lake was a mad mess of of weeds by our docks, by the lifts. People couldn't even swim there. There were property owners that literally couldn't take their boats off their lifts and make it to open water because of the proliferation of the of the weed nets. So, where do we go from here? We know we have a problem. We know we have issues. We finally have a group of concerned property owners that have gotten together. We haven't had an association in the past, but now we have a lid. And we're here today to ask you to help support us and support the community on on our on our lake to try and make the improvements that are that are really needed there. There's an urgency to this right now because my fear is all of those weeds from last year, they didn't go away. They settled on the bottom. It's fertilizer for this year and our concerns are that it will be the worst year ever for [clears throat] for weeds. So therefore, we ask you to uh to approve our petition and in the future work with us and the city and the county and the townships along with the DNR and soil and water and the rest of the agencies as we uh work together hopefully to uh stop [clears throat] the downward spiral that we have in our lake and uh preserve a real asset for the community. >> So, thank you all. >> Thank you, Tom. My name is Rick Caner. I have lived on Buffalo Lake for about 20 years. I live right by the South Public Access on uh Buffalo Lake. I'm going to echo what Tom and Mark said. In my 20 years, lake looked decent for 17 of them. The last two or three years just epically straight downhill. The weeds uh two years ago were bad. The weeds last year, no really way to describe it. You'd have to walk into the water and what you would see as weeds from the bottom to the top. The top mat was 6 or 8 in. You could not drive a boat through it. I would never bring my grandsons out there to swim in it anymore because I think they could drown because you I could uh barely walk through it. So something is going epically wrong with these lakes and it's happening at light speed as Tom said. I when I look at it, you know, I'm no expert in this, but I look at all the the inflows that are allowed, unrestricted, unfiltered. Uh, I see them coming from Mil Creek, the backflowing of the Crow River, the city drainage pipes, Buffalo Heights Golf Course, Wild Marsh to an extent, Lake Palaski pumps in there. So, it's like, you know, we're just feeding the lake constantly with nutrients that are going to cause the kind of problems that we're having. When I read the DNR report, I was kind of surprised at something that I didn't feel like was in there, but maybe I didn't understand at all. But I didn't see that they highlighted what I think is the number one contributor of water, nutrients, runoff, weeds, and it's the backflowing of the Crow River. And you know, Tom talked about his doc being underwater and flooding. Okay, I'm getting sick of how this is happening where I can't even use my boat because of the massive amount of water that comes in. [clears throat] Okay, I know that's mother nature, but I also look at it and I go, all that water is being allowed in there unfiltered, un unrestricted in any way. And I think it's the number one contributor. When that river floods, I need to get my boat or my pontoon sometimes even off the water because that water is going to come up in one week, sometimes 12 to 18 in. Within 3 weeks, it's going to be up 2 or 3 feet. And I when I think about that, it's just I I really think about it in terms of the amount of water and runoff that's coming in. And it floods four lakes. Mink Lake, which I am on very frequently, used to be a crystal clear lake. Last year, dingy as could be, filled with weeds. I mean, it was a lake, the kind of lake you could go scuba diving and it was that clear. It's gone. And it all happened in two years. Uh there was talk about the phosphorus. One of the things Dr. Odin studies uh showed was that the phosphorus content in Deer Lake is twice that of Buffalo. And you know Buffalo's bad. Okay. I think that's from the from the backflowing of the Crow River. I mean that's the first lake it all hits and it makes total sense to me that uh that is probably the number one issue we have. The last thing that I'll comment on before I get to a close, you know, Buffalo is a 1600 acre lake. There's relatively few shoreline owners on that lake compared to the density that you see in other lakes in the county. And uh I don't think it's not possible. I mean, we're orders of magnitude short of residents to do anything significant funding wise for a lake that size. Go on mink. There's maybe five owners. Deer Lake has very few. All these lakes are kind of suffer from there. I don't know if suffer is the right word, but there there's not a lot of shoreline owners. Okay. I think um we need the state, the county, the city, the DNR uh to help us make decisions and invest in solutions that plague and are are destroying these lakes. And I think you can already see there's a bunch of us here ready to work with all the powers that be on this. But I I think we're going to need uh I'll say enormous help. It's not possible for the shoreline owners. It's too big. Thank you. >> Thank you. name is Mark Hegstrom. I live in the northwest corner of Buffalo Lake behind Mil Creek in um I'm just reacting to the comments that were made here today. I don't have a prepared statement. Um the the phosphorus is obviously an issue with the weeds, etc. Uh the um zebra muscles have gotten out of control. My dock this year was covered with them. Um, I actually sold my boat, sold my dock because I've been blooded flooded for 3 years. I can't get on and off the lake. Okay. So, talking about the inflow from the crow, that is to me that's the major concern. That's the source of most of this phosphorus. That's [snorts] that's what causes these flooding levels. We need to we need to control that flooding that water level such that then we can get control of the lake. If we don't do that first that nothing else is going to matter because every every spring whether it's from the snow whether it's from the from the rains that come when when when uh Crow River gets so high it flows backwards it flows into Buffalo Lake flows through mink etc into Buffalo lake and we we've seen levels three four fivet high over a season okay so we have to get the control of that first, okay? Then we can deal with these with these other problems because it's it's it's affecting everybody's property, you know, not only the it brings from you can imagine we had a meeting [snorts] a few years ago where um the people on Palasky wanted to pump more water into Buffalo and they wanted wanted uh wanted the the level to be higher where they could could could pump in. um that issue coming coming from them, coming from the other inlets, coming from coming from the the crow feeding back. It's just we have to have to somehow manage that water level [snorts] as a starting point because we're talking we're talking significant property damage. Okay? You know, like I said, I can't even get in the lake. You know, the the docks go underwater, docks get covered with zebra muscles, the weeds, the weeds are so thick, you said you can't even walk out there, you know, can't get your boat through there. Had a had a pontoon boat with 115 horse uh motor on it. I had to have it full speed just to get through the weeds. >> Okay. It's just just not worth the effort. So, I think that's the place we need to start. And hopefully this group, which I'm becoming aware of today as a homeowner on Buffalo Lake, hopefully they can work with the lid and uh we can get something done. Thank you. >> Thank you, Mark. >> Well, good morning, Mr. Chair and county commissioners. Um, so my name is William Lidle. I'm a relatively new resident of the city of Buffalo. Moved here with uh my family in 2024. and we live, work and play within the proposed lid. Uh, coincidentally, I own a boutique consulting company, Evergreen International Sustainability Solutions that specializes in innovation, natural resource policy, and strategic planning. And through that company, I am the administrator of the Lower Minnesota River Watershed District. Uh, it's a watershed district that spans five metro counties. Um it was created 65 years ago and in that founding petition it was asked we pray that somebody can help save this river. Um and we're 65 years on and we realize that uh we're entering our sixth uh next generation watershed management plan uh that just the petitions and the planning process don't automatically create the outcomes that we need. we need uh active engaged citizens and um and so I have some insights from the government's perspective that might be helpful. First I would like to express gratitude um for the county efforts and city efforts to improve access uh to the lake that and lakes that have already been going on as well as improvements to water quality. Um I think we should build on that momentum. Um and I'd like to voice strong support for the creation of the lid. um and and really thinking about these water bodies as the cornerstone of our local identity, recreation, uh and property value, but they're going to present growing challenges. I think I don't need to rehash what we've heard. Um but things that are on the emerging list of things that this group will need to work on in the future. Um things like microplastics, pharmaceuticals in the water, freshwater amiebas, pryions disease, invasive species. There are things that are just taking foot that we don't have data on yet that we're going to need to figure out how to govern. Um we really shouldn't think of this as an environmental concern. You know, if it's just the environment, we stepped back. You know, it'll find an equilibrium um to some degree, but we might not really be part of that. We really need to think about it as an investment uh in the future of the community and turning a liability into one of our community's greatest assets. You know, we can imagine marinas, cafes overlooking the water, and more waterfront events. It's a choice that we can make. And my recommendations would be to consider defining the boundary based off of the real watershed connections. Um the lid in my opinion should include all catchments as defined by the national hydrography data site that drain into Buffalo Mink Goose or Deer Lake excluding those that are already covered by other lake improvement districts within the Mil Creek Huck 12 watershed subwaterhed. This more accurate flow-based boundary um would recognize the true source of nutrients, sediment, flood water beyond the immediate lakeshore parcels, but it would also share uh some of the potential uh positive outcomes with that group that kind of could co-own co-own some of the the futures. The next recommendation would be to give this uh give this effort room to evolve. So, this lid is in it really early stages. You know, we have a little bit of data. Um the collaborative approach with the BLA is very important that the county and lid should remain open to future funding mechanisms. I don't necessarily think that ad valorum taxing authority is the appropriate approach here. Um but I was looking at the statutes and you have the ability to issue things like a use or impactbased charges which could be used to incentivize best management plan or practice adoption. So essentially, you make the water dirtier, you pay for it, and if you make the water cleaner, you get paid for it. Um, these may become essential in the years ahead as solutions are developed and refined for emerging concerns. Now is the time to set the stage for those decisions, not close the doors to them. Um, and then I think this is already happening, but uh that the efforts complement, but don't duplicate uh existing watershed planning, DNR efforts or administrative capacity. um we're part of a one watershed one plan. Looking into that plan last night, there's there's a lot of room for enhancement and a lot of ways that this group could advocate to um you know really downscale some of those efforts and improve them. So in summary, um I think Buffalo, Deer, Goose, and Mink Lates are part of a complex interconnected system with regional impacts. Establishing a lake improvement district with a science-based boundary and governance flexibility to responsive future needs is a smart and necessary move. We have the chance to protect property, strengthen local economies, and restore a resource that should be a centerpiece of pride and vitality. And I urge you to support this effort wholeheartedly. Thank you. >> Thank you, William. >> Good morning. My name is Mark Rooney and um I'm representing Deer Lake. I live on Deer Lake with my wife Sharon and I've been doing water clarity readings for the last five years on buffalo, deer, and goose legs. [laughter and gasps] And while I'm doing those water clarity readings the last five years, I'm uh realized that it's a systemwide problem. Not one um lake association can do it. Um and they are all connected. If the water level goes up, it it affects everybody. If it gets uh one lake gets contaminated or whatever, it flows to the next. So it's a systemwide as he said. [laughter] Um and so it it just seems that we have to look at it that way where in the past people would look at their lake and think about it but really not be able to do much about it. So it will take all of us. It will take all different groups to do this to work together and um there's a lot of literature out there. There's a lot of information out there that uh that we can we can use. Um Buffalo Lake has been studied for years providing a wealth of information to draw from and there have already been at least 64 lakes in Minnesota that have been restored and taken off the impaired list. we can benefit from their experience in our quest to uh for clean and sustain our lakes. Thank you very much for your time and consideration on this important project. Thank you. >> Thank you, Mark. >> Would anyone else like to testify for >> Yes, absolutely. >> So, um one one of the things that um >> and what was your name again? >> Sorry, my name is Mark Hstrom. I love Buffalo Lake. >> Yep. Uh one of the things that um I think is important for everybody to understand now make deer etc. smaller lakes smaller use buffalo large lake lots of use many of the users are not buffalo residents many are not people who live on the lake. So looking at it from an improvement standpoint, looking at it from a a standpoint of [snorts] if you dirty it so forth, the perhaps, and I don't know the extent of this, how how who's going to get behind this, but perhaps not only the county, but the state needs to be involved because it really is at least a sevencount problem because we get use coming out from Minneapolis all the time. Okay. So, it's a really a user-based issue from that standpoint. So, if we're looking at funding, we need to consider where where the users come from. Thank you. >> Thank you. Would anyone else like to uh testify for the record? [clears throat] >> Good morning, Russell Graham. I live on Bice Avenue in Mary'sville Township. I'm on Deer Lake. And not not to contradict you, Mark, but was interesting. I had a conversation with a uh Ray County official in uh the offices here, and they said, "Well, nobody goes on Deer Lake, but you, me, the residents of Deer Lake, and there aren't too many people there." Well, we have uh eight we have, I'm sorry, 18. We have 18 residents on that lake. It's a small lake, 180 acres. Goose Lake, I'm representing them also. Uh we we were just doing an estimate, Mark and I over there. Uh we think there's about eight residents on there. We have a farmland on there, too, that takes up the majority of the lake. Um what's happening now, you know, there's a channel that goes through Deer Lake and Goose uh uh Buffalo Lake. Um, I don't know if it's because of the weeds in deer in Buffalo Lake, but we're getting more and more recreational fishing usage in our lake. Um, this official here said that I'm the only one that goes out there at night. My right, my boat that goes out there at night or, you know, in the evening. our lake. I counted well especially this ice fishing here. We had 15 uh vehicles sitting in the parking lot where the landing is. I don't know how they fit them in there. They all ingeniously did some uh parking to get in there. Uh but and again it may be the effect of what's going on at at Buffalo Lake, but even during the uh summer months uh up until about June, July, we have recreational boats that come in. Skiers, we have jet skiers. Uh none from this area, not many from this area. Uh as far as the area, the lakes that we're talking about, um the impact is uh not happening as much as it is in Buffalo in Deer Lake. Right now we're downstream from the uh Palaski Buffalo and Deer gets it. Um but we also when that backwaters come up from the Crow Lake, we see the flooding going up and down, up and down. Now I know there's a uh I don't know if it's a proposal, but there was talk about uh replacing that bridge on Deer Lake. Uh I think that's an opportunity that we could take a look at to uh get some filtration there. Uh and also improving on the landing area. Don't know that whole process there. I know there's something in the worksh with Wright County. Um I just want to make this I'm trying to make this short. Sorry. Uh but um you know not one to sit in this watch, you know, for the number of houses, 16 houses on on Deer Lake. The residents there are all on board with this LI. Buffalo Lake came and introduced us to us first. We're a small lake and Goose Lake. Uh we we have to talk about that. We really all those people were for it also. I think uh they a lot of signatures there. Um we're talking about taxation. Don't want my taxes to go up. They go up every year. But if there's a purpose for taxation, I can see some impact on it that is happening. I'm one I wouldn't mind paying. But if I if I don't have to, I don't want to. That's >> Thank you, Russell. Good morning, David. >> Good morning, commissioners. Um, so I'm David Kelly and the community development director for the city of Buffalo. Um, don't have a lot to add. Uh, we don't have an official stance on on whether a lid should be created or should it not be created. Um, I just wanted to add to the record that um, we recognize the concerns that residents have shared about phosphorus and um, we have a lot of uh, studies that we're undertaking here at the city as well. Um and we just stand ready to partner with whatever organization that's created, whether it be the lid or if it's with the association that's currently there. Um efforts with other uh lakes in the area. Um we recognize the concern and we're uh happy to help there. So that's all I had. Just wanted to add that to the record. >> Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Y thank you. >> Would anyone else like to comment for the record? >> Morning, Alicia. >> Good morning, Alicia. >> Good morning, Mr. Chair, members of the board. Um Alicia O'Hare, right? Soil and water conservation. uh district. Uh similar to the city of Buffalo, we want to um offer up our partnership. I think we were mentioned a couple of times um in the report. I just want to remind everyone that uh we are the leaders of the comprehensive watershed based management plan uh for the North Fork Crow River, which includes all of these lakes. Um uh and that is one of the easiest ways to get uh grant funding. Uh I will add that that plan will be up for renewal which we will be working on in the next two years to uh update that plan and um uh bring ahead new priorities. So I encourage um lake residents and others to to be involved and uh you know look out for public engagement opportunities there. Uh I also want to point out that we do uh assist with the water quality analysis. they they bring the samples to our um to our office. It is an invaluable data set. Um Wright County is amazing for our citizen monitors and everyone who contributes to that. Uh I then do at the end of the year I do work up that data uh for them. So, you know, please utilize us as a resource for that. Um we also we'll do site visits too. So, if you have a concern about your own property or something, we'll we'll come out and talk to you. There's no charge for that. Um, and if you just want to see what you can do locally, uh, we we do that. So, please just keep us involved in that program. And then [clears throat] the last thing I do want to say is, um, it's potentially just because it happened later, but there is no mention of starry stonewart in this uh, report, which was discovered on Buffalo Lake in October. Um, and that's because it's so recent. That could be it. But I star stonewart is a big deal. It was thankfully found very very early on Buffalo Lake, but there is still a cost associated with making sure that it doesn't uh get expansive and uh impact the recreation. So I would encourage residents to include not just the management of curly leaf pondweed but potentially Eurasian water mil foil and star stonewart [snorts] um as well. There are funding opportunities uh both through the county and the state uh for those. So just a clear path forward for that. Thank you. >> Thank you. Would anyone else like to comment for the record? Would anyone else like to comment for the record? I'll ask one last time. Would anyone else like to comment for the record? With no other comments uh requesting, we'll move the discussion forward here and close the public hearing and bring the discussion up here to the dis. Um I will note through uh the many uh comments made here uh it looks like uh the vast majority of everyone here agrees that there is an issue uh that needs to be addressed on deer goose and Buffalo lake. Uh I think not everyone but a lot of them uh agree that a lid may be that route. I think I'll uh a few of you make comments that it could maybe be addressed through the lake association. Uh but all wholeheartedly agree that something needs to be done. Now when coming to the lid discussion uh I don't necessarily know that everybody's in agreeance with how the lid should be done whether it should be done at valorum or whether it should be done on a per parcel basis or uh as I think one individual uh noted which I would be interested in learning how that works is the uh basis of I forget what he called it um >> use of impact >> use of impact which uh very interesting I' I'd be the first I've heard of it but definitely be doing some more research on that. Um, I do want to say that uh I I would agree that something needs to be done. I don't necessarily know that uh doing it through a lake association that is uh fairly new in its inception would have the ability to address these magnitude of issues as well as have the ability to access the funding that would be available uh to a lid that would not be available to a lake association. Uh so I applaud the individuals in this room that did the uh hard work and dedication to bringing this forward to us today. Uh I'm going to turn it over to board members if you have some comments. >> Yes, Mr. Chair. Uh Tina Dedric here. Um Buffalo Lake is in my district. I remember as a kid playing at the park and swimming in the water a long time ago. Um, we are very fortunate to have these beautiful lakes in our county and the fact that you're stepping forward to take care of this lake and and I will be working with you. I'm a liazison to the SWCD work with Alicia water quality AIS and on the one watershed one plan. So I have my cards here. Don't leave. I'm going to go over by the door before you leave. But um I'm in full support of you guys stepping up and you can always adjust after you get your your plan in place and and work from there. It's one year at a time and you're going to learn stuff every year and um I'll be here to help you. >> Is there any other comments? >> Any other comments from the board? Otherwise, I'll stand for a motion. >> So, I'll make that. Oh, second. >> So, the mo well there's multiple motions that could be made out there. The motion would be to move forward with the creation of the lake improvement district or you could do the denial of the petition to create a lake improvement district. Uh there could be move on to continue research for the lake improvement district to approve the lid with the steering committee members appointed as the initial lid [clears throat] board members. M >> Mr. Chair, Commissioner Mo, if I could just clarify that it'd be for staff to present a resolution to that >> extent. Yep. >> Okay, I'll second that. All right, we have a motion by Commissioner Moa, second by Commissioner Holland to direct staff to come forward with a future board meeting uh with the resolution stating the uh creation of a lake improvement district for the lakes of Buffalo Goose and Deer Lake. Is there any discussion >> or mink? I'm sorry. And mink. Yes. Is there any other discussion? >> Mr. Chair, I would just note that um staff will work with legal on this. it. I believe the rules give us up to 30 days. We'll try to shoot for February 3rd with the resolution, but at if things get delayed in drafting, it could be as late as February 17th, which would still be within the 30-day time period. >> All right. So, those of you in the room, we will see some action, more formal action on either February 3rd or February 17th. Uh if there's no other discussion uh on this matter, all in favor say I. I. >> Oppose. Same sign. >> Motion passes unanimous. Thank you. And with that, we have one last item to attend to on today's com uh county board meeting, which is a public hearing uh for the transfer of property from Independent School District 885 to Independent School District 882, which is a rarity of an occurrence, but uh nonetheless, it does happen. And we are looking to transfer a 40 acre parcel from St. Michael School District to Monaceel School District. Uh, is there anyone here that wishes to comment to the public record for the public hearing on this transfer of property to school districts? Please step forward at this time. State your name for the record and your city of residency. Would anyone like to comment? >> Would anyone like to comment? Would anyone like to comment? Hearing no comments at this time. I will bring the matter up to the dis for discussion. Board members haven't given all the information. Do you have any questions or this is pretty cut and dry. It's very very slim piece of property as you know the hokers have and uh they just want to clean this up and so I'm in full support. Uh both districts are in favor. So see >> yes it is easy one. >> Yes. This is a non-contentious item. So with that, I will stand for a motion uh to adopt resolution. Is it? Yeah, resolution >> 269. >> 269. >> So moved. >> Second. >> All right. Motion by Commissioner Mo, second by Commissioner Holland. Any discussion? >> Hearing none. Uh resolution vote. Uh Commissioner Mo. I >> I >> I >> I >> That motion passes four. >> Oh, >> 4 0 1 >> 4 I don't know how we mark it as not not here. >> All right. With that, uh if there's no other business before the county board at this time, we will adjourn the right county board meeting of January 20th at 10:15 a.m. Thank you.