McLeod County has reached contract agreements with two of its employee unions — the Teamsters Highway and Teamsters Clerical workers.

The County Board voted unanimously to ratify the contracts for both, effective Dec. 23, 2007, to Dec. 18, 2010. A summary provided by County Auditor Cindy Schultz notes the contracts include:
• an increase in the county’s contribution to health insurance of $100 per month,
• an annual general cost-of-living increase of 4 percent, and
• a 1.5-percent annual increase for employees not already at the top of their wage scale.

Will the McLeod County and Bergen Township boards play chicken over a closed bridge?

Both bodies were standing firm last week on how the County Road 84 bridge’s replacement should be paid for. The bridge was closed Dec. 7 after it was found to be structurally deficient.

The McLeod County Board formed a committee Tuesday (April 22) to take the first steps toward hiring a new county administrator.

The committee is charged with reviewing the existing job description for the county administrator position and making recommendations to the County Board at a forthcoming meeting.

No date was set for when the committee will get back to the board with a recommendation. The group will consist of Commissioners Bev Wangerin and Kermit Terlinden, County Human Resources Director Mary Jo Wieseler and County Auditor Cindy Schultz.

McLeod County Commissioner Ray Bayerl asked fellow Commissioner Grant Knutson to step down as board chair at Tuesday’s (April 8) board meeting.

Referring to his previously voiced disagreement over former County Administrator Nan Crary’s March 25 termination, Bayerl said, “I don’t agree with the road we’re going down. I would ask you nicely to step down as chair … If you’re not going to treat people fair and expose the county to liability.”

The McLeod County Board’s March 25 decision to terminate County Administrator Nan Crary’s employment left many unanswered questions, including some from Commissioner Ray Bayerl himself.

“I was kept out of it,” he said, referring to the process by which Board Chair Grant Knutson arrived at making his motion to dismiss Crary. “I was not privileged to know why it was done.”

What does the future hold for McLeod County?

A free seminar next week will help business owners and policymakers learn how demographics and long-term state plans might shape the area in the next 10 to 20 years.

McLeod For Tomorrow is sponsoring the seminar, from 1 to 4:30 p.m. Thursday, April 3, at the Brownton Community Center, 310 Second St. N., Brownton.

The keynote speaker, State Demographer Tom Gillaspy, will share his research on the demographic trends McLeod County will face. These trends will affect everything from the workforce to government spending.

On a 3-2 vote, the McLeod County Board last night decided to “terminate its employment relationship” with County Administrator Nan Crary, according to Crary’s assistant, Bonnie Richter.

The motion, made by Board Chair Grant Knutson and seconded by Commissioner Sheldon Nies, was added to the agenda at the meeting last night (March 25) in Biscay. Knutson said in his motion, “I believe McLeod County needs to take a new direction … I believe McLeod County needs an administrator that does not get involved in policy issues.”

The McLeod County Board last week approved a plan to build eight new bridges between now and 2011.

Seven of the bridges had previously been found deficient by inspectors, including the County Road 84 bridge south of Lester Prairie, which has been closed since December after it was deemed “fracture critical.”

The County Road 84 bridge had originally been slated for replacement in 2010, but County Highway Engineer John Brunkhorst said, “Obviously, we’re trying to fast track that one.”

A sluggish housing market is least partly responsible for the continuing downward trend in McLeod County land-use permits.

The county’s Planning and Zoning department last week reported it issued about 200 land use permits in 2007, compared to about 250 in 2006. The past five years have seen consecutive drops in land-use permits issued, falling from a high of almost 500 in 2003.

Only 37 permits for new homes were issued countywide last year, with much of the activity in the Winsted and Hutchinson areas.

The McLeod County Board of Commissioners will meet at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Biscay City Office, on the corner of Ames Street and Front Street.

Items on the agenda include acceptance of a 2007 report from the Solid Waste Management department and several equipment purchases. As with other County Board meetings, there will be an open forum for discussion and questions.

(Jorge Sosa is a staff writer for the Hutchinson Leader. He can be reached at sosa@hutchinsonleader.com)