Foth takes Nobles Co. Board seat

• Gene Foth

Gene Foth

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WORTHINGTON — Gene Foth was appointed to fill the vacant seat on the Nobles County Board of Commissioners Tuesday on a 3-1 vote. He will be sworn in at the May 4 board meeting, and serve the remainder of the year as Commissioner of District 4.

Foth was the only one of four candidates to attend the meeting, just one day after a special public hearing was conducted and nominations were accepted for the post.

Board chairman Marv Zylstra recognized Foth for his interest in and commitment to the position, as shown by his attendance at the meeting. He said all four of the candidates were well qualified for the seat.

Other candidates who had expressed interest included former Nobles County Commissioners Mike Peil and Gerald Mulder, along with Robert Demuth Jr., who plans to campaign for the District 4 seat in the November general election.

“No matter who we appointed as a board, the (public) more or less wanted us to make an appointment instead of sending this to a special election,” Zylstra said, adding that he wrestled with the decision of appointing someone.

Commissioner David Benson recommended Foth’s appointment, and said he had a “very positive feeling” about Foth’s commitment to the job.

In other action, the board:

- Approved a contract with the Department of Public Safety accepting a $16,000 grant for control stations pertaining to the new ARMER system for law enforcement. The money will fund the purchase of two radios for the Prairie Justice Center, and one for the Emergency Operations Center in the basement of the Nobles County Government Center.

- Received an update on a couple of grant applications made by Nobles County Emergency Management and the Sheriff’s Office for the ARMER system. Sheriff Kent Wilkening said if all of the grant dollars are received that they have applied for, it would reduce the county’s obligation for the system from roughly $2 million to approximately $420,000.

- Approved a resolution regarding consolidation of the Public Safety Answering Point project. This is the effort to combine county dispatch centers into a centralized location for counties who are interested in taking part.

- Approved a resolution authorizing changes to the low interest loan program for subsurface sewage treatment systems. Nobles County has been a lender of last resort for several years. The changes include raising the maximum amount of loan funds available per project from $7,500 to $15,000, and extending the loan repayment from seven years to 10 years. The loans are granted at 4 percent interest and are added onto property taxes for repayment.

- Approved a resolution authorizing the county to be a lender of last resort for the Minnesota Clean Water Partnership Project loan agreement. The county has $150,000 available to loan out for septic system projects. Qualified applicants can apply for up to $15,000 at 3 percent interest, for a loan repayment period of 10 years. These funds are available for property owners located outside of a watershed district in Nobles County, specifically in the areas of Lismore and Leota westward.

- Received the annual report of the Nobles County Soil and Water Conservation District. The district had a predicted budget shortfall of $25,000 in 2009, and the same is anticipated for 2010. SWCD board member Paul Langseth said they have enough funds in reserves to get them through the next three years, but after that the county will need to consider a budget increase for the agency.

“Obviously, this is probably not the year to do that,” Langseth said. “We’re providing a service to the county, same as you.”

Ed Lenz, SWCD manager, said the agency expects another good year in implementing practices and projects for Nobles County landowners.

- Authorized the final payment of $243,116.98 to Central Specialties, Inc., of Alexandria, for the bituminous paving contract.

- Passed a resolution accepted a $134,923.25 grant from the Minnesota State Transportation Fund for construction of a bridge on CSAH 11, northwest of Ellsworth.

- Set 11 a.m. on May 17 as the date for a bid opening on the pavement marking services contract. Nobles County is again partnering with other counties in the area in hopes of getting a more economical bid.

- Learned that state funding has been approved for replacement of several bridges within the county.

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