The Ramsey County Commission met for a regular meeting on Tuesday, March 21 at 5:30 p.m. Following the approval of the previous meeting’s minutes and this meeting’s slightly amended agenda, courthouse maintenance director Roger Gunderson sought approval for a bid from Mack Plumbing for battery-operated flushers for all toilets in the building that do not already have them. This was approved unanimously. Brian Senger in Human Resources outlined two changes to the Ramsey County employee handbook, clarifying length of service to months instead of years, and to allow sick leave use in the first six months of an individual’s employment. Both these changes were unanimously approved by the commission. Bev Bachmeier from the recorder’s office was next, requesting a contract change for an employee who has been paid hourly for indexing records to being paid per document instead. This was also unanimously approved.
Rhonda Allery, Director of Mountain Lakes Social Services, visited the commission to publicly thank State’s Attorney Beau Cummings for his exemplary work in his position, particularly in regards to the prosecution of Howard Studhorse. Attorney Cummings was able to secure a guilty verdict on multiple gross sexual imposition charges with no physical evidence, which Director Allery states she has only seen one other time before in her career. Cummings also went above and beyond to ensure the victims in the case were comfortable, safe, and advocated for, and the child welfare officers in Mountain Lakes all wanted to express their appreciation.
Kevin Fieldsend, highway superintendent, was next to request approval for the Greater Ramsey Water District to add a water line underneath a road near Crary. This was unanimously approved by the commission. Later in the meeting, there was discussion with Fieldsend over snow removal and the possibility of individual townships in Ramsey County applying for assistance from the Department of Emergency Services. No action was taken.
Judge Donovan Foughty attended the meeting to express a concern over the lack of security at the Ramsey County Courthouse. Judge Foughty stated that he believed social service employees are most at-risk for the possibility of violence, and would like to see some form of security in the building. This could include a specialized entrance, a metal detector, and/or a deputy manning the entrance. Cummings also stated that a visiting attorney from Bismarck commented just that morning that Ramsey County was the only courthouse in the state he has seen to have no security at the entrance. Sheriff Bryan Lang has discussed potentially cost-sharing a deputy with Benson County, since they utilize Ramsey County’s courthouse relatively often. It was decided that there will be a meeting in the future with Judge Foughty, Attorney Cummings, Chairperson Frith, Sheriff Lang, and potentially Sheriff Rode from Benson County to discuss a solution moving forward.
Under new business, the commission then discussed the current plan for insurance rotation. Currently, there is a four-year rotation set up to switch insurance vendors across the community so one agent does not have favoritism over others. County fire, tornado, and auto insurance policies are currently with Bremer Bank, and the question was whether to vote to continue with the rotation in place or to end it. There was much discussion from county employees and community insurance agents; eventually, a motion was made and carried unanimously to table this discussion until the commission’s next meeting on April 4.
The commission unanimously voted to approve a written resolution in support of SB 2239 and opposition of HB 1040 in this session’s legislature. Both bills have to do with NDPERS: more information on these bills and all other proposed legislation can be found at ndlegis.gov. Finally, Chairperson Frith gave an update on a proposed Highway 2 project that will not be moving forward. The proposal included the Department of Transportation adding J-turns to Highway 2 out by Ackerman Acres to make left turns safer, but due to public opposition this was taken off the table. Another solution will potentially be made in the future. The Chamber of Commerce also announced the selection of Suzie Kenner as the new Executive Director.
Minutes and agendas of past meetings can be found at co.ramsey.nd.us.
