The Ramsey County Commission met Tuesday, June 2 at 8 a.m. in the Courthouse Commission Chambers. All commissioners were present and following the Call to Order, Pledge of Allegiance, Approval of minutes, Approval of bills by roll call, Approval of Treasurer’s Checks, also by roll call, the commission was to aprove the Financial Reports as submitted by a roll call vote, however, since they had received five months of reports to go through, it was suggested to table the vote on this item until they had time to digest the monthly reports. Jeff Frith made this motion, it was seconded and passed unanimously. The Agenda for this meeting was ammended and then approved.
First up to the microphone was Sara Laite, Extension Office, who gave a brief report on all the things coming up including 4-H Farm Visits, Camps & mini-camps, Achievement Days June 17 – 19 at the Ramsey County Fairgrounds and classes being offered through the Extension Office. She elaborated on the Achievement Days schedule, stating that on June 17 there would be the static displays, June 18 the Ramsey County horse show all day and June 19 the live animal presentations.
Shawna Middleton, director of the Lake Region Public Library presented her annual report. She hit a few of the highlights for the commission and Commission Chair, Blaine Volk thanked Middleton for a “good job.”
Roger Gunderson, had a few items to discuss with the commissioners including repairs to the stone veneer on the building requiring caulking. This might end up being an expensive item, so he is going to call for bids to see what they come up with. A motion was made to call for estimates before work is done. He also added a concern about web worms infesting the trees on the courthouse property. He said that he had to destroy 20 nests or the infestation might kill the trees. He will stay on top of that to make sure it doesn’t.
At 8:30 a.m. the Commission meeting was paused to allow for the 2026 County Equalization Meeting. Tax Equalization director Beth Black stepped up to the mic and introduced the individual who was present via telephone, Ted Goslinga, certified general appraiser from Vangard Appraisals. He was present to help answer questions that the residents might have about their vaulations. Black emphasized that the County valuations do not iinclude the City of Devils Lake, they do their own assessing and valuations.
Following Black’s presentation Rob Johnson stepped up to the mic and explained his role as the city assessor, then a number of individuals present in the gallery stepped up to talk wbout their specific concerns with the rise of their property valuations including Terry Estvold, Peter Leppard, Greg Rossberg and Ben Halvorson. Each had their own specific situations to discuss.
Black stated one of the benefits of the county’s efforts was that now they have on file the valuations for every parcel, so that information is available to whoever needs it.
She also reported the revaluation of inundated land, the valuation of ag land, and each item had its own motion, second and vote. That concluded the County Tax Equalization meeting, it adjourned and returned to being the Ramsey County Commission meeting.
Then County Highway Superintendent Highway Superintendent Jason Kraft gave updates on various projects in Ramsey County, seeking approval for some of them.
Paul Christianson, former mayor of Churchs Ferry stepped to the mic and asked the commission to let him purchase the remaining lots belonging to the former city. States Attorney Daniel Howell weighed in on this request stating that according to North Dakota’s Century Code, they have to first have each parcel valued and if over a certain value, that land must be sold at auction to the highest bidder. Christianson wanted the commission to bypass that and sell it directly to him for $200 each for a total of $600. Commissioner Ed Brown addressed Christianson’s request “We have got to follow the law” and “we do it legally – we want to do it right – let our State’s Attorney do his job!”
Kraft came back to the mic and talked about using mag water on roads in the county, which the commissioners said should be done only when the roads are repaired and then can be done without wasting the county’s money. It costs the county approximately $15,000 for this service, it’s in the budget for 2026, but not for 2027. Another issue they are dealing with is the high cost of fuel and Kraft informed the commission that the first of every month they let the bids for fuel so they can get the best cost for fuel for their vehicles.
Another item they touched on was the 2027 budget; there were discussions of items of concern, including budget cuts and changes in the budget. What is a need and what is a want? Commissioner Bill Hodous was concerned that in the present situation, they should begin the budgeting process earlier rather than later. This has been talked about several years in a row. It was the consensus of the commission that this year they would do just that, start the process earlier, hoping department heads would ready their needs to bring to the process. The question was asked, “what is a need and what is a want?” They are two very different things in this budget climate.
The final person to come to the mic was Sheriff Lang who changed his request for vehicles for his fleet to two Durangos, rather than one pick up and one Durango because the cost for the 2027 pickup was so much higher than the 2026 pickups. This change saves the county thousands of dollars. Lang also informed the commission that the Sheriff’s office was enforcing mileage restrictions on some, within reason, to stay within 125 miles to get through this year and these current high fuel prices.
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