12-15-2003 - Laserfiche WebLink

Commission Minutes--December 15, 2003 2681 engineering services to prepare the design for the Casselton Elevator Road; and to authorize the county engineer to add the proposed road to the Cass County Highway System and proceed with all necessary design and construction activities to complete project. There was no further discussion and the motion carried on roll call vote with Mr. Meyer, Mrs. Sorum, Mr. Vanyo and Mr. Wagner voting "Aye"; Mr. Bennett opposing. 14. VECTOR CONTROL, Grant application discussed Mr. Berndt was present to discuss an upcoming grant application for vector control. He presented the item for information purposes today, rather than taking any action, because the grant application process is being administered by the Center for Disease Control and the application is not available at this time. He said $100,000.00 of matching money will be available from the Federal government, with an additional $10,000.00 being made available for cities and counties showing a cooperative effort for mosquito control activities. The funds will be available through the M.A.S.H. Act (Mosquito Abatement for Safety and Health), which President George Bush signed into law on August 15, 2003. A second grant for up to $40,000.00 of project costs is available through the Pesticide Environmental Stewardship Program Project, in cooperation with the United States Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Office of Pesticide Programs. Mr. Berndt said the EPA grant application form is not available at this time either; however, he will come back to a future board meeting to provide that information. Mr. Wagner asked if Mr. Berndt is comfortable that he has time to bring the grant application back to the board before the deadline approaches, and Mr. Berndt concurred. Mr. Bennett inquired about matching funds, and Mr. Berndt said there are matching requirements on both of the grants; however, he feels the budgeted amounts for chemicals and in-house labor will serve as the county's match. The matching funds would be taken from existing budget line items, and he has no intention of requesting additional money. Mr. Wagner concluded that the county is trying to increase the quality of the mosquito control program and Mr. Berndt has indicated there is still time to access these grant funds after the first of the new year. 15. PERMIT APPROVAL, State's attorney update Mr. Wagner asked the state's attorney to review North Dakota Century Code language regarding an alternative approval method to eliminate the necessity of calling a special board meeting for the issuance of permits, such as raffles, fireworks displays and special events where alcoholic beverages are sold. Permit requests are sometimes received after a commission meeting, with the date of the event being scheduled before the next regularly scheduled board meeting at which it could be approved. Mr. Burdick said State law implies that the local governing body would approve the types of permits mentioned earlier; however, he did not find anything requiring a quorum. He said the board could conceivably empower a member of the board, such as the chairman, to approve specified permits with discretion, and that item could appear on the next commission agenda for formal adoption by the entire commission. He said he can see where this process could serve the public better also.