County board gets set for coming year

During their Jan. 6 meeting, Waseca County commissioners elected De Malterer as this year’s chair, with Brad Krause as vice chair.

 

At the recommendation of property and election services director Tammy Spooner, the Waseca County Pioneer was named as the official county publication for 2026, meaning that important county notices will be published there. This will be the second year the Pioneer has served in the role; Spooner commented she has been very satisfied with the promptness and thoroughness of the service the Pioneer provides. Official notices and requests for bids from the county highway department will be issued using the highway department website.

 

During the public comment portion of the meeting, commissioners heard from Audra Veroeven, site manager for the Waseca operations of Palmer Bus Service. Veroeven informed board members that her drivers had been experiencing slippery conditions on numerous roads within the county, with a number of buses having recently gone into the ditch and needing the services of a tow truck “at $500 a crack.” Veroeven mentioned other types of vehicles had also been encountering difficulties in certain locations, but that the “cargo” carried in school buses is infinitely more precious than that in a farm or gravel truck.

 

She said her drivers now refer to a section of 140th street as the “valley of doom,” claiming that five vehicles had once been in the ditch along a single 500-foot stretch of the road. She also named 440th and 135th avenues as being persistently slippery, and expressed a request that maintenance in those places be upgraded.

 

Land and Water Resources director Chris Howard requested board members’ attention to another legally required start-of-year matter, setting the rate of reimbursement to farmers whose crops are damaged by work performed on a county drainage ditch. After discussion regarding possible mitigating circumstances, commissioners approved Howard’s recommendations: $795 an acre for corn, $557 an acre for beans, and $525 an acre when a farmer is prevented from planting crop. During the conversation, Howard acknowledged the rates might be modified if unusual circumstances occurred.

 

Property and election services director Spooner recommended that the county follow the newly increased IRS recommended rate of 72.5 cents per mile for individuals using personal vehicles on county business. Conversation surrounding the topic revealed that county employees must receive approval in advance if they hope to be reimbursed for mileage.

 

It was mentioned that commissioners Brian Harguth and Doug Christopherson were marking their ninth anniversaries on the county board.

 

Also mentioned was an upcoming training for area residents who wish to earn qualifications to join the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT). Team members learn the processes and channels to be followed when the area experiences a devastating emergency; examples include tornadoes, large-scale flooding, or catastrophic accidents. Any county resident is eligible to take part in the free course. Class sessions will take place across three days: April 17 from 5:30 to 9 p.m.; April 18 from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., and April 19 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Anyone wishing to earn certification must attend all three sessions.