Working for the County

I am proud to be a part of the positive change the Winona County team has made since I took office. The board sets the vision and goals; the staff gets us there. 

Check the facts.

Winona County Achievements since 2009.

      

Reduced tax levy trend every year since elected, reversing 15 years of increases. 
2010 : 0%, 2011: - .83%, 2012: -  4%    

From  '00 - '09, our county saw an 86% increase in the Levy! Had we not addressed our structural deficit and worked to reverse this trend, Winona County property taxes would have increased 7.7% every year.

 Reduced annual structural deficit from $2M+ to less than $500,000, with reductions continuing. 

      Done while adding on to our County Office Building, which generated local jobs and improved service to citizens in a difficult economy.

  Reduced the size of our County Government by 35+ FTE positions (w/o layoffs or reduction in services). Consolidated departments (from 23 to 13).  

        Improved efficiencies. Cross-trained employees.

v  Implemented the LEAN model (process improvement), resulting in $150,000+ yearly savings from 7 projects.

v  Adopted a new zoning ordinance that reduced variances in favor of CUP's for greater flexibility (building on less than 40 acres) and planned development.

v  Adopted a Silica sand mining CUP, for intensive use mines, that balances economic development with road use and environmental protection.

v  Cooperated with Fillmore Co with a shared Community Services Director. Incorporated

E-Docs (computer software) leading to more cooperation among counties.

 

Association of MN Counties (AMC):

My Leadership positions in the Association of MN Counties (AMC) show the confidence fellow commissioners have in me.

Ø  AMC Board of Directors; Chair Environment & Nat’l Resource Policy Committee; District 9 Vice Director; Past Vice Chair Agricultural & Rural Issues Advisory Committee

Ø  FUTURES Task Force member: Statewide Think Tank of County leaders bringing forward ideas to redesign government.

Ø  Greater MN Advisory Panel (GMAP) (1 of 3 Commissioners on the panel) Panel made up of Local Gov’t, Legislators, and Governor’s Office.

AGRICULTURE & BUSINESS LEADERSHIP

v  Co-Own 5th Generation Family Farm

§ Purebred Beef Cattle Producer

§ Agriculture Products Export Co.

v  Minnesota Agriculture & Rural

Leadership Program (MARL) Class IV

v  Promote MN Agriculture worldwide

v  MN Dept of Ag Excellence Award for International Marketing

v  Food & Hotel China Trade Show delegate

v  Minn. Corn & Soybeans Associations

v  Local, State & National Cattlemen Assns.

v  Farm Bureau

v  Re-Elect  Winona County’s Promoting Modern Ag Charter Committee

BACKGROUND

v Century Owned Farm & Ag Export Co-owner

v Mathematics BS, Colorado State Univ.

v 7-12 Mathematics Teacher

v St. Charles Borromeo Church

v 2 sons  - Cliff (23) and Seth (21)

v Celebrating 25 years of marriage to Ralph

Seth, Ralph, Mena, Cliff

 This site is paid for (although there are no costs) and approved by, Mena Kaehler.

Winona County Commissioner District 3

 

Thank you, District 3, for your confidence in me. 

On Tues, May 22, 2012, I filed for re-election to County Board. 

I ask for your support in the August 14th Primary.

The last 3.5 years have been very rewarding. I choose to run in 2008, not because I had a personal agenda, but because I feel all citizens should give back to their communities.  Some serve through the military; civil service is my venue.

There is much going on in the County. We have made some huge strides in the last three years. There is a great synergy between the board and staff. The board set the policy, but the staff made it happen. We have a stellar staff working for the county.

Since taking office in 2009, my primary communication (beyond meetings) to the citizens has been through my "Commish's Corner" starting my first month in office. It is published in alternate weeks by the St. Charles Press and Lewiston Journal. 

My blog writings will increase, due to the speed with which I can respond to information during my quest to continue to serve Winona County. 

Good governance is making the difficult decisions for the best of the community, while limiting individual disruptions, rather than invoking fear and grandstanding for votes.

Please contact me with any questions, concerns or issues. 
Good communication is essential. Only through citizen input, can our county work for us all.

Thanks again,
Mena

July 28 Commish Corner

CRP Ground Released & County/City Farm2Rail

            What a pleasant way to end July – much of the county got a needed rain last week.

Two items today, but important issues. One is our lack of rain. On July 24^th, as a board member of the Association of MN Counties, I represented AMC at a USDA/MN Dept of Ag Drought meeting. Producer groups, Legislative personnel, and agencies attended. Among other things, we learned about the following actions by US Sec of Ag, Tom Vilsack.

On July 23^rd , Sec Vilsack, released some of the CRP lands to be opened up for haying and grazing. There are some restrictions, so if you have lands you wish to open up, please contact the FSA office in Lewiston to get things in order before Aug 2^nd. Sec Vilsack also decreased the payment reduction for haying and grazing from 25% to 10%.

If you go to www.usda.gov, to Newsroom, to Latest Releases, you will find the July 25^th Press release that outlines the relaxed requirements regarding loans, EQIP project completions, and much more.

The MN Beef Cattlemen’s Assoc. is encouraging those with CRP to work cooperatively with the Livestock Producers to assist in finding forage for the animals.

            Secondly, at a local coffee shop discussion group, local residents discussed Farm2Rail concerns with me. It reconfirmed the need to clarify the information from the Winona County perspective.

1)   At present, there is no proposal or permit request in front of the County.

2)   At the July 26^th board meeting, the Board voted to support the recommendation of our Planning Department to follow the County’s Comprehensive Plan with regards to this project. The following is our planning coordinator, Jason Gilman’s letter to the City of St. Charles after the board voted to support the plan:

 “The Board revisited and supports it’s guidance in the Comprehensive Plan, noting the Comprehensive Plan recommendations which include but are not limited to the following:

Winona County Comprehensive Plan 2000, Development Goals and Policies, Overall General Growth, p. 15, Policies:

6. Encourage the location of large scale development projects in communities that have the capacity to provide the necessary public utilities and urban services.

7. Coordinate County policies with the adopted policies of cities and townships for extension of their development into the rural County areas.

Winona County Comprehensive Plan 2000, Development Goals and Policies, Urban Expansion Area, p. 19, Policies:

3. Promote the transition of agricultural land to urban use in an orderly manner and in accordance with the local government’s plans for the extension of public utilities and services.

4. Pursue formal cooperative planning between the County, townships, cities and schools within the urban expansion areas, including negotiated orderly annexation agreements.”

           

The rationale behind encouraging the local municipality to take the lead is simple – the applicant has asked for urban services and the project is proposed within a City’s urban growth area, adjacent to a municipality it would greatly impact.  Therefore, those citizens should be the ones that oversee it to ensure the local impacts/concerns are addressed.

3)   The County’s 2000 Comp Plan lists the 300 acres as Agricultural Use. The City’s Comp Plan lists the area as future Industrial Use. These are interests that are dependent on the ultimate jurisdiction given each jurisdictions service provisions, and that brings up some of the confusion.

4)   F2R wants to use city services – such as sewer and water; therefore they would be annexed into the city eventually, as the County does not provide those services.

5)   If this proposal comes before the County Board, we will have one of 2 choices – either approve or deny.

a.     If the majority of the Board chooses approval, we would permit the project. If the land was later annexed into the city of St. Charles, it would be difficult and cumbersome to ensure the conditions placed upon the facility by the County could, or would, be enforced by the city, since they are separate permitting authorities.

b.     If the majority of the board chooses to deny, the F2R owners can either walk away, or they can submit the project to the City and request annexation at that point.

6)   If the City chooses to be the Responsible Government Unit (RGU) on the Environmental Assessment Worksheet (EAW) that is only one step in the process. That simply analyzes and looks for potential issues of the project. It does not take into consideration the wishes of the city council, the citizens or the developers and it does not obligate local government to approve the project

7)   The Winona County Planning and Zoning Department does the permit reviews Winona County and has been invited to assist the City in it’s permit review of the project. Their recommendations are based upon which entity’s comprehensive plan and regulations they are doing the review for, and it is ultimately up to the respective board or council to act on them.

8)    Farm2Rail has stirred strong emotions – At present, there is no permit requests for the project to address. The scope and information continues to change.

 Many rumors and inaccurate information are being circulated that many thought to be fact. I would encourage everyone to check the facts. Jason and his staff are available for questions and are responsive in returning calls and e-mails.

Please contact me on any items or concerns for the County.

Mena Kaehler

mkaehler@co.winona.mn.us

Commish's Corner July 16th

Evacuation Protocol

            Last week we had an excellent County Fair. I hope all who wanted, were able to get out and enjoy it. The kids are the topping on the fair – sharing the product of their hard work with the community.

            It seems every few years storms come through the fair forcing an evacuation. If you happened to be on grounds last Friday, you experienced another. Our new Emergency Manager, Jeff Kirkey, was on site monitoring the weather, among other things. He made the decision to clear the fairgrounds, and in a little over 30 minutes, we had everyone out in an orderly manner.

            This evacuation went extremely smoothly. This was Jeff’s first fair, and he is analyzing the protocol to improve upon it. Kudos go to the Emergency Management team on a well-executed plan. As it turns out, the storm split and did not hit the grounds, but there was no way to predict this. In cases such as this, it is better to err on the side of caution.

            In conversation with Jeff over the weekend, I told him he and his team did a great job. In our discussion, it was good to hear how he is getting out and working with the other agencies such as the Sheriff and St. Charles Police. This highlights the culture our County is working to achieve – collaboration and cooperation.

            Just a couple other things that came up at the fair: I have written about several of these items before, but there continues to be misunderstanding about some very important issues at the county. Despite many approvals, clear code guidance and available staff for questions, questions and misinformation continue to arise on the subject. For example, it IS easier to build on less than 40 acres under the new Ordinance than it was under the old. I encourage people to call our Planning and Environmental Services Director, Jason Gilman, or Eric Johnson, to get clarification on how the Zoning Ordinance affects them. There were many other misunderstandings with it and its impact on us. We are continuing to look at and analyzing what is working and where we want to tweak it. Is it perfect? No, but we need to remember no document is.

            Rain in in the forecast, and hopefully it will arrive soon.

            If you have any questions or comments on the county, please contact me.

Mena Kaehler

mkaehler@co.winona.mn.us

           

Commish's Corner - July 2nd

Road Use Impact Fee

            Happy 4th of July! Last minute preparations are under way for the county fair. Remember – the Winona County Fair is one of the best places to take your family for inexpensive entertainment. The 4H projects, rides, food and livestock are great for kids and adults alike.

            Winona County government continues to move in a positive direction by meeting the goals set by the board. As previously shared, we have stellar staff that continues to work on behalf of the citizens to provide great service. In the last weeks, misinformation regarding the “road impact fee” assessed to new, intensive sand operations, and the new Zoning Ordinance have resurfaced. I will present the particulars on these issues. Feel free to contact our offices for additional information if you need it.

First, expanding the road impact fee to other products (farm production) has not been proposed (nor supported) by any board member.  As you will read later, aggregate products are separated by legislation.

Last summer, three intensive use sand mines applied for county permits. These mines raised many new issues that needed answers before the majority of the board could move forward on them. Since the owners wished to extract the sand in a significantly shorter, more concentrated traffic pattern than previously experienced, the board needed to ensure that water, air and road issues were addressed.

            Our staff indicated they could research and address these questions in three months; hence, a 3-month moratorium was enacted. Countless staff hours were dedicated to contacting air and water experts to rely upon validated, scientific data. The conclusion was that the surface mining sand would not impact the quality or quantity of water.  Additionally, staff did not receive definitive data indicating air would be negatively affected. At present, no completed sand mine applications have come forward since the moratorium ended.

            The impact upon road structure became the prominent subject. The mining companies and the board agreed that additional road maintenance cost - above normal wear and tear – should be paid by mining business (as a cost of commerce); rather than being assessed to county citizens through increased taxes. Without a formal structure, some townships could be forced into dire financial situations, should they have to solely maintain the roads, and/or taxes would need to be increased to make up the additional expenses. What we did not yet know was “HOW” to assess this fee.  

Some options the board evaluated are as follows:

1.     Request the miners maintain the road route used.

 This would work provided they continued along the same route for the existence of the mine.  New entities would change the route, road wear and responsibility.

2.     Use the aggregate tax as the road repair funding source.

This fee would not come remotely close to covering the cost, and precluded the county from using other forms of road repair funding, so it too would require a citizen tax (increased levy).

3.     Collect a hauler fee.

 After much research, we found this to be the most fair, legal and adjustable (should actual road wear vary from estimates). Through road impact formulas developed across the state, we crunched the numbers and came to a 21.9 cents/ton/mile assessment on county roads (estimated cost of additional wear on the roads).  A separate fund will track the road impact fees. If too high, we reduce it; if too little, we increase it.

We also require that the mines bring forward a township road agreement in their application. It is up to the township to negotiate their own road use agreement; thus we are assured that both entities are aware of the road impact.

            To clarify, our exiting infrastructure was built for the current use. This is not a “slippery slope” to tax farm equipment in the future.  A farm expansion, nor increased farm production, is not anywhere near the impact of the new mining industry. The fee is only applicable to "an intensive new venture" which has been found to disproportionately diminish the lifespan of a typical public road investment - one that taxes our roads beyond the current use.  The State of MN has made a clear delineation historically between agricultural use and aggregate mining use by legislating an aggregate tax in Minnesota. They did so to highlight that aggregate extraction is in a completely different enterprise than anything else.           

            We are open to evaluate better solutions.

The above misunderstandings appear to be similar to the miscommunication regarding the Zoning Ordinance. The following are past misunderstandings that are still thought to be true by some:

1.     You need to own 40 acres or you cannot build. False.

In fact, it is easier to build on less than 40 acres under the new ordinance than the old one, as more of the requests follow CUP (conditional use permit) vs. variances. Variances are more difficult and must meet strict criteria.

2.     You cannot do any repair on your property now without a permit. False.

You can do most repair and upkeep as previously allowed.

Some new requirements are in the zoning ordinance as things have changed in the last 20 years (when the previous ordinance was written). The county is required to follow State of Minnesota requirements (water set-backs, septic, feedlots, etc.). One new requirement that has been misrepresented is the no-fee permit for agriculture building construction. This was done as a result of the increasing costs and occurrence of neighbor disputes arising from structures that were not built in a legal location (inadequate set-back, in right-of-way, over property lines, etc.). Prevention is much cheaper than the cure in these cases.

            It is my hope that people will ask questions and pass on the facts. If you need answers, please contact the county to get the information you need.  

            Have a great holiday with your family and friends. Please remember those that cannot be here to share in the celebrations while serving our country.

            Please call with any questions or concerns for the county.

Mena Kaehler

mkaehler@co.winona.mn.us

Commish's Corner - June, 20th

Commish Corner - June, 20th
 

June is almost over and County Fair is just around the corner. I hope everyone is enjoying the summer.

A few updates from the County. First, Daley Farms in Lewiston will be hosting the Winona Area Chamber of Commerce annual Family Night on the Farm. It is Thursday, June 21st. It is an opportunity to see Winona County's ag highlighted.

Several updates to the County. First, we choose to opt out of  the 12 County SE MN Redesign effort, and investigate where we can cooperate with counties that fit more seamlessly with Winona. We currently share a Community Health Director with Fillmore. With the purchase of EDocs, computer software, we will find more opportunities to work with other counties.

Winona County's Economic Development Authority (EDA) has been reenergized and is moving forward in a positive direction. Currently, Jason Gilman has taken the lead. He has already, or is slated to, meet with the area banks to educate them on our County EDA and how it can benefit our business community. Jason is also reaching out to other EDAs to see how we can leverage our efforts for the entire County

The WC EDA has worked with St. Charles and have 2 official applications for the Revolving Fund for $55,000 for 2 businesses. Additionally, another application will be reviewed this week to receive monies from the revolving fund.

The WC EDA is trying to get out the word that we are there for area businesses. If you have any questions as to how this can benefit your business, please contact either Jason, or our new EDA Director - Natalie Siderious. They are excellent resources.

One last item - if you visit the County website, you will see it is updated. We hope it is easier to find what you need. If you have ideas, feel free to send them to us. We want the site to be as user friendly as possible.

I hope to see many of you at the Daley Farm where you can celebrate Winona County Agriculture.

Please contact me with any questions or comments for the County. Citizen feedback is important and valuable.

Commish's Corner - June 6th

Commish's Corner, June 6th

I hope the summer is starting out well for everyone. Since I took office in Jan of 2009, my main mode of communication was through my Commish's Corner that is published every other week. This has always been used for an update of the county, or something of regional interest. 

I will be posting these columns in my blog in case you do not get our papers.

This is the latest: It highlights where Winona County is with respect to two of the 2012 Board goals.
 

June 6th Commish’s Corner

Graduations and weddings are on calendars everywhere. I hope those who are partaking in the celebrations truly take time to enjoy them and not worry about the little stuff.

            We are half way through the year, and it is a good time to assess where we are with our County goals. When the County Board sat down for a Strategic Planning meeting, we discussed how each of us envisions the County in the future. From that, we developed a shared vision. We continually set our policies to align with our County goals. The staff then implements that policy. Our 2012 goals are printed on the county letterhead. There are a total of seven. One of the goals is to: Create action steps/options to reduce and eliminate our structural deficit. Many do not understand the term “structural deficit”. Some think, since the word “structural” is in it, it is related to buildings, but it is not. Quite simply it means an organization has more expenses than revenues, basically not sustainable. When times are good, it can be hidden, as money flows freely, and increases in tax levy and fees are not always noticed. But, when the economy is down, it rears its head and can devastate an organization.

            The only way to deal with a structural deficit is to increase revenue and/or decrease expenses. At Winona County, we were in the enviable position to be able to address our situation by mostly decreasing expenses. In the last few years, we have worked hard to reverse the trends of annual tax increases. We added onto our County Office Building, and were able to take advantage of merging departments, sharing counter space, and cross training our employees. We were able maintain services to our citizens with less people. Positions were eliminated as staff retired or moved to other job opportunities. No layoffs occurred. We have not reached our goal of eliminating the structural deficit altogether, but are well on our way. Three years ago, it was over $2M, currently it is less than $500,000.

            Another one of our goals is to: Develop a Comprehensive Plan Process. The “Comp Plan” is the vision for the County. It is created through a similar Strategic Planning process that the board goes through for our county. The “Comp Plan” is a citizen driven, countywide vision, that focuses on land use, economic development and growth.

Jason Gilman, the Planning and Environmental Director, is working with his staff to hammer out the process. The process must be sound, as it is a vital piece of creating a successful Comprehensive Plan. The process will include: education to the public as to what this means to us, how we will bring the citizens to the table, how we proceed once we are at the table, and the projected timeline so the public can know when to expect the results of the Comprehensive Plan. 

We anticipate the process to be in place and ready to start at the beginning of 2013. If you have questions, feel free to call Jason; he is always willing to share his knowledge and expertise.

Congratulations to all the graduates and newlyweds as you start the next chapter of your lives. I wish you all the best.

Please contact me if you have any questions or comments about the County.

Mena Kaehler

mkaehler@co.winona.mn.us.