County OKs Extension agreement

By KURT NESBITT

Journal Staff Writer

NEW ULM -- Brown County will share an Extension Service educator with another county this coming year.

Brown County commissioners approved the annual agreement between that county and the University of Minnesota service on a 4-1 vote Tuesday morning.

The vote continues the trend of area counties sharing regional and local Extension staff.

Under the new agreement, Brown County will keep its local 4-H program coordinator and share its ag educator with Nicollet County 50 percent of the time. The university will provide the salaries, fringe benefits, training, program supervision and programming from its regional Extension offices and Brown County will provide support in the way of office space, supplies and technology.

Commissioner Andrew Lochner, who cast the lone dissenting vote, said he voted against the agreement because it "increases costs tremendously. I don't feel we get our money's worth." Lochner said he has "no problem whatsoever" with the 4-H program but also said he has "heard that there aren't a lot of people missing (the ag educator position) a whole lot."

The board discussed and unanimously approved another agreement with the Extension Service that will bring the service's Nutrition Education Program back to Brown County. It will employ another educator at 1/4 time. That vote immediately followed the ag educator and 4-H contract vote.

In other business, the county board:

* Approved an intensive juvenile probation agent position, which will open in January. Probation Director Les Schultz said the position, which supervises all high-risk juvenile offenders, restores one more cut that was made during the department's reorganization in 2003. Schultz said that with the exception of two support staff positions, every Probation cut is restored.

* Received a monthly report of activity from the Brown County Sheriff's Department, which noted that there were no calls for burglaries in October and November. The same report also indicates that no burglaries were reported in May and June and February and March.

* Signed a master contract with the Minnesota Department of Transportation that will be used in situations where MnDOT asks a local government to provide a service for MnDOT. The contract allows local agencies to provide services at negotiated fees, according to county documents.

* Approved conditional use permits for an auto and truck repair business in Mulligan Township, a gravel pit and temporary hot mix plant in Stark Township and the Minnesota Valley Minerals plat in Home Township.

* Accepted a reccomendation from the Brown County Solid Waste Advisory Committee to allow the River Region Co-op in Essig to dispose of contaminated soil at the Brown County landfill.

* Authorized an amendment to the 2004 AgBMP loan contract, adding $40,000 for the Marti Conservation Tilage Project, which is a type of conservation tilage practice to prevent erosion along the Cottonwood River along Brown County Road 10. It is located in Home Township.