Mower lease approved for county park

After months of discussion, the Lyon County Board has moved forward with the lease of a wide area mower for the county park.
The previous wide area mower was leased, and that lease was finished last fall. The board had received proposals from two local businesses at prior meetings but felt the proposals were not similar enough to accurately compare.
After meeting with the capital committee and working with the area businesses, Lyon County Environmental Administrator Roger Schroeder presented the board with three-year lease agreements from C&B Operations of Tracy and Kibble Equipment of Marshall. Discussion was held as to whether the board was looking more at the three-year lease options or the three-year lease options and the buy-out at the end. The board approved the three-year lease option with C&B Operations in Tracy for just over $14,000 per year. The board will revisit the buyout option on the mower when the three-year lease is complete.
However, the new lease agreement resulted in further discussion of the equipment and mowers used at the park.
Currently, the park mowers include three front deck mowers: a 2005 John Deere 1445 (2,497 hours), a 2013 John Deere 1445 (2,038 hours) and a 2016 Kubota FD (762 hours). The Kubota is not used as often as it doesn’t perform as well as the other two mowers where it is needed in the park.
After discussion, the board approved Schroeder to contact all dealers in Lyon County to obtain quotes if the county were to trade in the 2005 John Deere 1445 and the 2016 Kubota FD and get one newer front deck mower. Commissioner Gary Crowley also asked that the other equipment used by the parks be looked at prior to budgeting for 2023 to see if there is other unused equipment that should be replaced or traded instead of continuing to depreciate.
In other environmental business, the board authorized Burns and McDonnell to proceed with the Phase 9B phasing plan and the SW-23 Permit Renewal process.
As Fred Doran with Burns & McDonnell explained, the calculated lifespan of the existing fill areas at the landfill extends until December 2024, at which time Phase 9B will need to be completed. This phasing plan will be a critical piece of the Landfill Permit renewal; the landfill permit expires in July 2024. Both pieces are required to continue operations. Funding for both task authorizations were discussed at the landfill Annual Advisory Meeting and approved to come from the landfill enterprise fund balance.
Schroeder reported that tonnage at the landfill is up 6 percent. The board approved authorization of No. 12, which includes Burns & McDonnell Engineering Company to prepare the solid waste permit renewal application at a cost up to $135,000. The board also approved the authorization of No. 13 which included the 9B Phasing plan with a cost up to $70,000.
“We need to figure out what that next cell is going to look like, Doran said. “Right now, Phases 9A and 10A are working in tandem. There was roughly six years of life when 9A was built and about 10 years of life in 10A. The permit expires in mid-2024. Our goal is to have this permit application in about a year from now. There is a lot more capacity in 9B compared to the current phase — probably 20-30 years depending upon how tonnage grows and how compaction turns out. We have to plan how the existing cover is going to get manipulated.”
The board also authorized the Greater Minnesota Landfill Clean Up Fund to be distributed to partnering counties. GMLCF rebates are used for recycling and waste reduction programs. Lyon County’s rebate will be $84,203.57 and will go back into the environmental operating fund.

In other board news:
• The board approved a request for $3,000 by Marshall Area Transportation Group. In the request, chairman David Sturrock discussed the focus of the group and their current five-year plan as well as highlighted some of the accomplishments of the group. The group was started in 2005.
• The board granted permission for John Biren to obtain quotes for repairs on County Ditch 7. The repairs include 900 feet of tile to be replaced that was put in early part of last century. Biren feels the quotes will be higher than $10,000 but hopes that making the project more of a fill-in project for the contractors will allow the most competitive bids.
• The board set the hearing date of March 2, 2022, at 1:30 p.m. for the viewers’ report and final engineer’s report for the improvement and redetermination of benefits of County Ditch No. 14.
• The board adopted a resolution approving Lyon County’s application for funding from the 2022 Help America Vote Act (HAVA) grants program to Minnesota counties. The grant program offers over $20,000 to Minnesota counties to improve security and/or accessibility for elections, with no county matching requirement.
• The board approved a resolution authorizing the board chair and administrator to execute an agreement between MnDOT and Lyon County for the lighting of the intersection of Minnesota Highway 23 and Lyon County Road 74. Lake Marshall township had originally paid for the lighting and was no longer paying for it. This will allow the county to take over. The board discussed the proven safety of rural intersection lighting. The cost for the power and fees is approximately $525 per year.
• The board accepted a $10 donation from Lucas Christoffer to be placed into the DARE account.
• The board approved spending up to $1,000 for an advertisement in the 150th anniversary book for the City of Marshall.
• The board approved County Administrator Loren Stomberg to work out a lease agreement with the State of Minnesota for approximately 1,600 square feet of office space in the basement of the government center and bring it to the next board meeting for discussion and approval. The board is looking at renting the space for five years with a starting rate of $14.25 per square foot. The office would be used by the MN Board of Water and Soil Research.
• The board appointed Clint Gehrke to the Extension Committee.
• The board approved the hiring of Lory Jo Bruinsma for a dispatcher position with a starting wage of $20.41 per hour.