Williams County commissioners on Sept. 2 appointed Patty Ogerczyk (designee) to the county’s tuition appeals committee, heard that the county received a refund for earlier donated funds toward a greenhouse project, and discussed the county’s practice for writing letters of support for outside grant applications.

A county staff member reported the county previously partnered with NDSU Extension and had funded a greenhouse that was not constructed; staff said the county received a refund of those dollars in June and that the matter was closed. The staff member also asked the board to formally appoint Patty Ogerczyk as the superintendent of schools’ designee to the tuition appeals committee; commissioners moved, seconded and carried the appointment by roll call. Staff said the committee has not met in years.

Commissioners also discussed requests for letters of support for the state’s Destination Development grant. Staff said the county typically limits letters to situations with specific financial, sponsorship or ownership involvement to avoid an unmanageable volume of generic endorsements. One commissioner argued a short letter of support is appropriate and helpful, particularly when projects are near county parks and have previously received county grant funding. Staff said they would prepare a more specific response for the immediate Destination Development grant deadline and would evaluate whether to change the county’s approach to support letters going forward.