Todd County approves $2.795 million interim financing for solid-waste cap grant project

The Todd County Board of Commissioners voted to approve interim gap financing of $2,795,000 through the county general fund to pay vendors on the county's landfill cap grant project while it waits for additional grant payments from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA).

Board members and staff told commissioners the MPCA has already paid a portion of earlier grant funding and that the remaining MPCA agreement for the second grant can be prepared as late as Dec. 31, 2027, according to county staff who relayed MPCA guidance during the meeting. County accounting staff said recent pay requests total about $1.5 million and that the county is obligated to pay vendors as bills arrive.

Solid Waste staff asked the board to approve the interim financing to avoid bouncing vendor payments and to preserve proper accounting procedures; the board voted to approve the resolution to transfer funds and treat the MPCA payments as reimbursements when they arrive. Commissioners discussed the financial timing, the department's obligation to vendors, and the risk of delaying payments until MPCA disbursement.

Board members also discussed related change-order items tied to the cap grant project and directed staff to return with Stantec's committed share before approving several specific change orders. One set of change-order requests was tabled until the county receives a firm cost-share commitment from Stantec; another was not recommended for approval by staff.

The action was approved by the board. The minutes record the motion and that the ayes carried; no roll-call vote with individual tallies was recorded in the transcript for the final approval.

Ending: Solid Waste staff said construction work on the project is expected to be completed this summer; the interim financing is intended as a short-term measure to ensure vendors are paid while the county awaits final state reimbursement.