The Whitewater Joint Powers Board on a voice vote recommended that partner counties and soil‑and‑water conservation districts consider terminating the Whitewater Joint Powers Board after Olmsted County informed staff it will not include the board in its 2026 budget.

Unidentified Speaker 3, the board coordinator, summarized an Oct. 21 email from a county contact that said Olmsted County no longer intends to fund the Whitewater program for 2026, noting the county’s move toward watershed‑based planning under the One Watershed, One Plan program. "Whitewater is not on the list for 2026," Unidentified Speaker 3 said when describing the county position.

Why it matters: board members said the loss of the largest single county contributor makes the joint powers structure difficult to sustain and that two‑thirds of parties must execute termination resolutions under the board’s joint powers agreement. The coordinator told the board that the 2019 joint powers agreement specifies how remaining funds should be distributed among member counties by acreage in the Whitewater watershed once bills are paid.

What the board did: after discussing options to continue in reduced form, seek alternate administrative support or disband, members moved and seconded a resolution recommending that each member county and SWCD individually vote to terminate the Whitewater Joint Powers Board. The motion to send the recommended resolution to partner boards passed by voice vote. The coordinator said she will send the sample resolution to each partner board for their individual consideration.

Other actions and next steps: the board approved engaging auditor Katie Jacobson to complete the 2025 audit (quoted fee range of $3,000–$3,500) and discussed timing so the audit can be completed before statutory or grant deadlines. The coordinator outlined a draft transition plan that includes finishing the audit, closing or amending existing grants, closing bank accounts and preserving website content and records currently stored at Winona County.

Property and grants: the board approved a motion to offer the monitoring and EDP equipment inventory equally to the three counties/SWCDs (Winona, Wabasha, Olmsted), with contested items to be sold to the highest bidder. The board also approved a cost‑share payment for a previously approved well‑sealing project; the contractor’s sealing cost was listed as $2,915 and the board recorded a 75% cost‑share portion of $2,001.86. The coordinator reported the well‑sealing grant total is $30,000, of which $15,000 has been received and roughly $8,957 remains in unearned revenue; members discussed closing that grant at year‑end to avoid carrying activity into 2026 and triggering an additional audit year.

Staff transition: Unidentified Speaker 3 also announced she has submitted a retirement letter and expects to retire around year‑end. She said Dicey (identified in the meeting as a Winona County new hire) can act as interim coordinator for administrative duties and that Ross could serve as a backup signatory for checks between meetings.

What remains unresolved: the recommendation to terminate requires separate resolutions and votes by each member county and SWCD; the board did not itself execute termination because some member representatives were absent. The coordinator will circulate the draft resolution and work with partners on timing. The board tentatively scheduled a follow‑up meeting for May 26, with the final wind‑down depending on audit completion and partner boards' actions.

Details drawn from the meeting record include the coordinator’s historical funding summary for Whitewater (past federal grants were the largest funding source and most federal streams referenced by staff are no longer available), the projected audit fee range, the current account balance (reported roughly $123,000), and the recommendation that remaining funds be distributed to member counties based on acreage in the watershed as stated in the joint powers agreement.

The board adjourned after confirming next steps on the audit, grant closures and circulation of resolution language to partner boards.