Otter Tail County board approves grants, easement vacation and health-board agreement; sets childcare tax-abatement review

Fergus Falls, Minn. — The Otter Tail County Board of Commissioners on Nov. 18 approved a string of routine and substantive items, including grant acceptances, interagency signatory authority and a resolution vacating an historic easement near Pelican Lake.

The board first adopted the meeting agenda and a 24-item consent agenda that included multiple tobacco licenses. County Recorder Lynn Larson presented and the board approved a resolution authorizing off-site gambling (pull-tabs) to benefit the county Fourth of July committee; the permit dates will also be reviewed by the Minnesota Gambling Control Board, Larson said.

Human Services Director Deb Schoestrom asked the board to delegate signatory authority for routine cooperative agreements — including the county’s child-support cooperative services agreement — so the departments can use DocuSign to streamline execution. Schoestrom also requested authorization to serve as fiscal host for a regional adult mental-health needs-and-gaps assessment. "The request is for $70,000 to do a comprehensive four-county needs assessment," Schoestrom said, and she noted those funds come from state Adult Mental Health…