Murray County commissioners approve road and personnel actions, continue in state performance program and table governance change

SLAYTON, Minn. — The Murray County Board of Commissioners on April 21 approved a range of procurement, personnel and grant actions, heard an annual report from regional health and human services, and deferred a governance change to a May 5 work session after a commissioner raised procedural concerns.

Among the votes, the board:

- Continued participation in the state Performance Measures Program and approved Resolution 2026-04-21-01 (staff noted exemptions from some levy limits under M.S. 275.70–275.74 and a history of Local Performance Aid payments).

- Awarded four 2026 overlay projects (SP 051-602-021, SP 051-634-013, SAP 051-616-008 and SAP 051-630-024) to Duininck, Inc. for $3,094,726.01; awarded the 2026 seal coat project (SAP 051-030-004) to Morris Sealcoat & Trucking, Inc. for $642,187.10; and awarded the 2026 maintenance striping project (CP 02-26) to Sir Lines-A-Lot, LLC for $125,131.90.

- Approved a bridge replacement agreement with Slayton Township for Bridge L-1598.

- Agreed to contribute $120,000 toward restoring CSAH 2 in Fulda after the city’s water-line relocation, contingent on the City of Fulda covering the balance of the estimated $224,000 change in scope.

- Approved a Murray County Home Initiative tax abatement for Randy Kottke to replace the home at 2383 241st Street, Tracy; the proposed new home value is approximately $885,000 and the septic permit is pending.

- Approved a $2,000 county contribution to support SRDC’s Safe Streets for All planning grant and directed SRDC to work with county staff on a letter of support.

- Approved the immediate purchase of chainsaw equipment for county departments for $5,859.24, with the county to reimburse the equipment account if a pending grant is subsequently awarded.

- Approved a 9% re-calibration of Grade 21 in the county pay scale to improve competitiveness for the Highway Engineer position, ahead of a larger 2026 wage study.

- Approved rehiring and hiring of seasonal parks maintenance staff at outlined Grade/Step pay rates, contingent on background checks and drug testing.

- Approved an opioid-settlement grant of $26,011 to Murray County Central to continue and expand school- and community-based prevention programs; MCC will present program results in June.

Why it matters: The road and contract awards represent multi-million-dollar commitments that will shape county infrastructure work this construction season. Personnel and pay-scale decisions affect hiring competitiveness for critical county positions. The governance transition to a County Coordinator model — which would replace the County Administrator model and appoint Sharon Giese to the coordinator role at a specified grade and step — was raised on the agenda but tabled to allow additional board discussion at a May 5 work session.

Content and context from the meeting: Stacey Timm of Southwest Health and Human Services presented an annual report highlighting IT modernization, fraud prevention, immunization and mental health priorities and implementation planning for 2027 child protection changes. Chris Webb of SRDC described the regional Safe Streets planning grant and the county’s requested contribution. Commissioner Dennis Welgraven expressed concerns that several agenda items related to the coordinator/administrator transition were distributed late and argued for discussion in a work session before final votes. Commissioner Roger Zins and others said the Personnel Committee and stakeholders had been consulted prior to placing the items on the agenda.

What’s next: Bolton & Menk and county staff will proceed with awarded contracts and preconstruction coordination; county staff will schedule a work session for May 5 to address the County Administrator/Coordinator questions the board tabled.