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Murray County commissioners approve tax abatement, loans, grants and select MetLife for PFML coverage
Summary
The Board approved routine consent items, a Murray County Home Initiative tax abatement, several loans and grants, a road‑use agreement for Lake Wilson Solar Energy LLC, and selected MetLife as the private option for Minnesota’s Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) program.
The Murray County Board of Commissioners met Aug. 5, 2025, in Slayton and approved a slate of routine actions including a tax abatement, loans, grants and a private provider option for Minnesota’s Paid Family and Medical Leave program.
At the start of the meeting, commissioners voted to approve prior minutes and warrants totaling $132,099.67. After review of ditch‑related invoices and a staff correction, the board approved amended ditch bills totaling $13,448.00; an earlier motion with an incorrect amount was rescinded and replaced with the corrected figure. Commissioners expressly noted the correction was made via county staff (Heidi Winter) before the final vote.
In a public‑hearing item, the board approved a Murray County Home Initiative tax abatement for David and Denise Schreier to construct a primary residence in Avoca valued at approximately $700,000, with construction planned to begin this fall. Commissioners also approved a road‑use agreement with Lake Wilson Solar Energy LLC and authorized Chair Dennis Welgraven and County Administrator Carolyn McDonald to sign the agreement.
The board awarded the public bid for the Sundquist Park picnic shelter to Trevor Rosenbrook Construction (the minutes record the bid as $45,000; the meeting record contained an extra digit that appears to be a transcription error). Commissioners approved the Murray Soil and Water Conservation District’s second‑quarter allocation request for $49,069.75.
The board accepted a Minnesota Counties Intergovernmental Trust (MCIT) jail camera grant that will reimburse $6,799.76 of a $7,999.76 project to replace outdated cameras in common jail and law‑enforcement areas. The board also approved a non‑binding Memorandum of Understanding with Southwest Health and Human Services to facilitate mutual assistance during disasters.
Economic development actions included a $15,000 commercial loan to the Murray County Dairy Association and a rental redevelopment loan of $7,223.82 to Anthony Iverson. The board approved final payment of $11,750 to Mears Electric for the Cattleman’s Building electrical work contingent on receipt of the contractor affidavit (IC134) and appointed Commissioner Jackie Meier as an alternate to the county safety committee.
On employee benefits, staff recommended selecting MetLife (via Integrity Employee Benefits, LLC) as the private provider option for Minnesota’s PFML program following a multi‑jurisdictional RFP in which MetLife returned the lowest cost. The county estimated the total annual cost at current staffing levels to be $54,259, split equally between employer and employee contributions. Commissioner Mark Carlson moved to approve the proposal; the motion passed.
Most motions in the minutes are recorded as “Motion Passed” without roll‑call tallies. Where individual votes or counts were not specified in the record, the minutes note only that the motions passed. The board recessed at 9:45 a.m. and later adjourned at 12:30 p.m.
What happens next: agreements and grants approved by the board will proceed to implementation steps identified in staff packets (signatures, contractor affidavits, and recommended payments).
