Dunn County facilities committee prioritizes maintenance, fleet and county fair for review during operational-planning exercise

The Dunn County Facilities Committee approved the previous meeting—s minutes unanimously and then heard staff reports and an operational-planning exercise that will guide budget and service decisions in the coming months.

Fair Board and facilities staff updated the committee on this summer—s fair planning and facility work. The Fair Board representative said the fair will feature two live music acts daily and that the county became a co-host for three Red Cedar Racing nights to broaden exposure. "So pretty cool that way and really focusing on the live music aspect," the Fair Board representative said. Staff also reported that last fall crews rehabilitated four parks (Russian Slew, Champney Park, Pine View and Lake Manoma) and that Pine View finishing work aims to be complete by July 4; County Highway Z chip sealing is scheduled for July 6.

Staff reported the Judicial Center geothermal HVAC request for proposals was issued in late 2025 and that contractor work began the day of the meeting. "The drilling out in the geothermal field will start in, I think, 6 to 8 weeks from now," the Fair Board representative said, and added that while the original bid allowed 12–18 months, the project team now expects to finish in roughly nine months.

On facilities upgrades, staff said LED conversions and donated fans for fair buildings cost about $580 for 28 fixtures with part of the expense paid by fair-board donations; staff also cited local event hosting that drew television coverage and roughly 2,500 attendees.

Budget and fleet updates drew significant discussion. Staff reported facilities spending was about 37.5% used through May 31 (five months), county parks about 34.22%, and combined facility spending near 37.7% through that period—roughly 4–4.5 percentage points under an even-year benchmark. On fleet, staff said three-quarter-ton pickups will arrive in the coming weeks; committee members raised concerns about vehicle costs and utilization. One committee member suggested dropping a shared vehicle and using mileage reimbursement occasionally to save roughly $450 a month; staff cautioned reductions could limit employees—ability to do field work.

The meeting—s main agenda exercise invited committee members to mark services with red post-it notes (services to review or reduce) or green post-it notes (priority services to maintain or expand). "Green is go. Red is stop," staff said, explaining the interactive approach is intended to surface committee priorities for additional analysis rather than to enact immediate cuts. The exercise produced a cluster of green votes for maintenance of the county—s "Neighbors" facility (a county-managed facility discussed in the meeting as "Neighbors"), which staff said generates revenue under a maintenance contract and therefore has fewer straightforward budget savings opportunities. Jail maintenance also drew strong support as a priority because of legal requirements and operational needs; staff noted some revenue offsets from inmate contracts that help defray costs. The county fair was placed among services for review, with staff clarifying fair maintenance costs are often reimbursed if the fair breaks even.

A committee member criticized the governance flow to the executive committee, saying chairs are appointed by the county chairman and that the process can feel "top loaded," which prompted staff to reiterate that committee input informs executive deliberations but that formal policy changes require separate action and executive-level review.

The committee did not take any new formal policy actions beyond approving the prior minutes. Chair closed the meeting by confirming the next Facilities Committee meeting is scheduled for July 13 at 04:30 in the same room.

Next steps: staff will compile the post-it results and develop options and cost estimates for the committee and for executive-level review ahead of the budget process.