Minutes of the Board of Ward

County Commissioners

December 17, 2019

The regular meeting of the Ward

County Commission was called to

order by Chairman Fjeldahl, at 9:00

a.m. with Commissioners, Rostad,

Walter, Pietsch and Weppler

present. Also present were depart-

ment heads: Betty Braun, Dana Lar-

sen, Derrill Fick, Devra Smestad, El-

len Bjelland, Jason Blowers, Leona

Lochthowe, Paul Olthoff, Robert

Roed, Roza Larson, Ryan Kam-

rowski and Jennifer Wiechmann.

Moved by Comm. Pietsch, second-

ed by Comm. Walter to approve the

Agenda. Roll call; all voted yes; mo-

tion carried. Moved by Comm. Ros-

tad, seconded by Comm. Weppler,

to approve the Minutes from the

Regular Commission Meeting De-

cember 3rd, 2019. Roll call; all voted

yes; motion carried. Moved by

Comm. Weppler, seconded by

Comm. Pietsch, to approve Regular

bills totaling $560,412.62 and Social

Service bills totaling $17,818.68.

Roll call; all vote yes; motion carried.

Gary Lawrence from NoDak Towing

& Recovery requested to appear be-

fore the Commission regarding es-

tablishing an accident rotation list.

He did not appear. County Sheriff

Roed appeared and explained to the

Commission that during an accident,

the owners of the vehicle can

choose which towing company they

would like called and if they don’t

have a preference, Olson’s Towing

is usually called due to the fact that

he is insured, always answers the

phone and is great to work with.

Ryan Ackerman, Administrator of

the Souris River Joint Board, ap-

peared with a request for Ward

County, Minot Park District and

SRJB to begin discussion regarding

entering into a Memorandum of

Agreement to combine property by

Logan and use it for a public open

space. Moved by Comm. Weppler,

seconded by Comm. Pietsch to ap-

prove authorizing staff to discuss a

MOA with SRJB and Minot Park Dis-

trict and bring further information to

the next Ward County Park Board in

February 2020. Roll call; all voted

yes; motion carried. Cherisse Burns

of First Western Insurance and

Jackie Larson and Pete Fiske from

Western Agency appeared before

the Commission with Insurance pro-

posals for the County’s Insurance for

2020. Moved by Comm. Walter,

seconded by Comm. Pietsch to

table the Insurance decision until

later in the meeting to give the

Agents time to gather information re-

quested by the Commission. Roll

call; all voted yes; motion carried.

Court Administrator Carolyn Probst

appeared requesting approval to ap-

ply for the Court Facilities Improve-

ment Grant. The grant would be for

three improvement projects in the

County Courthouse. The project to-

tal estimate is $19,123, the Grant

would cover 75% of the cost and the

remaining 25% would be at the

County’s expense. Moved by

Comm. Walter, seconded by Comm.

Pietsch to approve proceeding with

the grant request application. Roll

call; all voted yes; motion carried.

Sheriff Bob Roed appeared with a

request for a payroll amendment for

the IT position at the Sheriff’s

Department. There was a brief dis-

cussion regarding this. Moved by

Comm. Rostad, seconded by

Comm. Walter to approve the payroll

request and increase the IT Position

in the Sheriff’s Office from grade lev-

el 16-3 to a grade level 19-3. Roll

call; all voted yes, except Comm.

Fjeldahl who voted no; Motion car-

ried. 911 Coordinator Larry Haug ap-

peared with bid for removal of the

tower and building at the abandoned

Berthold Tower site. Moved by

Comm. Pietsch, seconded by

Comm. Weppler to approve the bid

from Color Dynamics in the amount

of $6,900, as this was the only com-

plete bid, with the funds coming out

of the Commissioners’ Contingency

Fund. Roll call; all voted yes; motion

carried. Mr. Haug continued with a

request for approval and Chairman

signature on the Joint Powers

Agreement for the City/County Em-

ergency Communications Center.

Moved by Comm. Weppler, second-

ed by Comm. Walter to approve and

sign the Joint Powers Agreement for

the City/County Emergency Com-

munications Center. Roll call; all vot-

ed yes; motion carried. Leona

Lochthowe, Facilities Management

Director appeared representing So-

cial Service Director, Melissa Bliss

with a bid for a construction project

at the County’s 425 Building. The

project would be to move a door to

make an area for Youth Works office

adjacent to the shelter for attendant

care and shelter beds for foster

youth. Moved by Comm. Weppler,

seconded by Comm. Rostad to ap-

prove the Dufner Construction bid in

the amount of $2,635 for the project

at the 425 Building. The funds will

come from grants received from the

Oppen Foundation. Roll call; all vot-

ed yes; motion carried. County High-

way Engineer, Dana Larsen ap-

peared with two requests for the

Commissioners. The first is a re-

quest for a budget amendment to

carryover $27,284.33 from the

County Park Board 2019 budget into

the 2020 budget. These funds are

to purchase a new John Deere 1570

Terrain Cut Mower that was to be

delivered and paid for in 2019, how-

ever the mower will not be delivered

until 2020. Moved by Comm.

Weppler, seconded by Comm.

Pietsch to approve the 2020 budget

amendment for the Ward County

Park budget in the amount of

$27,285. Roll call; all voted yes; mo-

tion carried. Mr. Larsen’s second re-

quest is regarding donating leave to

a Highway Department employee

that has been dealing with a major

medical issue. Mr. Larsen asked the

Commission to allow highway em-

ployees to donate the hours and

have the hours removed from the

staff’s vacation at the end of the year

for the individual to use in 2020.

There was a brief discussion regard-

ing the County’s donated leave poli-

cy and if allowing an exception sets

a precedent. Moved by Comm.

Weppler, seconded by Comm.

Pietsch to deny the request from the

Highway Department regarding

donated leave. Roll call; all voted

yes, except Comm. Walter who vot-

ed no; motion carried. Comm.

Pietsch requested that the County

reimburse the owners of the hay-

bails that were burned last week for

being in the right of way. Moved by

Comm. Pietsch, seconded by

Comm. Rostad for discussion to pay

$45 per bail giving the Highway En-

gineer permission to use his judge-

ment on who will receive payment

based on the owner’s history. A brief

discussion continued. Comm. Walter

stated he was concerned with going

against County Policy. Roll call; all

voted yes; motion carried. Recessed

for 5 minutes reconvened at 11:17

am. Human Resource Generalist

Kjerstie Fevold appeared with the

following addition to County’s donat-

ed leave policy: The amount of days

donated to an employee cannot

exceed the maximum amount of

days the employee could have accu-

mulated during their time with Ward

County. A maximum of 24 days can

be donated to an employee who has

been with Ward County for a year.

Moved by Comm. Weppler, second-

ed by Comm. Rostad to approve the

addition to the County Donated

Leave Policy as presented. Roll call;

all voted yes; motion carried. Ms.

Fevold continued with an update re-

garding the HR Director position. In-

terviews will be tentatively Monday,

December 30, 2019 beginning at

8:00 am. Moved by Comm.

Weppler, seconded by Comm.

Pietsch to approve payroll amend-

ments for D.Pausing and J.Skovgard

as presented. Roll call; all voted yes;

motion carried. Ms. Fevold informed

the Commission that John Crosby,

Veteran’s Officer, resigned from his

position Monday, December 16,

2019. Moved by Comm. Walter,

seconded by Comm. Pietsch to ac-

cept Mr. Crosby’s resignation. Roll

call; all voted yes; motion carried. It

Director, Jason Blowers appeared

with a bid to purchase a new sever

for the Social Service Department.

Questions were brought up regard-

ing who is responsible for the pur-

chase of this service with the up-

coming changes to the Human Ser-

vice Departments in the state.

Moved by Comm. Walter, seconded

by Comm. Pietsch to approve

presenting these bids to the Ward

Human Service Zone Board at the

January 2020 meeting. Roll call;

Commissioners Walter, Pietsch,

Fjeldahl voted yes and Commission-

ers Weppler and Rostad voted no;

motion carried. Moved by Comm.

Walter, seconded by Comm. Rostad

to approve Department Commis-

sioners’ Appointments and Commis-

sioners’ Committee Appointments

submitted by Chairman Fjeldahl.

Roll call; all voted yes; motion car-

ried. Devra Smestad, County

Auditor/Treasurer appeared. Moved

by Comm. Pietsch, seconded by

Comm. Walter to receive and file the

following correspondence: Building

Code Update; Army Corps of En-

gineers (2); Director of Tax

Equalization-Letter to Fredrikson &

Byron, PA; ND DOT-Traffic Count;

Minot Area Chamber of

Commerce-Economy at a Glance.

Roll call; all voted yes; motion car-

ried. Moved by Comm. Pietsch,

seconded by Comm. Walter to ap-

prove Chairman Fjeldahl continue

working with the ND State Auditor’s

Office and the County’s Bond Agen-

cy. Roll call; all voted yes; motion

carried. Moved by Comm. Weppler,

seconded by Comm. Rostad to re-

ceive and file the letter from S&P

Global Ratings. Roll call; all voted

yes; motion carried. Moved by

Comm. Walter, seconded by Comm.

Rostad to receive and file monthly

reports and financials. Roll call; all

voted yes; motion carried. Moved by

Comm. Pietsch, seconded by

Comm. to approve and sign the

Contract for Coroner Service and

the Service Agreement with Ward

County Jail and First District Health

Unit. Roll call; all voted yes; motion

carried. Moved by Comm. Rostad,

seconded by Comm. Walter to ap-

prove the 2020 Liquor Licenses for

28 Club, LLC; HOPR; Hunter’s Den;

M&S Concessions, Inc.; Minot VFW

Post 753; Super Pumper (Dawn to

Dusk); Wildwood Country Club;

Pinks Bar & Grill, LLC. Roll call; all

voted yes; motion carried. Moved by

Comm. Weppler, seconded by

Comm. Pietsch to approve the raffle

permit for Habitat Humanity North-

ern Lights and Gaming Site Authori-

zation for Dakota Cowboy Hall of

Fame. Roll call; all voted yes; mo-

tion carried. Moved by Comm.

Weppler, seconded by Comm. Ros-

tad to remove from the table the Bar

Closing Time. All voted aye; motion

carried. Byron Newman from HOPR,

LLC dba The Grain Hopper ap-

peared before the Commission in

favor of bar closing time changing to

2:00 am. He further stated that his

business is in direct competition with

bars located within the City of Minot

and Minot City Council passed a

2:00 am bar closing time. Moved by

Comm. Weppler, seconded by

Comm. Walter to approve a change

in County Ordinance on first reading

and allow bar closing time to be

2:00am. Roll call; all voted yes, ex-

cept Commissioners Rostad and

Fjeldahl who voted no; motion car-

ried. Moved by Comm. Walter,

seconded by Comm. Weppler to pre

approve year end bills. Roll call; all

voted yes, except Comm. Fjeldahl

who voted no; motion carried.

Moved by Comm. Walter, seconded

by Comm. Pietsch to recess at

12:19 pm until 1:30 pm. Roll call; all

voted yes; motion carried. Recon-

vened at 1:30 pm. with all Commis-

sioners, Ryan Kamrowski and Devra

Smestad in attendance. Moved by

Comm. Weppler, seconded by

Comm. Rostad to approve continu-

ing to use First Western Insurance

for the County’s Insurance Agency

for 2020 and to publish a request for

bid in August 2020. Roll call; all vot-

ed yes; motion carried. Director of

Tax Equalization, Ryan Kamrowski

appeared with abatement applica-

tion for 2017 abatement or refund of

taxes for 16 vacant lots in Northeast

Minot, by C and K Consulting. Mr.

Kamrowski informed the Commis-

sion that the City of Minot Council

approved a partial reduction in value

for these properties and adjusted the

2017 true and full value from

$65,000 per lot to $45,000 per lot.

Mr. Kamrowski’s continued that

granting of the local jurisdictions

recommendation would in fact place

these properties at a reasonable es-

timate of market value, which exist-

ed as of February 1, 2017 regarding

similar vacant lots. David Tibbals,

Fredrickson and Byron, PA; attorney

representing the property owners

appeared before the Commission

and agreed to the recommended

reduction of the true and full value of

these parcels. Moved by Comm.

Rostad, seconded by Comm. Walter

to approve the reduction of the 2017

true and full value of the 16 parcels

from $65,000 to $45,000 as recom-

mended by the County Director of

Tax Equalization. Roll call; all voted

yes; motion carried. Mr. Kamrowski

continues with an application for

2017 abatement or refund of taxes

for the following 58 vacant lots in

Northeast Minot, by Stonebridge

Development. Mr. Kamrowski

recommended to the Commission to

grant the recommendation of the

City of Minot Council approval for a

partial abatement on these proper-

ties; single family vacant lot parcels

to be reduced from $65,000 to

$45,000, the townhouse lots to be

reduced from $35,000 to $27,000

and $30,000 to $22,000. Moved by

Comm. Weppler, seconded by

Comm. Pietsch to approve the

reduction of the 2017 true and full

value of the 58 single family vacant

lot parcels to be reduced from

$65,000 to $45,000, the townhouse

lots to be reduced from $35,000 to

$27,000 and $30,000 to $22,000 as

recommended by the County Direc-

tor of Tax Equalization. Roll call; all

voted yes; motion carried. The meet-

ing continued with Mr. Kamrowski

presenting an application for 2017

abatement or refund of taxes for 46

townhouses at Stonebridge. David

Tibbals, of Fredrickson & Byron

came forward representing

Townhomes at Stonebridge, LLC.

He presented the Commission with

information using the income ap-

proach to determine true and full

value. He further stated that even

though this property is 46 separate

parcels, it operates as a single

apartment complex. Kevin Ternes,

Assessor for the City of Minot ap-

peared recommending denial of the

application for abatement. He stated

these parcels are assessed as indi-

vidual units because they can be

sold individually and not an apart-

ment complex, the city can’t give the

owner a discount just because he

owns multiple parcels. Mr. Kam-

rowski was in agreement with Mr.

Ternes and recommended denial of

the application. He further informed

the Commission that a request to in-

spect the property has not received

a response. Moved by Comm.

Pietsch, seconded by Comm. Walter

to deny the application for 2017

abatement of refund of taxes for 46

townhouses at Stonebridge based

that the assessed value is fair and

accurate and the owner didn’t allow

for inspection of property. Roll call;

all voted yes; motion carried. Direc-

tor of Tax Equalization Ryan Kam-

rowski appeared with abatement ap-

plication from Fredrickson & Byron

Law on behalf of Stonebridge Villas

II, LLC owners of property located at

3215 8th St NE Minot for the 2017

Tax Assessment. Mr. Kamrowski

recommends denial stating the 48

unit apartment complex was fairly

and equitably assessed by the City

of Minot Assessor. Mr.Tibbals ex-

plained that they view this property

and the property located at 3241 8th

St NE Minot as one unit. Vacancy

for these units is 22% and income

based approach should be used to

determine the true and full value of

these parcels. Mr. Ternes stated the

owner is not taking into considera-

tion that there is extra land within

these parcels and that land needs to

be assessed to the true and full

value of parcels. Moved by Comm.

Walter, seconded by Comm.

Weppler to deny the application for

2017 abatement of refund of taxes

for parcel # MI01D450100020 as

recommended by Mr. Kamrowski.

Roll call; all voted yes; motion car-

ried. Moved by Comm. Walter,

seconded by Comm. Rostad to deny

the application for 2017 abatement

of refund of taxes for parcel #

MI01D450100010 as recommended

by Mr. Kamrowski. Roll call; all vot-

ed yes; motion carried. Mr.

Kamrowski’s final item was an appli-

cation for 2017 abatement or refund

of taxes for property located at 3343

8th St SE Minot. Mr. Tibbal’s stated

using the income approach the true

and full value of this property in his

opinion should be $4,692,100 not

$5,805,00. Mr. Ternes stated that

the City’s assessed value of this pro-

perty is fair and compares with other

similar properties in Minot base on

square footage. Mr. Kamrowski

agreed with Mr. Ternes’ recommen-

dation for denial of the application

for abatement. He further stated

that once again a request to inspect

the properties was not granted.

Moved by Comm. Weppler, second-

ed by Comm. Rostad to deny the

application for 2017 abatement of

refund of taxes for parcel #

MI01C800200030 as recommended

by Mr. Kamrowski. Roll call; all vot-

ed yes; motion carried. At 3:19 p.m.

with no further business, the meet-

ing was adjourned.

(January 10, 2020)

Minutes of the Special Meeting of

the Board of Ward County

Commissioners

December 30, 2019

The special meeting of the Ward

County Commission was called to

order by Chairman Fjeldahl, at 9:00

a.m. with Commissioners, Rostad,

Walter, Pietsch and Weppler

present. Also present was Human

Resource Generalist Kjerstie Fevold.

Moved by Comm. Walter, seconded

by Comm. Rostad to approve the

Agenda. Roll call; all voted yes; mo-

tion carried. The Commission inter-

viewed three candidates for the Hu-

man Resource Director position.

Auditor/Treasurer Devra Smestad

appeared with the end of the year

regular bills totaling $309,235.29 for

the Commission approval. Ms.

Smestad also informed the Commis-

sion that a few department budgets

will need to have budget amend-

ments approved at the January 7,

2020 meeting. Moved by Comm.

Weppler, seconded by Comm. Ros-

tad to approve the regular bills total-

ing $309,235.29. Roll call; all voted

yes, motion carried. The discussion

continued regarding the 2020

salaries for the department heads

and commissioners. Comm. Pietsch

stated that he does not want a raise.

He did not run for the County Com-

mission for a salary. He continued

that the benefits he receives from

the County surprised him when he

was elected. Comm. Pietsch stated

that if the salary increase is ap-

proved he will not accept it. Comm.

Fjeldahl added that he feels the

salary presented for the Commis-

sioners is too much of a raise.

Comm. Weppler also agreed that

she was surprised by the great

benefits the Commissioners receive,

but also feels that to continue to

have qualified individuals serve on

the Commission, that the County

needs to offer the Commissioners a

competitive salary. Moved by

Comm. Weppler, seconded by

Comm. Walter to approve the 2020

salaries for department heads and

Commissioners. Roll call; Commis-

sioners Weppler, Rostad and Walter

voted yes, Commissioners Pietsch

and Fjeldahl voted no because of

the Commissioners’ salary increase;

motion carried, Recess. Recon-

vened at 2:56 PM, all Commission-

ers were in attendance. Ms. Smes-

tad presented the Commission with

the Social Services bills totaling

$14,851.27. Moved by Comm.

Pietsch, seconded by Comm. Walter

to approve the Social Services bills

as presented. Roll; call; all voted

yes; motion carried. The meeting

continued with the final interview for

the Human Resource Director posi-

tion. After the final interview the

Commissioners scored their inter-

views. The Commissioners contin-

ued the discussion regarding the

scoring of the interviews. Moved by

Comm. Weppler, seconded by

Comm. Pietsch to approve the hiring

of Tammy Terras as the Ward

County Human Resource Director at

an annual rate of $90,000. Roll call;

all voted yes; motion carried. At 4:15

p.m. with no further business, the

meeting was adjourned.

(January 10, 2020)

NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING

Kenmare Rural Fire Protection Dis-

trict Annual Meeting, January 20,

2020 at 7:00 pm at the Kenmare

Fire Station. Election of one officer,

vote on mill levy and any business

brought before the meeting. Please

bring voter identification. In case of

inclement weather, meeting will be

held the following Monday at the

same time and place. Everyone

welcome.

Layne O’Neill

Secretary/Treasurer

(January 10, 2020)

NOTICE OF MEETING

Harrison Township’s January meet-

ing will be held Monday, January 20,

2020, at 6:30 p.m. at 2220 63rd St.

NW, Minot ND 58703.

Cynthia Whitesell, Clerk

(January 8-9-10, 2020)

NOTICE TO BIDDERS

The City Clerk of the City of Minot

will receive sealed lease agreement

proposals at her office at City Hall,

515 2nd Ave. SW or by mailing to

City Clerk, PO Box 5006, Minot, ND

58702 until 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday,

January 28, 2020 for furnishing the

City of Minot the following:

“One (1) Landfill Compactor”

Project #4508

Specifications and general instruc-

tions to bidders are available in the

Public Works Office at 1025 31st St.

SE., by contacting Public Works at

701-857-4140, or on the City’s web-

site at www.minotnd.org under City

Clerk Department. The bid envelope

will be plainly marked:

“Proposal for Landfill

Compactor”

Project # 4508

The City Council of the City of Minot

reserves the right to reject any or all

bids and to award the contract as it

deems to be in the best interest of

the City of Minot. Bidders are invited

to be present at the City Clerk’s of-

fice for the opening of bids.

Kelly Matalka

City Clerk

(January 10-17, 2020)

SUMMONS

FILE NO. 51-2019-JV-00196

STATE OF NORTH DAKOTA,

COUNTY OF WARD, IN JUVENILE

COURT, NORTH CENTRAL

JUDICIAL DISTRICT

IN THE INTEREST OF T.G.,

MINOR CHILD

State of North Dakota,

Petitioner,

vs.

T.G., child,

Ernest Brown, father,

Respondents.

THE STATE OF NORTH DAKOTA

TO THE ABOVE-NAMED

RESPONDENT, ERNEST BROWN,

FATHER. You are hereby sum-

moned and required to appear per-

sonally before the Juvenile Court, at

its Chambers, Ward County Court-

house in the City of Minot, in Ward

County and State of North Dakota,

on the 5th day of February, 2020, at

1:30 o’clock p.m. or as soon

thereafter as the parties can be

heard, for the purpose of a Petition

Hearing. If you fail to appear per-

sonally before the Court at said time

and place, or to show good cause

why you cannot do so, the Court will

make such Order as may be ap-

propriate and you may be proceed-

ed against for civil contempt. A copy

of said Summons, Petition and Ord-

er can be obtained at the Ward

County Juvenile Supervisor’s office

in the Ward County Courthouse in

Minot, North Dakota.

RIGHT TO COUNSEL

While you are not required to have

the assistance of legal counsel in

this proceeding, you are entitled to

such assistance if you so desire. In

accordance with Section 27-20-26,

NDCC, a child subject to proceed-

ings under Chapter 27-20, the Uni-

form Juvenile Court Act, is eligible

for court-appointed counsel if the

child is determined to be needy. A

needy child is one who is unable,

without undue financial hardship, to

provide full payment of legal counsel

and all other necessary expenses

for representation However, a child

is not considered needy if the child’s

parent or parents can, without undue

financial hardship, provide full pay-

ment for legal counsel and other ex-

penses of representation. You, as a

parent or parents of the child subject

to proceedings identified in the at-

tached Summons, are hereby given

notice of the potential obligation to

pay attorney’s fee, at the attorneys

usual hourly rate if, after the appoint-

ment of counsel by the court, it is

determined that your child is non eli-

gible for court-appointed counsel.

Dated this 6th day of January, 2020.

/s/Connie S. Portscheller

Connie S. Portscheller

Judicial Referee

Office Address: Ward County

Courthouse

315 3rd Street SE

Minot, ND 58701

Telephone: (701) 857-6650

(January 10-17-24, 2020)

SURREY PUBLIC SCHOOL

DISTRICT NO-41 SURREY,

NORTH DAKOTA REGULAR

SCHOOL BOARD MEETING

WEDNESDAY,

DECEMBER 11, 2019

President Ron Aberle called meeting

to order at 5:00 pm. Board

members present Ron Aberle,

Nicole Wald, Taylor Feller and

Stephanie Munos Also, present

High School Principal Gerding, Ele-

mentary Principal Hansen, Superin-

tendent Voiles and Business

Manager Twila Gantzer. M/S/C

Wald/Feller to approve minutes from

November 13, 2019 regular meeting

as amended. Roll call vote, all yes.

Superintendent: Mr Voiles distribut-

ed information regarding the special

education student/teacher-aid ratio

from area schools. Surrey is about

in the middle of the pack when com-

paring numbers. Mr Gerding & Mrs

Hansen meet with Mrs Fischer

weekly. Souris Valley does come

out once a week or every other week

to help with paperwork. The board

would like to keep this item open.

Business Manager’s Report: The

financial reports were presented.

M/S/C Feller/Munos to approve

financial reports as presented and

approve payment of November pay-

roll & benefits in the amount of $

397,127.26. November board bills:

General Fund-$ 79,157.09; Activity

Fund -$ 3,443.27; Food – $

14,372.84. Prepaid Check Register:

General Fund – $ 5,688.03; Activity

Fund-$ 10,355.45; Food-$4.39. Roll

call vote, all yes. M/S/C Wald/Munos

to approve open enrollment# 46-In.

M/S/C Munos/Wald To approve

open enrollment # 47-In. Roll call

vote, all yes. Mrs Hansen: Elemen-

tary shopping with grades 1 thru 3

took place earlier this afternoon.

Grades 4 thru 6 will be on Friday.

Mrs Wald asked for clarification on

indoor recess when it is weather re-

lated. Mrs Hansen explained that in

the winter sometimes due to weath-

er the students stay inside for re-

cess. Sometimes the teachers will

have recess in their rooms, if it could

be a few days in a row they try and

have all the students in the

multi-purpose room and the paras

cover for bathroom breaks and other

teacher needs. Unfinished Business:

Board Policy BAA: For the purpose

of this policy a “district employee is a

9 or 12 month employee who is fully

benefited.” M/S/C Wald/Munos to

approve on second reading. Roll

call vote: Munos-yes; Wald-yes;

Feller-yes; Aberle-abstained. Boiler

Update: The boiler is up and run-

ning. Our insurance will cover all of

the repair less our $ 1,500 deducti-

ble. Bullying Policy: Mrs Wald is

confirming that the elementary

teachers have been informed of the

updated bullying policy and the

teacher’s responsibility. Mrs Han-

sen will address the issue with her

elementary staff. New Business: Mill

Levy: Ward County is refusing to

accept our certificate of levy that

was submitted due to the lack of a

signature. Several different agen-

cies as well as our school attorney

were contacted hoping to get the

county to change their view. Mr

Aberle met with the auditor, deputy

auditor and states attorney to ex-

plain our school districts position.

After much discussion the county

will not honor the certificate of levy.

Mr Aberle & Mr Voiles will contact

the ND School Boards Association

attorney Amy DeKok and seek her

opinion about our options. This will

cause our school to lose $140,000 in

funding. Culture Improvement Com-

mittee: Mrs Wald met with Mr

Gerding & Mrs Hansen regarding

the Advanced Ed report. It was de-

cided to form a committee consisting

of 2 elementary teachers, 2 high

school teachers, an ancillary staff

member, both principals and a board

member to create ideas on how to

improve the atmosphere in the

school. Taylor Feller will represent

the board and she will also form the

remainder of the positions on the

committee. School Vision Commit-

tee: With information provided from

the Advanced Ed report we need a

vision statement. The vision should

contain a building side and an edu-

cational side. Discussion about pos-

sibly involving the city and a com-

munity member. It was suggested

that the committee suggest a school

board member, superintendent, one

principal, one elementary teacher,

one high school teacher, an ancillary

staff member, one each high school

& elementary principal, possibly the

mayor of Surrey make up the com-

mittee. The information will be made

public to see what interest there is.

Mr. Voiles informed the board that

he will retire at the end of this school

year. The next regular board meet-

ing will be Wednesday, January 8th

at 5:00 pm. M/S/C Munos/Feller to

adjourn

/s/Twila Gantzer

Twila Gantzer, Business Manager

/s/Ronal Aberle

Ronald Aberle, President

(January 10, 2020)