IVANHOE?- The Lincoln County Board voted to accept a bid to refinance a 2003 water bond issue at its regular meeting on Tuesday.
On the recommendation of Myron Knutson, managing director of Minneapolis-based Public Financial Management, Inc, the board voted to accept a bid by Bosc Inc. of Menomonee Falls, Wis., to refinance the bonds at a new interest rate of 1.5 percent. The previous rate of interest was an estimated 4 percent. Bosc submitted the lowest bid of 5 percent.
According to Knutson, refinancing the bonds will save the county about $85,000 over the next 10 years. The bonds were originally issued to fund improvements in the Lincoln-Pipestone Rural Water System.
In other business, the board agreed unanimously to a request submitted by Christin Berger, representing Development Services Inc., to sign a $70,000 grant application to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources on behalf of the Lake Benton Area Foundation to develop a local trail connection. Construction on the 1.1-mile trail would begin in the fall, subject to a wetlands and endangered species review, Berger said.
"The DNR had $4 million in requests and only $971,000 to allocate to projects," Berger said, "and we were one of them."
The board also heard from representatives of the Highway 68 Corridor Coalition. Rebecca Day, a volunteer administrator with the coalition, and Sarah Friesen, Minneota city administrator, asked the board to appoint a representative for Lincoln County to attend a coalition meeting to be scheduled sometime in February or March.
"We're forming this group to improve safety on Highway 68," Day said.
The Highway 68 corridor from Marshall to the state line includes 3.7 miles inside Lincoln County, according to Day.
Commissioner Curtis Blumeyer agreed to represent the board to the coalition.
Robert Olson, county environmental director, informed the board Murray County was inviting a representative to attend a meeting in Slayton on Jan. 30 to discuss the idea of starting a regional recycling center, the board appointed Commissioner Larry Hanson to represent the county.
Olson said currently the contents of household recycling bins in Lincoln and Lyon counties are taken to a facility in Sioux Falls, S.D. Tri-County Recycling, which serves Murray, Pipestone, and Cottonwood counties is exploring the idea of building a facility to handling recycling in up to seven counties, according to Olson.
The board also unanimously approved a request by Olson to approve a bid by MAAC of Montevideo to demolish and clean up the former Salty Dog restaurant and bar for a fee not to exceed $12,000.