Photo by Deb Gau Lyon County Commissioner Charlie Sanow spoke during the commissioners’ regular meeting Tuesday.

MARSHALL — Lyon County commissioners went back to discussing a funding request for an area veterans’ memorial at their regular meeting Tuesday. But questions of how to budget for a contribution, and how to handle possible future requests, meant a decision likely won’t come until further along in the county’s 2018 budget process.

It’s a topic commissioners have talked about a couple of times so far this year. Minneota American Legion Commander Jim Fink had requested financial support to help improve the Minneota-Ghent-Taunton Veterans Memorial. Fink was requesting about $40,000 toward a total project cost of around $100,000.

One question that county commissioners had asked after Fink’s request was how to fairly respond to other area communities, who may also be planning to build veterans’ memorials and looking for funding contributions.

At Tuesday’s meeting, County Administrator Loren Stomberg said he had contacted city clerks in Lyon County about that question. Stomberg said Cottonwood has finished a veterans’ memorial, Tracy currently has no plans to build one, and Russell is in the early planning stages for one. He didn’t know whether supporters of a planned memorial at Marshall’s Memorial Park plan to ask the county for a funding contribution.

Commissioners said they were concerned that whatever amount they agreed to contribute to the Minneota veterans’ memorial would be the same amount other projects asked for. It could possibly be hard for the county to meet more than one funding request.

“My idea is to give a certain percentage of the project money, not to exceed a certain amount,” said Commissioner Gary Crowley. If making contributions to more than one memorial would be a problem, he said, maybe the county could limit the number of proposals it accepts each year.

Commissioner Charlie Sanow said he didn’t have a problem with contributing to the veterans’ memorial, but he thought the board needed more information to make a decision.

“What does that look like in our budget?” Sanow said. Without a county budget proposal, he said, it was “kind of early” to set a dollar amount for contributions. “It’s pretty tough to do until we have a budget.”

“The decision’s probably not going to be made right now,” agreed Commissioner Steve Ritter. Ritter said it would also be helpful to know what kind of funding commitments memorial projects had from cities and other organizations, before deciding on a county contribution.

Crowley moved that the county contribute 20 percent of project funding, not to exceed $20,000; and that the county limit funding contributions to one veterans’ memorial project per year. The motion died for lack of a second.

After Crowley’s motion died, commissioners’ consensus was to look at the funding request during the 2018 budget process. Stomberg said he would likely have a preliminary budget proposal ready for the board by its second August meeting.

• In other business at Tuesday’s meeting, commissioners heard an update on planned safety improvements on Minnesota Highway 23 in Marshall. An open house on planned “J-turn” intersections at Highway 23 and County Road 7, and Highway 23 and Lyon Street, will be tonight at the Marshall-Lyon County Library. Members of the public are encouraged to attend the open house, which will be from 5-6:30 p.m.