Lyon County Board of Commissioners approve nearly $5M in federal funding

The Lyon County Board approved the acceptance of funding that will allocate nearly $5 million from the federal government to Lyon County at Tuesday’s board meeting.
Helping mitigate the negative repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic, the American Rescue Plan funding of $4,948,026 may be used to support the public health response, address negative economic impacts, provide equity-focused services, replace public sector revenue loss, provide premium pay for essential workers, and invest in water, sewer, and broadband infrastructure.
Addressing the emergent public health needs is a top priority for how monies will be spent. The County can invest the money toward the risks presented by new variants and the effects of the virus on a long-term scale. Mental health, substance abuse, and behavioral health needs can also be addressed, among others.
Once Lyon County DocuSigns to accept the funds it will receive half of the funding in approximately five business days and half at the end of the year.
Due to the CARES Act covering expenses up until March (depending on the state that CARES recipients lived in), the expense period for the American Rescue Plan begins March 3, 2021. Lyon County will have until the end of 2024 to spend the money.
“(The funding is) not necessarily to cover the losses from last year,” Auditor/Treasurer E.J. Moberg said. “All counties will get funded directly from the federal government. For cities to get funded directly they have to have more than 50,000 people. With CARES, if those local jurisdictions weren’t able to use their allocation they could give it to the county. With this, if they don’t use it, it goes to the state.”
Also Tuesday, Garvin Park saw some action as the board approved the Environmental Department to apply for the Statewide Health Improvement Partnership funding for the park.
Environmental Administrator Roger Schroeder informed commissioners of two separate grant applications. The first grant requested was $6,920 that would place two benches for the nature-scape playground area, basketball hoops, concrete for a play area and an ADA path to the court that stems from existing paved pathways. The second grant would be a playground replacement for Garvin Park for $9,199.
The Environmental Department would receive a decision on grant approval by June 1 with an estimated completion time of four to six weeks.
Similarly, another Garvin Park approval was made by the board concerning a $6,000 quote for concept drawings and budget estimation in the manner of potential Legacy Funding for designing new architecture and landscape for the park.
At the May 4 meeting, the board of directors requested proposals from the environmental department with estimated costs of the project. The Legacy Grant application process requires applicants to hire an engineer, landscape architect or other professional to draw up a concept and estimate the costs of the project.

In other news, the board:
• Renewed the Redwood-Cottonwood Rivers Control Area joint powers agreement for the July 1, 2021-June 30, 2023 period with a new levy amount of $80,000, a $5,000 increase from the previous agreement.
• Approved the Lyon County Sheriff’s Office to switch their vehicle leases to Enterprise Fleet Management once the current lease expires.
• Approved the Lyon County Sheriff’s Office to accept a donation and installation of Good Year Eagle Enforcer tires from the Minnesota Soybean Growers Association, which contain soybean oil in the tread and are designed for use in the drastic Minnesota weather.
• Approved Deputy Dustin Demuth to travel out of state to Philadelphia, PA, to be trained as Drug Recognition Expert on Aug. 22-26, 2021.
• Approved a quote of $11,210 for the Lyon County Museum to move the District 80 schoolhouse that is located behind West Side Elementary in Marshall to the Marshall fairgrounds.
• Approved a quote of $7,416 from North Central International for an automatic tarping system for a roll-off truck, allowing the Environmental Department to transport open containers of waste.
• Authorized the County Engineer to sign the purchase agreement for 2021 seasonal bituminous materials.
• Approved the U.S. 59 detour agreement for concrete surface repairs 3 miles of CSAH 5 South of Balaton and 2 miles of CSAH 6 south of Marshall. The repairs will be ongoing for six weeks for the construction in Balaton and four weeks for the repairs near Marshall.
• Heard testimony from the Advocate Connect Educate of SW MN group on updates and activities happening.