Karen Newman

Clay County Administrator Stephen Larson presented a recommendation Tuesday, which the Clay County Commissioners approved, to allocate $2.2 million in Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act funding to purchase an office building at 3510 12th Avenue South in Moorhead.
Commissioner Jenny Mongeau, who serves on the Clay County CARES Act Committee, explained the proposal.
We, as a CARES Act Committee, have been working since July, meeting 2-3 times a week, to address Covid needs in the community and how Clay County, specifically, can move forward, living amongst a pandemic. Part of that is that we are in meetings with the Minnesota Association of Counties and hearing what other counties are doing. It became quite clear that the business of county government doesn’t stop because there is a pandemic. We quickly realized that we needed to identify a way to address the safety of the citizens and the employees that would still allow county government to move forward vibrantly.
County Administrator Larson elaborated further, “From the beginning, this board has really focused on the safety of our employees and our citizens. You have challenged our departments to be sure that we are meeting ever-changing needs in a safe fashion.” He pointed out that county departments have moved many services on-line to reduce face-to-face interactions.
Larson continued, “Social distancing has provided challenges on campus. Some of our facilities even through modifications, don’t meet the standards we have for health expectations.” He added that the board recently faced a similar issue when they acted to approve funding for the DMV to move to a larger space in the Moorhead Center Mall. He noted the adjustments made to the courthouse meeting rooms to provide for a safe space for county commission meetings.
Larson said that the nine-year-old building has 18,851 square feet of space that is already set up for offices. It has space for 28 offices, multiple conference spaces and 75 cubicles that can be adjusted to meet social-distancing guidelines and address future needs. There is adequate parking for staff and customers. The purchase agreement includes office furnishings that are in the building. Earnest money requested is $10,000 with a closing date of November 24. A preliminary inspection indicates few building issues. The commissioners will request a formal inspection. Larson added, “The fit-up costs will come from county reserves.”
Larson explained, “The areas that we suggest using this space are the auditor, treasurer, planning and zoning, GIS (land records department), assessor, and recorder. We are also looking at human resources and administrative offices moving to this location. This space would create an opportunity for social-distancing for the offices and for our citizens.” Larson elaborated by describing current activities in the existing courthouse space which include voting, trials, and the recorder’s office experiencing a very high number of service requests.
Commissioner Kevin Campbell asked if there are any stipulations in CARES Act funding that would prohibit the county from selling this property at a later date, if they chose to do so. Larson said that his department consulted with the Minnesota Association of Counties and the Office of Management and Budget about this issue. He stated, “We did our best with the information we had. It will be a long-lasting asset to the county.” County Attorney Brian Melton said that he had found no regulations to say that the building cannot be sold or re-purposed by the county at a later date.
Darren Brooke, Human Resources Director, presented a brief update about CARES Act funds allotted to Clay County. The initial total funding available through CARES was $7,843,443. With spending deadlines approaching, he updated the commission about local funding priorities.
21 of 25 qualifying long-term/residential care facilities in Clay County applied for grants from CARES Act funding for a total of $445,000. Affidavits are being collected from the Phase 2 Small Business Relief employers whose businesses qualified for a grant. Phase 1 dollars have been distributed. CARES Act dollars were allocated to provide expanded mental health services to senior citizens, veterans and those in long-term care. County infrastructure has been updated to meet the needs of citizens while keeping citizens and county staff safe. Infrastructure needs ranging from acquiring new spaces, repurposing existing spaces and installing updated technology enabled the county to continue to serve its citizens safely through the ongoing health crisis. Townships and small towns received funding to ameliorate Covid-19 needs in the rural areas of Clay County
Commissioner Jenny Mongeau thanked Larson and Brooke for their work saying, “The CARES Act created opportunities for local people to deal with the pandemic. We have done the most we could with what we had.”