FAIRMONT– On Tuesday the Martin County Board of Commissioners discussed and reviewed fundraising efforts for the K9 unit in the Martin County Sheriff’s Office.

The topic came to the board following personnel committee discussions regarding fundraising for expenses related to the K9 unit by the Sheriff’s Office. A discussion with the State Auditor’s Office indicated that they are not aware of statutory authority for counties to do that type of activity.

“If it had gone through a 501 (c)(3) and had been a donation made or a check made… then it’s considered a donation. This is considered fundraising and we need to figure out how to handle the funds,” said Commissioner Richard Koons.

Commissioner Elliot Belgard asked how this all came about. Koons explained that the Sheriff’s Office had done a fundraiser at the Martin County Fair.

Sheriff Jeff Markquart said that after the county’s K9 unit was established, people in the community had expressed that they wanted to help the program in some way. He said the K9 handler, Luis Figueroa, had talked to other K9 units about it and brought information back.

Markquart said that in setting up a fundraiser, they kept track of everything that was sold (plush dogs and T-shirts) so that if any sales tax needed to be paid it would all be documented.

“We were told Friday of the fair, we were given notice that we shouldn’t be doing it,” Markquart said.

Commissioner Kathy Smith said they were given notice by the State Auditor’s Office before then that it wasn’t allowed.

“It still went on,” Smith said.

County Coordinator Scott Higgins added that once notice that the Sheriff’s Office was fundraising for the K9 unit was out there, they checked with the State Auditor’s Office to see if it was okay and was told the office wasn’t aware that it was allowed but referred it to the local county attorney’s office, which is why Higgins said it was being brought before the board.

Markquart said if that was a problem, they could set up a 501 (c)(3), which Belgard said would take about a year and a half and noted it would be a lot of work for just one K9.

Koons added that when the Fairmont Police Department had a K9 unit, the Blizzard Snowmobile Club, which is a non-profit, ran fundraises for it.

“That could be the easiest thing, find a 501(c)(3) pass though,” he said.

Smith asked what the Sheriff’s Office was planning on using the funds for since the county had committed to funding the K9 unit.

Markquart said they wanted to offset some of the costs since they didn’t fully know how much the program would cost since it’s new.

“We just thought, as long as people in the community wanted to help with this, if there’s extra money left after the year it goes back into the general fund,” Markquart said.

Commissioner Jaime Bleess questioned whether leftover money from a specific fundraiser could go into reserves.

“Shouldn’t that go into a dedicated account because it was donated to a cause?” he asked.

Smith asked how the board would know what to budget for the K9 unit if fundraising for it was also being done.

“We worked hard on a policy for the K9 dog. It went to personnel and we worked hard on it. We thought we had every expense covered… so my question is, why do we need it if the county is committed to funding the K9 program,” Smith said.

She asked how people could donate to it. Higgins said that people could make a private donation to the county clarifying what the purpose was for.

Belgard also asked why the request to hold a fundraiser didn’t come to the board in the first place. Smith agreed that it should have come to the board.

“I guess I thought everyone knew it was going on at the fair,” Koons said.

Markquart said that the Sheriff’s Office can communicate better in the future. The board then considered what to do with the funds raised so far.

“If the county accepts it, I would think you could donate it to any projects,” Markquart said.

As County Attorney Taylor McGowan wasn’t present during the time of this discussion, Higgins said they would refer the matter to him so that it could be looked into further.

“The thought was good but we have to figure out if we can even put that money in an account,” said Koons.

Moving to other matters, the board heard from Joshua Schuetz, a consultant for the County Economic Development Authority (EDA), who spoke about a business proposal for a new event center near Sherburn.

“We have a really exciting project, a request for tax abatement for a business set up in the western part of Martin County in the Fox Lake area, an event center that will accommodate up to 380 guests and 10 employees,” Schuetz said.

He sad that the applicant, Tom Finke, was requesting five year tax abatement, 100 percent not to exceed $82,500.

Finke then said they’re going to build an 11,000 sq. ft. heated and air conditioned space that will be open year-round for any kind of event though they’re mainly focusing on wedding receptions and dances.

“We’re currently in the process of working through state regulations and getting state approval to start the project,” Finke said.

Koons, who also sits on the county EDA board, said that the matter went to it Monday evening and everyone had been excited for it and recommended approval.

While the county has a successful tax abatement program for construction of single family homes, it’s believed that this would be the first business tax abatement request for county tax abatement only. Therefore the county’s business subsidy policy will be used as a guiding policy.

Higgins said that a public hearing will still need to be held and a plan will need to be come up with and shared with the county, which includes information like how many jobs it will add.

“I think it’s a really good project and I approve it entirely, I just want to make sure we do it right,” said Belgard.

Higgins said the only issue was that according to the business subsidy policy, anything less than $150,000 would be eligible, so he questioned whether an abatement of $82,500 should be considered under that policy or a different policy.

The board spoke about setting up a time to discuss and review the policies, however, as both the board and applicant were eager to get the project started, the EDA will review both policies, business subsidy or general tax abatement in the next few weeks.

The board set a public hearing for 11 a.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 31.

In other action, the board:

— Rescinded a grant worth $70,000 from the Minnesota Department of Public Safety– Office of Justice Programs for the Victim Witness Program and approved reducing staff in the Victim Witness Office.

— Approved the purchase of a budgeted 2024 Chevrolet Silverado one ton pickup truck in the amount of $47,465. The truck will be the new shop mechanic service truck for the Highway Department.

— Approved the hire of Kaleena Wiens as a full-time prohibition administrative assistant.

— Appointed Molly Roben and Billeye Rabbe to the Martin County Extension Committee for terms Jan. 1, 2024- Dec. 31, 2026.

In upcoming events, the board:

— Will have a Senate Bond Tour of the Martin County Jail at 8 a.m. on Oct. 5.

— Has County In Service Day on Oct 9. County offices will be closed to the public.

— Will hold a special work session at 8 a.m. Oct. 11 to discuss the Lakeside Cemetery transfer request.

— Has its next regular meeting at 9 a.m. on Oct. 17.