By Sarah Kirchner

staff writer

In an effort to make Freeborn County commissioner meetings more accessible to the public, the board of commissioners Tuesday formed an audio/visual committee to explore options of broadcasting the biweekly meetings.

“That’s how the board felt we needed to go further with this,” said Commissioner Chris Shoff.

He and Commissioner Dan Belshan will serve on the committee that will look into cost and feasibility of taping meetings. Shoff said the group will research the cost of taping and airing meetings because there is “quite a price range.”

Shoff brought up the idea following his attendance at the District 5 commissioner debate last week. He said all five candidates brought up the idea that meetings should be broadcast and they should have been broadcast.

In the past, private citizens video taped the meetings and ran them on the public access channel. However, no one has been to tape the meetings for months.

Shoff said he wanted to “engage more people in the process of county government.

“There’s a strong need out there,” he continued. “This is a countywide issue.”

Belshan said years ago he took county, city and school officials to Fairmont to view their video-taping system, and following that field trip the city began broadcasting on the government channel.

In the past, a previous county board voted not to broadcast the meetings on the local government channel.

“I’d be in favor of looking at a low-cost system and getting it on the air,” Belshan said.

In other business, the board of commissioners:

– Met in closed session to discuss the situation surrounding the Albert Lea Lake dam project put forth by the Shell Rock River Watershed District.

County Administrator John Kluever announced, once the board returned from closed session, that the plan is anticipated to come before the board on Oct. 7. The watershed district has not yet requested consideration by the county board.

The watershed district Aug. 6 approved plans to build a variable-crest dam, bridge, fishing piers and parking lot at the dam over the outlet of Albert Lea Lake into the Shell Rock River. The plans also move the dam north to South Shore Drive.

However, landowner Greg Jensen recently purchased the land surrounding the dam and does not agree with the plans. In order for the watershed district to build, the county would have to assert eminent domain.

– Set a presentation at 8:30 a.m. Sept. 11 of a Lloyd Herfindahl painting to the Law Enforcement Center. The painting — which depicts law enforcement and fire fighters — was recently discovered and hung in the hallway leading from the Law Enforcement Center to the rest of the Freeborn County Government Center. The Albert Lea Art Center owns the painting but lent it to the Government Center.

– Approved repairs and improvements on county ditches 71, 8 and 49.

– Approved redetermination of benefits for County Ditch 30.