Judge Kurt Marben (far right) administered the oath of office to (from left) County Attorney Seamus Duffy, County Commissioners Darryl Tveitbakk and Neil Peterson, County Auditor-Treasurer Ken Olson and County Recorder Julie Hansen on Tuesday, Jan. 8. Not pictured is Sheriff Ray Kuznia, who was administered the oath of office later that day. Here, Tveitbakk and Peterson are taking the oath of office for their positions.

by April Scheinoha
Reporter

A new year means it was time for the Pennington County Board to reorganize Tuesday, Jan. 8.

Judge Kurt Marben administered the oath of office to County Commissioners Neil Peterson (District 3) and Darryl Tveitbakk (District 4); County Attorney Seamus Duffy; County Auditor-Treasurer Ken Olson; and County Recorder Julie Hansen. Marben administered the oath of office later that day to Sheriff Ray Kuznia. All six were elected Nov. 6.

The Pennington County Board held its reorganizational meeting Tuesday, Jan. 8. Pictured are (front row) County Attorney Seamus Duffy, County Auditor-Treasurer Ken Olson, Chairperson Bruce Lawrence (District 5), Vice Chairperson Darryl Tveitbakk (District 4); and (back row) Commissioners Don Jensen (District 1), Neil Peterson (District 3) and Cody Hempel (District 2).

Commissioners appointed Commissioner Bruce Lawrence as chairperson for calendar year 2019.

County Board appointed Tveitbakk as vice chairperson for calendar year 2019.

Commissioners reappointed Dr. Scott Petrescue as the county coroner.

With an abstention, County Board reappointed Nicole Peterson to the Northwest Juvenile Training Center Board. Commissioner Neil Peterson, who is Nicole’s husband, abstained from voting.

County Board appointed Corie Erickson Oliver and Linda Helgeland to the Pennington County Extension Committee.

Per Minnesota Statute 3.088, commissioners extended Kuznia’s leave of absence for 10 years. This would enable Kuznia to go back to his former deputy position if another individual is elected sheriff or he chooses not to run for reelection in the future.

Commissioners approved submitting a petition to the Red Lake Watershed District to realign the Challenger Ditch. The county wants the ditch to be realigned from Pennington Avenue to the Red Lake River, so it can construct the upcoming Mark Boulevard bridge and roadway. After receiving the petition, the RLWD will set a public hearing regarding the realignment request.

County Board set a public hearing regarding tax abatements for 17 residential properties. The public hearing will be held Tuesday, Feb. 12 at 10 a.m. at the Justice Center.

Pennington County and the city of Thief River Falls offer a tax abatement program for new single-family homes built in the city. For homes built prior to June 2015, the construction cost cannot exceed $160,000. For homes built after that time, the construction cost cannot exceed $200,000. Abatements are good for three years and only apply to the first owner occupying that particular home.

In separate motions, per a recommendation from the State Auditor’s Office, County Board formally accepted 2018 donations to Sentence to Serve and DARE. The donations totalled $32,136 and $3,009, respectively. Commissioners also approved accepting donations for those groups in 2019.

County Board approved paying Deputy Auditor-Treasurer Kevin Erickson up to 20 hours of overtime for work completed Dec. 26 to Feb. 28. Erickson handles payroll and benefits for county employees.