Supporters of Lake View Natural Dairy (LVND) were back at the Cook County courthouse on Tuesday, March 17, 2015, however, in much smaller number than when dairy operator David Berglund appeared in court on March 9. On that day more than 150 people crowded into the courthouse to hear that Judge Michael Cuzzo needed up to 90 days to review the case before determining if the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) had the right to inspect the dairy and whether Berglund was in contempt by denying them access. That community response was not lost on Commissioner Garry Gamble who offered a seven page resolution in support of LVND.
Before considering that resolution, in the public comment period, the board listened to Greg Gentz of Grand Marais, a LVND customer and a strong advocate of the dairy. Gentz said he had heard that there was some sentiment against the board becoming involved in the matter. He said, “That concerns me.”
He noted that when the commissioners take the oath of office, they swear to uphold the Constitution and to advocate for county citizens.
Gentz expressed appreciation for Gamble’s draft resolution, but noted that the attorney representing the Berglunds had some concerns about some of the issued raised. Gentz said he had emailed the board a short letter of support that would be more appropriate if the county’s intent was to enter into the legal record in support of LVND and to protect local farmers.
Gentz reminded commissioners that in its 12 years of operating as a dairy, LVND has never had a verbal or written complaint. As his five minutes of public comment time wound down, Gentz appealed to commissioners to pass the alternative resolution.
Heidi Berglund of LVND spoke next, simply asking the board to accept the alternative letter of support, which she said, not only supports LVND, but all other small farmers and gardeners.
The board addressed the matter later in the agenda, with Commissioner Gamble making a motion to adopt the abbreviated resolution of support proposed by Gentz. Gamble noted that as he drafted his more lengthy resolution, which was based on the discussion in court on March 9, he believed it was appropriate to state all of the things on which the county could build a case. However, he agreed the shorter resolution was sufficient to fulfill the county board’s oath to protect the Constitution and to declare its support of LVND.
County Board Chair Heidi Doo- Kirk asked County Attorney Molly Hicken if she had any concerns about the resolution.
Hicken said she did have some concern about the citing of the section of the Constitution that is currently under contest. She asked the board if it wanted to make the resolution more specific to LVND. “I’m just not sure we need to get that detailed into constitutional interpretation,” said Hicken.
Commissioner Frank Moe said he would like to support the resolution, noting the “consistent overreach” by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture. He asked Hicken, “Is there any real, significant risk by doing this?”
Hicken said, “I don’t think it’s wise to make it a regular practice to put legal language into board actions, but if the board feels strongly that this is the message they want to send, I don’t see any real risk.”
Commissioner Ginny Storlie said she supports all Cook County businesses, but expressed concern about setting a precedent of getting involved in legal affairs, especially before knowing what the judge’s verdict will be. “I support them—at the moment—but I’m not sure what the outcome will be in 90 days,” said Storlie.
Commissioner Jan Sivertson agreed with Storlie, noting that she wanted to support a local business. She stated that agricultural businesses are “endangered species” in Cook County. However, Sivertson said she would support a letter of support for the dairy, but not the resolution with the legal language. “It seems very complicated to me to support this now,” said Sivertson.
Commissioner Gamble emphatically argued for including the constitutional references, noting that the county board has a right to hold its regulatory bodies to the rule of law, just as constituents hold commissioners accountable to the rule of the law. He said without the constitutional references, the resolution simply becomes “wishful thinking.”
Chair Doo-Kirk called for the question and the motion to pass the shorter resolution carried with Commissioner Sivertson voting nay.
The resolution states: “The Cook County Board of Commissioners hereby declare a position of support concerning Lake View Natural Dairy (LVND) and their protection under the Minnesota Constitutional Article 13, Section 7: “…Any person may sell or peddle the products of the farm or garden occupied and cultivated by him without obtaining a license therefor.”
“We believe Article 13, Section 7 protects LVND from governmental intrusions (that include not only licensing, but also inspection and regulation) when LVND is privately associating with private men and women to sell and peddle the products of their farm at their farm location.
Furthermore, we support the consumer’s right under Article 13, Section 7 to privately associate with other private farmers or gardeners in a private relationship to purchase these products of the farm or garden.”
Law Enforcement grievance going to arbitration
Commissioner Frank Moe said he had been contacted by Deputy Paul Spry, who provided some “interesting information” on the issue of last date of hire as it relates to the seniority rights of former Chief Deputy/Acting Sheriff Leif Lunde and former Chief Deputy Ben Hallberg. Moe said he wished he had had this information prior to the county board’s decision to grant Lunde and Hallberg’s request to return to duty as deputies with seniority granted for their entire time of service to the county.
Moe said the union has decided to file for arbitration on the issue.
Moe said the board needs to develop a better process to gather information from the union. Commissioner Gamble, who is a member of the union negotiating team, said these things were reviewed by the union and the personnel committee. He said there was a lengthy process before it came to the county board.
Moe said in no way was he saying that Gamble hadn’t done his job, but expressed concern that he had no idea that there were any disputes about the seniority issue, in the initial discussion with Lunde or with the subsequent grievance discussion.
Gamble said a process has to be followed, and it was followed with Acting Personnel Director Janet Simonen.
“Not that I necessarily would have changed my vote, but I feel I wasn’t well informed,” said Moe. “I feel that, as a county board member, I need to understand better.”
Gamble said he agreed that the board sometimes needs to do a better job of communicating.
Attorney Hicken noted that this was the first time in Janet Simonen’s career with the county that a grievance had gone to the county commissioners. She said she appreciated the board’s input on the process and added, “This is kind of new to us.”
In other business
. Assessor Betty Schultz brought forward a request to hire Todd Smith for the assessor’s appraiser position at a starting salary of $21.69 per hour. Schultz said Smith comes to the county with a “considerable amount of experience,” having worked as the appraiser for the city of Grant, as staff appraiser in the Anoka County Assessor’s Office and currently owns his own appraisal business.
The board unanimously accepted Schultz’s recommendation and approved hiring Smith.
. U.S. Representative Rick Nolan’s Field & Constituent Services Representative Mark Privratsky introduced himself to the board and asked the board to call on him with concerns. The board stressed the importance of the Rural Health Care Block Grant to Cook County. Privratsky said he would follow up on the concern that this crucial community health services funding may be on the chopping block.
. There was lengthy discussion and a Skype session with David Unmacht of Springstad, who is helping the county with the county administrator search process. Unmacht has winnowed potential applicants down to 10 and the next step is the interview process. The board agreed to continue working with Unmacht to further screen the candidates and to design the interviews at a cost of $1,000. The motion passed with Commissioner Moe voting in opposition. Moe said he appreciated Umacht’s work, but said, “I think we need to build capacity to do this in-house, so I’m voting in opposition.”
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