By Mari Radtke
Bryce Batien accepted a Ranger position with O’Brien County Conservation Board (OCCB). Batien took the oath of office Wednesday January 10 by OCCB President Kathy Luedke. Batien will attend the Academy at a later date. He comes to OCCB with military experience.
Osceola Rural Water approached Mark Wilson, OCCB Director about the possibility of acquiring 2 easements on Conservation Property. Osceola Rural Water wants to dig 2 wells near Conservation land near “Burned Bridge,” at the intersection of Wilson Avenue and Waterman Boulevard. In order for Rural Water to dig the wells they need legal control of 200 feet around the well sites. That perimeter includes Conservation property. An easement will meet the DNR requirements. The only change to managing the land, according to Wilson, is a DNR prohibition against spreading manure or fertilizing the easement property. Those prohibitions won’t affect how OCCB manages the land. OCCB. The County Attorney will review the easements. There were no objections by any board members to granting the request.
O’Brien County campgrounds will have a slightly adjusted season in 2024. The parks will open on May 1 and close on October 1. Tjossem Park camping fees will be increased to $20 per night and will be the online reservations “guinea pig.” Long term camping sites were also determined. There are 4 at Mill Creek, 5 at Dog Creek, 6 at Douma. Tjossem Park long term camping must go through the Prairie Heritage office.
The contracts for the campground hosts were reviewed and approved. The duties are largely the same as 2023. Duties differ at the different campgrounds, Dog Creek, Mill Creek and Douma Park. There will not be campground hosts at Tjossem Park.
Recruiting for seasonal positions was approved. Technician positions pay $15 per hour. The seasonal Naturalist position pays $14 per hour.
The park rules and regulations were amended to reflect state code language. Wilson says no significant changes were made.
Wilson asked approval to submit a budget amendment for the current budget. His request was to move $30,894.64 from the supplemental carryover to the department’s general basic budget. The move would allow Wilson to spend the funds if necessary. For the coming budget, Wilson reported his budget plans for FY25 was to leave the line items as they are with only wage and salary increases to reflect necessary changes to the cost of employees. Affected line items include increased costs to fringe benefits and work comp insurance. Wilson said he expects the revenue in the next fiscal year to increase as much as 5.51% and expenses overall to rise by just 2.08%.
Luedke was again voted as board chair. Dan Verrips moved and Jack Wallinga seconded for the vice chair to be filled by Tom Konz.
Winterfunderland at Mill Creek is set for Saturday February 10 from 2 – 5pm.