Second drug dog joins staff

By Sara QuamRock County Commissioners voted Tuesday to allow another patrol and drug dog into Rock County Law Enforcement.Deputy John McCarty already owns and trained the German shepherd on his own, so the Sheriff’s Department doesn’t have to pay for the initial costs. The department will have to pay for dog care and continued training. A car will also be fitted for the dog at a one-time cost. The total cost to the department hasn’t been defined yet, but Sheriff Mike Winkels said dog education and care and some additional hours for the deputy will cost about $7,500.McCarty’s dog, Razor, will probably start with the department sometime this summer. The duo hasn’t technically been hired yet because the position has to be advertised.McCarty has been with the department two years. Razor is 15 months old. The existing dog, Tarzan, belonging to Deputy Ken Baker, is four years old. (A typical police dog serves nine to 12 years.)Both Baker and McCarty earn about the same in overtime. That won’t change because of having another dog because much of those overtime hours were from covering for other officers and working extra shifts or shifts that required work over regular hours.Baker was called out six times last year, so most of the dog’s work is done during regular shift hours.Sheriff Mike Winkels said, "One good bust could pay for the extra costs with seizures of assets and money."Commissioner Ken Hoime said, "My first reaction was that we don’t need another dog, because we aren’t a Hennepin County, but I’m not opposed to this if it’s on a trial basis."Commissioners said they felt they were getting a good deal because the start-up costs for the dog were less than with Tarzan.Winkels said, "I’m happy to have this opportunity. Once we get him activated it’ll be great. The deputy has been willing to give his time already and it’s a ‘gift horse.’" Baker and McCarty usually work different days of the week, so a dog will be available most days.Winkels said, "I think it deters crime and narcotics to have more dogs because people know they’re here. Word gets around and highways 23 and 75 and I-90 are heavily trafficked with drugs. I think it’s good that the county is taking a proactive approach to enforcement." County roads in cityThe city of Luverne and Rock County are still working on an agreement for the city to continue to maintain and remove snow on portions of county state aid highways within the city limits. The city now gets $6,800 per mile for portions of streets such as Main, Blue Mound, Dodge, Warren, Cedar, Luverne and Lincoln, for examples.The annual allotment is $49,000 to the city of Luverne.County Engineer Mark Sehr said the city has been doing good work and the county can’t do it on its own with the manpower and equipment it has. But after comparing with other similar-sized cities and counties, Sehr said Rock County is paying much more than the average. He estimated the county’s cost for similar work is closer to $4,100 per mile, and other cities get paid about $2,000 on average. "Cutting back from $49,000 to $30,000 would be a lot," Public Works Director Ken Vos said to the County Board Tuesday. "Had I kept a log of all we did on those streets in 2004, we’d have lost our tail. There’s a lot of maintenance that goes into those streets and there’s overtime for our crews a lot of times we remove snow."Vos said a log of work done in 2005 will illustrate all the work that goes into county roads, including tree maintenance.Vos said, "I’d appreciate better communication in the future because I had to read about this negotiation that was going on in the paper."Sehr and the board agreed.County Administrator Kyle Oldre said, "This is in no way a reflection of what we think of their work."Sehr said, "I think the service is great, but I just want to feel better about what we’re paying."The county has 7.8 miles of road in Luverne.If the city and county don’t agree on a contract price, the county can, by state statute, make the city do the work for the cost the county would pay to do it on it’s own — or $4,100 per mile.In other business Tuesday the board:
Approved a contract for architectural services from Paulson Architects for $137,525, with credit for almost $13,000 worth of work done already.Paulson is working on plans for a new Law Enforcement Center at an estimated cost of about $2 million.
Received cost estimates for an addition on the Highway Department for a bus garage and office for Heartland Express, the county’s buses. The county is applying for grants to cover a majority of the estimated $546,566.A new facility would cost about $691,173.
Received a feedlot update from Land Management Office Director Eric Hartman. He said that more than 600 feedlots were inspected in the county and 111 needed fixing or improvements. Of those 111, 24 are corrected; 33 are in open lot agreements or have interim permits, and 16 are getting direction for a new design.
Received a program update from Retired Senior Volunteer Program, which is requesting a small increase in funding this budget, for a total of $11,179.