County commissioners approve grant request for improved security at the Otter Tail County Courthouse

FERGUS FALLS — The Otter Tail County Board of Commissioners weighed items tied to public safety and waste collection, at the Tuesday, Sept. 8, Otter Tail County Commissioner's meeting. The county has finalized an amendment to its state Emergency Medical Services Fund grant contract with the Minnesota Office of Emergency Medical Services. The amendment, which became effective Aug. 25, updates the project budget and payment terms for the county's Alternate EMS Response Model Grant. Under the amended agreement, the county is set to receive $332,498 for the 2025 fiscal year, about $1.57 million for fiscal year 2026, and roughly $792,799 for fiscal year 2027, for a total of $2.7 million over the life of the grant. The money will be paid out as reimbursement for actual expenses, covering staff salaries and benefits, equipment, and supplies. Commissioners approved an extension for the county's organics recycling collection contract with Steve's Sanitation Inc. of Perham for another year. The current agreement, first signed in 2022, was set to expire around Aug. 26. In an Aug. 19 letter that was included in the agenda packet, Assistant Solid Waste Director Scott Bjerke asked Steve's Sanitation President Kelly Melgard to sign off on a one-year extension that would push the new end date to about Sept. 15, 2027. The estimated cost of the extension is $88,360, covering roughly 1,750 stops and 52 collection trips over the year. The extension also updates how fuel cost changes are handled. Under the new terms, if average annual diesel costs shift by more than 25 cents a gallon from a set baseline, the county and the contractor will reimburse each other accordingly, rather than adjusting prices monthly. In a presentation to county commissioners, Otter Tail County Deputy Sheriff Reed Reinbold discussed with county officials about applying for a new state grant to improve security at the courthouse's jail entrance. A previous "safe and secure courthouse" grant, received in 2024, paid for interior security doors at the courthouse's main entrance, but Reinbold stressed that the jail's public lobby remains a weak point because it lacks controlled access and has an exit door with no alarm. The proposed fix would add a doorbell camera so visitors can be screened and directed to the main courthouse security checkpoint during business hours and a delayed-egress alarm on the jail lobby's exit door to meet fire code while still improving security. After hours, visitors would be directed to jail control, where their name and reason for visiting would be logged. The grant request totals $9,129.28, with the county providing a matching share already built into the sheriff's budget. Total project cost is estimated at $18,000. Officials noted that the state increased funding for the grant program to $4 million heading into 2026, which they said improves the odds of approval. The board voted to move forward with the grant application, along with a letter of support from the commissioners. Meetings can be viewed live or watched later at: ottertailcounty.gov/livestream .