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PINE RIVER - Bob Goede of Minnesota Counties Intergovernmental Trust gave Cass County commissioners a report on the county's insurance claims in 2014 during the board meeting Tuesday at Leader Community Center.

The trust is a joint self-insuring entity in which 81 of 87 Minnesota counties participate. It provides property and casualty, liability and workers compensation coverages. It does not include health insurance.

The highest number of property/casualty claims falls under auto insurance coverage. Worker compensation sees the highest number of claims from the sheriff's department and highway department, considered two of the highest risk jobs, Goede said.

Cass' workers compensation claims were 14 percent less than the county contributed to the fund in 2014, he reported. Goede reported claims against the county for land use issues have declined.

The trust added in 2014 a new coverage for mental health problems resulting from a worker's job, according to Goede.

Because Cass' claims have fallen below the county's annual contribution and required fund balance with MCIT, the county received a $199,446 dividend back from MCIT in 2014.

The Minnesota Counties Intergovernmental Trust offers safety training courses for member counties' employees and provides legal counsel when a member county is sued under a situation covered by its insurance.

Anna Gruber of National Joint Powers Alliance informed the county board Cass is eligible to receive a $2,868.87 rebate upon formalizing an agreement to be a full voting member of the cooperative purchasing program.

Cass has long been a member of the program Region 5 started, she said. The board voted Tuesday to formalize their membership by signing the agreement.

Recorder Katy Norby obtained board approval to contract with ARCASEARCH to scan all remaining old real estate record books, to be paid from technology fees her office collects. Cost will be $275,553, plus an annual software subscription of $14,499 for each of the next four years.

The county will own three master sets of the scanned documents and have secure off-site storage of the documents at a Minneapolis location. There are about 291,967 pages of documents not already scanned to be scanned under this contract.

Gail Leverson, Cass County economic development director, reported she completed work assisting two businesses this month. Yma Sautbine will open Alpha Café across the street from Bank Forward in Walker and hire two to three employees. Mary and Richard Bull will purchase Walker Building Supply and expect to hire three employees.

She also reported 20 people have applied for small cities grants to improve their homes and businesses in Backus, and 20 have applied in Longville.

Cass commissioners approve distributing their annual $1,500 contribution to Mississippi Headwaters Board.

Kevin Lee of Longville Ambulance Service reported runs from that location dropped from 56 in 2014 to 43 in 2015 during the first quarter of the year, primarily due to Walker now having two fully staffed ambulances. Walker is responding to more Hackensack calls than Longville is now, he said.

Longville Ambulance Service expenses remained at slightly over $138,000 in the first quarter, as the budget had projected, but revenue was only $141,705, compared with the budget expectation of $170,306, due to fewer runs. Therefore, profit margin dropped to 2.3 percent in 2015, Lee said.

Land Commissioner Joshua Stevenson obtained board approval to hire Storlie Construction to demolish a commercial building in Cass Lake that is on tax-forfeited land for $8,600. The building has to be removed without destroying a common wall with a neighboring building.

The commissioners approved hiring Northfork Boulders for up to $530 to deliver gravel to a county trail in Wilson Township. A logger who has a contract to cut county timber using that trail will spread the gravel.

The board endorsed a Minnesota Deer Hunters Association application to Lessard-Sams Outdoor Heritage Council for three-eighths cent state sales tax money to purchase land to preserve for public use.

The board approved a request from Richard and Shirley Paul to cross county administered land through a $500 easement to their property in Slater Township.

The board hired Future Forest for $7,125 to prepare four sites on 30 acres county land for tree planting and to spray 15 acres with herbicide for $2,340.

Auditor-Treasurer Sharon Anderson reported Cass received $242,761.39 interest income on investments through April this year, up from $219,214.85 in 2014.

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