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WALKER - Cass County Board Tuesday approved all but one of the county's two-year union contracts and approved the same terms for elected officials other than the board and for non-union employees.

Negotiations are still in progress for the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) bargain unit representing health, human and veterans services employees. The board had approved a contract at the last meeting with the Teamsters 320 unit representing deputies and jailers.

Union contacts approved Tuesday include the following: AFSCME unit representing courthouse employees, Operating Engineers 49 representing highway employees and Teamsters 346 unit representing dispatchers and records personnel.

The board also approved an agreement with the same terms for probation department employees who work under district court direction.

The wage portion of the contracts calls for a 2.5 percent raise for the pay scale effective Jan. 1, 2013, and another 2.5 percent raise for the pay scale effective Jan. 1, 2014. All employees also will be eligible for a step increase after six months probation when newly hired and annually July 1 each year thereafter to a total of 10 steps. Steps are about 3 percent each.

In other business Tuesday, the board voted to recognize as a part of Volunteer Week, April 21 to 27, people who volunteer services to the county.

They include 22 on the sheriff's posse/mounted patrol, 70 in boat and water safety, 22 on the dive team, 47 in TRIAD, 13 sheriff's chaplains, 150 people who adopt a highway to clean ditches, 42 who volunteer services to health, human and veterans services and 55 people who serve on board appointed committees.

Cass County Board will hold a public hearing during the June 18 board meeting beginning at 6 p.m. at Sylvan Town Hall on the county plans for capital improvements.

The board authorized Central Services Director Tim Richardson to hire on an as needed basis Mark Beard at $50 per hour up to a maximum of $10,000 to oversee onsite $100,000 worth of building repair and improvement projects the county plans to do on the courthouse this year.

Minnesota Department of Human Services gave the county a "perfect performance" rating on the county's submission of 32 reports to the state in 2012.

Land Commissioner Joshua Stevenson obtained board approval to award a contract to low bidder of three, Superior Forestry Services, to plant 118,500 tree seedlings at $50.60 per thousand on logged over county land.

The board also authorized him to hire Fuhr Flying Services, the lowest of 11 submitting quotes to do aerial photography of 707 square miles in the southern part of the county this year for $19,265.75.

Six of seven timber tracts were sold to loggers at a March 28 auction. They paid $98,520.10 for 4,692 cords of various hardwoods and $4,936.90 for pine saw logs. Aspen sold at $24.80 per cord, near the $25 amount the land department considers a normal price.

Deep Portage Conservation Reserve Director Dale Yerger obtained board approval to spend $21,000 of Deep Portage Foundation money to install additional solar panels on the main dormitory building at Deep Portage.

Yerger said Deep Portage has cut its electrical bill from $24,000 per year to $17,500 with previous earlier solar and wind energy installations.

Second publication rights after Brainerd Dispatch.

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