Douglas County Board Meeting January 2 2024

Commissioner Keith Englund will lead the Douglas County Board of Commissioners as chair for 2024.

Englund, who represents District 1 in the western half of the county, took over the gavel from Commissioner Charlie Meyer at the organizational meeting held January 2.

Commissioners voted Jerry Rapp as vice chair. Rapp represents District 3 which is the northeast portion of the county.  

Next on the agenda was opening bids for county vehicle maintenance and the legal publication bid. There were two bids for vehicle maintenance. Commissioners chose Shutters in Alexandria. There was only one bid for legal publication, which was the Echo Press.

Commissioners approved the meeting dates and times for board meetings in 2024. They also voted on their committee assignments. Commissioners serve on a wide variety of boards and committees in the county. The complete list can be found on the county website at www.Douglascountymn.gov. Look under Government then Boards and Committees.  

Following the organizational meeting, commissioners opened the special board meeting. They approved the minutes from the Public Works Fall Planning Meeting held December 12 and the regular board meeting held on December 19.

Commissioners then, at the request of Auditor/Treasurer Vicki Doehling, established the 2024 Ballot Boards. Members of both the absentee ballot board and the Uniformed and Oversees Citizens Absentee Voting Act ballot board will be the full-time and seasonal staff of the Auditor-Treasurer’s Office and staff of the Central Finance Department. They will all be provided the required two hours of election judge training and one hour of ballot board training.

Next, the board designated Commissioners Tim Kalina and Shane Schmidt to the Douglas County Canvassing Board. This board meets following the 2024 presidential nomination primary in March, the August primary, and the November general election. The board must meet to review the results and publicly canvass the returns.  In addition to two commissioners, the board consists of the county auditor, the court administrator of the district court, and the mayor of the most populous municipality.

The next board meeting will be held January 16 at 9 a.m. in the board room located in the Douglas County Administration Building at 821 Cedar Street in Alexandria.