Wright County had a busy year

A message from Wright County Administrator Lee Kelly:

As 2023 draws to a close, it has been a busy year for Wright County and numerous important events took place that impacted many of us in the short-term as well as in the future.

Wright County has been the fastest-growing county in the state and that was evidenced by numbers released by the U.S. Census Bureau this spring. In 2021-22, Wright County grew by 6,143 people – a 4.33 percent increase that equates to a 10-year growth rate of 21.65 percent. In the last Census, Wright County was the 10th largest county in the state. At its current rate of growth compared to other counties, by the 2030 Census, Wright County could be the seventh-largest county – surpassing Scott, Stearns and Olmsted counties.

With the sustained growth Wright County has experienced over the last 25 years, it is necessary to continuously improve how the county does business while remaining responsive and aware to the needs of the residents. Strategic planning was a focus in 2023 because we can no longer govern and operate like we are a small county. Although Wright County prides itself on maintaining a “small-town feel”, we have had to adapt and transition to meet the needs of a growing county. A primary initiative has been Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), which has consolidated the finance areas of county departments and the financial data being created has helped us to make better informed decisions.

Voters made history in 2023, as for the first time the majority of the county board of commissioners are women. Tina Diedrick (District 1), Jeanne Holland (District 3) and Nadine Schoen (District 4) are new to the board and, along with incumbent commissioners Darek Vetsch and Mike Kaczmarek, played instrumental roles in developing the 2024 budget. While many jurisdictions had double-digit levy increases, the county board worked diligently to keep Wright County’s levy down (a 4.8 percent increase). The new commissioners brought new ideas, insights and backgrounds to the county board and will be critical to the county’s strategic planning initiatives in the future.

2023 saw some important decisions made that have an eye to the future. The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission unanimously approved an application to operate the Xcel nuclear power plant through 2040. As the largest single taxpayer in Wright County, having the facility operational helps provide both the county and the City of Monticello financial stability for the next two decades. Another big decision came at the state and federal level, as funding was approved to increase I-94 to three lanes between Albertville and Monticello – a stretch of road that has seen numerous fatal accidents in recent years. Once completed, I-94 will be three lanes throughout Wright County. In addition, the Central Mississippi Regional Partnership took great strides in doing the preliminary work to eventually get a river crossing in county. This process is long, but promising steps took place in 2023.

When county operations moved to the new Government Center on Braddock Avenue NE, it left the old Government Center and Human Services Center vacant. These properties are finding new purposes. The Human Services Center property was sold in 2023 and the county’s Economic Development Authority is in talks regarding the sale of the old Government Center property in 2024.

The American Rescue Plan (ARP) was established to assist in the recovery from the pandemic by allocating funds to aid governments. Wright County has focused on directing these funds to cities and townships to assist in addressing infrastructure needs throughout the county in such areas as broadband, water and sewer, water quality and surface transportation.

In other developments, Community Dental Care began its first full year of operation on the ground floor of the Wright County Government Center. Since opening in September 2022, more than 11,000 patients have received services – most of them children who likely wouldn’t have had access to dental care if not for the clinic being in place. The Wright County Board of Commissioners has expressed its support to the county’s legislative delegation of the Wright Technical Center, which has been in operation for 50 years and includes students from eight school districts. The WTC is in need of repairs and upgrades to its facilities and Wright County’s legislators will be sponsoring a bill in the 2024 session to attempt to get state funding for the upgrades.

2023 has been another prosperous year for Wright County and we look forward to the challenges of 2024. We strive to lead with fiscal responsibility, innovation and compassion as we pursue the vision to be an affordable, safe and family-friendly county. All of us from Wright County government wish you and your families a happy and safe holiday season and all the best in the new year.