Vetsch and Schoen to lead county board

By Brenda Erdahl

The first order of business, Tuesday Jan. 2 at the Wright County Board’s first meeting of the new year was to unanimously select District 2 Commissioner Darek Vetsch as chairman for the second year in a row. Vetsch, who is entering his eighth year, is the most veteran commissioner on the board. Nadine Schoen, of District 4 was nominated unanimously as vice chair.

Before moving on to regular business, commissioners set the dates and times for county board meetings for the first and third Tuesdays of the month at 9 a.m. in the Government Center, the same time they were in the past. Workshops will also continue to be held on the second Tuesday of the month at 9 a.m.

Commissioners also approved their committee assignments, and two new committees were added to the list, a Homeless Workshop Committee that will study and plan for the county’s homeless population and a Cannabis Committee that will study the new regulations and map out county ordinances for the legalization of recreational cannabis. Both committees will meet monthly.

After a lengthy conversation, Wright County Commissioners approved on a 4-1 vote a Joint Powers Agreement with the Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority (MSFA) that will allow Wright County deputies the opportunity for overtime by working Vikings games, concerts, and other events at US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.

Commissioners Jeanne Holland and Michael Kaczmarek raised concerns about deputies’ safety working in what they considered a high crime area which sparked debate over the partnership that has been in place since September of 2022. To date, Wright County deputies have worked 28 events including 20 Vikings games, five concerts and two Monster Jams, Sheriff Sean Deringer said. These are voluntary, off-duty shifts that do not interfere with officers’ duties at home, nor do they cost the county money, Deringer said. They are also very popular.

“On Christmas Eve we had 19 staff members down there, 22 people were there on New Year’s Eve and three were on the waiting list. That shows how much they want this,” he said.

The proposed contract with MSFA will ask for an hourly rate of $105 for Wright County Deputies, bringing in an estimated revenue stream of up to $100,000, the Sheriff said, but they can’t move forward with the contract until the JPA is in place. The first event available to deputies is in early February.