Tuesday, Brown County Commissioners agreed to develop their own Sentence To Serve (STS) program contingent upon Minnesota dissolving the program. Currently, Brown County utilizes Department of Correction (DOC) to provide crew needed for the STS program, but this contract is set to expire June 30.

Brown County probation director Evonn Westcott said the DOC and the Governor’s budget had cut the program, but nothing has been finalized. There is legislation in the works to save the program, but Brown County wanted to be proactive in protecting STS.

“Brown County highly supports the program,” Westcott said. “It has been a very positive program throughout the county. The crews do a lot of work for non-profits and other work with the county.”

The idea behind the STS program was to create a sentencing alternative throughout courts throughout Minnesota. Individuals convicted of non-violent offenses could work of jail sentences or legal fines by working on community improvement projects. Under closely supervised offenders, STS crews would work in parks and other public areas. Projects vary widely and include work such as litter pickup, river cleanup, trail development, flood control and storm damage cleanup, and work for non-profit agencies.

Former Sentence To Serve (STS) crew leader Don Klavitor points to the treeline at Clear Lake. Over 30 years, Klavitor and STS crew cleared much of the brush at the park. He said before then, it was almost unwalkable.

“It is great for our clients, teaches them new skills and pay back the community,” Westcott said. “It’s a win-win for everyone.”

It also gives judge new options for sentencing an offender to STS or a combination of jail time with STS service.

Brown County served as one of the pilot programs for STS, with the first work crews going out in 1987. Several of the early STS projects took place in state or county parks.

One of the earliest supports of the program is Don Klavitor. He served as the STS crew leader from 1988 to 2008. For two decades he supervised STS offenders on community work projects and many public places in and around Brown County improve as a direct result of the program.

Klavitor said when he first applied for the job as crew leader in 1988, he was assigned to Blue Earth County. Two years later, the crew leader for the New Ulm area transferred out and Klavitor came transferred into Brown County’s program.

Former Sentence To Serve (STS) crew leader Don Klavitor visits Clear Lake. Over 30 years ago, helped clear the brush around Clear Lake allowing for the creation of the popular park.

Klavitor said the early days of the program was funded 50-50 by the DOC and the Department of Natural Resources (DNR).

“DOC had the people and DNR had the work,” he said. A lot of their early assignments took place in State Parks and County Parks.

“Basically we took on tasks no one wanted to do,” Klavitor said. Many of the early work crews he supervised in Blue Earth cleaned up place where the public deposited trash or where noxious plants had to be removed. After transferring to Brown County, the work changed to developing parks.

“The county had a set amount of land we just helped develop it,” he said. “We made trails and cleaned up underbrush.”

One of the major projects Klavitor supervised was the clearing of the park around Clear Lake. During the late 1980s and early 1990s, the area around Clear Lake was overgrown with trees and brush.

“You could hardly walk into the area because of the under brush,” Klavitor said. “Our first job was to clear and out and develop it from there.”

In addition the brush, STS crews constructed two of the shelters at the park. The also transplanted some of the trees.

STS also completed some work at the Brown County Fairgrounds. The cattle barn was shingled. The interior of the Polka Dance Hall was repainted. Klavitor remembered it took about 55 gallons of paint to complete that project.

A lot of the projects took place outdoors, but STS continued to operate through the winter. Klavitor said during the cold months crews would make repair to park picnic tables that were damaged over the summer. He remembers his crew repaired a lot of picnic tables in Fort Ridgely.

In his 20 years as STS crew leader, Klavitor worked with hundreds of people trying to work time off jail and fines. Nearly all appreciated having the option of working off their sentences.

He said a lot of the guys who worked on his crew were young college-age guys working off drinking offenses. Most of them had no experience working with their hands when they joined the crew. Some didn’t even know how to work a shovel, but many did learn skills and found the work rewarding.

“I had many past crew members come up to me after I retired and thank me,” he said. “I always credited anyone who wanted to work – doing the job.”

Though he has been retired as STS supervisor since 2008, Klavitor does not want to see the program disappear.

“There was a lot of good that came out of this program,” he said. “We were able to help the state, the county and the townships. It also help individuals with their problems as far as sentencing. As far as I am concerned it is a win-win situation for everyone.”

Klavitor is not the only retired individual praising STS. Former Brown County probation director Les Schultz also described it as a win-win.

“I served on the regional advisory board when it first began,” Schultz said “The board consisted of law enforcement, DNR, probation, union stewards, county commissioners. Union folks were initially worried STS would take DNR jobs away, but it never happened and in fact they formed a great working relationship taking on projects that the DNR didn’t have the time for. Major win win.”

Schultz said probation officers love the program because it allows clients to work off fines or jail time.

“[It] saves the county a lot of tax dollars and in some cases gets individuals out of bed in the morning and become productive. Many clients like STS as well, giving back to the community feels good and helping right a wrong even a little bit goes a long way.”

The Brown County Commission did unanimously support continuing the STS program. Brown County already pays 75% of the contract. That state covered the 25%. If the state decides to cut it’s 25% share of the program, Brown County will continue STS with one full-time adult crew leader.