Board chair accused of improper county business

The chairman of the Steele County Board has been accused of improprieties involving his personal business and a county road project.
James Allen Brady, 55, of Waseca, faces a gross misdemeanor charge of officials not to be interested in contracts. He made his first court appearance in Waseca County District Court Tuesday morning. Attorney Jim Ryan of Rochester is representing Brady in the case, which was charged out by the Olmsted County Attorney’s Office to avoid a conflict of interest with Steele County.
If convicted of the charge, Brady would face a maximum sentence of 1 year in jail and a $3,000 fine. 
The charge states that in his official capacity as a county official, Brady wrongfully and unlawfully was directly or indirectly interested in any contract, work, labor or business to which the county is a party.
Reached by phone Monday morning, Brady did not want to answer any questions regarding the case. “It’s a bump in the road,” Brady said, noting it has been a distraction for him in taking up his time. “It will work its way out.”
Brady assured county residents that the case would not have an impact on what the county board is doing at this time. “It shouldn’t change anything,” he said. 
As District 1 commissioner, Brady represents the cities of Ellendale and Medford, along with several rural townships. He was elected to the board in 2014 and became board chair in January.
Court records show an investigation into Brady’s actions with a county road project began a year ago with the Olmsted County Sheriff’s Office. The contract involved Steele County road contract #160720. The general allegation was that Brady was the co-owner of a gravel pit, which was supplying aggregate for the road project.
Steele County entered into the contract for the road contracts on March 22, 2016. During a special session on that date, Brady seconded the motion to award the contract to Ulland Brothers, Inc., which was the main contractor. Four commissioners voted in favor with one abstaining. 
Investigators found that the material being used for the project was coming from Brady’s gravel pit. Sourcing the backfill from another gravel pit owned by Ulland eventually solved the material issue, but not until after a substantial amount of material had already come from Brady’s pit. 
Hanson Hauling and Excavating, which was a sub-contractor for the project, knew of the pit being co-owned by Brady and that they purchased materials to use for the road project. A witness told police he spoke directly to Brady about purchasing the material. Hanson paid Brady a royalty paying him so much per yard. Just under half of the material needed came from Brady’s pit. 
After the material was hauled out of the pit for a couple of days, Steele County rejected it due to oversized rock. 
Hanson provided a copy of a check dated Dec. 5, 2016 used to pay for the material to Brady’s co-owner for $1,955. 
Brady has owned the gravel pit for 11 years with his brother-in-law. 
In a police interview, Brady told investigators he had no idea at the time that he shouldn’t have been selling materials from his pit to the projects. “It is not worth the hassle,” Brady said in his statement. 

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Brady told the investigator that the property taxes on the gravel put are about $2,000 a year and he “just wanted to make enough money to pay it.”