With only three Cook County Commissioners in attendance: Heidi Doo Kirk, David Mills and Myron Bursheim, the board’s November 10 meeting was busy but fairly quick for it’s lengthy agenda. Below are some highlights of that meeting.
In the wake of winning the District 2 Cook County Commissioner race, Stacey Hawkins submitted her resignation as the county Office Support Specialist effective December 31.
Commissioners approved the request to hire Jodi Tervo Roberts as the new Public Health Educator. Jodi will replace Kristen DeArruda-Wharton, who resigned to take another job elsewhere.
Also approved for hire was Katherine Ochtrup as Deputy Sheriff. Katherine is replacing Deputy Joe Zaller and will start on November 22, 2020.
* Commissioners approved the permit application for the 2021 John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon. The permit came with a COVID-19 preparedness plan. This year’s event(s) are scheduled to start January 21 and end February 3.
* Also approved was a teensy-weensy change in mileage for designating unorganized territory roads. The revised resolution notes that the new mileage is 58.83, up from the previously stated 58.72 miles.
*A unanimous resolution of support gave Maintenance Director Brian Silence the okay to purchase a new pickup truck for the recycling center. The current recycling center truck will go to the Assessor’s office, and the Assessor’s Ford Escape will then be given to the Public Health and Human Services (PHHS) department. Once the ducks, or trucks, are all in a row, the PHHS Escape, which has more than 130,000 miles on it, will be sold.
Currency to purchase a new one-ton pickup will come from the Fleet fund.
* Silence also requested permission to determine how much it would cost to insulate the recycling center’s cold storage room. As the demand for recycling has grown, the room has been used for internal processing and storage, noted Land Services Director Tim Nelson. Commissioners approved the request, and Silence will seek costs to upgrade the room.
* Upon recommendation from the Airport Commission, commissioners approved a motion to seek a federal grant used to pay for crack sealing and seal coating the runway and apron at the County-owned airport. The federal grant will cover 90 percent of the expenditure, with $20,521 left for the County to pay. However, Auditor/Treasurer Braidy Powers said there might be other funding to help cover the ten percent local cost.
* Robbie Hass, county highway engineer, said he received a little over 30 replies from residents living off South Shore Drive requesting a speed study, with many hoping the speed is lowered from the current 55 mph. Haas said MnDOT was about a year behind in speed studies. Commissioner Doo-Kirk requested that he inform the residents of that fact and the board gave Haas the okay to ask MnDOT to conduct a speed study on the CSAH 18 (South Shore Drive).
*Commissioners approved Sue McCollom to serve on the Grand Marais Library Board. Commissioner Doo-Kirk asked that applications be left open at all times for citizens who want to apply to serve on a county committee or board. Administrator Joerke said he agreed with Doo-Kirk, and he will seek to keep the process open. Currently, a person can only apply online when a position opens up.
* Auditor/ Treasurer Braidy Powers asked commissioners to approve the clean up of several brush piles left near Hungry Jack through the Firewise program, which was unanimously approved.
10-year highway maintenance plan
Cook County Highway Engineer Robbie Hass presented an updated 10-year plan for maintaining the county’s roads and bridges. The plan also included working with Soil and Water to remove invasive species that grow along the county roads.
In a rather lengthy document to the board, Haas pointed out, “Just for a little background on the Transportation Plan; it’s not an all-encompassing document about exactly what’s going to happen in the next ten years. It’s more of a big picture, big project type of document that got put together by the steering committee before myself or Josh got here.
“We plan on doing more work than what this document lists, but ultimately it comes down to what our funding looks like year-to-year, so in the short term, it’s much easier to plan versus saying definitively this is what we’re doing in 2027 for example. I hope it provided some insight, though, into what the future holds.
“My main goal in this role is to listen to the public and balance community needs with infrastructure needs.
“That transportation survey they conducted really showed what folks up here want, and it’s to fix/ maintain what we have, so that’s what we’re going to do.”
* Cook County Attorney Molly Hicken requested commissioners approve vacating the end portion of Peninsula Point Road (County Road 38) that has long been used and maintained as a turn around for the Highway Department. The land is owned by Ryan Properties of Duluth, LLC, and has been in the family since 1968.
Under the agreement, the County will vacate a portion of County Road 38, which is used as a driveway by Ryan Properties. The land underlying the vacated portion will be conveyed back to Ryan Properties through a quitclaim deed. This will eliminate any need for them to obtain a variance to build an addition to their garage, and Ryan Properties will then grant the County an easement over its land, which holds the turn around. Commissioners unanimously approved the request after conferring with Margy Ryan, who was included in the Zoom meeting. Ms. Ryan said her family had worked with the county on this solution for the last year.
Next, Attorney Hicken requested that Carlton County be approved as a backup for any potential Sixth District grand jury trials if the County cannot find a suitable spot to hold one in the County.
With the rules surrounding COVID-19, the local courthouse is too small. Typically there are 16 to 23 jurors on the panel, which is larger than a standard trial, said Hicken, noting the last grand jury convened here occurred in 2012, and one before that in 2009.
The Carlton County courthouse is the only courthouse in the Sixth District large enough to safely socially distance 16-23 jurors. Under the plan, if a grand jury is requested for Cook County, jurors would be selected from Cook County, and the Cook County Attorney’s office would conduct the proceedings in the Carlton Courthouse.
To date, Hicken said she has looked at Lutsen Townhall, which doesn’t have much more square footage than the courtroom, and the Arrowhead Center for the Arts, which is owned and managed by ISD 166, which is hesitant to offer the ACA with workers and students in the building.
Commissioners approved the request, and Hicken said she would continue to explore options for a new location to hold a grand jury in the county.
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