Commissioners discussed the Thye-Blatnick payments at their June 25 meeting (story on page A1.) Other business conducted by the county board includes: . Following public comments Bob Thompson, new county assessor, took an oath of office to start the meeting. . Commissioners approved Tofte’s application for the township’s July 4th fireworks display. . Kaitlynn Linnell was hired to fill the dispatcher/jailer position. . A resolution was passed for the county to enter into a cooperative agreement with Office of Justice Programs in the Minnesota Department of Public Safety. . KJM Contractors, Inc. was the low bidder at $2,737,914.55 for the CSAH (South Shore Drive) rehabilitation. Weather permitting, work will begin this July. . Commissioners approved a conditional use permit (CUP) to put up a wireless communication tower adjacent to County Road 14 on county owned property.
The new tower will help strengthen the Allied Radio Matrix for Emergency Responses system. Several emergency responders wrote letters of support for placing the tower adjacent to County Road 14 because they have experienced “dead” spots there in their radio communications. Cook County Sheriff Pat Eliasen and Cook County Highway Engineer Krysten Foster also wrote a letter of support for placing the tower in its new location. . A motion to approve setting a public hearing to hear comments regarding the proposal to subordinate the service district for property owners on Kelly Hill was set for August 13 at 9 a.m. in Commissioners Room.
Currently property owners on Kelly Hill have a road association they make annual payments to to make sure the road is plowed. If the area becomes a subordinate district, the county would bid out the plowing for the road and the county would assess the fees for the service annually on the resident’s property every year. . Commissioners approved accepting a $51,336 grant, which will be used jointly by the North Shore Ski and Run Club and Superior Cycling Association for trail maintenance and for needed equipment purchases. The money comes from the Federal Recreation Trails Program to purchase equipment and fix the trails used for skiing and cycling. . April Zimmer, executive administrative office assistant, received a bump in pay after her workload was increased. Following the resignation of Valerie Marasco, who was the county’s information officer, April’s job duties will now include managing the agenda system and maintenance of committee and board assignments. She will also coordinate public communications in conjunction with county department heads, as well as a slew of other additional work. . Commissioners approved posting a job description to hire a part-time IT specialist at 20 hours per week to help with the workload. . At the request of commissioner Robert (Bobby) Deschampe a motion was approved to replace Garry Gamble on the Arrowhead Regional Corrections Advisory Board (ARCAB) with William (Bill) Meyers.
Bill currently serves on the Grand Portage Tribal Council and works as an assistant store manager at the Grand Portage Trading Post. He has a B.S. degree in vocational Ed. Administration with minors in special needs education and law enforcement. He has 33.5 years of law enforcement experience.
As for Gamble, when contacted he said no one got a hold of him to tell him he would no longer be serving as a representative on the Arrowhead Regional Development Commission. He served for 2½ years and said he enjoyed representing Cook County, but has no idea why he is being replaced.
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