Jane Howard
Should the county pursue the surveying of another large area of improperly surveyed Cook County land? The county board pondered this on February 15, a week after surveyor Wayne Hensche recommended that the county establish a boundary commission for the Sag Lake Trail area near the end of the Gunflint Trail.
The area has many property boundary discrepancies, and if a boundary commission were not established to clear them up, individual property owners who wanted accurate surveys would need to pay attorneys to help them do it themselves.
Establishing a boundary commission can be done either at the will of the county board or by petition from property owners. Commissioner Jim Johnson said he would prefer that property owners would request a boundary commission rather than imposing one on them.
Two boundary commissions were established in Hovland at the request of property owners. County Auditor- Treasurer Braidy Powers suggested that the county send a letter to property owners in the Sag Lake Trail area to let them know that a boundary commission could be set up.
The cost of the area survey could be assessed to property owners over the course of time via their property tax bills. This would be “way less” costly than if property owners cleared up these issues individually, Powers said.
Powers said that even if the boundary discrepancies are not a problem for current property owners, they could become a problem for their heirs.
Lighting outside courthouse
The lighting along the front steps of the courthouse is corroded and rusting out despite repeated attempts to fix them, Maintenance Director Brian Silence told the board. The new lighting he had in mind would add more light to the area as well, he said.
The cost for the new lights would be $1,088 plus the necessary electrical work. “It’ll give us better light out there, and they’ll be more efficient to use,” Silence said.
The board approved the request to replace the lighting with four ayes with Fritz Sobanja abstaining. Numerous times, Sobanja has expressed concern over reported health risks from compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs), which will be used to light the courthouse steps. “I’ve been continuing my research,” he said, adding that he takes issue with modern lighting.
Post-secondary industrial arts program
Sobanja, on the North Shore Tech and Trade Committee, is looking into a post-secondary industrial arts program. They have a great shop there, he said.
Enrollment at the high school has gone down from 800-900 to about 300, Sobanja said, so the facility has a lot of room. He suggested that the location might be even better than Grand Marais for such a program because Silver Bay is more centrally located on the North Shore.
Commissioner Jan Hall supported the idea. “That’d be great!” she said.
Representation on Lessard- Sams Outdoor Heritage Council
Sobanja also reported on discussions at the North Counties Land Use Coordinating Board, of which he is a member. They have been talking about why no appointments to the Lessard- Sams Outdoor Heritage Council have been made from northern counties.
The Council was established by the Minnesota legislature to provide annual funding recommendations for use of the Outdoor Heritage Fund. The Outdoor Heritage Fund is one of four funds created by the 2008 Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment.
The southern areas of the state do not have enough parks to serve the number of people in those areas, Sobanja said. A focus on southern Minnesota will continue until they get more parks, he said, but that emphasis will eventually change. He said that if northern Minnesota wants some of the Outdoor Heritage Fund money, it should start planning now for how it could be used.
Airport commission appointment
Board Secretary Janet Simonen informed the board that David Saethre had been appointed to fill an empty seat on the Airport Commission.
Leave a Reply