When the Cook County board of commissioners denied a formal request from the township of Tofte on August 12 for the county to abate all county property located within Tofte, it actually gave the township exactly what it wanted.
The township of Tofte is using tax abatements to help fund the 12 units of senior housing it wants to construct on land located near the Birch Grove Community Center, but it needs to abate taxes for 20 years to get better bond rates.
Nick Anhut, a financial specialist acting on behalf of the township, put together the request for the county to consider and explained the convoluted process.
“In order for the Town to grant abatement for a period of 20 years, either Independent School District (ISD) No. 166 or Cook County must decline a written request from the Town that they grant an abatement. If both the School District and County agree to abate their taxes, the Town will only be able to abate its shares of taxes for a term of 15 years.”
Both the county and school district are taxing districts that have authority to either grant or deny a tax abatement request, but only one had to be contacted by the township with its abatement request.
Bugs and blacktop
Cook County Highway engineer David Betts, who is also the county’s acting agricultural inspector, came before the board with a request to modify the U.S. Forest Service grant to combat invasive species in Cook County.
The original grant agreement was approved by the Cook County Board in March 2011, and extended twice, ending July 2013. The original agreement was a grant of $100,000 plus a 20 percent match from the county.
Betts said the modification would expand the agreement to $220,501 (plus a 20 percent match), with additional funds coming from Secure Rural Schools Funds ($20,000) and from the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Funding ($28,000). The money must be spent by March 15, 2015, said Betts.
Betts also said that a striping project for the upper portion of the Gunflint Trail would be delayed until next year because the new type of reflective paint used on roads is in such high demand that the county can’t get what it needs until October. “We feel that that is too late in the season to begin the project,” Betts said.
Upon Betts’ recommendation the board also approved hiring Erickson Engineering to design the bridge over Cross River on County Road 46 for an estimated fee of $49,349. Betts said the bridge needs replacing and he sought three bids for engineering but only received two responses. Erickson Engineering came in with the low bid, he said.
County attorney office staff changes
Acting Cook County Attorney Molly Hicken was granted a raise to $7,897 a month, which is what the county was paying the recently dismissed former County Attorney Tim Scannell. Hicken also asked that Jeanne Peterson be given the title of Assistant County Attorney in light of the work she is now doing on behalf of the county. The board granted the request.
A vote passed to approve hiring of Jessica Lange as the County Crime Victim-Witness Coordinator/Paralegal at C-41 Step 1. Lange will begin September 1, 2014.
In other business
. The county board agreed to accept the resignation of Jailer/Dispatcher Kevin DeRosier and endorse the sheriff’s desire to hire someone to fill the position.
. Commissioners also endorsed Sheriff Lunde’s desire to fill the deputy sheriff position made vacant when he nominated deputy Ben Hallberg to be his assistant sheriff.
. The board also approved Maintenance Director Brian Silence’s request to hire a maintenance tech position that has become vacant.
. The board voted to require board approval of unbudgeted capital expenses in excess of $1,000, but agreed that budgeted capital expenses less than $5,000 may be purchased without additional approval of the county board.
. The board set a public hearing for 10:30 a.m. on August 26 in the commissioners’ room to receive public input on the 2012 Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) Small Cities Housing Grant. Nancy Grabko, who applied for the grant, will be in attendance to provide a summary of the program and answer questions from the public or from the county board.
. The board also passed a resolution to have Cook and Lake County work together on a One Watershed, One Plan pilot. Both Cook and Lake County Soil and Water Conservation Districts (SWCD) are excited to work together on the pilot project, said Ilena Berg, Cook County’s representative for the project. A small tip of St. Louis County will be included in the plan, said Berg, and Lake and Cook County will collaborate with St. Louis County on watershed-scale planning efforts in the future.
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