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A proposal to remove the EDA levy and budget from the September 27 Cook County Commissioners meeting and table it until October 11 was stymied when Auditor Braidy Powers informed the county board that the state required the board to set the EDA budget and levy by the end of September.
However, noted Powers, the levy could be lowered or raised before the end of the year.
Commissioner Stacey Hawkins proposed setting a tentative levy of $200,000 for 2023; however, there was no support for that motion. Instead, Auditor Powers suggested setting the EDA 2023 levy at $295,000, subject to change as the board obtains more information. All three commissioners approved the levy, but it could be vastly different once more information is gleaned about the Superior National Golf Course budget and other concerns Commissioner Hawkins had.
“It’s extremely important that we get more details,” Hawkins said.
County Highway Department
County Highway Engineer Robbie Hass told the commissioners that starting June 2023, 5th Avenue West was going to be ripped up and redone.
When the project was being discussed, Hass said, “What can we do better?” That led to a discussion with Cook County Soil and Water (SWDC) about the runoff from 5th avenue into Lake Superior.
“A lot of runoff, sediment, ends up in Lake Superior,” Hass said, adding that SWDC applied for and received a $180,000 grant to address the runoff problem on 5th Ave. West, the highway department, and SWDC had a joint powers agreement to use the funds for the needed work.
Hass added that a company had been contacted that makes water filtration vaults that are buried in the ground. During heavy rain or runoff, water fills the vault, and the sediment settles to the bottom. The vaults need to be vacuumed out two-three times a year, said Hass, adding, “ The city of Grand Marais has a vacuum truck and they have offered to help. Soil and water also have grants for vacuum trucks. So the options are also for us to purchase a vacuum truck.”
Commissioners approved the joint powers agreement between SWDC and the highway department.
Next, the highway department requested the purchase of a three-quarter ton truck to add to the department’s maintenance fleet. Currently, there are 27 drivers and 14 vehicles, and the engineering department has four people and three trucks to use. The engineering department is fully staffed at four, and one member of the staff has been using his own vehicle.
Commissioners approved the $39,000 truck purchase. Funds to pay for the new vehicle will come from the department cash balance, with the truck added to the capital equipment plan for a replacement in 20 years.
Commissioners approved a request to set a public hearing for Tuesday, October 11 at nine a.m. in the commissioner’s room regarding a proposed ban on wake boarding on Caribou Lake.
Commissioners were told the ban on wakeboarding wasn’t a restriction on water skiing or tubing, nor horsepower on the lake, just a narrow restriction on wakeboarding. The boats generate a wake of three to five feet, and wakeboarders ride those wakes, which can cause problems on a lake as shallow as Caribou.
There are lakes where wake surfing would be appropriate, but not on Caribou, said the gentleman addressing the board. He added that Caribou Lake has four bays which are like four smaller lakes, and the lake is shallow.
Julie Bittinger, who is on the Caribou Lake Association board, said 75 percent of landowners on the lake had signed the petition asking for a public meeting to ban wakeboarding on the lake.
Administrator James Joerke explained; that the county board’s role in this matter was to set up the public meeting and gather public feedback, but the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources would make the final decision.
Jobs study
Administrator Joerke filled the commissioners in about the ongoing jobs study being conducted that compares wages paid by other counties with Cook County.
So far, some details from 20 counties have come back. Joerke said in some positions, the county is lower in the market when it comes to starting pay, but for other workers who have been at the county for a long time, “we are somewhere in the mid-pack for a lot of jobs…Actual pay and pay ranges were compared,” said Joerke.
Rents and housing costs “is where we pulled in some metro counties,”
Joerke said many small counties’ housing costs were lower than Cook counties, which are similar to the metro area. He added that his suggestion or vote– on the budget committee would be to “Focus on smaller counties that are more like us budget-wise. That’s what my vote will be.”
More details will emerge as the plan moves forward in the next month or so.
Next, Joerke talked about the county’s Capitol Improvement Plan. Consultants have been hired to survey county buildings and list what maintenance issues they may have.
While the survey work isn’t complete, Joerke said, “Two things to highlight are the Law Enforcement Center and Courthouse.” He noted that both have space constraints, and “solutions must be found to address those concerns.”
• Great Gifts revolving loan request for $6,000 to replace a door and seven windows was approved.
• Laura Nelson was hired as a Social Worker 1 in-Home Support/Adult Services.
• Sheriff Pat Eliasen came before the commissioners with a 2022 State of Minnesota Boat and Water grant for $14,943. Eliasen said the annual grant is used for education and enforcement of waters in Cook County, as well as to purchase watercraft, life jackets, ropes, etc., and can help with search and rescue purchases.
Commissioner Ginny Storlie said, “I think this (grant) is really important now that the Coast Guard has pulled out.” Commissioners voted 3-0 to approve the grant, with Commissioner Dave Mills and Ann Sullivan not in attendance.
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