The rightful owner of Kellys Hill Road is a bit up in the air, but residents along Kellys Hill Road have asked Cook County to claim ownership. It used to be a Colvill Township road before the township was dissolved in 1935. Cook County has never maintained it, but residents are having difficulty getting financing on their properties because title insurance companies are not convinced they have proper access.
Kellys Hill Road—an old Colvill Township road that was never claimed by the county when the township dissolved in 1935—is causing problems for property owners. On September 24, 2013, Cook County Highway Engineer David Betts and Maintenance Supervisor Russell Klegstad brought the issue to the county board.
The 1½-mile road starts at Highway 61 between the west and east outlets of County Road 14. The first 2,080 feet has been maintained by residents for years and meets up with a private road that leads to Bloomquist Mountain Road, which leads to the north loop of County Road 14. The other 5,280 feet of Kellys Hill Road is unimproved, blocked off to vehicles, and used as an ATV trail. Much of the road runs through Minnesota Department of Natural Resources land.
Some residents near Kellys Hill Road have had difficulty getting financing on their properties because title insurance companies do not believe access to the properties has been properly granted. According to a memo to the board from Engineer Betts, the state is willing to grant residents an easement, but they would have to pay for it themselves. The residents are asking the county to take ownership of the road and start maintaining it.
Betts explained to the board that the county could either accept the road as a county road, turned over to county ownership when the township dissolved, or claim that the county does not own the road since it was not mentioned when the township’s assets were turned over to the county. His memo states, “…An inference could be made that the asset transfer did include the town roads.”
Betts outlined several options that would be available if the county claimed the road. One would be to claim the entire road as a roadway, but future development on the unimproved portion could force the county to improve it for access. Another option would be to vacate the unimproved portion. If they did that, they could designate it as a county trail, but the county does not have a procedure in place for designating county trails. Betts also suggested the possibility of claiming the road, vacating it to what is now unorganized Colvill, and as the official board of unorganized territories, designating it as a cartway. This would give residents legal access, but County Attorney Tim Scannell did not think the county had the authority to grant cartways over state land.
Engineer Betts said that if the county claimed the road, he would want the lower portion to be brought up to county road standards, which would mean improving ditches and sightlines, widening the road, creating a turnaround for plow trucks, and hauling in gravel, an estimated cost of up to $85,000 plus an annual maintenance cost of about $6,000 and the cost of additional gravel every four to eight years. Upgrading the upper portion would cost $500,000 to $700,000 plus annual maintenance of about $12,000 and additional gravel as needed.
“I don’t have the money for this road,” Betts said. On the other hand, he said that if the county claimed the road, they would need to bring it up to county road standards to ensure safety and reduce liability. “We have to start bringing our roads to a professional standard,” he said. “At some point we just have to stop doing the halfway roads.”
Two Colvill residents, members of a homeowners’ association, were at the meeting. One of them said she has had to obtain Minnesota Department of Transportation and Minnesota Department of Natural Resources approval to carry out projects on her property.
Commissioner Heidi Doo-Kirk pointed out that the people who own land in the vicinity knew when they bought their properties that the county did not maintain the road.
Things change over time, Commissioner Sue Hakes countered. Highway 61 used to be a meandering dirt road, and it was eventually improved.
The board decided to table the issue and asked Engineer Betts and Attorney Scannell to bring them more information on what it would take to designate the upper portion of road a county trail, how many other county roads are in similar situations, whether the road could in fact be designated a cartway, and how much the various options might cost.
Other old township roads that have not been claimed or maintained by the county exist throughout the county, Betts said.
Personnel issues
Commissioner Sue Hakes said a Lake County commissioner asked her about the possibility of getting some help from Highway Engineer David Betts because they have had difficulty finding their own highway engineer. Betts and the board expressed willingness to consider it but wanted more information on specifically what Lake County would be wanting from Cook County. Betts said he already works 2,500- 2,600 hours a year.
The Public Health & Human Services Department continues to experience turnover with the resignation of Social Worker Linda Waterhouse, who will be retiring at the end of December. The board authorized Director Sue Futterer to replace Waterhouse’s 30-houra week position with a 35-hour-a-week position.
The board approved hiring Kristin Blomberg as a case aid to replace the position vacated by Anna Sandstrom, who took a job as the ISD 166 school social worker.
“I am anticipating that this is not the end of the resignations,” Futterer said. At least half of her staff has left over the past year or so.
Commissioner Garry Gamble asked what was behind all the turnover. “It’s a question that I’ve asked myself many nights over the last year,” said Futterer. She said some people have switched to other careers, taken other jobs or moved out of the area, the jobs are stressful and have become much more complicated with new government regulations coming down the line, and the pay is lower than similar jobs in other counties where workers can specialize rather than having to develop expertise in many different areas. A lot of her staff feels “overwhelmed and overworked,” Futterer said. She said they do not get a lot of qualified applicants when they have job openings.
The county department heads will be interviewing the two finalists for the county administrator position and then writing down their impressions for the county board. The two candidates, Wright County Human Services Executive Director Jay Kieft and Grand Marais City Administrator Mike Roth, will be available to meet the public from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. Wednesday, October 2 in the East Bay Stone’s Throw Room.
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