Lofty goals are afoot in Cook County. On January 24, 2012, Cook County Local Energy Project (CCLEP) initiator George Wilkes, along with new half-time CCLEP coordinator Virginia Danfelt, presented to the county board a draft of a Cook County energy plan that could create jobs and keep energy dollars in the local economy, buffer the community from unstable energy supplies and prices, decrease dependence on foreign oil, help lessen the environmental impact of fossil fuel use, and increase the power of the ordinary citizen. If successful, this small little county could position itself among the avant-garde of the energy world.
In the summer of 2010, CCLEP formed a partnership with the county and the City of Grand Marais to develop an “Energy Conservation and Renewable Energy Plan” to deal with “the challenges and opportunities of a rapidly changing energy environment” and ultimately, to work “continuously and methodically” toward an ultimate goal of energy independence, according to a January 3 summary of the project to date. A grant from the Minnesota Department of Energy Security has helped get the project under way.
The goal of the Energy Plan is “to engage the community in an open, inclusive, and public process to create a living document that will guide Cook County and the City of Grand Marais—their governments, businesses, and residents—to make educated decisions with regard to energy conservation and renewable energy projects.”
Public input was sought as the plan was being formulated, and it revealed “widespread concern by Cook County residents” over the environmental impact and cost of energy use. A majority was in favor of local government’s involvement in increasing energy efficiency and developing renewable energy in Cook County.
Wilkes said he hopes the county will adopt the plan, expected to be in its final form in March, in some way. CCLEP will continue its involvement by helping both public and private sectors find ways to put the plan into action.
“I appreciate that you’re always pushing it with us, I really do,” Commissioner Sue Hakes said, “because we need it.”
In other county news:
The county board approved the purchase of two new fourwheel drive six-passenger pickup trucks for the Highway Department at a total cost of just over $67,000. One will replace a 1999 van and the other will replace a 2002 pickup with 124,000 miles on it. The board also approved the purchase of a specially designed box for one of the trucks, which will be used as a surveying vehicle. It will cost just under $7,800.
The department may keep the van and equip it to carry signs. The newly required highly reflective road signs get damaged when piled on top of each other in a pickup truck, said Maintenance Director Russell Klegstad.
The purchases were budgeted in the department’s equipment replacement schedule. The board talked about the benefits of holding off longer to purchase new vehicles vs. the drawbacks of getting lower resale values on old vehicles while paying ever-rising prices for new ones.
With Commissioner Jim Johnson absent while undergoing medical treatments, the board voted 3-1 on the vehicle purchase, with Commissioner Bruce Martinson casting the nay vote.
“I don’t ask for stuff I don’t think the Highway Department needs,” Klegstad said.
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