Cook County commissioners conducted another busy meeting on Tuesday, July 23, with a wide variety of work getting done. Here are some of the highlights of the meeting.
Northland Constructors were the low bidders to complete the Two Island River replacement culvert on CSAH 1 in Schroeder for $349,700.
The engineer’s estimate was
334,609, but it was noted that the biggest difference in price was that the cost to manufacture, deliver and install the culverts was higher than expected.
Cook County Highway Engineer Krysten Foster said because box culvert suppliers are experiencing an unusually high demand this season, there is a risk that the culvert won’t be installed prior to the trout spawning deadline of September 15. If that happens, then the job will be done in 2020, with changes to the contract to reflect 2020 wage rates that would be negotiated with the contractor.
While the low bid was higher than the engineer’s estimate, Foster recommended the county board approve it because the high bid was $454,752, and was unlikely that next year bids would be lower than the low bid received this year.
In other County business:
. Commissioners approved the request by Daniel Polnau and Heidi Ochtrup to repurchase their tax forfeited property at a repurchase price of $4,408.93, which includes the property taxes, penalties, special assessments, costs, and interest. The fee also includes the taxes that would have been levied in 2019 if the land had not been forfeit. A certified letter notifying the couple was returned to the county and later it was learned that the apartment number was left off of the address, which caused much of the confusion.
. St. Germain’s Glass Inc. of Duluth was awarded the contract to replace the windows at the courthouse and Law Enforcement Center for $290.490. Two bids were received and St. Germain’s was the low bidder.
The county first opened bids for the project on November 8, 2018, and St. Germain’s was the low bidder at $314,466. Because the bids were so high, the board rejected all of them. A new bid package was written up to include double insulated “low E” glass, in lieu of triple insulated windows as a cost saving measure that would still meet the energy code requirements. . Historic Cook County requested and was granted $200 annual membership fees for the Maritime History Center. The memberships fees are used to collect and preserve the history of northeastern Minnesota. . Lloyd Speck was granted a conditional use permit so he can put up a storage building. The land was surveyed and met all of the county’s setbacks. Twenty-four letters of notification were sent to adjacent land holders and no one responded to Land Services. The planning commission unanimously approved the CUP and forwarded their recommendation to the county board, who motioned for support and approved Speck’s request. . Commissioners approved a revision of the Deputy Auditor-Treasurer Bookkeeper job description that more accurately reflects and documents the work of the deputy auditor treasurer. After the personnel committee conducted a review of the job duties the position went from a 130 score to 140. An average increase in pay is $1.61 per hour for an experienced person in that position or $1.22 per hour increase for a new hire.
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