If Cook County gets snow in the next couple of weeks, the Onion River Road might not get plowed.
On November 17, 2009, the county board voted to take responsibility for plowing the U.S. Forest Service road at the request of the Forest Service and the Lutsen-Tofte Tourist Association (LTTA). Several Cook County residents live along the road, and it is used heavily by local and visiting crosscountry skiers who park beside it in a U.S. Forest Service trailhead parking lot.
County Engineer Shae Kosmalski had agreed to temporarily assume plowing duties for the road, reasoning that it would benefit Cook County’s tourism-based economy. However, Kosmalski designated the road a secondary route that would not be plowed before primary routes and would not be plowed on the weekends.
Assistant Ranger Steve Schug returned to the county board December 15 with Sally Nankivell and Mike Larson of the LTTA. Kosmalski had written a letter to Schug and county commissioners December 3 stating she had not known that for a number of years, the LTTA had been paying a private individual to plow the Onion River Road.
“My professional recommendation,” Kosmalski wrote, “is for the commissioners to re-examine the decision made for the county to take on plowing the Onion River Road. … Our recent decision puts the government in competition with the private sector, especially in this case, since my recommendation and intent was to plow for free as a cooperative service for the Forest Service. As it turns out, with the best of intentions, we’ve taken away a business opportunity from those in the area capable of providing this service.”
Schug told the board he didn’t think it was appropriate for a marketing organization to take on this kind of commitment. “Thisis a public road with a public purpose and a public need,” he said, adding that along with plowing, the road needs winging and sanding, which hasn’t been done the last two winters.
The LTTA can use member dues but not the 3% lodging tax to pay for plowing, Nankivell said. According to Jim Koski, who held the plowing contract the last two years, the $2,700 he received amounted to just pennies per person staying at West End lodging establishments. If the county starts plowing the Onion River Road, he indicated, residents who pay the county to plow other non-county roads may object.
Nankivell said she hoped Koski would plow the Onion River Road on the weekends if the county plows it weekdays. Koski replied by saying that if he takes on other contracts to replace the Onion River Road account, he might not be able to get the Onion River Road plowed by 9 a.m. on week- ends as he has done in the past. People have often followed him up the road at 7 a.m. as he cleared it.
The LTTA’s signature has been on the checks written to Koski, Mike Larson said, and “that’s a huge liability” he did not think the LTTA should continue to take on.
Commissioner Bob Fenwick agreed that liability is an important concern. “A non-road authority is taking care of the road,” he said. He suggested considering a subordinate service district to pay the county for plowing. The county needs to come to an agreement with the Forest Service, he said. Schug agreed.
Bill Parish, standing in for Kosmalski while she was out of the office, said that over the last 10 years, the county has winged and sanded the road once or twice each winter and charged the cost to the LTTA or to the Forest Service if the LTTA couldn’t pay. In the last two years, Nankivell said, Kosmalski has said the county could not continue to wing and sand.
The county should not be in competition with private businesses, Commissioner Jim Johnson said. If they plow one Forest Service road, they may need to plow them all. He suggested that the county go back to just winging and sanding the Onion River Road. The problem seemed to have started when the county quit doing that, he said.
The Grade is the only Forest Service road that the Highway Department maintains at no charge, and that originated from a need for loggers to get to timber sales. Schug said the Forest Service no longer has its own road maintenance equipment. At Commissioner Fenwick’s request, he agreed to go back to the Forest Service and ask if it would contract with a private party to do the plowing.
“The Forest Service has to step up and take their place among us,” said new Maintenance Supervisor Russell Klegstad. He suggested that the county contract with a private party and bill the LTTA.
Johnson made a motion to rescind the board’s November 17 resolution to plow the Onion River Road. Bob Fenwick seconded the motion, and it passed 4-1, with Bruce Martinson voting nay.
Mike Larson did not want the LTTA to resume responsibility for plowing the road. Our chief concern is liability, he reiterated.
Commissioners Fritz Sobanja and Bruce Martinson agreed to work together to put bids out for private plowing. In the meantime, the county left the plowing in the hands of LTTA if it wanted to plow.
“Goodness gracious,” Larson said, “that’s not a good thing.”
A meeting was held later at which the LTTA agreed to plow the road this winter, with the county winging and sanding. The county and the Forest Service will be discussing winter road maintenance for future years.
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