Sherburne County residents looking to take their written driver’s exam will have to go to another county to do so beginning in May.

 

Tuesday, Sherburne County Auditor/Treasurer Diane Arnold said the Government Center will no longer be administering the written test.

 

“Anyone looking to take the written test will have to go to one of the other offices, either St. Cloud, Anoka, Buffalo, Plymouth or Arden Hills,” said Arnold.

“But we will still do the (road) driving exam.”

 

The written test was only given on Thursday’s from 10 a.m. until 11:15 a.m. at the Government Center by Anoka’s Drivers License testers.

 

Arnold said a law change in 2015 requires testers to offer a driver’s road test within 10 days to anyone who requests one.  In order to accommodate that change, the Anoka branch supervisor for the MN Dept. of Safety notified Sherburne County they don’t have the personnel to continue giving the tests at the Government Center in Elk River.

 

That notice came earlier this month.

 

“They don’t have enough staff, and the MN Dept. of Public Safety will not provide additional dollars to comply with the mandate,” Arnold told the county board.

 

Arnold said the county averaged about seven or eight written exams every Thursday.

 

County Administrator Steve Taylor said there might be some comments from residents about the change.

 

“We wanted the board to be aware of this in case there were some constituent calls,” he said. “It wasn’t our call. They just didn’t have the staff.”

 

The change goes into effect May 7.

 

The board awarded the contract for the reclaim and overlay of Co. Rd. 1 to Park Construction Company with a bid of $1,989.409.59.

 

Other bidders were Valley Paving at $2,107,220, Knife River Corp. at $2,192,598.20, North Valley, Inc. at $2,248,088.63 and Hardrives at $2,262,275,03.

 

The board approved the closure of BNG Services, a recycling center in Baldwin Twp. that had accepted batteries, appliances and electronics since April, 2010. The facility was inspected by the county in January and March and is in compliance with all closure requirements of the county’s Solid Waste Management Ordinance.

 

The board approved the expenditure of more than $60,000 to upgrade security at the Sherburne County Jail, including two Cellsense Contraband Detection Systems at $21,835 and 19 tactical vests for $39,634.

 

The board set a public hearing for May 19 at 9:15 a.m. to consider a tax abatement for GATR Truck Center in Elk River.

 

GATR is applying for an abatement of $481,848 over 12 years.