After a brief public hearing with minimal public comment Tuesday, the Sherburne County Board tabled its vote on establishing new commissioner district boundaries.
The board had been considering five possible options for redistricting to bring each commissioner district’s population within the required 10% of each other. Some of those options required cities and townships to create precincts. Commissioner districts have to follow city and township precinct lines.
The board had anticipated debating different options after the public had a chance to give input. But Auditor/Treasurer Diane Arnold said none of the townships were interested in adding precincts.
“All of the townships have met, and from the resolutions that have been submitted to us, they’re not going to be adding any additional precincts,” she said.
The county has until April 26 to complete the redistricting process, and it is unlikely there will be any new information presented by then that will make a difference to the final option.
Administrator Bruce Messelt said Option 1, which includes precinct changes in some Elk River wards, is the only option that still fills the redistricting population requirements.
“As of the today, this is the only option that remains. The change on this particular map is in the Elk River precinct areas,” he said. “The result of this redistricting would be that the two commissioner districts that are up for elections this year would remain. In addition, two other commissioner districts would also be required to have an election because of change in population represented.”
If Option 1 is adopted, elections would be required in Dist. 1 (Barbara Burandt), Dist. 2 (Raeanne Danielowski), Dist. 3 (Tim Dolan) and Dist. 4 (Felix Schmiesing).
The vote is scheduled for the April 19 meeting.
SSTS Loan Program
The board approved an amendment to the county’s Subsurface Sewage Treatment System Low Interest Loan Program.
The program was established to provide low interest loans to help property owners replace or modify their existing sewage treatment system to bring them into compliance. The cost of many systems is often beyond what property owners can afford.
The amendment provides additional funding for single family residents. Originally, the loan amount was capped at $20,000. Under the change, residents are now eligible for 100% coverage up to $20,000 and 95% for any project costs over $20,000. It also sets a two-percent interest rate for any approved loans.
Farm Friends
The board gave its approval for the Farm Friends to move ahead with a parking lot on its site in Becker Twp. Friends Board Chair Jean Johnson said the site plan includes an entrance and exit access, one onto 27th Ave. and one onto a future road that has not yet been designed or constructed.
There is no county money involved in the project.
Orrock Town Hall
The board approved a conditional use permit (CUP) request by Orrock Twp. to build an addition on the current township hall located on a 1.66-acre lot at 26401 180th St. NW in Orrock Twp. Variances were approved by the planning commission on Feb.10, 2022, for a 32’ x 42’ (1,344 sq. ft.) addition.
Other Business
In other actions the board:
• Approved a MN Lawful Gambling Application for Exempt Permit for City of Big Lake Firefighters Relief Association to be used for a raffle on Aug. 13, 2022 at the Big Lake Fire Department;
• Approved the transfer of excess budget dollars in the amount of $150,000 into the Year End Savings (YES) account;
• Approved the County/Club Trail Agreement with the Elk Lake Easy Riders, Big Lake Sno Cruisers and the River City Snow Riders snowmobile clubs for the county to act as sponsor for the Snowmobile Trails Assistance Program for the fiscal year of July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023;
• Approved a contract with Greater Minnesota Family Services to provide website updates and maintenance services for the Stronger Together Building Resilience (STIR) network, which is a community network focused on understanding trauma and building resilience. The budgeted project request is $3,500;
• Approved a contract for Targeted Mental Health Outreach Services with WAYCAN (Women and Youth Community Action Network) to create a youth group in the St. Cloud area that will engage youth and families from diverse communities. The requested budgeted amount is $11,000;
• Set a public hearing for May 3 at 9:05 a.m. in order to comply with the Annual Report requirement under the Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) General Permit for 2022.
• Approved the collective bargaining agreement with AFSCME Assistant County Attorney Unit for the term of Jan. 1, 2022 through Dec. 31, 2024;
• Approved an agreement with SRF Consulting Group to provide engineering services for the reconstruction of Co. Rd. 4, from 10th Street NW to Co. Road 45, in the amount of $293,917;
• Proclaimed the week of April 10-16 as Public Safety Telecommunications Week;
• Proclaimed April 26, 2022 as County Staff Appreciation Day.
