Sherburne County officials and state legislators sat down for almost two hours last week at the Sherburne History Center to talk about priorities.
It was the first comprehensive legislative gathering between the county and area representatives, and the turnout was better than expected.
In addition to all county department heads, legislators who attended were: Rep. Sondra Erickson (Dist. 15A), Rep. Jim Newberger (Dist. 15B), Sen. Mary Kiffmeyer (Dist. 30A), Sen. Jerry Relph (Dist. 14), Sen. Nick Zerwas (Dist. 30A) and Rep. Kurt Daudt (Dist. 31A). Also attending was Stacy Morse representing U.S. Rep. Tom Emmer and Alec Bjorn, representing Sen. Andrew Mathews (Dist. 15).
It was an opportunity for the county to be heard up close and personal, and Sherburne County Administrator Steve Taylor opened the gathering to talk about the future.
He said Sherburne County is one of the fastest growing counties with a 30% growth rate in the last decade. Building permits are increasing. The Government Center is expanding. And along with expansion comes the need for infrastructure improvements. And that’s where the county needs support from its lawmakers.
“We put together a presentation on transportation, infrastructure and Health and Human Services (HHS). These are specific priorities to Sherburne County. We share other priorities with other associations like AMC (Association of Minnesota Counties) and MICA (Minnesota Inter-County Association),” he said, “but we think these are important to us. We thought we would educate you as far as these priorities.”
By far the biggest issue was transportation funding, and Sherburne County Public Works Director Andrew Witter spoke about a number of issues affecting the county.
He said the Hwy. 169 corridor is continually getting more congested due to growth.
“We have major congestion. Even though there are no county roads there, when it’s congested they put an extra burden on the local system - city streets and county highways,” he said. “Getting that main Hwy. 169 corridor improved is critical because it’s going to help traffic flow improve commerce flow.”
He said signals on Hwy. 169 in Elk River have been identified by MnDOT as the worst in state, and improving those intersections is a big priority.
He spoke about upgrading and replacing bridges.
“We currently manage roughly 50 bridges on the county system alone,” he said. “Three bridges on the list need to be rebuilt. One is completely designed and waiting for funding.”
Sen. Relph asked if the bridges had been submitted to the bonding committee for capital investments. “We will be touring this area in late January to look at projects,” he said.
“You can put that request in directly to the bonding committee chair,” said Sen. Kiffmeyer, Witter said all three bridges are on the local bridge bonding list.
He spoke about highway safety and the fact that Sherburne County was ranked ninth worst of 87 counties for highway deaths in 2015. From 2011 to 2015, the county had 108 severe injury or fatal crashes.
Sheriff Joel Brott said one of the biggest issues is distracted driving.
“All of us have probably seen an incident of distracted driving on our way here this morning. I know there’s been discussion of a hands-free legislation in Minnesota,” he said. “That particular issue is very difficult for law enforcement to enforce. But we’ll see some of these number go up. It’s something we’ll have to address.”
“I can tell you the number one cause for our fatalities and injuries is cell phones. Period,” said Rep. Newberger, “and we have to do something about it.”
He said a bill was drafted for hands-free driving that got one hearing in the House.
“We’re going to keep pushing forward. Minnesota has to be a hands-free state,” he said.
He said years ago, drinking and driving was culturally accepted, and it took a long time to change that attitude.
“I don’t want to see us go through 20 years of cultural change to see this happen,” he said. “People have to realize they can’t have their face in their phone while driving.”
The discussion continued on the topic of infrastructure. Assistant Administrator Dan Weber spoke about how the county is in dire need of improving broadband access to help business stay competitive.
He also spoke about the need for funding rail expansion and improvements to help economic growth.
HHS Director Mary Jo Cobb said county taxpayers are being asked to pay for increased services required by the state. She urged legislators to eliminate unfunded mandates and provide adequate funding for child protection and increase community-based options for people being treated for mental illness.
The lawmakers all agreed to do their best to help the county with their issues, and suggested continuing the priority meetings in the future.
