Friday, March 29th, 2024 Church Directory
SCAT heard a presentation from the Minnesota Association of Townships (MAT). (Photo by Katherine Cantin.)

SCAT disscusses county issues

SCAT (Sherburne County Association of Townships) met again for the second time this year. They dicussed issues and resources across the county. 

County Attorney

County attorney Kathleen Heaney has requested that all the county townships submit their ordinances that can be enforced by the county to the attorney’s office. This allows the attorney to have the ordinance on record should there ever be an instance where the township wishes to prosecute a violator. She said the townships are welcome to go with another attorney, but won’t find one to do it for a lower price. 

She reminded the assembled supervisors that petty misdemeanors are still being processed, they haven’t simply gone away. The courts are getting through the backlog of cases that resulted from the COVID-19 epidemic.

County Updates

Several representatives from the county level of government updated the supervisors on projects within the county. 

The County has a business relief fund going for area businesses funded by ARPA. They have fewer applicants for this program than they did for their original business relief program, which they took as a good sign, showing businesses were coming back and not needing as much assistance. 

They recognized that childcare was an issue for individuals trying to get back to work, as many stayed home during the pandemic. They noted that free childcare would be provided to parents who had business at the government building during the duration of their visit. 

Broadband is continuing to be rolled out across the county. The county representatives encouraged the supervisors to work closely with the county in order to get service to those who need it, as the greatest lack of service is in the more rural areas of the townships. 

They also discussed the Hwy. 169 project plan. A video outlining the project can be found on the city of Elk River’s website. The project is expected to take about three years to complete, and could dramatically impact the area and the commutes of locals. The project will begin April 2022. 

Legislation

Sen. Andrew Mathews attended the meeting, and brought the regards of Rep. Shane Mekeland, who was unable to attend due to having shingles. Mathews gave out a pamphlet with an overview of the latest legislative session and contact information to those in attendance, encouraging audience members to reach out to him with any concerns. 

Redistricting is currently taking place, and unfortunately there is no way to know where lines will fall until a map is presented to the legislation. Mathews said he hoped to continue to be able to serve Sherburne County, as possibly be able to govern more of the county in the future.

In Other Business, the Association:

• Discussed other road projects in the county, including the ongoing bridge project;

• Elected officers for the group;

• Increased the pay scale for the association clerk.