After six months of discussing options related who would blast and crush rock in a foreign trade zone, the Koochiching Economic Development Authority Board Wednesday agreed to seek bids to do the work.
Board members were cautious in moving forward —with so many uncertainties still surrounding the project — but agreed that for the sake of timeliness they would seek bids in order to keep the project moving forward. Several members remarked that they could reject any or all bids if the board decided they were not acceptable.
The action followed a series of correspondence on the issue which resulted in International Falls City Council asking for a joint meeting with all parties.
“What we’re hoping for is all the players at one table at one time having discussion so we can move on this,” board member Gail Rognerud said. “My feeling is if we don’t sit down and talk about it, we’re never going to get anywhere.”
“We’ve been talking about this for half a year,” board member Wade Pavleck retorted. He said the county board was expecting answers to two questions posed in a Sept. 3 letter to the city of International Falls — not more meetings.
The letter asked if the city approved of the county’s proposal to publicly request bids to blast and crush about 77,000 cubic yards of rock; and if the city wanted to share in the cost of work and end-product.
County Engineer Doug Grindall and Pavleck said while the work could be completed next year, time was running short to do the work this fall.
The Falls council responded with a letter dated Sept. 14 that requested both governments, as well as the KEDA Board and area developers, attend a 4:30 p.m. Oct. 12 (Falls) Economic Development Committee meeting to discuss the issue more fully.
Falls council representatives Rognerud and Tim “Chopper” McBride explained that the city wants to delay final decisions on the property until after a pending court decision. Area governments are awaiting an Oct. 11 decision by the state Office of Administrative Hearings regarding annexation of the FTZ. The property, which is jointly owned by International Falls and Koochiching County and managed by KEDA, is being sought for annexation by both International Falls and Ranier in competing petitions. The county joined Ranier in the town’s petition to annex the FTZ and nearby unincorporated areas.
The city’s letter also referenced wanting a recommendation from the KEDA Board before moving forward.
Pavleck said this project is like other county gravel pits it has used as a source of road aggregate for county road projects. “Nothing changes. We don’t ever want the county taxpayers and citizens held hostage by private contractors for aggregate. That would be a disaster because prices would go up and would cost taxpayers a fortune.
“The taxpayers are protected as long as that rock is in the ground,” Pavleck responded. “If you’re (city) not in a hurry, we’re (county) not in a hurry.”
But one person who seemed unwilling to delay further was board member Mike Fairchild. After lengthy discussion, Fairchild made a motion for the KEDA Board to, following the parameters enumerated in the county’s letter, request bids to do the blasting and crushing. The motion passed unanimously.
The issue of blasting and crushing gravel came to the forefront of KEDA Board discussions after an April proposal from a new company, to be led by Kalan Wagner, to rent two lots of the FTZ adjacent to the Canadian National Railroad tracks. The proposal would have the new company blast and crush rock in the area and retain the resulting gravel in compensation for the work to clear the two FTZ lots.
The KEDA Board had previously sought bids for clearing and grubbing trees on the FTZ site.
Board members, in seeing the amount of rock and potential value to the governments of retaining the rock themselves, have discussed alternatives to the Wagner plan, including the county’s September proposal. They had also questioned the prudence of accepting an unsolicited bid without a formal request for proposals and public bidding process.
