The Koochiching County Board is expected to adopt minor shifts to commissioner district boundaries next week.
No public comment was given at a hearing this week on the board’s plan to establish new boundaries and reestablish existing boundaries.
Establishing the boundaries is part of a process that occurs every 10 years following the U.S. Census Bureau population count. The action requires congressional, state and local redistricting to ensure that populations are represented equally.
With the congressional and state redistricting process complete, local redistricting involves the reestablishment and establishment of county and city precinct boundaries and polling place designations. The final local redistricting process involves county commissioner district boundaries.
The county has proposed to reestablish commissioner District 4 and 5 with no changes.
Changes are recommended to the boundaries of commissioner Districts 1, 2, and 3 as result of the city of Ranier establishing two precincts in the city, as recommended by the county, to accommodate commissioner district changes and to eliminate Kooch Poll 3 precinct.
The proposed boundary changes involve:
• The most westerly line of District 1 in Ranier adjusted slightly to provide a better definition of the boundary. The population shift is less than three people.
• District 3 southerly boundary change, in which a rural, small populated area is reallocated to District 2, which eliminates the Kooch Poll 3 precinct. This area is described as north of the Van Lynn Road, also known as County Road 24, west of the railroad tracks, south of Ranier and east of International Falls. This involves a population shift of 54.
The proposed plan, according to county staff, meets all requirements for redistricting.
With the proposed changes, the population in the five commissioner districts range from 2,587 in District 4 to 2,769 in District 1.
The following commissioners now represent the following districts: District 1 — Wade Pavleck, whose term expires in 2015; District 2 — Kevin Adee, whose term expires in 2015; District 3 — Brian McBride, whose term expires in 2013; District 4 — Rob Ecklund, whose term expires in 2015; District 5 — Mike Hanson, whose term expires in 2013. The District 3 and 5 positions will be up for election this November.
In other business this week, the board approved a Planning Commissioner recommendation to provide a conditional use permit for Mark’s Sand and Gravel, Fergus Falls, with a change in operation hours for a blacktop plant.
A motion to accept the recommendation as presented by the commission was approved on a 4-1 vote with Pavleck voting no. A motion to extend the hours recommended by the commission of the blacktop plant operation was approved on a 4-1 vote with Adee voting no.
The motion allows Mark’s Sand and Gravel, which has been awarded a contract to pave a section of Highway 11 West, to operate a quarry that includes drilling, blasting, crushing and setting up a portable hot mix plant. Gravel extraction will also be a part of the operation.
The quarry is located on property owned by Ernest Lund, located off County Road 18 about three miles south of Highway 11.
The conditions recommended by the commission were the same as those placed on a quarry operating two miles to the northeast.
Pavleck said he was uncomfortable approving the recommendation because the board rejected a similar plan from Bowman Construction about one year ago.
“I am all for fairness, but this is not fair,” he said, adding that all requests should be treated the same.
Debbie Bowman, of Bowman Construction, was in the audience during the discussion. She said she appreciated Pavleck’s comments and told representatives of Mark’s Sand and Gravel that the three year’s of effort to site a quarry in the area by her company “paved the way” for the discussion.
“I don’t wish to stop the process, but I am sad that it’s not apples to apples,” she said.
Hanson, who represents the area of the quarry, said he’d heard no opposition, while opposition was great to the Bowman plan.
Lund said he believed no opposition was voiced to the current plan because it is in a remote area of his 600-acre property, while the Bowman location was near residences.
Board Chairman Brian McBride said that while it’s important to treat proposals fairly, it’s also important to treat each request on its own because of the differences in the location and public reaction.
“We have to look at the situation,” he said. “They are not all the same,” he said.
Hours of the blacktop plant operation were set at 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturdays.
Other business
In other business, the board heard that a Customs and Border Protection Citizens Academy has been postponed because of a lack of participation.
Commissioners, who had been invited to take part in the first academy, said they would consider participating at a future date with adequate advance notice. In addition, the board agreed to invite representatives of the agency to meet regularly with the board.
The invite came at Hanson’s suggestion, who said the agency’s effort to open a dialogue with the community has merit and deserves kudos.
McBride called the effort “a good thing. They admit there has been some secrecy in the past and they want to let us know what they do and why they do it.”
The board also agreed to extend the hours of the veterans service officer, a position now held by Kathy Sikkila, to better accommodate the office’s caseload and activity. The VSO work hours will change effective June 1 from 25 hours each week to 32 hours a week, with the office open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday.
The board also agreed to reactivate the Littlefork/Rat Root River Board and Citizens Advisory Committee. McBride appointed himself and Ecklund to serve on the board. Hanson said with the Littlefork River declared impaired waters by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, the revived group will provide a voice for input on plans for the river.
The board agreed to implement May 14 a contract with Northland Counseling Center to provide children’s mental health services. Terry Murray, director of the county’s Community Services Department, said Northland staff are now receiving mandated training to provide the services. Approval of the contract initiates staff changes in the department.
Murray is expected to report to the board regularly on the transition of services.
