New Birchdale fire facility moves forward

Commonly called Con-Con lands, the property is state-owned and held in the public trust specifically for conservation purposes. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is responsible by law to manage the public lands.

An earlier plan called for the fire department facility to be attached to a county garage located in Birchdale. But after a committee of the department began to consider the project, it was advised that because of the addition of a wastewater system and other issues, it would be better to construct a separate building adjacent to the county garage.

The fire facility will include a 5,000 water storage tank, which will alleviate the need to use the Rainy River for all fire-fighting needs.

Robyn Hasbargen, Birchdale fire chief, along with other representatives of the department, met with the county board Tuesday. Hasbargen noted that fighting fires with water from the river can delay arrival at fires because holes must be drilled through the ice in the winter to access the water and in times of low water levels, accessing the water with a pump can be difficult.

The plan calls for the county to own the building and land and lease it to the fire district. The existing fire hall, located on property owned by the fire district, will be used by the county for cold storage.

Commissioner Mike Hanson, who represents the Birchdale area, attested to the diligence the fire department representatives had put into researching the best options for the facility.

“This took longer than expected,” he said. “They looked at a lot of bids. If you want proof that this is a life-saving organization, this is a big step toward providing that. At the last training, more than 20 people attended.”

In other business, the board acknowledged that Brian Jespersen had become sheriff June 1, with the retirement of former Sheriff Brian Youso.

Commissioners agreed, upon Jespersen’s recommendation, to promote Bruce Grotberg to chief deputy and agreed to fill a vacancy resulting by the promotion.

In related business, the board agreed to establish a job-share scenario with the October 2013 retirement of Barb Byman, sheriff secretary and civil processor.

The job-share scenario will allow for a year-long training period starting this October and save the county $17,684 over the year.

The board also agreed to support a 15-year bond of $2 million to make improvements at the Northeast Regional Corrections Center adult and juvenile facilities near Duluth. Koochiching is a member of the Arrowhead Regional Corrections Joint Powers Board, which governs the facilities.

All member boards must agree to the same funding scenario, and at the above listed amount, Koochiching’s share of the cost would be $767 per year.

Counties were assessed based on a five-year average of use.

Commissioner Wade Pavleck, who represents Koochiching on the board, said offenders are sent by the local courts to the facilities as a last resort, And, he noted that Koochiching’s share is small compared to other member counties.

“We can’t afford to put people in beds here long term,” said Chairman Brian McBride of the costs to house offenders at the Koochiching County Jail.

Pavleck said the “work-house” program conducted by ARC at the facilities is considered a model for other communities.