Cloquet City Hall transfer to county is on track

The county may be taking up residence in Cloquet City Hall before summer comes.

“Our goal continues to be a building for County occupancy with little cost to the county taxpayer,” county coordinator Dennis Genereau said at the Carlton County Committee of the Whole meeting earlier this month. “Cloquet officials still say they will be out of the present City Hall late spring.”

Genereau said plans center around installing an elevator in the new building to provide easy access to the large basement, adding that the County Coordinator and Human Resources Offices, the Assertive Community Treatment team, and Family Initiatives Department will move into the new space. He said the county is still working on options for Minnesota Extension Services to remain in Carlton.

“The present City Hall building has a fine boardroom,” interjected commissioner Tom Proulx. “It would be the perfect space for the county board to meet regularly.”

No recommendation was made for a computer software service to standardize such functions as payroll and time management for most of the county departments.

“I and county staff have spent countless hours researching which service to use,” Genereau said. “I will remain in a holding pattern until the county board decides on a direction we should go.”

A new right-of-way acquisition policy was rolled out by county engineer JinYeene Neumann. The new policy proposed using a standard 125 percent of the assessed valuation for permanent right-of-way purchases. In the past, a purchase figure was set by using several current land or land-and-building sale prices to find a proposed settlement. Prices are set for lost trees or fencing, for example, to adjust the proposal. The policy was passed on for county board approval.

“This is tailored after several county policies in the area,” Neumann said. “It would simplify the acquisition process and save the county money. In larger acquisitions over $25,000, a full appraisal would be required by a licensed appraiser.”

Neumann also updated progress in the county road construction program for 2019. The county transportation department has not been able to put CSAH 21, the Swede Lake Road in Cromwell, up for bids. Approval of a permit for the wetlands impacted by the reconstruction of the road was slowed because of the federal government shutdown. The county engineer said she hoped the permit would be issued quickly now that the Corps of Engineers is working again.

Northland Foundation president Tony Sertich addressed the child care shortage in northeastern Minnesota. He noted that there are now 379 family-based child care operations in the area, down from 482 in 2011. A dramatic increase in red tape and regulations has put pressure on these family-based child care providers. There are 91 child care centers and 23 preschool programs in the region: four out of 10 of those centers are based in large urban areas such as Grand Rapids and Duluth. Overall, a 50-percent increase in family-based child care and child care centers is needed to cover the need for services for children 5 and under, Sertich said. The cost of family-based child care appears to be approximately one fifth of that of running a child care center or preschool program. Sertich said that in northeastern Minnesota, the Northland Foundation, the Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation, the United Way of Northeastern Minnesota and the Blandin Foundation have all made contributions toward closing the gap for the child care shortage.

The Carlton County board of commissioners set a goal of using the Committee of the Whole meetings as a time for varied county programs to present the current services they are providing and to address potential needs and issues in the areas they work. As part of this initiative, minutes and information provided in the numerous meetings the board members attend will be shared with all board members electronically.