County, tribe and city leaders meet to discuss issues

Tribal, county and city leaders met Tuesday for what they hope will be the first of more collaborative meetings between the different governmental units.

Discussion ranged over several areas. Carlton County board chairman Dick Brenner brought up continuing planning for a new county jail.

Jail plans

“We have looked at a number of jails including the newest jail in Chisago County,” Brenner said. “The funding package and the size of the jail are soon to be determined. The newest style of jail is based on pods.”

Brenner explained that pods are groupings of 16 cells which are self-contained and can provide programming focus in each pod centering, citing examples including mental illness issues, chemical dependency, a male or female pod population, age, etc.

“It is a start to handling the multiple pattern of bookings for some jail clients,” he said.

County coordinator Dennis Genereau added, “A possible growth in the jail population could be handled by adding another 16 cell pod. At the present we are looking at an 80- to a 100-bed facility.”

Chair Dupuis asked, “We know of the need for a new jail yet we also can see an explosion of drug abuse and a dramatic increase of young women being incarcerated. What other actions can be taken? Removing a woman from the home causes a dislocation of the family unit and then that has to be addressed by our social services.”

County Attorney Lauri Ketola responded having space for programming will help.

“Now that we are replacing an old jail, this is the time to address programming needs so that we can reduce the number of repeat offenders,” she said. “It is not uncommon to have the same person come into the jail 10-12 times a year.”

Waterline progress

County Commissioner Mark Thell reported on Carlton waterline funding progress to the combined group.

The Minnesota House of Representatives, guided by Representative Mike Sundin and Representative Mary Murphy (who is chair of the House Bonding Committee), passed a $9 million bonding proposal for the construction of the waterline from the city of Carlton to the Junction/Smithville neighborhood along the Hwy 210 corridor. Supporters of the Hwy 210 waterline project are now waiting for the Minnesota Senate to consider what projects they want to refer for state bonding dollars.

Extensive hydrological testing has been done in the Junction area and most wells are less than 30 feet in depth and many test positive for arsenic. Households use bottled water for drinking. The commissioners agreed to expedite water test results to the Fond Du Lac leaders after chairman Kevin Dupuis made that request. The Band will contact their Capital lobbyist to talk to senators who could help expedite the bill’s passage.

Plans also call for a booster pump on the south side of Hwy 210 just south of the Casino to provide a backup water supply for the Casino-Hotel complex.

Land purchase?

Land commissioner Greg Bernu brought up a proposal for the Fond du Lac Band to purchase about 2,600 acres of County tax-forfeited land within the Reservation’s boundaries. He said that two parcels just south of the Cloquet Airport runway would be reserved for a buffer area.

Auditor/treasurer Paul Gassert explained the reasons behind suggesting a purchase versus a swap of land.

“We have been down this road before,” Gassert said. “The last major land exchange deal with Fond du Lac was very cumbersome to expedite. An outright sale would work better. In an agreement, the sale of these parcels could be in $200,000 to $300,000 blocks over, for example, a ten-year period.”

The Fond du Lac leaders said they would meet soon, discuss the proposal, and get back to Bernu.

Derailment and more

Dupuis thanked all the emergency services that turned out for the Burlington Northern coal spill on Reservation land and the St. Louis River, when approximately 40 cars carrying coal derailed four miles west of Cloquet, just past Pine Island.

He said that there is still coal residue in the spill area and a noticeable oil slick on the river’s waters. But, he added, the situation would have been very difficult for the Band’s leadership without the emergency services strongly requiring the railroad to clean up their mess.

The groups agreed the dialogue will continue. Quarterly joint meetings will be scheduled to improve the communication between the city, county and FDL.