County board to pay for Barnum garage funding through wheelage and sales taxes

The Carlton County board of commissioners voted 3-2 to upgrade the overcrowded Barnum transportation garage and attach a large addition to create a 50,000-plus square-foot facility.

The need for a new facility wasn’t debated — it was how to pay for the $10 million bonding package for the construction that commissioners didn’t agree on. In the end, they compromised and voted to use two funding sources to pay the estimated $600,000 yearly payments on $10 million bond for the upgrade and addition.

Three sources were considered: a property tax increase, a wheelage tax on each vehicle licensed in Carlton County, or drawing from the half-percent sales tax funds currently dedicated for fixing county roads numbered above 100.

A public hearing earlier in the month and numerous phone calls showed strong resistance to using the half-percent sales tax revenues for any use other than the county roads. In general, rural residents wanted to continue upgrading the rural transportation network, while urban residents were more concerned about not paying any higher property taxes.

Cloquet’s District 2 commissioner Tom Proulx made a motion to take the whole $600,000 from the half-percent sales tax revenues. Currently about $2 million is coming in annually. He stated the move would draw from current revenue streams and no additional tax burden would be put on Carlton County residents. The motion died for lack of a second.

District 4 commissioner Mark Thell made a motion to use a $15 wheelage tax to raise $450,000 and the rest to come from revenues above $1.8 million from the sales tax. District 2 commissioner Marv Bodie seconded that motion, just to open the topic for discussion, he said.

“My constituents have been very vocal and feel that the money raised for the half-percent sales tax was dedicated for roads with numbers over 100,” District 5 commissioner Gary Peterson said. “Because of their input, I suggest a $10 wheelage tax to raise $300,000 and the rest to come from a property tax. In that way absentee property owners would have to pay for a strong county road program.”

The final vote for a $15 wheelage tax to raise $450,000 yearly and $150,000 per year coming from the half-percent sales tax funds, passed with Brenner, Thell and Bodie in favor and Proulx and Peterson voting no.

Chair Brenner led off a discussion of hiring a bond counsel by asking if the county really needs a bond counsel “when a decision has not been made on how to fund the new jail?”

County engineer JinYeene Neumann said that with the approval of a new Barnum garage, the bond counsel was needed to advise the county board on the best way to issue $10 million bonds for the project. Hiring a bond counsel passed unanimously.

Modern road equipment won’t all fit in the current building. Working area and staff safety were driving factors for the new facility. The transportation department will continue to use the present facility during the construction phase, which should be completed by late 2020.

Extension program restructured

A major restructuring of the county Extension program is in progress. The county board approved Community and Family Initiatives director Donna Lekander as the supervisor of the Extension program at this time. Zoning and Environmental Services administrator Heather Cunningham was considered for the supervisor position. Cunningham said that her role as the regulator of the environmental rules for biosolid application would present a conflict of interest.

No decision has been made yet for an agricultural technician position to handle the biosolids program. Sixty percent of Extension income comes from the biosolids program. It is suggested that the biosolids program should now be called a Soil Improvement program.

Neumann reported that the tractor that was purchased years ago for biosolids application for farmers using the program is now under the control of the county’s transportation department.