Legislators tour prime areas for bonding

Two buses filled with state legislators wound their way through the Northland earlier this month.

Members of the House Capital Investment Committee visited Carlton first on Sept. 17, then continued to the Northeast Regional Corrections Center and Duluth, where they spent the night before heading up to Two Harbors, Silver Bay and beyond the next day.

In Carlton, the legislative visitors were gifted with their own bottle of less-than-perfect water.

"Derek Wolf [city of Carlton public works supervisor] brought out a gallon of crappy Olsonville water and then gave each representative a bottle to take home," said State Rep. Mike Sundin, who joined the group on their stop at the new Carlton water treatment plant.

Carlton County commissioners Mark Thell and Marv Bodie talked to the group about the need for a waterline to run from Carlton down the Highway 210 corridor to Olsonville, the county transportation building, Black Bear Casino Resort and residential properties in the Schmitz Road area beyond the county transfer station, where previous testing found arsenic in some well water.

Water quality as well as quantity is an issue for many of the homes and businesses as well as the county building serviced by wells.

While everyone agrees on the need, the challenge is the cost. The estimated cost of the waterline project is $10.4 million. Twin Lakes Township has already spent $600,000 on design and other costs. The townshop and the city of Carlton have been working cooperatively for many years to provide water to the proposed district, and have the support of both the county and the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa.

The county committed to paying for service from the waterline for its properties in December, a total of 6,000 gallons for both its transportation building and the industrial park to the east that has yet to be developed, a move that impacted the size of the line.

Bodie told the committee members that the county's industrial park has gotten strong interest ... until people ask how much water is available.

"When we tell them there's not much there, they say 'thanks, but no thanks,'" he said.

FDLTCC visit

Members of the Senate Capital Investment Committee visited Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College and other prospective bonding projects in Cloquet, Carlton, Duluth and Pine City on Sept 12.

The committee first visited the Western Lake Superior Sanitary District (WLSSD) in Duluth, whose coverage area includes Carlton, Cloquet, Scanlon, Thomson, and Wrenshall. WLSSD is requesting funding to design, purchase, and install new engine generators that will convert biogas produced during wastewater treatment into electricity and heat that the facility can use.

"I am thrilled the bonding committee is taking time to explore important projects in our area," said state Sen. Jason Rarick. "WLSSD is one of the state's largest wastewater treatment facilities. Installing these new generators will allow WLSSD to significantly expand a process they are already doing on a small scale, all while helping them control costs and keep rates in check for their customers."

During the committee's visit to Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College, they heard about the importance of higher education asset preservation and saw this past summer's completed renovation projects, in addition to learning about the proposed waterline project for Carlton and Twin Lakes Township.