County will have to wait out consolidation

The Carlton County board will join a list of those waiting on decisions regarding consolidation between the Wrenshall and Carlton school districts. The Carlton school board has been drafting a letter to the county regarding the possible sale of its high school property, which sits next to the county jail. The county board approached the district with the idea of using school property to build a new jail. It told the district earlier this year that it wanted an answer about the availability of the school land by next week.

That won’t happen. The school district remains in consolidation limbo with Wrenshall and it could remain so for at least nine months. In a letter being drafted to the county for school board approval Monday night, chairwoman LaRae Lehto wrote that while the district remained willing to sell the property, she couldn’t see a deal sealed until the results of an expected referendum in August regarding building costs for improvements in school buildings in a consolidated district.

But district residents and administration may have a pretty good idea in February of where things are headed. Both school districts are going over the contents of a survey expected to reach mailboxes in early January. Results of the survey, which will ask if residents if they want two-site consolidation and the costs associated with shoring up the schools at Wrenshall and South Terrace, should be a good predictor of how a referendum might go over.

If the survey results are unfavorable, Carlton would have to go to an undefined “Plan B.” If voters have an appetite for consolidation and the plan for a high school and middle school in Wrenshall and an elementary in Carlton, the Carlton district could abandon the high school site and sell it to the county. But that too, would take time, as the construction and consolidation details would not allow students out of the high school building until at least the spring of 2021.

The county has its own “hoops to go through,” before it can be sure about the prospects of a new jail, said commissioner Gary Peterson. The county board would like to follow in the footsteps of other counties in the state that use a sales tax to help pay for new facilities. The legislature would need to approve use of the sales tax, Peterson said. There would also need to be a referendum to approve the tax, meaning the county could be on a similar timeline with the school district when it comes to ramping up toward a vote.

The two school districts are lobbying into the Minnesota Legislature term that begins in February to acquire nearly 50 percent in aid for the nearly $40 million in estimated costs toward consolidation and school renovations.

Lehto said in her letter to the county that if the districts get good news from the legislature by May, it would be another step toward formal sale discussion. “At that point, we would be able to develop more specific potential timelines for the school construction projects,” Lehto wrote in a draft of the letter to the county discussed at Thursday’s Committee of the Whole meeting. It could include a tentative date for vacating the high school property, she wrote. Any final negotiations would have to take place after a potential August referendum.

If the consolidation falls through, as it has in past efforts, Lehto said it wouldn’t necessarily mean the district would keep its high school in the current location. The aging property has not been part of long-range planning discussions among board members, who have realized that without consolidation, a Plan B needs to be implemented. “While other scenarios may also involve the eventual closure of the [high school], we are not yet committed to any plan and therefore we cannot commit at this time to an absolute intent to sell the property to you,” Lehto wrote in the draft.

The county isn’t the only body waiting on how consolidation talks will affect the future.

Students are also in limbo as discussion on further Carlton-Wrenshall cooperative activities have apparently stalled. After successful forays into cooperative agreements for cross country and football, there had been talk of combining for track this spring. That idea is apparently on hold.

“Carlton is not interested in pulling any more activities together until there is word that there is going to be consolidation,” said Wrenshall superintendent Kim Belcastro. At a meeting about a track pairing, Carlton officials indicated they couldn’t commit to anything until the August referendum results.

For now, the only thing sure about the consolidation is that surveys will be out in a few weeks and results could be known by Feb. 10. “This should be able to give more direction on what the communities are willing to support financially and if there is support for consolidation,” Belcastro said.

In other news, from the county board’s Nov. 25 meeting:

The Carlton County board of commissioners approved a formal request of $165,950 in disaster aid from the state for losses suffered in the Sept. 30 flood. Preliminary estimates are that 75 percent of the loss will be covered by disaster assistance. New electronic filing, enabling a GPS lock-in on damage sites, smoothed the information processing, county officials said. Five townships in the county were affected by swollen rivers and creeks.

Northland Construction was the successful bidder for a bridge construction project on County State Aid Highway 1 just north of the intersection with CSAH 61 in Esko. The bid of $1,095,028.48 was 4.44 percent more than the engineer’s estimate.

Carlton County and the city of Moose Lake have come to an agreement for prosecutorial services beginning Jan. 1. The county attorney’s office expects a yearly revenue stream of about $16,000, based on expected cases it will handle.

The last privately owned parcel on Kettle Lake in the Corona bog area southeast of Cromwell will be purchased by Pheasants Forever from the Mowers family and gifted to the DNR for inclusion in the Kettle Lake Wildlife Management Area.

The board also approved the purchase of a one-acre site in Kalevala Township, known as the old site for the Mansikka School. The land will be added to the Firebird Wildlife Management Area. County board approval is needed when any land with wetlands for wildlife purposes is purchased.

BKV gave its final report for the jail study. Sheriff Kelly Lake said it is not the approved final report, which will be released later. Use of treatment plans for both men and women, on- and off-site, are being discussed as a future approach. The staff of BKV said “We have seen the local county staff really dig into the issues and we commend them for helping make a plan to implement in the local justice area.”

The scheduled board meeting at 4 p.m. Dec. 23 will include a hearing on the proposed tobacco ordinance at 4:30 p.m. and discussion on bonding for a new Barnum garage at 5 p.m.

County reporter Dan Reed contributed to this story.

************** MEETING NOTICE ***************

Board to set budget, tax levy

The Carlton County Board of Commissioners will vote on the 2019 property tax levy (payable in 2020) along with the 2020 budget at its 4 p.m. Dec. 23 meeting. The Truth-in-Taxation public hearing was held Dec. 3.

The Carlton County Board of Commissioners will be reviewing a proposed tobacco ordinance at a public hearing on December 23rd during their regularly scheduled board meeting. The main inclusions proposed are to increase the legal sales age for tobacco to 21, and restrictions on the sale of menthol/flavorings. The priority given to this topic has been in response to the increased addiction rates in younger ages as of late, and the correlation and research behind these two main topic areas as proven strategies to help reduce youth use and addiction rates. Commissioner Gary Peterson shared that “We are looking at protecting our youth from this increasing epidemic.”

The meeting will also include a hearing on the bonding program for a new Barnum garage at 5 p.m.

If you have questions or concerns on any of the meeting topics, feel free to contact your County Commissioner by December 20, 2019. County Commissioner contact information can be found here: https://www.co.carlton.mn.us/386/County-Board-of-Commissioners.