Airport expansion project moves forward

The Carlton County Board of Commissioners took the next step toward the construction of a new hangar and relocated fuel system at the Cloquet Airport this week, but the price tag was higher than originally predicted.

On Monday, commissioners approved a $2.066 million bid for a new hangar at the airport, along with a bid for $660,000 to relocate and upgrade the fuel system. The majority of the costs are being covered by federal and state grants; there are fees for use of the fuel system.

When the project was originally announced in 2020, the estimated cost was closer to $1.5 million. Of that cost, $1.2 million was covered by a grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act Opportunity Zone program, along with $291,718 in state funds and $14,464 in local money.

Carlton County Economic Development director Mary Finnegan said the bids for the hangar construction came in far higher than expected, but the state stepped in and made up the difference through a MnDOT Aeronautics award. The state is now contributing more than $1.03 million and the county’s contribution jumped to $67,000.

The hangar is part of a public-private partnership to establish an aeronautics workforce training center and a new hangar at the Cloquet airport to support the region’s emerging aviation industry. The private part of the public-private partnership in this case is Venture North Aviation. President and general manager Bill Stone said VNA will lease the new hangar and office space, and Stone plans to invest an additional $600,000 into aircraft and maintenance equipment and “many, many good-paying jobs” to support its growth at the airport.

In a Pine Knot News story from October 2020, Stone said his business will expand in six areas of operation as a result of the investment. Those include offering more accelerated flight training, increased aircraft maintenance and hangar services for Venture North customers, increased fire detection services, on-demand charter passenger and cargo operations and corporate aircraft consulting and pilot services.

Don’t expect to see the new hangar anytime soon.

The proposed multi-use hangar will not be built until next year because materials are high-priced and are in short supply now. Maertens-Brenny Construction was the successful bidder, coming in at about $2.066 million.

Zahl-Petroleum Maintenance was the successful bidder for the fuel system relocation and construction, at about $660,000. The work will be done this summer and the fees for using the fuel depot will probably remain the same.

Also Monday, the board learned that an additional 84 parcels of tax-forfeited land within the boundaries of the Fond du Lac Reservation have been requested by tribal leaders. The land commissioner or county assessor has not yet crafted any proposal for the possible exchange.

Construction news

The last of the 2018 flooding projects is being completed this summer. Holyoke Township, with the assistance of the Carlton County Transportation Office, is having Redstone Construction build a bridge on Bley Road, construct approach grades, and stabilize the bank there at a cost of $887,159. Construction is to start in August. The Birch Road bridge on CSAH 8, which was also damaged in the flooding, will be completed this construction season.

The bituminous, multi-use trail for a safe route to the Moose Lake Public Schools site along Highway 73 and CSAH 10 had Ulland Brothers as the successful bidder at $1,142,419, which was 3.35 percent over the engineering estimates. The county board tentatively approved the bid, to wait for a decision by the City of Moose Lake to proceed. No county funds are committed to the project above engineering and project supervision costs.

Jail updates

The county board gave permission for county staff to apply for a $350,000 grant to provide child-friendly visiting space in the proposed new county jail. This money is focused on a “bricks and mortar” approach which would go into the actual construction of the building.

“We have been instructed by the Board in the past to find any money available that could help with construction costs,” commented jailer Paul Coughlin. “This is the first possibility as we continue to look for additional funding.”

Coughlin did request to spend $48,000 for consultant work to form a new policy protocol for running the new jail. Commissioners responded, wondering why policies should be created before they know what type of jail was to be built.

Sheriff Kelly Lake then asked to consider funding a super-summary of all consultant studies that have been done to this point. The sheriff felt this was necessary for informing the public during informational local meetings. The board gave approval for the summary to be written but the cost to not exceed $5,000.

Coastal Program board

Carlton County has the possibility of having three members serve on the Minnesota Coastal Program board. Recommended by the county board, these candidates are considered for appointment by the governor of Minnesota. Two are chosen from the general public and one is an elected official.

“The board meets four times a year and approves grants and programs that affect the Lake Superior coastal area,” explained commissioner Dick Brenner, a longtime representative to the board. “It is an important job and all three positions are now open.”

An online application will soon be available on the county website at http://www.co.carlton.mn.us. Commissioner Mark Thell said he would like to apply as an elected official member.