Tech gurus get high praise for pandemic work

A tiny Carlton County department gained national recognition recently for work they did to limit person-to-person contact during vaccination clinics held during the pandemic.

Geographic Information System coordinator Jared Hovi and GIS specialist Siona Roberts were awarded the prestigious Special Achievement in GIS award for their work creating a digital tracking system for residents wishing to be vaccinated during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Their goal was to eliminate paper forms and limit human contact for Carlton County Health and Human Services' drive-through vaccination clinic. Their efforts turned into a pilot program for Covid-19 vaccine dispensing. People were pre-registered, records were kept and feedback monitored all digitally, and data was uploaded into the state record system 24 hours a day using a computer system that has been described as "geography on steroids" as it maps data.

In a moving, emotional presentation, county land commissioner Greg Bernu commended his team for their work. "I am very proud of this team," he said. "There [are] only a handful of people that are recognized when SAG Awards are given out every year. This shows the quality of these staff people and how smoothly the staff of Carlton County work together to make a difference."

County commissioner Marv Bodie praised their ingenuity and innovative approaches to data collection, data mining and reporting.

"We are proud of our GIS staff for coming up with timely answers and solutions to questions and needs that could only come up during a once-a-century pandemic," Bodie said in a press release.

GIS specialist Siona Roberts is soon off to graduate school while Bernu continues, along with Hovi, to oversee the growth and impact of the GIS program.

Roads not good enough

Former Moose Lake chief of police Bryce Bogenholm addressed the county board at their July 13 regular session about concerns that County Road 13, east of Moose Lake off of County Road 8, was going to be turned from a tarred road into a gravel road. He said many of the local homeowners were outraged.

"I got this letter in the mail last week announcing the county plans with no warning," Bogenholm explained. "Other than filling potholes, no other work has been done on the road for 30 years. You don't treat people this way."

Bogenholm went on to explain that he chose to build his house and farm in that area because of the tar road.

County highway engineer JinYeene Neumann explained that there is limited funding for the county's 450 miles of road. To fix it right, she felt it would take $2 million to rebuild the road and tar it. She said only 105 cars use that stretch of road in a day.

Neumann did say that the county was studying alternatives to find a cost-effective road that the neighborhood would support. A proposal may be ready by December for consideration.

Transfer station pricing

Zoning administrator Heather Cunningham got approval for fee changes at the Transfer Station. Long lines waiting to enter the Transfer Station have plagued the Highway 210 traffic corridor. Cunningham hopes that new guidelines for handling construction debris and household garbage and an exit driveway will ease the congestion.

"Each week homeowners will come with one or two bags of garbage to the Transfer Station," Cunningham said. "I know I will get complaints, but we need to reduce the traffic into the facility. We have been charging $2 a bag but now will charge $10."

Mixed waste, unbagged garbage and large bulky items will be charged $15 per cubic yard. Patrons are encouraged to bring demolition debris on Wednesdays; a reduced rate of $56.69 per ton applies.

New rules and pricing starts Sept. 1.

Also Tuesday:

• Carlton County economic development Director Mary Finnegan reported that the cost for hookups to the new Twin Lakes Township waterline will range from $3,000 to $10,000 depending how far the house or business is from the waterline. The township residents using the waterline face three cost impacts: cost of monthly water usage, a Township assessment for waterline construction, and the individual cost for hooking up to the system. Low-interest loans are being studied and soon will be explained to those affected.

• The Fond du Lac Band is requesting 105 land parcels be added to Reservation lands. Most parcels are within Reservation boundaries. The county board objects to the transfer of some islands in the St. Louis River and 80 acres east of the airport. County commissioners will send a letter to the Federal government explaining the parcels whose transfer they object to are not within the Reservation boundary.

If the 101 remaining parcels are transferred and removed from the tax base, taxing authorities will lose $60,000 in revenue because reservation land is not subject to local taxes. Sixty percent is the county's share and 40 percent is divided between the school districts and the fire district.

• An open house for the new Barnum county garage is set for 3-6 p.m. Thursday, July 29.