Kettle River garage discussed; vote looms

A crowd of about 75 people traveled from western Carlton County to a public hearing at the county board meeting Monday on whether to close or keep open the county’s satellite garage in Kettle River.

County engineer Jin-Yeene Neumann gave a short presentation at the beginning of the hearing at the Transportation Building in Carlton, explaining that it not only costs an extra $15,000 to run but also is a safety issue because it is a one-man shop.

Neumann said the transportation department wants to move the grader and a pickup to the new county garage in Barnum and, when needed, deadhead (drive without doing any work) the grader to the Kettle River area to start its service in an area comprised of Split Rock, Automba, Kalevala and Silver Townships and the city of Kettle River. If the plan goes through, the county would sell the 1,800-square-foot Kettle River garage, which Neumann said has a market value of $52,900.

Several people spoke in opposition to the idea.

Bob Hattenberger of Split Rock Township said he had checked on figures through the city of Kettle River, Lake Country Power, and the company providing the fuel for this bid year. He felt the costs provided by the engineer were inflated. Hattenberger also had driven his pickup from the Barnum garage to Kettle River at 25 mph — a realistic speed of a grader on rough roads — and the trip had taken him most of an hour.

“As a former teacher, I see how important it is for the small school children to have a clear path to the school bus. The local grader keeps the school bus route open for the safety of the children,” said former elementary teacher and Kettle River resident Mary Sanders.

Supervisor Phil Lattu of Moose Lake Township spoke for his three-person board and said that the township has gone on record to oppose the closure. The township board felt that closing the facility will make poorer service for the area to the west of them. He said that service was just as important in the Kettle River area as it is in Esko.

At the end of the hearing, commissioner Gary Peterson made a motion to keep the Kettle River garage open after the strong showing during the hearing. “No one here thought it was a good idea to close the Kettle River shop,” he said.

County board chairman Tom Proulx refused to accept a motion after the hearing. He said the commissioners need time to think about it and it was not on the agenda as an action item. Peterson could make the same motion when the board considers the closure again.

The next county board meeting is set for 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 12.