County talks of 'breaking bread' with Band

Members of the Carlton County board and the Fond du Lac tribal council are scheduled to meet in June.

The entities meet twice annually, and the topic of how the county ought to host the meeting came up during the board’s March 14 meeting in Carlton.

When Fond du Lac conducts the meetings, attendees are greeted with a catered meal. Historically, that has not been the case when the meetings are hosted by the county.

“When they come here, we get them donuts and strawberries,” said county coordinator Dennis Genereau, who sought state guidance on the possibility of the county upping its catering game.

He reported to the board that if the meetings are conducted during mealtimes and related to public matters then the county would be OK with improving its mealtime offerings. Both of those factors are in place, he said.

“We’re there to do business,” Genereau said.

The meetings usually begin in the morning, are held over the lunch hour and tend to span several hours, as the sides work their way through robust agendas.

The commissioners and department heads were in unison to support a better meal offering. No vote was required on the matter.

“When it’s Fond du Lac’s time to host, they’re very generous and serve a great meal,” county auditor Kevin DeVriendt said. “I would just exercise some caution about the extravagance of the meal provided when it’s our turn, because I don’t know that we can match what they’re doing.”

County attorney Lauri Ketola agreed.

“Culturally, it’s an important thing to do,” Ketola said. “Part of Native American culture is breaking bread and sharing a meal together.”

During the discussion, county officials highlighted another aspect of the meetings: only two commissioners attend the meetings, meaning it’s not a public meeting and, thus, closed to news media and public attendees.

“Only two [commissioners] show up intentionally, so it’s not an open meeting,” Genereau said.

The Pine Knot News asked county officials about the practice. Items discussed by the jurisdictions generate public interest — for instance, smaller roads moved from one jurisdiction to another, or an elk pen previously approved on county land to help with the Band’s reintroduction of the animal regionally.

“We intentionally have two commissioners, so that it’s not an open meeting,” Ketola said. “Because that’s how you get Fond du Lac to sit down and have conversations.”

She continued.

“It’s very advantageous for the county to have those conversations and if that’s the only way we can have them and we’re still complying with the law, then it makes sense to have them,” Ketola added. “We get a lot of stuff done.”

A lot of issues that unite the county and Band are matters related to justice, including child protection and discussions over the disproportionate number of tribal members passing through county jail.

Ketola described the interactions as “meaningful and helpful,” in guiding how the County Attorney’s Office conducts ongoing legal matters with the Band and its members.

The newspaper sought a response from the Band about the joint meetings, but did not receive one.

Ketola noted that nothing official happens at the meetings, and that anything requiring a board vote or the full attention of the board would surface later at a county board meeting.

Commissioner Gary Peterson asked that the topic of the county’s half-cent sales tax be put on the upcoming agenda. The Band does not collect the tax for the county.

The extra half-cent sales tax was approved by the state legislature and began last decade as a way of catching up with transportation projects. It generates roughly $2 million per year for county road work.

Commissioner Dick Brenner said the county owns roughly 2,500 acres of land on the reservation “that they would like to have.”

“We’re willing to trade some of that,” Brenner added.

The meetings with the tribe are not the only closed meetings commissioners take part in. For example, negotiations with unions are always closed, as are many personnel matters that come before the board. Committee meetings with department heads that feature only one or two commissioners are also not public meetings. Only when a quorum of commissioners (three of five) is present are the meetings public, a fact confirmed by DeVriendt.

The meeting with the Band is scheduled for June 21 at the Government Services Center in Cloquet.