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County makes progress with DNR on 249 land easement
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By Charlie Warner
Argus News Editor
Sometimes the squeaky wheel gets the grease. That appears to be the case with an issue that cropped up between the Houston County Highway Department and the Minnesota DNR.
County Highway Engineer Brian Pogodzinski reported at the Oct. 20 board meeting that the DNR is in the final stages of approving a land easement agreement the county has been trying to obtain for some time to conduct a road improvement project on County Road 249.
The county board sent letters to the state DNR and also to area state legislators expressing their anger over the lack of progress being made by the DNR concerning the easement needed for the 249 project.
The county needs a small parcel of land (just less than one-half acre) owned by the DNR to straighten out a sharp curve in the county road between Freeburg and the Mississippi River.
The project is near the Evangelical Free Church. Currently, the church parking lot is across the roadway from the church. When the project is completed, the parking lot will be next to the church.
The easement process was to take three weeks. It has now been nearly four months since the county submitted the final paperwork to the DNR.
“We’ve been working on this project for two or three years,” Pogodzinski told the board in September. “When we looked at purchasing the land from the DNR, we were told that could take years, while acquiring the land through a permanent easement should take about a month.”
While the county saw no progress before the letters were sent, the wheels of state government began to turn once the county’s displeasure over the issue reached DNR department heads and area legislators.
“From what I was told, we should receive approval by the DNR by next week,” Pogodzinski said last Tuesday.
In other board action:
Botcher Park project
Jamie Edwards of the Minnesota DNR informed the board of a bluff prairie restoration project her department would like to conduct at Botcher Park. Edwards explained the DNR would remove the cedar trees, buckthorn and other invasive shrubs in a five-acre tract of land along the bluff of the county-owned nature area located between Caledonia and Houston.
Edwards explained that the cedars and ground bushes prevent grass from growing on the bluffs, which precipitates the erosion of the bluffs. Oak and aspen would be left, which makes for good ground cover.
The bluff prairie restoration project would also improve rattle snake habitat.
“Do we really want to improve rattle snake habitat in a county park where we have people hiking,” Commissioner Tom Bjerke asked?
Edwards replied the number of rattle snakes in Southeast Minnesota has declined sharply in the last couple of decades. She noted that there has only been one “chance and encounter” bite in the past 15 years reported in the entire state.
“We won’t be planting any snakes here,” Edwards said. “This project will only improve the rattle snake habitat.”
The project will be funded through the new sales tax that was approved by Minnesota voters last fall.
Joint powers agreements
The board approved the county entering into two different joint powers agreements.
The first was with Region One Southeast Minnesota Homeland Security Emergency Management.
County Emergency Services Coordinator Kurt Kuhlers explained that Olmsted County had served as the fiscal agent for various state and federal flood relief programs for counties in this corner of the state. Olmsted County indicated it will no longer be serving that capacity. Region One Homeland Security Emergency Management will be handling this in the future.
Kuhlers noted there is about $1 million in state and federal grants still available to help with critical infrastructure planning.
“There’s a lot of money out there. Through this group, we should be able to handle all of the requirements to get the funds,” Kulhers said. There are 16 counties and the Prairie Island Indian Community that are included in this group.
The second joint powers agreement was the Southeast Region Mutual Aid agreement. This agreement is with the same 16 counties and the Indian community and provides for guidelines in offering mutual aid in the event of disasters. The only real change from the previous agreement was that agencies will provide the first eight hours of mutual aid free of charge. The previous agreement called for three hours of mutual aid free of charge.
State aid for county airport
The board approved the two-year airport maintenance and operation agreement with Mn/DOT for fiscal years 2010 and 2011. The county will receive up to $16,190 in state aid for the maintenance and operation of the airport each of the next two years.
Sign for CCS building
The board approved the low bid submitted by La Crosse Sign of $2,178 to design, construct and install a new sign at County Community Services, which houses Public Health, Veteran Services and County Extension.
Veteran Services Director Rob Gross said he will be able to utilize $1,200 from a federal marketing grant to help pay for the sign. The cost to the county will be $978 plus tax.
Added to AMC delegates list
County Human Resources Director Tess Arrick-Kruger asked to be added to the county’s delegation to the Association of Minnesota Counties. The county can have up to eight delegates. The list now includes the five county commissioners, County Financial Director Casey Bradley, Highway Engineer Brian Pogodzinski and Arrick-Kruger.
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