Board looks to get back to full strength

The Thirty Lakes Watershed District Board was short-handed on Monday.

The watershed board - which is normally made up of five persons - is down to three after the deaths of Bruce Yund and Tom Ebnet. Crow Wing County Commissioner Rosemary Franzen, who was at the watershed meeting, said the county board will vote Tuesday on appointments to the watershed board.

Board president Ken Svee and manager Gordy Hardy, who made a quorum, were the only managers present at the monthly watershed meeting. Manager Mark Young was absent because he was plowing snow for Lake Edward Township, Hardy said.

Because of a small board, several issues that were tabled from January's meeting were tabled again. One of the issues the watershed board has discussed is relocating the district office to make its location more visible to watershed constituents. For the past six years, the watershed office has been located on Commercial Park Road, a few miles north of Baxter off Barbeau Road, which is west of Highway 371.

Last month the watershed board conducted a public hearing on adopting a resolution to move its office farther north along Highway 371 to the Lakeview Center Office building, across from North Long Lake. The building currently is the site of Deborah Schey Salon and Car-Col Construction.

The public hearing came after an October vote where the board of managers voted to secure a three-year contract with Corky Smith, owner of the Lakeview Center Office building, that would allow the watershed to sub-lease the premises.

The watershed district would pay $1,200 a month for the office space. Currently, the watershed pays $900 a month, but its lease expired in March and the district has been paying for the space on a monthly basis.

The board has been discussing moving its office to be located within the watershed district boundaries to abide by state law. The current location is six miles outside the watershed district boundaries.

The watershed district in west central Crow Wing County covers approximately 70 square miles, of which 60 percent is covered by surface water. The district's main watershed includes Clark, Edward, Gladstone, Horseshoe, Hubert, North Long and Pelican lakes.

Hardy was to discuss a termination option with the landlord at the meeting, but said the landlord has not returned his call. Hardy then asked that the issue be tabled until a full board could discuss the relocation of the watershed office.

The board also tabled its discussion for the second time on making appointments to the watershed's advisory committee and making any revisions to its policy regarding what road or highway improvements would require a watershed district permit.

JENNIFER STOCKINGER may be reached at jennifer.stockinger@ brainerddispatch.com or 855-5851.