Board members still cannot find agreement on office space

BAXTER - The Thirty Lakes Watershed District Board was back to having a full membership Monday, but only three managers sat at the board table for the regular monthly meeting.

The Crow Wing County Board recently appointed Donald Otremba and Tom Sweningson to the watershed board who filled vacancies that occurred after the deaths of Bruce Yund and Tom Ebnet. Otremba sat at the table at the meeting with managers Gordy Hardy and Mark Young. Board president Ken Svee and Sweningson, who were out of state, attended the meeting via teleconferencing.

The watershed board again discussed relocating the district office to make its location more visible to watershed constituents and to have its office located within the watershed district boundaries to abide by state law. The current location is six miles outside the watershed district boundaries. For the past six years, the watershed office has been located on Commercial Park Road, a few miles north of Baxter off Barbeau Road, west of Highway 371.

The watershed board has already 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 of 2009 and the district has been paying for the space on a monthly basis.

On Monday, the watershed board discussed potentially renting space at Crow Wing County Land Services Building. Hardy said the county office location would be less expensive and conducting monthly meetings at Lake Edward Town Hall would fulfill the state law requirement.

Otremba said the county office seemed to be the sensible location for the watershed.

County Commissioner Rosemary Franzen, who acts as the watershed's county liaison, said the county location would be more convenient for constituents who'd need a building permit from the county and a permit from the watershed. Franzen also said that she's been to the watershed office a few times and no one is there. She said at the land services building someone would always be there during the week.

Sweningson questioned the authority on how the lease was signed with the Lakeview Center Office because he didn't see the resolution in the watershed meeting minutes. Svee signed the lease.

"It was all done backwards," said Young.

John Kolb, attorney at Rinke Noonan in St. Cloud, said if the watershed board plans to move to the county office space, the board should contact an attorney who specializes in real estate to address absolving the lease with Lakeview Center Office.

The board agreed to contact a real estate attorney to discuss lease options. The board also agreed to set a special meeting in about a week to make a decision on its relocation.

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