Another grant obtained for CSAH 1 work

BACKUS - Cass County Engineer David Enblom informed the county board Tuesday the county has been successful in obtaining a second federal million-dollar grant for paving a portion of County State-Aid Highway 1 this year.

That means the county will be able to set aside $1.2 million in a state aid match planned for that road section this year and be able to use that state aid to do work on another part of CSAH 1 a year sooner that planned.

All federal funds now will pay for the CSAH 1 segment running south from Pine River this year. The CSAH 1 section from CSAH 34 to 15 is scheduled for 2011 and now can be bid with an additional segment running from CSAH 15 to County Road 107. That section had been scheduled for a later date.

Because the two segments will be bid together in 2011, Enblom said he expects the combined, larger project to draw lower cost per mile bids. In addition to bituminous resurfacing, shoulders are being widened on CASH 1. It is a primary north-south artery in the county road system.

Tuesday, the county board awarded contracts to low bidders Charlie Swenson Aggregate and Construction for $126,192 (19.78 percent under engineering estimates) to provide gravel surfacing this summer on CSAH 25 and 28 and County Roads 103, 115 and 117; to William D. Scepaniak Inc. for $190,159.20 (3.56 percent under engineering estimates) to provide gravel surfacing this summer on CSAH 52, 57, 68, County Roads 136 and 158 and Forest Road 2112; and to Traffic Marking Services Inc. for $68,472.02 for paved road lane striping throughout the county.

Minnesota Department of Revenue has informed Cass County the county will receive $80,114.50 this year for the county's 10 percent share of taxes the state collected in 2009 from Leech Lake Reservation.

That is down from the $97,079.50 the county received last year, but higher than the $65,000 the county had anticipated when setting this year's budget.

Cass receives the tax money from the state, because of a tax agreement between the state and tribe and because there are two Indian-operated casinos located in the county.

Land Commissioner Joshua Stevenson obtained county board approval to proceed with a land exchange between the county and state to better consolidate each government's land holdings. The appraised value of the state and county land holdings is $984,000 each.

The intent of this exchange is to eliminate many of the instances where there may be an isolated county managed 40- or 80-acre parcel in the middle of a large tract of state land or the reverse ownership. When completed, there will be more areas where the state is the sole owner or the county is the sole owner, without odd parcels intermixed.

The parcels being exchanged lie in 14 south and central Cass townships.

Stevenson reported the county received a $925 Minnesota Trail Riders Association grant for a Minnesota Conservation Corps crew to clear horse trails in Deerfield Township.

The county board approved a contract with GeoComm of St. Cloud to do design work for the county's emergency communication system upgrade to meet the ARMER federally mandated requirements and to oversee implementation of the 800 MHg radio system. The project is expected to be implemented by 2011.

Cass will seek a $215,000 Homeland Security grant through Minnesota Department of Public Safety toward Cass's ARMER implementation and for radio equipment. Cass commissioners approved paying from the county's ARMER fund the 10 percent match required for a $183,674 aid to firefighters grant through FEMA to purchase upgraded radios for fire departments in the county.

Sheriff Randy Fisher reported the state has reduced funding from 50 percent to 25 percent for the inmate sentencing to service program. Commissioners told Fisher they expect to find local funding to keep that program running.

Cass will lose about $10,000 from the state for that program.