When the Wright County Board of Commissioners first learned of an encroachment into Stanley Eddy Park by a gravel mining operation in May, 2001, they didn’t want to believe it.
After all, the property lines were pretty well defined and the encroachment was significant.
More than a year later at the Aug. 6 meeting of the county board, the county and Bauerly Bros. Inc. reached an agreement that will resolve the matter to the satisfaction of both sides. The end was a far cry from when the county first learned that Bauerly has crossed into park land to mine gravel.
“We were shocked and disappointed when we first found out what went on out there,” commissioner Pat Sawatzke said.
“But since then, we’ve had good cooperation and can put this behind us.”
As part of the comprehensive agreement, Bauerly will provide the county with a piece of property adjoining Stanley Eddy Park as a replacement property.
In addition, the company will reclaim its Southside Township gravel pit, approved a new “hours of operation” agreement, restore the area encroached by the mining and put a sunset on the mining operation of June 1, 2009. The last part of that agreement was critical, since there was no sunset period on the pit before, because it grandfathered in when the county’s gravel pit ordinance was adopted after the last conditional use permit was granted in 1989.
For the board, it was a productive resolution to an ugly problem and is something that both the county and Bauerly are glad to put behind them.
“I think this is a win-win for us, finally,” commissioner Ken Jude said.
“I think we got some things out of this and we can finally put this whole matter to rest.”
In other items on the Aug. 6 agenda, the board:
– Approved money be taken for replacement and repair of culverts damaged by flooding out of the county’s general fund. County Highway Engineer Wayne Fingalson estimated the cost of the repairs could go as high as $300,000, but only 10 percent of that cost will be county costs.
Sawatzke said that the work is needed, adding, “This is why we have reserves.
If you’re not going to use them for things like this, there’s no reason to have them.”
– Approved a contract for construction of CSAH 75 in Monticello, awarding the contract of $2.38 million to Buffalo Bituminous. The board recessed the meeting twice to allow more time for the contract to be looked over, since the project was scheduled to begin Aug. 12. The bid was $52,000 more than county estimates, but the actual county share of the construction did not go over the estimates for its share. The board also considered laying over the bids until later in year in hopes of getting a better bid, but city officials requested the bids to be accepted and the contract awarded so construction could get underway immediately.
– Scheduled a meeting for 9 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 8, to view County Road 21 for damage done from June flooding. For a month, the road was underwater after the ditch system around the road failed. The viewing is part of the process the county is undertaking for applications for disaster relief through FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Act) funding.
– Scheduled a closed meeting for 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 3, to discuss labor negotiation strategies for the next union bargaining sessions.
– Laid over for one week a request from a landowner complaining that she had to pay a $125 filing before going to the board of adjustment for a determination that her property now qualifies for building. She had to spend $8,700 in sewer assessments for three pieces of property and feels an additional $125 fee for a property that obviously has been deemed able to have a house built on it is excessive. The board laid over the matter until Planning and Zoning administrator Tom Salkowski could provide his input.
– Accepted payment of 25 $1 bills from the Fair Haven Mill Foundation for renewing a 25-year lease agreement. The mill, which is Wright County property located in Stearns County, was originally leased to the non-profit foundation in 1977, with a stipulation that when the first 25-year agreement expired, it could be renewed with the same conditions at the same price.
– Acknowledged receipt of a request from the City of Waverly that the county conduct a comprehensive study on the north fork of the Crow River watershed system. The board concluded that, in the coming months, many areas are going to make similar requests following the massive flooding in areas of the county.
– Scheduled a meeting for 1 p.m. Monday, Sept. 16, to meet with officials from the state Department of Natural Resources, the Army Corps of Engineers, the Wright Soil and Water Conservation District to discuss flooding concerns on Waverly and Little Waverly Lakes.
– Reappointed Marvin Brunsell to a three-year term on the Clearwater River Watershed District Board of Managers.