Clearwater County HUD director to resign
The meeting of Clearwater County Commissioners on September 29, 2015 included the approval to send a letter to Robert Anderson, Chairman of Lessard-Sams Outdoor Heritage Council in opposition to their recommendation to fund the sale of Potlatch lands to White Earth Nation. The letter points out that Clearwater County stands to lose the property taxes currently collected on these lands and would affect the county, school district and townships, as well as increase the tax burden on those affected.
Land Commissioner Bruce Cox said that some in the Heritage Council are trying to make this a racial issue that Clearwater County does not want this land sale. He said this is a ridiculous charge, and the resolution has been in existence since 2008. It has to do with the loss of tax revenue here.
The letter sited Clearwater County’s resolution that will not support any government agency request to purchase private land unless the requesting agency can sell a similar value property to a private party to offset the tax base loss. This policy is recognized by the state, and the Commissioners are requesting that the Heritage Council honor the current policy in Clearwater County.
Clearwater County Housing & Redevelopment Authority (HRA) Board Chairman Joy Walberg announced to the Commissioners at the October 13, 2015 Board meeting that Tom Derby, local Executive Director of HUD will be resigning effective Oct. 30, leaving the County without anyone to run the program.
Board members Kent Backus and Cheryl Grover, as well as Laura Straw from the Bemidji HRA were also present. Derby has run the program for 32 years.
There are 75 (35 in Clearwater and 38 in Mahnomen County) in the rental assistance program; and 40 Clearwater County and 47 in Mahnomen County waiting for housing vouchers.
Advertisement for a replacement for Dorby has yielded no qualified candidates. The position salary is around $50,000, and requires a four year degree in business and accounting. Walberg and Straw indicated the position is a challenging one, with many responsibilities, including arranging for housing inspections and audits.
The regional HUD program was contacted, and said they are too understaffed and too overworked to take on the Clearwater County program.
The Bagley Board thought it would be better if another area could handle the local program. Chairman Walberg said they may have to dissolve the HRA Board and result in having no Housing Authority in Clearwater County. This would affect the many recipients in the area, as the money for Clearwater County's HRA funding would be in jeopardy.
Laura Straw from the Bemidji HRA came to the County Board meeting to discuss the possibility of their contracting the program until something more permanent could be determined. She said there is a lot of paperwork, and a lot of gathering of information needed in order to proceed.
Commissioner Dean Newland said he would not like to see the Clearwater County program become an extension of Beltrami County's program, but Straw said that would not be the case. Commissioner John Nelson said he thinks there is a two year waiting list in Clearwater County to get into the program.
Chairman Dan Stenseng requested that the Beltrami HRA bring some options to explore at the next Clearwater County Board meeting, October 20.
Environmental Services Director Dan Hecht sought and received approval to proceed with installation of a refuse compactor at the landfill for bypass waste. He said that haul costs can be cut by roughly one-third to one-half by increasing haul weights, so the current annual haul cost of about $23,000 will be reduced by about $10,000 in return for the initial investment of approximately $80,000.
The purchase includes the machine itself, installation of 3-phase power and an estimate of incidental electrical work. As haul costs and waste amounts increase, the amount of savings will increase also.
County Engineer Dan Sauvé brought the financial statement and bills for Board approval. The Board approved payment of the $35,607 of Highway Department bills.
The annual Road & Bridge Tour was set immediately following the Oct. 13 Board meeting. It included the pipeline new pumping station, culvert work projects, paving, and the site of the Bagley Casino in Falk Township.
The Auditor Treasurer received authorization to pay submitted invoices of $183,449 from County Revenue Fund and $55,096 from Nursing Service.
The Board also approved the publishing of the 2014 Financial Statement for Clearwater County.