The Polk County Commissioners on Tuesday approved the final plat for the Simon Second Addition on Union Lake. The plat consists of 14 lots, seven of which can have cabins built on them explains Jake Snyder, the Polk County Planning and Zoning Administrator. “It’s seven riparian lots, that touch the lake, and then seven backlots,” said Snyder. “It’s configured in a manner where they aren’t directly across from each other. That’s why we put some language in there that the backlots are intended for sale to the front lot owners. The backlots are kind of shaped in an L and have some restrictions as to what those lots are intended. As backlots they are shed use only, you can’t build cabins on them because they aren’t sized for that.”
The lots will be available for sale once the final recording of the plat is completed in mid-June. “There is a final recording stage that needs to take place within 60 days,” said Snyder. “One that plat is finally recorded the lots can be legally sold.”
Snyder also shared his interpretation of the J & S Gravel Mining Operations on Highway 2 were on two separate pits in different stages of operation and neither individually reached the 40-acre threshold requiring an Environment Assessment Worksheet (EAW) or Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). “The interpretation is that both operations are being mined by J & S Gravel, but one is inactive and has been since 2012,” said Snyder. “The DNR does a three-year look back typically on their mining operations and so if you look back there is no activity on the site. What they typically do is excavate the site, get the materials out and then there is a washing and staging the materials for hauling and using. There are rock resources, sand resources, and Class 5 gravel.”
The pit no longer in operation is owned by Madeline Dufault and Snyder said the restoration plan calls for a 25-acre pond and with grass slopes when the remaining material being staged at the pit is removed. “When you take out gravel you obviously have all that material go back into the ground,” said Snyder. “That’s why on that restoration plan it has a 25-acre pond and sloped and grass vegetated sides. Nobody wants sheer cliffs going to the resource, they want gradual slopes. They try to do those at a three-to-one slope so people out there, say snowmobiling, aren’t going off a gorge or whatever. With that pit being privately owned it’s not driven by a lot of the standards in place with state rule and in Polk County zoning ordinance mining is an allowed principle use. If they were in shoreland or floodplain areas there are strict applications of a lot of our rules, but being in ag districts they are typically ones that have relaxed rules because they aren’t by a river or lake or something like that feature.”
The commissioners approved an amendment to the Career Force/Snap program with an increased cost of $34,900 and approved a contract with Sanford Health in Thief River Falls for behavioral health services through a grant. Polk County’s is administering the grant on behalf of eight counties, Kittson, Mahnomen, Marshall, Norman, Pennington, Polk, Red Lake and Roseau.
Approved on the commissioner’s consent agenda were the commissioner warrants and sign audit list; a payment for credit card purchases to Card Member Services for $17,252.34; payment for Lost Warrant No. 523208 to Bydal Signs for $155.00, payment to Johnson Controls of Dallas, TX for $1,171.08 for setup, labor, mileage and material fees for control room setup and rooftop unit service for the Facilities Department; payment to Troy Schill of Thompson, ND for $5,070.00 for labor and materials for the Facilities Department; payments to Hewlett Packard, Inc. for $1,839.88 for computer purchases and $64.00 for wireless mouse purchases for the IT Department; payment to SHI of Dallas, TX for $9,360.00 for a web filter for the IT Department; payment to Service Pro Parts of Crookston, for $198.24 for vehicle maintenance for the sheriff’s office.
Polk County Public Health received a $200 donation from the Crookston Matrons Club in support of their Statewide Health Improvement Partnership (SHIP) and Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program. Director Sarah Reese also requested to advertise and hire for a nurse practitioner position that is coming and open and had a contract approved for services with Altru Clinic to fill the gap the vacancy creates until the position is filled. “We are going to be advertising and hiring for a nurse practitioner position,” said Reese. “That position is a partnership with Norman and Mahnomen. In the meantime, we have a contract set up Altru Clinic. Our medical consultant is Dr. Dorman so setting up the contract with Altru was best for us and will allow us to not have a gap in services.”
The services provided will be for Family Planning and Sexual Health Services, including pregnancy tests, sexually transmitted infection testing, women’s annual exams, counseling, education, and birth control. A group from Keystone Township raised concerns with the commissioners over a proposed Red Lake River Watershed District ditch project, which the commissioners said they would need to look into to answer questions as it wasn’t a county project.
