June 10, 2021 at 1:12 p.m.
Cass Board opposes petition to place in trust Antler's Ridge property
The board's action followed an appeal from neighbors who said the area in Turtle Lake and Shingobee Townships is served by a public road that would be insufficient to handle added traffic from a development.
Leech Lake Band's proposal in its petition to the BIA indicates the band's plan to develop homestead and/or commercial recreational leased lots or a commercial resort development on the site. The property includes 89.31 acres.
In opposing the plan, the county board cited a potential conflict with the county comprehensive plan, which calls for new developments to be centered around cities and other areas served by municipal sewer and water systems. The county also states the existing road to that area is already at capacity.
The county notes the neighborhood has opposed private development for the property in the past due to the same concerns.
If placed in trust for the band, the property would become property tax exempt, thus not contribute to any new infrastructure needed to serve new development. It also would no longer fall under county zoning regulations covering development density.
In a July 11 letter to the BIA on an earlier petition, Leech Lake Band Chair Carri Jones states, "Our primary motivation for this application is to increase our sorely deficient land base."
She states the band currently owns less than 4 percent of its original 680,000 acres or 27,000 acres now held in trust.
"The band will continue to work aggressively to overturn these statistics," she wrote.
These comments were made concerning the band's application earlier this summer to place in trust land the band owns on Shingobee Island. The county objected to that application, citing concerns about the band becoming exempt from contributing to the community sewer and water system on the small island and concerns about stalled development on the parcels they sought to have placed in trust.
Jones also stated to the BIA that the county has a historic pattern of opposing most band applications for trust land, with the exception of the property for the tribal college.
The county and band have worked cooperatively on road improvements recently. That continued Tuesday when the county board agreed to increase its contribution to a joint project to reconstruct County Road 143 and pave it and to construct a trail along County State Aid Highway 75, because bids came in 27.7 percent over engineering estimates.
The board awarded the contract to low bidder Casper Construction for $1,363,625. Three other bids ran as high as 44.68 percent over estimates. Second publication rights after Brainerd Dispatch.
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