June 10, 2021 at 1:12 p.m.

Cass Commissioners name replacement for retiring county engineer


By MONICA LUNDQUIST- | Comments: 0 | Leave a comment

LAKE SHORE-Cass County commissioners Tuesday selected Darrick Anderson from among seven applicants to succeed retiring County Engineer David Enblom.

Anderson will join the county no later than Nov. 21 and work with Enblom until Enblom officially retires in April 2017.

In addition to being a registered professional engineer in Minnesota, North Dakota and Wisconsin, Anderson also holds a restricted individual sewage treatment system designer license in Minnesota.

He has managed the transportation construction group for Bolton and Menk Inc. in Baxter since September 2012. Previously, he worked for Westwood Professional Services of Baxter and St. Cloud and Landecker and Associates Inc. of Pequot Lakes and Walker.

Anderson has a diverse background in highway design and construction.

He has been chairman of the board of trustees at Zion Lutheran Church in Brainerd. He enjoys hunting and fishing for recreation.

He will be appointed to serve to May 2017, the state-set month for county boards to appoint highway engineers. At that time, the county board will decide whether to extend his appointment to a regular four-year term.

In other highway business Tuesday, Enblom reported he has taken action to re-combine the county-owned highway garage and post office properties into one parcel.

The property was divided into two parcels, because there were two uses and it seemed to make sense at the time last year.

Subsequently, a sewer line was run across last fall from the existing office building (part of which the county leases to the U.S. Postal Service) to the anticipated new county highway garage. All that remained was to connect the line now that the new garage is nearing completion.

The state changed its rules in January this year. It now requires a separate connection for each property to a municipal sewer line.

This would mean Cass County would not only have to pay a separate $3,000 connection fee to Pine River Area Sanitary District, but also would have to pay for removing a portion of the paved street curb and gutter and replacing that. It would have to run a new line from the street and abandon the line from the post office building.

"Patches never work as well as the original pavement," Enblom said. So, the two parcels will be reunited. The line running from the post office to the new garage building can still be used as originally planned, he said. The board approved the property reconnection.

Korby Contracting Company Inc. presented the low bid of six to replace the Wabedo Township bridge on Sioux Camp Road. The contract the county board approved Tuesday is contingent upon Wabedo Township Board approving their $20,000 share and contract terms. State township bridge bonding money will pay the balance and be channeled through the county. Korby's $502,696.03 bid was 15.83 percent below engineering estimate. Only two of the six bids exceeded the estimate.

Enblom said the Legislature's failure to approve a transportation bill this year means there is little money available for bridge projects, so bridge contractors are looking for more work.

The county board signed a letter of support for Leech Lake Band's application for a safety grant to install a pedestrian trail parallel with County State Aid Highway 13 (Onigum Road) on the south side of Leech Lake.

Cass will use McLaughlin Auctioneers again this year to sell in an online auction used county highway equipment, county vehicles and other miscellaneous equipment. The three week auction will begin about Oct. 1 and close Oct. 19.

Chief Financial Officer Sandra Norikane informed the board proceeds from this year's sale will be set aside in a separate capital equipment fund, to be used for future new county equipment purchases.

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