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PINE RIVER - The Cass County Board voted to pledge $500 to match a grant Region 5 is seeking to establish a revolving low-interest loan fund to help people replace their well if that becomes necessary when they have to replace and relocate their failing sewer system.

Region 5 has offered a low-interest loan program the last decade to help people finance an individual sewer system replacement when their system fails. The new loan would serve as a complement to that program.

Since 2001, 113 people living in Cass, Crow Wing and Wadena Counties have obtained $511,681 in 3 percent interest Region 5 loans to upgrade their sewer systems. Thirty-nine were Cass residents; 23, Crow Wing County residents; and 50, Wadena County residents.

The program is available through Minnesota Department of Agriculture. It also helps people pay the cost to hook up when connection to a municipal system is mandated for persons currently on a private system.

Only one loan was in default at the end of 2009. When default occurs, the balance owed can be assessed against the property through property taxes. Over the last decade, only four loans have been referred to a county auditor for assessment.[[In-content Ad]]Cass County will reorganize the Assessing Department after eliminating a sales technician position and the income maintenance division of Health, Human, Human and Veterans Services after eliminating one of two financial assistance supervisor positions and converting from one to two financial assistance specialists (a lower pay grade). Both changes will result in cost savings to the county.

Sheriff Randy Fisher obtained board approval to apply for another $700,000 grant to help pay for the county's multimillion dollar conversion to the 800 megahertz ARMER emergency communications system upgrade. Fisher praised Chief Deputy Tom Burch and Emergency Services Director Kerry Swenson for their success in locating grants to help pay for this system.

Paula West, Leech Lake Area Watershed Foundation director, reported to the county board the foundation is in the process of selling the last two parcels to the DNR to complete 5,000 feet of lakeshore preservation on Lantern Bay of Woman Lake.

That small, ecologically sensitive bay had been platted and planned for development until neighbors on the lake and the watershed foundation intervened to preserve it.

West also reported, because of foundation efforts, several small bays on Ten Mile Lake now are being designated as low density rather than general development properties. This is the first lake in the state to receive multiple different zoning classifications based on differences in the shoreline and adjacent lake bed, she said.

Leech Lake watershed covers about half of Cass County and portions of Hubbard and Beltrami counties, according to West. About a third of the area is in federal, county or state land ownership.

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