Cass County Board:Building permit activity continues to rise

   WALKER — Overall permit activity for 2022 continues to slightly increase over the near-record year of 2021 reported Environmental Services Department Director Jeff Woodford at the Tuesday, Nov. 1 Cass County Board meeting.

   Woodford reported although permit activity is up 2.4% over 2021, total permit revenue is down 9.31% over the previous year.  The department feels this decrease is due to  a later spring start and fewer large-scale homes, additions and septic systems installed, and rather more accessory structures and smaller additions permitted. Due to this decrease in revenue the department plans to have the 

Environmental Service Department (ESD) Growth Solutions Committee discuss and possibly propose an increase to fees for 2023, which will be considered during the Dec. 8 public hearing with the 2023 budget.

   Additionally, during Woodford’s report, it was stated the solid waste volumes continue to be at record levels. A total of 15,328.72 tons of garbage has been collected through September versus 14,423.82 tons during 2021, which is a 6.27% increase. Recycled material has also shown a 1% increase during the first three quarters, from 2314.4 to 2337.44 tons.

   Cass County Sheriff’s Department Lieutenant Chris Thompson shared the annual jail inspection report with the board by stating there was a total of ten mandatory non-compliances. Out of those ten, only two were compliances with concerns, however the jail is expected to have a 100% compliance rating and after the inspection only had a 93.6% rating. Thompson, stated some of the compliance issues are minor issues requiring signatures or the needing of a written policy documented. 

   In other business, the county board:

   • Heard a report back from the ESD Growth Solutions Committee and approved the recommendation of having Tessia Melvin with DDA Human Resources, Inc change the grade rating for the position of ESD Deputy Director to County Planner.

   • Approved a Memorandum of Understanding between the Counties of Aitkin, Carlton, Cass, Itasca and St. Louis to plan and implement protection and restoration efforts for the Mississippi River-Grand Rapids Watershed.

   • Approved the updated “Guide to Requesting Information from Cass County” and the inventory of Non-Public Data on Individuals, and the allowance to post on the Cass County website.

   • Approved the final payment for a contract which included ground-in pavement messages applied to county roads at railroad tracts and stop locations throughout all of Cass County on paved roadways. The total contract cost was $98,599.11.

   • Approved the final payment for a contract  which included resurfacing County State Aid Highway (CSAH) 1 from Pine River to east County Line. It also included a safety improvement at the intersection of CSAH 1 and CSAH 44 with the construction of a new roundabout. The total contract cost was $1,789,821.43.

   The next meetings are as follows: Commissioner’s board meeting, 9 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 15 at the Land Department Meeting Room in Backus; joint meeting with the Leech Lake band of Ojibwe, 10 a.m. Monday, Nov. 28 at Northern Lights Casino, 6800 Y Frontage Rd NW, Walker; AMC Annual Conference Monday, Dec. 5 through Wednesday, Dec. 7 at Double Tree Hotel Bloomington - Minneapolis South, 7800 Normandale Boulevard, Minneapolis and commissioner’s board meeting, 3 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 8 at the boardroom in the courthouse annex in Walker, along with the 2023 Cass County Fee Schedule, Budget and Property Tax Levy beginning at 6 p.m.