Falls City Council claims state board violated state law, By LAUREL BEAGER, Editor

Council says new MnDOT commissioner should know about violations

International Falls City Council will send a letter to the newly appointed Minnesota Department of Transportation commissioner claiming that the city’s rights and responsibilities within state law have been violated by the actions of a state dispute resolution board.
City Attorney Joe Boyle told The Journal, following a closed session of the Falls council Monday, that the city has learned that the League of Minnesota Cities chief legal council Tom Grundhefer is writing Transportation Commissioner Tom Sorel explaining the violation of the city’s right to approve the establishment and designation of a county state aid highway and also its responsibility to approve plans as set out in state law.
Boyle said the city plans to send a similar letter to the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office.
Taking any legal action would be premature at this time, Boyle said following the meeting.
At issue are a number of factors regarding Koochiching County’s plan to reroute the northern entrance to Minnesota Highway 332 one mile north of its existing entrance.
The city maintains that if the highway is rerouted it should lead to a foreign trade zone east of International Falls. The council has said it will move forward to vacate a portion of Highway 332 known as the Burner Road as requested for safety reasons by Boise Inc., if the new road is routed to the FTZ.
The city claims that the Minnesota Department of Transportation’s board should not have been convened April 11 because the city’s lack of action on the county’s request to change county state aid highway status on certain roads does not constitute a dispute.
The resolution board said the county could designate the new portion of Highway 332 as CSAH 115 during construction without city approval. The city claims that the city engineer, Mike LaFrance, has detailed legitimate concerns that need to be addressed prior to considering the county’s request.
The board also said the county can approve engineering plans for proposed CSAH 115, while the city claims that the plans have not been drafted nor submitted to the city.
To take effect, Sorel must accept the board’s recommendations. Boyle said it’s important that the new transportation commissioner understands that the city believes the board violated state law.
“The league is writing the letter, not only because the city’s responsibilities have been abrogated by both the county and state, but because this is an important issue for all cities,” Boyle said.
Earlier in the meeting, Boyle said city officials are confident that state law prohibits the county project without city approval and approval of its plans.
In addition, U.S. Highway 53 business owners Tim Shuff and Barry Sherwood asked questions about the MnDOT board’s action.
“If people apply the law we wouldn’t have a problem,” Boyle said. “If people ignore the law, we could have a problem.”
Meanwhile, the council said it would work to determine whether the city is responsible for a portion of Highway 332 known as the Burner Road, indicating that county officials now believe the county has authority over the road.
Falls Mayor Shawn Mason said the city is ready to make investments in safety on the road by increasing police patrols, adding flashers and a speed indicator.
“If that road is not our responsibility, but in the city limits, we have the responsibility to make sure the county does it,” she said of the safety measures.
Audience members applauded when Councilor Gail Rognerud said the county and state are ignoring the voices of a number of Highway 53 business owners who oppose the reroute of Highway 332 because of fears it will hurt their businesses.

Taxing district
In other business Monday, the council agreed to support establishment of a taxing district to pay for Falls Recreation Commission youth activities.
The council also agreed to phase out over a four-year period the $60,000 it provides to the commission annually.
City Councilor Gail Rognerud, who represents the city on the commission, told the council that the phase out of the money would occur incrementally over the four years and would ensure that a number of ongoing projects are completed.
Rec commission members Joe Schwartz, Gordy Dault and Roger Jerome said the proposal to establish a taxing district would be brought to the Koochiching County Board today. The boundary of the district would encompass the Falls school district and generate an estimated $165,000 each year.
Depending on time lines, the county could establish the district so the money could be collected in 2009 if officials act quickly, said city Administrator Rod Otterness.
Fees now ranging from $35 to $125 per student could be cut should the county agree to establish the district, said Schwartz said. Rognerud noted that the district has one of the highest recreation fee schedules in the state, and the costs prohibit some families from allowing their children to participate.
Should the county not establish the district, Schwartz said the commission would consider doubling fees for students who live outside the city limits.
Otterness said the support from the city extends beyond its annual funding in the commission’s use of city infrastructure. In addition, he noted that 40-50 percent of the people who use the rec commission programs live outside the city limits.
“It would be tragic if we’ve already identified that the fees were too high and we end up doubling them for those outside the city,” he said. “I hope the commission is successful.”
Building project
The council Monday also agreed to support a proposal by the Good Samaritan Society of International Falls to rebuild its nursing home to include 48 beds and add a 20-bed assisted living facility on the Duluth Clinic — International Falls site on Keenan Drive.
The council also pledged support for wetland mitigation, if needed in the project.
Adam Coe, administrator of the Falls Good Samaritan facility, said the estimated $13 million project is intended to meet the changing needs of the community. The assisted living facility would include private rooms with private bathrooms and the nursing home rooms would be developed in “neighborhood” pods.
“It will be much different than we offer now,” he said.
The project is contingent on approval of the society’s Executive Management Council, expected in July; applying for and receiving state funding; a successful fundraising effort; and the city and county assisting with any wetland mitigation issues.