City must move forward

Tom Sorel made a smart move in the first few days of his appointment as Minnesota’s newly appointed transportation commissioner.
Sorel accepted a recommendation that allows Koochiching County to designate a county state aid highway within the city limits and to prepare final construction plans for it without city approval.
The action, stemming from recommendations of a Minnesota Department of Transportation Dispute Resolution Board, means that the county may move forward with its plan to relocate the northern entrance of Minnesota Highway 332 about one mile east of its existing location.
As result of his decision, the city basically filed suit against MnDOT and Sorel. While the council may cite several reasons for seeking the review of Sorel’s action by a Minnesota Court of Appeals, it seems more like a tantrum that may be thrown by a child that did not get it’s way.
It’s time for the International Falls City Council to accept the county’s long-standing plan for the new portion of the highway and move forward.
The council has tied together the vacation of the Burner Road to the creation of this new portion of Highway 332. While the council has maintained its concern is about safety on the Burner Road, it has said it will not vacate the road unless the new portion of Highway 332 leads to a foreign trade zone that has yet to yield results.
As the council moves forward, we envision a number of directions it could take. Among them, the council should prepare plans that would describe an off shoot of this new portion of Highway 332 that would lead to a foreign trade zone. County commissioners have said all along the process that they will be among the supporters of a road to the FTZ when and if a company makes serious inquiries about locating in the FTZ. We’ve heard from some contractors that such a truck road could take just a few months to construct.
The council also ought to consider how this issue has again divided our community. A presentation about the city’s strategic plan to the county board this week appeared to fall flat. And it’s no wonder. The council has encouraged cooperation among governments, and yet it appears that the council has attempted to push its own agenda on the Highway 332 issue without regard to the county board’s reasoning.
Clearly, differences in opinion on issues are expected and, like Falls Mayor Shawn Mason said, it’s OK to agree to disagree. However, it seems the council doesn’t just disagree, it has taken action to halt the county’s plans and that isn’t OK.
Sorel is expected to bring an engineer’s expertise on issues to the department. He’s made the right call, based on the facts and without emotional baggage, on this one.