County administrator talks YMCA costs for taxpayers

There was a meeting of the Cook County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday, Aug. 21. The following discussion and action items occurred during Tuesday’s meeting.
 
Land Exchange
Cook County Attorney Molly Hicken opened Tuesday’s meeting with a discussion about a land exchange involving the county and the U.S. Forest Service. The long-planned land exchange between the Forest Service and the county involves land located within and outside of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and the deal is nearing completion. Once the land swap is complete, a new arrangement needs to be in place regarding right of way for utility lines for the Lutsen based Arrowhead Electric Cooperative.

Hicken also discussed an updated land-lease agreement with the Maple Hill Volunteer Fire Department and their fire hall building. Each of these agenda items presented by Hicken focused on keeping Arrowhead utility lines and the right of ways where they are located, as well as the fire hall under similar terms after the land exchange takes place.

The land exchange and conversation on this topic date back several decades and are something the county originally aimed to complete by 2015, according to Commissioner Heidi Doo-Kirk. Hicken said the land exchange seems closer than it has ever been, but said she did not want to make any promises on a completion date.
 
Budget Talks
The county’s 2019 budget was a focus of Tuesday’s meeting. Cook County Auditor-Treasurer Braidy Powers shared updates and information on the overall budget. Powers said there will be reductions to the budget for next year regarding maintenance staff at the YMCA, a county-owned building. Powers said there will be a reduction in the number of staff hours allocated to the facility in 2019. Other staff changes at the county level include personnel with IT department, human resources department, community center, sheriff’s department and public health and human services. Specifics on staff changes at these departments will be forthcoming, Powers said. Some of the staff changes will decrease expenses, while others will add hours to the county’s payroll. If all changes were approved, the staff changes would have an overall impact of just over 2.4 percent on the budget, according to Powers. There were no requests or action items made during Tuesday’s meeting of the county board, this was just information being shared and possible requests coming from the varying departments, according to Powers.

Specific to the YMCA and county expenses, Powers said the YMCA will now be considered in the general fund for the county rather than as a stand-alone item. The county is budgeting for more than $100,000 in additional expenses for the YMCA in 2019, he added, though that figure could change.

County Administrator Jeff Cadwell said the county needs to speak with the city of Grand Marais to increase its share of expenses toward the YMCA, as well as renew the contract it has with the city regarding the YMCA.

Under current proposals and increased expenses through various departments and staff changes, as well as adding the YMCA to the general fund rather than as a stand-alone item, the general fund for the county’s budget would increase by more than 12 percent this year.

In addition to the general fund budget discussion, representatives from the local Economic Development Authority were present to provide input on the EDA’s budget for next year. The EDA is asking for a 5 percent increase, or approximately $14,000, in their budget request from the county in 2019.

Howard Hedstrom and Scott Harrison both shared information with the county board regarding the EDA’s budget requests. Harrison discussed some of the accomplishments and expenses of the EDA in 2018, including the development at Superior National Golf Course, working with small, local businesses through a contracted position, workforce housing projects in Grand Marais and Lutsen, as well as other accomplishments the EDA is working on into 2019. Hedstrom said the ongoing projects include more housing projects and addressing the worker shortage in Cook County, and that more lots have sold in the business park.

Commissioner Bursheim thanked the EDA for their efforts in addressing key local issues, including housing and the worker shortage.

Commissioner Jan Sivertson said there were many accomplishments the EDA made in 2018, and their budget for 2019 seems “quite reasonable.”
 
Administrator Update
Near the end of Tuesday’s meeting, Cadwell shared updates with the board on a variety of topics. Cadwell continued the conversation about the budget process this year, including the fact staff changes will happen at some point in the future at the Cook County Community Center, either in the form of adding additional staff, or when longtime Director Diane Booth retries from her post.

Following Tuesday's meeting, Cadwell spoke with WTIP's Joe Friedrichs about funding for the YMCA in 2019.