BEMIDJI -- The Beltrami County Board of Commissioners took action Tuesday to advance toward the building of a solid waste transfer station after being informed of new state funding.
Prior to the commission's regularly scheduled meeting, a work session was held where the board learned the Polk County Regional Group was successful in securing bonding money to address transfer station needs in Beltrami and Hubbard Counties.
The amount awarded by the state is $8 million, and is only for the first phase of the multi-county transfer stations project.
During the session, the board was asked to consider taking action to approve a recommendation from the Polk Solid Waste Advisory Board to enter into a contract with Wenck Associates for engineering and construction management services. Those services will include preliminary design and multi-site Capital Assistance Grant Program application work.
The contract with Wenck Associates is estimated at $60,000 with each county, along with the Polk County Regional Group, being responsible for $15,000. For Beltrami County, the $15,000 will come from the Capital Improvements Fund.
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The recommendation to enter into the contract and provide the $15,000 was added to the commission's consent agenda, which was approved during its regular meeting.
Following the consent agenda, the new Beltrami County Coroner, Dr. Roberta Zimmerman, took the oath of office, as the position is county appointed.
Zimmerman is a graduate of both the College of St. Scholastica and the University of Minnesota. She comes to the Beltrami position with 29 years of experience, including working as a deputy coroner in Itasca County and as St. Louis County assistant medical examiner.
"You have a really good system," Zimmerman said after taking the oath. "I've really enjoyed it so far, things have gone smoothly.”
Work Session Reports The commission also heard a pair of reports Tuesday before the regular meeting. The first was from Greg Nelson, Northwest Regional director for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, who discussed a 10-year strategic plan.
Nelson said the plan has goals in four categories: natural resources conservation, outdoor recreation, natural resources economy and operational excellence. Nelson added the agenda outlines challenges the state faces over the next 10 years in those four goals, and how the DNR plans to address them.
The second report came from Dave Hengel, executive director of Greater Bemidji. Hengel thanked the county for assisting in the Mayflower building project and described what the facility is now being used for and what tools and resources it offers to entrepreneurs.
