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Four of five county commissioners handled a short agenda last week with Commissioner Jim Swenson absent.  

The County Board heard during an open public forum from the owner of a property on Rush Lake;  that was the topic of a  Township Board supervisor complaint, also in public comment, a few meetings ago.  Phou Sivilay told the commissioners he was unaware of offensive behavior by short term rental (STR)occupants at the property. He is working with local authorities to curtail unwanted activity and “doing a better job” of vetting the people who use the short term rental.  He is having neighbors contact him directly when issues arise.

The property on Bayside Avenue is a large residence and Sivilay said a lot of the time the people on site are members of his extended family, but he does rent the property to outside users periodically.  He apologized if any local citizens were inconvenienced or had complaints  not being addressed earlier, and said “events” are not happening any longer.

Short term rental uses are not bed and breakfast or hotel/motel operations.  They fall under a specific set of rules under an ordinance adopted by Chisago County in 2020.

The STR locations in areas under the county zoning jurisdiction are to be licensed, and there are standards the sites need to meet. There is a license fee to cover costs of consulting and inspection of $300.  If you have any questions concerning operating a short term rental ask the Environmental Services Office at 651-213-8370 or see the county website and go down from Departments to Environmental Services. The left side of this page lists services, permits and click on “short term rentals.”

In other business:

You may notice low flying aircraft after the leaves drop from trees. These are performing a service under contract for digital photography for the assessor’s office, for GIS mapping and other functions.

The Board approved a new 2025 upgraded imaging service with Eagleview.  The contract is paid for through the county Recorder Compliance Fund.  There will be images developed at twice the resolution and clarity of the images created in the 2022 flights.

The wheelage tax was on the agenda, but no real discussion was had minus Commissioner Swenson. Plus— the state law that authorized all counties to enact this (as of 2013) only allows for the wheelage tax to be adopted in August for the year following.  Chisago County in setting a preliminary maximum budget and levy for 2025, had reviewed the historic revenues from the tax.  It can be $20 per vehicle (not motorcycles) kept at a local address but it is at $10 now.

Board Chair Marlys Dunne remarked that most of her constituents when learning about this support it, knowing the proceeds are dedicated to road and bridge needs.  Chisago collects an average of $561,689 annually at the $10 level.  (Chart and levy meeting story in Press Sept 26.)

Chase Burnham, county administrator, advised that 2026 is the soonest any revision of the wheelage tax could be made effective.

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