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The County Board last week rejected a bid for purchase of a 10 acre parcel in Rushseba Township  that at one time was used for a gravel pit.  County Administrator Chase Burnham explained that because this site is not being processed under tax forfeiture rules, they could put the property on the market again whenever they wish.

The parcel is valued at $90,000 in county tax records and the one bid was about $10,000.  

As a county-owned property it hasn’t been generating any revenue in property tax,  and Commissioner Jim Swenson commented that a possible sale was “better than nothing,” He agreed with the Board, however, that the offer falls way short of what could be expected.

Watch for a potential future re-listing of the acreage.

Commissioner Districts 1 and 5 have vacant seats on the Extension Committee, as  the district one member stepped down and the district 5 committee member expressed their plans to not re-apply at the end of December.  The district one seat was part way into a three year term and would run until 2027 and district five is for three years starting 2026.  Dist. 1 is Ben Montzka’s area and Dist 5 is represented by Dan Dahlberg and you can contact them for details.

Extension Committee meets in North Branch the fourth Tuesday of the month at 7 p.m. Call 651-213-8830 for an application.

There was a request from the Sherburne County Board for Chisago County to join an association which is working to get the nuclear moratorium lifted.  The “MN Nuclear Energy Alliance” is pursuing legislative action to repeal the statewide halt on nuclear power generation.

The request was part of general correspondence and none of the county commissioners was prepared to discuss or act on the issue.

Commissioner Montzka said he has no expertise in this area of public policy and he’d have to see much more background on pros and cons.  Commissioner Dahlberg suggested the Board advise Sherburne it tabled the request to get involved, until after the Association of MN Counties holds its annual conference in December and the issue can be reviewed with other counties.   Dahlberg added the county would just be expressing its preference and realistically counties have no say in siting a project the size of a power plant.

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