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It was impossible to ignore the fact there is an employee strike underway at Chisago County; as overflow crowds spilled out of the County Board meeting room last week, and streetcurbside and  parking lot spaces were filled at the Government Center.

The commissioners moved the open microphone agenda item up to the start of the June 17 meeting rather than holding it at the end. 

Speakers are allotted three minutes.  One talked of growing up in a union family and the protections this provided. Another described their job providing child protective services house calls and explained the dedication necessary to walk alongside people in certain hazardous environments.  

The vocal  fervor carried into the public hearing the Board had set for that night, meant to review and act on suggested septic system ordinance revisions.  

The proposed action, to allow licensed septic inspectors (authorized agents) in the private sector,  to do point of sale inspections, aroused audience members who testified that amending the ordinance was retribution against strikers.

Retired county sanitarian Kelli Strobel commented in the public hearing on her concerns with private sector inspections, asking if this is being considered because of the strike.   

Commissioner Marlys Dunne said mis-information must be circulating because there is no proposal to reduce staffing in Environmental Services by allowing non-county inspectors to sign off on systems.  She termed it as an option.  The  “backlog and bottlenecks” in scheduling of inspections is “not a new issue,” Dunne added.

Environmental Services Director Kurt Schneider said the ordinance was first adopted in 2010.  When the new ordinance was being drafted the county worked with the MN Pollution Control Agency “line by line” to protect the environment. None of the proposed changes alter the responsibilities of current staff. 

 In 2025 (the most recent statistics available) Chisago had a total of 11,565 subsurface individual septic treatment systems and had issued 220 construction permits for the year.

MPCA calculates from the county data that 2.9 percent of the total number of systems is inspected in a given year.

Chisago County requires an inspection to measure system compliance (is it adequate and functioning) upon the transfer of land. There are 59 total MN counties that do this.  

Other triggers for inspection include: complaints, building or land use permit applications and variances.

There are approximately 3,800 agents certified to inspect in the state, according to an MPCA report for 2025, but it doesn’t differentiate between government and private individuals.

Commissioner Jim Swenson commented that he lacked comfort in relying on non-government inspectors.  He wished “more research” be done on the ordinance.

The Board was told Chisago is one of two counties in Minnesota that doesn’t include certain private  inspections in its code.

Strobel said this was “looked at” when she was employed as a sanitarian and rejected. Too many inspectors are also system designers and there is potential for conflict of interest, she added.

Commissioner Dan Dahlberg motioned to adopt the revisions and the motion passed with Dahlberg, Rick Greene and Dunne in support. Commissioners Ben Montzka and Jim Swenson were  opposed.

In other business:

The Board set a public hearing for July 1 at 7 p.m. at the county board room to hear a request to establish a  subordinate service taxing district for the Liberty Ponds area. The neighborhood association is looking at special financing to replace the failing wastewater treatment and collection system originally within the plat.  The location is in Wyoming,west of Little Comfort Lake.  

The public hearing is mandated to be held.

~Winberg Contracting was granted approval to locate on property in Sunrise Township off 11270 Wilcox Road and also accessed at 39925 Keystone Avenue. There are operational and land use conditions attached.

~ Bonnie Peach Jennings was okayed for an Interim Use Permit to erect a pole building, with no dwelling on a parcel on Evergreen Avenue and CSAH 31 in Nessel. The property is almost 39 acres.

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