|
Illegal signs sprouting Non-permitted off-site signs outnumber legal variety Senior Reporter Signs on highway corridors are going up without permits and Crow Wing County agreed to hire a summer intern to help resolve the issue.
Dennis Myers, county enforcement officer, told commissioners Tuesday that off-site signs put up without a permit are a growing problem in corridors such as County State Aid Highways 3, 11 and 16.
Crow Wing County's sign ordinance, regulating billboard signs advertising a business not actually on that property, allows a sign to go up when an existing one goes down in the county.
A sign inventory was completed in 2004 identifying 44 permitted signs and 69 signs without permits. Last year the county gave offenders of 37 illegal off-site signs a month to comply with the ordinance.
Myers said a review indicates 37 sign complaints have not been resolved and there are 106 open sign complaints now. In May, the county offered a 30-day window to remove signs without permits or obtain a valid permit. Myers reported there was no response to the offer.
The summer intern is expected to assist Myers in resolving the issue. Cost is expected to be $1,440 for 180 days plus the cost of gas and use of a county vehicle.
Commissioner Terry Sluss said the biggest complaint the county receives is that it develops ordinances and doesn't enforce them.
In other business, the county board:
Heard drug court, a long-term intensive supervised probation, in Crow Wing County is likely to start in 2006, Sluss reported. The program is expected to involve 35 people at a time. Costs for the program are estimated to be $2,500 a year per person compared to $65,000 a year per person for prison. If individuals mess up on the program they go to prison. If they are successful for several years they may be able to eliminate that option.
"All the studies indicates it works," Sluss said. "It's working in several counties in Minnesota."
Heard Rose Hauge, the new county methamphetamine prevention coordinator, will start June 27.
Learned Homeland Security grants are being used by the county to buy a remote controlled underwater camera and personal protection such as gas masks and protective suits.
Agreed to increase the landfill operator's contract by $55,870 effective July 1 to reflect increased work load and rising cost of fuel. Volumes at the landfill have increased to a point where an additional worker is needed.
Heard the countywide transit system is growing monthly and is still in talks with Cass County regarding a joint venture.
Learned work is continuing on a potential $1.5 million pipeline to move methane from the county landfill and sell it to Trus Joist in Deerwood. Doug Morris, solid waste coordinator, recently visited Fargo, N.D., to gain information on a similar program there between the city and Cargill.
RENEE RICHARDSON can be reached at renee.richardson@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5852.
|
Overcast, 61°
