BAXTER-The city of Baxter's longstanding dispute with Essentia Health may soon come to a close.
After a portion of the regular meeting Tuesday that was closed to the public, the Baxter City Council voted unanimously to approve a draft settlement agreement with Essentia Health. It was unclear Tuesday how much money the settlement involved, and City Attorney Brad Person said more details would be forthcoming. The agreement now goes to Essentia in order for them to decide whether or not to approve it.
The issue initially arose in 2015 when Essentia disputed the amount of money the city assessed them for improvements to Isle Drive, which is adjacent to Essentia's Baxter clinic. They argued the city wanted Essentia to pay for a third of the entire project assessment.
The two parties moved into mediation last April after they were unable to reach a settlement.
The Isle Drive project took a dead-end near the Essentia Health-Baxter Clinic and extended it south to Highland Scenic Drive, also known as Crow Wing County Highway 48. Isle Drive, which runs between Highway 371 and Perch Lake, now provides a link from the south with its access a short distance from the Highland Scenic Drive intersection with Highway 371.
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Other highlights
• The council moved to amend a conditional use permit for a parcel on Meredith Drive in order to allow Tri-County Community Action Partnership to put a Head Start school into the Light of the Lakes United Methodist Church building. Head Start is a federally funded program aimed at providing education and social support for children preschool age and younger from lower-income families. The school is planned to be operational by the 2017-2018 school year and serve more than 30 students.
• Lt. Scott Goddard of the Crow Wing County Sheriff's Office gave a yearly review of activities, filling in for Sheriff Todd Dahl. He discussed the jail population, the new 411 anonymous tip service and the free prescription medication disposal program.
Brainerd Dispatch Associate Editor Renee Richardson contributed to this report.
