Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
By RICHARD JENKINS
Hurley — Iron County is in the process of retaining the Milwaukee-based law firm von Briesen and Roper to help the county navigate the federal assistance process for the rebuilding of Saxon Harbor.
While the matter still needs to formally be approved by the Iron County Board of Supervisors' Finance Committee, county officials have already been in contact with the firm.
The firm is being retained for its expertise in large construction projects, County Forestry and Parks Administrator Eric Peterson told the county Forestry and Parks Committee Tuesday. The experience is expected to be necessary to ensure the county avoids doing anything that would reduce the amount the Federal Emergency Management Agency reimburses the county for eligible work done to repair the harbor following its destruction in the July 11 storm.
“They specialize in municipal public works projects and construction engineering contracting, and their plan is to make sure Iron County is fully protected and that everything we do will be reimbursable,” Peterson said.
Peterson said one of the attorneys the county will likely be working with represents the Wisconsin Counties Associations, while another has experience in various projects with price tags much higher than the expected cost of rebuilding Saxon Harbor.
He did say the lawyers felt the Saxon Harbor rebuild was somewhat unique in that there are a lot of things, involving a lot of agencies, going on in a relatively small space.
“They're going to make sure we're doing what we need to do through that process,” Peterson said.
Iron County's attorney, Tim Dean, recommending bringing the firm on since they had the specialized expertise needed to help the county navigate the process.
While the full amounts the county can expect to receive from FEMA and the state is still being calculated, the latest figures indicate the county can expect to receive $2,198,178 for dredging and marina repairs.
The calculations regarding costs to repair the campground are held up until its location is decided.
The county will be responsible for 12.5 percent of costs, with the state and FEMA covering the remaining 87.5 percent of eligible work.
While these negotiations continue, Peterson said Tuesday that Wisconsin Emergency Management and some FEMA representatives have agreed moving the location is the best course of action. The move still needs approval from those higher up in FEMA. At issue is a state law preventing the campground from being built in a flood plain as adequate notice of future floods would be impossible.
At the last county board meeting, Peterson said some in FEMA are questioning why the campground was ever built in its previous location as it can't be rebuilt there. The county is submitting the necessary documentation it hopes will get approval to move the site without penalty.
If the county does get approval to move the campground, the acquisition process of an alternative site has also moved forward Peterson said Tuesday.
The county's offer to purchase 115 acres of land directly east of the harbor has been tentatively accepted by the Forestland Group. The sale is dependent on the county receiving a Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Grant to finance the purchase. Dean is reviewing the purchase option on the property.
Peterson also announced the county has tentatively been awarded the grant to fund the purchase. While the grant approval still needs to pass the state's Joint Finance Committee, Peterson said he didn't expect there to be issues. The county is adding 520 acres to the county forest and using money donated by a non-profit as the local match for the grant.
The sale price and name of the nonprofit are being withheld until closing, which Peterson said will hopefully in November.
In other action:
— The county has made the final payment to acquire approximately 400 acres in the Caroline Lake Nature Area from the DNR, and the deed is expected to arrive shortly.
—The committee approved a resolution urging the state to raise the amount towns receive Payment in Lieu of Taxes for having county forest land in their towns. The resolution urges paying $1 an acre rather than the current rate of 30 cents. Peterson said the rate hasn't been increased since 1989. The increase would bring an additional $122,000 to towns in Iron County each year. Raising the rate is designed to help towns funding road repairs, Peterson said.
—The committee also approved a resolution allowing for property to be withdrawn from the county forest. The land has been unintentionally built on, Peterson said, and the error was only discovered several years ago when surveying work was done in the area. The property owners are going to trade land with the county, according to information at the meeting, meaning additional land will be added to the forest.
