Public lands, drainage spark Nobles County board discussion

Landowners who live along County Ditch 4 raised issue with the ditch three years ago when, during a wet summer, land south of the system was being flooded. To date, the county has taken no action to alleviate the issue.

Wednesday’s discussion was primarily for commissioners to learn the history behind the diversion channel built in the early 1980s to carry water from Herlein-Boote into the Okabena-Ocheda Watershed District toward Lake Okabena. The channel was closed in 2012 for two reasons — it didn’t work the way the city of Worthington had hoped it would, and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) was concerned Asian carp in the Missouri River Watershed would somehow make their way into the Des Moines River Watershed through the diversion channel. If the invasive species could reach the Des Moines watershed, they could spread throughout southwest Minnesota and a large part of Iowa.

The diversion channel will likely never be opened again, which led the county’s drainage counsel, Kurt Deter, to ask Wednesday if there are any obstructions in the County Ditch 4 system.

“I think overall the ditch needs a clean-out,” replied Nobles County Drainage System Coordinator Brad Harberts.

Commissioner Matt Widboom pointed out that a request was previously made to the county to clean out an 11,000-foot section of the ditch. That hasn’t been done.

There was also discussion about a ditch crossing that was established in a pasture on private property, which may be causing issues with the system as well. Deter said the county could order that crossing be removed or the culvert enlarged.

He advised the board to conduct two public hearings — one to discuss repairs and one to address the obstructions. The matter will further be discussed at the county board’s Feb. 23 meeting.

Deter also advised the board to hold off on any discussions pertaining to the creation of a no-net-gain resolution for Nobles County.

The idea was brought forth by Commissioner Gene Metz, who served on an environmental policy group with the Association of Minnesota Counties that discussed the amount of publicly-owned land in the state. The group’s concern is the state and federal government’s future ability to provide payments in lieu of taxes.

Metz said it’s of particular concern to counties in northern Minnesota, where the state owns, in some instances, 50 percent of a county’s available land.

Nobles County Administrator Tom Johnson said the percentage of public lands in Nobles County is approximately 5 percent, but Metz noted certain townships in the county are seeing an increasing amount of land transferred to the DNR.

“In the early 2000s, when the state was in dire need of funds, there was talk about freezing PILT payments,” Metz said, referring to one parcel in Nobles County that was generating $3,500 in property tax revenue per year that is now owned by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. In that situation, a federal trust provides a financial contribution to the county, and it’s up to the county to decide if it keeps the money or shares it with the township.

“It’s not so much the PILT payment, it’s the amount of money that farmer would have spent in the community,” said Metz, who’s interested in establishing a measure that would force the DNR to the table to talk about its acquisitions.

Commissioner Donald Linssen said some of the properties transferred to the DNR have been very good for the county in terms of addressing water quality and erosion, but he said there needs to be more work between the county and the DNR, particularly with weed control.

Deter advised the county to raise the issue with the Association of Minnesota Counties.

“If the AMC knows there’s strong support, they’ll make it a larger part of their platform,” he said.

Okabena-Ocheda Watershed District Administrator Dan Livdahl, who was present for the discussion, said purchasing lands and turning it over to the DNR is a tool the watershed, Nobles County Pheasants Forever, Worthington Public Utilities and Olson Trust has used to protect the city’s water supply.

“Our work isn’t done yet — we want to use that tool,” Livdahl told commissioners. He also said there are people who want to sell their land for conservation use and they have the right to do so.

“It’s actually better for the DNR to own (the land),” he added. “If the watershed buys it, if the city buys it, it’s off the tax rolls.”

Livdahl also addressed some of the management concerns commissioners raised about DNR-owned lands, saying it’s a tough job. Native prairie plantings, which is what the DNR does to its newly acquired lands, often takes three to four years to be fully established. Before that, the lands can look pretty rough with weeds.

“There’s kind of that three to four years where everyone is unhappy,” Livdahl said.

Also brought before commissioners was a request from Emergency Management Director Joyce Jacobs to consider changes to county policy regarding emergency closures. She raised the issue in light of the Jan. 22 blizzard that resulted in the county’s decision to close the government center at noon that day.

Speaking on behalf of employee safety, Jacobs said both she and Sheriff Kent Wilkening take ownership for not conveying to county administration the severity of the storm. She would like to see a team put in place to make the call on when the county’s offices should be closed early or closed for the day due to severe weather. Suggestions for the team included the sheriff, public works and emergency management directors and the county administrator.

“Our challenge is how do we provide service, but also keep the public and our employees safe at the same time,” Jacobs said. “We want to send a message to the public that travel is not safe, but also send a message to employees and clientele that it’s not safe to be on the road.”

Commissioners took the discussion under advisement.