A group of property owners received an encouraging response Tuesday when they asked Clay County commissioners to back their opposition to a tax the Wild Rice Watershed District has proposed to fund flood-control projects.
Commissioners instructed the Clay County Attorney's Office to draft a resolution criticizing the Watershed District's plan to raise money by establishing a special taxing district that would encompass the entire Watershed District.
The Watershed District includes parts of Clay, Norman, Mahnomen, Becker, Polk and Clearwater counties.
David Stumbo spoke for a group called Citizens for Farmland Preservation.
The Ulen, Minn., area farmer said the group believes projects the Wild Rice Watershed District are pursuing are too costly for the benefits they will provide.
ADVERTISEMENT
The group also opposes the way the Watershed District has proposed to help pay for the projects - a special tax district that would spread the cost across the entire Watershed District.
Watershed District officials are looking to move forward with on-stream and off-stream retention projects that carry a total price tag of $150 million.
If approved, the special taxing district would last at least 10 years and collect a maximum of $1 million a year, according to Steve Dalen, Watershed District administrator.
Dalen said the Watershed District board is expected to hold an "up-or-down" vote on the taxing district this spring.
Clay County Commissioner Kevin Campbell said he wasn't necessarily opposed to the planned flood-control projects, but he said the size of the taxing district concerned him.
Jon Evert, the only commissioner to vote against drafting a resolution, said he didn't feel it was the commission's place to step into a dispute between property owners and another governmental body.
The commission will vote on the draft resolution at a later date.
Readers can reach Forum reporter Dave Olson at (701) 241-5555
