By MaryHelen Swanson

As construction of the interchange at I-35 and County Road 17 advances, county commissioners are dealing with the financial side of the project.

The interchange is being paid for through a variety of funding sources. HPP (High Priority Project) and bonding will pay for the bridge and the road costs.

FTA (federal transportation act) and state funds will be used to construct the ìpark and ride.î

Bonding will have to make up for the shortfall in HPP funds until the county receives them.

Total project cost is $11,730,000. Revenue will come as follows:

FTA, $288,000 for the park and ride, plus a state match of $72,000; HPP, $4,775,000.

Bonding, $6,595,000, but bond funds will also be used for right-of-way costs for CR 7 and 14 and resurfacing projects.

Not all of the HPP is available now.

Last week, the commissioners adopted a resolution authorizing the board chairman and the clerk of the board to execute and enter into an agreement with the Minnesota Department of Transportation (Mn/DOT) to pay the state for the oversight engineering with the construction of the interchange.

The new diamond interchange and four-lane bridge that is being constructed is expected to be open to traffic by late November of 2006.

The commissioners also spoke with Gene Kramer, executive director of the East Central Solid Waste Commission (ECSWC) about a proposed solid waste designation ordinance to keep county waste going to the five-county landfill at Mora rather than losing tipping fees to out-of-area facilities.

Kramer said ECSWC has approved a reduction to haulers who would enter into a contract with the commission bringing their cost to just under $37 per ton in two phases.

Kramer noted that Elk River is the commissionís biggest competition. He also talked about mechanical sorting of recyclables making it unnecessary to separate at point of pickup. It is not used in Chisago County.

Kramer also pointed out that while not big money-makers, two new programs of the ECSWC are good for the area because they promote recycling: mattresses and electronics.

In other business, the county board:

ï Approved registration fees for prohibited animals at $350 for each initial application for prohibited animal(s) registration plus $25 per each prohibited animal and a $150 annual registration renewal. This is for prohibited animals already owned by county residents, a new ordinance prohibits ownership of new animals;

ï Approved a trail agreement with Sunrise Snow Eagles;

ï Paid bills in the amount of $468,103.35, Commissioner Ben Montzka opposed;

ï Approved the purchase of a 2006 Lund Explorer SS with motor and trailer for $18,099.68 from Erickson Marine;

ï Moved to get an appraisal on two properties for a future jail project, both are outside Center City, with the administrator working with Center Cityís engineer to determine costs of bringing utilities to the sites.