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By MaryHelen Swanson
It was another late night in the county board room Wednesday, Dec. 15, as Chisago County commissioners dealt with many issues, including the formation of a citizen’s Power Plant Task Force.
It was the make-up of the group that occupied much time, but finally the commissioners settled on a nine-member task force, with one member from each of the five county districts and four at-large members.
Nominated by the specific district commissioner, the following were approved: Dist. 1 - Bradley Aker; Dist. 2 - Rob Kravitz; Dist. 3 - Jon Wilking; Dist. 4 - Sheldon Anderson and Dist. 5 - David Cartwright.
The at-large positions include Wayne Buisman from Dist. 5; Keith Limerick from Dist. 1; Brad Bjorklund from Dist. 2; and Dave Whitney from Dist. 3.
Citizens had to submit an application to be considered for the task force.
There were 11 applicants from Dist. 1, eight from Dist. 2, six from Dist. 3, five from Dist. 4 and three from Dist. 5.
The group has been tasked with reviewing issues pertaining to the power plant proposed to be built in Lent Township.
They have been given to the end of January to come up with a recommendation to the county board as to whether the county board should proceed with approval of a personal property tax exemption.
The task force members
Bradley Aker lives in Lent Township next to the Xcel substation property and will be within a half mile of the power plant. He works in construction as a union pipefitter. He said he is both for the power plant and against it at the same time. His reason for applying: "To take part in this community by being involved in these discussions..."
Keith Limerick lives in Franconia Township and has worked in construction as a carpenter and job site superintendent for 30 years. He said in his application that he is not committed one way or the other on the project. “I like to listen to both sides and try to get the best deal for the county.” He said he believes there are still things on the table.
Brad Bjorklund lives in Amador Township, and is a retired real estate appraiser who specialized for about 30 years in land use and litigation matters. He said in his application that he believes he can be fair and impartial because of his experience. He said he wants to “do what I can to see that established rules and procedures are followed, and that county commissioners get the best advice possible for their decision making.”
Rob Kravitz lives in Sunrise Township and has worked 25 years as an environmental consultant to industry and government addressing hazardous materials, hazardous waste site remediation, water quality and air quality. He has also been a small business owner. In his application he notes that he has been following this issue for more than six months and believes he has the “knowledge, skills and abilities to contribute in a meaningful way to the citizen task force.”
Dave Whitney lives in Chisago Lake Township, is a past township supervisor, currently on the Chisago County planning commission and has 20 years management experience at a publishing company. His reason for wanting to be on the task force is to help both pro and con power plant “get together to create a workable solution.”
John Wilking lives in Chisago Lake Township and has 40 years experience working on industrial sites, including power houses, as a pipefitter. He is a past pipe fitter instructor.
His reason for wanting this appointment is “to improve the county of Chisago for all its citizens to the best of my ability and see common ground on all the concerns brought before us.”
Wayne Buisman lives in Harris. He served on the Harris council for eight years and also on the Harris planning commission. He also served on Chisago task forces related to development planning.
He has worked for the federal government in permitting and environmental regulations. His reason for applying to the task force: “I would like to help to assure that the quality of life in the county continues to be one of the best in the state.”
Sheldon Anderson is the mayor of the city of Wyoming. He lives in Dist. 4. He said he wanted to be appointed “to be sure all sides of the LS Power project are looked at. I want to address the immediate property owners’ concerns.”
David Cartwright lives in Nessel Township. He holds postgraduate degrees in engineering and physics and has 29 years experience with energy programs. “As a concerned citizen of Chisago County, somewhat experienced on issues related to electricity generation, interested in contributing to the benefit of the residents of this county.”
It is not known yet when this task force will meet, or time or place.
It is expected they will meet often in the next six weeks or so.
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