Residents share similar concerns over bond issue

By Anna Jauhola
County residents continue to voice their concerns and ask questions during public meetings regarding proposed bonding, mostly to finance courthouse repairs.
The bond measure question will be on the ballot on Nov. 5, and most county residents have already received their mail-in ballots. Four residents attended the Kittson County commissioners’ meeting on Monday, Sept. 30 at Lake Bronson and eight attended in Karlstad on Thursday, Oct. 3.
Since 2023, the commissioners have been discussing how best to fund a complete HVAC overhaul of the courthouse in Hallock, as the piping is original to the building. Upon closer inspection, the pipes are deteriorated beyond repair and must be replaced. The current two-pipe system doesn’t allow for heat and air conditioning separately, and the standard is to have a four-pipe system, which is proposed. The project also includes digital controls for the system, replacing the 121 windows, server room cooling system, lighting updates and a new fire alarm. The other part of the project includes building upgrades at the Hallock shop and a new building at Northcote for the highway department.
In February, citizens concerned with the cost – up to $8 million – submitted a petition after the county held the public hearing required when a government is asking to bond for a project.
At both meetings in Lake Bronson and Karlstad, the public again voiced the concern of the county only dealing with Johnson Controls for the project, whether the project was actually bid out and the overall cost.
“Johnson Controls has worked in our building for many, many years. They did our 2012 retrofitting project,” said Commissioner Loren Younggren. “They know our facility and we’re comfortable with them. We can certainly look for the best price.”
Assistant County Engineer Keith Klegstad said the numbers for each part of the project are based on previous bids. He cited that two contractors looked at the highway shop projects and the numbers received from them were the numbers presented.
“And now, they’ll have to be re-bid if this bond passes,” Klegstad said.
At Lake Bronson, Bobby Schmiedeberg asked why the county hadn’t been putting money away to improve the courthouse over the last few decades. Younggren said they have started budgeting for a building fund account, but can’t speak for past boards.
The board emphasized that although the county is asking voters to vote to bond up to $8 million, that is not necessarily the amount that will be bonded. If the bids come in at $6.8 million, that’s all the county will bond for, which will also change tax impacts.
At the Karlstad meeting, Troy Peterson echoed these same concerns but also said he’d like to see the taxes be more evenly spread between homeowners and commercial/industrial properties. Current numbers presented show a residential property worth $150,000 will have an annual tax increase of $47.54, while a commercial/industrial property worth $250,000 will have an annual tax increase of $160.04.
Also at the Karlstad meeting, Terry Bayne said he was very upset about the incredible prices such as the $1.3 million portion of the project to replace the windows.
“Ten thousand dollars a window?” he said. “If this number’s high, what else is high? When my taxes just doubled and you come to me the next year and say, give us more, that’s what chaps my butt. That’s why I signed the petition to say I don’t care for this right now.”
He repeated the question many have had of whether the county can get another company to look at the project and get estimates.
Younggren reiterated that the project will be rebid should the bond measure pass after the November election.
“We’re certainly going to look at other options,” he said.
Klegstad added that the Johnson Controls estimate for work at the county highway shop was comparable to an estimate they received from a business in Grand Forks.
Younggren also said the commission has asked Johnson Controls to prioritize local contractors for work on the project. However, people should understand some of the amount work and time constraints may be too much for locals to handle as they may not have the staff to tackle the project.
The last two public meetings regarding the bond measure will be held on Tuesday, Oct. 22 at Humboldt Methodist Church and on Thursday, Oct. 17 at Kennedy VFW Middle Room. Both meetings are at 6 p.m.