Up first was Paul Thiede, District 2 Crow Wing County commissioner. In his comments on what's right with Crow Wing County, Thiede said board meetings are now being recorded and anyone may hear the tapes. He was hopeful that soon board meetings would be televised. The county has improved its GIS (Geographic Information Service) to the point where anyone can connect on the Internet.

"I looked up Jim Brandt and found he has a dock 120 feet long," Thiede said.

One of the things that surprised him was the number of joint powers boards the county is involved in. He said County Road 4 is a half million dollar improvement project that will cost an additional $10,000 because departments weren't communicating.

Thiede said the Minnesota Legislature imposed limits on property taxes and cut Sentence to Serve and the Mississippi Headwaters Board budget. He said the county would try to fund the Sentence to Serve program as it has worked very well. However, he was worried about next year when the Legislature will need to cut $1 billion.

Mark Liedl is the new Crow Wing County Land Services director. This is a new position that oversees six departments: wastewater, surveyors, lands, parks, planning and zoning, and forestry.

"Planning and zoning is the most in need of health," Liedl said. "My goal is to achieve excellence in the department."

Customer service - a very difficult area. We need to protect resources, serve customers and to be consistent and fair, Liedl said.

Enforcement - Resources are needed to be more effective. We also need to understand the need for the sword, Liedl said.

Liedl believes future land-use plans and mapping are essential tools. "We need to plan where we are to go and we need to be consistent. Ordinances need to be part of the process and they need to be transparent," he said, adding the county needs to work with the lake associations and to let people know what the rules are.

He said Cass County has done a good job of enforcing the rules and at the same time informing the public of the rules.

"Cass County has resource specialists out in the field," Liedl said. "Every permit in Cass County has been looked at. The field specialist knows what's going on in his area. He can meet with the landowner, make suggestions to help the landowner follow the rules. They also handle the complaints."

Dennis Myers administers the Crow Wing County sanitary management district.

"We're in crisis," Myers said. "I'm here to talk about septic systems. A septic system properly managed should last for 40 years. Individual systems properly installed include the pump, the mechanical part; the tank, the biological part; and the drain field, the water part. You need to maintain your system and control water usage."

Myers recommended that tanks should be pumped on a regular basis. He said the small lake lots and sandy soils are a problem and have an impact on human health and clean water.

"We need to protect our lakes and ground water. This is what each one of us can do," Myers said.

Questions from the audience:

1. Should we use additives? Myers said to carefully read the label and talk to your pumper.

2. How often should we have the tank pumped? Myers said it depends on water usage. If you have a large spike - family reunion with a lot of people, lots of showers, etc. - have your tank pumped.

3. Work with your pumper. Be up-front with your pumper; he can help you maintain your system.

Thiede commented that there is a movement on the part of townships to take over the planning and zoning function, because there are some 900 violations that the county has not resolved. He said Crow Wing is looking at the Cass County model.

Liedl acknowledged that the budget is tight, but he's looking for efficiency. He said one enforcement officer doesn't work. He also said that the Cass County system works and they are aggressive on grants; that's something Crow Wing should be doing.

There is hope that by coordinating all the land-use departments under Land Services, there will be better cooperation between departments and better enforcement of land-use ordinances in the county.

Marian Bender, Minnesota Waters executive director, said Minnesota Waters was looking into having a lobbyist at the state Legislature.