County ends long‑dormant joint powers fiber board; no county cash returned

The Pine County Board authorized termination of the fiber optic joint powers board that had been formed years ago with the city of Pine City, the school and Pine Technical College to install fiber connectivity among government entities.

County staff said the joint powers agreement, established about two decades ago, delivered durable communications infrastructure but has not actively met for several years. The county recommended terminating the joint powers board because its functions have effectively ended; the board authorized the county chair and administrator to sign a termination agreement.

Officials said the city had originally invested in conduit and recovered its costs through lease revenue from Midco when Midco bought the city’s assets. The county reported it had not invested cash in the project and therefore did not expect cash return; however, county staff noted the county retains use of the existing fiber through a Midco arrangement that provides network connectivity for county facilities (for example, courthouse to county garage).

A motion to approve the termination agreement was moved, seconded and approved by voice vote with no opposing votes.