Sawyer County committee denies tribal partnership for casino-area roundabout design

The Sawyer County Public Works Committee voted to deny a highway department resolution to partner with LCO on a fully funded design for a roundabout at the intersection by the casino, the committee decided during its meeting; the motion to deny passed by a 3-1 vote.

Committee members said the decision was driven by concerns about who would lead the design and how the county’s role would be defined, even though the project offered 100% design funding through a Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) grant. Highway department staff described the proposal as a partnership opportunity primarily covering design work and said the county could still pursue other funding routes for design and construction.

Highway Department staff said the BIA opportunity would fund 100% of the design phase, including scoping of services and consultant selection. "So this came about as there was a funding opportunity through the BIA with a partnership with LCO for a 100 percent design funded grant as a partnership," the highway commissioner said. The commissioner added that the county remains eligible to submit the intersection for other funding; "I only missed it by 1. They selected 50 projects. I was number 51," he said, referring to a prior Surface Transportation Program (STP) application.

Commissioner Randy Newman placed a motion to deny the resolution, saying the county should undertake planning on its own. "I made a motion that we don't support this resolution and let the county do their own planning on this roundabout," Newman said. Jim Evans seconded the motion. After a brief discussion about the trade-offs, the committee voted to deny the resolution.

Committee members voiced differing views during discussion. One member said the county should proceed without LCO involvement; others warned that declining the partnership would end consideration of the BIA funding for this project. The highway commissioner noted the county could withdraw from the partnership later in the scoping or consultant-selection phases if the county leadership found the proposed approach unacceptable.

The committee chair said the denied resolution will not be placed on the county board agenda; the item was removed from the board agenda list. The committee did not specify which committee members voted for or against the motion beyond the 3-1 tally.

No construction funding or timeline was adopted at the meeting. The highway department indicated it will continue to pursue design and construction funding through other avenues, including resubmitting or pursuing STP funds, but did not specify deadlines or next steps.