Polk County supervisors on Dec. 16 authorized the county administrator to negotiate with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources on the county's Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for a state-owned trail, and to return any tentative agreement to the board for final ratification.

Staff briefed the board on a court ruling that found deficiencies in the county's planning process and said the ruling requires additional public hearings. Administrator Norby and staff outlined options: (1) hold the new public hearing and re-run the master planning process locally (which could lead to additional litigation), (2) seek to renegotiate the MOU with the DNR so the DNR would lead master planning and assume greater responsibility for the process and its legal defense, or (3) terminate the MOU with 90 days' notice if acceptable negotiating terms cannot be reached.

Norby told the board that litigation to date has been costly: as of Nov. 19 the county had spent $277,163.57 on mitigation work related to the litigation plus approximately $70,000 on the outside contractor Tool Design. He also stated the county spends about $35,000 a year in levy funds on trail maintenance. Staff said shifting planning obligations to the DNR could reduce the county's litigation exposure and maintenance burden but would reduce the county's authority to make final determinations; supervisors asked that any negotiated tentative agreement be brought back to a committee for review and then to the full board.

Public comment earlier in the meeting included Todd Miller, who identified himself as president of a snowmobile and ATV council, urging another public hearing and saying the issue should be fully vetted by the public rather than resolved by administrative action.

After discussion the board voted to give the administrator authority to negotiate tentative MOU language with the DNR and to return any tentative agreement to the board for approval; the motion carried and the administrator was directed to report negotiation progress back to committee and the board.