Waseca County Board increases wheelage tax, talks bandshell

During their regular meeting on July 15, members of the Waseca County Board of Commissioners voted to increase the county’s “wheelage” tax–a fee paid at the time a vehicle’s registration is renewed–to $20. The fee had been $10 per vehicle since 2014.

 

The recommendation for the increase came from county highway engineer Jim Kollar; his stated intent is to increase funds available to hire contractors to seal coat bituminous roads–a process of applying a mixture of oil and pea gravel to the road surface which, Kollar claimed, can extend the usable life of a road by 7 to 10 years.

 

Kollar told commissioners his goal is to have about 25 miles of roadway seal coated each year; hiring contractors for the work costs up to $550,000 yearly. When commissioners asked him whether county highway workers could perform the work rather than hiring contractors, Kollar conceded that yes, current employees have the equipment needed to apply seal coating, but went on to say they could not work at the pace or level of efficiency of contractors who have large-scale equipment and well practiced crews. Furthermore, Kollar said, the contract price includes repainting lines.

 

He went on to say the length of the construction season places pressure on highway crews to perform many tasks of many different types in a relatively short time, and so assigning them to seal coat roads using limited equipment seems an inefficient use of county resources.

 

At $10 per vehicle, Kollar summarized, the wheelage tax was bringing in about $190,000 a year. He expects the increased fee will garner about $380,000, reducing the drain on other funds used to support highway maintenance and construction.

 

Though commissioners stated hesitancy about increasing a tax, they expressed satisfaction that the money will be collected from vehicle owners and go directly toward maintaining the roads vehicles use.

 

Commissioners approved about $350,000 for the purchase and installation of new rooftop heating and cooling structures at the community services building located at 1000 W. Elm Avenue in Waseca. Existing aging units will be removed and replaced with four “top of the line” units; occupancy sensors will also be installed to help with automatic temperature adjustment.

 

Facilities manager Brian Tomford reported that, because the heating and cooling system of the building had been modified by businesses which occupied parts of the structure before the county purchased it in 2020, regulating temperatures in the building as a whole has been highly problematic. Furthermore, the units scheduled for removal are now past their anticipated usable lifespan, having been in use since about 2010.

 

Tomford also addressed the board on a separate matter, the possible construction of a bandshell at Courthouse Park. Commissioners tabled the matter for two weeks with the intent of establishing a committee to address priorities and options as development of the park continues.

 

Discussion on the matter included optimal locations for structures and play equipment, as well as ways to try and balance the many different ways the park is used–from large gatherings including weddings and reunions to camping to wilderness exploration and equine recreation.

 

Commissioner De Malterer suggested a work session saying “We need to look at the park as a whole, with a map in front of us to help us make some philosophical decisions.”