The Morton County Commission became the fourth government entity to approve the North-South Beltway Study decisions document Tuesday and scheduled its first public meeting about appointing its county auditor.

Morton County's consent to the transportation study leaves only one entity to approve the document before June.

The Mandan-Morton County focus of the proposed beltway is south 24th Avenue, spanning from 37th Street to 46th Street. Forty-sixth and 37th streets also could be the long-range bridge links to Burleigh County if needed.

The Bismarck-Burleigh County side proposed corridor would be 71st Avenue going east, then vertically through 66th Street and connecting to the south side by 48th Avenue.

It is the final step of a 19-month study completed by Ulteig Engineering for the Bismarck-Mandan Planning Organization.

Throughout the process, Ulteig has compiled the data and held a series of public meetings for the study.

The decisions document:

n Preserves the 24th Avenue corridor, according to current city and county standards, as the beltway minor arterial route.

n Preserves right-of-way at the Interstate 94 interchange at 24th Avenue.

n Designates the beltway as a corridor.

The purpose of the beltway is to decrease traffic congestion through alternative routes around the metro area for the next 25 years.

Decisions documents already have been signed by Bismarck, Mandan and Lincoln. At 5 p.m. Monday, it will be presented to the Burleigh County Commission for its final round of consideration.

The first public hearing over the debate on whether to appoint the county auditor is tentatively set for 6 p.m. June 9 at the commission meeting room of the Morton County Courthouse.

Commissioners are proposing the office become appointed by committee and approved by the commission after current county auditor Paul Trauger retires when his term expires in 2010. Trauger has served in the office 30 years.

Commissioner Bruce Strinden said he believes the appointment process would ensure a qualified person is placed in the position.

If someone without all the qualifications is elected, commissioners fear a second person would need to be hired to do the work the elected person cannot. That means an added salary expense.

Strinden said the commission has been able to rely on Trauger to consult them on their financial-related decisions in almost every matter. He said there is a risk of losing that vital information if a non-qualified person is elected to the post.

In a separate matter, the commission approved $25,000 in Bismarck Development Development Association grant money for the city of Hebron to build a new community center.

The board approved jointly applying for Bureau of Justice Assistance grant money with the city of Mandan. Morton County is eligible for $24,426 and Mandan could qualify for $64,364.

The grant is part of President Barack Obama's Recovery Act.

In a memo to the commission, Sheriff Dave Shipman said he intends to use the county portion of the funding to upgrade firearms and replace long guns.

(Reach reporter LeAnn Eckroth at 250-8264 or leann.eckroth@bismarcktribune.com.)