Discussion continued at the May 17, 2011, Lutsen Town Meeting on what is sure to be an agenda item for some time to come—the proposed expansion/ renovation of the Lutsen Fire Hall and Town Hall.
Fire Chief Paul Goettl said as directed, the group considering the expansion/renovation has been looking at potential costs. Goettl provided a spreadsheet outlining the fire department’s budget with projections for the next 10 years. He said if the township continued current spending trends, which includes contributing to a building fund, the average increase to the fire department’s budget would be 1.9 percent. Goettl said if the township incurred a zero- or low-interest loan to expand/ renovate, the estimated increase would be 2.9%. “These figures are not set in stone,” said Goettl. “But I think it shows there is a potential to pay for a building.”
A problem, said Goettl, may be obtaining a zero-interest loan. He had talked to County Auditor- Treasurer Braidy Powers, who said the county had never loaned more than $100,000 before. “It doesn’t mean the county won’t do it, it just may take some more discussion,” said Goettl.
Commissioner Bruce Martinson was at the meeting and he agreed, “If it is more, the county may want to charge some interest. Perhaps 2% or something,” he said.
Goettl said he had also talked to architect Larry Boen about creating some drawings so the township could seek estimates for the project. He said it would be good to have some idea what the township was looking at before talking to the county about financing. The board agreed to expend up to $1,000 for drawings.
Goettl also asked if the town board felt it was time to establish a formal fire hall expansion committee and the board consensus was to continue as they were. The citizens gathering information about the project are Fire Chief Goettl, EMS Chief Fred Schmidt, Supervisor Marland Hansen, Larry McNeally, Tom Nalezney, and Scott Harrison.
Park flower garden pondered
Supervisor Joe Buttweiler said he had met with the West End Garden Club and Matt Kartes of Lutsen Landscaping. He reminded the board that the garden club had asked if it could put in a garden east of the pump house at the town park. He said the garden club would put the garden in and they offered two options. The first proposal was for two 8’x3′ beds, with 3’ tall cedar sides, for $1,475. The second proposal was three 8’x3’beds, with 3’ tall cedar sides, put together in a “U” shape, with a pathway and bench for $2,880.
Buttweiler said he’d like to see the larger proposal completed, but was also agreeable to the smaller option as it could always be expanded later. Supervisor Diane Parker said the proposal with three beds, the path, and a bench would give the town “more bang for the buck.”
Her colleagues agreed and a motion passed to approve the larger option. Supervisor Marland Hansen said he thought people would like to see that done. “I see people down there every day. People are using the park,” he said.
Fire department cooperation
Fire Chief Goettl explained that the Cook County Fire Chief ’s Association is working on establishing “automatic aid” responses to fires. He said for fires bordering two fire districts both fire departments would be paged simultaneously. For example, Goettl said, if there was a fire at Cascade Resort, the Grand Marais Fire Department would be paged at the same time as the Lutsen Fire Department. Or, Lutsen would be paged for a fire in Tofte, and so on. Goettl said in such instances, the other fire department may even arrive before the primary department. “That would just benefit the homeowner,” said Goettl.
He said mutual aid is already in place, but that means a fire department must ask for assistance. Goettl said by the time the primary department has arrived and realizes aid is needed, precious time has been wasted. Goettl said having this in place could eventually decrease homeowner insurance rates. The town board passed a unanimous motion authorizing the fire department to proceed with automatic aid.
In other business:
Fire Chief Goettl said the fire department has received a request from Gust Lake homeowners for use of an old Homelite pump that the fire department has not used for years. Goettl recommended letting the homeowners take it, along with some hose, to use in case of fire at the upper Caribou Trail lake. The board agreed.
Goettl gave a follow-up on the helmets that melted during the April 9, 2011 live burn exercise. He said Mesabi Range Community and Technical College, which had supervised the training, gave the township vouchers worth $600 for future training because of the damaged equipment.
EMS Chief Fred Schmidt said the last month had been slow, with only one call. He said it had been a “nice lull,” but he expected things to get busy with the return of the snowbirds, fishermen, and people vacationing.
The next meeting of the Lutsen town board will be Tuesday, June 14 at 7:00 p.m. at the Lutsen Town Hall at 116 Caribou Trail.
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