The town of Tofte has begun discussion of what to do with the aging park pavilion at the Tofte town park. At the April meeting, it was agreed repairs need to be made. It was also agreed the spot where the pavilion now sits offers one of the most scenic views on the North Shore.
If the residents of Tofte are threatened by an emergency (forest fire, flooding, bad weather, etc.) they can go to the Birch Grove Community Center for help.
At its April 11 meeting the Tofte town board received notification that Birch Grove Community Center had received designation as a Red Cross Evacuation Center. The American Red Cross is a volunteer led, humanitarian organization that helps people prevent, prepare for, and respond to emergencies. When disasters strike, Red Cross shelters feed and provide emotional support for those affected. The American Red Cross responds to about 70,000 disasters each year.
Supervisor Jim King said he had met with Dick Grabko of Community Connections to discuss finding financing to build senior housing for Tofte. King learned that an investor has not been lined up, but the search is ongoing. King said one new idea was to build senior housing nearer to the Birch Grove facility so that infrastructure could be shared and the cost to build could be kept down. A past plan showed houses developed on the hillside behind the community center.
Because neither Fire Chief Rich Nelson nor Tofte Rescue Squad Director Louise Trachta could attend the meeting there were no reports from those departments. When it came time to appoint a fire chief and a rescue chief for the next year Supervisor Alan “D.C.” Olsen said he wanted to wait until Trachta and Nelson could be at the meeting. “I don’t want to appoint someone who might not want the position,” said Olsen.
The board designated the Cook County News-Herald and the Grand Marais State Bank as official newspaper and bank for the township.
Sawbill Outfitters was granted a renewal to sell 3.2 beer. “I haven’t heard any complaints about Sawbill selling beer,” King said.
When asked about the cemetery Jerry Gervais said, “Well, there’s lots of snow on it right now so not much is happening. But when it warms up we will dig out surface roots and plant some trees and clean up the grounds.”
Jim King asked about setting a date for “Volunteer Spring Cleanup Day” for the park and town hall grounds.
“The major projects seem to be cleaning up three slash piles and the deadfalls,” said King, noting that he would not be much help with his “arthritic shoulder.” King added, “Really, when you look around this room, we’re the only ones that come and help out anyway. Maybe we should hire a younger worker by the hour to do the job.”
“Last year John [Nelson] and I had a young guy help us in the park and we were amazed at how fast he was. He worked twice as fast as we did,” said Gervais.
The board decided to allow Gervais and King to find a younger person to work with them and pay that person by the hour to clean up the park.
There was a fair amount of discussion about what to do with the park pavilion. Gervais and Jim King will work with architect Scott Berry to develop a plan to fix the base of the pavilion and in case the pavilion needs to be moved the township will request a variance from the county.
“If we move the building we will lose its existing footprint. And I think that with the views offered up and down the shore, that’s the best place for the pavilion,” said Gervais. King agreed, but Olsen said, “We have nothing to lose by asking for a variance. If we need it, we will have it, but it doesn’t mean we will have to use it.”
After some discussion the board agreed to apply for a variance but noted that the pavilion will probably stay right where it is after repairs have been made.
Commissioner Bruce Martinson updated the board about future possibilities for the county’s roads, including a $2 million paving job on the Sawbill Trail.
“Who’s paying for it?” asked Gervais.
“We are,” said Martinson.
“The Forest Service said they would pay for it 17 years ago but people opposed it,” Gervais said.
“Some of those same people are now in favor of paving the Sawbill Trail,” Martinson said.
“Well, I think the Forest Service should pay for it,” Gervais said.
In a separate interview, County Engineer David Betts said the county board has not approved this project yet.
The new solar-powered speed sign recently put up at the east entrance to Tofte’s downtown hasn’t been working, but Clerk Barb Gervais said she could reprogram it sometime in the next week.
“It has to be reprogrammed sometime between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m.,” said Gervais.
The sign tells motorists how fast they are going as they get into the 40-mph zone through Tofte, and it will hopefully get speeders to slow down.
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