At a busy meeting on Tuesday, March 17, 2015, the Lutsen town board discussed the township’s boundaries, the renovation of the town hall and donations to the West End school, community center and the local ski team.
Supervisor Andrew Beavers said he has continued to explore the possibility of expanding Lutsen’s boundaries. He said County Auditor Braidy Powers said it is a matter of getting the people in the area to be included in the township, instead of Lutsen’s unorganized territory, to sign a petition. Auditor Powers told him it is then a matter of having the township border lines redrawn, which the county could help with.
Beavers said a “hiccup” in the petition process is that there may not be 20 or more registered voters in the area to be added to the Lutsen town borders as previously discussed, which was the Deeryard Lake area. However, he said he has heard from some residents on Cascade Beach Road who also want to be included in the township proper and the petition could include them as well. Supervisor Larry McNeally said, “It seems like there is a whole unorganized territory between Lutsen and Grand Marais that could be up for grabs.”
Fire Chief Paul Goettl noted that these property owners are already in the Lutsen fire district. “So they are paying to support the fire department already,” he said.
Supervisor Beavers said, “Yes, this would just give them the opportunity to vote in township elections.”
The board agreed to pursue the boundary change and Clerk Amity Goettl said she would ask the county’s GIS specialist Kyle Oberg if he could create some maps to give the board the chance to compare the current township boundary, the fire district boundary and the potential changes.
Following up on the donation requests from the Birch Grove Community School and Birch Grove Foundation at the March 10 township annual meeting, supervisors agreed that all three West End townships need to meet with a Minnesota Association Township attorney to find out what the legality of contributing to operations of the school and community center actually are. Supervisor Tim Goettl said he would talk with other supervisors to set up a meeting, to be attended by one representative from each township, to avoid open meeting law concerns.
A new donation request was brought before the town board by John Oberholtzer on behalf of the Lutsen junior ski team. Oberholtzer explained that the ski team, which includes skiers from 5 to 13 years old, was “in transition.” He said previous coaches Charles Lamb and Rick Backstrom had advanced with their children to coach the Cook County Schools team.
Oberholtzer said new parents have stepped up, but he said it has been discovered that there are financial needs for the team. He said kids don’t pay to participate and coordinators hoped that would continue to be the case. “Skiing is expensive enough,” he said, despite significant support from Lutsen Mountains.
Oberholtzer presented a letter outlining costs and requested a donation of $1,500 from Lutsen.
Supervisor Beavers said he would support the request, noting there are 17 Lutsen kids on the team. “We have a ski culture. This is about being physically active, but it’s also important to our community,” he said.
Supervisor Larry McNeally said, “I love skiing, but if we’re having trouble with other donations, I think we should wait.”
EMS Chief Fred Schmidt noted that the township had donated $10,000 to the Lutsen Trailbreakers Snowmobile Club and encouraged the board to make the donation. “This is only $1,500 and it’s for local kids.”
Treasurer John Groth agreed, but cautioned that the township still needs to clarify how much and how it can donate to community organizations.
However, he said, “As a town citizen, I’d rather give to something like this, where I know it’s going to township kids.”
After some discussion, a unanimous motion passed to make the donation to the Lutsen junior ski team.
More renovation for town hall
For a second time, the board opened proposals for the renovation of the new town hall meeting room. In February, the board received estimates from Loon State Construction, which completed the work in the old town hall space, and Lutsen Cabin and Land Care. At that meeting, the board was unable to make a decision because the estimates were too dissimilar. The board agreed to re-advertise the project with more specific details. At the March meeting, the same two companies submitted estimates.
After some questions about materials, the board passed a unanimous motion to award the job to the company with the lower estimate, Lutsen Cabin and Land Care, at a cost of $4,500.
In other Lutsen Township business
. Following up on a request at the February meeting, Fire Chief Paul Goettl brought information on the possible purchase of a commercial washer and cabinet for drying firefighter personal protective equipment (PPE) for $13,000. Goettl said the fire department realized the washer was needed after its participation in Through the Smoke training, which highlighted the carcinogens that firefighters encounter and the importance of cleaning protective gear.
Supervisors passed a unanimous motion approving the purchase.
. Fire Chief Goettl said he had received an offer of $750 for the 1979 LaFrance fire truck. He asked if he could go ahead and sell it. The board said it has to be advertised to the public first.
. EMS Chief Fred Schmidt said that his department’s standard operating guides (SOG) have been updated and are available for the town board to review. He expressed appreciation to Matt Kartes and Kasia Schmidt for all of their work on the policies. The board will review and approve at the next meeting.
. Supervisor Beavers said he had signed up for training so he can be the township representative during the annual Board of Equalization. The Lutsen Board of Equalization meeting is April 21 at 6 p.m., so Beavers said, “I’ll be certified just in time.”
. In his report to the town board, Treasurer John Groth said there was $90,432 in the township business account; $45,101 in the town building fund; and $100,886 in the Lutsen Fire/First Responders truck fund for total township funds of $236,420.
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