Great River Energy (GRE), the power provider for Arrowhead Electric Cooperative Inc., hard at work on a new substation just off the Ski Hill Road in Lutsen last month. Arrowhead expects the new substation to be completed by the end of November. As part of the project, there will be a four-hour outage for the residents and businesses on the Ski Hill Road on Tuesday, November 16. There will also be a system-wide power outage for all of Arrowhead Electric Cooperative Inc.’s service territory at 12 noon. The morning outage will last for a few minutes. Another outage will happen again at 4:00 p.m. with final restoration a few minutes later. In case of inclement weather, the outage will be rescheduled. The rebuild is intended to ensure adequate electrical supply and to provide increased reliability.
Firefighter Mike Carlson approached the town board on Tuesday, October 19 with a proposal to change the structure of the Lutsen Fire Department Relief Association, which provides a pension for retired volunteer firefighters. Carlson asked for town board authorization for the fire department to join the statewide fire relief association. Carlson said under the current structure, the fire department must have a seven-member board of trustees to oversee the relief fund. He said there is a lot of paperwork involved. “The main advantage of doing this would be to relieve the board of trustees from the responsibility of all this paperwork. We’d still have a board of trustees of five members, but there would be a lot less to do and it would free up our members to train to be firefighters,” he explained.
Carlson said another advantage is that the township would no longer have to pay $1,600 each year for an audit of the fire relief paperwork. Lutsen Treasurer and Firefighter John Groth said there is a fee of $600 to be part of the statewide association, but noted that is less than the price of the audit. Fire Chief Paul Goettl said the current arrangement also requires a $250 treasurer bond, another expense that would not be required if the township entered the state fire relief program.
It is also believed that the return on investment in the statewide program is higher. “The return is approximately 6%, so it would make the municipal’s investment a little lower each year,” said Carlson.
“So changing would save the taxpayers some money?” asked Supervisor Marland Hansen.
After an affirmative reply and a few more questions, the board passed a motion to participate in the statewide fire relief program. Supervisor Joe Buttweiler abstained, as he is a firefighter and is eligible for benefits under the program.
Supervisor Buttweiler reported on his discussion with the West End Garden Club members who are interested in establishing a flower bed at the Lutsen Town Park. Buttweiler said the gardeners asked about water availability. He suggested installing a water faucet on the outside of the well house at the park. Supervisor Marland Hansen said the township needed to be careful as the well was “touchy” and it was shared with adjacent homeowners. “There would have to be a lock of some kind on it,” said Hansen.
Buttweiler agreed to talk to a plumber to get costs to install a water faucet with some sort of lock.
He said the plan is to create a hexagon- or pentagon shaped raised flower bed between the well house and the volleyball court. He said the township would need to purchase landscape timbers for the above-ground garden and black dirt. Other than that, said Buttweiler, the garden club would do the rest.
Supervisor Diane Parker asked when the garden club wanted to get started and Buttweiler joked, “Two years ago.”
“It’s too late this year,” he added seriously. “Next spring we need to get started on this.”
The board briefly followed up on last month’s discussion of a possible renovation and/or expansion of the town hall and fire hall. Hansen asked if the fire department had thought about converting the town hall meeting area to another garage bay. He said if the entire building was dedicated to the fire department and rescue squad, another building could be built to serve as the town hall. Firefighters at the meeting questioned whether that would offer enough space for the fire department’s vehicles and equipment. Fire Chief Paul Goettl said he would bring the idea to the committee established to research the possible renovation.
The committee members are Goettl, Larry McNeally, Scott Harrison, and Tom Nalezney.
In other business:
. Supervisor Hansen reported on his attendance at the last Poplar River Management Board (PRMB) and its receipt of a federal grant of $687,034 from the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. He said a Statement of Need and
Reasonableness (SONAR) is being drafted for the projects
proposed for the river. . Fire Chief Goettl reported on another successful fire department fall pancake breakfast. He said the volunteer fire department served 254 people and after expenses raised $2,800. The money raised goes toward a scholarship fund for Cook County students pursuing a degree or certification in the medical, emergency response, or law enforcement field.
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