The Lutsen Township annual meeting didn’t last long—in fact it was over before two scheduled speakers made it to the meeting. Cook County Commissioner Bruce Martinson and George Wilkes of the Cook County Local Energy Project were busy at the Tofte and Schroeder annual meetings and didn’t make it to the Lutsen Town Hall before the Lutsen meeting ended at 9:20 p.m.
However, that doesn’t mean the township did not tackle some tough issues—citizens gave Lutsen Fire Chief Paul Goettl the go-ahead to pursue plans to expand and renovate the fire hall, but a request from Tofte for assistance with 4th of July fireworks fizzled.
Larry McNealy was nominated to serve as moderator for the town meeting and after standing for the Pledge of Allegiance, citizens moved quickly through routine annual meeting matters and on to the first budget request. Lutsen Clerk Amity Goettl read a letter from the Town of Tofte that asked for a $1,000 donation for fireworks at the Tofte Town Park on the 4th of July. The Tofte letter explained that Tofte must now pay $5,000 because of the new requirement to hire a pyrotechnics expert.
A citizen noted that when Lutsen held fireworks at its town park, Tofte did not donate anything. “And, when the fire department sets up our booth there to sell fish, they charge us for that,” he said.
Moderator McNealy asked for a motion regarding fireworks. There was no motion and no action was taken regarding the donation request.
Plans to proceed with fire hall planning
Fire hall/town hall building expansion was listed on the agenda under the 2012 budget, but it is yet unknown how the proposal will impact the budget. There were preliminary sketches for citizens to look at and Fire Chief Paul Goettl explained, “The fire department and the township are running out of space. We feel like it’s time to explore our options. A lot of us would like to move ahead sooner rather than later.”
Goettl pointed to the drawings and encouraged citizens to comment on them. The plans call for adding on to both ends of the building—for additional meeting room space on the south side and more garage/ parking bay space on the north side. The 39-plus-year-old metal building behind the 20-year-old wood building would be removed and the building would also be expanded in the back.
Ideally, Goettl said, the meeting space would be doubled and there would be a divider that could be used to create two smaller spaces or one large meeting room. “As it is now if we want to have any sort of mutual aid training, we have to go elsewhere,” he said. “This could be used by the township in a lot of ways.”
Karl Smit asked about parking, since the building would be expanded into current parking areas. Goettl said the driveway entrance would be moved to the other side of the building. The new bays would be designed to open onto the Caribou Trail so the need to keep the back of the building open for emergencies would be eliminated.
Gary Maciejewski said, “I think it’s definitely needed. I think it’s been needed since we first moved here 11 years ago. “
Maciejewski asked if the Fire Department had any idea of the cost of the expansion. Supervisor Marland Hansen, who has been meeting with the citizens interested in the renovation, said the proposal is still in the discussion stage. Goettl replied, “Anywhere from $100,000 to $1.5 million—we haven’t really gotten that far.”
Goettl noted that the fire department budget has a line item of $70,000 in 2011 for the fire hall building. He said he had also talked to Cook County and it is possible that the township could receive a zero-interest loan.
McNealy asked if the renovation plan was in compliance with the Lutsen Town Plan. Supervisor Hansen said the fire hall/town hall does not fall in the Lutsen Town Center Plan boundaries and reiterated that no decisions had been made. Goettl said planners would consider comments from the public, but added that most likely changes to the building would match the existing building. “I think it kind of fits our community,” said Goettl. “That is another reason why we want to get rid of the old metal building.”
“We’d like authorization to go ahead with more planning so we can come back with more details,” said Goettl.
Karl Smit made a motion authorizing Goettl to proceed on fire hall/town hall planning. Gary Maciejewski seconded and the motion carried with the approximately 25 citizens in attendance all voting in favor.
Funding for cemetery approved
Dick Nelson representing the Lutsen Cemetery Association requested $5,000 for 2012. He said the association was working to create a “lock box” account of $50,000. He said the lock box account would not be used; only the interest would be withdrawn to use for maintenance of the cemetery. “The goal is to raise enough so that we don’t have to keep coming back here,” said Nelson.
Nelson said plans are also underway to erect two signs— a cemetery sign and another honoring the Native Americans buried there.
Nelson said the cemetery association will receive some revenue from lot sales, but noted that with the current economic conditions, he didn’t know if that was a reliable source of income. “If it turns out that we don’t need the $5,000, we won’t take it,” he said, noting that volunteers had donated hundreds of hours of work and donations of $126,000 in materials had been given. “It’s really looking good,” he said.
Some concerns were expressed about potential vandalism to the cemetery. A citizen worried that the cemetery was becoming “too improved.” She said, “You’re making more people aware of the cemetery. You’re putting expensive signs there. Will it become an expensive nuisance?”
Nelson said the fears were likely unwarranted and he made a motion that the township put $5,000 in the 2012 budget for the cemetery. A vote was called and the motion passed.
Nelson encouraged others to consider serving on the cemetery association board. The problem, he said, is that you have to own a lot to be on the committee. “Well, most of the people who own lots are using them,” he quipped.
Hansen and Groth re-elected
During the first part of the meeting, election judges Mary Thornwall, Jenny Cartes, and Amity Goettl counted ballots. Goettl read the results. There were 67 ballots and incumbent Treasurer John Groth was reelected with 47 votes. There were four votes and six write-in votes.
In the supervisor race, incumbent supervisor Marland Hansen was re-elected by a narrow margin. Hansen defeated challenger Lela Goettl. Hansen received 35 votes, Goettl, 31.
Tentative budget set
Lutsen Township does not finalize its budget until an annual meeting continuation in August, but citizens tentatively approved $25,650 for the 2011 general budget and $126,900 for the fire department.
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