About 20 members of Lutsen township attended the August 16 continuation of the March 8, 2016 annual meeting to finalize the township’s 2017 budget and levy, and by a majority vote agreed to set it at $200,195.36, up from the 2016 budget of $173,870.36.
Lutsen Treasurer John Groth said the raise was largely due to $27,300 in requests for donations, which were approved by voters at the March 8 meeting.
At that meeting voters approved contributions of $800 to the Lutsen Junior Alpine Ski Team, $5,000 to W.E. Connect, $1,500 to the Tofte township for the July 4 firework display, and $20,000 to the Birch Grove Community School (BGCS).
Groth went over the budget, answering a variety of questions from the audience, but the biggest question centered on the township’s vote to give Birch Grove Community School $20,000, especially in light of a recent email sent to supervisors from the Minnesota Association of Townships’ General Counsel and Director of Government attorney Kent Sulem who said that in his opinion, the donation from the township to the school isn’t legal.
“I think we need to be on the positive side of this issue and pay this to the school when the law changes and it’s legal for us to give this donation to them,” said Groth.
“I agree,” said Town Board Chair Andrew Beavers. “We as a township voted to support the school and we need to keep the donation to them until we find out if we can give them the money. We promised to give it to them and if we can, we will.”
Groth said if the township couldn’t give the money to the school it will go into their general budget.
Lutsen, Tofte and Schroeder citizens voted to approve a contribution of $20,000 to BGCS at annual March meetings, and those donations are in limbo until the Minnesota legislature decides whether or not to change the law(s) that govern township donations.
The continuation meeting concluded with the board setting the next annual meeting for March 14 at 8 p.m. in the Lutsen Town Hall.
Fire and EMS reports at regular meeting
At the regular monthly meeting that followed, Lutsen Fire Chief Larry McNeally said his crew went on one call last month.
McNeally also said Minnesota Power requested that Lutsen firefighters get trained by the company so they could fight a potential fire at the soon-to-be-closed Taconite Harbor Energy Center. But McNeally told supervisors, “I think it’s too much liability for our township. I think it’s a death trap.”
Treasurer Groth, who also serves as assistant fire chief, agreed with McNeally and said after going through the building, “It could be a death trap. If we did this we could be opening ourselves to undue risk.”
“It doesn’t sound like there is enough benefit to the township to take part in this,” said Beavers.
The board agreed and McNeally will inform Minnesota Power that Lutsen will not take part in training to put out any potential fire at Taconite Harbor Energy Center.
Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Chief Fred Schmidt said his crew had gone on 45 calls this year and looked like it would hit the 65 calls per year average.
“Dr. [Sandy] Stover came to a recent meeting and showed us how to administer Narcan to people who have overdosed on drugs,” Schmidt said.
Narcan is an opiate antidote that blocks the effects of opioids (heroin, morphine, oxycodone etc.) and reverses an overdose.
In other business
. Grand Marais Realtor Julie Carlson and Cook County Zoning Administrator Bill Lane came with a request to have a lot title cleared up. Carlson said her clients bought the lot in 1990 and in 2004 the county changed the zoning from residential to commercial but the deed restrictions were not removed.
“What would you like us to do?” Beavers asked Lane.
“Write a letter of support requesting Planning and Zoning to reclassify the lot to residential. This is an absolute easy rezone because it makes perfect sense. I think we would be correcting an error,” Lane said, adding that it seemed like the intent of the original owners and sellers of the land, Irving and Sue Hansen, was to keep the land as residential.
The town board agreed to send a letter to Planning and Zoning supporting their request.
. The annual pancake breakfast—a fundraiser for the Fire Relief Association—will be held Sunday, September 18 at the Lutsen Town Hall/Community Center from 8 to 11 a.m.
. A potluck for Lutsen residents will be held Tuesday, October 11 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the town hall. “This will be a chance to welcome people to the community and for people to get to know each other,” Beavers said.
. Supervisor Rae Piepho will attend an upcoming Minnesota Association of Townships meeting in Twig, Minnesota and along with Schroeder Supervisor Tina McKeever, will meet with Kent Sulem and discuss what can be done to assist the townships in their efforts to donate to Birch Grove School.
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