Meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 19, the Lutsen town board ran through a litany of town business in just over an hour.
Treasurer John Groth reported that as of January 31 the township had $366,362.22 in its coffers.
Clerk Sharon Hexum presented email requests from both the Junior Alpine ski team ($1,000) and township of Tofte ($1,500 for fireworks) for money that was approved at the 2018 annual meeting by residents. No motion was required to release the funds to each group.
A motion was made and passed for Melissa Rexrode and Sharon Hexum to be 2019 election judges.
Three donations of $1,000 each were given to the Lutsen Fire Department from associations from Caribou Highlands. They were accepted with thanks.
Commissioner’s report
Cook County Commissioner Ginny Storlie gave the township board an update about the recent goings on at the county board. The committee of the whole met earlier in the day, said Storlie, and discussed the first draft of guidelines for Airbnb and short-term vacation rentals.
The guidelines, which will be discussed in more detail in the coming months, only cover the county and not the city of Grand Marais, added Storlie.
Over the last few years there has been a dramatic increase in the short-term rental market, where cabins and houses have been turned into investment properties. And for the previous two years, the county has been working on setting up guidelines and a fee structure—Storlie said the county is talking about $200 per year to obtain a license—as well as making sure septic requirements and parking and other rules are followed, which should help even the playing field for traditional hotel, motel, and the B&B industry.
Because tracking down just who owns and operates these rentals and when and where they are occurring will take a lot of time, Storlie said the county is looking at hiring a Seattle-based company to monitor, track and identify the county’s short term rentals.
Next Storlie said she attended the recent legislative session at the capital and listened to the new governor outline his priorities. One item the county is hoping to be restored is the county state aid program. Funds directed to Minnesota counties have steadily dropped since the early 2000s, and a return to earlier funding will help reduce the county’s levy, she said.
Other items discussed at the county level included the board members receiving a booklet on the open meeting law from county attorney Molly Hicken; putting more public data online to increase transparency; and a new public land surveying system that identifies the property markers (stakes) in one’s property, which should help Realtors and property owners, Storlie said.
Fire chief and EMS reports
Fire Chief James Coleman reported that over the last month there had been one call with EMS support. “It’s been pretty quiet,” he added.
EMS Chief Steve Duclos reported Lutsen EMS had been called out five times in the last month. Four EMS members completed refresher training, he added.
Next, Duclos displayed a new device for opening an airway that is safer (called an I-gel) than the method they have been using. “The balloon would open the airway but could close off the corroded artery, and the victim wouldn’t get oxygen to their brain,” he said.
Duclos said the fire chief from Hibbing had come and provided four hours of invaluable training to the crew the night before the township meeting.
Supervisor reports
Christine Ordemann said there was no meeting of the Lutsen downtown business group, and had nothing more to report.
Andrew Beavers said he had been working with the fire department on updating the standard operating guidelines. Once finished, he said work would begin to update the EMS standard operating guidelines.
Supervisor Rae Piepho talked about a study completed last summer by the Arrowhead Regional Development Commission (ARDC), which gathered user data from the Duluth Lakewalk, the Willard Munger State Trail, the St. Louis River Trail and the Gitchi-Gami State Trail for a paved trail economic assessment.
Some information from that study revealed that 55 percent of respondents said the Gitchi Gami Bike Trail was “very important” in their decision to visit the area.
Twenty-one percent of Gitchi-Gami trail users stayed at state campgrounds or state parks with another 21 percent staying with friends or relatives. Eighteen percent stayed at hotels/motels, 14 percent stayed at resorts, and 9 percent found lodging at (VRBO/Airbnb) with the remaining staying at a city or private campground.
“The study revealed that seventy-five percent of the visitors responded to the survey and an average of $210 per day was spent by those using the trail,” said Piepho.
When it is done the 86-mile-long Gitchi-Gami trail will run through five state parks, several communities, four scientific and natural areas, as well as a multitude of historic sites as it connects Two Harbors and Grand Marais. So far, 30 of 89 miles of the trail have been completed with a short section from the Ski Hill Road and downtown Lutsen to be done with crushed limestone instead of pavement, as part of an experiment, said Beavers.
A Gitchi Gami trail extension meeting will be held at 6 p.m. on Feb. 27 at the town hall.
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