With Minnesota Power’s Taconite Harbor Energy Center coal-fired power plant scheduled to be idled on September 26, there is a lot going on at the plant, General Manager David Rannetsberger said to Schroeder supervisors at their September 13 meeting.
One of those items is what to do with the maintenance building located across Highway 61 on the hill. Rannetsberger presented a rough draft of a lease proposal for the building for supervisors to consider.
With the power plant on the lake closing, West End firefighters lose a valuable place to fill their pumper trucks. However, there is a 6,000-gallon water tank in the maintenance garage that firefighters could use, said Rannetsberger.
When asked the lease cost, Rannetsberger replied, “I was thinking about $250 per month, plus some snowplowing. If you lease the building we would want you to keep the lower road plowed as part of the agreement.”
Another part of that agreement would include Schroeder paying to heat the building while Minnesota Power would pay for the electricity.
Supervisor Roger “Bill” McKeever asked if Schroeder could switch propane companies because the township’s current provider is cheaper than the one who fills the tank for Minnesota Power. Rannetsberger said that option could be explored. He also said if the building was kept at 40 F or so it wouldn’t cost much to keep it heated.
“If we [Minnesota Power] want the building back we would give Schroeder 60 days notice,” he said.
Supervisor Bruce Martinson said the board would need the firefighters’ blessing before they pursued a lease, but early indications are that the building might be of good use to the township.
Tina McKeever, the board chair, said she would call for a special session so the board could discuss the matter further. Bill McKeever and Schroeder’s Fire Chief Phil Bonin will inspect the building in the near future. One thing Bill McKeever said they could check was to see how fast water fills the tank once it’s emptied.
The building would be available on November 1, 2016, said Rannetsberger.
With the 225-megawatt power plant’s doors soon to close, Minnesota Power hosted firefighters from Silver Bay, Tofte, Schroeder, plus employees from the Cook County Sheriff ’s Department and emergency management personnel on Monday, September 12 for a training session on how to tackle a fire at the plant if one should occur.
“It was a good meeting,” said Fire Chief Bonin.
Rannetsberger said the company was still trying to figure out a way for firefighters to use the water pump at the plant in the event of a major fire in the area.
“This would be for a fire like the one that occurred at Bluefin. Not for a small house fire,” he said.
The decision to idle rather than close will allow Minnesota Power to restart and produce electric power to maintain grid reliability if the demand for electricity should rise.
When closed the plant will be equipped with a fire detection system that will be alarmed remotely.
Parking lot repair completed
Repairs to the parking lot have been completed with the catch basins eliminated and the problems experienced because of poor drainage fixed, said Rick Anderson.
Greg Vetter [who did the excavating] did a good job, said Anderson. “Greg encouraged the township to have the parking lot paved this fall,” Anderson said.
With that suggestion, Anderson sought a bid from Edwin E. Thoreson, Inc. Anderson presented that bid of $6,500 to the board for consideration. After discussing a variety of reasons about why the parking lot should be paved before winter the board voted to hire Thoreson’s to do the work this fall.
Schroeder Town Plan revision
On November 9 at 6:30 p.m. there will be a public meeting at Schroeder Town Hall to discuss a Schroeder Town Plan revision.
“We would like to get community input on the plan before it goes to the Cook County Board of Commissioners,” said Tina McKeever, adding that the plan will be put on the township’s website.
Citizens against donations to nonprofits
During citizen’s comments, Charlie Muggley and Schroeder Treasurer Alicia Kangas made it clear that they were worried about how much money the township gives to nonprofit groups like the Birch Grove Community School.
Tina McKeever said the board typically followed the will of the Schroeder citizens who vote at the annual meeting on who should get money and how much money should be given to nonprofits who have asked the township for financial support.
But Kangas said she had been asking the board since 2011 if the vote at the annual meetings had to be followed by the supervisors or if the supervisors had the authority to override the vote and rule another way.
“I never got an answer,” said Kangas.
Muggley said the Minnesota Association of Townships notified townships in 2012 that the boards had the final say on determining how township funds could be spent, and not the voters. He also worried about the legality of some of the township’s giving, especially when it applied to the money given to Birch Grove Community School.
“If people want to give to the school they can get out their checkbooks and write a check to the school,” said Muggley.
Martinson acknowledged that the board had final say on matters concerning the townships pocket book, but added, “I still think we need to give weight to how the people vote when we make our decisions.”
Emergency spending policy finalized
In other matters the board adopted a Policy for Expenditures, which will allow the township clerk or a designee to spend up to $2,500 on behalf of the township without board approval. Anything above that amount will have to be approved by the board of supervisors.
Designees include managing supervisors of the Road and Bridge, Cemetery, Firefighting, and Recreation departments.
One of the ways this policy could be put in place is if a road needed to be quickly repaired and the board couldn’t meet to okay the repairs. If those repairs came in under $2,500, the work could be hired out and the road repaired in quick fashion.
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