Schroeder Fire Chief Phil Bonin reported at the January 11 Schroeder town board meeting that the department had received a couple of rescue calls but no fire calls over the previous month. “A few good ones, a few bad ones,” he said. “Other than that it’s been pretty quiet.”
Supervisor Ross Willson reported on inquiries he has made to Lake County rescue and ambulance squads regarding their costs. The combined annual costs of three Lake County departments were $32,000 for operations, $30,000 for EMS vehicle and equipment replacement funds, and $28,000 for maintenance on all vehicles, including both fire and rescue. He figured the sizes of the departments averaged out to one the size of the Tofte Rescue Squad, which serves Schroeder as well, although one of the towns, Silver Bay, is much bigger than Tofte and Schroeder combined.
The actual cost of operating the rescue squad has been discussed since the Schroeder town board questioned whether their contribution to Tofte’s rescue squad reflected the true cost of operations. The Tofte town board then analyzed its costs and came up with a figure for Schroeder’s half— $10,400— that was much greater than Schroeder had been paying previously.
“Who knows?” commented Schroeder Treasurer Mary VanDoren. “Maybe it’s even a little short.”
“We need each other,” Deputy Clerk Gail Ring said.
Snow removal and maintenance
Karl Crawford, hired to plow snow from the town/fire hall parking lot, asked if he could charge $80 each time he plows instead of $60 because he had underbid the job. Supervisor Roger “Bill” McKeever said he had thought Crawford would need more than $60 because of the price of fuel.
Crawford offered to do all the shoveling as well for a total cost of $105. “I feel it’s more than fair, too,” he said. The board agreed and passed a motion to pay him the extra $45.
Crawford said he was purchasing a tailgate sander but wondered where he could get sand. Since someone had been taking large quantities of sand from the county instead of the bucket or two the Cook County Highway Department allowed, the county was cracking down on letting people take sand from its stockpile, Bill McKeever said. He thought Crawford’s having a sander was a good idea, however. “Whoever used to do the plowing did the sanding if he thought it was necessary,” he said, “and it worked pretty good that way.” He commented that grading the Sugarloaf Road to reduce slipperiness is cheaper than sanding it.
The board voted to authorize all three town supervisors and Clerk Carol Tveekrem to officially request emergency winter maintenance from the county on township roads.
Crawford also talked to the board about the part-time maintenance position he had been offered. He said he was not interested in the job at the wage he had been offered because he would be covering his own worker’s compensation and insurance. He suggested a wage of $16-18 an hour, saying, “I’m trying to be as fair as I can.”
The board discussed the fact that contracting with Crawford would leave Tveekrem free from having to deal with workman’s comp, insurance, and social security. “Even at the higher rate we would probably be paying the same,” said Supervisor Tina McKeever.
The board voted to pay Crawford $17 an hour.
In other news:
The board discussed a federal requirement that road signs meet a new high-reflectivity standard. Some types will need to be in place by 2015 and others by 2018. The board talked about how this could impact Schroeder. Bill McKeever said the government requiring unnecessary spending during difficult economic times doesn’t make sense.
Also discussed were the upcoming township elections and annual town meeting on March 8. No one had filed for the treasurer position. Current treasurer Mary VanDoren is hoping someone else will take a turn. The possibility of a “hot race” was suggested. “I would love a hot race,” said VanDoren. “Anyone want my job?”
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