Kristin Wharton and Carol DeSain came before the Schroeder town board on February 11, 2014 with an invitation for the township to join in the countywide Active Living program.
Wharton is the Active Living Steering Committee (ALSC) coordinator for the Sawtooth Mountain Clinic and the county coordinator of the Statewide Health Improvement Program (SHIP) and DeSain is the president of the Sawtooth Mountain Clinic board.
“We would like to make this a countywide conversation focusing on how we can make our roads and streets safer for walkers and bikers, particularly when it comes to Highway 61,” said Wharton.
The Active Living Steering Committee is currently meeting monthly, said Wharton and they are seeking input from residents of the entire county. She said this was an opportunity for community leaders, elected officials, business leaders, transportation professionals, citizens, walking and biking advocates, seniors, and health leaders to have a conversation about how to make non-motorized transportation safer and better throughout the county.
“You are welcome to be part of the process if you like, formally or informally. Every community gets to decide whether they want to join, but we don’t want you to feel there is pressure to join,” said Wharton.
Supervisor Roger “Bill” McKeever said he was concerned about how people, “run out in front of you,” when they are in a crosswalk.
“This is the most unsafe thing that the state did, when they put in crosswalks. People think when they are in a crosswalk they don’t have to wait for traffic. They think they can just run across and you will be able to stop even if you are driving a big truck with a lot of weight in it. Someone’s going to get killed. They have to get this turned around,” said McKeever.
“This is a matter of public education,” said DeSain. “You have to pass a test to get a driver’s license but you don’t have to pass a test to be a pedestrian.”
Skip Lamb, a community member, said it would be good to get the Minnesota Department of Transportation involved when it came to designing safer crosswalks at the Temperance River and Cross River locations because each draw throngs of people in the summer and is unsafe for both driver and pedestrians.
Wharton said she would take the community’s concerns back to her committee and invited any member of the community or the board to join in on further conversations.
“I will be going to the Tofte and Lutsen township meetings and inviting them to participate too,” said Wharton, adding that Schroeder was first on the list of places to visit.
“The Sawtooth Mountain Clinic got started because Schroeder loaned us a significant amount of money when we didn’t have enough,” said DeSain. “We don’t forget those things,” she added.
Looking ahead to annual meeting
Linda Lamb made a request for $9,000 for the Schroeder Area Historical Society that, if awarded, would be used to help fund the Cross River Heritage Center.
She said this is the 10th anniversary of the Heritage Center. Volunteers have donated more than 4,000 hours to the center, said Lamb, adding that the support received from Schroeder in the past was greatly appreciated. This request will be taken up at the annual township meeting on Tuesday, March 11.
Linda Lamb also told the board that the Schroeder Area Historical Society had received a $2,500 grant from Cleveland Cliffs.
Skip Lamb said Birch Grove Foundation would like to be on the agenda for the annual meeting. He also reported that a couple of families have left the area and the Birch Grove Community School numbers are down by four to five kids, “But I want people to know that we will be alright despite the rumors you might be hearing,” he said.
Discussion of roads
In another matter, Lamb said he had talked with Cook County Highway Engineer David Betts about upgrading the Cramer Road to a 10-ton road. Lamb said Betts told him that because two bridges would have to be replaced the county doesn’t have the money to do a project that big in the near future. Still, he told Lamb that the request would be noted and plans for the upgrade might be included sometime in the future.
Cook County Commissioner Bruce Martinson said he had met with John Olson of the Tofte Ranger District and discussed how much money the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) is spending to keep up its gravel roads in the county.
“They [USFS] aren’t spending enough money on road maintenance,” Martinson said.
“In 2003 they spent $1.3 million and last year they spent $400,000. They are spending about $700 per mile for gravel road maintenance while the county spends about $7,000 to $8,000 per mile to keep its gravel roads up. That lack of spending by the USFS will show up in the next couple of years. My personal opinion is that this lack of upkeep will result in more roadless areas,” Martinson said.
In other matters:
. The town board approved the 2014 budget of $105,940, which was less than the 2012 budget of $113,826.
. Supervisor Tina McKeever agreed to represent Schroeder on the Cook County Land Use Guide Plan committee. Bruce Martinson and Bill McKeever will serve as alternates if Tina can’t make monthly meetings.
. Fire Chief Phil Bonin reported that his crew had a couple of calls. “There was rollover in the ditch but everyone was okay. We’ve also received a few rescue calls and we had a mutual aid call in Finland for a snowmobile accident. We also have had a few issues with our new ARMER radios, but I will work that out with the Sherriff’s Department,” he said.
. Bill McKeever gave a Road & Bridge report. “We’re fine at this point. We really won’t know where we are until the snow is gone,” he said.
. The recreation areas and the cemetery are pretty quiet at this time, said Supervisor Tina McKeever.
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