The Schroeder township board didn’t have any huge decisions to make at its May 14, 2013 regular meeting, but it discussed a lot of different things in one quick hour.
Deputy Clerk Gale Ring has been working on a plan to remove tansy from the welcome walls along the highway this spring. Tansy, which has a button-like yellow flower, is considered a noxious weed and is prohibited according to the Minnesota Noxious Weed Law.
Cook County Agriculture Inspector David Betts has not ordered the removal of tansy from the welcome walls, but Ring wants to see it gone anyway. Betts told the Cook County News-Herald that he is aware of the tansy and that it is in the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) right of way. He said he prefers to work cooperatively on noxious weed problems.
A Minnesota Department of Agriculture informational bulletin states that tansy can be removed by pulling it out of the ground as long as roots are dug out as well. Mowing it down before it flowers can prevent seed production, although repeated mowing throughout the season is required to keep plants from resprouting and producing seeds. Mowing alone can actually increase the density of tansy patches, however. Some herbicides have been found to be effective as well.
Deputy Clerk Ring reported that a permit would be needed from the Minnesota Department of Transportation for a volunteer crew to help out. “I never knew I needed a permit to work on welcome walls – to volunteer!” she said.
MnDOT can supply vests for volunteers, Ring said. She said she would find out if the Sheriff ’s Department could have a squad car nearby to slow traffic down, which she expected to be effective even if a deputy was not inside the car.
Daylilies planted along the welcome walls are the flowers that were intended for the Schroeder highway corridor. If they are too hard to keep up, Ring said, they could turn the gardens into grass, which would be easier to maintain but not as pretty. Tom Jacobson of MnDOT has offered to try to obtain some mulch to help keep the weeds down.
Township-related county news
County Commissioner Bruce Martinson reported that he and Cook County ATV Club members Mickey Brazell and Rhonda Silence had spoken with the Lake County board about opening Lake County Roads 7 and 8 to ATV traffic, creating a seamless route for ATVers between the east end of Lake County and the west end of Cook County.
Martinson said the Lake County board was in support of going through the process to create the proposed ATV route.
Martinson talked to the Schroeder supervisors about the county board’s plan to hire an administrator. Roger “Bill” McKeever said that Cook County’s population is similar to what it was when he graduated from high school, but the number of county employees is far greater.
Fire department news
Fire Chief Phil Bonin reported that wildfires were burning in Red Rock, Minnesota and in Wisconsin and that fire bans were on. “You can’t burn grass,” he said.
Bill McKeever said that the U.S. Forest Service burns grass and tells everyone else they can’t. “When they quit burning, that’s when the wood ticks moved in,” he said.
Bonin said both the Tofte and Schroeder fire departments need firefighters.
Bonin said neither the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources nor the U.S. Forest Service is switching over to the state’s new Allied Radio Matrix for Emergency Response (ARMER) communication interoperability system.
The Schroeder Fire Department’s new ARMER radios work really well, Bonin said, with strong signals and clear reception everywhere. “I can talk from my basement,” he said.
Signage
The board talked about the need to upgrade to the newly required highly reflective signs on township roads. They also talked about how the frost heaved the minimum maintenance signs that are tipped now. They discussed the possibility of putting up a town hall sign on the building to help people find it more easily.
Town park planning
Greg Miron has taken over for Jim Norvell on making plans and seeking funding for improvements to the town park, adjacent to the Father Baraga’s Cross area.
Bill McKeever pointed out that part of the design plan proposed by consultant C.J. Fernandez of LHB was situated on land not owned by the township. He had proposed an environmental learning or performance area next to the Cross River just north of the cross, land that is owned by Skip Lamb. Lamb is on the task force that has been working on this project.
Miron said they expected to hear about their latest grant application in about a month.
Leave a Reply