Cook County Commissioner Bruce Martinson asked the Schroeder Town Board if they would consider placing pictures of active duty service men and women on the walls of the town hall as a way to acknowledge their sacrifice and remember them as they fought for the country. Martinson came before the board on Tuesday, November 8.
“This might be a way to honor our kids from Schroeder who are in the military. As long as they are in active service, we could hang their pictures in the community hall. We could get pictures from the families of the kids in uniform. It’s a little gesture, but it would help be a reminder to us about what they are doing for us,” said Martinson.
Supervisors thought Martinson’s idea was great and passed a motion to begin the process of collecting photographs of current servicemen and women who hail from Schroeder to hang in the community hall.
“And when the kids get out of the service, we wouldn’t have to take their pictures right down. We could leave them up there for a time,” said Supervisor Bill McKeever. Township property insurance goes down
In a bit of good news, Carol Tveekrem reported that the property insurance rate “has decreased significantly from last year.”
The insurance cost a little more than $5,000 last year and will drop to $3,235 for the coming year. The reason the rate dropped, said Tveekrem, is because the insurance agency was doing more of its work in-house, thereby saving money for its clients, and had dropped its rates from last year. Taxes going up
Martinson said the upcoming Cook County Truth In Taxation hearing will result in some homeowners being surprised by the increases in their property taxes.
Using his own home as a model, Martinson said that last year he paid $894 in taxes on a valuation of $255,600. This year, he said, his taxes will increase to $1,132, or, as he put it, “a rate increase of 27 percent over last year.”
The reason for the tax increase is because the state eliminated the market value credit for homestead property owners and counties have to make up for the shortfall. Support for senior housing
The board received a letter from Tofte Township asking for a letter of support for its bid to secure a grant that would be used to build senior center housing.
McKeever said, “I fully support the concept, and I think we should send a letter of support but we don’t have any money for this project.”
The board agreed and Tveekrem will draft a letter to send to Tofte Township. The board also supported a proposed land exchange with the federal government that would give Tofte more private land next to Birch Grove Community Center in exchange for countyowned land in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW). The proposed senior living center could possibly be built on this land.
In other business: . Fire Chief/Rescue Squad leader Phil Bonin said it was a slow month for his squads. “We haven’t had any calls. I attended a fire chief’s meeting two weeks ago and they talked about the new radio system they are getting for the county. One big grant is being written for the county. Other than that, I don’t have much to report.”
The grant Bonin referred to will help fund an emergency communication system that will allow police, Forest Service, DNR, fire departments, rescue squad workers, and other state and federal departments in Cook County to reach each other in an emergency without breaks in the system. Due to the rugged terrain, it is often hard, if not impossible, for different branches of government to talk to each other now in an emergency like a flood or fire.
. Clerk Carol Tveekrem read the quotes for snowplowing. She said that Isak Hansen’s and Dennis LaBoda each bid $200 per job (unless fuel goes up, and then $20 will be added to the bill) to plow Sugarloaf Road, but LaBoda said he could finish the job within 24 hours while Hansen’s couldn’t guarantee same day service. With that information, the board awarded the contract to LaBoda while naming Isak Hansen’s as the backup.
Once again Schroeder’s town roads were certified at 4.67 miles, the same as last year, said Tveekrem.
. The dock and porta potties have been removed from Dyers Lake and the recreation area for the winter, said Tveekrem.
. Also discussed was the flagpole, which has been in need of repair or replacement for some time. Fire Chief Bonin said he had gone online and found “about 75 pages of flag pole companies,” but he hasn’t had time to look at the companies and pick the best prices to replace the pole and the rope and the clips. “But I promise I will get to it soon,” said Bonin.
. “The boardroom’s lock [on the door] is behaving better,” said Tveekrem. She said Assistant Clerk Gayle Ring’s key just needs to be “jiggled a little bit,” while hers needs to be pushed in a bit further to get it to work.
. Tveekrem said she received a lengthy Cook County water management plan update and wanted to know if anyone wanted to go through it. McKeever said that water levels in wells were the lowest he had ever seen them, “and I’ve been in the business [well drilling] for 50 years.”
McKeever and Supervisor Ross Willson will look at the Cook County water management plan and come back with their ideas.
. Tveekrem reported that the township’s website was up and running, but added, “This is not a site where people can post lost pets or for work wanted. It’s for township business.”
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