After several years of discussions, the steps needed to allow Schroeder Township to leave the Tofte, Schroeder Sanitary Sewer District (TSSSD) are falling into place.
That was the news coming from Schroeder Township supervisor Bruce Martinson at the Schroeder supervisors’ May meeting.
Before all of the pieces fall into place, the township must call for a public meeting and following that meeting, supervisors must call for a resolution to end the agreement with Tofte Township, who has agreed to the split.
The petition must state the reasons why the creation of the TSSSD no longer apply or exist, and also prove that the county is providing fairly reliable ISTS services within Schroeder. Once the petition is complete, it must be submitted to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) for approval. After a 30-day notice period following the public hearing, the MPCA petition can be filed and the detachment will be complete.
With $60,000 left in the joint TSSSD account, Tofte Township supervisors have agree to let Schroeder use some of those funds to pay for the legal fees to leave the TSSSD.
The TSSSD was formed many years ago and has been inactive for years.
Grand Marais attorney Tyson Smith met with the board to discuss the necessary steps to have the Schroeder fire department comply with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) rules.
An OSHA inspector visited the fire hall in early March for a spot inspection and wrote up a lengthy list of violations noted in a report sent several weeks later to the board. The report included a list of items the township had to do to get the fire department in compliance with the OSHA rules.
Formed in 1970, OSHA’s mission is to “assure safe and healthy working conditions for working men and women by setting and enforcing standards and by providing training, outreach, education and assistance.”
A fine of $3,850 was also levied against the township. That was partially lifted however after Tyson Smith, Schroeder Township volunteer fire chief Phil Bonin and Bruce Martinson attended a meeting with OSHA in Duluth on Wednesday, May 16. Following that meeting the fine was reduced to $2,300 after the trio could show that the violations were corrected or were in the process of being corrected. Many of the citations were for record keeping or even for where the volunteer firefighters’ records were kept.
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