ORB Management will begin soliciting bids to get the new warming house and skating rink in place this fall at the Birch Grove Community Center, said Tofte Supervisor Allan “D.C.” Olsen at the Tofte Board meeting held September 8.
Olsen said the warming house would have two bathrooms and lots of storage space in addition to an area for skaters to put on and take off skates and warm up when they are cold. The cost of the warming house will be around $100,000, said Olsen. The new skating rink will cost $50,000, he added.
After some discussion, the town board agreed to give the old warming house to a non-profit like the local snowmobile club or to the cross-country ski club. It was agreed to let Olsen find a new home for the warming house.
After further discussion, the board also agreed that a plaque commemorating Derald Storlie be made and placed in the warming house. Storlie, said Town Board Chair Paul James, was largely responsible for raising funds for the initial skating rink and facilities and the board felt his efforts needed to be remembered.
EMS Chief Louise Trachta gave a fire report. She said that the fire department had responded to two fires the previous month, one in Lutsen and one at Minnesota Power. She said that Search & Rescue was in much higher demand this summer, and that there was an increase in accidents to respond to. So far her crew has responded to 37 calls while there were only 50 last years. Her crew had been called out to eight accidents last month.
Trachta also said that Jim Boyd was writing a grant for all 12 of the county’s volunteer fire departments. If awarded, the money would be used for training and equipment.
Olsen said that Minnesota Power was putting together an advisory group to discuss the future of the Taconite Harbor Energy Center and they were hoping one of the Tofte town board members would be willing to serve. Olsen said he would do the job, but Jim King said that maybe he would have more time right now because Olsen is currently busy with a lot of projects. After some discussion it was decided to let King serve this year and Olsen next year if the committee is still together. Dave Rannetsberger will chair the board for Minnesota Power.
The board approved the much-discussed cemetery policy. “What, it’s taken three long years, but we finally got it done” said James.
Jerry Gervais said that the northeast corner of the cemetery road needed to be fixed so that water would drain off properly. “It floods because of a dip in the snowmobile trail,” said Gervais. James said that same dip has caused broken mirrors and broken tracks on snowmobiles.
“Let’s fix it. The snowmobile club and the town can share the cost to repair it,” said James. Gervais said it would cost about $1,000 to fix.
In other business:
. The town board agreed to certify the 2012 budget for $172,022. It was $173,071 for 2011, “so it actually went down a little bit,” said Supervisor Paul James.
. In other business, the board received a second installment of $4,046 from the Taconite Relief municipal funds and a motion passed to deposit in a rainy day fund.
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