The town of Tofte local Board of Appeal and Equalization invited the public on Thursday, April 12 to discuss information regarding assessment and classification of property.
Although no one attended the meeting, Cook County Assessor Todd Smith and the Tofte Board of Equalization discussed seven claims that were submitted for review.
Held annually, the meeting gives people a chance to find out if their taxable property has been properly valued and classified by the assessor, and to determine whether corrections need to be made.
During the meeting, the board reviewed the claims and corrected four of them.
One was a clearcial error, two were for vacant land and one claim was inspected and the property value adjusted, said Smith.
From this point on the appeals will be taken to the county board of appeal and equalization for further review.
Britnie Soderholm was reappointed as the Tofte Deputy Clerk, and the board asked Dan Shirley if he would be interested in accepting the Treasurer position.
Shirley, who is a member of the Cook County I.S.D. 166 school board, said he would think about it and see if the position would fit into his schedule. He said he would let the board know at their next monthly meeting.
The board approved supporting Claire and Dan Shirley’s request for renewal of a 3.2 beer license for Sawbill Outfitters. When asked how sales of 3.2 beer were going, Shirley said the product wasn’t a big revenue maker for the business but was something patrons enjoyed when they came off a long trip into the BWCA. If he had one concern, it was that because of the new change allowing liquor and strong beer to be sold on Sundays, it was going to be harder to get a wide variety of 3.2 beer selections because vendors weren’t carrying as many brands now.
The board accepted the resignation of Jim King from the Tofte Schroeder Sanitary District (TSSSD) board with thanks for his service.
After some discussion about potential problems with liability, it was decided to allow AARP to hold driver’s education courses at Birch Grove Community Center without charging a fee for space. AARP has conducted classes at the building in the past, but when requested to pay for a classroom, they balked and said they weren’t interested in paying a rental fee. The board decided the service was valuable to West End residents and agreed not to charge AARP.
A discussion about upgrading bathrooms at Birch Grove Community Center was tabled until next month, but Somnis said someone should look at the vents at the center.
“They are dangerous looking and protrude out. I don’t know how a kid hasn’t been hurt by hitting one.”
Supervisor Craig Horak promised to go inspect them and said, “We can table this until next meeting unless there is an easy, affordable solution to fixing them, then I will get them fixed before the next meeting.”
Bids will be let for the mowing of the cemetery and Tofte Town Park. No work can be done on the fire hall sewer project until the ground thaws, said Horak.
Housing:
As soon as the snow melts the engineer hired by Tofte will walk the property behind Birch Grove with Horak and Dennis Rysdahl, the owner of Bluefin. Following his inspection of the land, Horak said the engineer would bring two plans for potential workforce housing that could be built on a portion of the township’s 27 acres of property.
Should any housing be built on the township land, it has been made clear that the township will not be involved with leasing or managing houses.
Appointments:
During the annual organizational meeting, Fire Chief Rich Nelson and Rescue Chief Kim Jahnke and Phil Bonin were reappointed to their volunteer positions for the coming year. This next year will mark the 20th year Richie has been the Tofte fire chief.
Supervisor Sarah Somnis was voted in to be the board chair and Craig Horak vice chair for the next coming year.
Horak will continue as the board’s liaison to Birch Grove Community School, WE CONNECT and the Birch Grove Community Center building while Somnis will continue as the board’s liaison to the fire and rescue squads. Supervisor Sam Crowley will be the board’s liaison to the Town Park and cemetery.
The Cook County News-Herald was designated as the township’s official newspaper and Grand Marais State Bank as the official bank depositor.
Sarena Nelson was hired as event coordinator for the July 4th celebration. She will be paid $1,350. Tofte clerk Barb Quade has been working on getting event insurance and a county permit for fireworks for the huge July 4th celebration.
Fire chief report:
With OSHA deciding to inspect small township fire departments, Nelson said the crew was pressure testing hoses and gear and making sure everything met state standards in case of state inspectors from OSHA showed up, “like they did to our neighbors, the Schroeder fire department.”
Upcoming on May 5 will be a joint training session with Lutsen and Schroeder firefighters, said Nelson, adding any other local firefighters were welcome to attend.
Rescue squad report:
“We only had one call this past month. Things have been pretty quiet,” said Kim Jahnke.
County commissioner report:
Cook County Commissioner Ginny Storlie told supervisors about her trip to Washington, D.C. on behalf of the county and the county board’s recent decision to bond for $9.5 million for a wide variety of projects.
She said it looks like money will be allocated to build some more of the Gitchi Gami bike trail in Tofte from the Tofte Fishing museum to a short way past Coho restaurant. The state will use the path around Bluefin as part of the Gitchi Gami Trail, and Dennis Rysdahl will have the parking lot area reconfigured, said Storlie. Storlie also said there was still a chance of putting an underground passage below Highway 61 near the Forest Service building so cyclists/ runners/walkers etc. could safely hook up with the Gitchi Gami Trail on that upper side of the highway.
Leave a Reply