The Tofte town board is wondering how the merging of local tourism associations into the new Cook County Visitors Bureau will affect the township. At its Thursday, March 11, 2010 meeting, Supervisor Paul James stated that Tofte will be keeping 4% of the lodging tax collected in Tofte, as it is entitled to do, for tourism efforts of its own rather than handing it over to the visitors bureau.
According to James, those involved in the new partnership are considering pulling Lutsen-Tofte Tourism Association (LTTA) offices out of the Tofte Fishing Museum and are opposed to Tofte keeping its 4%. He indicated that if LTTA leaves the fishing museum, Tofte will use its 4% to keep the museum open.
“Are they saying we want all the money or screw you, you’re on your own?” asked Fire Chief Rich Nelson.
“Pretty much,” was James’ reply.
“A lot of people are in the dark about this whole thing,” said Nelson. “They know there’s a fight, but they don’t know what it’s about.”
Supervisor D.C. Olsen pointed out that if they lost the financial support they get from LTTA’s presence in the museum, Tofte could choose to use its $200,000 a year in lodging tax income for another tourism bureau to promote the township. He did not think the township could do its own advertising as effectively as a tourism bureau could, however.
We’re a small town, and with this new great big tourism association, who watches out for the small business? James asked. “We need to take care of our tourism needs.”
Supervisor-elect Jim King said Tofte brings in 40% of what is collected in West End lodging tax, Schroeder brings in 3%, and Lutsen brings in the rest.
“All we’re trying to do is spend money on tourism items for Tofte,” James said. “It’ll work out,”
“We’ll get there,” said King. In other news:
James read a letter from the Schroeder town board saying they would pay the $10,400 Tofte requested for Schroeder’s annual share in rescue squad costs, but only for one year during which they want to come to a better agreement over actual costs.
Coming up with a price is difficult, James said, because it’s hard to determine what percentage of the township’s costs are spent on the rescue squad. Schroeder questioned Tofte’s use of a Duluth company’s commercial rental space prices in its estimate of costs. Theyknow they can’t provide their own rescue squad for $10,400 a year, he said. Theyneed to have a Schroeder supervisor come talk to them about the situation, he said.
Fire Chief Rich Nelson suggested that they simply set a price and inform Schroeder what that is. Jim King suggested that they discuss the issue with the Schroeder board instead of continuing to discuss the issue without them at the table.
Nelson reported that firefighter classes are going well. “Everybody’s learning a lot of stuff,” he said, adding that the classes are a good investment.
Thenew body for the rescue squad’s Ford F350 will take four to six weeks to build, Nelson said. The township has budgeted $20,000 for it, but he thinks it will cost no more than $12,000. Nelson said he would check out some prices, although he could do a lot of the work himself.
Nelson reported he is having trouble finding a company that could provide backlighting for the clock tower sign on the fire hall.
At D.C. Olsen’s suggestion, the board voted to drop the township’s contents insurance for the Birch Grove Community Center since the charter school owns and insures most of the building’s contents. Tofte owns some freezers, but since they are attached to the building, they are covered under building insurance. This will save Tofte $290 a year.
The board passed a motion to hire Dave Rude to install an electrical outlet in the park. They discussed ways of locking the outlet so that only those who have rented the park can use the power. The board passed another motion to charge $175 for non-residents to rent the park and use its power. The cost will remain at $25 for residents.
With several certificates of deposit (CDs) maturing, the board decided to put $9,000 into a new CD for a fire department sinking fund and $6,000 into another CD for a rescue squad sinking fund. The vehicle slated for a new body will serve both departments and would allow the rescue squad to respond to calls in two places at once.
The board discussed using the services of grant writer Scott Dane of Gilbert. He has successfully landed two grants for Tofte and others for fire departments along the North Shore. He will only write a grant if he thinks there’s a 70% chance of getting it, James said.
The Tofte Board of Equalization and Appeal will meet April 8 at 6:00 p.m. People with questions or issues regarding their property taxes can meet with the board, including County Assessor Mary Black, at that time.
This was Supervisor Tom Muntean’s last Tofte board meeting. He did not run for re-election and will be replaced by Jim King. At the end of the meeting, Paul James stood up, faced Muntean, took his hat off, and said, “Thank you, Tom, for your three years of service!” The board then applauded.
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