Okay so the Tofte Township board doesn’t have the power to influence the weather on Mars, but it was a line from Bill Hansen that couldn’t be passed up.
Bill Hansen doesn’t live in Tofte anymore, but his kids attended Birch Grove elementary school, and he felt they were given a good solid education in the small Tofte school. Today one is an attorney, he said, and one is purchasing his and his wife Cindy’s Sawbill Canoe Outfitter business with her husband.
So when Hansen heard Tofte Township was seeking a group leader to form a committee to search for solutions to help the financially struggling school, he came to the Dec. 8 Tofte Township board meeting to offer his services.
Hansen, who was trained by the State of Minnesota as a mediator, said the process used would be open, and the community would be invited to participate. Every idea put forward would be discussed, he said, adding, “Even if someone said the Tofte Town board’s decisions affect the weather on Mars, we would consider that.”
Decisions made by the committee would have to be unanimous before being brought to the township board for approval or denial, and Hansen added, “There are no winners or losers in this process. People have to compromise to reach decisions.”
When asked how soon he could start, Hansen said he would have to get in touch with people from Lutsen, Tofte and Schroeder to see who wanted to serve on the committee. So far, Tina McKeever from the Schroeder town board and Andrew Beavers from the Lutsen council have agreed to help, he said.
Hansen was asked if any decisions could be made by March, but he said that might be pushing the timeline too fast. His fee for his services, he said, was free.
“That sounds perfect,” said township Supervisor Jeanne Larson. Supervisors Craig Horak and Sarah Somnis voted with Larson to accept Hansen’s offer.
In other township business, the board agreed to hire James Coleman to maintain the ice-skating rink and Joel Bonin to perform parttime maintenance at Birch Grove Community Center.
The board also accepted Tammy Rude’s resignation from the Tofte Design Review Board and appointed Carroll Peterson to replace her on the board.
Requests for a project manager to oversee the proposed Tofte housing project have been sent out and one person has shown interest. A more detailed proposal will be made and sent out again in the hopes more interest is shown in the position.
A threatening comment made at last month’s Tofte township meeting was discussed. Nothing was done about it until after the meeting had ended, but Horak said if a similar comment or threat is made the meeting will be stopped and the situation addressed immediately. That said, the board asked the individual who was out of line to come back to meetings any time.
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