Greg Fangel was elected moderator for the March 10, 2020, yearly township meeting. About a dozen people attended the one-hour assembly that included reports about the Birch Grove Community Center, the budget, tax levy for 2021, housing, supervisor reports, and a variety of other township business.
Cook County Commissioner Ginny Storlie presented her report to the audience before leaving for the Lutsen township meeting. She appeared before all three townships on Tuesday, and the bulk of her report can be read in the Schroeder township summary.
Once the votes were cast and counted by the election judges, the results were announced to the electorate.
Tofte Township elections were as smooth as Lake Superior on a calm, windless day.
Running unopposed, Supervisor Craig Horak was voted in to serve another three-year term, and Tofte Township Clerk Kay Burkett, who was also unopposed, was elected to a two-year term. Kay had served as township clerk since last May when she was appointed to fill the spot left open after Barb Gervais resigned. Kay received 19 votes, and Craig 18 votes.
Several donation requests were approved for 2021. The Superior Timberwolves Club will receive $15,000, Junior Lutsen Alpine Ski club will get $1,500, and the Sugarbush Trail Association will also receive $1,500.
Craig Horak gave an update on the Tofte housing project. After many years of trying to build affordable housing, Craig said it was time for the township to give up on the venture. “The cost to hire engineers and architects and then the cost to build housing isn’t feasible at this time,” Horak said. If prices come down in the future, maybe the township could look at this topic again, but for now, the township is no longer involved in a housing project.
Township supervisors set a tentative 2021 levy of $196,960, but the levy won’t be finalized until the resumption of the annual meeting in August. There is one more item the supervisors need to learn more about before they agree that the $196,600 figure will be best for the 2021 levy, said Burkett.
Fire Chief Rich Nelson estimated that his volunteer squad reported to 32 calls in 2019.
Rescue squad captain Kim Jahnke said her volunteer rescue squad responded to 55 calls. Of those calls, four were for motor vehicle accidents, and three were for snowmobile accidents. She added that Tofte was hosting a full EMR course and refresher course in May in Tofte and that two new members are joining the rescue squad.
The township website is currently getting a makeover, said Burkett, and the site will be live in a month or two.
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