Part of the Tofte Lake Walk includes this lovely new picnic area next to the Tofte Park dock. Visitors will be surprised to see the Lake Walk enhancements running from the dock to behind Coho Café.
Aesthetics of the town of Tofte were the subject of nearly every agenda item at the Thursday, September 9 Tofte meeting, ranging from a possible cell phone tower to Tofte lake walk enhancements to the desire to see the local salvage yard cleaned up.
Before the start of the Tofte town meeting, the board members met with a representative from AT&T regarding the possibility of erecting a 100-foot cell phone tower on town property near the cemetery. The tower would provide cell phone coverage within the town of Tofte. The board said the tower would be a “stealth” tower and would not have lights and it would be painted to blend in with its surroundings. Tofte Supervisor Paul James said the township had agreed to consider a 30-year lease with AT&T. Supervisor D.C. Olsen is working on the negotiations. James encouraged citizens with questions or comments to contact the town board or come to the next town meeting. “I’m sure there will be people with opinions about this,” said James.
Lake Walk and park
looking good
Olsen, the liaison between the town board and the North Shore Fishing Museum, reported that approximately $3,595 had been spent of the $7,500 grant received from the Minnesota Coastal Program for the Tofte lake walk. The town is acting as the fiscal agent for the fishing museum, serving as a “pass-through” for funds. Olsen said that is “a little over” what they intended to spend to date, but he said it is believed that costs can be offset elsewhere on the project. Theboard said they were very pleased with the work done to date and expressed appreciation to Jerry Gervais, John Nelson and Marshall Watts for all the work they have done.
Gervais and Nelson said there is a lot of brush clearing still to be done. They invited the public to come take any of the brush at the park as free firewood. They said there were five to six pickup loads of birch for the taking.
Gervais also said there are several huge stumps that need to be removed. He asked for authorization to hire McMillan Tree Service to do the work. The board authorized Gervais to contact McMillan to get the work done when they are in the area.
The men also reported that they found a number of the large cobblestones that had been used for the bridge and wishing well at the town park. They were happy to have these for possible future projects. They also suggested that the township consider updating its playground and the park pavilion. “Lutsen has surpassed us on the playground,” quipped Nelson. “How can we stand that?”
Salvage yard clean-up sought
The condition of the salvage yard on Highway 61 was discussed, with Supervisor Jim King noting that the owner was going to court. King said three counts had been filed by the county, and the State Highway Commission was involved because the salvage yard was in violation of its statutes as well. King said the county would like the township to write a letter stating what it would like to see done with the salvage yard. For his part, King said, “I’d like to see it brought to compliance with state statutes.”
James agreed, adding, “We’d like to see it look like what they do for the 4th of July each year, before the big party. It’s always nice and clean for one day—and then not for the other 364.”
King said, “As a township, we’ve said we are committed to working within the system. I’d like to state that again.” He made a motion to encourage the salvage yard to proceed with cleanup. The motion passed unanimously.
Paving and painting
at Birch Grove
The parking lot at Birch Grove Community Center, paved by KGM Contractors of Angora, MN, in exchange for storage of gravel on township land needs some work. Olsen said the pavement was laid too high and the curb now needs painting. The estimate for painting the curb (blue for handicap parking, red for clinic parking, yellow for bus loading zone, and gray) is $590. Olsen recommended paying the $590 and deducting that amount from the money owed to KGM for the paving. The board agreed, noting that the amount owed over the stored gravel is still up for negotiation. The township was notified by Cook County that the amount stored was more than the county had authorized, so the township may seek an increased dollar amount for storage. The township also sent a letter to KGM Contractors informing them that they needed to work out the problem of the overage on its permit with Cook County.
Safety concerns too
Not aesthetics but safety was the final matter on the agenda. Town Clerk Barb Gervais said she had contacted Mn/DOT representatives Todd Campbell and Rob Ege via phone to discuss the township’s ongoing quest to have a crosswalk on Highway 61 to enable pedestrians to cross the highway safely. Gervais said the men thought a crosswalk may be suitable between Coho Café and North Shore Market. However, they said they did not feel another crosswalk—between the Bluefin Bay guest services building and Sawtooth Outfitters—was warranted. Board Member Jim King said, “He needs to know that by guest services, there is a lot of foot traffic. There are a lot of Bluefin employees crossing to get to the employee housing.”
John Nelson asked if the town could have crosswalks in both locations. Clerk Gervais said the Mn/ DOT representatives said they lose effectiveness if they are placed too close together. She said Rob Ege would visit Tofte in coming weeks to look at the situation. “It would really be nice to get traffic to slow down coming into town,” said Nelson.
County Commissioner Bruce Martinson said he had met with Senator Amy Klobuchar recently and he was disturbed to hear that the Tofte Highway 61 reconstruction was not in Senator James Oberstar’s sixyear construction plan. Martinson said the only North Shore project was for Little Marais. Martinson said Klobuchar asked for more information about Tofte’s proposal for Highway 61 since the senate has just started talking about its transportation bill. He volunteered to work with someone from the township to ensure that Klobuchar has the information she needs.
In other business:
• Supervisor James gave a report for Tofte Fire Chief Rich Nelson. He said a $2,000 grant had been written for hoses for Tofte’s new tender-tanker. He said the fire chief had also said it has been “nice and quiet,” which
is the way the fire department
likes it. • Supervisor Jim King gave an update on his work with the Friends of Superior National. He said it is very frustrating because no one knows who is managing what. The county and the city manage the EDA, he said, and the EDA manages the Cedar Grove Business Park and Superior National. “But no one is taking full responsibility for the golf course. We have a lot of qualified people who have spent a great deal of time and effort— it’s time to get out of the past and move on.
“It’s a breath of fresh air to come here [to the town board meeting], where we can get things done!” said King.
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