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Serving Northern St. Louis County, Minnesota

Greenwood Township

Board approves broadband donation on divided vote

Jodi Summit
Posted 7/19/19

GREENWOOD TWP- On a 3-2 vote, the town board here, at their July 9 meeting, approved a $1,000 donation to the Blandin Broadband Committee, to help fund a broadband feasibility study for the region. …

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Greenwood Township

Board approves broadband donation on divided vote

Posted

GREENWOOD TWP- On a 3-2 vote, the town board here, at their July 9 meeting, approved a $1,000 donation to the Blandin Broadband Committee, to help fund a broadband feasibility study for the region.
“This is the infancy of a utility,” said Supervisor Mike Ralston, who put the motion on the floor. He found support from fellow supervisers Larry Tahija and Byron Beihoffer, while Carmen DeLuca and Paul Skubic voted against.
The board had earlier let a motion by Ralston to submit a grant proposal for $5,000 for a community computer access station die for lack of a second.
The broadband study will look at the feasibility of bringing different types of broadband access to the area. Once the study is completed, the group will look for internet service companies interested in servicing the area. They can then apply for state and federal grants to help offset the cost of installing the services in individual homes and businesses.
“Federal grants will fund so much of the cost of installing the infrastructure,” said treasurer Pam Rodgers, who noted that fiber optic cable is already installed in many parts of the township.
“If we don’t get on board with broadband, we are really underserving our taxpayers,” said Skubic, who went on to vote against the motion. “We have the third largest tax base in St. Louis County. If we don’t bring in these fiber speeds, we are not serving our taxpayers.”
Rodgers noted that people looking to buy property now frequently inquire about the level of internet service available.
“Broadband is now considered to be basic infrastructure,” said John Bassing, a member of the broadband committee. “Just like electricity was in the days of the REA [Rural Electric Administration]. It’s a joint public/private partnership.”
Bassing noted that high-speed internet is needed for education, business, health, and public safety, not just for entertainment. He told the board that United Health recently shuttered their physical call center in International Falls, allowing their local employees to work from home.
“We need proper connectivity and high-speed internet so people in Greenwood can work at home in these kinds of jobs,” he said.
The board noted this shouldn’t be compared to the standard $100 donation the township typically awards to various groups upon request.
Bassing said the Blandin group is hoping to have broadband installations beginning in 2021. The project involves many small cities and townships in the region.
Bassing told the board that Vermilion Lake Township, with far less property value than Greenwood, had donated $500 to the study. The Tower Economic Development Authority is waiting to get information on the state of their finances before setting their donation amount.
HIPPA concerns
Rodgers said fire department members had raised concerns about paperwork that contains confidential information that has been left out in the open in the fire department office. The board discussed several options for maintaining data privacy as required by law, and Rodgers and Chief Fazio will work on finding a solution. It was noted that the fire department paperwork that comes into the clerk’s office does not contain personal information, just data on individual first responders and the hours spent on a call. The clerk and treasurer need that information to process payroll.
Other business
In other business the board:

  • Accepted the quote from Mesabi Bituminous for $34,700 to make needed repairs, repave, and seal-coat the town hall parking lot. This was not the lowest quote, but the lowest quote did not include repairing approximately 1,000 square feet of damaged pavement. The quote was higher than the township’s estimate of $25,000, but Rodgers noted the township has adequate funding to complete the project.
  • Approved a quote for $2,286 to install hard-wired connections in the township office to the broadband network, and also approved spending $48 per month for the high-speed broadband service. The town hall does offer a high-speed wifi connection in the parking lot.
  • Will look into installing a water softening system for the town hall (not for the fire hall). DeLuca said Culligan had tested the water and found it was at a 15, where 10 is considered “hard.” The town hall has been having plumbing issues relating to the water quality. Questions were raised on whether or not the kitchen sinks and water fountains needed bypass units. Culligan quoted a price of $3,995 to install the system along with the first fill of salt. The annual contract to service and keep the salt full would be $179 plus the cost for the salt. The board tabled a decision until next month.
  • Approved the purchase and installation of a split-door for the township office at a cost of $2,310. Some board members have expressed concerns about allowing the public into the clerk and treasurer’s office space. Rodgers noted that they often need to let the public in to view information, such as the county land surveyor, on the office computers. She noted that if the town board had approved a public computer station, they would use the public computer for these purposes.
  • Noted the fire department had received a $160 donation from the family of Tom Altop.
  • Tabled action on propane quotes so the clerk and treasurer can see what the township’s average annual propane use is. The township received two quotes, one for 3,000 gallons and the second for 5,000 gallons, with any additional gallons at market rate.
  •  Approved a $100 donation to the Tower-Soudan Fourth of July.
Greenwood Township, town board, government, Blandin