GREENWOOD TWP— A proposal to reassign most of Greenwood Township to the Cook Ambulance Service’s coverage territory drew a mixed reaction from the town board here on Tuesday.
The proposal came from Greenwood resident Lee Peterson, who has been a persistent critic of the Tower Area Ambulance Service (TAAS). Peterson wants all of the township, with the exception of the Vermilion Reservation and the Pike Bay area, to be served by Cook.
“I believe Greenwood has to be working on solutions right now,” said Peterson, noting that rural services across the state are all facing issues with funding and staffing. Peterson said the new statewide legislative task force will release their report in August, but that is after the state Legislature adjourns for the year. There is a chance the Legislature will designate some one-time funding for rural ambulance services this session, he said.
Peterson said he’d like to see a taxing district based on parcels, not property value, and would like to see a district based out of Cook, which has a hospital. He also said, “my dream would be for Cook to consolidate with Virginia.”
Peterson asked the board to appoint two supervisors to initiate discussions on ambulance-related issues with other governmental bodies.
Chairman John Bassing said he felt this approach was “a touch premature.” Bassing noted that the Ely hospital is currently conducting a study looking at solutions for ambulance service in the region.
“I don’t want to jump the shark,” he said.
Bassing also noted that the Tower Ambulance Service would have to relinquish their license and then reapply for the smaller area, though Peterson disagreed with this reading of state law. The Legislature would most likely also need to be involved. Ambulance service areas are established and overseen by the the state’s Emergency Medical Services Regulatory Board, or EMSRB.
Peterson said his request did not preclude working with Ely. On multiple occasions during the discussion, town board members were interrupted by Peterson.
Supervisor Barb Lofquist said the board needed to consult with Bois Forte before beginning any discussions with Cook.
Portions of far western Greenwood Township, which is lightly populated, is already served by the Cook Ambulance.
On several occasions in past years, most recently in 2017, the township has rejected the idea of joining the Cook-Orr Healthcare District, which levies property owners in the district to help fund both the hospital and ambulance services in Cook and Orr, because of the tax implications for township residents.
Lofquist noted that the Tower Ambulance Service has been taking calls in Cook, because Cook is struggling with staffing and has not been available to respond. The Cook service also covers a large rural area and responds to calls in the Orr Ambulance Service area when they are unable to respond.
The board did approve appointing two supervisors, Rick Stoehr and Sue Drobac, to discuss ambulance issues for the township with area governmental bodies, but they did not set any immediate action.
Township Rd. 4136
Supervisor Drobac reported on initial discussions with the township attorney and St. Louis County Recorder’s Office about Birch Point Extension, Twp. Rd. 4136.
Drobac said the recorder’s office wasn’t able to determine, at this point in time, if the road is technically a township road, because the required paperwork is not on file. She said they do have paperwork saying the road was transferred to the township, but the recorder doesn’t have “paper proof” that the township ever accepted the road.
The township had been paying the county for plowing and road maintenance for many years. The county recently declined to continue plowing the road because the condition of the road, both the blacktop surface and the narrow width made it unsafe with the current county plow truck fleet.
The road was platted back in 1921, but was never developed to the platted width of 66 feet.
Drobac said the township attorney advised that the township does have the authority to determine how to fix the road, and that the township can assess property owners for the work.
Drobac said the recorder’s office suggested having the township attorney or a title company research the history of the road ownership.
Parking lot paving
The board accepted the estimate of $143,820 from Benchmark Engineering for a mill and overlay of the town hall parking lot. Benchmark will now need to call for bids on the work. The quote includes the cost of having a Benchmark employee on-site during the project to ensure it is done to standards. A blacktop mill will be operating nearby the town hall this coming summer, for shoulder-widening on Cty. Rd. 115.
Chairman John Bassing said the board will be asking the IRRR if grant dollars would be available for the portion of the parking lot (approximately one-quarter of the total square footage) that is a designated helipad. The township will also be asking Benchmark the cost of paving a small area in front of the fire department storage building that is currently grass. This would make moving equipment in and out of the building easier.
The project would be funded from township reserves.
Pickleball
The Lake Vermilion Pickleball Association reported they now have a website and active Facebook page, are able to receive donations, are working on two grant applications, and will be sending out a donation request to all township property owners. The group has put in over 300 volunteer hours so far and has received several thousand dollars in donations.
In other business, the board:
• Heard from treasurer Jeff Maus that township finances are holding steady year to year, with a total of over $666,000 at the end of January.
• Heard a question from a resident about the state of the township’s website, and a request that meeting agendas are posted online prior to the meeting, as well as information on township election voting.
• Accepted a $15,000 donation from Bois Forte for the fire department.
• Heard that current supervisors Drobac and Lofquist have both filed for their seats. Lois Roskoski also has filed for the seat currently held by Drobac. No one has filed for the clerk seat at this time. Filings close on Jan. 16 at 5 p.m.
• Approved $100 donations for the St. Louis County Fair and Cook Library.
• Approved contracting with internet provider CTC for telephone (VOIP) and fax service at a cost of $119 per month plus a $150 equipment/set-up fee. The township is currently paying $260/month for Frontier telephone service.
• Approved annual bonus payments to the six EMRs who qualified based on meeting call response and training requirements. The township also has one new EMR, for a total of seven.
• Fire Chief Jeff Maus said the department has outlined their training schedule for 2024 and has added an additional monthly EMR training night.
• Heard the township has received a new vote-counting machine and election workers will receive training. The board appointed the absentee ballot board.
• Heard that the fire department has received a case of Narcan and is looking at becoming a site where Narcan can be distributed to the public. They are also looking at installing an AED (automatic defibrillator) outdoors by the tennis court in the summer months.