SOUDAN- The good news from Breitung Township Maintenance Supervisor Tom Gorsma is that the township is almost caught up on spring road maintenance. In April, Gorsma had told the board that they were unable to grade the township’s gravel roads yet because of wet conditions.
And that is good news for the township, because the maintenance department has a lot of projects that will be getting underway this summer, as well as taking care of damage from some late spring storms.
“The docks are all down at McKinley Park Campground,” he told the board at their May 26 meeting, “but four of them are underwater and not usable yet.” As of May 26, Gorsma reported they were starting to see lake levels starting to slowly drop, but with two substantial rains that fell over Memorial Day weekend, lake levels may not be low enough to use those docks at this time.
The board accepted a bid from Mesabi Bituminous to crush class-five gravel in the township gravel pit. The company was already planning on setting up their crusher at that location to crush for another job, so the deployment fee for the equipment is half the usual rate.
The board also heard about some damage caused to the bike trail to McKinley Park by a contractor who was doing some work for the township on the adjacent sewer lines. That section of trail is scheduled to be re-surfaced this summer anyway, but the town board will send a letter to the contractor expressing their concerns over the damage that occurred when heavy equipment was dragged down the trail.
“There should be some consequences for their decision,” said Breitung Chair Tim Tomsich.
Complaints had been made by a community member to both St. Louis County Commissioner Paul McDonald and to the Mesabi Trail staff about the damage.
The Tower-Breitung Waste Water Board (TBWWB) will be opening bids for the forced main and manhole replacement project on June 15. The project will be replacing manholes and other infrastructure from Tower all the way to the wastewater ponds near McKinley Park. The paved bike trail will be closed during some of this work, and once the work is completed, the bike trail will be resurfaced. The TBWWB has a $250,000 grant for the project, and if costs are higher, will acquire a PFA loan for the difference.
The town board also decided to move ahead with the paving of the road from St. Martin’s Catholic Church to Highway 169. The township has received $40,000 from IRRR for the project. Approximately 160 feet of the road is in the city of Tower, and the township will be asking the city to pay the costs of that portion of the blacktop. The quote from Mesabi Bituminous for the blacktopping was $76,000. St. Martin’s will be resurfacing their parking lot at the same time. Project costs will increase if new culverts are needed.
This road is not officially a township road, but it is a public road, since it has been maintained by the township over time. The simplest way to create the official township road will be to pass a resolution at the next annual meeting in March 2023. A family that lives on the road is also requesting the township place a reduced speed limit on the road, since they have observed a lot of traffic coming off Highway 169 at high speed and not slowing down.
The board heard that the main permanent dock at the Stuntz Bay Landing was damaged by ice and high water. The dock is owned by the Stuntz Bay Association and is maintained as a private launch. The Stuntz Bay Association is looking at options for a rolling or floating dock, as well as possibly turning the dock over to the DNR, which would mean it would become a public landing.
Police report
Police Chief Dan Reing reported there were 72 calls in May, as of May 24. There was one arrest for domestic assault and one citation for speed (18 mph over speed limit). Reing attended the Iron Range Chiefs Association meeting and discussed ideas for holding more regional trainings for officers, which would reduce training costs.
Other business
In other business the town board:
• Approved purchasing new surface material for the playground at the recreation area. The cost will be approximately $3,000.
• Is still waiting for a quote on dust control for the gravel roads. The township will only move ahead if this can be done prior to July 4.
• Will survey township properties for blight and send out letters if needed.
• Accepted the resignation of fire department training officer Cade Gornick, fire department member Anthony Broten, and police department part-time staff George Burger.
• Will set a time to negotiate with the police union, and voted to enroll the new police staff into PERA.
• Heard that Sen. Tina Smith’s staff will be hosting a forum about housing at the Breitung Community Center on Wednesday, June 15 at 9 a.m.