GREENWOOD TWP- Township officials here reversed an earlier decision on Tuesday and agreed to replace the filtration media on the town hall’s drinking water treatment system to address high levels of arsenic.
This time, the town board voted unanimously to spend approximately $2,000 to get the “Brassmaster” treatment system back up and running. How long the new filtration material will last is not certain.
“We received a lot of letters from residents,” said chair Lois Roskoski. Many residents with lake water systems use the water from the town hall outdoor spigot for drinking and cooking water, some just seasonally but others year-round. Many of the letters to the town board noted this is the only “benefit” these taxpayers feel they receive from the town hall.
A few years ago, testing determined that the water had high levels of naturally-occurring arsenic in the well water that made it unsafe to use as a regular drinking water source. The township purchased a special water filtration system, which initially did work to bring the arsenic down to a safe level, but the regular testing being done last year had shown it was no longer working and the arsenic levels had again jumped to unsafe levels.
The solution to the problem was not immediately clear. Froe Brothers Drilling recommended the township first do maintenance on the well, which was drilled back in 1980 and is 312-feet deep. They noted the well refresh rate has dropped and they recommended the well be “ground out” and flushed to remove sediment sitting at the bottom of the well, which could be high in arsenic, although they could not guarantee this would address the issue. They also said the pressure switch and control box should be replaced. They noted the well casing appears to be in good condition with no appearance of ground water contamination or leaking. The quote for these repairs, which dated back to June 2024, was $9,295. The town board had not acted on this last year, citing the high cost.
Supervisor Craig Gilbert had Culligan inspect the water system and they recommended a different type of filtration system, at a cost of $7,000 – $9,000. They also felt that replacing the filtration media in the Brassmaster could solve the issue. They also found that the controls on the Brassmaster system had been changed, and at one point the system was unplugged. Both of these issues could lead to contamination of the filtration media, Gilbert said.
“If we replace the media on the existing system for about $2,000, we hopefully can get two to three years out of it,” Gilbert said. “I don’t see how putting another system in will make a difference.”
Gilbert said they should test a month after the new media is installed, and then could wait six months to test again. Previously, the township had expressed concerns that the media would need to be replaced at least yearly.
2026 budget and levy
The board approved a tentative budget for 2026 at $352,130, approximately the same as the 2025 budget. Roskoski had prepared a tentative budget, but supervisor John Bassing recommended $9,000 in additions, which the board adopted, for snowplowing, attorney fees, and electric use.
“I am recommending we ask for a $300,000 levy,” Roskoski said. The final township levy is set by voting residents at the annual meeting.
Roskoski noted that the township overspent its budget in 2024 by over $145,000, mostly for the parking lot pavement overlay and the township contribution to the pickleball courts. The extra spending came from township reserves and the township’s current budget projects restoring $43,420 of that money this year, with another $65,370 expected to be recouped on next year’s budget.
The township’s total fund balance at the end of 2024 totaled $539,913. The township is projecting revenues of $407,500 in 2025, an increase of over $11,000 over what was in the budget, mostly due to a projected increase in the taconite production tax monies allotted to Greenwood.
Bassing disagreed with asking residents for $300,000. “I would like to see less,” he said.
Last year the board initially asked residents to set the levy at $175,000, but residents voted to increase that to $300,000, to cover the pickleball court donation, donations to the Tower Ambulance Service, maintenance costs for Birch Point Extension/Township Road 4136, and fire department equipment needs.
The township had previously built up over $1 million in township reserves and had been slowly lowering the levy to reduce the reserves, though the amount the township should keep in reserve has been debated.
The vote to approve the budget and levy request was 4-1, with Bassing voting against.
In other tax-related issues, the board heard that St. Louis County had sent out incorrect information to township residents regarding their 2025 township tax amounts due. The county had based the amount on the projected levy amount of $150,000, not the actual levy amount of $300,000. Roskoski said that clerk Debby Spicer had worked with the county to get the levy amount corrected, and the township would be sending out letters to the over 700 residents with properties valued at over $575,000 to give notice of the change.
Public comments accuse John Bassing of mishandling documents
Two residents who are running for township offices in March spoke during public comment. Paul Thompson, who is running for treasurer, called for the resignation of John Bassing, who he said had accessed his filing affidavit and then shared the information online. Spicer had contacted Thompson to let him know that she had made an omission on the affidavit (and the others also), but the omission had been corrected. Spicer had been notified of the issue by Bassing.
“The affidavit was in the clerk’s locked filing cabinet,” said Thompson. “He (Bassing) did not ask for permission to go into the cabinet.” While Thompson noted the affidavits are public information, he said the information should have been accessed by contacting the clerk, and that Bassing should not have had access to the locked files. He noted that Bassing had been questioning his resident status in the township, which Thompson said has been updated to his Greenwood residence.
“Bassing’s behavior is wrong,” Thompson said. “Imagine if that energy was put towards making our township what it should be. Antics like this have destroyed our township’s reputation and made us a laughingstock of the entire state,” Thompson said. “I am asking John Bassing to resign tonight.”
Thompson’s sentiments were echoed by Steve Bradach, who is running for the open supervisor seat.
“How did you get a copy?” he asked Bassing.
Bassing responded that he is a supervisor and had the right to it.
“I am not going to resign,” Bassing said. “It is not going to happen.”
Board of audit
The town board did not complete their required board of audit, and the board will need to hold another special meeting at least five days prior to the annual meeting on March 11.
The receipts and disbursement registers from the clerk and treasurer did not match, which was not a surprise since this has been an issue throughout the year.
Treasurer Jeff Maus was absent from the meeting, and deputy clerk JoAnn Bassing did not have access to his computer during the meeting. Issues were noted with different beginning balances used as of Jan. 1, 2024, and also a difference of about $2,000 in the receipts recorded by the clerk and treasurer, according to John Bassing, who also said the clerk’s general fund balance as of Jan. 1, 2024 did not match the bank statement.
Roskoski told the Timberjay that deputy treasurer JoAnn Bassing could not provide documentation of two of the three random disbursements that were called up during the audit process, and said she would not provide documentation that those checks were voided.
“The board felt it was pointless to continue, since there was no way to correct both sets of books last night,” said Roskoski. “No decision was made on next steps.”
Request for road vacation on Birch Point Extension
The township is currently in litigation with a property owner who wants to vacate part of a platted road in the Birch Point Extension area to use as personal property. The board had concerns that this would limit the township’s ability to safely maintain the road. The board had a closed meeting prior to the regular meeting to discuss the issue with their attorney. Steve Lenertz spoke to the board at length, via telephone, stating it was his belief that the property owner had not followed the proper procedure in seeking the vacation, citing state statutes and other information. A motion to forward the information from Lenertz to the township attorney was approved.
Other action
In other business, the board:
• Held a three-plus hour closed meeting on Feb. 7 to discuss allegations against fire chief Jeff Maus and the investigation completed by an outside attorney. No board action was taken, and another closed meeting is scheduled for Feb. 18 at 6 p.m.
• Approved a request on a 3-2 vote with Gilbert and Skubic voting against, to give Fire Chief Jeff Maus a recording of the closed meeting in January where his job performance was reviewed.
• Approved increasing the broadband speed at the town hall to 100 megabytes, which will allow livestreaming of township meetings. The cost is increasing to $72/month.
• Heard a brief fire department report submitted by interim chief Brian Trancheff, which noted that DOT inspections were done of fire trucks and the department’s fire extinguishers were all services. One of the trucks is still out being repaired, waiting on parts. The board approved $940 to get the SCBA air tanks serviced.
Kitchen remodel
Roskoski met with a group of township residents interested in restoring the town hall kitchen. Currently, the kitchen does not have a usable stove, among other issues, including the fact the water is not potable. Roskoski said the group is working with the health department to see what is needed to bring the kitchen into shape for public use. She said they are looking at bringing a proposal to the residents at the 2026 annual meeting. In the past, the kitchen was used for fundraisers for the fire department and other township groups. The kitchen has a large commercial gas stove, but it was not working properly and was shut off.