SOUDAN- DNR Area Supervisor Joe Majerus met with the Breitung Town Board on Oct. 27 to discuss options for a new Off-Road Vehicle (OHV) trail spur connecting the planned OHV Campground in the Lake Vermilion-Soudan Underground Mine State Park and existing trails to Soudan and Tower.
The campground, which will be located on state park land off the Murray Spur Road, is in the design phase right now, he told the board, and should be built in the next two or three years. The Prospector Trail connects to the east side of the campground site.
“The idea is to connect the campground to Tower and Soudan via a new trail,” Majerus said. While the DNR would construct and maintain the trail at no cost to the township, the township needs to be involved in the planning of the route, which will mainly be on township land.
“Where do you want the trail to go?” he asked the town board.
The township’s preferred route will keep the ATVs off Jasper Street, they told Majerus. The route, identified as Option 1, crosses some private land, and the township would be responsible for getting easements or purchasing the small amount of private land in question.
The township had concerns about the route because they may need access to that area sometime in the future to expand the township’s gravel pit.
Majerus said the trail can be moved at any time.
“The trail is just a minimal investment,” he said. “It is just a connecting trail.”
This route comes west from the proposed state park campground area to Thompson Farm Rd. and runs south on Thompson Farm Rd. for about 2,000 ft. until it hits the Taconite Trail.

Wastewater
A change in how the Tower-Breitung Wastewater Board is charging the city and township for wastewater will result in some higher bills this year. The board had decided to charge both Tower and Soudan a variable rate based on the number of gallons sent to the sewer system. Tower and Soudan are already charged for each gallon of drinking water used.
The variable rate, Chairman Tim Tomsich explained, would give an incentive to reduce inflow and infiltration of non-drinking water into the wastewater treatment system. This would not only reduce costs for the board but would also free up more capacity in the treatment ponds.
But the first half of this year, with plenty of runoff from melting snow and above average rainfall, meant a lot of excess water filtering into the system.
“Right now, our three-year average is good,” said Tomsich, “because of the drought. But if we get three wet years, the ponds could be over capacity.”
Tomsich said it is looking like the second half of the year will be drier, so the flows may average out. But he said a discussion of going back to the fixed-rate charges would take away the incentives for repairing old pipes and reducing other sources of inflow into the ponds.
Tomsich said the board was also concerned about a notice of violation from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency regarding how the sewer hookup for the new RV park in Tower had been handled.
“The city was responsible for making sure things were being done correctly,” Tomsich said. “But the RV park didn’t have their MPCA permit.”
While the wastewater board had approved the RV park hooking into the system, the city was responsible for making sure the correct procedures were followed.
Tomsich said the permit is now in process and the issue was being resolved. But he said the wastewater board is asking the city to put together a corrective action report to make sure the issue does not happen again.

Other business
In other business, the town board:
• Accepted the low bid of $346,215 from Mesabi Bituminous for upcoming infrastructure improvements. The only other bid came in at $434,233.
• Heard that the Tower Ambulance Commission was going to ask the city to borrow approximately $35,000 on behalf of the commission so that a new ambulance could be ordered as soon as possible. The commission would then pay back that amount in 2024. Delivery of a new ambulance will take at least a year. All the members of the commission, except for Greenwood, have agreed to make a double subsidy payment in 2023 only to help raise the funds needed for the new rig.
“Then we are not being held hostage by Greenwood,” said Supervisor Chuck Tekautz. “Right now, we are.”
• Approved a pre-application to the IRRR and CDBG for 2023-24 infrastructure projects.
• Made no decision on the installation of speed-control signage.
• Heard that Fire Department Training Officer Steve Burgess is requesting no pay for the rest of the year. Heard that the department has applied for grant funding to help pay the costs of new turnout gear for their three newly trained members.
• Discussed the rates for the police contract with Tower for 2023. The cost will be increasing due to salary costs (wages increased by $1.50/hour), increased fuel and insurance costs, and also due to a reduction in state aid the department is receiving next year. The new proposed rate is $76,728, up from $65,351 in 2022. The contract will cover 40 hours a week of coverage in Tower, with the city paying for any additional time for holidays/events such as the Fourth of July.
• Will advertise for wintertime rink attendants. The new lights have been installed at the rink, and over half the hockey boards have been repaired or replaced, with plans underway to finish the project. The board thanked Ken Hinkel and Charlie Winger for their help installing the new lights.
• Accepted a $7,500 donation from Bois Forte for the fire department; $3,000 from the family of Phyllis Burgess/Pat and Paul Kreig, for police department equipment and training; and $1,755 from the police department taco fundraiser.
• Will hold a special board meeting on Nov. 17 at 11 a.m. The next regular board meeting will be held on Dec. 1 at 12 noon.