JoAnn Bassing

GREENWOOD TWP- With a written resignation from elected clerk Debby Spicer in hand, the Greenwood Town Board, on Tuesday, appointed JoAnn Bassing as the interim clerk on a 3-1 vote. Supervisor Mike Ralston voted against and Supervisor Paul Skubic absent from the evening meeting.
State law requires that such vacancies be filled by appointment, and the board passed a motion to have the supervisors act as the nominating committee. Bassing’s was the only name put forward by supervisors for the position. She had previously run against Spicer in 2021, losing by two votes, and then mounted a late write-in campaign in March’s election, losing by a 145-94 margin.
“I don’t think people who sue the township should hold office,” said Ralston. Bassing, along with her husband John, have filed several open meeting law violation complaints against the township, as well as an election-related complaint regarding campaigning by the fire department. The couple did sue the township over the release of information from the comprehensive plan survey, and that did force the township to release information that was public by law.
Bassing was sworn in at the meeting. She then appointed her husband John as her deputy. John had previously served as deputy clerk.
The township now has an interim treasurer, Jeff Maus, as well as the interim clerk. Both positions will be on the ballot in next year’s March election, along with the seats currently held by Ralston and Skubic.
At Tuesday’s meeting, the board again needed to table approval of the treasurer’s report, since Maus is still working on getting the township financial records in order. The board did hear that the township’s Board of Audit information has been finalized, and that all the 2021 accounts were in order.
The board was also able to approve all the past outstanding minutes, dating back to January 2022. Drobac thanked John Bassing for his help in typing out the missing minutes.
Recreation board
The board approved a request by the Greenwood Recreation Board to become a formal township committee, and to allow Jarri Ankrum to act as the liaison for rentals of both the pavilion and town hall.
“We want to see people utilizing it,” she said. “It’s a beautiful place, and everyone loves using it.”
The township rents out the pavilion, which includes the use of the recreational equipment owned by the township, for family and business events.
Ankrum noted that individuals were having trouble hearing back from the township office about rentals. From now on, the township will forward requests to Ankrum, who can help review the rules, deposit, and fees, if required. They will also post a schedule at the pavilion’s bulletin board so people can see when the pavilion is being reserved.
Supervisor Barb Lofquist said the water supply at the pavilion is not connected to the water treatment system and will be posted as non-potable. Drinking water can be accessed at the outdoor faucet on the other side of the town hall. This treated water is only available for personal use, and not for commercial use or for washing vehicles.
Fire department
The board approved paying for fire department member’s time spent helping with a sandbagging effort on Whiskey Point. The department was asked to help by officials at Bois Forte and from the governmental agency that oversees the area watershed.
The department asked for some board guidance on accepting these uncommon non-911 calls. In the past, the board has asked the department not to respond to non-emergency calls, such as towing in a boat stranded on the lake if a commercial operator could be called instead. Fire Department safety officer Rick Worringer said they had responded to such a non-911 call of a stranded boat when the weather conditions were dangerous, with high winds and waves.
The board approved the purchase of a new motor for the township’s boatlift at Birch Point Marine which houses the department’s smaller fire/rescue boat at a cost of $2,130.
Worringer also spoke to the board about the new policy requiring a different type of annual physical for department members which would be held in person at the Fairview Clinic in Hibbing.
“OSHA does not require physicals for the rank and file,” he said, “just for interior firefighters, and not all our members are interior firefighters.”
The board agreed to get quotes on the cost of getting this type of work-related physical exam from Essentia in Virginia, and to compare it to the service offered in Hibbing, and the on-site physicals provided in the past. The board also requested the records of the last two years of fire department physicals and FIT tests from Chief Dave Fazio, which would be reviewed in a closed meeting. They requested to receive the records within the next 10 days.
“We need to get a baseline for each individual,” said Drobac. “This is a health and safety issue.”
The board heard a lengthy response from fire department member Jet Galonski, who speaking only for himself, had questions and complaints about the town board’s oversight of the fire department. He read from a five-page letter, titled “Fire Department Harassment.”
“I don’t mean to be disrespectful, impolite, or rude in this commentary, just honest,” he said. He questioned the board’s recent decisions to make changes to fire department policies without input from the department members, as had been done in the past. He questioned the board’s decision to make the fire department business meetings open to the public, asking if it would violate HIPAA (patient privacy) laws. He also questioned the township’s decision to have department members complete their Firefighter I and II training within two years, noting that it is often hard to complete the training classes, and wondered why department members should be required to have that training, since it would discourage department membership. Galonski also had complaints with the decision to require a different type of physical, placing security cameras in the fire hall, and the board’s denial of another increase in the pension amount.
Other business
In other business, the board:
• Approved having Biss Lock create new keys for the town hall and township offices. The keypad entries will remain in place.
• Noted the annual meeting will reconvene on Thursday, June 23 at 6 p.m.
• Asked for more information from the former deputy treasurer Tammy Mortaloni about payroll submitted for work that had been done for the township. Ralston said the 18.75 hours was for time spent updating the township’s governmental grant portal information (sam.gov), which was needed to apply for the pandemic-related ARPA grant. Ralston said there were three separate outdated entries that needed to be corrected. Drobac asked if the work had been approved by the board. Ralston said the cost for her time could be paid by the grant.
• Approved paying Drobac for time spent training in the interim treasurer last month. The vote was 2-1, with Ralston voting against and Drobac abstaining. Drobac said the board passed a policy saying that no prior authorization was required for training. Ralston said the board had not specified anything about paying for such training. “We should be applying the rules fairly,” he said.