SOUDAN- Trevor Banks began his new role as Breitung Fire Chief on Feb. 1. Banks was selected for the position by the department at their annual meeting in January and was approved by the town board on Jan. 27. Banks has served with the department for several years, most recently as captain.
Longtime Fire Chief Steve Burgess retired from his chief duties as of Dec. 31. Burgess will remain a member of the department and share the duties of training officer with Cade Gornick.
Other fire department roles changed as well. Matt Tuchel will continue to serve as assistant fire chief, Doug Carter will become captain (previously Banks), and Lance Dougherty will become lieutenant (previously Matt Tomsich).
Police
The board reviewed several department policies for Chief Daniel Reing, including a use of force and deadly force model policy, taken from the Minnesota POST Board and MN Statute 626.8452, a firearms weapon policy, and an office cleaning policy. Reing reported responding to over 50 calls in January, working on three investigations, writing two citations, and making one arrest for DWI.
Recreation
In recreation-related news, the board:
• Heard that the new little skating rink is well-used and well-loved. The rink needs a rubber path for skaters to walk from the skating shack to the rink. If anyone has any rubber belting to donate, please call Supervisor Greg • Hockey Day is set for Saturday, Feb. 26. The day will begin with a youth game for ages 12 and under, a boot hockey game for all ages, and end with the much-anticipated Tower vs. Soudan game for ages 18 and up.
• Heard that JPJ Engineering will make grant applications for the park upgrades and bike trail project on the township’s behalf.
• Tomsich reported that grant guidelines changed for the DNR Outdoor Recreation Grant. The maximum grant went from $500,000 to $600,000; however, the grant requires a 20-percent match from the applicant. The board offered to match $30,000 for the project.
• Heard that Stephanie Ukkola will be stepping down from her leadership role on the recreation committee.
Other news
Other items considered by the board included:
• The board will follow CDC guidelines for employees who are sick or exposed to COVID but will not require universal masking.
• Received $90,000 from CDBG for infrastructure improvements.
• Accepted a donation of $25 from Emanuel and Judy Sunsdahl for the police department.
• In negotiations over trail maintenance with the City of Tower, each municipality agreed to maintain only their property in the future.
• Agreed to discuss a donation to the Tower-Soudan Historical Society at the annual meeting.
• Heard that the Breitung Community Picnic will be held on Sunday, July 3.
• Set township election hours for 1 to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, March 8. The annual meeting will follow.
The next township meeting is a special meeting to discuss police body cameras and the recreation project. The meeting will be on Thursday, Feb. 10 at noon. The next regular meeting is Thursday, Feb. 24 at noon. The board of audit will be held on Feb. 24, after the regular meeting.