GREENWOOD TWP- During a meeting that stretched over two-and-a-half hours, the Greenwood Town Board dealt with a long list of issues in addition to the fire department policies detailed in last week’s paper.
The board gave its approval for a permit for the CTC underground cable installation along the part of Birch Point Extension that is within the Bois Forte project area (up to the public water access). The Bois Forte project is being funded by a federal grant received in 2021. The project was initially planned for construction in 2023-24 to serve 3,000 households, but that’s now been reduced to about 2,000 homes as the project was delayed by several years of permitting approvals.
Supervisor John Bassing told the board the revised CTC project map shows that 1,000 fewer homes will be served, due to increased project costs. Supervisor Craig Gilbert said that Bois Forte is seeking additional grant monies to hopefully connect more of the homes that are not on the current map.
Areas that have been removed from the project include most of Birch Point Extension, Bradley Road, Fectos Point, Moccasin Point Road, Breezy Point, and more, plus areas in Tower, Vermilion Lake Township, and Breitung Township: parts of McKinley Park Acres, the easternmost end and of Pike Bay Drive and the southeastern portion of Pike Bay.
Greenwood has a little over $100,000 set aside to fund broadband in the township. Isle of Pines and Echo Point were not included in the original project area due to the prevalence of ledgerock, but the township hoped to leverage other funding to get broadband to these locations.
According to information provided to the board, the tribe decided to remove the highest cost construction locations, which required aerial fiber attached to existing power poles, in areas where it was not possible to bury the fiber optic cable. Safety codes required that each of the poles had to be evaluated for proper clearance and strength, among other issues. There were hundreds of these poles that would need to be evaluated.
The revised project is now expected to be completed in late 2025 and early 2026. Households in the project area should have been notified from CTC and are being asked to sign up for service now, if they wish to be part of the project. Households can visit www.goctc.com and enter their address to see if service will be available at their location.
Recreation board
Recreation committee members reported on a successful Introduction to Pickleball event held on June 8. The committee will also be hosting a community recreation day on Saturday, June 28, with a rain date of June 29, from 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. There will be tennis, pickleball, bocce ball, horseshoes, and cornhole to play, as well as fire department tours. The committee will be serving up hot dogs and brats from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m., and attendees are asked to bring a dish to share.
Committee members are also selling raffle tickets, with funds raised going towards the ongoing maintenance of the recreation area. Tickets are $20 each, with four specific raffles. Winners will be drawn at 1 p.m. There are chances to win a 36” Blackstone grill, a wheelbarrow full of adult beverages, an outdoor wood-fired pizza oven, or a 10’ Quest Canyon kayak. Only 100 tickets are being sold for each item.
Other business
In other business, the board:
• Heard that the township’s public water supply was now showing a very low level of arsenic, well under the previous levels. The township will be testing the water quarterly.
• At their special meeting on May 19, awarded the bid for roof repairs to Custom Solutions of Embarrass for $58,792, with work to be completed by Aug. 31. While this was slightly higher than the lowest bid, the board decided to work with a contractor that was located in the area. Supervisor John Bassing asked the board to amend the minutes to state the reason for not taking the low bid, but the board decided not to change the minutes.
At this special meeting the board also voted 3-2, with Skubic and Gilbert voting against, to pay former fire chief Jeff Maus his outstanding expense reimbursement payment. The board had been holding the check contingent on Maus returning all his equipment and files. Maus told the board he had already returned everything that was in his possession.
• Treasurer Teresa Mortaloni told the board the township’s cash flow situation was now under control. The township did cash in part of their larger CD and moved that cash into the funds as the board had requested. The township will be getting their first half of this year’s property tax allotment this month.
• Heard from resident Steve Lenertz who asked the board to start hosting a local board of equalization meeting, instead of making residents appear before the county. He told them that mistakes are being made on assessments. The board can start holding these hearings in person, but board members need to undergo the required training first. The board said they would discuss the issue at the next regular meeting.
• Heard from a property owner on Birch Point Extension who first thanked the board for getting the water issue resolved, and then also asked the board to continue their efforts to have broadband expanded to the areas of the township that will not be served under the current CTC/Bois Forte project.
• Approved donating an additional $400 to the Tower-Soudan Joint Powers Recreation Board, of which Greenwood is a member. This brings the 2025 donation up to $500. This board helps to fund athletic and educational programs for area youth.
• Approved going ahead with the electronic lock project, even though there was an increase in cost, due to increased equipment costs from the Arrowhead Locksmith Service. The total cost went up to $12,503 from the original quote in April of $11,055. The project includes replacing the keyed locks on seven doors at the town hall and replacing them with electronic locks which will allow the township to monitor access to the clerk’s office and fire hall. Township officials and staff will have key fobs that allow them access to the parts of the building where they work.
• Will ask St. Louis County for $13,000 a year, up from the current $11,000, to provide fire protection in unorganized township 63-15. The vote was 4-1, with Bassing voting against because he felt the request was out of line with what other townships were charging for similar services.
• Approved a donation of $100 to the Tower-Soudan Fourth of July Committee.