GREENWOOD TWP — As the town board worked on finalizing the budget for 2026 and planning for the future, Greenwood Fire Chief Brian Trancheff spoke about some upcoming maintenance costs for fire trucks.
Township residents voted to double the levy for 2026, in part to start setting aside money to replace aging fire trucks. The board has been discussing setting up a separate fund for fire department capital expenditures, but how much to put into this fund was still to be determined.
The town board previously approved purchasing new turnout gear for fire department members whose gear was over 10 years old.
But another major cost is the replacement of fire apparatus tires, which range in age from 19 years to over 30 years old, dating back to the purchase of the original trucks.
“I’ve never had a set of tires age out,” said Trancheff. “But I do believe we need to address this.”
While fire trucks have a long lifespan, the tires are only rated for six years by their manufacturer, he said. The danger, he noted, is aging rubber sitting beneath heavy trucks, some filled with large amounts of water. And while the department has not seen any issues, he said, it is a safety issue for those driving the trucks, as well as for emergency responses.
“Think of how much money you’ve saved not replacing them all these years,” said Brianna Lofquist, who is the department’s administrative assistant.
“That’s 17 tire cycles,” said Trancheff, “at a cost of $314,000.”
Trancheff brought two quotes to replace the four sets of tires, which ranged from $14,566 to $17,629, from tire dealers in Virginia.
The board asked Trancheff to negotiate with one of the dealers that the board felt had more connections to Greenwood Township and had a history of good service to the township. The board set a special meeting for Dec. 17 to approve the purchase.
The department would bring one truck at a time to Virginia for the tire replacements, which would mean there would always be an engine/pumper and a tender available to respond to a fire while a truck was out of service.
The board also voted to set aside $200,000 of the 2026 levy into a dedicated fire capital outlay and apparatus fund. They also voted to approve the revised 2026 budget. The board will begin to work on the 2027 budget early next year, most likely setting up a special board meeting for this purpose. The budget will be presented to residents at the March 10 annual meeting.
Trancheff reported on fire department activities over the last month, which included doing hose testing, SCBA flow testing, and ladder testing, which most likely had never been done previously. The department was able to use a hose tester from the Cook Fire Department, saving costs. Trancheff said the department has more new hose than it needs and asked if the board would approve selling it.
“We have 10,000 feet already,” Trancheff said. “There is no reason to spend money testing extra hose.” He added the fire hall has some other excess equipment they would like to sell.
The township also needs to look at having the sediment vault below the floor in the fire hall cleaned out. The vault traps sediment that comes off the fire trucks when they are washed, and eventually fills up with sand and gravel.
The department responded to six fire calls, one EMS assist, and 18 EMS calls in November.
Other business
In other business, the board:
• Heard the township received a $15,000 donation from Bois Forte for fire protection services.
• Approved a resolution to apply for an IRRR trails grant to fund upgrades on the paved walking trail.
• Approved a $100 donation to the Vermilion Lake Association.
• Declined to pay the new membership fee for the St. Louis County Association of Townships, which was $250. Board members noted they already belong to RAMS and the Minnesota Association of Townships, and they haven’t attended any meeting of the county township group in many years.
• Heard a presentation from former fire department member Jet Galonski on his take on the history of fire department under a previous board.
• Filings for two supervisor seats open on Dec. 30 and close on Jan. 13. The seats currently held by Paul Skubic and John Bassing will be on the ballot.
• Paid the ambulance subsidy fee for 2025 of $26,025 to the Tower Area Ambulance Service.
• Supervisor John Bassing reported that he is still following up on plans to extend the current Bois Forte broadband project to additional locations in Greenwood Township, and that the township has set aside funds to help with this effort.
• Heard that the right-of-way dispute on Birch Point Extension, which was scheduled for trial in January, has been delayed, with a new trial date set in April. Roskoski said they are hoping to get the issue settled before going to trial, which would be expensive for the township. The township is fighting an attempt by a family to vacate the platted road right-of-way, because this would limit the township’s ability for plowing snow and other road maintenance.