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Far fewer residents were in attendance at the July regular Fall Lake Township meeting with about a dozen people present.
The meeting was another long meeting as there was a full agenda and several housekeeping issues were addressed.
Supervisor Eric Hart read the report from transfer site attendant Doug Scheibe, and reported there have been no more bear sitings.
After having a check returned for insufficient funds for purchase of bags at the transfer site, the board set a policy addressing this issue. A sign will be posted at the transfer site and at the town hall.
Lake County Commissioner Joe Baltich reported on county matters. He said the recreational funds the township receives from Lake County can be saved for larger projects. He said the county said the funds didn’t have to be spent each year.
Lake County is starting budgets for 2025 for levies. Baltich said they are waiting to see what department heads request. There was discussion on the Boundary Waters PILT – Payment in Lieu of Taxes. Baltich wasn’t sure about the amount of money the county will get from federal PILT or from the state. Any budget requests of the township need to be submitted by July 19.
Baltich said there would be some delays in getting grass cut along county roads because other areas of the county suffered great damage due to flooding. Fixing those problem areas are a priority. He said Senator Grant Hauschild and Representative Roger Skraba have been looking into public funding to help those who had flooding but were not covered by insurance.
Supervisor Sheila Gruba asked if there was anything on the parking lot piece of land. Baltich said there was no opposition in the township obtaining this land. The county will address this at an upcoming meeting.
Baltich is on the Rainy River Headwaters committee and will ask about funding for Sunset Road because of the pollution of runoff into White Iron Lake.
Regarding a request for speed limits on Sunset Road, and for other township roads, Hart went over a couple resolutions. One for 25 mph and one for 35 mph. Hart said he recommended the 35 mph speed limit and the decision could have a study or be based on safety concern. Once posted, the speed limit can be enforced by Lake County Sheriff.
One Sunset Road resident asked why not a 20 mph. Gruba suggested a study, while the resolutions didn’t require a speed study.
Supervisor Craig Seliskar asked about a blanket resolution to cover all township roads. He said it would be in the township’s best interest to include all roads posted with a speed limit, otherwise the speed limit defaults to 55 mph. The board agreed to a 25 mph speed limit and Hart said the roads would be listed in the resolution. A couple shorter roads would not have a speed limit.
The board amended and accepted the Joint Powers Lodging Tax agreement. Stony River wants out of the Ely Area Lodging Tax, and can do better with the Loving Lake County Lodging Tax. Gruba said Fall Lake’s lodging tax cannot be calculated until the Granicus short term rentals study is completed.
Seliskar reached out to Braun Intertec for a study of Fall Lake Township roads for a master plan to make them better. The estimated fee for the study would be $15,839.
The report would include: CAD sketch showing boring locations; logs of the borings; summary of the subsurface and groundwater conditions; photographs; laboratory testing on gravel samples; and recommendations for roadway designs and construction.
Due to the last two meetings with more than usual residents in attendance, Clerk Cheri DeBeltz presented information on ordering chairs for the town hall. The township has had to borrow chairs from the Town of Morse. Sixty chairs and a rack will be ordered.
The board discussed compensation for members using their own vehicles in township travel. They will receive government mileage rate. Members will receive $20/ hour, and meals will be covered - $13 for breakfast, $15 for lunch and $26 for dinner. Room reimbursement will be at the amount discussed at the meeting before the out-of-town meeting.
DeBeltz contacted attorneys about township roads and previously discussed Local Road Improvement Program (LRIP). Minnesota Association of Township attorney recommended several attorneys to contact. DeBeltz spoke with Robert Ruppe with Couri & Ruppe at length. She recommended, and the board approved, going with Couri & Ruppe. The joint direction of the board agreed one person should contact the attorney. Individual board members are not to contact the attorney.
Gruba noticed the MSA Professional Services Agreement contract received on the Sunset Road was based on Wisconsin standards, not on MNDOT standards. She contacted Lake County Highway Engineer Jason DiPiazza and Jeff Goetzman to review the language of the contract.
DiPiazza added additional milestones to the contract that would save costs later in the project. Adding 30-day and 60-day reviews of the project. This resulted in a higher cost for the project in the amount of $94,560.
DeBeltz is waiting to hear back from the township’s new attorney on the Power Dam Road. On the road’s vacation and the memorialization of a public road.
Discussion on the purchase of the Warren Johnson parcel, Seliskar said it was in the township’s best interest to purchase this parcel.
“Once it is sold the township would not be able to buy it again,” said Seliskar. “This would give us the ability to put a right-of-way for Locust Lane if it were to become a township road. Limiting any battle for a right-of-way.”
Hart said his reasons for purchasing the lot was because a person has driven into the septic tank area once.
“The lot would give the township the opportunity to have a septic system and well for any future expansion,” said Hart. “We don’t have the ability to do that with the footprint we now have.”
Gruba will check with a septic installer for a possible community center that included the sheriff’s office.
Hart supported the purchase of the lot regardless of what information Gruba gathered. He said the purchase would be beneficial to the township, but suggested the purchase be tabled until the next meeting.
The Cloquet Line will have trees and brush cleared, and have gravel to cover the timbers that are coming up again. This will be done before the spring of 2025. The board tabled any ditch work until the beaver problem has been eliminated.
Gruba asked the fire department about the width needed for the fire truck to come to a resident’s house. Ideally the fire department would like 20 feet by 20 feet, but legally it’s 14 feet by 14 feet. Also, if there is not an adequate turn-around, the fire truck will not come in to the property. 911 signs need to be visible.
Seliskar said gravel was recently hauled on Sunset Road. In shady areas, the road is muddy and slimy. This is not ideal conditions to apply chloride. Application would be done when the road dries out more.
Seliskar said a culvert had been repaired close to where the new road will tee into the old road on Sunset.
Seliskar talked with Skraba about how the township can access more funding for township roads. He suggested raising the levy, leaning on the county for more gas tax money or more of the special sales tax funds.
Hart reported on the hospital presentation at the Ely Area Senior Center. Several options were presented to help out the ambulance service for our area.
“Their number one recommendation is to have two ambulances in Ely, one in Tower and one in Babbitt,” said Hart. “The ambulance and the hospital need to sit down and talk to see what works for everyone.
The last items Hart brought up were open meeting laws regarding gatherings when several board members are present. They are not to discuss township matters. This also includes emails addressed to all board members. These emails are not to be replied to all.
Hart also addressed that board meeting minutes do not have to include full details of what was said. This has resulted in numerous pages of minutes, and more work for the clerk.
A resident on Sunset Road asked if the Silver Rapids expansion was a done deal. Hart said there will be a Planning and Zoning meeting on July 18 at 4 p.m. to address resident concerns, and it would be beneficial for him to attend and speak.
In correspondence:
• Received information from RAMS on grant opportunities.
• Information was received from Lake County for homeowners to report flood damage to the state.
• Received an estimate from Weisinger Construction for installing a new entry door and office door. Board added to have the doors at the garage stall be adjusted.
• Received a request for recreation funds for the Ely Baseball Association. $400 was approved.
• Received a request for recreation funds for the Ely Area Senior Center. $500 was approved according to the previous meeting guidelines, but was amended and approved to give $1,000 because of their fund raising to keep the center open.
• Morse/Fall Lake Fire meeting will be held on Wednesday, July 17 at 6 p.m.
• Next regular Fall Lake Township meeting will be held on Wednesday, August 7 at 6 p.m.
• The board approved Cheri DeBeltz, Nancy McReady, Teresa Sagen, and Dolores Delaney as election judges.
• A primary election will be held on Tuesday, August 13 from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
