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Surprisingly, 13 Fall Lake Township residents attended the reorganizational meeting on a snowy evening last Wednesday. Supervisor Eric Hart welcomed newly-appointed board member Adam Masloski to the board and the audience applauded.
Hart was nominated and accepted the position of board chair.
Following the reorganizational meeting, transfer site attendant Dean Barrett said the site is ready for a busy summer. He said he had bearproofed the bins and that there was a large ash pile at the brush pile burning area. He said he has a concern it could be a pollution issue.
Supervisor Craig Seliskar said he would have Schulz Excavating haul it away. Barrett said Doug Scheibe and Todd Garvey will be available to work at the transfer site this summer.
There was a bit of contention by WICOLA member Christoph Ender for not being informed of the regular March meeting date change. He was supposed to address the board. Apologies were extended to Ender by clerk Cheri DeBeltz. She said she had called another WICOLA board member with the information, but evidently it didn’t get passed along.
The board received and approved the contract with the Ely Public Library for the $4,000 that was approved at the annual meeting by Fall Lake citizens.
The board received an update on the local road improvement project for Sunset Road from engineer Jeff Goetzman. The trees have been cleared for the new reroute right-of-way. This was done on March 24.
Hart had questions for Goetzman regarding the use of class one or class five gravel. Class one is larger rock that is two inches to four inches. Class five uses smaller rocks of one inch or less. The board agreed that class five should be used on Sunset Road.
Another question Hart had was about the triangle of land/trees between the new reroute and the old road. He felt the design suggested would lead to slower traffic as they made the transition from the new road to the old road.
Further up the Sunset Road, Seliskar said there is a partially collapsed culvert that needs replacing.
On the Community Center committee, Hart said he visited the Clair Nelson Community Center in Finland. He said it is a very nice building, but for Fall Lake they would want a larger gymnasium. DeBeltz said she had received information on funds available through EECBG – Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant that Fall Lake could apply.
There was no update on the purchase of the parking lot from Lake County.
Road inspection date was set for Wednesday, April 30 with everyone meeting at the town hall at 4 p.m.
Ed Seliskar asked about posting speed limits on township roads. This was discussed about the Sunset Road. Hart said he hadn’t looked into this any further.
During the reorganization portion of the meeting the Ely Echo was named as the legal publication for the township as was determined at the annual meeting. The designated posting locations will be the Ely Echo, Fall Lake Township’s website and on the Town Hall bulletin board.
Frandsen Bank will continue as the township’s depository.
The board hadn’t heard of rate changes for Lakeside Services or received any other bids for lawn mowing, so the board will hold off on this decision. Road brushing will continue with Clyde Peterson. It was noted that Peterson has modified his cutting equipment with a longer arm to reach further when brushing roads.
Snow plowing contractors will remain with Jeff Schulze and Phil Hegfors. A full list of contractors will be kept on file. They include Schulze and Hegfors for general road maintenance. Also on file are Robinson Lake Trucking, Brian Seliskar and Aaran Leustek.
Garbage collection and disposal will be done by Section 30 Disposal.
Several hourly wages were addressed, with the board supporting continuing the $20 per hour wage for labor, office cleaning and transfer site attendant.
Wages for annual meeting moderator will remain at $50 per hour, and election judges at $15 per hour. All board positions will remain as follows: chairman and supervisors at $300 per meeting; clerk at $800 per meeting; deputy clerk at $20 per hour when needed; treasurer at $650 per meeting; compensation for Town Board and officers for attending extra full board meeting will also remain at $300 per meeting. Reimbursement for clerk and treasurer for township related expenses will be at $20 per hour.
Mileage for township related business is regulated by the IRS at $.70 per mile.
A resolution was approved establishing a policy for Compensation and Reimbursement of Town Officers. This is to cover any travel, lodging, food, and other expenses for the township.
Supervisors will serve on the following committees:
• Morse/Fall Lake Fire – all three supervisors
• Ely Area Ambulance Joint Powers Board – Eric Hart
• Ely Area Lodging Tax Board – Masloski with Hart as backup. Masloski was informed this board general meets in May and October.
• Ely Area Legislative Joint Powers – Hart
• RAMS (Range Association of Municipalities and Schools) – Craig Seliskar with Eric Hart or Adam Masloski as needed
• Township road maintenance – Craig Seliskar
• Local Road Improvement Grant (LRIP) on Sunset Road – Hart
• Ely/Kawishiwi Firewise partnership – Masloski
• Township transfer site – Seliskar
• Township building and grounds maintenance – Masloski
• Community Center Board – Masloski In correspondence the board:
• Received the annual scholarship notice from Range Cooperatives.
• Received information on a Township Legal Seminar to be presented by Couri & Ruppe Law Office. Several dates and locations are available for this seminar.
• Received information from RAMS executive director Paul Peltier for contamination cleanup and RAP Development grant program.
• Received Northwoods Partners newsletter.
• Received information on the Lake County Chamber and Lake Superior School District Career Expo to be held May 1 from noon to 4 p.m. at the Two Harbors High School.
• The next Morse/Fall Lake Fire meeting will be held at Morse town hall on Wednesday, April 16 at 6 p.m.
• The next regular Fall Lake Township meeting will be held on Tuesday, May 6 at 6 p.m. This is a change of meeting date due to supervisors’ conflicts.
• The Local Board of Appeal and Equalization meeting will be held on Thursday, May 8 at 1 p.m.
• The Lake County Board of Commissioners Committee of the Whole will be held on Tuesday, June 18 at 6 p.m.
