During their recent meeting, the Big Lake Town Board discussed mailboxes in Meadow Estates.
Meadow Estates, the new development on Co. Rds. 43 and 83, was not approved by the postal service to have swing-away mailboxes. Swing-away mailboxes are designed to be able to take a hit from a snow plow and “swing away” from it so they are not seriously damaged. They are the standard of mailboxes that the supervisors wish to use across the township.
However, the post office denied the township’s application to install these, instead instructing the township to install a “cluster mailbox.” This would be one mailbox for each house in the development that sits at the entrance to the development.
The supervisors did not like this. Supervisor Larry Alfords said cluster mailboxes are not designed for developments like Meadow Estates, but for developments with homes that are much closer together.
The supervisors considered escalating the issue to a higher authority within the postal service, but they were told that was unlikely to have the result they wanted. Ultimately, they decided not to escalate the matter and to instead explore cantilever style mailbox bases.
Sheriff’s Report
Sgt. Barrett gave the monthly report for the Sheriff’s Department. It was a busy month with several vehicle break-ins. A couple of individuals were walking in residential areas near Co. Rd. 15 and Old Co. Rd. 79, checking for unlocked vehicles and taking the valuables that were inside. Among the items stolen were a couple of wedding rings and some cash. The cases are still under investigation.
Barrett also noted the recent train derailment, and that the mess is all cleaned out now.
Fire Report
Chief Hansen gave the monthly report for the fire department. He noted 225 calls for the year so far. Lately, there has been an increase in vehicle accidents, and Hansen encouraged drivers to slow down and pay attention.
The department was given a tour of the Nutrien Fertilizer Plant off of Hwy. 10 in the interests of knowing what to do if the plant ever caught fire. Were that to happen, the fire department would allow the fire to burn itself out, as spraying it with water would cause toxic gasses in the area.
Conditional Use Permits
Two individuals approached the board seeking positive comments for conditional use permits (CUPs).
Kristin Pfaff requested a CUP to build a storage facility. The request was brought before the board at the last regular meeting, but the board had concerns and wanted the opinion of the fire department before giving a positive review. Their questions were answered and the BLFD signed off on the plan, so Pfaff was granted positive comments to bring to the county for final approval.
Richard Achman was seeking a CUP for a personal storage structure on his property by Birch Lake. There was formerly a storage facility that has since been removed. Achman also intends to eventually build a house on the property. The board gave favorable comments to the plan.
Election Business
Primary elections went well and served as a good opportunity for training election judges for the big election day in November. Clerk Brenda Kimberly Maas noted that one of her judges asked why the township paid lower election judge rates than some of the surrounding townships.
Kimberly-Maas did some research and found Big Lake Twp. was on the lower end of the pay scale, and asked the board to bump up the pay by $1 per hour to $18. The board approved the request. Kimberly-Maas hoped this might help attract more judges, though it will cost the township about $1,000 more.
In Other Business, the Board:
• Changed the first November meeting back to November 13. The meeting date was changed during a previous meeting due to a mis-understanding of when election results could be canvassed;
• Discussed installing a park bench at Bailey Station Cemetery;
• Considered purchasing a memorial tree to commemorate the life of Judy Zaske, a long-time Big Lake Lioness who recently passed away, before passing the decision on to the parks committee.
