During the recent Big Lake Town Board meeting, the board approved their half of the purchase of a new fire truck for the BLFD. The vehicle will be delivered in 2023. After some discussion about the risks involved, the supervisors opted to pay their entire contribution up front immediately, in order to get a significant discount of $25,096. The amount paid upfront was $394,427. 

Clerk Brenda Kimberly-Maas asked if the supervisors would also like to authorize the disposal of the old truck, which of course wouldn’t occur until 2023 when the new truck arrives. Hedstrom strongly advocated against this though, saying a lot can happen in three years, and since there are continuing conversations with Orrock Twp. about creating an auxiliary fire station as an extension of the department, the old truck could be a resource worth keeping. The other supervisors agreed, and asked the clerk to make a note that the disposal was not approved and would need to be reviewed at a later date. 

Sheriff’s Report

Sgt. Luke McLean with the sheriff’s office gave his monthly report to the board. He reported that there had been a lumber theft. However, the owner had a camera that recorded the crime, and officers were able to identify the suspect. 

McLean recounted an incident earlier in the month where officers were involved in a chase. The suspect fled officers on foot and was later apprehended. 

Finally, McLean wished to remind everyone that it is illegal to pass a school bus. Supervisor Mark Hedstrom noted that the same is true of emergency vehicles such as fire trucks.

Open Forum

Rep. Paul Novotny once again stopped by the town hall meeting during open forum. He presented a copy of a bill that will be appearing before the legislation which would impact townships. He asked the supervisors to read the bill and email their comments to him.

Upcoming

The meeting wrapped up with business from the board and announcements from the clerk. Some items of note included:

• Supervisor Norm Leslie is still waiting on new trail signs to be made for the Lions Park trail system. It’s taking longer than expected, and Leslie was unsure if he would be able to install the signs before the ground freezes;

• Hedstrom reported on his meeting with the Big Lake Community Ed board, and was happy to say that class costs would be frozen for some time, and that community ed would be updating their logo to match the city’s new design. He also advised parents and kids to be on the lookout for the new spring course catalogue which would be coming out soon, featuring more classes available to older students;

• The winter farmers’ market is returning this year at city hall, every third Saturday of the month beginning Nov. 20, running from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.;

• The next regular meeting will be Dec. 8, as the second Nov. meeting would have conflicted with Thanksgiving.