During their recent meeting, the Big Lake Town Board considered the donation of equipment from the fire department.
The Big Lake Fire Department has some extrication equipment it no longer needs. The fire board recommended donating the equipment to a smaller fire department. Partly in order to help out a department that cannot afford equipment of this type, and partly to avoid any liability if the equipment were to be sold and failed to work correctly, since it is fairly old.
The board approved donating the equipment, but the city will also have to approve the decision before it is official.
They also approved selling the old ladder truck, since there is a new one on the way. The asking price is $150,000.
CUP
Tim Taylor approached the board wanting to build a personal storage unit on a parcel off of Co. Rd. 5. What made the situation unusual was that Taylor was not the owner of the property. He wished to purchase the land provided that he was able to build the shed as he wished, and he had the support of the current owner to pursue a Condition Use Permit (CUP).
The board found the situation strange, and asked if Taylor was hoping to eventually build a house. Taylor replied the lot was not large enough for a house, as it was very long and skinny. He said he’d potentially like to purchase the adjacent lot and build on it if it were to become available, which it currently is not.
The board did not like the idea of approving the CUP without plans to build a house to go with it. However, the county gets the final say on the matter.
Employee Benefits
At the end of 2024, the Big Lake Township decided to ditch their employee benefits program as it was no longer working for them. Supervisors Laura Hayes and Mark Hedstrom have been leading the project of replacing the program with something better. They presented the company HealthEquity. However, when the clerk, Brenda Kimberly-Maas, asked some questions about the program the supervisors were not yet able to answer, they decided to table the decision to adopt or not for the next meeting. In the meantime, they will continue to investigate to make sure both part time and full time employees are eligible to participate.
In Other Business, the Board:
• Set recycle day for May 17 from 8 a.m. - 1 p.m. and applied for a grant to pay for it;
• Noted the town hall office will be closed Feb. 19 for President’s Day.