Jackpine Savage statue; wetlands on Littlefork agenda
LITTLEFORK — A Wisconsin company appears to be surfacing as the best choice to build Littlefork’s new Jackpine Savage statue, as discussed by Littlefork city councilors Thursday.
Its estimate for the 12-foot, old-time woodsman to be constructed in fiberglass for longevity, came in at $19,836 — a higher cost than statue estimates for a lesser quality but far less than another company’s for one of comparable quality.
The Wisconsin F.A.S.T. company also made Blackduck’s duck statue, City Administrator Mike Fairchild told the board. Fairchild has sent several letters informing local clubs that the city would welcome donations to offset the cost of the statue, which is hoped to be in place by the Fourth of July and Littlefork’s All Class Reunion.
Following some final scrutiny on the company and the design, the council hopes to make a decision in March for the statue which would take about 12 to 16 weeks to create.
In other business, Dave Serrano of Arro of the North addressed the council with an update on wetlands issues. The Littlefork Industrial Park has been on hold for years in related matters.
The council has yet to decide whether to be its own legal governing unit regarding wetlands, or whether to have its wetlands managed by the Koochiching Water and Soil Conservation District.
Serrano informed the council that, increasingly, the state and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers want to see a plan or “sequencing” exploration which establishes why a particular wetland area is critical to a project.
Serrano told the council that International Falls has elected to do its own wetlands governing and it appears to be working well.
“Permitting has been going pretty well and has taken about 90 days,” Serrano said, noting projects at Boise and the Border Patrol facility. He cautioned the councilors about area cases in which people “just go out and do things” (without wetlands awareness) which can result in great expense after the fact.
The council agreed to form a Wetlands Committee to study the issue, and meet in the near future with Serrano and the WSCD. Councilors Loren Lehman and Kevin Sather will serve on the committee.
The city of Littlefork will lose $26,246 due to proposed cuts in state aid. Councilors agreed to review areas in which budget cuts can offset this reduction of funds.
Fairchild said he and ambulance chief Tom Donahou and architect Jim Cowgill are close to finalizing the bid specs on a new ambulance facility which will go to the Building Committee and requires approval by the taxing district before construction begins in the spring.
Donahou reported that two new emergency medical technicians, Devon Hege and Doug Hege, who have completed training, have been added to the ambulance staff. The Littlefork ambulance made eight runs in January, and five runs in February to date.
A mock Occupational Safety and Health Agency inspection is scheduled for Feb. 23-24 in the city. Fairchild reported that Calvin Olson, administrator for the Littlefork Medical Center declined that facility’s participation in the inspection.
A draft model of an all-terrain vehicle ordinance was distributed to the councilors for review and an expected adoption soon.
January sales for the Littlefork Municipal Liquor store were down $6,000 from last January; and year-to-date sales also show a $6,000 decrease from 2009.
The council approved the appointment of John Larson as a new at-large representative on the Community Education Recreation Commission.
Fairchild advised the board of notification received from County Engineer Doug Grindall on new federal retroreflectivity standards for traffic signs, which must be compliant (in time increments) by January 2018. Because the faces of regulatory, speed-limit, warning, street and guide signs degrade over time, all of them must meet the new standard by that time.
Mayor Shane Williams was absent from the meeting.
