Alice Pickering
Linwood Area Reporter

The final payment for the new Linwood Fire Department tanker truck was approved by the Linwood Town Board on Tuesday, Feb. 13.

The amount is $106,000.

Fire Chief Joe Dolphy told town board supervisors that the department anticipates delivery of the truck within two weeks.

The department has $4398 to use for additional radio equipment before the end of the year to match the requirements of the county-wide 80 MHz emergency radio system.

The vote to OK the expenditure was 5-0.

The department responded to 14 calls for assistance in January. Three were to fires and the other 11 were medical emergencies.

Traffic issues

There have been numerous complaints about heavy traffic on 226th Ave., which residents claim is related to drug manufacturing and trafficking.

Residents told the town board they have been frustrated with calls to the Anoka County Sheriff’s office which seem to be ineffective.

A major complaint is that the civil rights of those they believe are engaged in illegal activities seem to take priority over those of law-abiding residents in the neighborhood.

Residents said they want prompter responses to their calls and want to know how to safely document incidents to help deputies. Supervisors scheduled a meeting at 6 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 27 with the deputy who is assigned to the township and another deputy.

The town board authorized the road and bridge committee to work with township engineer Craig Jochum to prioritize road repair work for 2007.

Supervisor Phil Osterhus and Beckman will meet with Jochum before the next board meeting to determine this list.

Linwood supervisors referred street repair and improvement priorities to Jochum. Bob Beckman, committee chair, referred to the meeting minutes that identify these projects.

With improvements to roads and culvert, money for repairs may come from county, DNR, state, or federal sources, in addition to what the township must pay. Beckman said the committee wants to know ahead of time what amounts are available to complete work.

Payment in the amount of $2582.95 was approved unanimously. The bills were from subcontractors who completed wetland delineation work related to street and culvert repairs during summer 2006. The bills came to the township late. Beckman said the committee would like to see the bills submitted sooner.

Recycling days

Several residents want the township to have at least two recycling days each year. The thinking is to keep garbage and junk out of the ditches so township employees do not have to do trash collection.

One reason the township changed to a single recycling day in the spring is the cost of providing dumpsters for garbage and construction material. Also, there have been fewer residents taking advantage of the fall date.

Staff will check with vendors about costs. The board is to study this further and consider adding an additional recycling day, if not in 2007, then 2008.

Pfaffendorf vote

The board denied an application by Mel Pfaffendorf to serve on the senior advisory board. By-laws allow up to 15 members.

Adding Pfaffendorf to the committee would increase it to 10, a potential problem to decide some issues.

An additional factor is that his wife is a member of the advising body. The vote was 5-0 to deny the appointment.

Other business

In other business, the board

•Authorized staff to secure three bids to add safety features to the doors to the old fire hall, with the cost not to exceed $1795.

•Approved the appointment of David Westergren to the Linwood Community and School Forest Committee. His appointment is to fill a vacancy created by resignation and brings the committee membership to seven.

•Approved the order of 600 seedling trees to be distributed at Linwood Recycle Day in May and at Linwood Elementary School. Six types of trees are to be ordered through Anoka County or Chisago County.

•Approved the order of 130 Earth Day T-shirts for distribution to Linwood Elementary students at a cost of $7 each.

•Passed a resolution supporting National Night Out on Tuesday, Aug. 7.

•Approved a donation of $35 to the Land Stewardship Project.

Top of Page