Thomson Township readies itself for expected growth

Twenty years have passed since Thomson Township adopted its comprehensive plan in February 1999.

Over that time, the population of the northern Carlton County township has grown from 4,430 to 5,120 in 2017, making it the second-largest community in Carlton County. A business park that didn’t even exist when the last comprehensive plan was adopted is now over two-thirds full. Many of the residential subdivision lots are sold out.

Many other indicators point to strong growth possibilities for the urban township.

“A lot has changed in 20 years,” said township board chair Terry Hill in an interview with the Pine Knot News last month. “We’ve grown. We need to take a look at a lot of the issues facing our township.”

The time has come to make a new plan.

Thomson Township zoning official Daniel Stangle explained that under state legislation, planning is supposed to begin with an analysis of the community’s needs and goals which are then formulated into a comprehensive plan. The plan then becomes the guiding policy for community development, and the zoning and subdivision ordinances — and other land use regulations — must be based on this plan. A comprehensive plan can affect public policies on everything from land use and housing, to utilities and internet access, to transportation and recreation. In the past they were updated every 15 years or so, but with the rate of change in the world today, some people think it should happen more often.

But it takes a lot of people to make a really good plan.

It is a job for not only the township’s elected officials, city staff and zoning/planning commission members: community members should be part of the process. This is their chance to help shape the future of their community, Hill said.

“Most importantly, we need to listen to our residents: what they’d like to see, and how they’d like to see the township develop and progress,” he said. “It’s vital that we have public participation throughout this process.”

The longtime township board member stressed that Thomson Township has always tried to maintain the more rural character of its community.

That comes with its own challenges, Hill said, noting that it can be difficult to continue to provide a high level of services to citizens in a fiscally responsible way.

Hill cited infrastructure — water and sewer, utilities, roads — as an example.

When we’re looking at expansion, we always want to keep that sense of ruralness to the community,” he said. “That’s vital to many residents: it’s something we hold dear and want to keep.”

Land use and township ordinances dictating the rules of land use are important to shaping the future of a community. Stangle said the challenge now is to figure out where to build new subdivisions, and find places suitable for single- and multi-family homes and where the township can extend sewer and services without breaking the bank.

“We’re basically out of lots in most of our existing subdivisions,” Stangle said. “The plats are down to the least desirable lots and those [being developed].”

Looking at the township’s restrictive tower ordinance and its effect on the development of reliable internet connectivity in the township is another issue that will have to be explored in the new comprehensive plan.

The township received five proposals from firms that specialize in developing comprehensive plans for communities April 10, and the planning and zoning commission is in the process of reviewing, scoring and ranking the proposals now. Stangle said the commission will narrow the list of proposals from five to two over the next few weeks, and the final two candidates will be invited for interviews at the township hall. The commission will present its consultant selection recommendation to the Thomson Township board and, once approved, the consultant will begin work with township officials, the planning and zoning commission and community members.

Township board supervisor Jason Paulson is hoping lots of people will turn out for public meetings, which should be scheduled over the next seven months.

“The success of the comp plan is really dependent on the engagement of the community,” Paulson said. “We are looking for citizen volunteers, people to be part of the discussion, what they see Esko like going forward. That really is the crux.

“If you can’t get people to come out and talk, it just doesn’t work.”

Stangle said the township will advertise the public engagement opportunities in a variety of ways. He said people who want to have their name put on a contact list for the Comprehensive Plan process can call 218-879-9719, email [email protected] or stop into the town hall located at 25 E. Harney Road.

Members of the Thomson Township Planning and Zoning Commission are: Dale Reed (chair), Jim Gottschald, Scott Nigon, Greg Stoewer, Gary Bonneville, Robert Stokes and Manuel Umpierre, Jr. along with Town Board liaison Ruth Janke and Town Clerk Rhonda Peleski. Township lawyer David Pritchett and Stangle work with the commission.

Stangle said the goal is to complete the new comprehensive plan by the end of 2019.

Thomson or Esko?

Thomson Township board supervisor Jason Paulson would like a new title.

He’d like it to be “Esko Township Board Supervisor.” But such a change would require lots of community input and board action, and he figures what better time to start the debate than during the comprehensive plan process?

“I’d like to at least introduce the discussion about changing the name, in memory of [writer-historian-booster] Davis Helberg and all the work he did for the township,” Paulson said. According to the Minnesota Historical Society book “Minnesota Geographic Names,” Thomson got its name from David Thompson, a Canadian explorer and geographer. The book says it can’t really explain why the spelling changed, but nodded to Scottish poet James Thomson. Local historians say the name came from John Edgar Thomson, president of the Pennsylvania Railroad, which provided money for the Lake Superior and Mississippi Railroad that cut across Carlton County.

Esko’s name came from Esko’s Corner, the store built in 1919 and owned by Alex Esko.

“It would be such an easy change, and more aligned with our community as it is,” Paulson said.

The supervisor admitted that the highway signs for Esko really should read Thomson Township, because Esko is not a city.

“Esko is a post office and the name of a school,” he said. “Really, we all live in Thomson Township. But if we make the change, our community would be named after one of the founding families, which was Helberg’s argument.”

Thomson Township zoning official Daniel Stangle explained that according to Minnesota State Statute 379.08, changing the name to Esko Township would require a petition signed by at least 55 percent of the total number of votes cast by legal voters in the township’s last general election. The petition would need to be submitted to the Carlton County auditor’s office for verification of names. Then the Carlton County board of commissioners would ultimately make the decision to accept or deny the request for the name change.

Jana Peterson / PKN

More to come

The Pine Knot News will examine some of the challenges of Esko’s growing community in upcoming issues.