Township passes levy, reports town garage break-in

Intruders broke into the Thomson Town garage late last month, the Township board of supervisors learned at their meeting Thursday, March 4.

Logan Saline, the township’s road utility and maintenance supervisor, said staff noticed Monday when they came into work that some things were not in order. “The door was unlocked, and we started to notice things missing,” he said.

Saline listed off items that had been stolen by the intruders, including chainsaws, fuel, a battery charger and drill bits. The vehicles in the garage had been rummaged through, along with the toolboxes that were in the garage, but no tools were stolen because they are kept in a safe. There was no sign of forced entry and, due to the falling snow, no sign of where the intruders came from. The extreme cold weather could potentially be why the door was easily broken through.

According to Saline, “My guess is that they attempted to turn the (fuel) pumps on by accessing the exterior panel, couldn’t do it, and then kicked the door in. Then they stole what they could steal and, from what we’re gathering, they came back later.”

The board was concerned about the security of the garage and discussed options for making the building more secure.

“Given that this is a public meeting, should we go ahead and investigate a security system because we are talking about all of these things? People are going to realize that we’re vulnerable,” said board member Jason Paulson.

Saline and the other board members discussed options for securing the building, such as a better security system, floodlights, signs and video cameras. The board decided to continue to explore options and move forward with whatever is best at the next meeting.

Saline also mentioned moving some of the fuel pump controls to the outside of the garage to cut down on the number of people who are able to access the building once a new security system is installed.

A police report was filed, but there is no estimate yet on the value of the loss.

Also Thursday, board member Bill Gerard followed up on his report on Girl Scout Troop 4079’s request for a new crosswalk with good news. According to Gerard, Carmanah Technologies, a company out of Victoria, Canada, has decided to donate a solar-powered rectangular rapid flashing beacon sign for a new crosswalk at Canosia Road and Northridge Park, which shoujld be finished this spring.

Annual meeting held Tuesday

The Thomson Township board of supervisors met again on Tuesday, March 9, for their 2021 annual town meeting in order to approve annual statements and hear reports from local organizations and groups. There were four community members in the audience and two who joined the meeting virtually to vote for approval of the annual statements and the 2022 tax levy, alongside the board. Local groups and organizations made similar statements about the challenges the Covid-19 pandemic has brought to their usual operations.

The board approved all of the annual financial statements with little discussion from board members and members of the community in the audience. The 2022 proposed tax levy was approved at $1,688,229, an increase of 2.8 percent ($45,983) from the 2021 levy. The largest rise was in the road and bridge improvement category, which increased by almost $49,000.

Fire chief Kyle Gustafson reported that the fire department responded to 15 fires, 240 emergency medical calls, 21 hazardous condition calls, seven service calls, 23 good intent calls and 12 false alarm calls, for a total of 318 runs in 2020. After training much of the year via Zoom meetings online due to Covid, they are back to in-person training. Four firefighters retired in 2020: Glen Gist, Scott Sunnarborg, Phil Rogers and Bob Draeger, bringing the current number to 28 firefighters. They are always looking for more, Gustafson said.

Esko Community Education director Michele Carlson announced to the board that Esko Fun Days will be held in 2021, after being canceled in 2020 to follow Covid-19 safety guidelines.

Despite the ongoing cancellation of many events due to the pandemic, Carlson is confident that Esko Fun Days can be held in some capacity, since it is an outdoor event. The board donated $2,000 toward Esko Fun Days, as it has in previous years. Esko Fun Days will begin Aug. 3, with a National Night Out event and run through Aug. 10 with a parade, 5K, games, barbecue and street dance — all are outdoor events.

The next Thomson Township board of supervisors meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m. March 18, at the Town Hall. The public is invited to come to the meetings in person or attend virtually through the link on the township’s website.