Park stage to get facelift

The Northridge Park stage needs to be updated, according to the Thomson Township board of supervisors and a local resident.

The stage is experiencing structural problems with the footholds, and the stairs on the side of the stage are also in need of repair.

Dawson Broman, a resident of the township, brought these issues to the attention of the board at their June 17 meeting and proposed some solutions.

Prior to the meeting, Broman met with a contractor, who proposed repairing the stage, including the footholds and stairs.

After some discussion with the board, they decided that a better long-term solution would be to pour a concrete slab that would be home to a stage instead of the current footholds, in order to combat the shifting of the footholds that results every winter due to frost.

Despite being willing to donate financially, the board requested that Broman donate his time to the project instead by working with contractors and the board to reach the best solution.

The board decided to move forward with the project and will continue to discuss it at future meetings.

• Thomson Township was offered more funds from the state due to the pandemic, to the tune of $544,000. Similar to the federal funding awarded to the township, these funds from the American Rescue Plan Act will need to be allocated to projects by December 2024, and those projects must be completed by December 2026. The board of supervisors voted to accept the funds and will continue to allocate them to different projects as they arise over the coming months.

• To resolve a shortage of microphones for use by meeting attendees, deputy clerk and treasurer Leah Pykkonen requested a ceiling microphone system be installed in the meeting room so that all those speaking will be heard by online attendees and supervisors. The board approved the installation of the system, at a cost of almost $7,500. The goal is to have the system be installed and running in time for the final comprehensive plan meeting.