Board OKs new policing contract language

The Thomson Township Board of Supervisors approved terms of a new law enforcement contract with the Carlton County Sheriff’s Office, extending services provided to the township for another three years.

The Carlton County Sheriff’s Office assigns a deputy to work exclusively in the township. According to Chief Deputy Dan Danielson, who attended the board’s meeting Oct. 20 to answer questions about the new contract, the assignment allows the deputy to form a relationship with the community, get to know businesses, and work alongside the school.

“We know how important the relationship is between the department and the community and schools and businesses,” Danielson told the board. “I think we make sure that it is always a good fit.”

The new contract includes minor increases in cost for the township over the next three years. But, these increases are below what the township had been budgeting for, according to board supervisor Terry Hill.

The increase for 2023 is 0.76%, which will increase the overall cost for the township to $146,434. The increase is 3% for the following two years, which will raise the cost to $150,827 for 2024 and $155,352 for 2025.

Thomson Township and the Sheriff’s Office have worked together since 2016 to provide an assigned deputy in the township.

Following the board’s approval of the new contract, Danielson gave the board an update on the current township deputy, Randy Roberts.

According to Danielson, Roberts will be retiring at the end of November. The sheriff’s office is preparing to interview internal replacement candidates as soon as possible. When the new candidate is selected, with the help of the town board, that person will work alongside Roberts during his last weeks to learn about the community and its needs.

In other business:

• The board listened to a short presentation about the Esko School Forest by Tim Lindquist, who thanked the township for working with the group to get trails cleared before the grand opening of the forest earlier this month.

According to Lindquist, more than 300 community members attended the event, and the group is continuing to see families utilize the trails. Following the opening of the forest to the community, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources approved the forest’s classification as an official “school forest” within its system, which will open the door for more opportunities such as grants.

Lindquist asked the town board to continue to consider what they can do to help with the project and think about the possibility of forming a more formal relationship between the two groups at some point.

• The board approved working with Architectural Resources on the public works facility study. Architectural Resources is the only firm that submitted a bid for the project, but since it is the company that the township worked with on a firehall facility study in the past, the board felt comfortable working with the company on the new project as well. The study will cost the township $11,000 — $9,000 less than what the board originally budgeted for the study to be completed.

• The board scheduled its election canvassing meeting for 7 p.m. Nov. 17, which is during its second regular meeting in November. The board meets the first and third Thursday of every month.