Township board votes against contributing to Margaret St. fix

By RICHARD JENKINS

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Ironwood Township — The Gogebic Range Water Authority will be paying the full cost of repairs to the Margaret Street sewer system after the Ironwood Township Board of Trustees voted against contributing to the project Monday.

The work will repair issues with the road that were the result of earlier work done on the sewer lines, Township Supervisor Alan Baron said.

“We’ve been after this since I’ve been here to repair the road that was done improperly on Margaret Street,” Baron said. “It’s been an ongoing issue there.”

Baron said while there was some expectation by some Water Authority representatives that the township would contribute half of the project’s cost, Baron said its board approved the contract without any commitment from the township.

He said he was then told that anything the township could contribute would be appreciated.

Several board members — including Baron — expressed the opinion that because the project was to fix problems with a previous project, it wasn’t the township’s responsibility.

“This is their responsibility, it should have been taken care of right off the bat,” Baron said, recommending against contributing anything.

He added earlier conversations regarding the project had a considerably lower price than the final project estimate by Snow Country Contracting. According to information presented to the board, the project’s cost is expected to be around $17,352.

In other action:

— The board voted 4 to 3 to approve a contract with Recon Media for website services. According to the information presented to the board, the contract is for one year and will cost the township $1,380 per year. A second contract with Recon Media, allowing the township to own its domain name was unanimously approved and will cost the township $275 per year.

— The board tabled action on the 2016 road project schedule until the board members could compare it to the township’s 5-year road plan.

—The township’s volunteer firefighters were recognized by the board after it received a letter from Gogebic County Sheriff Pete Matonich crediting the members of the department who assisted in the April 16 kayak incident on the Black River.

“My deputies on the scene advised me that members of your department went above and beyond in assisting with the rescue and retrieval of the injured kayaker,” Matonich wrote in his letter. “... It is comforting to me as a sheriff to know that when called, members of your fire department respond and have always and are committed to doing their very best both compassionately and professionally.”

Clint Mabie, 49, of Hurley, died after hitting his head while kayaking.