Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
By CHARITY SMITH
Ramsay — The Bessemer Township offices will be switching back to its old internet provider after the new provider failed to meet its needs, according to Supervisor Jeff Randall.
Randall told the Daily Globe Tuesday morning that the internet service at the township offices has been poor. They recently almost had to close the offices one day, and Monday’s meeting was unable to be conducted in a hybrid format.
“It took me forever to get onto Quickbooks,” said city clerk Debbie Janczak. “We can’t allow this. We can’t have that. When we have elections I need to be able to tell people whether or not they’re registered.”
In March, the township switched from Charter Spectrum to AT&T for phone and internet services. Janczak said since the switch, the speed has been “inferior” and staff has been unable to read emails and print documents.
The township is going back to Charter Spectrum and upgrading its speed from 100 mb/ps to 600 mb/ps.
“It’s going to allow us to have those Zoom meetings. It’s going to allow us to download these things,” Janczak said.
The township board also approved the purchase of three laptops, so all of the officers can work from home, if need be. The laptops will cost the township $600 a piece.
“Will we use it extensively? I don’t know. But I think just having the ability is something that we will realize. I truly believe that,” Janczak said.
The Anvil Booster Pump Station will be getting an upgraded repair this week, after the control panel went out last Friday, said Randall. The board approved the emergency repair.
“This is something we can’t go without,” said Randall. “This is the pump station that supplies water up into Anvil. We are nursing it along on an hour-to-hour basis right now.”
The repair will cost the township $5,300. Randall said the cost includes installation and travel costs for the repairmen who will be coming from the Green Bay, Wisconsin, area. He said the repair should be done by Thursday.
The board also:
—Approved the purchase of locks for the pavilion restrooms. The locks can be controlled wirelessly through the township’s computer system. They will be purchased from Steiger’s for $1,280.
—Decided to hire three summer workers, including one returning worker. The board voted to look into its rates for summer workers to make sure they are still competitive and to raise the rate for returning workers by $1 an hour, as they will be able to help train new help.
—Approved a 50% reduction in application fees for land division.
—Continued its discussion on the need for a blight and ordinance officer. The board asked Randall to come up with a job description for the next meeting.