Colfax Village Board renews street use permit for Timber Technologies
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By LeAnn R. Ralph
COLFAX — The Colfax Village Board has renewed a street use permit for semi-trucks to use Cedar Street as the route to haul materials from rail cars to the Timber Technologies facility on Bremer Avenue.
The Timber Technologies’ permit is an annual permit with a $5 fee, said Lynn Niggemann, village administrator-clerk-treasurer, at the Colfax Village Board’s February 22 meeting.
The village board reviews the permit annually in case there are any problems. Nothing out of the ordinary has occurred over the past year except for some of the semi-truck drivers have not been following the traffic laws, she said.
To reach the loading area, empty semi-trailers travel on state Highway 40, turn west on Third Avenue, and then turn north on Cedar Street to the Timber Technologies loading area at the corner of Cedar Street and Legion Drive.
The loaded semi-trucks travel east on Legion Drive back to state Highway 40 to Timber Technologies on Bremer Avenue.
“It’s not all truck drivers, but some do not like to stop at stop signs,” said Mark Halpin, village trustee, who lives on Cedar Street.
Does the village have some street use permits that are approved for three years, and if so, why not renew the permit for multiple years for Timber Technologies? asked Village Trustee Margaret Burcham.
No businesses in Colfax have street use permits approved for multiple years. The street use permit is typically used to close a road for a few hours for a one-time reason, Niggemann said.
Halpin said he liked reviewing the Timber Tech permit annually so that if there have been any problems, the problems can be addressed by the village board.
Logan Michels, village trustee, asked why there was a street use permit for Timber Tech but not for other businesses in town that bring in products by semi-truck, such as Kyle’s Market and Dollar General.
The routes used by semi-trucks going to Kyle’s Market and Dollar General are designated truck routes. Cedar Street is not a truck route, but it is being used as a truck route by one business, Niggemann said.
Halpin asked Niggemann if she would suggest to Colfax Police Chief William Anderson that he should speak with the Timber Technologies owners again about how some of the semi-trucks are not stopping at the stop signs.
The Colfax Village Board unanimously approved a motion to grant the street use permit to Timber Technologies.
In addition to Burcham, Halpin and Michels voting in favor of the motion, Village Trustee Anne Jenson voted in favor.
Village President Scott Gunnufson and Village Trustees Carey Davis and Gary Stene were absent from the meeting.
Jenson chaired the meeting.
HydroCorp
The Colfax Village Board also renewed a two-year contract with HydroCorp to complete cross connections inspections in the village for residential and commercial properties.
This the fourth two-year contract Colfax has signed with HydroCorp, Niggemann said.
The cross connection inspections, which are required by the state Department of Natural Resources, look for ways that the village’s water supply could be contaminated, such as a laundry hose in a tub that is hooked up to a faucet. If there is water in the tub, the hose could siphon the water back into the faucet, creating a potential for contaminating the water supply.
The total for the two-year contract is $6,894, representing a .3 percent increase over the previous contract, Niggemann said.
All together, 34 residences are left to complete the initial inspection, she noted.
HydroCorp is easy to work with. Company personnel write and then submit the necessary reports to the DNR and to the village, Niggemann said.
The Colfax Village Board unanimously approved the two-year contract with HydroCorp.
Other business
In other business, the Colfax Village Board:
• Approved a training request for Mike Ross, a laborer in the Department of Public Works, to take a training class on personal protective equipment. The class is part of the village’s safety program and will be held March 2 in Ladysmith. Tuition for the class is $125.
• Approved a training request for Ross for excavation competent person safety training in Boyceville on February 24. The cost of the training is $125 and is required as part of the village’s safety program.
• Approved a facility rental for the beer garden at the Colfax Fairgrounds for a wedding reception on September 6, 2021, for Joshua Secraw and Alisia Parker. The facility rental includes 135 chairs from the village at a cost of $1 per chair.
• Approved a facility rental for the beer garden at the Colfax Fairgrounds for a wedding reception on June 11, 2022, for Kari Knutson and Casey Peterson.
