Rib Lake board approves cameras for downtown

Surveillance cameras will soon be coming to downtown Rib Lake.

At the July 12 village board meeting, trustees approved spending about $2,300 to purchase cameras and recording equipment to be mounted on the village-owned building on McComb Ave.

“We have to do something about our drag strip on Main Street,” said trustee George Tesch, noting the evidence of the amount of racing that takes place in the overnight hours on the village’s main downtown street. The road was rebuilt last year at a total cost of about $1 million.

Tesch called for the village to act quickly to purchase and install the cameras.

“We have a million dollar street and they are using it as a drag strip,” Tesch said.

“It is only going to get worse,” said trustee Russ Bullis. He noted there are a couple spots on the road where there is evidence that vehicles have already begun wearing through the less than a yearold blacktop “It is getting disgusting. People want to know why nothing is getting done about it,” Bullis said.

The solution proposed was to install cameras on the old village hall building with one facing north and one facing south. The village had received quotes from CCTV Security Pros of Cherry Hill, N.J. for $2,303.95 and from Computer TR of Abbotsford for $1,765. The CCTV Security Pros quote was for a camera, cabling and equipment with the village to install the equipment. Computer TR’s quote included installation.

The major difference between the two, and the reason board members favored the higher-priced option was the quality of the camera with the higher quote including cameras that have a listed value of nearly $1,000 each with the lowerpriced quotes have cameras with a value of $300 each. Beyond the price difference, police chief Derek Beckstrand explained, the more expensive cameras are designed to be able to pick up license plates even in low-light situations without reflecting off them. This is key to enforcement efforts to identify who is racing in the downtown.

“We don’t want a Polaroid picture,” Tesch said of the need for a quality image of license plates to be able to get enforcement.

Once installed, the cameras would be continuously recording to a digital video recorder able to hold 30 days worth of video footage.

Beckstrand said he was confident he and the village staff could install and set up the cameras and noted that there was a 30-day return policy for if it did not meet the village’s needs.

The bigger discussion for board members was which village budget the equipment would come from with the indication there was not room for it in the law enforcement budget. Trustee Jack Buksa noted that since it is being mounted on a village-owned building and would help deter vandalism of the building it could come from the buildings and grounds budget.

“We don’t want anyone to deface the building,” he said.

Board members unanimously approved going ahead with the purchase.

Band shell

The Friends of Rib Lake group got the board’s blessing to move forward with planning and design of a proposed band shell to be located near the Ice Age Pavilion even though some questions remain to be answered.

Where do pirates get their hooks? Second hand stores.

Between the Lines:

Laura Deuso and Scot Bromann of the Friends of Rib Lake group came to board members seeking permission to move forward with the next stage of the project. She said they have a rough idea of where they would like to build the band shell, but noted that in order to move ahead with fundraising they needed more concrete costs and plans, which would require hiring engineers. One of the big unknowns is what is below ground in that area. The ground the village is built on was filled in by the former Rib Lake lumber company which disposed of sawdust by dumping in lower areas. Bromann noted he was familiar with soils in the area explaining you can find sawdust and horse bones in one area while in another there is a good gravel base.

He explained that the quality of the soils could have a major impact on excavation costs. “It could vary $30,000 to $5,000,” he said, depending on the amount of new material that would need to be hauled in.

Bromann is a member of the Friends of Rib Lake group and said he is volunteering his time and expertise with having spent decades in construction. At this point, to move forward and create designs and renderings, the group will need to spend some money to hire professionals for plans.

“I would rather see a plan of what is going to happen there,” said trustee Megan Beckstrand. She said the village will eventually own the structure and that she wanted to know the exact location and other details before giving approval to it.

“We are not going to move forward with spending on those plans until we get approval,” Deuso replied. She explained that at this point they are asking for the village board’s OK to move forward with getting those plans and noted they would be coming back to the village when the plans are completed.

Megan Beckstrand also raised concerns about the need to work with other groups such as coordinating with the Ice Age Pavilion and making sure the Lions Club is on board with the potential need to relocate the Lions’ Gazebo. It was noted they did not want a repeat of the ill will generated when the gazebo was moved as part of an unrelated project. Deuso assured the board they would be working with the Lions Club and Bromann noted they would, if anything, be looking to make the gazebo more visible and usable than it is now.

“They are looking for our blessing to proceed,” Bullis said.

Beckstrand noted she supported the concept, but continued her questions, asking if organizers have spoken with any of the residents who live in that area about how they feel about the project. “The noise carries,” she said.

Bromann explained that the events envisioned for the band shell will be familyoriented and would likely run from 6 to 8 p.m. at night.

“We are not going to have metal bands down there. It is supposed to be a very family-friendly thing,” Deuso said.

“This will be a very good thing for the community,” said village president Bill Schreiner, calling for a vote to support the project moving forward.

In other business, trustees:

  Approved moving forward with resurfacing N. Front St. at a cost of $77,076.62 from American Asphalt. At the same time, the company would do a resurface of North Street for $33,756, taking advantage of the mobilization for the relatively small project. The work will involve pulverizing and replacing the base course. Bullis raised concern about sections of curb that need to be replaced. The village will look into hiring a contractor to make the concrete curb repairs before the repaving takes place. Schreiner noted the village has the money on hand to do the work and that the village will receive a state grant to replace the bridge on State Road next year. This leaves the village with time to build up funds to do Second and Third streets in 2025.

  Discussed the removal of a tree after a large limb that fell from a tree in the village right of way. The removal was estimated to cost about $1,500. The tree is located between the curb and the sidewalk and is on village property. Buksa raised concern that residents with trees close to the road may want the village to pay for them to be removed. It would depend on if the trees were on village property depending on the right of way from the centerline of the roads. “If it rots and falls over it is our responsibility,” Megan Beckstrand said.

  Approved purchasing a commercially built snow pusher for the Volvo construction equipment. The village is in the process of selling equipment that hasn’t been used in many years which was projected to cover the cost of the new snow pusher.

  Approved the annual street closing and waiving the open container rules for Ice Age Days in the downtown area where the festival is taking place.