Centennial, 911 signs, fire protection discussed

Ranier is 100 years old this year and the city plans to celebrate throughout 2008.
Chairwoman Diane Edens will lead a Centennial Committee comprised of Mary Ann Kasich, Naomi Woods, Mary Casanova, Dave Trompeter, Douglas Skrief, Tom Hall, Trustee Dale Klocek and Mayor Ed Oerichbauer, as approved by the council Tuesday at its regular meeting.
Edens was in attendance and reported that brainstorming for the celebration was already in motion and letters of suggested events had been delivered to Ranier residents. A waterfront Ranier festival, a pow-wow, a dog show, parades, exhibits, sail boat regatta and other events were suggested. Response has been good, she said, and the committee will meet Wednesday to choose events and assign them dates.
Edens reminded the council that Ranier’s birthday would be kicked off at the next council meeting when the mayor would issue a proclamation and cake would be served for the public after the meeting.
Trustee Fred Woods asked amusingly: “Does that mean we’ll be having cake after every meeting?”
Oerichbauer thanked Edens for taking on the project and said it is the city’s hope to keep the celebration going through the summer, not just a weekend. Woods, smiling, then asked: “Does that mean we’ll be having birthday cake all summer long?”
In other business, the council approved delaying participation in Koochiching County’s E911 signing project. Oerichbauer explained that the committee thought it would be better to first approach residents and request that they post their own very visible street numbers, or improve ones already posted.
“I took a drive through and was surprised by how many homes didn’t have clear numbers, or had none, on their houses,” Oerichbauer said. “If we don’t see compliance, we’ll have to go back and reconsider the 911 system.” Trustee John Walls was concerned that there are still glitches with addresses that need correction before either action is made.
Arden Barnes questioned if residents had the personal option to use the county’s bright blue number signs. Oerichbauer answered no, that it was one way or the other.
The council approved the Building, Streets and Grounds Committee’s recommendation to have the Arrowhead Regional Development Commission seek funding to keep improvements in Ranier moving ahead.
Oerichbauer told the council that rural fire protection discussions, a matter of real contention in the past, had been reopened. He said that new formulas for redefining fire service had been created. He assured them that Ranier’s contract was effective through 2009 and that a plan should be resolved by then. A committee report in March should bring the council up to date.
The council approved having the water committee establish a proposal to have S.E.H. Engineering examine the city’s water lines.