Laurium village adds to police force, public works

Sep 22, 2023

John Jaehnig/For the DMGCouncilors Jessica Hrebec, John Galbraith, Jennifer Jenich-Laplander, and Village President John Sullivan at the September regular meeting of the Laurium Village Council Tuesday evening. Photo by Jon Jaehnig for the Daily Mining Gazette.

LAURIUM – The Laurium Village Council held its regular September meeting on Tuesday evening. During the meeting, the councilors discussed seasonal changes to the village as well as meeting and moving on long-term goals including department staffing.

The meeting began with Police Chief Kurt Erkkila welcoming Jena Dostler. Dostler recently completed her training and has seen through about a month of service to the village.

“We’ve already been to the jail a number of times,” commented Erkkila. Erkilla then dismissed Dostler from the meeting to “go catch bad guys.” Councilor John Galbraith of the Public Safety Committee later commented that “Our young lady who just started sounds like she’s making her mark already.”

Later in the meeting, the village council also voted to promote Travis Bonnin to full union status effective next month – six months faster than typical village protocol. Bonnin joined the Department of Public Works as a seasonal hire when the department was under-staffed and the council was eager to provide him with full wages and benefits before winter work begins.

“He has worked so far, we’re going into winter, and the intention had always been, if he worked out, to hire him through,” said Village Manager Ian Lewis.

The village also revisited staffing for the Gip Arena and its concessions facility, which has been a recurring issue for the village. While the council is dedicated to keeping the facility available, questions have come up regarding the most cost-effective way to keep the doors open – particularly for the concession stand which is supposed to be staffed by volunteers but is often staffed by village staff.

“The Hockey Committee is dedicated to helping us find a Zamboni driver and possibly someone to run the facility,” said Councilor Jeff Erickson of the Parks and Recreation Committee.

Erickson also floated the idea of only staffing the concessions stand during games and getting vending machines for other times like practice days and open skate days.

The village doesn’t only have new staffing and opportunities, they have also acquired a very necessary piece of new machinery – a $22,000 sander.

“It’s going to cut a wider path and, in some cases, do the whole road in one pass,” said Erickson.

The village’s outgoing sander will be converted into a dump truck, though this process will not be complete until next year. A new dumptruck has long been on the village’s wish list but the vehicles don’t come up for auction often.

“If we do find a loader and it’s a good deal, we’re going to bring it to the council,” said Erickson. “We’re getting near the end of our budget, but we are keeping our eyes open.”

The village is also placing a bid on a street sweeper for $5,000. The identified street sweeper is newer than the village’s current sweeper but has part compatibility.

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