From staff reports
Communications in the town hall in Ethel took up much of the agenda Tuesday evening, March 10, along with some pursuit of growth.
Town officials okayed a search for a new internet provider for Ethel Town Hall with expectations the current service would terminate Nov. 1.
Mayor Gwen Sims said AT&T, which has been serving the town hall via U-Verse, had notified her the service would terminate at the start of November.
That necessitated a pursuit of another provider, which board members in their March meeting approved the mayor to launch.
She also brought up a matter of a tourism tax to be levied on sales in the municipality of prepared food.
Sims suggested the additional revenue, which has to be designated for specific projects, could be turned to projects to benefit youngsters and adults.
She said she hoped to generated funds the town could “try to use for the playground and a walking tracks.”
The first step, approved by the board, was to contact State Sen. Lydia Chassaniol, of Winona, whose district encompasses Ethel, and see if the legislator would author and sponsor legislation for the added one percent tax.
“If we can get her to take up our cause,” the mayor said, “we’ll get her to sponsor a bill in the Senate.”
Work on the proposal, she said, began about two months ago.
Officials also agreed to take another stab at disposing of about four acres of railroad property that belongs to the town.
A previous effort to seek bids on the land last month attracted bids the board thought were too low, leading to a decision to advertise for more offers.
The land, Sims said, was “not usuable whatsoever.
“All it’s doing is costing us for upkeep.”
Getting the site sold, she added, should lead to more property tax collections.
