Lane residents vote today on dissolution

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The view of Lane from the Swenson Brothers grain elevator Monday afternoon. Lane residents will vote today on whether or not to dissolve the town. (Chris Huber/Republic Photo)

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• Lane dissolution vote

LANE — Several residents in Jerauld County’s smallest town don’t want to see its identity disappear. Lane residents will vote today on whether to dissolve the town of about 50 — a move that several think would be a mistake. Many doubt that enough support exists to disband the town.

Dan Swenson, who co-owns Swenson Brothers Grain, the town’s biggest employer with 10, said the town has a grant for a feasibility study to gauge replacing its aging sewer system. Though Swenson would like to have a say at the polls but can’t vote as a rural Woonsocket resident, he still is concerned about access to his business with snow removal.

“The city has pretty much been here every morning,” he said. “(For) us business owners, we will lose. Our services will not be as good if it goes through the township.”

The election was prompted by a petition that Margaret Schmidt circulated last summer, gathering 13 signatures to force the issue to a public vote. If the town dissolves, it would become an unincorporated village under the authority of Franklin Township.

Schmidt, who has lived in Lane for 30 years, believes the taxes are too high and residents don’t get enough services for what they pay.

She has private water, sewer and electrical service and pays $1,200 in property taxes annually. Residents have a couple of dumpsters for garbage service next to the park.

Town Board Chairwoman Shirley Hines said Schmidt asked to have her property excluded from the town’s limits because she thought her taxes were too high.

The town board rejected her request last summer.

Not long afterward, Schmidt began circulating the petition.

A Lane resident who owns a $20,000 home pays about $368 in property taxes payable in 2011, said Susan Jost, Jerauld County director of equalization.

A resident with a home valued at the same amount who lives in Franklin Township would pay $224 this year.

The town’s dissolution would affect property taxes in the Lane community, but several factors such as lot size and the township’s tax levy will have an impact on the change Lane residents could see if the measure is approved, Jost said.

Some homeowners in Lane have been given a break on their valuation because their home doesn’t meet market value.

If the town dissolves, those residents would lose that break if their homes become small acreages, she said.

‘Regret’ predicted

At Shirley’s Lane Café, the heart of the town where a black-and-white photo of the old Lane School is displayed proudly near the door, rural customers flock in just after noon for their dinner, followed by a couple of stragglers who live in town.

Two posters urging residents to vote against the measure and keep Lane alive are posted on a bulletin board and behind the counter.

Sitting on a round, blue leather seat, former state Rep. Quinten Burg, who owns some grain bin sites in Lane, called the effort short-sighted.

“People think they are going to save on tax money, but they’re not,” he said. “They’re going to pay more in snow removal than they are going to save in taxes.”

Burg, of rural Wessington Springs, said the town is still viable and its identity should be maintained.

“I think they are going to regret it if they do vote it out.”

Several homes in town are older ones built several decades ago or mobile homes. Just a few are more modern.

The average valuation on a home in town is $18,000, Jost said.

On Main Avenue, Swenson Brothers Grain and Lane Garage and Auto Supply are among the few visible businesses left. The old municipal bar is just north of the garage on the west side of the street.

Just outside the café entrance, a door leads to the town’s post office — a small room with rows of post office boxes.

However, some residents operate home-based businesses, including Jim Linn Trucking, Larry Jones Heating and Cooling and Wingdale Kennel.

The community center is located in an old church on the west side of Main Avenue. Any community events take place in the basement, with the main level serving as a museum.

The building cannot be used as a polling place, because it has no handicap-accessible ramp, Hines said.

The city park is south of the garage along Main Avenue, with a swingset, slide, a basketball hoop and space for a ball diamond. Trojan Park, which contains a marker where Lane School was located, is on the south edge of town.

‘A good town’

Scott Johnson is one of a few who support making the town unincorporated. He noted the way the town board treated Schmidt when she sought to have her property removed from city limits.

He cited Forestburg’s example and said that community has no problems.

While Johnson knows the town would likely be last on the township’s list to get snow removed, he said the town doesn’t need street lights.

“It’s a good town,” he said. “On the same note, it needs some help.”

His wife, Kollette, is concerned about the town losing good snow removal and gravel maintenance service, but said it needs to repair its culverts.

Residents and landowners are concerned about maintenance issues if the town disbands.

A few think Lane would become a low priority for snow removal and maintenance.

Franklin Township can’t afford to maintain Lane’s streets and parks or provide snow removal, Burg said.

“It’s not going to be their top priority,” he said.

John Pflaum, who owns Lane Garage and Auto Supply and has lived in Lane all his 50 years, said the town is solvent and has two maintenance employees who do a good job. He expressed doubt about whether Franklin Township wants Lane as a rural subdivision and wondered who would pay for its street lights.

“We’ll sit here for a day or two after a blizzard by the time the county or township will come through,” Pflaum said.

Jeremy Stuber, 35, a mechanic for Pflaum who has lived in town for four years with his wife and 9-year-old son, said the town has control over its tax base and has its own maintenance tools.

“It’s nice to have street lights,” he said. “We have equipment to do what needs to be done.”

Aside from maintenance issues, Hines is concerned about losing her rural clientele at the café if farmers can’t make it into town to eat dinner.

Wendall Brown, who has lived in town for 25 years, said he doesn’t think making Lane unincorporated will lower property taxes.

He’s also concerned about its future and losing its character.

“It needs to stay (incorporated),” he said, citing the town’s heritage. “(It’s) a good community to live in.”

Township issues

Franklin Township Board members have discussed the potential implications of today’s vote, determining that snow removal and maintaining the town’s mostly gravel roads pose the biggest challenges, said Board Chairman LeRoy Arhart, of rural Woonsocket.

The issue of whether the township would continue to pay for street lights in what would become a rural subdivision has yet to be discussed, he said.

The township’s policy regarding snow removal is taking care of bus and mail routes first, he said. Then the township ensures residents have at least one way to get out of their acreages or farms, Arhart said. As for gravel maintenance, section lines are a priority.

The township, which maintains more rural roads than any other township in the county, saw its share of damaged roads from last year’s heavy rains.

Township Supervisor Dave Kogel, a 1968 Lane graduate from rural Woonsocket, said the township has 90 percent of its damaged roads repaired.

Kogel said he thought the added valuation of Lane’s residents would help with funding maintenance and snow removal if voters dissolve the town. The township has a permanent $2,000 annual opt-out of the state property tax freeze that is used every year in the budget. Arhart said he doesn’t think an increase would be needed.

While Arhart has no qualms about Lane potentially being governed by the township, Kogel preferred to stay neutral on the issue until after the election. For now, township officials await the outcome of today’s election. Kogel said they have been in contact with their attorney.

If Lane becomes unincorporated, the township board will meet to discuss the next steps.

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