More hoops ahead for Stetsonville water tower project 
by Brian Wilson
The Star News
February 25, 2010 —  Stetsonville’s proposed water tower faces a few more hurdles before getting final county approval.
Earlier this month, the county’s airport committee gave its blessing to the tower, which exceeds height limits for airspace zoning by nine feet. The airport committee members had based their decision on the clearance of the tower by the state and Federal Aviation Administration.
However, the zoning rules are not enforced by the airport committee, nor by the state or FAA, but by the zoning department and county zoning administrator Larry Peterson denied the zoning permit request based on county code which sets the maximum elevation for structures around the airport.
The purpose of the ordinance is to prevent buildings or towers from interfering with planes taking off or landing at the airport. Peterson explained to members of the county zoning committee that under ordinance he has to deny it so that it can move forward to an adjustment board to seek a variance to the height requirement. The airport zoning extends something like a football stadium sloping up in minimum elevation the further away from the runways you get while getting wider as it is goes further out. The proposed tower is 1.75 miles from the edge of the north-south runway.
According to airport manager Jim Wood, that runway is primarily designated for small craft because of its length and the newly reconstructed and expanded east west runway is intended to accommodate larger and faster planes.
Pilot Ron Bashor, a former member of the airport committee, opposed any sort of encroachment on the airspace leading up to the tower noting that in inclement weather with strong north winds, jets would also seek to land at the north south runway. He explained that the tower would require an increase in the approach height for aircraft attempting to land, which could make it more challenging for pilots. He questioned why the water tower needed to be built right there and not to the west of the village where it would be outside the approach path for the airport.
Mike Voss an engineer with MSA, the firm doing the work for the Stetsonville water system explained that the tower was being planned for the southeast corner of the village so that the village’s water system would be completely looped. Current plans call for the well and treatment facility to be located by the Stetsonville Elementary School property on the west side of the village with two crossings of Hwy 13. He explained that if something happened to those crossings, both sides of the village would still have water. The tower is part of a multi-million dollar installation of a water system in the Village of Stetsonville which is being installed because of a plume of contaminated groundwater impacting a number of wells in the village.
According to Voss, he does not want to reduce the tower any more in height because at its current height of 177 feet, it would provide about 44 pounds per square inch (psi) of water pressure and dropping it below the height requirement would bring that pressure down to 39 psi. The state standard for water systems is 60 psi. He also said the availability of land is also a factor, with the tower planned for a parcel already owned by the village it would save land acquisition costs.
From his perspective, Peterson said he was concerned that a water tower over the height limit would jeopardize use of the airport, which has had multi-million dollars of upgrades over the years to improve usage.
One big question was exactly where the proposed tower would sit in relation to the height requirements and approach paths of the airport. Since MSA is also the engineering firm working with the county on the ongoing airport expansion project, they asked Voss to work with the other engineers to pinpoint where it would be on the maps.
The process of seeking the variance will require a public hearing and could take six to eight weeks to complete.
In other business, zoning committee members:
´ Took no action on a proposed update to Chapter 31 of the county code, which governs zoning issues. The committee was unable to move forward on the ordinance because the county’s attorney had yet to supply the committee with a revised ordinance. Peterson also presented committee members with a three-page list of pending cases that are in limbo because action by the county attorney is needed. Chairman John Werner noted the county was going to be beginning the process to replace current attorney Steve Anderson due to Anderson’s expectation to win the Rusk County judge seat. Anderson is the only name on the ballot for that position.
´ Received an update on the zoning permit request for the proposed 4,000 cow North Breeze Dairy operation in the Town of Little Black. According to Peterson, the county has not yet received a new zoning permit request for the dairy and until such a permit is filed and approved by his office no earth moving or work may be done at the proposed site. A new permit request was required following changes to the wetland designations and the designation of a ditch as a navigable waterway on the parcel. This impacts building setbacks under the county’s shoreland zoning rules.
´ Directed Peterson to write letters to Town of Medford residents along Cedar Street who have city addresses. Property owners there had requested county address posts such as the ones installed throughout the rural portions of the county. However, the city does not use the county’s grid system for assigning addresses and as a result, Peterson said the county cannot install signs based on the city’s addresses. In order for the town residents along Cedar Street to have the address posts they would have to all agree to change their addresses to be on the county grid system. Approximately 41 parcels around the city have similar issues, however, the Cedar Street properties are being addressed because they are the ones who have complained about not getting the signs.

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