By Don Nelson
The Town of Winthrop’s civil service commission has begun to interview candidates for two police officer vacancies in the marshal’s office, Mayor Sue Langdalen told the town council last week.
Currently the town has no officers. Acting Marshal Ken Bajema recently resigned. The marshal’s office has had three full-time officers in the past, but the council agreed earlier to reduce the full-time force to two.
Police officers from other local agencies have been covering the town on a temporary basis.
In other business, the town renewed its contract with the Winthrop Visitors Information Center, operated by the Winthrop Chamber of Commerce, and increased its quarterly payment to the chamber from $3,000 to $4,000. Part of the agreement calls for increased staffing at the center.
Building official Marc Straub provided a summary of building activity in the town during 2015. He listed 25 projects with a total construction value of $1,194,048. Two other projects that are pending or on hold bring that amount to $1,738,688, Straub said.
The 2015 building activities generated $19,706 in fees for the town, Straub said, plus another $7,184 in fees for the pending projects.
