March 20, 2023 at 1:49 p.m.
On road issue, Lac du Flambeau town supervisor negotiates on his own
Hanson: 'I saw there was nothing much going on between the town and the tribe'
Since the closing of the roads, there has been much in the way of finger-pointing but not much else as property owners on or near Annie Sunn Lane, Center Sugarbush Lane, East Ross Allen Lane and Elsie Lake Lane have been caught in the middle of the dispute between the tribe, title insurance companies and the town.
In the days leading up to the formalization of the 90-day agreement, at least one member of the Lac du Flambeau town board, Bob Hanson, was diligently working behind the scenes on the issue.
So diligently, in fact, Hanson, a retired attorney and also a Vilas County supervisor, went as far as to write an email to Bridget Hubing, an attorney hired by one of the title insurance companies involved in the dispute, advising that he felt some of the statements she'd made at special town board meetings in February as well as in newspaper articles were, in Hanson's view, not helpful.
"We need you to help us by standing down," he wrote in a Feb. 28 email to Hubing. "Please stop inflaming the situation with ill-considered statements, and let the parties get this issue to resolution."
Hanson concluded his email to Hubing, in which he also took U.S. Senator Tom Tiffany to task for statements he's made regarding the issue, by telling Hubing "we were very close to success quite recently, but the contributions of outsiders such as yourself managed to derail the plan."
"Please limit future statements to constructive and helpful ideas, or, better yet, simply don't interfere," Hanson wrote to Hubing. "In my view, you are doing more harm than good."
He signed the email with his name, state bar number and identifying himself as a member of the town board as well as the fifth district supervisor on the Vilas County board.
Hubing immediately forwarded the email to Lac du Flambeau town attorney Greg Harrold, telling him she didn't intend to respond to Hanson.
The Lakeland Times asked Hanson if he sent the letter to Hubing as a town official.
"No," he said. "I may have indicated I was a town board supervisor but as I recall, usually on those things, I indicate I am not speaking for the town board."
Proposal to Tribe
Hanson also put together, and by his own admission, delivered to tribal government officials, a "Draft Agreement Proposal #2" before he presented the draft proposal to town chairman Matt Gaulke and town supervisor Gloria Cobb for their consideration.
"The town agrees to concede to the Lac du Flambeau Ojibwe Nation jurisdiction, ownership and responsibility for the above-named roads located within the boundaries of the Lac du Flambeau Ojibwe Reservation and the boundaries of the Town, contingent upon a vote of the electors at a special town meeting," Hanson's draft proposal reads.
Among the 29 roads listed are the four roads involved in the current situation along with Thorofare Road, Artishon Lane, Big Thunder Lane, Mitten Lake Road, Pokegama Lake Trail, Thunderbird Lane, Wayman Lane, Florsheim Road, Moccasin Lane and Woodtick Lane.
His draft proposal to the tribe includes wording to the effect that during a 90-day period in which the four roads would be re-opened by the tribe "the concession of the (29) above-named roads shall be accomplished."
"If the named roads are not conceded prior to the expiration of that ninety (90) day period, it is anticipated that the Tribe may put the barriers in place again until such time as concessions are completed," Hanson's draft continues. "As part and parcel of this compact, both parties affirm that the Indigenous Community within the boundaries of the Town are citizens of the Town with all the rights and privileges appurtenant thereto, and the Town shall defend and protect the right of that community to participate in Town governance."
As part of his proposal to the tribe, Hanson also offered land purchased by the town last year for $500,000, land that will be used to construct a new fire and ambulance station.
Town electors voted to purchase the property and also approved construction of the new facility.
Hanson, who was opposed to and voted against that land purchase, outlined an offer for the tribe in his proposal.
"It is further agreed that the Town shall quitclaim thirty-two (32) acres of the Raven Lake firehouse parcel to the Tribe, as satisfaction in full for any unpaid easement leases on Elsie Lake Lane, East Ross Allen Lake Road, Annie Sunn Lane and Center Sugarbush Lane, again contingent upon a vote of the electorate at a special town meeting,"
Hanson added in his proposal.
He acknowledged to the Times he went to tribal government with the proposal before running the idea past Gaulke and Cobb.
"I wanted to get a feel for whether or not the tribe was interested in it before I presented it to the town board," Hanson explained. "I was unlikely to get approval at the town board unless the tribe was interested in it."
He told the Times that 32 acres in his proposal to the tribe "probably isn't going to be available but we have other land."
"The problem with the firehouse parcel is it has a $500,000 mortgage on it," Hanson noted. "The fair market value was roughly $70,000 and the town ended up paying $550,000 for it, over my protest. I had suggested if we really needed that parcel, we should get it by condemnation ... we got royally bent over on that one."
As far as the tribe's 90-day offer to the town on March 10 that led to the temporary agreement in now place, Hanson couldn't say whether that time frame came from his draft proposal to the tribe.
"I don't know," he said. "I can't speak to that. It may have given them (tribal officials) some ideas but I have no indication it (the 90-day time frame) was based on that."
With the draft proposal, Hanson said his intent was "to simply get things moving."
"I saw that there was nothing much going on between the town and the tribe," he said. "We have these people who are barricaded out of their properties. I just felt it was my job to get something moving for them and try to get something underway so we could get them back in there before spring, anyway."
Brian Jopek may be reached via email at [email protected]
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