Regular Meeting, December 5, 2007

WILMA TOWN BOARD MEETING, DECEMBER 5, 2007

Chairman Gary Vink called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. with the Pledge of Allegiance. Also present were Supervisors Glenford Williamson and Michael McCullen, Treasurer Patrice Winfield, Clerk Paul Raymond, and Eldon Schmedeke and Scott Quady.

Paul read the record of the November meeting. Mike moved to approve; Glen seconded.

OLD BUSINESS: Dollar Lake Road Entrance: The Pine County Highway Dept. told Paul that the county would likely do the work to widen the entrance to Dollar Lake Road next spring. Mark LeBrun said that if the township gets a permit to widen the entrance that the county would pay for it.

Pete Anderson Road Culvert: Mike checked the culvert that Dennis Slomka put in on the Pete Anderson Road after Melvin Elliot complained about it. Mike says the culvert is installed very poorly; it’s crooked and a foot above the bottom of the ditch. Gary said that if it were deeper it would get plugged up with debris, and that it is deeper than the old culvert; the ditch is 4′ deep and the culvert is 3′. Gary said that Slomka has put in many culverts and knows what he is doing. Mike said the ditch will be full of water even if it drains with the culvert so high.

Gary said he went to Eldon Schmedeke to apologize for misstating the size of the culvert that used to be at his driveway entrance on Pete Anderson Road. Eldon said he wanted a 32′ culvert so that he could get a truck into his land. Gary said that a longer culvert would have required more ditching and clearing, and that he intended to cover the culvert, but that Eldon covered it with gravel before we could get to it. Gary said that if it doesn’t drain this spring, that we will redo the culvert.

Property Taxes: Mike said everyone’s taxes are going up astronomically, and that the township grader levy is a big bite, and that the township needs to watch our finances and budget to control these tax increases.

Duncan Road Survey: The county surveyor copied all of our original town road records and wrote a report on the Duncan Road survey indicating that the original survey was correct and would stand. Eldon said that he feels that no one on the town board is concerned that Schmedeke Lane is being moved 60′ from where it is supposed to be, and that if it were Eagle Head Road the board would be more concerned. Eldon said that the surveyor is wrong; he had Schmedeke Lane as a 12 foot cartway, when it is a full width township road. The entrance culvert is 32′ wide. He is afraid they intend to replace it with a 12′ cartway. Gary said that the county maintains that the original surveys are correct and that this does not affect other landowners, but that the county does intend to re-survey Duncan Road this spring, and if things change, we will deal with it then. Gary said there is no point in continuing the discussion until this survey is complete. Glen said he wanted to express his gratitude to Eldon for all the work and research he has done on the surveys and for devoting so much time to this issue. Mike said that even back in 1911 and 1917 the surveyors did not agree and that this has been an issue for years. Gary said we need to let it rest until the new survey is done.

Grace’s Lake Sisterman Easement: Lisa Sisterman said that they are ready to move ahead with getting the easement rights from the DNR for their place on Grace’s Lake. They will get all the applications and forms from the DNR and send them to the Town Board, who has to make the easement application. Gary said we have no intention of making this a township road, and we will wait until the Sistermans forward all the documents and information.

NEW BUSINESS: Garbage Board Meetings: Mike asked that he be appointed the township representative for Wilma Township at the garbage board meetings. He attended the last one for Gary and said that his questions prevented the board from wasting money. The board intended to pay thousands of dollars of taxes on their new truck, but Mike told them to check and see if they are tax exempt; he believes they are as a non-profit agency. Mike said all the other township representatives signed off on the tax, but him. Gary moved that Mike be appointed Wilma Township Representative on the garbage board. Glen seconded.

Snowplowing: Mike said that we’re having all these grader problems and breakdowns because we are spending so much time plowing roads with no residents. He does not believe that these roads need to be plowed at every snowfall to keep them maintained; we could be doing more harm than good, and we are certainly putting wear and tear on the grader. Glen said we could put a moratorium on plowing roads without residents and see how people react. Glen said he would prefer that we not have a motion on record saying we will not snowplow roads without permanent residents, but that Gary be empowered to decide at each snowfall what roads would be plowed. Mike said that he wants it on the record, and he moved that Wilma Township not snowplow township roads that do not have permanent residents on them except for a pull-off space of about 20′ – 30′ for people to pull in off of the county road to park. Glen seconded the motion. Gary abstained. Motion passed.

Grader Tires: Gary said we need two new tires for the grader for the front where it articulates. We got a quote from Glen’s Tire in Mora for $309 apiece, which Gary said is a good deal for 16-ply tires. Mike said this should include the mounting. Eldon asked if the supervisors have checked with the county to get in on the cooperative purchasing venture; we may get a better deal. Gary thanked Eldon for the suggestion and said he would contact them.

Treasurer’s Report and Bills: Patrice gave the Treasurer’s Report (attached). Bills were presented:

Glen Williamson $ 24.26

Paul Raymond 70.76

Mark Pallow 480.22

Patrice Winfield 112.66

Mike McCullen 70.41

Hopkins Sand and Gravel 176.00

FNBN 2,000.00

Glen’s Tire 101.77

Dennis Slomka 325.00

ECE 28.22

Town & Country Oil 962.15

Total Bills 4,351.43

Glen moved to approve the Treasurer’s Report and to pay all the bills, and to transfer $4,300 from savings to checking. Mike seconded.

Rangeline Road Billing: Gary asked Paul to bill neighboring townships for snowplowing:

Danforth Township: Plowing Eagle Head and Crooked Lake Roads, 12/4 and 12/5/07, 3 hours, Danforth’s half: $225.00.

Mona Drive: $150, to be taken from the Escrow Account.

Arna Township: Gary hasn’t figured out this bill yet.

New Dosey Township: Snowplowing Heller Drive, 12/4 and 12/5/07: $75 (New Dosey’s half).

Mike moved to adjourn the meeting. Glen seconded. Meeting adjourned at 9:30 p.m. Patrice brought homemade chocolate cream and cherry pies for everyone to share after the meeting.

Paul Raymond, Clerk

Regular Meeting, November 7, 2007

WILMA TOWN BOARD MEETING NOVEMBER 7, 2007

Chairman Gary Vink called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. with the Pledge of Allegiance. Also present were Supervisors Michael McCullen and Glenford Williamson, Treasurer Patrice Winfield, Clerk Paul Raymond, and Ronald McCullen and Eldon Schmedeke.

Paul read the record of the October meeting. Mike moved to approve and Glen seconded.

OLD BUSINESS: Pete Anderson Road Culvert/Eldon Driveway: Eldon said that he had been willing to pay half for the culvert into his land if the town put in a full 32′ 18″ diameter culvert, but without him being notified, a 20′ culvert 12″ diameter was put in. He said it was not buried deep enough and left 6″ of water on his land, and it wasn’t completely covered so he had to take his own gravel and cover it; he said Slomka did a very poor job; the culvert isn’t in the center of the road. Gary said the 20′ culvert replaced a 16′ culvert, and that he couldn’t call Eldon to notify him when the work was being done because he does not have Eldon’s phone number.

TOWN LINE ROAD WORK: Gary asked Paul to bill Arna $150 for the installation of the culvert in Pete Anderson Road; $136 for the culvert; $15 for 8 yards of class 5 gravel at $3.75/yard; hauling and loading $55; 2 hours of labor, $30; (all of this is ½ of the total cost, total $386.50. We will also bill New Dosey $75, their half for blading and clearing berms off of the Heller Road on 10/25 for the winter. Also Danforth $225, their half for 3 hours of blading Eagle Head and Crooked Lake Roads on 10/25. We will deduct $225 from Potlatch’s escrow account for repairs on this road.

JENSEN’S SNOWPLOWING: Bob Jensen went to the County Attorney who told him the township had to plow every private drive, not just full-time residents. Paul called the township attorney, who said there is nothing in the statute which authorizes towns to plow private drives that requires that they plow every drive, but that if it goes to court the court would want us to have a compelling reason for restricting plowing to year-around residents. Mike said we do have a compelling reason. Year-round residents need to be plowed first, after township roads, because they have school and jobs and medical needs to be able to get out. If we plowed everyone, the residents wouldn’t get plowed out on time, or the grader would have to backtrack and it would take a great deal of added time and expense. The Jensen drive is very difficult to plow; it is steep and full of rocks, and possibly wouldn’t qualify even it were a year-round residence.

HAVA Grant/Secretary of State: Gary got a call from the Secretary of State’s office regarding our application for a grant to build a handicapped-accessible ramp for the town hall. They told him that the grant limit is $6,000 since they had so many applications, and that they may have some more questions about our application; for one thing, having a sidewalk to the outhouse may not come under their guidelines. They didn’t think we could complete it by winter, but we have until next August to finish the work.

Town Website: Glen got it renewed for three years for $44, less than expected.

Fire Hall Tornado Damage: Ron said that the fire department is discovering that there was much more damage from the 1998 tornado than we thought; the whole fire hall slid from the force of the wind, knocking it out of alignment and distorting the door frames. He asked it it were too late to make an insurance claim; Mike said the time limit has long passed.

NEW BUSINESS: County Township Officers Meeting: Glen, Patrice and Paul all attended the County Township Officers’ Meeting. There was a lot of valuable information, and all county supervisors were there, plus the Sheriff Mansavage and Mark LeBrun and Dale Powers and our state district representatives. One reason property taxes are so high and increasing is the county’s $32 million dollar budget, with many mandates and a decrease in govt. aid. Their goal was to cut all non-mandated expenses, but the budget still went up 7 ½%. The County deals with 9 different bargaining units for their 240 employees, and fringe benefits and health insurance are controversial issues.

The Sheriff said meth is still a problem, and robberies are up and are more destructive and more damaging and more things being taken. Only 9% are ever solved. Only 3 – 4 officers cover the entire county on any given night, and overtime is way over budget.

Dale Powers said the Wetland Conservation Act is an unfunded mandate and there is no local control. He feels there is no common sense regarding wetlands. On the Junkyard Ordinance, they had 7 public meetings and two workshops and two public hearings to get feedback from the county citizens. One objection is anonymous complaints. The Planning Commision sent their final version to the County Commissioners, but the ordinance is not done and can be changed, even after it is adopted.

Patrice said they recommend that townships have a list of township citizens and addresses and phone numbers in case of a public emergency or evacuation, so we can notify local people.

Heller Road: Mike said someone graded that road with a tractor.

Dollar Lake Road: Eric Vathne went to the County Highway Department regarding a widening of the entrance to Dollar Lake Road. The County said the township can apply for a permit to do the work. Paul can call Mark LeBrun and ask about this permit and who pays for the work. Mike said if we do the work, then every logger will want us to widen township road entrances to get their trucks in.

Snowplowing: We got payments from Bob Jensen (see above), Eldon Schmedeke, Patrice Winfield, Paul Raymond, Mike McCullen, Glen Williamson, and Ron McCullen.

Bills and Treasurer’s Report:

Patrice gave the Treasurer’s Report (attached).

Bills:

FNBNS $ 2,000.00

ECE 31.13

Pine Co. Courier 45.12

The Evergreen 11.25

MATIT 499.00

Land and Cabins (culverts) 429.00

Ron McCullen (townhall chairs) 100.00

Mike McCullen 34.63

Mark Pallow 185.34

Paul Raymond 134.17

Gary Vink 137.37

Glen Williamson 159.79

Patrice Winfield 172.96

Total Bills $ 3,967.46

Glen moved to approve the Treasurer’s Report and to pay all bills, and to transfer $4,000 from savings to checking. Mike seconded.

Mike moved that the County-wide Mutual Aid be allowed to use the town hall for a meeting on November 15. Glen seconded. Glen moved to adjourn the meeting; Gary seconded. Meeting adjourned at 9:15 p.m.

Regular Meeting, October 3, 2007

Wilma Town Board Meeting October 3, 2007

Chairman Gary Vink called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. at the Wilma Town Hall with the Pledge of Allegiance. Also present were Supervisors Michael McCullen, Glenford Williamson, Treasurer Patrice Winfield, Clerk Paul Raymond, and Eldon and Margorie Schmedeke, Eric Vathne, and two citizens.

Paul read the record of the September meeting. Mike moved to approve; Glen seconded.

OLD BUSINESS: Pete Anderson Road Culvert: Mike said we need to put in the culvert in our service year, so we don’t have to pay a lot more next year if Arna puts it in. Gary got quotes from Land and Cabins for culvert prices. Arna hasn’t yet marked the culvert location. There is an old steel culvert on the side of the road at the possible location. We may need a full 18″ culvert. Marg said that the town put in a couple of plastic culverts back when George Anderson was on the board, but these have deteriorated and been torn out. Eldon said he would pay half of the cost of a culvert leading to his land that was torn out by the grader, if the town puts in a full-size 18″ culvert at the county rates. Eldon had a report from Judy Soderstrom on the cooperative purchasing agreements the state offers to counties and townships; if the county pays the $1500 rate, the townships can be included in the agreement. When Paul contacted them, they said we had to pay $500, but he will call the county to see if they paid the $1,500, so we can participate in it. Gary will contact Slamka to put the culvert in the Pete Anderson Road. Gary got the tax-exempt number so we don’t have to pay taxes on the culverts.

Dollar Lake Road Work: Eric Vathne said that the Dollar Lake road needs some class 5 gravel as it is very slippery. Eric asked if the township would widen the approach to the road so he can get a semi-truck in easier. Mike said this is in the county’s right-of-way and we can’t touch it; Eric will need to contact the county highway department. Eric asked if the township would widen Dollar Lake Road. He hopes to build on the road and trucks will need to haul trusses in, and they can’t make it in the way the road is now. Mike said our road budget for this year and next year is set, and we may not have the funds for a project this large. Eric asked if he could do the work himself. Paul will call the township attorneys and ask if there are liability issues with private citizens working on township roads. The project would involve tree removal, ditching and gravel. Gary said he would look into what is involved in the project; we didn’t put down gravel earlier because it was too dry, and then it was too wet, and in the window during September Hopkins Gravel was tied up and couldn’t haul gravel for us. Gary said we don’t allow private citizens to grade our roads because they scrape off the crown and the roads can’t drain.

Mike asked Eric about the deep ditch he put in at the end of the road. He asked Eric to fill it in or at least to put reflectors and barricades so people won’t drive into the ditch. The ditch is now full of water, but Eric said he could take dirt from his moat and fill in the ditch.

WILMA TOWNSHIP 100th BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION: Glen said that because we didn’t have Duxbury Days this year, that some private citizens are organizing a 100th Birthday Celebration for October 20 at the Duxbury Store Bar. They are asking citizens to contribute food for the party. Glen moved that the town board donate $100 to the celebration for a cake and some refreshments. Mike seconded. Paul will contact the township attorneys to make sure that it is legal for the town to contribute.

Glen said he will post information or a link about the party on the township website. He sent stories about Wilma’s history and 100th anniversary to all the area newspapers.

Road Signs on Duxbury Road: Mark LeBrun said that the county will put up road signs on the Duxbury Road designating the town “Duxbury” and that there is a fire hall/station here.

Carlson Timber Crooked Lake Road Repair: Carlson’s graded the road without our permission and graded off the crown and flattened the road. Now more trucks are using the road. Mike said Paul needs to write to Carlsons and tell them they cannot grade our road and destroy the crown. Gary said that someone also dozed off the South Duncan Road and tore off the crown, and he believes it was T & T Logging. Paul also need to write to T & T and tell them they cannot grade or work on our township roads, and to tell them to pay the $500 escrow deposit. Gary said they tore up boulders from the county side of the road and dumped them on the private property side, where they can damage our grader. So far, T & T hasn’t started logging on that road.

Danforth Bill for Eagle Head Rd.: Gary asked Paul to bill Danforth township $75 for their half of one hour of blading the Eagle Head Road on 9/21/07.

NEW BUSINESS: Town Website: Our domain name is up for renewal. Glen moved that we pay for 3 years at $27; Mike seconded.

Tri-township Disposal District: Mike attended the annual meeting as a citizen, and he asked that the garbage district pay board members, so townships don’t have to. They offered to reimburse townships for them to pay board members at $50 per meeting. They will send the reimbursements at the end of the year, $350. Gary will continue to bill the town.

Grader Use and Road Work Policy: The grader was taken out and was used to do some ditch work and got stuck, and had to be hauled out with the tanker. The tanker hit the fire hall garage door and did about $380 of damage to it. Mike said the fire department feels that the township should pay for half of the repair costs as it was a township use, and he moved that the town pay half. Glen seconded.

This brought up the issue of road work authorization. Presently Gary checks the roads, often with Mark Pallow, and determines what needs to be done and calls out the grader. Mark is the primary operator and Joe Vink is the backup. Glen moved that it be put in writing on the record that all road work needs to be authorized by the Town Board or the board member in charge of road work, Gary, and that any unauthorized work will not be reimbursed and the operator will be liable for any damages. Mike seconded.

Mike asked if we may be grading the roads too much. In the past they were graded once or twice a year, and now it seems that it’s twice a month. Glen said that if we let the roads get as bad as they used to, it will cost a lot more to bring them back up. Mark does not go out without Gary’s approval. Glen moved that Mike and Glen be second in command in road decisions and that if an emergency comes up that Gary be able to contact Glen or Mike without violating the open meeting law. Mike seconded.

Zoning and Planning: Mike got a copy of New Dosey’s Zoning Ordinance. They felt that Markville’s is too complicated and big.

Snowplowing: Snowplowing fees are due. At the annual meeting it was voted that fees be paid by November 1st. Mike moved that we grant an extra week so that people can bring their payment to the November 7th Town Board meeting. Paul will post and publish the notice.

Treasurer’s Report: Patrice gave the Treasurer’s report (attached).

Bills were presented:

ECE $ 31.89

Mark Pallow 44.32

US Treasury 452.18

Joe Vink 27.00

Mike McCullen 27.70

FNBN 2,000.00

Paul Raymond 101.57

Gary Vink 143.14

Glen Williamson 27.70

Patrice Winfield 101.02

Total all bills: $ 2,956.52

Gary moved to approve the treasurer’s report, pay all the bills and to transfer $2,900 from savings to checking. Glen seconded. Passed.

Glen moved to adjourn; Mike seconded. Meeting adjourned at 10:00 p.m.

Paul Raymond, Clerk