WILMA TOWNSHIP BOARD OF SUPERVISORS’ MEETING, SEPTEMBER 2, 2015

WILMA TOWNSHIP BOARD OF SUPERVISORS’ MEETING,    SEPTEMBER 2, 2015

          Chairman Glen Williamson called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. with the Pledge of Allegiance.  Also present were Supervisors Mike McCullen and Gary Vink, Treasurer Patrice Winfield, Clerk Paul Raymond, Road Manager Mark Pallow, Assistant Grader Operator Alden Shute, and Pat Story.

Paul read the record of the August meeting; Gary moved to approve; Mike seconded.

OLD BUSINESS:  Schmedeke Lane Extention:  Duane Glienke has repaired the culvert and put rip-rap to reinforce it.  Alden flagged where the gravel will go.  Alden suggested that they put 3” of coarser sand and gravel to build up a bed, and top it with another 3” of Class 5 gravel.  The board decided to lay the whole road with Class 5 since there is such a solid rock base.  Mike said he has been to the road four times and Eldon Schmedeke has been to his house three.  Eldon wants the entire $10,000 budget for the extension to be spent only on the extension.  Glen said that has always been the plan.  Mark said the buildup has to start at the bottom of the hill in order to make the transition smooth.  The budget allows for 37 18-ton loads of gravel, which should be enough to build up the road to the full width.  Eldon also has two approaches that he wants graveled, and Alden said they would do that.  All expenses related to the extension will be billed to the county, including the Supervisor’s time, up to our $10,000 budget.

River Cabin Road Weeds:  Glen received a complaint from Doug Biron :  “The weeds on River Cabin Road are taller than my truck! Last time I went there a hummer was going out as I was coming in and we both had to move into the tall weeds on the shoulder. Can we get the weeds cut down before there’s an accident?  I know the township funds are small but we pay taxes too. Doug”  Gary and Mark inspected the road and said the weed problem is not as bad as described, but that the Board had voted at our road inspection to hire a brush-rig or hydro-ax operator to brush all our township roads after the roads have frozen up.  Paul will respond to Doug with this information.

Lost River Road:   Mark has already dumped and spread the two loads of Class 5 gravel that the board authorized.  Pat said he wished they had put pit-run gravel down; the last thing the road needs is more clay.  Gary said the Class 5 we use is a balance of gravel, sand and aggregate, and we use this on all our roads.

Pat had photos of damage done to the road at the curve, where the grader dug out the bank and piled up big divots of grass, so that the landowners can’t mow up to the road like they like to.  Pat asked what our specifications were for township roads.  Gary said we go by the same specs as the county, including a 2% crown down the center of the road for drainage.  Pat said the crown that Leighton Quinn had built up was graded flat by Wilma Township in 2013, plus at the entrance to the Markville Road the grader damaged the road.  Mike said we will repair the damage at the curve and move the gravel and  grass back and smooth it out; the grass may take awhile to grow back. Glen also said Mark and Alden will do their best to return the road to its original condition.

Horse Damage, Lost River:   Last month Mike directed Paul to write a letter to a constituent who lives just west of Lost River and respectfully ask that they respect the integrity of our township roads and not ride when there has been rain and the road is soft. The letter was sent.  Gary said it should have included a reminder them that state law states that any damage to township roads can be billed to the person who damaged them.  Paul said if they re-offend, we can send a harsher letter.  Pat said the owners of the land east of the Taylors bring up horses, plus residents on Lost River Road bring up horse trailers, so we won’t know who is doing the damage unless we see them.  Glen said that we have a wonderful community, but we have had nuisance issues in the past and have always had good results from writing respectful, non-threatening letters.

Vink Road:  Gary said the Smiths removed gravel from the Vink Road and spread it on their driveway.  Glen directed Paul to write to Barbara Smith and tell her that it is illegal to remove gravel from a township road and to include the citation that damages to township roads can be billed to the person who damaged them.

North Duncan Road:  Glen has had several calls from Bill Peno.  He said he will tell him to attend a township meeting to have his concerns addressed.

Closed Meeting:  Glen adjourned the meeting and the Board left the building to discuss personnel issues.  Meeting called back to order when the Board returned.

NEW BUSINESS:  Wilma Fall Fest:  Glen and Toni won’t be able to host the Fall Fest.  Patrice said she also will be too busy.  Paul will not be available.  Glen moved to cancel Fall Fest for 2015; Mike seconded.  Paul will email Stephanie Hanson and the Procrastinators.

Propane Pre-buy:  Federated is offering a pre-buy at $1.199/gallon, or we can lock in a rate of $1.29/gallon without the pre-buy.  Patrice said we used to order 1,000 gallons, but lately we pre-bought 1,200 gallons and only used that up once.  Mike moved to purchase 1,200 gallons of pre-buy propane.  We still have a balance of $396 from last year.  Gary seconded.

Treasurer’s Report and Claims:  Patrice gave the Treasurer’s Report (attached).  Claims totaling $8,638.59 were presented.  Gary moved to approve Patrice’s report, to pay all the claims, and to transfer $9,000 from savings to checking.  Mike seconded.

Gary moved to adjourn the meeting; Mike seconded.  Meeting adjourned at 9:15 p.m.

Paul Raymond, Clerk

 

 

 

 

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Attested:  Glen Willaimson, Chair.