WILMA TOWNSHIP BOARD OF SUPERVISORS MEETING, 8/4/2010

WILMA TOWNSHIP BOARD OF SUPERVISORS MEETING,   8/4/2010

Chairman Glenford Williamson, Sr. called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. with the Pledge of Allegiance.  Also present were Supervisors Gary Vink, Michael McCullen, Treasurer Patrice Winfield, Clerk Paul Raymond, and Mark Pallow, Eldon Schmedeke, Joseph Vink, and Jeff Shute from Danforth Township.

Paul read the record of the July meeting;  Gary corrected the record that the road with the sand haulers was Dollar Lake and Mink Farm Roads, not Crooked Lake.  Gary moved to approve the amended record; Mike seconded.

OLD BUSINESS:  Range Line Roads/Danforth Township: Jeff Shute said that Danforth has replaced Ralph and his mini-grader and have hired another road grader.  They will be grading both Crooked Lake and Eagle Head Roads, and will complete the ditch work.  Jeff said that Danforth Township is going to hire a boom mower to cut brush on their roads, and he asked if Wilma will approve using it on the range line roads.  The boom can reach 15 feet and cut 4” diameter trees.  It will cost $110/hr., and Jeff said they will do the first mile on Crooked Lake and the first half-mile on Eagle Head Roads, for an anticipated cost to each township of $600 to $700. Mike was concerned about the cost, but he and Gary said the work needs to be done.  Mike moved that we authorize Danforth Township to hire the boom mower and cut the brush on our range-line roads; Gary seconded. Mike asked Jeff to let Paul know the name and phone number of the boom operator so we can see about hiring him for our township roads.

Langstrom Road Brush Clearing: Joe said he talked with Erickson’s and they approved cutting the trees and brush on the first quarter-mile of Langstrom Road.  Mike said that when we contacted them, they said they wanted to do the cutting, but couldn’t do it until 2011.  Eldon said he sees Erickson once in awhile, and he will talk to him next time he sees him.  Dave Drake said that Arna will be cutting brush after the first quarter-mile, which is state land, and any work done this year will be Arna’s responsibility.  There was a question if a landowner can be forced to remove trees and rocks on their rights-of-way on township roads.

Bids for Town Hall Windows:  JR Construction and Jason Phaller both submitted bids for the window project:  JR bid $6,657 for the project, and Jason $4,025.  Mike moved that we accept Jason Phaller’s bid, and that the project be completed by October 1.  Robert Weiher from JR Construction said that he would complete the doors for us at no additional cost whether or not he wins the bid.  Mike will notify Jason Phaller and Paul will write to Robert Weiher to tell him his bid lost, but we hope to have the doors installed by October 1.

Back Steps: Mike hasn’t been to the cities yet, but hopes to go to Menards soon to get the materials to replace the steps.  He will do the work.

Road Billing: Gary asked Paul to bill New Dosey for grading Heller Drive on July 2 and August 3, 1 hour @ $150, New Dosey’s half, $75.

Grader Repairs: Mark said the air conditioning went out on the grader.  Dave Maser said he would recharge it for $150.  The grader needs two new cutting edge blades, about $147 each, and 55 gallons of transmission fluid, which costs $460.  Mike moved that Mark be authorized to get all the repairs and parts and materials needed.  Gary seconded.

Mink Farm Escrow Account: Paul asked if T & T Logging will be getting any of their escrow back for the Mink Farm Road.  Mark has had to grade it to pull the gravel back to form a crown after T & T cut it down. Gary said it will need gravel and more blading, and the total will likely eat up the entire $500.  Glen said that we need a breakdown on all the work and gravel done so we can give an accounting to T & T.  Joe said we should break it down with dates and details and have it all documented.

Township Assessor: Bob Brewster sent a contract for 2011 assessments, for 276 non-exempt parcels at $5.50 each, a total of $1,518.00. Mike moved that we contract with Bob Brewster for 2011.  Glen seconded.

Notary Stamp:  Paul asked for authorization to buy a notary stamp. Gary said this was approved at the last meeting.

Market Value Reduction: Glen said this does not apply to our township as we have fewer than 1,000 citizens.

Trees Blocking Town Hall Exit View: Mark said the trees block the view of the grader as it exits the driveway, and he said Duane may be willing to cut them for free for the wood.  The Supervisors went out to check the trees and said that Gary will mark the ones to be cut.  Mike moved that we have the trees cut at no cost, preferably by Duane Glienke, and that he get the wood.

September Board Meeting: The first Wednesday of September is Sept. 1.  Paul will be in Puerto Rico and asked if we could change it to the second Wednesday, Sept. 8.  Glen moved that we change the meeting date and post and publish this.

Automark Test: Paul said the Automark public test was pretty successful, although our machine won’t spit out the ballots without a key. The Township News says we have to have four judges next Tuesday, but Patrice said we’ve never needed four before.  We will ask Cathy Clemmer at the training tomorrow.  Barb Smith, Toni Williamson, Patrice and Paul will all be trained.

MAT Educational Conference: Glen said he appreciates the opportunity to serve as chairman, but feels a need to get more training and for our town to learn how to be more represented  and have more of an impact on the state.  He said MAT is sponsoring an educational conference in Duluth November 18 through 20, and he will be asking the board to send him.  He will find out the cost for the tuition and motel, and bring it up at the September meeting.

Legal Seminar: Our attorney is sponsoring another all-day legal seminar for all the township officials who were shut out of the first one.  It is free and will be Thursday, Sept. 9 in Albertville.  Our supervisors are already approved and accepted for attendance.

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

Mark Pallow                                       $        124.67

Paul Raymond                                                       140.38

Paul Raymond (non-taxable; expenses)                   32.64

Gary Vink                                                             94.20

Patrice Winfield (non-taxable, judging)          42.50

Patrice Winfield                                                     86.81

Mike McCullen                                                      71.11

Glenford Williamson                                              28.39

ECE                                                                      44.64

Total bills:                                $        665.34

Mike moved to pay all the bills, to approve the Treasurer’s Report, and to transfer $600 from savings to checking.  Gary seconded.  Gary moved to adjourn the meeting; Glen seconded.   Meeting adjourned at 9 p.m.

Paul Raymond, Clerk

WILMA TOWNSHIP BOARD OF SUPERVISORS MEEETING 7/7/2010

WILMA TOWNSHIP BOARD OF SUPERVISORS MEEETING 7/7/2010

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

Paul read the record of the June meeting; Glen corrected the number of people the campground sponsored for the pancake breakfast, 55, not 53. Mike moved to approve the amended record; Gary seconded.

OLD BUSINESS: Park Driveway: Gary patched the culvert and filled the hole in the Town Park driveway. Crooked Lake Rd. Haulers: Gary spoke to truckers hauling sand on Crooked Lake Road, to inform them of the escrow requirement. They did the hauling before he could stop them, but did no damage. Heller Drive: The road was pretty sloppy after the rain, and Mark felt it needed gravel, but after drying out and grading, Gary said it was ok. Gary cut trees and checked various township roads. Vink Road: Qwest was cutting a phone line on the Vink Road, and Gary marked the culverts so they wouldn’t cut them, and cut some brush. Mark did some grading on townline and escrow roads, but Gary said it wasn’t enough to bill and said he would like to wait a month so we have more to bill.

Crooked Lake/Eagle Head Roads: Danforth is doing their own grading with a mini-grader operated by Ralph. They did most of Crooked Lake Road, but haven’t done any work on Eagle Head Road. Gary had to cut some of the brush on Eagle Head Road. The board is concerned that their grader isn’t up to the task. Mike moved that Paul write to Danforth Township and relate our concerns that the road is not adequately maintained and that the washout in the ditch past Kelch’s has not been repaired, and no maintenance has been done on Eagle Head Road, and that we ask them to attend our August 4th Board meeting. Gary seconded.

Duncan Road Project: Gary priced culverts: 12” x 30’ culvert is $285; 24’ x 12” is $228. A 15’ diameter culvert x 30’ is $339; 24’ is $264. The project needs two culverts, and Gary says 12” should be adequate. The road is 16’wide, but we need a longer culvert because of the backfill. Gary has called about gravel, but it has been too wet to do the work, and some gravel suppliers know that the road is soft.

Old Graders: Gary and Paul took photos of the two old graders and sent the information to Central Parts Connection, a source Mark found. If they don’t buy them, they may ship them out for parts.

Township Summer Short Course: Patrice and Gary and Paul attended last Thursday. Paul got part of his election training, and Patrice got training on CTAS. She reported that she will need to change the account numbers so all townships use universal codes, and she is still trying to work out the Certificate of Deposits investments in the new CTAS program. She ordered a disc of the CTAS updates. Gary attended sessions on Workers Comp and investment and indebtedness issues. He said investments should designate what fund they go into. He said that transfers can be made from any fund that has a surplus, including Road and Bridge. Glen asked if the town could invest in stocks; Gary said they discourage any risky investments.

Paul has to get a notary stamp and he can act as a legal notary, and said he would do notary services for citizens when they can’t get to town.

Township Insurance Coverage: Glen asked who owns the fire hall? Mike said that in all three townships the fire halls are owned by the townships, not the fire department.

Windows for Town Hall: Mark and Gary haven’t heard from JB Construction about the doors for the town hall. They’d agreed to put in two doors for free, but not in writing. We have their window replacement bid, but the requirements have changed a little. Mike got the bid from Jason Phaller, to replace all the existing windows with double-hung, wood-framed windows with screens, and to cut a new 60” x 48” window on the stage. His estimate included two steel doors and all the trim; total bid, $5,275. Patrice copied the specs Jason provided so she can get a bid on the same thing from the Roberts, who did her home.

NEW BUSINESS: Population Estimate: The State Demographer said we have 66 people living in 38 homes in Wilma Township. We don’t know how they arrive at that number, and this may change when the U.S. Census results come in.

Tic Diseases: There have been several people in our fire department and area coming down with serious tick diseases. Al Wolf and Don Mishler both got one of the serious diseases, Anaplasmosis or Babesiosis, and Glen had Lyme’s disease. Mark said his friend was dead in a week from a tick bite in his belly button. The board confirmed the need for thorough tick checks and treatment.

Campground Event: Glen said he no longer needs to report events as special events as his license was expanded to 166 campsites over the previous 64.

Wilma Fall Fest: Glen said we have a $400 budget for the Fall Fest. He moved that we set the date for October 23, two weeks before hunting season. Mike seconded. They said we should have the windows and doors done by that time.

Propane Prebuy: Federated is offering propane at $1.79/gallon. We usually prebuy 1,000 gallons. We didn’t use it all in our mild winter last year, but Mike moved that we pay for 1,000 gallons, with credit for our unused prebuy from last year. Glen seconded.

First Responders: The hospital had been making contributions to the fire departments for the work the first responders do, but they said they will no longer do this, and first responders will have no compensation. Mike said he will bring this up at the fire association meeting, and it may come to the point where we will no longer provide first responders.

Town Hall Steps: Mike said he didn’t get to buy the risers and wood for the back steps; he will take care of this soon.

BILLS AND TREASURER’S REPORT:

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

Patrice Winfield (expenses) $ 63.00

Joe Vink (expenses) 46.50

U.S. Treasury (2nd quarter deductions) 431.08

Pine Co. Treasurer (assessments) 317.00

Federated Coop (tank rental) 10.69

ECE 54.48

Federated Coop (prebuy) 1,503.63

Mike McCullen 33.25

Mark Pallow 274.28

Paul Raymond 216.10

Patrice Winfield 212.40

Gary Vink 305.68

Glen Williamson 37.87

Total Bills $ 3,569.54

Glen moved to pay all the bills, to approve the treasurer’s report, and to transfer $3,600 from savings to checking. Gary seconded. Gary moved to adjourn the meeting; Mike seconded. Meeting adjourned at 9 p.m.

Paul Raymond, Clerk