WILMA TOWNSHIP BOARD OF SUPERVISORS’ ROAD INSPECTION, MAY 21, 2014

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WILMA TOWNSHIP BOARD OF SUPERVISORS’ ROAD INSPECTION, MAY 21, 2014

Supervisor Mike McCullen called the meeting to order at 10 a.m. at the Duxbury
Store. Also present, Supervisor Gary Vink, Chairman Glen Williamson, Road Manager Mark Pallow, Clerk Paul Raymond, and Danforth Township Supervisor Jason Palme.

CROOKED LAKE ROAD: Jason said a chronic problem is the culverts on Crooked Lake Road freeze in the winter time, causing any melt or runoff to go over the roads. Gary said that is an unavoidable issue when you have water in the culverts at below zero temperatures.
¼ mile down, past Bob’s driveway: Supervisors recommend 1 load gravel. The culvert at this point, right past the ditch repair area, freezes over and the end of the culvert on the west side is not visible. Supervisors agreed that someday this may require a new culvert, and flooding here should be monitored.
Crooked Lake landing: frozen culvert; no action.
One mile, by Jason’s property: County Surveyor cut into road and did not restore it to original condition, at 52979 Crooked Lake Rd. Supervisors recommend 1 load gravel to restore road.
One ½ mile down: More Surveyor damage. Paul can write to highway dept. and notify them of damage and ask if we can be reimbursed, if he has the receipts and documents to show the remedy.
End of Road: Landowner Eric Ternes gated the entrance to Mayfield Road, but did not lock the gate. Loggers (T&T) have left a huge pile of debris, much of it in the Mayfield Road right-of-way. Supervisors said to notify Eric Ternes and T&T to remove the debris, or to deduct the damage from their escrow account. Paul needs the receipts and records to document deductions. We have $1,900 in T&T’s escrow.

ESCROW FUND BALANCES, MAY 2014:
T&T: $1,933.25
Carlson Timber 500.00
Wermerskirchen 500.00
Berthiaume Logging 500.00
Midwest Hardwoods 500.00

EAGLE HEAD ROAD: Tree across road @ 55902 Eagle Head Rd. Culvert at end of the road has water, may need new culvert someday. Supervisors recommend monitoring.

DOLLAR LAKE ROAD: Supervisors recommend load of gravel at end for turnaround.

VINK ROAD: Supervisors recommend two load of gravel at the end of Vink Road, to be deducted from T&T logging, and two loads at the beginning of the road. Mark said T&T did inspect the road with him before their logging activity, but did not inspect it with him afterwards. Supervisors directed Paul to write a form letter of our road policy to send to all loggers, specifying that they need to arrange an inspection meeting with the Wilma Road Manager before logging/hauling activities and also afterwards, or their escrow may be forfeited. Paul needs documentation of when T&T did the logging and receipts and records of gravel and repairs.
Water over road at entrance. The culvert is crushed or collapsed. Glen said we should have a road map showing all our culverts. 1/2 mile up road, after Tim McCullen’s property line, Supervisors recommend one load pit-run and 3 loads of Class 5, to be documented and deducted from T&T’s escrow account. By Smith’s, road needs ditching, on east side of Smith’s driveway, plus one load gravel.
There are concrete barricades and a gate at northwest end of the road. Gary asked Paul to write Greg Beck and tell him that the road is barricaded and that the county will not have access to their land because of the barricades, if they want to sell land west of there. The maps of the proposed sale show an expected easement from the end of Vink Road directly west to the County’s land.

VINK ROAD TOTALS: 8 loads gravel, four in the middle, two at the beginning and two loads at the end. T&T to be charged for 6 loads, township for two. Road Manager is to use his discretion on final gravel and repairs needed.

LANGSTROM ROAD: Eldon Schmedeke joined the road inspection for the range-line roads and for Schmedeke Lane. 2014 is Wilma’s maintenance year for Langstrom Road. Town will put the annual two loads of gravel at the end of Langstrom Road and Pete Anderson Road. Any tree removal will be up to the Erickson’s and Dennis Schmedeke. Duane Glienke is willing to remove trees on right of way, but ownership and disposal of the timber will need to be negotiated between them. Eldon said the board should tell the County that any time they authorize logging on a township road, that they should cut the trees to a full 66′ right-of-way on the roads.

PETE ANDERSON ROAD: Markville has trimmed brush along the road all the way up; road looks very good. Routine blading. Fallen tree in right of way ½ mile up. Culvert at 57891 Pete Anderson Rd. is too high, and is under water. Supervisors recommend one load gravel on both sides of the address sign. At 58502 need 1 load Class 5 gravel to fill a hole in the road at the Brown cabin. There is a culvert at the driveway access into Eldon’s land the town damaged and replaced with a 12-15′ culvert, but Eldon said it should be 30′. Eldon said he put gravel on this culvert.

SCHMEDEKE LANE: Eldon said this road has been an issue for 40 years. He feels he is being asked to pay for land he already owned. He said the extension as built is not according to code, and he feels that the Board is working with Auditor Cathy Clemmer and Commissioner Steve Chaffee without consulting him. Eldon said if he buys the strip of land bordering Schmedeke Lane he wants a clear title with no strings attached, but he wants the road to be built to the full width, 66′. Eldon said that at the entrance to Schmedeke Lane the county culvert is too narrow and no semi truck can enter the road. Eldon said there has never been gravel applied to Schmedeke Lane, but it should have Class 5 gravel applied the whole length. The Board recommends 3 loads of Class 5 gravel to be applied to the existing Schmedeke Lane. Greg Beck and Steve Chaffee will be attending our June 4 Board Meeting, and the Board encouraged Eldon to attend to address the road and land issues directly. He said he’s done talking to the Commissioners. For now, there will be no action taken on building up the Schmedeke Lane Extension until the impasse between the County and Eldon is resolved, and for now, it will remain a County logging road. The County is holding $10,000 for the township for gravel and repairs, pending the resolution. Mike said we could build a pretty good road for that, and then the township would take over ownership of the road.

NORTH DUNCAN ROAD: Board recommends two loads gravel at the beginning of the road. 1.4 mile up road, culvert has collapsed and there is a hole in the road. It needs a 24” 30 foot culvert, and whatever gravel is needed to fill in road, right past 57553 N. Duncan. At 1.6 mile the gravel ends, and Board recommends putting 2 loads of gravel at the end of the graveled part of the road every year.

SOUTH DUNCAN ROAD: 1/2 mile down road, clay has run down the hill where loggers cut into the hill, washing into and filling the ditch and washing out the road. Needs a ditch cut, if Mark can cut it with the grader. Board feels that the County should have the loggers repair the damages when they fill in ditches. Board will bring this up at our June meeting with Greg Beck. Gary said Mike Weidendorf did the damage.
¾ mile down road, S. Duncan is flooded. Ditch is filled in with runoff. Gary said we ditched it but T&T filled it in again. Board recommended Mark re-ditch the road after it is dry, and apply 10 loads gravel on rutted and damaged area.
Toni Williamson came to bring Mike’s truck to pull Mark’s truck out of the mud in the road; Mike moved that she be paid for one hour labor for her time and work. Gary seconded. Glen abstained.

HELLER DRIVE: Board recommends gravel over the culverts; one load on 2nd culvert 1/3 mile in, plus 3 more after. Paul should notify New Dosey to get their approval.

MC CULLEN DRIVE: Routine blading.

MAYFIELD ROAD: Culvert is plugged and water is washing over and eroding the road. The culvert needs to be inspected to see if it’s compromised when the water level drops, and if it’s just plugged, the Fire Dept. can blow out the culvert when the levels drop. The culvert is cut open and needs to be replaced. For now, 1 load pit-run gravel over culvert. Gary said the damage is from Betheume and T&T logging. One mile in, need 30′ 18” culvert, put in deep enough to drain the water. The second culvert in is buried too high and is exposed. The area around it was rip-rapped with stones, but is still eroded. Board recommends more rip-rap by the rocks and one load pit-run to fill it in and one load Class 5 over it. Split one load to fill both holes. Any digging or replacing culvert needs to have a utility locate done before any cutting because there are electric lines buried under the road before the private drive. Total gravel, 2 loads each of pit run and Class 5 for the road.

LITTLE TAMARACK LAKE ROAD: ½ mile in, at curve is under water, at the low spot and the edge of the lake before the cabin’s driveway. Needs one load gravel. Also one load before the boat landing, two loads total.

SHORT ROAD: Routine blading/maintenance.

LOST RIVER ROAD: Routine blading/maintenance. Driveway ditching inspected, that Pat Storey did. Looks adequate.

RIVER CABIN ROAD: Routine blading.

MONA DRIVE: Routine blading.

KENNY PETERSON ROAD: Routine blading.

Glen moved to adjourn meeting; Mike seconded. Meeting adjourned at 5:30 p.m., 7.5 hours.

Paul Raymond, Clerk
attested to by: Glen Williamson, Chairman

WILMA TOWNSHIP BOARD OF SUPERVISORS’ MEETING, MAY 7, 2014

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WILMA TOWNSHIP BOARD OF SUPERVISORS’ MEETING, MAY 7, 2014

Chairman Glen Williamson called the meeting to order with the Pledge of Allegiance. Also present were Supervisors Gary Vink and Mike McCullen, Treasurer Patrice Winfield, Clerk Paul Raymond, Road Manager Mark Pallow, and Pat Story and Ben Glocke.
Paul read the record of the April meeting. Gary made one correction; he abstained in the vote on donations to the three public service organizations, not Mike. With that correction, he moved to approve; Glen seconded.

OLD BUSINESS: Schmedeke Lane Extension: Eldon was not at the meeting, so we do not know if or when he will be settling with the county for the land adjoining Schmedeke Lane. Glen asked Paul to write Eldon and tell him the County is waiting for a response from him before they will release the $10,000 to upgrade the Schmedeke Lane extension. Mark said there are land for sale signs at the road.

Wilma Resolution on Land Sales: All Commissioners received our response to the Auditor’s request to rescind our resolution, plus copies of the original resolution. Commissioner Steve Chaffee and Greg Beck will be attending our June board meeting.

Spring Short Course Report: Glen and Paul attended, and said it was one of the best short courses. The legislative update addressed bills and pending legislation affecting townships and MAT: Broadband for rural areas reduced from $100 million to $25 million; Fire fighter credit on state taxes, $500 per firefighter. Using websites for notices, bypassing newspapers.
Clerks/Treasurers: Need to register new hires, like Ben Glocke. @ MN New Hire. Applies to contractors also.
Insurance info for board members: discounts on home and auto, and big discounts on Rx’s: free to sign up: Met Life (medvana.com/metlife). MBA members can get auto and home discounts. Also vision insurance. July township aid: will get two checks in July. Record in Local Govt. Aid.Temporary account, #33401. In Oct. we’ll get our market value credit, PILT. We can keep the old CTAS when the new one comes out and install the new version. Road operators need calendars to keep track of roads and hours and what maintenance done. Meetings can be closed for personnel issues and contracts/bids, (and lawsuits if attorney present). Can close to discuss allegations of a person subject to board authority. Clerks are not subject to the Board, only to the voters. Closed meetings must be recorded. Law or statute authorizing closed meetings must be cited. Closed meetings always start as posted open meetings. They brought back reports and Power Points for the other Supervisors and Treasurer.

NEW BUSINESS: Spring Road Inspection: The Board set Wednesday, May 21, for the road inspection, starting at the store at 10 a.m. Mark said that Mayfield Road is washed out pretty badly and needs some immediate gravel and repair. Gary agreed. Glen moved to authorize Mark to order whatever gravel needed from Hopkins, or whatever they are allowed to haul with the current road restrictions. Mike seconded.

Duxbury Volunteer Fire Department Pancake Breakfast: Will be Sunday, May 25. Gary moved that they be allowed to use the Wilma Town Hall; Glen seconded.

Summer Short Course Registration: Deadline June 11 to pre-register for the Carlton short course on June 26. We aren’t sure who will be attending, so we can register at the June board meeting. $50 per officer if pre-registered.

Filing Notice for State and County Offices: The filing period is May 20 to June 3, 2014, for judges, sheriff, and other state and county offices.

Damage at Two Creeks: While Mark was plowing Two Creeks Campground in February he had to avoid a dumpster and accidentally damaged one of the underground storm shelters. The shelter cannot be repaired, and Glen requested the board to submit a claim to our insurance company for replacement, $4600. Gary said our policy as posted is “Wilma Township is not liable for inadvertent damages while plowing private drives.” Mike said he is concerned that the MAT insurance will tell us we can’t plow private drives any more. Glen said the law is clear that this is permitted, although private driveway grading is not allowed. The board directed Paul to send the claim to the MAT attorneys along with our policy notice, and find out if we can still make an insurance claim. Glen said he does not have property damage insurance for that part of the campground, so can’t file a personal claim. Mike said the board can inspect the damage at the Road Inspection meeting on May 21.

Legal Seminar: Couri/Ruppe Attorneys are holding a free legal seminar for township officers in Rutledge on September 27, from 9 to 4 p.m. We can car-pool. They cover road and liability and all township issues, and give free legal advice.

MAT District Meeting: Will be held on Wednesday, Sept. 3, at Anoka Ramsey College, Cambridge. Register 7 p.m., election 8 p.m. District Director Don Sherper is retiring and has asked Glen to replace him. Glen asked the board to send him and someone to nominate him. There is no tuition. Glen needs to file from June 5 to July 5 for Director. If he is elected, Glen will then be paid by MAT for all meetings and mileage, e.g. County Twp. Officers, Short Courses, District Meetings, State Conventions, which will save the township a lot of money.

Damage on Lost River Road: Pat Storey said that the driveway that blocked Lost River Road flooded, and he fixed it himself. He asked if the township had addressed this issue. Last fall, Pat Storey said someone had filled in the ditch at the cul-de-sac on Lost River Road to create a driveway, and the board said they would try to find out who was responsible. Paul wrote to Leighton Quinn, the project developer who implicated property owner Tom Foster and said: “I talked to Pat Story yesterday when I was up mowing and he did not mention it. Not sure Tom Foster will respond and/or correct the dip if it really is a problem. Personally I have never seen it cause a problem, but I am not up there all the time.” The September 11, 2013 meeting record notes: “Someone filled in the drainage ditch to create a parcel access driveway without putting in a culvert to drain the water, on the west side of Lost River Road just before the cul-de-sac, which created a flooding situation over the road. Mark will inspect this Friday when he checks on the tree locate, and then Paul can contact Mr. Quinn to see if he is aware of this and asking him to have it corrected. We will charge the offender for the gravel and grading needed to repair the road, and if the offender doesn’t put in a culvert, we will at their expense.” Since Pat already repaired the damage, the board did not take action, but they will inspect this more closely at the May 21 road inspection.
Pat had another issue with snowplowing in the recent heavy snowfalls. He said Lost River Road was not plowed out on April 4 or on April 15. Mark checked his records and said he did plow on April 4. But on April 15, the tire fell off the grader, and he was not able to get to Lost River Road, so Pat plowed it himself. He said he did call Mike McCullen, who had assured him the Lost River Road would be plowed. Mike was not aware of the grader issue. Pat asked to be reimbursed for his time, $120. Glen moved to approve; Mike seconded. Mike said this is an extraordinary situation and will not set a precedent; the township cannot allow private parties to plow or grade or do any work on township roads, because we have had so much damage done by well-meaning private citizens. Pat was given Mark’s number, and was told to call the Chairman and Mark if something like this happens again. Pat said he watched the people who lived at the end of River Cabin Road grade the cul-de-sac there and ruin it. The board will inspect this at the road inspection.
Pat said as far as the house at the DNR Eagle Head Station, it looks like MN DOT is going to tear it down; they’ve already started removing lights and fixtures. Tim Faust has not had any influence on their decisions. MN DOT has also said they reserve the right to park their vehicles in the pole barn if necessary; Pat told them that we can’t put our trucks outside whenever they want to use the property.

Langstrom Road Right-of-way: Dennis Schmedeke talked with Duane Glienke about cutting the trees in the right-of-way on Langstrom Road. Dennis wants to be paid for the timber. In 2010 Wilma told Arna Township that we only claim ¼ mile of Langstrom Lane, and we are not responsible for tree removal after that. The L & E Ericson Family Ltd. Partnership told us that they would take care of the trees on the east side of the road sometime in 2011. Gary said if Duane wants to cut the trees and pay Dennis, that’s between them.

Treasurer’s report and bills: Patrice gave the Treasurer’s report (attached) and claims were presented:

Glen Williamson $ 259.04
Patrice Winfield 90.50
Mike McCullen 92.35
Mark Pallow 265.96
Paul Raymond 341.69
Gary Vink 139.45
Seven Co. Senior Federation 100.00
Patrice (expenses) 10.00
MATAT Insurance 1,606.00
OSAC 100.00
Pine Co. Historical Society 100.00
Security Life (Dental) 443.52
ECE 53.87
The Evergreen 22.50
Pine Co. Courier 16.02
Federated Propane 10.68
Gen (expenses) 71.68
Aspire Inc. (website) 300.00
Paul (expenses) 15.93
MAT Short Course tuition 100.00
RDO Equipment 139.81

Total Bills $ 4,279.00

Gary moved to approve the Treasurer’s report and to pay all the claims, and to transfer $4,300 from savings into checking. Mike seconded. Mike moved to adjourn the meeting; Gary seconded. Meeting adjourned at 9:30 p.m.

Paul Raymond, Clerk

attest: Glen Williamson, Chair

NOTICE OF PUBLIC MEETING, July 15, 2014

admin Notices

 NOTICE OF PUBLIC MEETING

 Notice is hereby given that the Board of County Commissioners, Pine County, Minnesota will meet at 10:00 a.m., or as soon thereafter as practicable, on July 15, 2014 at the Pine County Courthouse, 635 Northridge Dr NW, Pine City, Minnesota, to conduct a public meeting to discuss and obtain public comment with regard to Wilma Township’s disapproval of the sale of County Tax-Forfeited Non-Conservation Lands.  This notice is given pursuant to M.S. 282.01.

Cathy J. Clemmer

Pine County Auditor-Treasurer