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WILMA TOWNSHIP BOARD OF SUPERVISORS MEETING DECEMBER 9, 2009

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WILMA TOWNSHIP BOARD OF SUPERVISORS MEETING DECEMBER 9, 2009

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

Paul read the record of the November board meeting.   Gary moved to approve the report; Mike seconded.

OLD BUSINESS:  MAT Insurance Coverage:   Paul said that the jeep and old grader were dropped from our insurance policy, and that they refunded several years of our payments for them, $1,400.

Northern Corridor Railway Meeting: Glen said that there will be a meeting regarding the future high-speed railway from the cities to Duluth in Hinckley on December 10 at 5 p.m. at the City Hall.   Mike said this doesn’t really affect our township.

Road Report: Gary asked Paul to bill New Dosey for half of one hour of blading Heller Road on November 11,  $75.  Short Road/Mink Farm Road:  Gary inspected both roads after T & T Logging finished their activities.  Despite our request that they meet with us so there are no questions about the escrow deductions, no one from T & T  has contacted Gary.  He said they rutted up the Short Road pretty badly, and cut up the Mink Farm Road with dozer tracks.   Gary said that at the spring road inspection the board can make a determination of the damages.  We can contact T & T to be present then.     Dollar Lake Road:   Mike said Eric Vathne has had loggers on his land, and they have torn up Dollar Lake Road.  Mike and Gary thought Eric was doing the work himself, but before hunting season Mike saw a logger and truck in there who wasn’t Eric.   Mike said we shouldn’t treat this any differently than other loggers, and he moved that we write to Eric Vathne and ask for a $500 escrow deposit for the road if there is going to be any continuing logging activity on that road.  Glen seconded.   Mike said he could be done by now with all the logging.

NEW BUSINESS:    Pine County Soil & Water District Meeting:   Glen said that the Pine Co. Soil and Water District is having a public meeting on January 30th for training county and township officials on road maintenance and the Wetland Conservation Act.  Mike said we should probably attend this training, especially to discuss the issue of people gating off old cartways so people can no longer use them to access waterways and state land.  He said the south end of Crooked Lake Road has been gated off; at one time the Mayfield Road went all the way to Crooked Lake Road as a state snowmobile trail, and Crooked Lake Road went two more miles south.  Also Heller Drive is posted at the end, when it used to cross the Tamarack River to the Vink Road.   Even though the township does not claim these cartways or maintain them as township roads, they should be kept open for public use after years of serving as cartways.  Glen asked how we can remove a gate?  Mike said that’s why he wants to go to this meeting.   Mike said we should discuss attendance at our January 6th Board Meeting;  they need to be notified by January 20th.

Lakes & Pines Cooperative Agreement: Lakes & Pines has applied for a grant to help low-income home-owners fix up their homes, as well as commercial building owners and low-income rental housing.  The State said that the first 15 months of this program need to be targeted at certain towns and townships in the north part of the county, like Willow River and Sturgeon Lake, but after that any county property owner could apply.  They sent us a cooperative agreement that would permit property owners in Wilma Township to apply for these funds.   Glen moved that we sign this and participate in this program; Mike seconded.   Glen and Paul signed it and will send it in.

Schmedeke Lane: Eldon asked for the floor to discuss Schmedeke Lane and the Memorandum of November 12 sent out to all the board members and to interested parties by County Attorney John Carlson regarding Schmedeke Lane and the history and controversy.  Eldon said that he and Bob and Barbara Jensen attended the County Commissioners meeting in Pine City on December 1st, and he wanted to correct some falsehoods in the document and at the meeting.   He said that Barbara Jensen was lying when she said that she did not measure out the distance for Schmedeke Lane with Marjorie Schmedeke, and that by denying this she was calling him and Marjorie liars because they say she did assist in the measurement.  Eldon said he never put no trespassing signs on Schmedeke Lane, but that Bob Jensen did.  Eldon said that subsequent surveyors have made and perpetuated errors.  He read a document that stated that an original survey has precedence over all subsequent surveys.  Eldon presented charts showing the exact mile measurements between sections, north and south and east and west, and that there is exactly four miles from Tamarack River Road to the Langstrom/Pete Anderson Roads.  He also had charts demonstrating a distorted survey, which he said the county wants to enforce.  He presented a resolution he asked the board to adopt and submit to the County Commissioners which states, “We, the Board of Supervisors of Wilma Township recommend that the County abide by the original govt. records of 1853 and recorded 1899. True measurements from govt. monument 2 miles north of Co. Rd. 141 starting at NE corner of Section 3, running due south between Sections 3-2 and 11-10 and ending at SE corner of 10 and Duxbury Rd.  From NE govt. corner of Section 3 due east one mile (5278’) to newly set monument thence going due south between Sections 2-1 and 12-11, two miles to Duxbury Rd and ending there.  This will be proper and solve a multitude of problems and possible litigation.”  Glen moved that the board adopt this statement as a recommendation, not a resolution, and submit it to County Attorney John Carlson.  Paul asked that the board not take a position on the conflicting surveys until the meeting with the County Commissioners.   Eldon took issue with this, but Paul said he was not taking sides but was only concerned to protect the township from litigation.   Mike seconded the motion, and Paul will forward it to John Carlson.  Glen moved that the Board of Supervisors attend the meeting of the County Commissioners at 9:30 a.m. on Monday, December 21, at Schmedeke Lane, to join them in their survey and deliberations.   Gary seconded.   Paul will post this as a public meeting.

Glen reminded Paul to post and publish the dates to file Affidavits of Candidacy for our Township Election on March 9, 2010.  Glen and Paul are up for reelection.  The filing dates are December 29 through January 12, 2010, and the fee is $2.

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

The Evergreen                         $        42.00

Pine County Courier                         13.16

ECE                                                  38.40

MATIT (Workers’ Comp.)               770.00

Joe Vink                                           150.30

Paul Raymond                                  106.20

Gary Vink                                          62.33

Michael McCullen                                        66.95

Patrice Winfield                                101.38

Glen Williamson                               24.24

Total Bills            $     1,389.01

Mike moved to approve the Treasurer’s report, to pay all the bills, and to transfer $1,400 from savings into checking.   Gary seconded.

Gary moved to adjourn the meeting; Glen seconded.   Meeting adjourned at 9:30 p.m.

Paul Raymond, Clerk

WILMA TOWNSHIP BOARD OF SUPERVISORS MEETING NOVEMBER 4, 2009

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WILMA TOWNSHIP BOARD OF SUPERVISORS MEETING NOVEMBER 4, 2009

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 Mark Pallow, and Eldon and Marjorie Schmedeke.

Paul read the clerk’s record of the October meeting.  Patrice asked that the record be amended with a total October bills of $6,485 and a transfer of $6,500.  Mike moved to approve the report as amended; Gary seconded.

OLD BUSINESS:  Wilma Fall Fest: Glen gave a report on the Fall Fest.  He said it was a very successful event with guests from as far away as White Bear Lake, and with many prizes given out.  Toni published a story about it in the Courier, and has written thank-you’s to all the prize donors.  We kept the expenses to under $200, half of the budget.

County Township Officers Meeting: Paul gave a report on the County Township Officers meeting in Hinckley on October 24.  No county officials showed up, but most of the Commissioners spoke, as did Don Sherper, our district MAT  Representative, and Brett Grundemeier from the DNR.   Don Sherper and other Township officers stressed the importance of attending the district MAT meetings in Cambridge.  Mike said that if we do send delegates to these meetings, we need to have our agenda ahead of time and have our issues and questions brought up.  There was a discussion on sending representatives to the State Township Officers Meeting in Rochester on November19-21.   Because of the mileage expenses that far, plus the need for two nights of motel rooms, it was decided that the costs would be prohibitive, but that we should try to attend the next district meeting.  The Commissioners spoke on the County budget, the threat of cities annexing townships, and high-speed rail line, and ATV use on county and township roads.  Eldon thanked Paul for his report.

ATV’s on County and Township Roads: Mike asked who enforces ATV use on township roads, when they tear the roads up.   He sees a need to call the DNR.  He said ATV operators are riding on county roads and on township roads and are not yielding to cars.  Gary said anyone damaging a township road should be liable for the repairs.  Eldon said he fought to get public trails like the Gandy Dancer Trail, but if ATV drivers use township roads they should stay on the shoulders and drive 20 mph.  He said landowners own the ditches, not the county.  They aren’t allowed in ditches on the freeway and shouldn’t be allowed to tear up township ditches.  Gary said many times he has driven up a blind hill and ATV’ers are right in the road.  The County Commissioners are discussing allowing  ATV’s on county roads.  Even now the sheriff isn’t stopping ATV’ers if they’re riding slowly on the right side in places they can’t use the ditch.  Eldon said he sees them riding side by side on county roads.

December meeing change: Mike moved to change the date of the December Town Board meeting from December 2nd to December 9th.  Paul will post and publish this.

Road Issues: Eldon said there are some issues in the eastern end of the township.   He asked that any comments be off the record.   Glen said that the open meeting laws do not allow any off-the-record discussions at township meetings, so the only way to keep anything off the record is not to bring it up.

Public Cartway Issues: Mike asked about the issue Dave Baker raised at the County Officers’ meeting regarding property owners gating off township cartways and denying access to public use on old, established cartways.  New Dosey has spent a lot of time and money defending lawsuits on cartway use.  He said roads like the Pete Anderson Road and the Mayfield Road used to go all the way to the range lines, but the cartway parts have been fenced or gated off and access denied.  Heller Drive is posted at the end, when it used to be a town cartway.  Mike said we could lose the use of these cartways.

MAT Township Insurance Coverage: The Board went over our policy and said that we were still insuring a brush-rig jeep and our old grader.   The fire department insures their own vehicles, and we don’t use the grader, so these shouldn’t be on the policy.   Paul will contact MAT to get them removed and our premiums refunded.

Grader: Gary said that the wing and chains were put on the grader for winter snowplowing.  Twelve citizens paid their snowplowing fees for this season by the deadline today.

Mutual Aid Fire Department Meeting: Gary moved that the Mutual Aid Fire Department Chiefs and the Sheriff be allowed to use the Wilma Town Hall on Thursday, November 19, at 7:30 p.m. at no charge for their annual meeting.  Glen seconded.  There will be no fire department training in November due to hunting season.

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

Patrice Winfield (expenses)                        $         40.70

Pine Co. Courier                                                  22.56

ECE                                                                     43.22

Paul Raymond (expenses)                                    46.73

John Rioux (Fall Fest)                                         100.00

Glen Williamson (expenses)                                124.51

Scott Quady                                                                   56.10

Mike McCullen                                                     20.77

Glen Williamson                                                  70.41

Patrice Winfield                                                   150.06

Gary Vink                                                            76.19

Paul Raymond                                                     143.14

Mark Pallow                                                        141.29

Total Expenses              $    1.035.68

Mike moved to approve the Treasurer’s Report and to pay all the bills, and to transfer $1,050 from savings to checking.   Gary seconded.

Gary moved to adjourn the meeting; Mike seconded.  Meeting adjourned at 9:30 p.m.

Paul Raymond, Clerk