WILMA TOWNSHIP  BOARD OF AUDIT AND SUPERVISORS’ MEETING, WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 7, 2018

WILMA TOWNSHIP  BOARD OF AUDIT AND SUPERVISORS’ MEETING, WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 7, 2018

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

BOARD OF AUDIT:   Paul and Patrice  coordinated and cross-checked their books before the meeting. Gary, Mike and Glen reviewed and compared the Treasurer’s and the Clerk’s books.  Gary moved to approve the books; Glen seconded and the board signed both copies of the Schedule 1 and Cost Control Summaries for 2017.

Proposed levies for 2019 taxes and wages for 2018 presented by the clerk.  No increases. Paul proposed a decrease of $4,000 in Building Fund, to $1,000, but Mike said if we ever have to increase it we will get a lot of resistance.  He said we do have some building projects for 2018, including blowing more insulation into the ceiling of the fire hall since the old insulation got wet before the roof was fixed. We should put the crushed rock gravel in the whole driveway since it is so effective in front of the fire hall. Mike moved to keep the Building Fund at $5,000 in the proposal to the voters; Gary seconded; passed. With this change, Mike moved to approve the suggested levies for a vote at the annual Town Meeting March 13.

Line-Item Budget Proposal for 2018:   Paul drafted a proposed budget to guide the board in 2018, based on our receipts and disbursements in 2017. Glen moved to table voting on this until the board has had time to review all the pages and to vote at the Board of Reorganization.  Gary seconded.  Cost-Control 10-Year Report:  Paul went back for 10 years and compiled a Cost Control Summary of every year since 2007. At the beginning of 2007 Wilma had $40,548 in total funds; at the end of December, 2017 that had been built up to $165,673, even though we have not increased our levies and have reduced some of them. Glen said this shows fiscal responsibility by the board. Mike said we need to look at our roads and town hall and other projects and not be afraid to spend some money to make our town better.

Wages:   Mike said we kept the half-day meeting rate at $75 for the last several years, although a half-day meeting can take up to 6 hours including drive-time and effectively can take up a whole day as far as doing anything else.  He suggested the board change this to $100, and keep the full-day meeting at $150.  Gary moved and Mike seconded to raise half-day meetings to $100. Passed.  The voters do not approve wages, but we have always allowed them to vote and have input to guide the board when they vote on wages at the Board of Reorganization. Mike moved to keep all other wages the same as 2017.

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

ROAD REPORT:   Alden reported that he plowed one more snowfall and did some wing repairs on the grader.  He said he hopes that in 2018 he can do some significant work on the North Duncan Road since people are building cabins and may be making a permanent home on that road. He said the north part of that road is almost impassable when it rains.  He also wants to build up the Dollar Lake Road.  Glen said at the road inspection in May we can go over these projects with Alden.

Alden did plow the range-line roads since we have received no answer from Arna on whether they want to plow Pete Anderson and Langstrom Roads in their service year 2018.

OLD BUSINESS:   Pete Anderson Road Bridge:  Paul sent a personal letter asking Attorney Kyle Hartnett to reduce the bill for his work, and Mike Goetz also asked him.  Hartnett emailed today that his new bill for $220 was in addition to the earlier bill, for a total of  $1,979. Mike Goetz called Hartnett today and Hartnett agreed to review his billing but made no promises.   Mike has promised to reimburse the township for everything.  We won’t pay until Mike hears back from Hartnett. Goetz and his new attorney sent a Demand for Acknowledgment of Public Road Status of the Pete Anderson Road bridge to Daniel Lodge and he replied with a refusal.

Pine County Board of Commissioners Special Local Government Meeting:  The Commissioners held a special meeting for township officials on Public Safety on Tuesday, January 30, with Reese Frederickson and Sheriff Jeff Nelson.  Glen and Paul attended and Paul wrote up a detailed report for the board, covering the proposed county social host ordinance, the county dispatch office, jail and sheriff’s office.  Glen said the meeting was very valuable and well-attended.

Blight Ordinance:   The county is considering a county-wide blight ordinance as well as county-wide zoning, but they said any ordinance will be opt-in for townships and will not be mandatory.  Alden said he doesn’t want Wilma to adopt a blight ordinance because whenever we start legislating things the laws always tend to expand  and become increasingly onerous. Glen said when he first moved here he was open to township zoning, but has come to see all the drawbacks and pitfalls other townships experience in enforcing these and agrees that we do not need it. Our neighboring towns with strict zoning have worse blight than we do.

NEW BUSINESS:  March Township Election and Annual Town Meeting:  Will be Tuesday, March 13, from 5 to 8.  Toni Williamson will be Head Judge along with Jeanne Grand Pre and Patrice.  Annual Meeting starts at 8 p.m. following the Board of Canvass.

Chris McKenzie Request to Speak to Board:  McKenzie is Project Manager of Environmental Services, Inc. in Maple Grove. He was one of the main speakers at the annual State Township Association Conference in Rochester in November.  He has asked to come to one of our board meetings to talk about issues like culverts, signs, permits, maintenance bids, our website and communications.  The Board said he didn’t see much value in having him come and to write him to decline.

Replace Gross Domestic Product with Genuine Progress Indicator:  We got a letter from Ken Pentel of Ecology Democracy Network asking the board to study his proposal and contact our Representative and Senator to support replacing the GDP with the GPI in the state.  Mike said this is confusing and  has nothing to do with us; no action taken.

Treasurer’s Report and Claims:  Patrice gave the treasurer’s report which will be posted on the website. Total bills for February are $4,567.25, and she requests a transfer of $4,700 from savings to checking. Gary moved to approve; Glen seconded.

Gary moved to adjourn; Mike seconded.  Meeting adjourned 9:00 p.m.

 

WILMA TOWNSHIP BOARD OF AUDIT AND SUPERVISORS’ MEETING, WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 1, 2017

WILMA TOWNSHIP BOARD OF AUDIT AND SUPERVISORS’ MEETING, WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 1, 2017

Chairman Glen Williamson called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. with the Pledge of Allegiance. Also present Supervisor Gary Vink, Treasurer Patrice Winfield, Clerk Paul Raymond, Grader Operator Alden Shute, and Pat Story.

BOARD OF AUDIT: Gary and Glen reviewed and compared the Treasurer’s and the Clerk’s books. Gary moved to approve the books; Glen seconded. They signed the forms.

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

ROAD REPORT: Alden said he plowed all roads and private drives who signed up, twice lately, most recently today. There are some problems with the grader. He fixed the wing bracket but it broke again and he will have it welded. The blade needs cutting edges before road grading starts; he can have it done for less than $100. He asked if we could get an air compressor. The fire department has one, stored now at Eagle Head where it is not needed. Gary can get it and bring it over, or Mike.

OLD BUSINESS: Township Records: Mike said in December that he found a fire-proof safe at Sams. Mike absent; no update. Paul wants to put the records in as soon as we get the safe.

Pete Anderson Road Bridge: Mike Goetz had requested that the township repair the bridge at the two mile mark of the range-line road. We informed him that both Arna and Wilma only claim 1¾ miles of the road, and the remaining ¼ mile is still public right-of-way since neither town vacated that part, but we will not maintain it. Mike Goetz did some bridge repairs and then got a letter from Daniel Lodge demanding that the bridge be removed. We have a letter in to Township Attorney Kent Sulem, asking if Goetz is in his rights as a citizen to repair the existing bridge over McDermott Creek since it is a public right-of-way and there was an existing bridge. No response yet.

NEW BUSINESS: Pine County Board of Commissioners Special Local Government Meeting: The Commissioners held a special meeting for township officers on the rural narrative, ramifications of the Office of Economic Development & Pine County, and recent initiatives, and updates on local initiatives. Glen and Paul attended last Wednesday, January 25, at the courthouse. Glen gave a report. One thing that impressed him is that only 53% of money coming into the county is from employed people. The rest is Social Security and other entitlements. Also, that rural areas are not really losing people, except for college-age youths. Some areas are reclassified as urban, but have the same population. Many younger families and older people are moving into rural areas. There were sessions on the new Pine County Comprehensive Plan, including the proposals for county-wide zoning. Several townships with zoning say they are paying huge costs in legal fees from suing and being sued. If there were county-wide zoning, the county would enforce the ordinances. Glen said only three townships in Pine County have no zoning, Wilma, Fleming and Bruno. Pat said county-wide zoning can be a mess. One of the reasons they chose to move to Wilma is because we have no zoning. Discussion of the increase in county levies. Steve Chafee said one reason the county needs more money is they are not boarding out-of-county prisoners at the jail, since it is full of Pine County offenders due to the new sheriff and attorney arresting and prosecuting more crimes. There will be further hearings on the comprehensive plan and when they do draft a zoning ordinance.

March Township Election: Gary and Patrice are up for re-election, Tuesday, March 14, 2017 and both filed. . Reminder that March Town Board Meeting changed to March 8, one week later. Paul will post this. Paul, Toni and Jeff or Jeanne GrandPre will judge. Patrice is judging at New Dosey.

Annual Meeting Levies Budget and Agenda: Proposed budget distributed, and payroll comparison chart for the three neighboring townships. Wilma’s board is paid significantly less than either New Dosey or Arna. Glen moved to increase wages for 2017: Chairman, to $105/meeting; Supervisors $100/meeting. Clerk and Treasurer, $100/meeting; Special reports, $16/hour; Election Judges, $16/hour. General Labor, $16/hour; Grader Operator, $20/hour. These rates are still below New Dosey, who pays their chair and clerk $125/meeting and judging and reports at $20/hour. No increases in levies will be proposed for 2018. Payroll increases will be proposed to the citizens at the annual Town Meeting March 14th, but only the board can ultimately approve any payroll increases or changes at the Board of Reorganization.

Four groups are asking for support from the township, OSAC, Seven County Senior Federation, the Pine County History Museum, and a new one, Family Pathways. Gary said Pathways just had a telethon and raised a lot of money, plus the Wanderers gave them $300. Alden said we’d voted to budget $300 for all extra groups, and if we add more, it needs to come out of the $300.

Glen moved to keep our snowplowing rates the same for 2017 as last year. Gary seconded.

Gary said the Tri-townhip Disposal District wants to increase annual rates from $30 to $36, where it used to be. Gary said they want feedback from the citizens at the Annual Meeting.

ECRDC Meeting: Glen said that as a member of the of the East Central Regional Development Committee Business Loan Board he will help determine who gets revolving business loans. He has access to a lot of groups and businesses offering grants, and would like to take a grant-writing class. Pat said he’s taken several, and you have to know what you’re getting into. Glen would like to apply for grants to insulate and heat our hall so we can have indoor plumbing and for our outhouse to get heat and plumbing. Pat said the narrative is most important when you present a grant proposal. Pat is willing to work with Glen on applying for grants.

Lost River Road: Pat asked that the board allocate some funds to build up and repair the Lost River Road. He says the class 5 applied had a lot of clay and the clay is coming to the surface and making it very slippery. He asked if the town could put aggregate rock on the surface instead of class 5. We have never used aggregate rock except on the fire hall drive way and Gary said it’s difficult to grade, plus is is very expensive. Alden suggested putting screened sand down on the road and then class 5 over the sand. Glen urged Pat to attend the road inspection in May. It will be on line and we can call him.

Treasurer’s Report and Claims: Patrice gave he treasurer’s report. Total bills for January were $5,261.66, and she transferred $4,200. For February, they are$3,206.44 and because of some direct withdrawals, like for dental and the satellite, she transferred $3,400. Gary moved to approve; Glen seconded.

Gary moved to adjourn; Glen seconded. Meeting adjourned 9:15 p.m.

Paul Raymond, Clerk _____________________________

Attested to by Glen Williamson, Chair____________________________

NOTICE WILMA TOWNSHIP CONTINUATION OF BOARD OF APPEAL

NOTICE WILMA TOWNSHIP:   Due to insufficient time for Wilma taxpayers to appeal their 2016 property evaluations, they may appeal at Sandstone City Hall on Tuesday, April 14, from 2 to 4 p.m., or at the Pine Co. Courthouse on April 15thfrom 2 to 4 p.m.  Wilma’s Board of Appeal held on April 6th has been continued to Wednesday, April 22, 2015 at 12 noon by conference call of the Supervisors and Assessors to vote on any appeals.  Parties wishing to be part of this conference call notify Clerk Paul Raymond 320-245-2579.