WILMA TOWN BOARD MEETING NOVEMBER 7, 2007
Chairman Gary Vink called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. with the Pledge of Allegiance. Also present were Supervisors Michael McCullen and Glenford Williamson, Treasurer Patrice Winfield, Clerk Paul Raymond, and Ronald McCullen and Eldon Schmedeke.
Paul read the record of the October meeting. Mike moved to approve and Glen seconded.
OLD BUSINESS: Pete Anderson Road Culvert/Eldon Driveway: Eldon said that he had been willing to pay half for the culvert into his land if the town put in a full 32′ 18″ diameter culvert, but without him being notified, a 20′ culvert 12″ diameter was put in. He said it was not buried deep enough and left 6″ of water on his land, and it wasn’t completely covered so he had to take his own gravel and cover it; he said Slomka did a very poor job; the culvert isn’t in the center of the road. Gary said the 20′ culvert replaced a 16′ culvert, and that he couldn’t call Eldon to notify him when the work was being done because he does not have Eldon’s phone number.
TOWN LINE ROAD WORK: Gary asked Paul to bill Arna $150 for the installation of the culvert in Pete Anderson Road; $136 for the culvert; $15 for 8 yards of class 5 gravel at $3.75/yard; hauling and loading $55; 2 hours of labor, $30; (all of this is ½ of the total cost, total $386.50. We will also bill New Dosey $75, their half for blading and clearing berms off of the Heller Road on 10/25 for the winter. Also Danforth $225, their half for 3 hours of blading Eagle Head and Crooked Lake Roads on 10/25. We will deduct $225 from Potlatch’s escrow account for repairs on this road.
JENSEN’S SNOWPLOWING: Bob Jensen went to the County Attorney who told him the township had to plow every private drive, not just full-time residents. Paul called the township attorney, who said there is nothing in the statute which authorizes towns to plow private drives that requires that they plow every drive, but that if it goes to court the court would want us to have a compelling reason for restricting plowing to year-around residents. Mike said we do have a compelling reason. Year-round residents need to be plowed first, after township roads, because they have school and jobs and medical needs to be able to get out. If we plowed everyone, the residents wouldn’t get plowed out on time, or the grader would have to backtrack and it would take a great deal of added time and expense. The Jensen drive is very difficult to plow; it is steep and full of rocks, and possibly wouldn’t qualify even it were a year-round residence.
HAVA Grant/Secretary of State: Gary got a call from the Secretary of State’s office regarding our application for a grant to build a handicapped-accessible ramp for the town hall. They told him that the grant limit is $6,000 since they had so many applications, and that they may have some more questions about our application; for one thing, having a sidewalk to the outhouse may not come under their guidelines. They didn’t think we could complete it by winter, but we have until next August to finish the work.
Town Website: Glen got it renewed for three years for $44, less than expected.
Fire Hall Tornado Damage: Ron said that the fire department is discovering that there was much more damage from the 1998 tornado than we thought; the whole fire hall slid from the force of the wind, knocking it out of alignment and distorting the door frames. He asked it it were too late to make an insurance claim; Mike said the time limit has long passed.
NEW BUSINESS: County Township Officers Meeting: Glen, Patrice and Paul all attended the County Township Officers’ Meeting. There was a lot of valuable information, and all county supervisors were there, plus the Sheriff Mansavage and Mark LeBrun and Dale Powers and our state district representatives. One reason property taxes are so high and increasing is the county’s $32 million dollar budget, with many mandates and a decrease in govt. aid. Their goal was to cut all non-mandated expenses, but the budget still went up 7 ½%. The County deals with 9 different bargaining units for their 240 employees, and fringe benefits and health insurance are controversial issues.
The Sheriff said meth is still a problem, and robberies are up and are more destructive and more damaging and more things being taken. Only 9% are ever solved. Only 3 – 4 officers cover the entire county on any given night, and overtime is way over budget.
Dale Powers said the Wetland Conservation Act is an unfunded mandate and there is no local control. He feels there is no common sense regarding wetlands. On the Junkyard Ordinance, they had 7 public meetings and two workshops and two public hearings to get feedback from the county citizens. One objection is anonymous complaints. The Planning Commision sent their final version to the County Commissioners, but the ordinance is not done and can be changed, even after it is adopted.
Patrice said they recommend that townships have a list of township citizens and addresses and phone numbers in case of a public emergency or evacuation, so we can notify local people.
Heller Road: Mike said someone graded that road with a tractor.
Dollar Lake Road: Eric Vathne went to the County Highway Department regarding a widening of the entrance to Dollar Lake Road. The County said the township can apply for a permit to do the work. Paul can call Mark LeBrun and ask about this permit and who pays for the work. Mike said if we do the work, then every logger will want us to widen township road entrances to get their trucks in.
Snowplowing: We got payments from Bob Jensen (see above), Eldon Schmedeke, Patrice Winfield, Paul Raymond, Mike McCullen, Glen Williamson, and Ron McCullen.
Bills and Treasurer’s Report:
Patrice gave the Treasurer’s Report (attached).
Bills:
FNBNS $ 2,000.00
ECE 31.13
Pine Co. Courier 45.12
The Evergreen 11.25
MATIT 499.00
Land and Cabins (culverts) 429.00
Ron McCullen (townhall chairs) 100.00
Mike McCullen 34.63
Mark Pallow 185.34
Paul Raymond 134.17
Gary Vink 137.37
Glen Williamson 159.79
Patrice Winfield 172.96
Total Bills $ 3,967.46
Glen moved to approve the Treasurer’s Report and to pay all bills, and to transfer $4,000 from savings to checking. Mike seconded.
Mike moved that the County-wide Mutual Aid be allowed to use the town hall for a meeting on November 15. Glen seconded. Glen moved to adjourn the meeting; Gary seconded. Meeting adjourned at 9:15 p.m.