Chairman Mike McCullen called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. with the Pledge of Allegiance. Also present: Supervisors Glen Williamson and Alden Shute, Treasurer Patrice Winfield, Clerk Paul Raymond, Road Manager Alden Shute, Cindy Klienschmidt and Jim Bredesen.

Clerk’s Report of August 2nd Board Meeting.

Road Report: Alden said that the Tamarack Pine Drive regraveling project with RedRock gravel is complete. He trimmed trees on the Vink Road, River Cabin Road, Lost River Road, Little Tamarack Lake Road and Tamarack Pine Drive, and will get the tree at the Heller’s bridge cut down soon. He tried to grade roads but they are very hard with no rain.

State, County and Township December Storm Road Emergency: Alden spoke with Jeff Shute from Danforth Township and they did not apply for Public Assistance from the State Disaster fund for tree removal on Crooked Lake Road and Eagle Head Roads. Alden will have Hopkins do the tree clearing and we will apply for the funding, and any part not funded will be shared. Mike said most of the worst damage is on the Danforth side of the roads.

Deadline: Wayne Lamoreaux, ( wayne.lamoreaux@state.mn.us) “The State Disaster (2023-SD-070) was declared on January 31, 2023 and we will have one year from the date of the declaration to complete and bill for all of the work.

OLD BUSINESS: Wlma Town Park Sign: A 5′ X 1′ blue sign with white lettering made by M&R Sign Company is posted at the park. Mike said there are a couple of better places and he and Paul can move it.

Plow Display: Plows have been moved to the lawn before the display platform is built. Alden will place them on blocks, turn the angle plow to face the driveway, and then put down gravel inside a framework. The trees on road were trimmed. Patrice will paint ‘Town of Wilma’ on the angle plow. Mike moved that Paul get paint to put the base coat on the plow. It may need sanding for rust. Alden seconded, passed. Paul said tractor yellow with blue lettering would look good.

NEW BUSINESS: Snowplowing for Private Drives in 2023: An across-the-board increase of $25 was voted by the voters at the March annual town meeting. Standard driveways, $100; Over 700’: $125/season; 1,000 ft. to ½ mile: $200; Over ½ mile, $375. Must have turnaround space. No closed gates. No overhanging trees that can hit the grader. Wilma Township not liable for inadvertent damages while plowing private drives. 2023-24 snowplowing fees due by Nov. 1, 2023.” Cindy asked about Barb Smith’s drive, with new owners. Alden said as long as they haven’t obstructed it, he will plow it. Paul will post notice of the change and due date.

Propane Pre-buy: Federated is offering a pre-buy at $1.69/lb. We got 1400 gallons last year; Mike moved to order 1400 for this year. Alden seconded; passed.

PERA Enrollment: Patrice had a report of the law change for 2023 but we aren’t clear about how this affects us. So far our whole board has always opted to be excluded from PERA, since we are all have so much Social Security and FICA taken out.  The Insider says, “Public employees those salary exceeds $425 in any month and who are not otherwise excluded, must partipate in PERA.” We file our PERA Exclusion Report every year. Paul will contact the MAT Attorneys to ask if we all will still be exempt. If only one employee is paid more than $425 in one month, will he be the only one who has to join PERA, even if he opts out? Do we base this on the previous fiscal year?

Clerk/Treasurer CTAS Training: The Minnesota Association of Townships is offering the annual “4-Corners” training for Clerks and Treasurers, concentrating on CTAS (Small City and Town Accounting System) and going through the different modules and reporters. Patrice and Paul are enrolled September 25, 2023 in St. Cloud (Holiday Inn, 75 S 37th Ave, St. Cloud); they will carpool. Cindy will go to St. Michael on September 26.

MAT 2023 Annual Conference: Will be December 7 – 9 at the Rivers’ Edge Conference Center in St. Cloud. The Pine Co. Township Officers Association may offer scholarships as they did before COVID.

Couri&Ruppe Legal Seminar: Will be Saturday, September 16 in Rutledge, 9-4. They will answer all legal questions for free. Mike will ask about PERA.

Assessment Training: Online training for boards of appeal and equalization is available from MAT. “Follow the instructions on the Board of Appeal and Equalization Training website and follow the instructions. If you close out of the course before certifying your completion, you will need to retake the course. This new format does not save your progress so you must complete it, or you’ll need to start over.” Glen is certified to July, 2026. Mike and Alden not certified. We have a computer in the hall with internet access for Mike to use.

Town Hall Deck, Plow, and Pressure-wash Hall: Paul asked if we shouldn’t put stain and preservative on the town hall ramp; it’s been several years. Mike moved that Paul buy the supplies and stain it. He also moved that Paul pressure-wash the town hall for the spider webs and dirt. Alden seconded both; passed.

Treasurer’s Report and Claims: Total bills for September, $9,629.79, mostly from Sommerland ($6,380) and Hopkins Gravel $3,305); Patrice requested a transfer of $10,000. Glen moved to approve the report and approve the transfer. Alden seconded; Passed.

Glen moved to adjourn; Alden seconded; passed. Meeting adjourned at 8:30

Paul Raymond, Clerk