WILMA TOWNSHIP BOARD OF SUPERVISORS’ MEETING,    SEPTEMBER 2, 2015

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

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

OLD BUSINESS:  Schmedeke Lane Extention:  Duane Glienke has repaired the culvert and put rip-rap to reinforce it.  Alden flagged where the gravel will go.  Alden suggested that they put 3” of coarser sand and gravel to build up a bed, and top it with another 3” of Class 5 gravel.  The board decided to lay the whole road with Class 5 since there is such a solid rock base.  Mike said he has been to the road four times and Eldon Schmedeke has been to his house three.  Eldon wants the entire $10,000 budget for the extension to be spent only on the extension.  Glen said that has always been the plan.  Mark said the buildup has to start at the bottom of the hill in order to make the transition smooth.  The budget allows for 37 18-ton loads of gravel, which should be enough to build up the road to the full width.  Eldon also has two approaches that he wants graveled, and Alden said they would do that.  All expenses related to the extension will be billed to the county, including the Supervisor’s time, up to our $10,000 budget.

River Cabin Road Weeds:  Glen received a complaint from Doug Biron :  “The weeds on River Cabin Road are taller than my truck! Last time I went there a hummer was going out as I was coming in and we both had to move into the tall weeds on the shoulder. Can we get the weeds cut down before there’s an accident?  I know the township funds are small but we pay taxes too. Doug”  Gary and Mark inspected the road and said the weed problem is not as bad as described, but that the Board had voted at our road inspection to hire a brush-rig or hydro-ax operator to brush all our township roads after the roads have frozen up.  Paul will respond to Doug with this information.

Lost River Road:   Mark has already dumped and spread the two loads of Class 5 gravel that the board authorized.  Pat said he wished they had put pit-run gravel down; the last thing the road needs is more clay.  Gary said the Class 5 we use is a balance of gravel, sand and aggregate, and we use this on all our roads.

Pat had photos of damage done to the road at the curve, where the grader dug out the bank and piled up big divots of grass, so that the landowners can’t mow up to the road like they like to.  Pat asked what our specifications were for township roads.  Gary said we go by the same specs as the county, including a 2% crown down the center of the road for drainage.  Pat said the crown that Leighton Quinn had built up was graded flat by Wilma Township in 2013, plus at the entrance to the Markville Road the grader damaged the road.  Mike said we will repair the damage at the curve and move the gravel and  grass back and smooth it out; the grass may take awhile to grow back. Glen also said Mark and Alden will do their best to return the road to its original condition.

Horse Damage, Lost River:   Last month Mike directed Paul to write a letter to a constituent who lives just west of Lost River and respectfully ask that they respect the integrity of our township roads and not ride when there has been rain and the road is soft. The letter was sent.  Gary said it should have included a reminder them that state law states that any damage to township roads can be billed to the person who damaged them.  Paul said if they re-offend, we can send a harsher letter.  Pat said the owners of the land east of the Taylors bring up horses, plus residents on Lost River Road bring up horse trailers, so we won’t know who is doing the damage unless we see them.  Glen said that we have a wonderful community, but we have had nuisance issues in the past and have always had good results from writing respectful, non-threatening letters.

Vink Road:  Gary said the Smiths removed gravel from the Vink Road and spread it on their driveway.  Glen directed Paul to write to Barbara Smith and tell her that it is illegal to remove gravel from a township road and to include the citation that damages to township roads can be billed to the person who damaged them.

North Duncan Road:  Glen has had several calls from Bill Peno.  He said he will tell him to attend a township meeting to have his concerns addressed.

Closed Meeting:  Glen adjourned the meeting and the Board left the building to discuss personnel issues.  Meeting called back to order when the Board returned.

NEW BUSINESS:  Wilma Fall Fest:  Glen and Toni won’t be able to host the Fall Fest.  Patrice said she also will be too busy.  Paul will not be available.  Glen moved to cancel Fall Fest for 2015; Mike seconded.  Paul will email Stephanie Hanson and the Procrastinators.

Propane Pre-buy:  Federated is offering a pre-buy at $1.199/gallon, or we can lock in a rate of $1.29/gallon without the pre-buy.  Patrice said we used to order 1,000 gallons, but lately we pre-bought 1,200 gallons and only used that up once.  Mike moved to purchase 1,200 gallons of pre-buy propane.  We still have a balance of $396 from last year.  Gary seconded.

Treasurer’s Report and Claims:  Patrice gave the Treasurer’s Report (attached).  Claims totaling $8,638.59 were presented.  Gary moved to approve Patrice’s report, to pay all the claims, and to transfer $9,000 from savings to checking.  Mike seconded.

Gary moved to adjourn the meeting; Mike seconded.  Meeting adjourned at 9:15 p.m.

Paul Raymond, Clerk

 

 

 

 

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Attested:  Glen Willaimson, Chair.

 

 

WILMA TOWNSHIP BOARD OF SUPERVISORS’ MEETING, AUGUST 5, 2015

Chairman Glen Williamson called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. with the Pledge of Allegiance. Also present were Supervisors Mike McCullen and Gary Vink, Treasurer Patrice Winfield, Clerk Paul Raymond, Road Manager Mark Pallow, Assistant Grader Operator Alden Shute, Fran Levings and Pat Story.

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

North Pine Area Hospital District: Fran Levings took the floor as a representative of the North Pine Area Hospital District to present the case for Wilma joining the District. She said 12 townships and six cities are involved in the District, and each town has one representative and one vote. She explained the history of hospital districts in the state starting in 1966, and of North Pine District which was formed in 1989. Fran said she understands that the levy is the main obstacle to Wilma Township joining. She said this levy has been about $20-$30 per each $100,000 of property value per taxpayer. The District and Essentia are building a new hospital which will include Gateway Clinic and Thrifty White Pharmacy, plus a new long-term care facility to be run by Golden Horizons. The District is the one who has made decisions for the new hospital, including hiring the architect and construction firm, and Fran said the advantage of joining is that we would have a voice in the decisions in the creation of the new hospital and we would have an equal seat on the table. The biggest concern expressed by Gary Vink, Mike McCullen and Pat Story is that townships cannot resign from the district once they join, and that there is no guaranteed ceiling on possible future levy increases. Fran said that this is a ruling by the legislature, that no ceiling can be promised. Gary asked why do Arlone and Hinckley want to leave the District so badly? Fran said the resistance in Hinckley is from a handful of wealthy property owners like the Grand Cinema owner, who naturally want their taxes decreased. Paul said Wilma does contribute by all the unpaid volunteer hours Mike and Shawn McCullen and Jeff GrandPre put in as first responders for the hospital, but that he believes Wilma should join, since we get all the advantages of the hospital without paying. Mike said our hospital bills are payment enough. Paul asked if we could invite some Essentia CEO’s to address the board and the voters at one of our regular public board meetings. Glen said Paul could put the vote on the Annual Meeting agenda next March, and that is enough.

OLD BUSINESS: Schmedeke Lane Extension Inspection: Report from Mike: Mike and Duane Glienke inspected the road, and Mike asked him for an estimate on repairing and restoring the culvert. Glen moved that if the estimate is under $2,000, that Duane be authorized to repair the culvert, and that Mark Pallow and Alden Shute be authorized to spend the rest of the $10,000 budget on gravel and grading and labor to build up the extension to the limit the total $10,000 budget will allow. Mike seconded. Mike said that Alden or Mark should be able to put enough gravel and spread it to straighten out the curve in the road.

Town Hall Stair Rail: Mike said he will get a rail built as soon as possible.

Starowtow Reunion Deposit Refund: The Starowtow family returned the hall to essentially its same condition and Mike moved that we refund their $50 refund. Gary seconded. It’s too late for this meeting but Patrice will cut a check for September.

NEW BUSINESS: Paint Town Hall: Paul spoke with the Pine County Jail sentence-to-serve manager Dan Baran. He said they may be able to paint our town hall again. The Sheriff’s office said we may need the County Commissioners to approve as it is for another govt. agency. The township may need to buy the paint. Paul said the board voted to have the township buy a pressure-washer for the grader, and we could pressure-wash the walls to prep them for painting. Mike questioned if the hall really needs painting already, because it won’t be free; we will still need to buy a lot of paint. It was too dark for the board to inspect the outside walls, and Glen said to set it up with Dan Baran for his schedule for Spring, 2016. He also said to put purchasing a pressure-washer on the agenda for the September board meeting.

St. Croix Boys Camp Sale: The DNR is trying to sell the Boys Camp again. They have cleaned up the buildings and mowed the lawn and driveway. Open houses on August 6 and 8. Minimum bid $111,000. The gate is not locked now. If the camp is sold, it will be added to our tax base at its appraised value.

Road Report: Mark gave a report on where they have been spreading gravel and grading. Glen said he’s had calls from Peno on the North Duncan Road, and Mike said he has also had calls about the work planned for North Duncan Road this year, 21 total 15-yard loads of gravel at 20 tons per load. Paul asked Mark and Alden for written reports on which roads got gravel and grading, and especially for range line roads like The Pete Anderson Road and Heller Drive, and Patrice gave them road reporting forms. Gary said he did some work on Heller Drive that Paul should invoice when we bill them: 7/5/2015: 1/2 hour to check beaver damage reported by Clay Heller, ½ = $4.50; 7/22/2015: 1 hour to map and flag culverts, ½ = $9.00; 7/23/2015: 1 hour for inspecting locator work, ½ $9. Total from Gary to bill New Dosey Township: $22.50. Paul will add this to the cost of gravel and grading when that is done.

Lost River Road: Pat said that after the recent heavy rains the cul-de-sac was very soft and slippery. Mark said they haven’t gotten to that road yet but the board did vote to put 40 tons of gravel on that road where Pat flagged it. Pat said Lost River has become a popular road for horseback riders and the hoofs can really tear up the road. Mike directed Paul to write a nice letter to Monica Taylor who lives just west of Lost River and respectfully ask that they respect the integrity of our township roads and not ride when there has been rain and the road is soft. Gary said they have great trails just south of Lost River at the Graces’ Lake and Rock Lake Horse Camp Trails, and we should remind them that state law states that any damage to township roads can be billed to the person who damaged them.

Schmedeke Lane: Mike said Schmedeke Lane is very overgrown with grass and really needs a routine blading. He said we had agreed that every township road should be bladed every 4 to 6 weeks. He asked Alden to clear it with Mark to go out and do some routine blading. Mark said he doesn’t mind, but Glen said it is important that Alden clear any grader work with Mark whenever he goes out as Mark is Road Manager.

New Hire Forms and I-9 Forms: We have the Federal I-9 forms for Homeland Security and the Minnesota New Hire reporting forms. New hires, including election judges, will need to fill them out. This does not apply to existing long-time officers, but will apply to election judges and to new hire Alden Shute. He took the forms.

Federated Propane Summer Top-off Offer: Patrice said Federated came out to top off our tank at the special rate of $1.19/gallon but our tank was already 80% full. She said they asked that we clear the path to the tank. Paul asked if Zion Church in Markville could borrow the three green picnic tables for their free corn and bratfeed on August 29. Glen moved that they be allowed; Mike seconded. Paul said that when they return the tables, they will clear all the tables away from the propane tank.

Duxbury Store 3.2 Beer License: Gary asked the board to approve a 3.2 license for the store for another year. Glen moved to approve; Mike seconded. Glen and Paul signed the license but Gary needs the notary seal and will stop by Paul’s to get it.

Treasurer’s Report and Claims: Patrice presented the claims and her Treasurer’s Report (attached). Gary moved that the Board pay all the claims (total $1,084.52), and to approve the Treasurer’s Report, and to transfer $1,100 from savings to checking. Mike seconded.

Gary moved to adjourn the meeting; Mike seconded. Meeting adjourned at 9:15 p.m.

Paul Raymond, Clerk

Attested to by Chairman Glen Williams:

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JULY 1, 2015 WILMA TOWNSHIP BOARD OF SUPERVISORS’ MEETING

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

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

OLD BUSINESS: Schmedeke Lane Extension Inspection and Special Meeting: Mike said he still wants to inspect the road first with Duane Glienke and Mark Pallow to see what the priorities are for the $10,000 budget. Mike also said he will talk with Barb Jensen about getting the needed easement on the west side of the current Schmedeke Lane to see if we can widen it. The board postponed any board road inspection of the Schmedeke Lane Extension Project until after the the August meeting.

Backup Grader Operator: We need to hire and train a backup operator for when Mark is unavailable. The board discussed Nathan Pinson, Duane Glienke, and Alden Shute. Alden is the most available year around, since he took a local job hauling gravel for Hopkins Sand and Gravel. Mike moved to hire Alden Shute as first backup grader operator, and to take over Mark’s job if he should chose to give it up, with Nathan as his backup, and if Nathan is on the road, Duane Glienke. Gary seconded. Alden will train with Mark to learn our grader. The board discussed the mechanics duties and wages. Mike said we need to do a routine background check and Alden will need to sign a I-9 form and a new hire form.

Road Report: Gary said Hopkins put 96.79 tons of gravel on Tamarack Pine and McCullen Drive, and 523.48 tons on the Vink Road. They are hauling in 15 yard loads, 20 tons per load. We are getting Hopkins’ good gravel from their Highway 48 pit.

Summer Short Course: Was June 25, Thursday, at Black Bear Casino. Glen, Gary, Patrice and Paul all attended. All officers took the session on Open Meeting Law, Elections, Data Requests, roads. Paul took the hands-on CTAS Accounting course. Patrice took Payroll and Budget Issues for Clerks/Treasurers and Budget and Audit Responsibilities. Patrice said we need to have forms on file for all officers and employees: the I9 Form and W4 and New Hire Forms. Glen and Gary took Cartways, and Audit Reports for Supervisors; Glen gave a report on township rules and policies. Officers car-pooled.

NEW BUSINESS; Bob Brewster Assessment Contract: Bob send a renewal contract for township assessments, with a letter explaining how every six years, he has to assess all tax-exempt parcels. Contract for 277 non-exempt parcels @$5.50 ea., and 58 exempt parcels @ $11.00 each, total contract for 2015, $2,161.50 He said, “I have extended a lower ‘per parcel’ rate for the exempt parcels.” Mike moved to renew Bob’s contract for 2015; Gary seconded. Passed.

Federated Propane Summer Top-off Offer: We can fill up our tank at a very low rate of $1.19/gallon, if we pay when it’s filled. Paul will call and arrange the fill.

St. Croix Boys Camp Auction: The DNR will try to auction off the camp again in August. Scott Fortier wants to raise $300,00 to buy the camp and turn it into a summer camp; he has a GoFundMe campaign, but is only up to $700. Mike had a question to ask the County Attorney: If the Boys Camp was appraised in the millions, and now is being sold for $300,000, will that also drive down all our property assessments for taxes?

Treasurer’s Report and Claims: Patrice gave the Treasurer’s Report (attached). Claims were presented and approved. Mike made a motion to pay all the claims, to approve the Treasurer’s Report, and to transfer $8,065 from savings into checking. Gary seconded. Glen moved to adjourn the meeting; Gary seconded. Meeting adjourned at 9 p.m.

_____________________________

Paul Raymond, Clerk

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Attest: Glen Williamson, Chair