The meeting was called to order by Chairman Peterson at 7:00 p.m. with the Pledge of Allegiance. All members, the Clerk, Chief Schultz, and four residents were in attendance.

Motion by Bilek, second by Johnson to approve the minutes of the June 12th Board Meeting as presented. Carried unanimously.

Residents of Birchdale Villa Drive asked the Board to consider adding signage to the road. They are concerned that large trucks and others are not aware there is no turnaround at the dead end and vehicles are using private driveways. The also asked to have a speed zone established as there are many pedestrians walking & children playing along the road. Peterson agreed to review the situation and add signage as appropriate. The residents also asked about rules regarding ATV use on township roads and recounted incidents of ATVs using the road at excessive speed endangering pedestrians. Peterson asked them to call the sheriff’s office to report hazards by motorists & ATV users.

Dale Orred asked for information about the north-side outdoor siren saying it wasn’t obvious to his neighbors that it is working during the monthly tests. The Clerk reported that the county emergency services had checked out the siren and had arranged for it to be checked out & repaired last week. Orred confirmed that he had heard the short test conducted by the repairman. The next regular monthly test of the sirens will be on August 2nd at 1 pm.

Christa Rymal spoke to the Board about her Loon Point business that is requesting a conditional use permit to conduct adult health counseling retreats at their property on Ruttger Road. She is a registered nurse and is working with other healthcare professionals in the Twin Cities and locally to present health awareness retreats 3-4 times per year with 10-16 people at each retreat starting on a limited basis this fall. Retreats will be scheduled for off-peak season. The property is designed to accommodate many more people so these retreats will not exceed capacities. A parking plan has been developed in conjunction with the permitting process. Chief Schultz said he is familiar with the property and there would be no problems with access for emergency services. Supervisor Bilek reported that he attended the DRT meeting that discussed this request and he saw no issues with the plan. Motion by Bilek, second by Peterson to recommend approval of the Loon Point conditional use permit with no conditions. Carried unanimously.

Supervisor Bilek presented the Planning & Zoning report as follows:

1. There were 8 septic/land use, 6 shoreline alteration, and 1 industrial permits issued in June.

Chairman Peterson presented the Road and Bridge report as follows:

1. The first-pass mowing work has been completed on all roads except one.
2. The tractor broke down and had been cobbled back together for now. It is getting pretty old and has required quite a bit of repair lately. Will look into options for a replacement.
3. One of the mowers is in the shop for repairs.
4. One of the plow trucks is in the shop for repairs from damage that occurred during last winter. The insurance claim was processed and we have been paid already.
5. The new dump trailer will be ready soon. The original source had sold the trailer we wanted to another customer, so Peterson looked around for another source and found an identical trailer at a better price saving about $1500.
6. Purchased a GPS measuring device to allow for more accurate measuring for road work planning.
7. Spoke to a resident that was putting yard waste in the road right of way on Forest Knolls Road.
8. Work on the easement for a turnaround on Trout Lake Drive is completed and recorded at the county.
9. Working on the survey and easement agreement documents for the new turnaround on Wabigoniss Shores Road.
10. Beginning work on survey and easement agreement for a hammerhead turnaround on Northview Harbor Lane. Have spoken with resident that has agreed to allow the easement.
11. Peterson spoke about the car accident that occurred recently on County Road 39. He has previously spoken with the sheriff’s office about excessive speed in that area. He will look into options for putting in flashing speed signs with a possible cost-share with the County
12. There were no safety incidents.

Chief Schultz presented the Fire Department report as follows:

1. A new lift has been installed for the rescue boat.
2. The department has sold 5 of the old SCBA units to the City of Medford for $1250. Payment has been received.
3. Purchase of a new ATV for Station II has been put on hold due to having to replace the boat lift.
4. The Beef Feed mailer will go out soon and will include fire prevention info.
5. An update of the Relief Association bylaws is completed to revise Article 11 which sets the rate of interest earned for deferred pensions to 0%. Supervisor Peterson stated that this helps with retention by rewarding members who stay in service. Schultz added that this change had been approved by the Relief Association Board of Directors. Motion by Peterson, second by Bilek to approve the revised bylaws. Carried unanimously.
6. Shultz spoke about the relief association benefit level. The benefit is currently set at $2400 per year of service approved by the Board at the August 8th 2016 Board meeting. Schultz asked for the Board to increase the amount to $2500 per year and stated that the increase will put the funding level at about 101% without additional contributions by the Township. Peterson asked if the annual audit of the association fund has been completed. Schultz expects the audit to be done soon and will confirm that additional Township contributions will not be required next year. He said the audit will be provided in time for the Board to consider the benefit level increase at the August Board meeting.
7. Department is planning to revise the department bylaws to set minimum drill participation to match the state requirements. Motion by Johnson, second by Bilek to approve the policy that department members must meet the same minimum training drill participation as is required by the state. Carried unanimously.
8. Peterson asked if there had been any response regarding the recent ISO rating review. Schultz replied that they are still waiting and expects it could be several months before getting the final result of the review.
9. There were no safety incidents.

Supervisor Bilek presented the Transfer Station/Recycling Center report as follows:

1. June 2017 receipts of $7498. Total year to date receipts are $29,326. Permits issued in June was 112; year to date total is 793.
2. Hired a third attendant to allow some work schedule flexibility.
3. Working on getting iPads deployed for tracking user permits.
4. Have switched to use a 50 yard roll-off dumpster for the summer to accommodate the higher volume of material.

Supervisor Johnson presented the Buildings, Grounds, Parks & Recreation report as follows:

1. Preparing a request-for-quote letter for purchasing the auxiliary generator that will go out to several possible sources. Looking to have install finished this fall.
2. The baby changing stations will be installed before the Beef Feed.

Supervisor Johnson reported on Legislative & Research issues as follows:

1. There is a L&R conference hosted by the MN Association of Townships coming up in September.
2. Watching progress on proposed legislation affecting annexation that give townships greater control to enforce orderly annexation agreements with neighboring cities.
3. Some funding was passed this session to help expand access to broadband services but is targeted to the most underserved areas of the state.

Motion by Bilek, second by Johnson to accept the treasurer’s report for June as presented. Report includes receipts #5366 through #5395 totaling $443,750.01 and disbursements #IRS060117 through #21354 for total of $109,719.14 and includes a $50,000 operating funds transfer. The report included an update to the Fund Balance classifications list. Carried unanimously.

Motion by Bilek, second by Johnson to approve the July claims as presented; claims #43030 through #43059 totaling $51,162.80. Carried unanimously.

Peterson reported that the claim has been submitted for reimbursement from the state emergency management agency for costs incurred from the storms last summer that were declared as state disasters. Cleanup costs to the Township from the 7/9-11 and 7/21 storms totaled $28,705.47. Based on the state disaster reimbursement rate of 75%, the Town Board is requesting reimbursement in the amount of $21,529.10.

Upcoming calendar items were reviewed as follows:

1. The annual Trout Lake Camp Neighbors Gathering on July 15.
2. A seminar on cyber security hosted by First National Bank on July 25.
3. The next Board meeting on August 14.
4. The MN Association of Townships District 8 meeting on August 16.

There being no further business to transact, the meeting adjourned at 9:20 pm.

John Plein,
Ideal Township Clerk-Treasurer
July 24th, 2017