Ideal Township

Crow Wing County - Minnesota

Board Meeting October 2018

Tuesday, October 9, 2018 - 7:00pm
Minutes Status: 
Approved

The meeting was called to order by Chairman Peterson at 7:00 p.m. with the Pledge of Allegiance. All Board members, the Clerk, and 4 others were in attendance.

Motion by Bilek, second by Johnson to approve the minutes of the September 10th Board Meeting as presented. Carried unanimously.

Bill Wortham noted a newspaper article about Crosslake closing their brush drop-off site and suggested running an ad about the Transfer Station being a drop site for those items.

Supervisor Bilek presented the Planning & Zoning report as follows:

  1. Attended the DRT meeting at the County today and reviewed several issues.
  2. Discussion of the variance requests by Sandra & Doug Theis took place. The applicants were present and provided details about their case. Motion by Bilek, second by Johnson to recommend approval with no conditions. Carried unanimously.
  3. Discussed the request by Julie Rupert to appeal an Administrative Decision made by the County to allow a bridge on a neighboring parcel in Boyd Lodge 1st Addition. No action taken.

Chairman Peterson presented the Road and Bridge report as follows:

  1. The annual road mileage certification was discussed. The list of Township road mileages provided by the County was checked against our list and found all mileages matched but that Woodcrest Lane was not listed. The Township adopted Woodcrest Lane in December last year. Motion by Peterson, second by Bilek to certify road mileages as listed with the addition of Woodcrest Lane. Carried unanimously.
  2. The snowplowing contract with Timothy Township has been updated for renewal. Waiting for Timothy’s approval.
  3. The maintenance crew have cleared several downed trees recently.
  4. Working on moving stuff into the new cold storage addition to the maintenance building and organizing equipment & supplies. 
  5. Expecting to receive delivery of the road salt supply next week.
  6. Completed the plumbing update in the maintenance building to bring water supply over to the opposite side of building where truck washing is done and to install the eye-wash station.
  7. Working to sell the supply of the 8’ fluorescent bulbs that are no longer needed due to upgrade to LED lighting.
  8. Looking to contract for some road right of way clearing by Schrupp Excavating. They have an articulated brush cutter that can be hired for $100/per hour including operator. Planning to hire them for a 40 hour contract and then evaluate if we want them to do more. Putting together a list of roads that need the clearing work most.
  9. Will start road review soon and report at next month’s meeting. Planning to again work with Crow Wing County to coordinate our road construction work with their contracts for 2019.
  10. Reported on resident on Ruttger Road who had placed a lamp pedestal in the road right of way. A letter was sent asking for it to be moved back. The resident has moved it now.
  11. There were no safety incidents.

Chairman Peterson presented the Fire Department report as follows:

  1. Going ahead with plan to install a 5000 gallon holding tank to be used for pump testing, practice, and training.
  2. The Fire Department Christmas Party is planned for January 12. More details to follow.
  3. Gave an update on the progress on certifying the helipad at Station 2. He gave a demo of the new lighting system at the recent department member meeting so they are now in service. The old lighting has been removed. Working with Crow Wing Power to donate & install markers on the power lines nearby.
  4. There were no safety incidents.

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

  1. Year to date permits sold is 1201, compared to last year at 1044.
  2. Revenue year to date is at $63,408; up about $7000 compared to last year.
  3. Suggests advertising the station on a regular basis throughout the year so people from neighboring areas are aware of the service. Supervisor Johnson asked Deputy-Clerk Royce to explore options for using Facebook or other social media.
  4. Have raised the price of mattresses to make them more in line with costs of hauling them away. Small mattresses were raised from $15 to $19; and large ones from $20 up to $24 each.
  5. Received a letter from a hauler commenting on the contracting process with new hauler, Waste Partners. Will review and draft a response letter.
  6. The new security lighting has been installed and are working. Discussed that the light at the gate should be hooded so that neighbors are not bothered.
  7. Gave an update on court proceedings regarding individuals arrested at the station over the past few months.

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

  1. Working with Deputy-Clerk Royce on organizing & prioritizing the items on the facilities list and moving those projects forward.
  2. Received a couple proposals on landscaping around the generator and around the fuel tanks. Estimates include possible fencing to screen view of the fuel tanks and to secure the generator equipment.
  3. The annual maintenance service on the generator has been completed.
  4. Still waiting on response from counsel on draft response to Charter franchise renewal and working on getting a “as built” map of the utility coverage areas. Peterson suggested contacting the manager at Crosslake Communications who indicated they may be interested in expanding coverage into Ideal.

Supervisor Johnson presented the Legislative & Research report as follows:

  1. Peterson had attended the MN Association of Township’s L&R committee meeting and provided copies of the meeting minutes to the Board members.

Motion by Bilek, second by Peterson to accept the treasurer’s report for September as presented. Report includes receipts #5668 through #5691 totaling $54,400.61 and disbursements #SL090118 through #22214 for total of $74,085.97 plus $250,000 of operating funds transfers. Carried unanimously.

The October claims were reviewed including a challenge to claim #43663. The Clerk produced documentation to support the claim challenged. Motion by Peterson, second by Bilek to approve the October claims as presented; claims #43640 through #43680 totaling $91,942.19. Carried unanimously.

Peterson spoke about a news article about the coming transition to the 5G mobile phone service. This new system features faster data speeds but has a shorter range so will require smaller devices to be placed on power & light poles rather than the cell towers currently used to provide mobile service. To be ready for this transition and other development, Peterson suggested the Township adopt road right of way ordinances to include regulation of utility easements, mailboxes, obstructions, driveways, and trash cans.

Peterson reported on work with consultant to get info about possible timber sale and replanting of the acreage adjacent to the Transfer Station. The consultant has indicated there may be about $20,000 to $25,000 of value to the timber sale.

The Clerk presented a series of correspondence items as follows:

  1. Received notice from our contact at the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension that the paperwork to enable fine sharing with the County Attorney has been completed.
  2. Received notice from Ehlers that they have reviewed our bond issue that financed the new fire truck. Their review concluded that there would not be sufficient benefit in re-issuing the bond at this time.
  3. Have discussed the group health insurance renewal with staff and recommend that plan be renewed for 2019 as is.
  4. Notice of price changes to Charter cable TV services.
  5. Notice of pending change of name for the Charter subsidiary for this area to Charter Mid-America, LLC. Johnson asked for a copy of the notice so it can be included in materials related to the franchise agreement renewal.
  6. The Board is invited to attend the Paul Bunyan Scenic Byway Association Annual Meeting on November Peterson asked the Clerk to represent the Township.
  7. Upcoming calendar items were reviewed.

Peterson added that he intends to go to an upcoming seminar on local government finance & accounting practices to be held in Moundsview.

There being no further business to transact, the meeting adjourned at 9:25 pm.

John Plein,
Ideal Township Clerk-Treasurer
October 18th, 2018
 

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