Minutes: May 12, 2020 Regular Board Meeting (via teleconference call)

Presented for approval at the June 9, 2020 Board Meeting

     

May meeting was held via teleconference call due to MN Governor Tim Walz Executive Order 20-01, “Declaring a Peacetime Emergency and Coordinating Minnesota’s Strategy to Protect Minnesotans from COVID-19.” The meeting was called to order at 7:00 pm by Supervisor Michelle Meis. Supervisors present: Brandon Mell, Betsy Rising and John Paitl. Not present: Jared Landon. Clerk Stan Iskierka, Treasurer Mary Dillner and Deputy Clerk Kelli Storck were also present.

Meis conducted a roll call of Board members.

Roll call.

Mell: Aye

Paitl: Aye

Landon: Not Present

Rising: Not Present

Meis: Aye

Agenda (Additions or Changes)

Motion by Paitl seconded by Mell to approve the Agenda. Approved.

Roll call vote.

Mell: Aye

Paitl: Aye

Landon: Not Present

Rising: Not Present

Meis: Aye

Motion passed with 3 votes in favor and 0 opposed.

Approve Minutes

Motion by Mell seconded by Paitl to approve April Minutes. Approved.

Roll call vote.

Mell: Aye

Paitl: Aye

Landon: Not Present

Rising: Not Present

Meis: Aye

Motion passed with 3 votes in favor and 0 opposed.

Treasurer’s Report

Motion by Paitl seconded by Mell to approve Treasurer’s Report. Approved.

Roll call vote.

Mell: Aye

Paitl: Aye

Landon: Not Present

Rising: Not Present

Meis: Aye

Motion passed with 3 votes in favor and 0 opposed.

Bills

Motion by Mell seconded by Paitl to approve paying the Bills.  Approved.

Roll call vote.

Mell: Aye

Paitl: Aye

Landon: Not Present

Rising: Not Present

Meis: Aye

Motion passed with 3 votes in favor and 0 opposed.

Variance

  • Matt Bonin and Kenneth Kettler (50302 Bayside Avenue) – Requesting a variance to subdivide a lot without formal platting in order to convey land to a nonconforming lot across the street in which 50% of the land will be owned by Kenneth Kettler and will not be impacted by the septic mound; and the other 50% will be owned by Matt Bonin and will contain the mound system for the septic. Matt Bonin owns property ID 06.00791.16 and Kenneth Kettler owns property ID 06.00791.15. The co-owned property ID is 06.00501.00, which will be split in half and combined with each of the two main properties

Motion by Mell seconded by Rising to approve subdividing lot ID 06.00501.00 in half without formal platting and combining it with each of the other two lots. Approved.

Roll call vote.

Mell: Aye

Paitl: Aye

Landon: Not Present

Rising: Aye (Arrived late)

Meis: Aye

Motion passed with 4 votes in favor and 0 opposed.

  • Edward and Jacqueline Truskolaski (51050 Rush Lake Way – Requesting a variance to build a garage that exceeds the maximum allowable accessory storage of 2,000 square feet and to be closer to the road than the required setback. The garage will be 50-feet from the road.

Motion by Mell seconded by Rising to approve building a garage that exceeds the maximum square footage for an accessory garage that will be 10-feet off the property line, but 50-feet off the road, and that they will not place any boulders in the road right of way. Approved.

Roll call vote.

Mell: Aye

Paitl: Aye

Landon: Not Present

Rising: Aye

Meis: Aye

Motion passed with 4 votes in favor and 0 opposed

Open Forum

  • A resident commented that she is not in favor of Broadband because of the 15-year loan repayment that has to be paid by the tax payers, and also commented that technology may change within that time. Rising stated that she agrees with the resident about technology changing, but the vote will be based off of what all of Nessel Township residents want. Mell then clarified that the Board will be the ones voting on Broadband and that they are not held to the opinion/results of the straw poll.
  • A resident had concerns with the number of parcels that CenturyLink included in the “Ineligible Project Cost” associated with the Broadband project. They estimated approximately 5% of Nessel Township could have been supplied high-speed access to the internet by Midcontinent Communications at the time when the project was planned. The resident stated that in her research, that the approximate number should be 10% to 15%. Mell stated that he would ask CenturyLink for additional verification of the total project cost.

Maintenance Report

  • Graded
  • Removed 5-ton signs except for Anchor Avenue
  • Replaced signs
  • Patched holes on Anchor Avenue
  • Swept intersections
  • Replaced culvert on 525th

Road Committee

  • Road Tour – Rising stated that the road tour was split up into two days. A punch list was created noting what needs to be completed and the order of priority. All asphalt roads should be cracked sealed. Gravel roads will need 9,500 yards of gravel, which does not include turn arounds or corners. The Township only received one bid for gravel cost. Meis opened the sealed envelope from Hass Construction that contained the gravel bid. The bid is for 7,000-plus yards at the cost of $10.60 per yard. Paitl stated that we have $95,000 put aside for gravel cost. If we need more gravel toward the end of the year, Hass Construction will work with us to sell us more gravel. To stay in budget, Meis suggested that we order 9,000 yards of gravel which will cost $95,400. This will give the Township a good supply to get started, and then we can see how much more gravel will be needed at a later date and also see how much money we have left in the township budget.

Motion by Rising seconded by Mell to approve this gravel bid to Hass Construction at $10.60 per yard and to have Iskierka order 9,000 yards of gravel from Hass Construction. Approved.

Roll call vote.

Mell: Aye

Paitl: Aye

Landon: Not Present

Rising: Aye

Meis: Aye

Motion passed with 4 votes in favor and 0 opposed.

Contract Committee

  • Muddy Gap Contract – Mell is working on putting the contract together and will have a draft of the contract at our June 9th Board Meeting.

   Old Business

  • Board of Appeal – Approval needed for the Board of Appeal Minutes which were read by Meis.

Motion by Rising seconded by Mell to approve the Board of Appeal Minutes. Approved.

Roll call vote.

Mell: Aye

Paitl: Aye

Landon: Not Present

Rising: Aye

Meis: Aye

Motion passed with 4 votes in favor and 0 opposed.

  • Anchor Avenue SSD Funding – A decision needs to be made and approved if the project should be paid with cash, bonds or a combination of both. Meis recommended that it be paid  with cash , when the State audit the township it does not like to see high amount of cash in the savings compared to the budget.

Motion by Paitl seconded by Rising to cash a mature CD and/or take cash from the money market account and to then replenish as much as possible by the end of the year. Approved.

Roll call vote.

Mell: Aye

Paitl: Aye

Landon: Not Present

Rising: Aye

Meis: Aye

Motion passed with 4 votes in favor and 0 opposed.

  • Anchor Avenue SSD Contract – The contract with Knife River needs to be signed. Knife River did not update the completion date on the contract from August to the end of October, but they would like for us to sign this contract now and they will update the completion date using a change order and then they will send the updated contract to the Township.

Motion by Mell seconded by Rising to sign the contract document with Knife River that has been provided by SEH. Approved.

Roll call vote.

Mell: Aye

Paitl: Aye

Landon: Not Present

Rising: Aye

Meis: Aye

Motion passed with 4 votes in favor and 0 opposed.

  • Anchor Avenue SSD Notice to Proceed – The Notice to Proceed with the new commencement date of July 6, 2020 needs to be approved and signed.

Motion by Paitl seconded by Rising to sign the Notice to Proceed. Approved.

Roll call vote.

Mell: Aye

Paitl: Aye

Landon: Not Present

Rising: Aye

Meis: Aye

Motion passed with 4 votes in favor and 0 opposed.

  • Anchor Avenue SSD Public Hearing Minutes – Approval needed for the Anchor Avenue Public Hearing to Establish a Subordinate Service District Minutes.

Motion by Rising seconded by Mell to approve the Anchor Avenue SSD Public Hearing Minutes. Approved.

Roll call vote.

Mell: Aye

Paitl: Aye

Landon: Not Present

Rising: Aye

Meis: Aye

Motion passed with 4 votes in favor and 0 opposed.

  • Blacktop Schedule –Mell asked if the road committee had a chance to look at the blacktop maintenance schedule. Meis, Rising and Paitl will get together to create a blacktop maintenance schedule which will be listed by order of precedence. This information will be put on a calendar year associating the maintenance schedule so a dollar amount can be applied to the calendar year which will help with budgeting for those repairs.
  • Broadband Straw-poll –The straw-poll mailing went out to the residents. A posting will be put on the door at Town Hall regarding the June 2, at 7:00 pm meeting to review/tally the straw-poll postcards results. Meis will send an email to all Board members to remind them of this meeting. The vote will be conducted at the June 9th regular Board meeting.
  • Resolution 06-2020. Approval is needed for Resolution 06-2020, “Resolution calling for a Public Hearing on the Adoption of Written Business Subsidy Criteria, A Proposed Business Subsidy to Qwest, and A Proposed Property Tax Abatement.” The public hearing will be held at the beginning of the Board meeting on June 9 at 7:00 pm. This Resolution will be published noting that this hearing is to take place at the Town Hall with a notation stating that this may change to a teleconference hearing.

Motion by Mell seconded by Rising to approve and publish Resolution 06-2020. Approved.

Roll call vote.

Mell: Aye

Paitl: Aye

Landon: Not Present

Rising: Aye

Meis: Aye

Motion passed with 4 votes in favor and 0 opposed.

  • Meeting with Ehlers, Township Attorney, MN State Attorney and Multiple CenturyLink Representatives in Regards to Broadband – Mell discussed some of the topics that were discussed during this meeting.
  1. Bonding Schedule – It was clarified that the Township will not have to pay for any of this project until the Fall of 2022. The Township will not have to do a bond sale for 18-24 months.
  2. Voting – It was clarified that it is not a public ballot vote, but that the Board will be the only ones voting. Also, being that it is not a public ballot vote, it was assumed that a public hearing was not needed. That was an incorrect assumption. Per Attorney Ruppe, we are legally obligated to hold a public hearing. This hearing will be for taking comments on signing the Business Subsidy Agreement with CenturyLink and also to cover the bond sale for the project.
  3. Mell explained that at this meeting, CenturyLink commented that any place within the Township that already has access to high speed internet via Midcontinent is not eligible for the grant. This was the first time that we had heard this information. Mell stated to CenturyLink that we want a letter explaining that the Midco residents were excluded in the “Eligible Cost” and that we want it clarified in the BSA. This would include Shorewood homes and a few other homes on the East side of Rush Lake that have access to Midcontinent. FYI: This does not mean that these homes will not be paying for the Broadband project, it just means that these homes were excluded from the “Eligible Cost” for this project.
  4. After seeing a draft of this letter, Storck did not agree with the number of homes that CenturyLink had listed. See the second paragraph above under “Open Forum.” for more information. Storck will verify with Midcontinent how many homes in Nessel Township have access to their service. Mell stated that he will then pass this information onto CenturyLink and ask them to update the letter so that we understand how the 5.5 Million number was derived and what number of residents were included in that number.

New Business

  • Gravel Bid Approval – Hass Construction bid for gravel was $10.60 per yard. Only company that sent in Bid. See above under “Road Tour.”
  • Dust Control Notice – Approval needed to publish the Dust Control Notice.

Motion by Rising seconded by Paitl to approve publishing the Dust Control notice. Approved.