Minutes: September 8, 2020 Regular Board Meeting

Presented for approval at the October 13, 2020 Board Meeting

     

September meeting was called to order at 7:00 pm by Michelle Meis with the Pledge of Allegiance.  Supervisors present included, Branden Mell (via teleconference), and John Paitl. Not present was Betsy Rising. Clerk Stan Iskierka, Treasurer Mary Dillner and Deputy Clerk Kelli Storck were also present. 

Agenda (Additions or Changes)

  • Addition to open forum 7M Lakes LLC-Crest Way

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

Approve Minutes

Motion by Mell seconded by Meis to approve August Minutes. Approved.

Treasurer’s Report

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

Bills

  • Received a check from the clearing account for $284.37 that will be paid out today.

Motion by Paitl seconded by Mell to approve paying bills in the amount of $29,677.82.  Approved.

Variance

  • Mike Osbeck – 51360 Berry Avenue – Requesting a variance to build a home that will encroach closer to the road than the required set-back.

Motion by Paitl seconded by Mell to approve the variance to encroach closer to the road than the required setback. Approved.

  • Robert Graske – 49692 Alpine Avenue N. – Requesting a variance to build a shed that will be larger than the original shed (24×30) that was destroyed in a tornado, and to build it closer to the lake (59’) than the required setback.

Motion by Paitl seconded by Meis to allow the building of a replacement shed and build it closer to the lake than the required setback. Approved.

Open Forum

  • Shaun Fiedler – 7M Lakes LLC-Crest way – (Follow-up from the August meeting) -Presented the board with an updated drawing that indicates where the elevations, ditches, driveways/approaches etc. will be located.

Maintenance Report

  • Hauled and completed gravel (Elmcrest, Deerwood, Beach)
  • General maintenance/Mowing
  • Graded roads\Shoulder repair
  • Cleared trees in the road
  • Approval given to cut trees that are hanging on 540th, 525th and Bayview. Will check on 507th in the winter

Road Committee

  • Anchor Avenue – Knife River reclaimed the pavement surface, which will leave a gravel surface, but will remain open to traffic. They did not grind the patches that were completed by our contractor. Our contractor will contact SEH to have this completed.

Budget Committee

  • Broadband Bonding – Discussion highlights regarding when is the best time to purchase bonds for Broadband: We should follow what the contract states as to when bonding should happen; how much money can we save; what is the interest rate; what will we do with the money once we have it; when will we close on the financing; when will it hit the levy. Meis read aloud some information from the Pre-Sale Report that was put together by Ehlers and also read aloud Resolution 13-2020.  See August minutes for specifics to the above discussion. The decision was made to approve Resolution 13-2020, Providing for the Sale of $1,450,000 General Obligation Tax Abatement Bonds, Series 2020B. 

Motion by Meis seconded by Paitl to approve Resolution 13-2020. Approved.

Contract Committee

  • Midco Service Area/Broadband – Storck will locate a letter that the Township received from Midco awhile back and forward it to Mell so that he can reach out to Century Link regarding how many residences in Nessel Township have access to the Midco services.

Policy Committee

  • Road Salt – In January 2021, the Board needs to discuss the Chloride policy. Meis mentioned an article from The Township Insider about using salt and using chloride on the roads. It stated that it is long-term harmful to lakes and rivers, and that it never leaves the ground once it is in the ground. She stated that the article said that the push is now going towards using alternate sources other than chlorides, but it did not state any alternate sources. She stated that it is up to the Townships to come up with a plan.

Old Business

  • Broadband-CenturyLink Bonding – Installation has started. See above under Budget committee.
  • Storm Damage – Iskierka received an email from MATIT stating that they will only pay for the skylight and the repair of the roof, not the replacement of the whole roof. MATIT is still waiting on an itemized estimate showing the breakdown of the roof and the sliding door. Approval was given at the August meeting to have the storm damage fixed. Iskierka will contact the contractor to get this taken care of.
  • Federal CARES Act – The Township received the funding of $49,750. Paitl will discuss with an Information Technology expert to see what some of our options are. Paitl and Storck will get together to discuss which laptops, computers and electronics etc. to purchase using the Federal CARES Act funding and they will make the decision as to what to purchase and can also make the purchase. Storck will also purchase the sneeze shields. Whatever the Township does not use, the remaining balance will have to be sent to the County.
  • Phou Sivilay 373-Acacia Way – Iskierka wrote a letter to Mr. Sivilay regarding the boulders. Iskierka stated that the Attorney said that the Board does not need any approval to remove any equipment that is in the road right of way. Iskierka recommends that we have our contractor remove the boulders, the sand and unclog the culvert. He also stated that we can keep the driveway permit deposit to pay our contractor and/or to repair the Township road. Due to the landscaping that has been completed on this property, it is creating more water on the roadway and it is washing the road away. Our contractor has permission to remove the boulders and place them at the Township Hall for storage.
  • Anchor Avenue – See above under Road Committee.

New Business

  • Propane – Approval needed to Prebuy 2000 gallons of propane from Pioneer Propane at $1.29 a gallon for a total of $1,982.46 after deducting the credit of $597.00. 

Motion by Mell seconded by Paitl to prebuy propane at the cost of $1,982.46. Approved.

  • Gravel – Iskierka had gravel testing (binding) completed at the beginning of the year and at the end of the year on two different roads. Also, the roads had gravel on them from two different gravel pits. The binding results were a little over a 11%. The last test completed; the results were 8.35%. they are in the accepted range.

Motion by Paitl seconded by Mell to adjourn at 8:30 pm.   Approved.