Minutes: December 11, 2018 Regular Board Meeting

Presented for approval at the January 08, 2019 Board Meeting

     

December meeting was called to order at 7:00 pm by Michelle Meis with the Pledge of Allegiance.  Supervisors present included, John Paitl, Betsy Rising, and Branden Mell. Clerk, Stan Iskierka, Treasurer, Mary Dillner and Deputy Clerk, Kelli Storck were also present. 

Agenda (Additions or Changes) 

 

  • Added AED information to line G in “New Business.”

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

Approve Minutes 

Motion by Rising seconded by Paitl to approve November Minutes. Approved.

                                                                          

Treasurer’s Report

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

Bills

Motion by Mell seconded by Paitl to approve paying bills.  Approved.

Maintenance Report

  • Plowed a couple of times
  • Installed 122 blue address signs on Bayview, Bayside Ave and Bayside Circle
  • We need to order more mailboxes, post for the blue address signs, and also blue address signs for new homes, and lots
  • Skid steer work
  • Replaced Signs
  • Picked up salt and trap rock and also ordered more trap rock
  • Repaired one mailbox and replaced a mailbox that were hit by the plow
  • Sutcliff will follow-up with Robert Guetschoff for the payment of two 17-yard loads of gravel.

Road Committee

  • Stop Sign – Rising received a call from the Sheriff’s Office regarding a stop sign that was down on County Road 7 and Evergreen Ave therefore Chisago County will replace sign.
  • Chip and Ice – Sutcliff salted Belle Isle Dr. because of ice condition.

Budget Committee

  • Review Boards Proposed Budget – The Board discussed the 2020 budget and made some preliminary changes for the 2020 budget. The preliminary changes are to change the Fire Protection Disbursements for the City of Braham from $28,250 to $20,000 and the Fire Protection Disbursements for the City of Rush City from $20,000 to $22,000 for a total difference of $6,250. Remove the $30,000 for the blue sign installation, because installing the blue signs should be done in 2019. The 2020 budget is $599,588 less $6,250, less $30,000 for a total new 2020 budget of $563,338. The Board will finalize the 2020 Budget during the January meeting.

Motion by Rising seconded by Paitl to approve the preliminary 2020 budget with the adjustments listed above. Approved.

Policy Committee

  • Compliant Mailbox – Instead of adding a new resolution, suggested clarity was added in the policy manual that points to the resolutions that already exist. It is recommended that we change Policy 3.4 to the newly written suggestions. Policy 3.4 has been modified to read “Road Right of Way (ROW) Policies” and then broken down to read “Road Right of Way General,” “Culverts and Driveways” and “Mailboxes.” In each of these sections, it references the existing Policies and Resolutions. The updated manual will be dispersed at our January 2019 meeting.

Motion by Rising seconded by Paitl to accept the newly written Policy 3.4 in regards to compliant mailboxes. Approved.

  • Resolutions – We received a copy of “Resolution 05-2018 Accepting Donations” and “Resolution 04-2018 Regulating the Construction and Maintenance for Driveways/Culverts within the Township” to place in our policy manual. 

     Old Business 

  • Salt – Salt was picked up and mixed with trap rock. We are all set for winter.
  • Blue Signs – Townships are looking for people to install signs. The county is asking the townships, “Do we want the county to add and collect for the blue address signs to the cost when a new home permit or culvert is applied for.”   The townships need to figure out how much it will cost for the blue address signs which should include the cost of the sign, the post, and time/labor. Iskierka will call and find out where the signs are made and will get the cost and then Sutcliff will determine the cost for locating, time/labor. Then Iskierka will let County know what amount we come up with. The Board said they are ok with county collecting the money for the signs and then giving it to the Township at the end of the year like they do with culverts. Sutcliff suggested that we have the installation of the swingarms be part of the permit to ensure it is installed correctly. 

New Business

  • Fire Department – In 2018, the board changed the fire boundaries of Braham City and Rush City fire departments. By changing the fire boundaries the cost for fire protection will be lower in 2019. The cost for fire protection from Braham City went from $22,000 to about $16,600 for 2019. Braham City uses township valuation to charge for fire protection, so the valuation went from 46% to 33%. 
  • New Board Member – We received two resumes from people that are interested in replacing Tom McKenzie’s position on the Board. One of them is Ron Rogosheske who is presently on the Rush Lake Improvement Association. The other resume is from Jared Landon who was not present at the meeting. The other two potential applicants decided they were not interested. Ron and Jared both stated to Iskierka that they are available during the day. Ron Rogesheske spoke at the meeting and mentioned that Tom McKenzie suggested he apply for the open position on the Board and he also told us about his experiences and his desire to be on the Board. Meis called a recess at 8:15 pm to discuss the applicants. It was decided that we would give Jared Landon a chance to talk to the Board and we will re-address this in January. Also, if anyone has any leads on interested applicants, they should have the interested applicant contact the Board. At 8:40 pm Meis called to continue the December Board meeting.
  • Polling Place Resolution 06-2018 – Each year the Polling Place Resolution has to be voted on even if there is no voting for the next year. This resolution is for the year of 2019.

 

Motion by Paitl seconded by Rising to approve the Polling Place Resolution 06-2018 adopted on December 11, 2018. Approved.

  • Board of Appeal – Township requires three Board members to attend the Board of Appeal meeting that will be held in April. Board members not having training for the Board of Appeal should sign up for training. Rising signed up for training and will take her class on-line. Meis is planning to sign up, and Paitl has already signed up for class. Mell has the training. The Board of Appeal meeting is normally offered at 6:00 PM or 9:30 AM and is held sometime in April. Meis, Rising and Paitl would prefer the 9:30 AM meeting which is held on a Tuesday or Wednesday in April. Iskierka will call the County to set up a date/time. 
  • Check Signing – Tom McKenzie is one of the officials that has authorization to sign checks for Nessel Township. Unity Bank needs a statement in the Minutes to remove McKenzie name from the authorized check signing group.

Motion by Rising seconded by Paitl to remove Tom McKenzie’s name from being an authorized official to sign checks for Nessel Townships for the main checking account ,three CD accounts at Unity Bank. Approved.

  • Oath of Office – Branden Mell and John Paitl took their Oath of Office. They were elected in the 2018 November election.
  • AED – At the November meeting, Storck brought up the idea of having an AED installed at the Township Hall. She did some research and suggested the “Zoll AED Plus” because it offers audio/text/visual and gives instant feedback if you are using the 1-piece electrode. The cost is $1,600 plus maintenance fee’s every five years for batteries ($45.00) and the 1-piece electrode ($169.00). An AED cabinet would also be needed for an approximate cost of $150.00. The initial start-up cost would be $1,750.00. Allina offers grants of $800.00, but they are not taking applications until March/April of 2019. She will apply at that time. Storck passed on the information to RLIA to see if they would want to make a donation towards an AED. It was decided that this will be on the Agenda to discuss at the Annual meeting that is in March 2019. 
  • Afton Way – A person would like to purchase property at the end of Afton Way. He would like to install a path or a stairwell to get to the lake, which has a steep embankment and could affect our Road Right of Way. He may come to the next Board meeting to discuss it.

 

Motion by Mell seconded by Paitl to adjourn at 9:07 pm.   Approved.