Regular Meeting – August 11, 2015; 6:00pm  Crow Wing Town Hall

Board Members Present:  Chairman Greg Smith, Supervisors Mark Platta & Dave Schultz, Clerk Susan Amick, Treasurer Susan Kern

Greg called the meeting to order at 6:00pm and the pledge to the flag was recited.

Rosemary Eischens called Greg Smith today to share that the well project at Crow Wing Estates is in and they are proceeding with the hook-up.  The township will continue to work with MnDot on the land conveyance part of the project.  Jerry Eischens was present to share that he requires a permit to continue with the well work, which should not be an issue.  The town board requested that the well drilling bore under the nearby township road and if that will not work Mr. Eischens should report back to road supervisor Dave Schultz to discuss an alternate plan. 

Mr. Eischens raised the issue of Leslie Juaire’s property violation and the messy condition of her property.  The board discussed specifics to be sent in a letter to the owners giving them 60 days to clean up the property or the members of the planning commission and town board will perform an inspection with a cost of $900 that will be billed and assessed to Ms Juaire.

Brad Arnold gave a report on the inspection at Big Woods Timber property on Greenwood Street & presented a letter from Mr. LePage to give to the board that states ideas of what he would like to do regarding his conditional use permit violation.  Brad suggested that the holding pond be cleaned and additional trees of substantial size be planted in particular areas for screening.  Mr. Dave LePage had planted some small saplings previously for this purpose which were deemed unacceptable.  Regarding his 2^nd newer property, he plans to have the yard cleaned up and plant wild flowers on the property.

Mark Platta made a motion to send a letter to Big Woods Timber property owner Mr. Dave LePage regarding the work that need to be done with the holding pond and tree screening on his Greenwood Street location.  Greg seconded the motion, motion passed.  Discussion was had by the board regarding specifics of the letter that included trees needing to be at least 5 ft tall, their placement, as well as the need to thoroughly clean the debris from the holding pond.

Mr. Bengston’s driveway culvert project was discussed, he is still in the process of repositioning it.  Another culvert on a different property also has some placement issues.  The owner will be contacted and asked to fix the situation.  Greg Smith will contact both property owners.

Brad Arnold gave a review of the planning commission meeting on Aug. 10, 2015.  He shared the situation regarding the property at 10109 Heron St. owned by Jamie Markuson that has received numerous calls from nearby residents.  Mr. Markuson is currently living in a camper with his family without a septic system or well.  Mr. Markuson was informed he needs to bring a site plan & a septic design plan to planning administrator Justin Burslie as his next step before bringing a “tiny home” onto the property.  (Complete details can be found in the 8/10/15 planning and zoning meeting minutes.)  In the meantime Mr. Markuson will continue to camp on the property until October.

Brad shared that Joshua Neelan is currently in the process of cleaning up his property to end his violation status and that permits were given as needed for him to get his new home on the property.  The planning commission will re-inspect the property September 14^th, then again in October if needed.  If the property is not cleaned up as the board requires by that date, legal representation will be brought in and Mr. Neelan will be prosecuted by the township with all costs being assessed to him.  (Complete details can be found in the 8/10/15 planning and zoning meeting minutes.)

Jackie Jensen’s property has been cleaned up.  Greg made a motion to end the monthly $10 violation fees because her violation has been resolved.  Dave seconded the motion.  Motion passed.

Susan Kern gave the treasurers report.  Claims were approved by the supervisors and paid.  It was noted by Susan Kern that Waste Management (our recycling dumpster company) has raised their charges an additional $20 to empty the dumpsters.

Susan Amick shared that the recycling dumpsters have been overfull several times this summer so that on recycling weekends workers have had to put drop off in the shed until the dumpsters are emptied.  The board will continue to watch the situation through the winter to determine if another dumpster should be added in the spring.

Dave shared that the road project is underway.  Linda & Jerry Schuety were present and had questions on the process & timelines occurring with the road repair project and how it is progressing in stages.

There is a culvert on Gorron Road that is rising up and causing a big bump in the road.  Dave will try to patch it and put up 2 bump signs on the road.  There is also a culvert issue on Weatherbee Road.  Dave will look into having it fixed.

Dave gave an overview of the cost to have Braun do testing on all the roads that are being redone if the board decides to pursue it.  Cost was approximately $7,000 for 2 tests on each of the 3 roads.  Dave will inquire further to find out if he can just take his own samples to submit to them for testing to save expenses of having someone travel here to do it, and will work on getting the cost down.  The board will also do 3 tests instead of 6 (1 per road).

Midwest Machinery got back to Dave about the ditch mower not working properly with a cutter bar issue on this model that does not conform well to mowing our steeper ditches.  They will take the recently purchased mower back and refund our money, and offered to sell us a new mower at the state contract price.  Mark made a motion to trade in the recently purchased Frontier mower for a refund and exchange for a John Deer mower costing $2,500 more.  Greg seconded the motion.  Motion passed.

Mark made a motion to accept the minutes as written.  Dave seconded it.  Motion passed.

Meeting adjourned at 9:00pm.