CROW WING TOWNSHIP

Regular Meeting-May 14, 2019
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TOWN BOARD REGULAR MEETING, TUESDAY, MAY 14, 2019 6:00 PM, CROW WING TOWN HALL

Board Members Present: Chairman Greg Smith, Supervisor Dave Schultz, Supervisor Doug Kern, Treasurer Sue Kern, and Clerk Duane Ruona

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

There were no gopher bounties.

Under New Business Chad Knudson from Wild Rice Depot was present for their liquor license renewal. A motion to approve the liquor license for Wild Rice Liquors was made by Greg, seconded by Doug. Motion passed 3-0.

Doug suggested that an item to approve the current meeting agenda be added right after the "Remind public to sign roster" and move "Public Comments" to the end of the meeting. A motion to approve the agenda as amended was made by Doug. Seconded by Greg. Doug stated that because Public Comments were before the Road Report at the last meeting, comments made during Public Comments were addressed again during the Road Report. This resulted in the same issues being discussed twice. He felt that by approving the agenda it would be followed as presented and result in a more efficient meeting. After discussion, the motion passed 3-0.

Under Unfinished Business Brad presented the Planning Commission discussion from their last meeting. The Markuson property was cleaned up and a partial cleanup of the Engholm property was done by Crow Wing County, as both are tax forfeited properties. There has been no change on the Jillson property. Wade Tomberlin is making progress, he has installed a blue address sign. Josh Neelan has moved stuff off the right-of-way. The Dillon and Copa properties have had no change.

The $10 administration fee was discussed by the Planning Commission and based on past experience they recommended that changing the fee will not result in greater compliance. It was decided to recommend to the town board that to get compliance on property violations the township would need to involve the township attorney. Justin, Doug and Brad visited the Fletcher property before the Planning Commission meeting and because Mr. Fletcher replaced his old hammermill with a new unit, the noise has been greatly reduced. The berm and tree planting still need to be completed but he is making progress. The full Planning Commission will be holding an onsite inspection in the near future. A question about the large sawdust pile at Fletchers being a fire hazard was raised. Brad stated that it is similar to other businesses and should not be a problem.

The Bigwoods conditional use permit was reviewed and Justin will send out a letter about 4 or 5 items that need to be addressed. One of the items is the large sawdust pile between two buildings that was not there previously. Sourcewell is going to put together a proposal to help with the Planning Commission review of the township comprehensive plan. The Baker rental property was discussed. Justin received word that Ms. Baker has been trying to evict the renters. Brad stated that it is a civil matter and the township should not become involved.

The Treasurer's report and claim numbers 1034-1059 in the amount of $8,082.58 were reviewed and approved. Sue provided a report of the cost for snow and ice removal this winter. The total to date was just under $38,000.

Wade Tomberlin was present to discuss his violation. He has talked to a septic inspector who said he would call Justin about Wade's septic compliance. He is also getting rid of approximately 20 tires. He will continue to work on the property cleanup. Brad asked Wade if it would be okay to stop by in a few weeks to see the progress that is being made. Wade said that would be fine.

Road Report. Dave gave out three entrance permits. 20 mailbox supports were received from Central Minnesota Seeding for residents to purchase. Greg made a motion to pay the Central Minnesota Seeding bill for 20 mailbox supports in the amount of $1,200. Doug seconded, motion passed 3-0. The clerk was instructed to keep track of the sale of mailbox supports. An arrow sign on Sweet Road, chevron sign on Wetherbee Road, and chevron sign on Sweet road will be replaced. Dave got "Bump" signs from Crow Wing County for the culvert on Gorron Road. The stop sign at Wilson School Avenue and Brandon Way needs to be fixed. Dave talked to Jim Guida about their chip seal project on 50th Avenue in St. Mathias Township and Mr. Guida said they would have saved money if they had added it to the Crow Wing County Highway Department chip seal project. The car is still on the right-of-way at 9068 110th Street. Greg will call Collins Brothers Towing. Dave picked up tires that were discarded on 80th Street. Dave picked up asphalt at the county to use for patching potholes.

The Annual Road Tour that took place on Friday, May 3, 2019 was discussed. Dave received quotes for putting Class 5 gravel on the gravel portion of 50th Avenue. The quote for gravel from Arnie Kowalzek was $13.00 per cubic yard. Brad Gorron would do the grading. A proposal from Dales Excavating to haul, place and pack Class 5 was $11.25 per cubic yard. Greg made a motion to accept the quote from Dales Excavating to place, grade and pack 750 cubic yards of class 5 on 50th Avenue. Doug seconded. Motion passed 3-0.

The written comments from the road tour were reviewed. The five-year road improvement plan was discussed. After much discussion, Greg made a motion to add Gorron Road, Erin Road, and Lone Oak Road to year 2024 in the five-year road improvement plan. Doug seconded, motion passed 3-0. Golden Oak Drive was taken over as a township road on July 24, 2018. The balance of the developer's two-year maintenance deposit for Golden Oak Drive will be returned to him in July of 2020. It was agreed that some gravel roads only need to be graded once a year because of low traffic volume. Dave will get a quote from Dales Excavating for shouldering Wetherbee Road, Cook Road, and 50th Avenue. Dave talked to Anderson Brothers about crack sealing township roads and they would not be able to do anything until July. Dave will check on prices for the purchase of a crack sealing machine.

Communications thanking the township for a donation from the Crow Wing County Historical Society was reviewed.

The Citizen Complaint from residents of Town Hall Street was discussed. Three of the residents who signed the complaint were in attendance. A response to the items listed in the complaint from the Minnesota Association of Townships attorney was shared with the residents. Doug stated that the reason he brought up changing the agenda and following it during meetings is that questions raised in the complaint from the last town board meeting were addressed during the meeting Road Report. One of those items was the snow plowing of the cul-de-sac. During the winter, Gerry was taking the township truck and cleaning out cul-de-sacs so that mailboxes were clear of snow. The last snowfall was not cleaned up after the contractor made a pass. Buses and garbage trucks were using a driveway to turn around because the cul-de-sac was not plowed out. The issue of an elected official's attitude and tone in answering questions from the public was discussed at length. The residents felt that they were not respected during these conversations and felt that something should be done about it by the town board. They also felt that diversity/civility training should be mandatory. Brad Arnold spoke as a resident of the township and reminded everyone that all township roads need to be taken care of equally and there are times when circumstances may cause delays in taking care of a particular road. Everyone needs to understand that the Town Board tries to treat everyone equally. As was stated by the MAT attorney, there is no way to discipline an elected official and MAT has no training available for dealing with the public. The way to make a change is through the election process.

Correspondence from the Minnesota Department of Revenue - Minerals Tax Unit was reviewed. It concerns the amount of iron ore still in the township. The clerk met with Doug Morris about the 2020 budget amount received from Crow Wing County for recycling in the township. Doug Morris suggested contacting Waste Partners about possibly taking over the recycling at the township. The landfill has an e-waste recycling day for local governments on May 15, 2019 and again on September 18, 2019. Doug said he would be able to take the items that are stored in the township garage to the landfill. Gerry might be available to help also.

The renewal and list of insured property and equipment from MATIT was reviewed. There were no changes from last year. The MAT summer Specialized Training schedule was reviewed.

A motion was made by Greg to approve the April 23, 2019 minutes with correction, seconded by Doug. Motion passed 3-0. A motion was made by Dave to approve the April 25, 2019 Board of Adjustment and Equalization minutes, seconded by Doug. Motion passed 3-0.

Meeting adjourned at 8:45 pm.



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