Regular Meeting                             June 11, 2013  

Crow Wing Town Hall                  6:00 p.m.

Board Members Present: Chairman Greg Smith, Supervisors Mark Platta and Dave Schultz, Clerk Virginia Rogers and Treasurer Susan Goodew. 

Greg  called the meeting to order and the pledge to the flag was recited.

Jerry Tautges had submitted 33 pair of gopher feet for bounty.

Linda Schuety gave the planning commission report. She asked Justin Burslie, Township Planner to introduce some of the topics. A public hearing took place for an application for a Conditional Use Permit for The Farm at St. Mathias. Justin shared information from the application as well as the findings of fact and recommended conditions. The planning commission recommendation was for approval with these same conditions, making an exception to the requirement that the owners use the property as their primary residence and adding the term “destination farm” to the permit. Dave said that he would be more comfortable if a condition were added regarding noise and time limits for events. Discussion followed. Dave made a motion to table the application until additional conditions can be added as deemed necessary. The motion was seconded by Mark. Justin suggested asking the owners to provide a parking plan. Dave asked that a condition be added that town board approval be required before adding additional outdoor lighting. The motion passed unanimously.

Justin reviewed information from the county planning and zoning files from the late 70s and early 80s regarding Jerry Callahan’s property in Barrows. Justin’s opinion is that some of the lots were rezoned to Commercial II and some were left as residential. When the township took zoning administration from the county there were a series of public meetings requesting public input. At that time all of Barrows was indicated as being Residential. Jerry Callahan stated that he thought that once a property was zoned commercial it had to stay that way. Greg stated that regardless of what the zoning classification is there are still things that must be done with the property to meet the ordinance including cleaning up the things being stored on the property. Jerry stated that he wants these parcels returned to Commercial II. Greg asked what the process would be and Justin stated that he could submit an application for rezoning. Greg noted that there would be no guarantee that the application would be approved.

Justin shared plans submitted by the contractor for Big Woods Timber Frames Inc. for a building on the commercial lot that they purchased in the Plat of Buffalo Creek. He was instructed to treat it like any other commercial parcel and follow those guidelines.

Linda shared information about current land use violations and a problem with archery target practice in Barrows was discussed.

Brendan Donahue was present to ask what is going to be done on Ravenswood Road. According to Beth Hippert with the county nothing was done to prevent drainage when Ravenswood Road was built. A culvert under the road would not alleviate the water that has affected properties in the neighborhood. Last year was one of the wettest in recent history and not much water accumulated in the ditch of Ravenswood Road. Dave suggested that if the water goes into the ditch again we pump it across to the other side of the road. Discussion followed. Dave suggested that we hold off on installing a culvert until we see if there is water in the ditch another year. Putting in a culvert may cause problems for other parcels if someone were to shovel out an opening in the edge of the wetland to release the water. Someone has attempted to dig out this area in the past without authorization. Mark stated that the wetland could be drained if wetland credits were purchased elsewhere. Greg will get a rough estimate of the cost of a culvert.

Susie gave the treasurer’s report and claims were approved and paid.

Greg made a motion to approve the treasurer and clerk to attend the summer short course. The motion was seconded by Mark and passed unanimously.

Dave gave the road report. The stop sign on Wels Ave and Heron St has been knocked down. The sign was recovered but the post was taken. The Martins have asked that another sign be installed. It was determined that since it is a T intersection  and since the state does not recommend putting in stop signs in this type of location that it will not be replaced at this time. Dave asked when to begin mowing. It was determined that it would be a good idea to do at least some mowing in the near future. A letter will be sent to the property owner who has installed a sign regarding the BMX track that the sign is in violation of the ordinance and should be removed. A quote was received from Anderson Brothers for crack filling in the amount of approximately $52,000. Greg made a motion that if the quote includes all of our roads then it should be accepted. The motion was seconded by Mark and passed unanimously. 

Mark talked about the cemetery project and noted now many sites that have been encroached upon by other burials. He will look into possibly putting signs on the posts that have been installed. Ginny will bring Mark all the cemetery records so that he can work on the new numbering system.

Dave made a motion to approve the minutes of the May 14th as written. The motion was seconded by Greg and passed unanimously.

Correspondence was reviewed and the meeting adjourned by general consent at 9:30 p.m.