ANNUAL MEETING                     March 11, 2014

Crow Wing Township held its annual town meeting on Tuesday March 11, 2014 at 8:30 p.m. at the Crow Wing Town Hall. Present were Clerk Virginia Rogers and those on the attached roster.

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

Susie Goodew nominated Carol Wermter as moderator. There were no other nominations. Carol was unanimously voted in as moderator.

The  first item was to agree to an end time to the meeting, reconvening if necessary to complete business. Jeff Rogers made a motion to end at 10:30 p.m.   Doug Kern seconded the motion. Greg Smith asked if we could run over by a few minutes if we were nearly done at 10:30 and Jeff and Doug accepted this amendment. The motion passed unanimously.

The minutes of the 2013 Annual Meeting were read. Zack Rogers added that the children at play signs were not simply removed, but were not replaced at the time that the township upgraded signs to meet the federal mandate. Brad Arnold made a motion to accept the minutes with that addition. The motion was seconded by Linda Schuety and passed unanimously.

Carol called for the election results which were as follows:

Supervisor Dave Schultz  -  101 votes, with three  write ins

Virginia Rogers   -  94   votes, with eight write ins

Question on Moving to November Elections:  55 Yes   65 No  The election remains in March.

Ginny read the annual audit report and copies of the report were given to all those who wanted them.

Greg Smith gave the road report and written copies were handed out. A suggestion was made that crack filling be done now to avoid water getting into the cracks. Greg noted that we will be completing the crack filling this spring, hopefully before there is too much rain. It was also suggested that we get quotes for the road resurfacing each year so that we stay current with potential costs. Greg shared numbers that Susie had put together showing the cost savings from doing our own ditch mowing. These numbers also shown on the road report.

Brad Arnold gave the planning and zoning report. He gave a brief history of the township’s p&z administration and welcomed anyone who wished to get involved. He shared information regarding the activities of the Planning Commission over the past year. Steve Hagen asked about all the vehicles parked around the auto service shop in the former landscape building. Brad explained that we have had prior complaints and have spoken with them about it. The owner does do a good deal of business and attempts to ensure that cars do no stay longer than necessary. Steve noted that some have been there over a year. Brad will visit with the owner again as a reminder. Brad also noted that he has received many calls about a letter that was sent to many township residents regarding the township election. He was asked by many people how to get in touch with the Alliance of Concerned Citizens of Crow Wing Township since the letter contained no names or contact information. Brad asked that if any further letters are sent, that they include names and phone numbers so that those with questions know who to call. Trent Bauman asked who was at the meeting from the alliance. There was no response from anyone in attendance. Questions were asked regarding the new Big Wood Timber building being constructed. Brad answered these. A resident suggested asking the insulation business to stop dumping insulation in the ditch and to slow down on the road. Brad made a note of this and also recommended that he call the sheriff’s department to report the speeding. Another resident noted that they have knocked down several mailboxes as well.

Greg gave the recycling report. He also shared information from a recent meeting he had with Doug Morris at Solid Waste. We have had our recycling funding cut and may have to make adjustments if we end up short of funds.

Carol shared the board’s proposed 2015 levy amounts as follows: General Fund - $55,000, Fire Fund - $50,000, Road and Bridge Fund - $130,000, Planning and Zoning Fund - $15,000, Park Fund - $0

Questions were asked about the fire contract with the City of Brainerd and Greg gave an update on recent meetings of the fire advisory board. Linda Schuety made a motion to approve the $55,000 General Fund levy. The motion was seconded by George Burton and passed unanimously. Doug Kern made a motion to approve the $50,000 Fire Fund levy. The motion was seconded by Russ Mulholland and passed unanimously. Randy Powers made a motion to approve the $130,000 Road and Bridge levy. The motion was seconded by Dan Lee and passed unanimously. George Burton made a motion to approve the $15,000 Planning Commission levy. The motion was seconded by Gerry Schuety and passed unanimously. Park Fund will remain at 0.

Ross Mulholland made a motion to leave the posting site designation as the town hall, with courtesy posting at Wild Rice Depot. The motion was seconded by Brad Arnold and passed unanimously. 

Donation/Contract for Services requests were reviewed. New Pathways representative Stephanie Pontius shared that 3 adults and 5 children from our township were served in 2013 for a total cost of $3675. She noted that this represents just the cost of things such as financial counseling, job search and housing assistance and other programs. The cost of temporary housing and meals, is provided separately by local churches.  Steve Hagen made a motion to authorize the town board to enter into a contract with New Pathways in the amount of $1000. The motion was seconded by Linda Schuety and passed unanimously.

Don Hannahs and Lindsay Mulholland were present representing the St. Mathias/Fort Ripley First Responders which cover 9 townships in this area.  There are two first responders that live in Crow Wing Township. Their biggest need is for new equipment, especially to replace defibrillators that are getting old. The number of calls has been higher this year than usual. Also needed are additional 800 megahertz radios which are required by the state. Jeff Rogers asked if they apply for grants and was told that they do. Steve Hagen asked about the cost the total, which was estimated at $16,000 to $17,000. Trent Bauman made a motion to donate$2000 to the First Responders.  The motion was seconded by Russ Mulholland and passed unanimously.

Written requests were received from Crisis Line and Referral Service - $250 for general operations. Crow Wing County Historical Society to preserve and maintain several historical structures at the fairgrounds.  Crow Wing County Fair Association for general operations and Lakes Area Pregnancy Support Center for items for the incentive room. Randy Powers suggested not donating anything to the Fair Association. Wendy DeBusk suggested $100. George Burton noted that they do get a lot of funding from other sources.  No motions were made regarding the Fair Association. Linda Schuety made a motion to donate $500 to Lakes Area Pregnancy Support Center. The motion was seconded by Jeff Rogers and passed unanimously. Wendy DeBusk made a motion to donate $250 to Crisis Line. The motion was seconded by Doug Kern and passed unanimously. Wendy DeBusk made a motion to donate $250 to the Crow Wing County Historical Society. The motion was seconded by Linda Schuety and passed by a vote of 12 to 11.

Linda Schuety made a motion to set gopher bounties at $1.50 per pair of front feet. The motion was seconded by Dan Lee and passed unanimously.

Steve Hagen made a motion to recommend that the town board meeting time be changed from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. to make it easier for people to attend. The motion was seconded by Russ Mulholland. Discussion followed. The motion failed with one yes and the majority no.

Brad Arnold made a motion to set the next township election on March 10^th 2015 with polling hours from 2:00 – 8:00 p.m.  The motion was seconded by Randy Powers. It was noted that state law requires that the polls be open from 2:00 - 8:00 p.m. but that if the townspeople would like us to open earlier, we could start as early as 7:00 a.m. The motion to set the hours as 2:00 to 8:00 p.m. passed unanimously.

At 10:30 p.m. Dan Lee made a motion to adjourn. The motion was seconded by Linda Schuety and passed unanimously.