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Regular Meeting October 10, 2017 6:00pm Crow Wing Town Hall
Board Members Present: Chairman Greg Smith, Supervisor Dave Schultz, Supervisor Doug Kern, Clerk Duane Ruona, Treasurer
Sue Kern.
Greg called the meeting to order at 6:00 PM and the pledge to the flag was recited.
There were no gopher bounties.
Sherry Vogel was present to discuss the Emma Petit & James Nix property at 10190 Robin Street. James Nix has passed
away and Ms. Vogel is the guardian for Emma Petit. The property is being used as a dumping ground and the house is inhabitable.
The taxes are delinquent and Crow Wing County stated it will be forfeited in May of 2019. They want to be rid of the property
as soon as possible and asked if the township could expedite the process. Doug thought that there is a release that can be
signed at the county. Dave thought that a quit claim deed could be signed to give the property to the state. Doug will meet
Ms. Petit at the courthouse on October 11th to help with the release or quit claim deed.
Shane Koehnen, 7038 Craig Road, was present to discuss a water issue. Water drains towards the north from the neighboring
property, crossing his property and is flooding his house. The water comes through a culvert on the private road to the Craig
Sawyer residence. Mr. Koehnen would like a ditch dug on his property to drain the water to the ditch on Craig Road. The
Board will take it under advisement.
Brenden Donahue, 7380 Burr Lane, and Jeff Brummer, 7450 Burr Lane, were present to discuss water problems on their properties.
They would like a culvert across Ravenswood to equalize the water level on both sides. Beth Hippert from Crow Wing Soil &
Water Conservation District has been looking at the issue because of the designated wetlands near the properties. It appears
that the natural drainage was blocked when the road was built. The water in the ditch soaks into the ground before the water
in the wetlands goes down. Greg will look into which property owners might be affected by installing a culvert across Ravenswood.
The clerk will ask Region Five Development Commission if there may be funds available for use to correct these water problems.
Wade Tomberlin was present to discuss the progress of his property cleanup. The property was visited by Brad Arnold and
Dan Lee on September 26, 2017. A recycling dumpster from Crow Wing Recycling was half full at the time of the inspection.
Wade says he will get rid of 50 tires and remove two vehicles. He has current titles for the other vehicles and trailers
on his property. He presented a Waste Management bill as proof of regular trash pickup. He also provided pictures of the
dumpster and other areas showing progress made to date. Appliances will go into the dumpster. The fence is nearly completed,
there is a shed that needs to be removed, and the outhouse permit needs to be provided. Progress has been made.
Brad Arnold was present to discuss current properties in violation of the Planning & Zoning Ordinance. The Engholm
property has been listed for sale with a realtor. There has been no new information on the Chad Jillson violation. The clerk
will request a progress report from the attorney. The Dale Dillon, Josh Neelan and Martin Copa property violations were discussed.
Greg will contact the MPCA for a follow up inspection of the Copa property. Brad talked about current Planning Commission
issues. Document storage and retainage is one question. The contiguous suitable buildable area that was part of the previous
ordinance may need to be added back to the current Planning and Zoning Ordinance. Is a public hearing required to change
the ordinance back to what it was? Should the township require utility permits and a bond for cable installers?
Under Public Comments the question about using a traffic counter on Town Hall Road was discussed. The cemetery damage
caused by the grave digger was brought up. Doug is taking care of it.
Treasurer's report and bills were reviewed and approved.
Road issues were discussed. Dave had a permit request for a second driveway from John Meyer, 5505 Catherine's Way.
After discussion, Greg made a motion to approve the entrance permit for a second driveway at 5505 Catherine's Way. Doug seconded,
motion passed. The playground equipment parts have been ordered. Dave received a quote from Anderson Brothers to fix the
ruts on Wetherbee Road caused by the cable installers. It would cost $6,000 to fix and they recommended waiting until spring
to do the repairs. The shouldering needs to be done this year. Greg made a motion to have Tri City Paving shoulder Wetherbee
Road at the same time they do Cook Road and patch the area damaged by MNCOMM. Doug seconded, motion passed. Dave cleaned
out a culvert on 60th Street and cut trees leaning on Wetherbee Road. The new gravel on Craig Road is done. Boulder Court
has cars parked in the right-of-way. The missing stop sign at Wild Rice Depot needs to be replaced.
Replacement of the township truck was discussed. A salt sand spreader would cost about $5,500 but would also require
a bigger truck than the current one. It would cost approximately $35,000 more for the truck and equipment to shoulder roads.
The quote from Nelson Auto Center in Fergus Falls for a Ram 3500 is $43,900 outfitted similar to the current one. A pintle
plate and hitch would add $230 to the cost of the truck. The current snow plow cannot be used on the new truck. Dave will
check on the difference in price between a poly plow and a steel plow. There was discussion about having a shelter at Dave's
house to park the truck under. One option is from Menards for under $1,000. Parking the truck at the town hall would cost
more than that because of the time and mileage from Dave's house to the town hall.
Correspondence was reviewed. The Township Road Mileage Certification from Crow Wing County was discussed. The clerk
will notify the county that there have been no changes from last year. The Region 5 Elected Officials Summit will take place
November 14, 2017.
The fall meeting of the Crow Wing County Townships association is at the Nokay Lake Town Hall on October 23, 2017. Greg
made a motion to allow all elected township officials to attend the meeting. Doug seconded, motion passed. New election
equipment demo is October 18th. The township needs to have a head judge trained for the March 2018 election. Duane is on
the ballot and cannot be an election judge. The clerk will ask current election judges if there is any interest.
Meeting was adjourned at 9:25 PM.
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