The meeting was called to order by Supervisor Brandt at 7:00 p.m. with the Pledge of Allegiance. Supervisors Brandt and Peterson were in attendance.

Motion by Peterson, seconded by Brandt to accept the minutes of the January 14th, 2013 Board Meeting, the January 21st Special Meeting, and the January 28th Special Meeting as presented. Carried unanimous.

Crow Wing County Sheriff Todd Dahl reported on his department’s activities in the township and county. The area has been busy with events going on with lots of people out and about. Dahl commented it seemed people are getting the message about impaired driving and it is helping reduce alcohol-related incidents. And the county has been fortunate to not have anyone go through the ice so far this year, partially due to weather conditions and partially due to ice safety warnings.

Sheriff Dahl said his department has been busy year-round including about 3000 traffic violations in 2012. Most of those occur during the summer months, but his officers are still busy all winter. A major concern for the department is the increasingly common use of phones & texting while driving.

Dave Johnson commented on the lake monitoring issues discussed in previous board meetings. He said he and Jim Schultz are working towards getting all the lake associations to pool funds that could be used to develop effective treatments for infected lakes.

Dave Moe of UpNorth Resort LLC approached the board about the Clamshell Beach Resort variance requests to allow a larger beach area. Supervisor Brandt outlined some of the concerns that some residents had about the project including letters from two lake associations. The main concern was due to the size of the expansion area. Moe responded to each of the questions and presented his responses to the standard variance questions. After extensive discussion, the issue was tabled to be considered at the end of the meeting.

The Road and Bridge report was as follows:

1. The maintenance crew had worked all day Sunday to keep the roads clear and sanded.
2. The maintenance crew had helped with the loading of firewood to hauled to Big Island.
3. Supervisor Brandt reported on request from Bob Uppgaard to help keep the Uppgaard Wildlife Management Area parking lot plowed. The county had been plowing it, but had recently notified Brandt that they could not continue. Brandt will contact the involved parties, including the DNR Non-game Wildlife office, to see if they can help maintain the parking area.
4. Brandt met with the Pequot Lakes about Nelson Road. It was decided to pursue an engineering study of the road during 2013 to determine options, to be completed by Widseth, Smith & Nolting. Once the study is completed, they will begin planning for reconstruction to be done in 3 phases. Motion by Brandt, second by Peterson to go ahead with the study for phases 1-3. Carried unanimous.
5. Crow Wing Power has asked for input from the township regarding any projects that may require any utility changes. Supervisor Brandt did not foresee any issues and will relay the message to Crow Wing Power.
6. Brandt mentioned that the county highway department will hold a OSHA safety training seminar in March. He and the maintenance guys will attend.
7. There were no safety incidents.

Mike Clasen relayed complaints he had heard about the SnoPros groomer dragging snow into peoples driveways. Brandt said he will contact the group.

Chief Clasen presented the Fire Department report was as follows:

1. There were 8 emergency runs in January including 2 mutual aid, 4 medical, 1 utility, and 1 vehicles call. Total year-to-date is 15 calls.
2. Last month’s training drill was on ventilation and relay pumping.
3. The county has completed the 800Mhz communcations tower in Pequot Lakes and is in the process of hooking up the paging system.
4. The annual ladder testing had been completed.
5. The annual fire extinguisher inspection had been completed.
6. The department has set up a training at the transfer station on ventilation. A small structure that was constructed for the training will be removed in about 4 weeks.
7. Tom Osborn and Luke Hanson are the two new firefighters.
8. There was no safety incidents.

The clerk presented a check that had been received from the Crow Wing Power Community Trust. The donation is from the coop’s Round-Up program and will be used for the fire department equipment fund.

The Transfer Station report was as follows:

1. Crow Wing County had picked up all electronics.
2. Supervisor Brandt had reviewed the attendant guide duties list and will discuss it with the attendant to see if he has concerns or comments. Then he will update the list and bring it to the board for final approval.
3. Brandt was reviewing info from Crow Wing Power about shredding of brush material.
4. The brush pile had been burned & cleaned up.
5. Brandt had attended a recycling seminar in Pine River.
6. The new gate sign was displayed. The maintenance crew will install as soon as possible.

There was nothing to report for Park and Recreation.

Brandt reported on planning & zoning issues:

1. The request for the town hall property zoning change request had been approved by the county.

Supervisor Brandt reported on the recent sale of property on County Road 39 & Strawberry Lake Road that is to be developed into a center that uses horses & chickens to provide therapy sessions.

A group of volunteers had completed the moving of 30 cords of firewood to the Rollie Johnson Recreation area.
The board had met with Eric Larson of RemWhirl to have them create detailed plans for the town hall addition. The firm’s proposal and the initial drawings were reviewed. Motion by Brandt, second by Peterson to accept proposal for service items numbered 1-4 & 6. Carried unanimous. Motion by Brandt, second by Peterson to accept RemWhirl’s initial drawings and to pursue their “Option #2” version of the layout. Carried unanimous.

Brandt reported on a nuisance dog complaint. He had contacted to dog owner who has agreed to take steps to avoid the problem.

The Ideal SnoPros had requested that the board consider allowing the clerk to process payroll for the group. Based on advice from the township attorney, the board has declined.

The board reviewed donation requests from the Crow Wing County Fair Ass’n and the Crisis Line. The issue was tabled to allow a review of previous decisions on donations for these groups. The clerk will check meeting minutes to get more info on previous action.

Supervisor Brandt reported that the board had set a preliminary budget for 2014 at $881,000 (a 2.4% increase). Final approval for the levy will occur at the annual meeting on March 12th.

The clerk presented the title for the new plow truck. The lease had been paid off in December, and so the title needs to be transferred to make the township owner. Brandt will bring to the license bureau and get the transfer started.

The clerk reported that the Minnesota Department of Health had completed the annual water test at the town hall. No contaminants had been found.

The board then reviewed the UpNorth Resort/Clamshell Beach variance requests. Brandt commented that the size of the expansion was extreme and may create an unwanted precedent. Supervisor Peterson asked if a compromise was possible making the expansion area much smaller. Dave Moe replied that he would consider making the expansion smaller, but had determined the size based on recommendations from the DNR. Brandt commented that he supported aspects of the plan including the movement of the firepit away from the lake edge, the removal of the gazebo structure, and the general landscaping but could not support the full expansion size. The board agreed to send the recommendation to the county as such.

The clerk presented the treasurer’s report for December.

Motion by Peterson, seconded by Brandt to accept the treasurer’s report for January as presented including disbursements #PERA010213 through check #SVC013113 for total of $37,593.40. Carried unanimous.

Motion by Peterson, seconded by Brandt to approve the February claims as presented; claims #18341 through #18366 totaling $25,747.21. Carried unanimous.

The clerk presented a proposal to adjust the non-budget accounts to reconcile the total with the total non-budget fund balance. He was not sure where in the past the discrepancy occurred, but had discussed the issue with the auditor and her suggestion was to distribute the difference to each of the accounts equally, which would add $1276.85 to each account. Motion by Brandt, second by Peterson to adjust the non-budget balances as proposed. Carried unanimous. The clerk will present the adjusted totals at the March board meeting.

There being no further business to transact, the meeting adjourned at 10:30 pm.

John Plein,
Ideal Township Clerk
February 25th, 2013