The meeting was called to order by Chairman Peterson at 7:00 p.m. with the Pledge of Allegiance. Supervisors Peterson, Bilek, & Johnson, the Clerk, and six residents were in attendance.

Motion by Bilek, second by Johnson to accept the minutes of the February 13th Board Meeting, the February 28th Board of Audit, and the March 8th Special Meeting as presented. Carried unanimously.

Supervisor Johnson read an obituary of former Board member Bob Lorentzen.

MJ Schneider and Linda Walker of the Ideal Community Service Organization presented a donation check of $10,000 to be used for the Town Hall generator project.

Chief II Ken Stoltman presented the Fire Department report as follows:

1. There were 8 fire runs in February; 4 false alarms, 1 vehicle accident, 1 mutual aid structure fire, 1 smell of gas, and 1 landing zone.
2. There has been 16 calls year-to-date.
3. Training is continuing on the new SCBA equipment. The equipment is in service.
4. The Timothy Fire Contract had been approved at Timothy’s last Board meeting.
5. There were no safety incidents.

Joe Christensen, Arthur Baleisis, and Kevin McCormick spoke to the Board regarding Baleisis’ variance request to allow construction of a garage with guest quarters on Old Whiskey Road. A lengthy discussion took place about the property and its limitations. A storm water management plan was presented. Supervisor Peterson asked about previous variances granted and the storm water plans submitted at the time. He was concerned that water from the garage and apron would drain onto the Township road and that the proposed vegetative screening would not be tall enough for the two-story building. The applicants offered to install a gutter or swale to direct water from the driveway towards the rain garden and include taller vegetation for screening. Supervisor Johnson ask if the new construction would have design consistent with other buildings in the area. He also asked to confirm that neighbors had been notified of the variance request. Supervisor Bilek asked about parking for guests and if there were any plans for future additions that could affect the current plan. Peterson noted that previous variances were granted with conditions and asked if those conditions had been met. Motion by Johnson, second by Bilek to recommend approval with condition that device added to prevent water draining onto Township road, to verify that previous storm water plan had been implemented, and that applicant include taller and more vegetative screening. Carried – Bilek & Johnson in-favor, Peterson opposed.

Chairman Peterson presented the Road and Bridge report as follows:

1. The crew have been plowing, scraping, and sanding roads to remove snow & ice.
2. Crew have completed some equipment repairs.
3. Crew helped to set up for Township election & annual meeting.
4. Peterson received a quote for a salt shed from Greystone Construction that is the hoop design with fabric cover. Quote is for a 28x54’ shed with 8’ concrete panels forming the side and back walls for $36,782. A quote was also received from Anderson Brothers for prepping and paving the floor area at $16,500. Also working to get quotes for a stick-built shed of similar size for comparison.
5. Have received a quote for road line striping via cost-share agreement with the County Highway Department of $2,869. Proposal includes crosswalks on Butternut Point Road and Silver Peak Road, walk path line along Father Foley Road, and marking for the helipad.
6. Also cooperating with County to complete chip sealing on Butternut Point Road, Star Lake Drive, Pinewood Drive, Sunset Bay Lane, Round Lake Road, and Wild Acres Road totaling about 3 miles. The cost-share agreement projects that work will total $61,982.
7. Peterson noted that the road construction bid spec mistakenly called for 1” overlay for Strawberry Lake Road. Since the existing pavement will be reclaimed, the specs should have called for 2” of overlay. After considering several options, Peterson recommended getting additional competitive bids for the second inch of overlay that should total about $60,000. Anderson Brothers has already provided a quote, and will obtain a quote from Tri-City Paving.
8. A discussion of County Road 145 took place. The City of Jenkins is working with the County to update the section from County Road 16 up to Veterans Road to include 6’ walking path shoulders. As part of that process, they are asking for Ideal Township and Jenkins Township to support, by resolution, the idea that all of CR 145 be widened to allow for 6’ shoulders. There is quite a bit of traffic – both vehicle and pedestrian – and the added space would improve safety significantly. Once the Highway 371 project is completed, additional traffic is expected that brings people down to the controlled intersection at 371 & 16. Peterson asked the Clerk to prepare a resolution in support of the City of Jenkins to pursue a feasibility study to provide more details on cost and conditions for widening CR 145.
9. There were no safety incidents.

Supervisor Bilek presented the Transfer Station/Recycling Center report as follows:

1. Year to date revenue was $3767 including sale of 173 permits.
2. Spoke with Doug Morris from the County Landfill. Will set up meeting sometime in May to discuss future SCORE funding and general operation of the station.
3. Received resignation letter from one of the attendants effective 4/15/17. Will prepare job description and a help wanted ad for the local newspapers.
4. Discussed having an iPad that attendants could use at the station to track permittees, work towards having point-of-sale software to assist in determining charges, and to eventually allow accepting credit cards for charges. The Clerk will start process to purchase and setup the service.

Supervisor Johnson presented the Building, Grounds, Parks & Recreation report as follows:

1. Asked Evergreen Electric to confirm the generator installation quote.
2. The Clerk will research options to acquire the generator itself through the state cooperative purchase venture or other co-op group.

Supervisor Johnson gave a Legislative & Research report as follows:

1. In response to an article in the latest MN Township Insider magazine, Johnson suggested the Board review its snow & ice removal policies. The article references a sample policy recommended by the Township Association. The Clerk will provide a draft based on the sample for the Board to consider at the next meeting.
2. Will contact counsel regarding the Charter franchise authority renewal and their response to our letter asking for a review of the agreement.
3. Peterson related more about the MN Townships Capitol Bus Trip.

Motion by Bilek, second by Johnson to accept the treasurer’s report for February as presented. Report includes receipts #5292 through #5308 totaling $42,370.26 and disbursements #SL020117 through #TRX022817 for total of $57,742.36 including the $10,000 interfund transfer to the Transfer Station. Carried unanimously.

Motion by Bilek, second by Johnson to approve the March claims as presented; claims #42863 through #42906 totaling $24,691.75. Carried unanimously.

The Clerk presented a draft fund balance policy as recommended by the auditor. The policy establishes the practice of categorizing funds to distinguish committed from discretionary funds. The Clerk will adjust monthly reports so that committed funds are noted separately.

The policy also sets a minimum balance to be held over at the end of each fiscal year. Due to the timing of tax settlements from the county, the Township typically has balances sufficient to carry on normal operations for 6 months at the end of each year.
Motion by Peterson, second by Bilek to adopt the fund balance policy as presented with minimum fund balance value of 20%. Carried unanimously.

The Clerk presented donation requests from the Paul Bunyan Scenic Byway, the Pine River Area Food Shelf, and the Pine River-Backus Family Center. Motion by Peterson, second by Bilek to donate the same amount as given last year. Carried unanimously.

The Board reviewed the agenda & meeting package for the Annual Meeting and discussed options for a moderator for the meeting. The Clerk will contact Paula Schaub to see if she is available to serve as moderator again this year.

Upcoming calendar items were reviewed as follows:

1. The Annual Township Election and Meeting on Tuesday, March 14.
2. The MN Association of Townships Short Course on Wednesday, April 5 in Walker.
3. The Reorganization Meeting after the Short Course on Wednesday, April 5.
4. The April Board Meeting on Monday, April 10.
5. The MN Association of Townships Legal Course on Thursday, April 20 in Otsego.
6. The Local Board of Appeal & Equalization on Friday, April 21.
7. The Crow Wing County Association of Township Officers Meeting on Monday, April 24.

There being no further business to transact, the meeting adjourned at 9:30 pm.

John Plein,
Ideal Township Clerk-Treasurer
March 22nd, 2017