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

Motion by Bilek, second by Johnson to accept the minutes of the July 11th Board Meeting as presented. Carried unanimous.

Sheila Carleton of the Crow Wing Soil & Water Conservation District gave a presentation regarding the organization and some of its current programs. The district administers several programs and services to help property owners preserve and improve their property with the goal of maintaining soil & water quality. Programs described included:

1. Conservation Easements which can be used to protect land from future development.
2. Woodland Stewardship helps land owners develop forest management plans.
3. Photo Contest for residents to showcase their photography of native plants.
4. Collaboration with the Pine River Watershed Alliance including the upcoming Harvest Dinner on August 27th.
5. Fundraiser jazz concert for the Leech Lake Watershed Foundation on August 25th.

Tom Pearson spoke regarding the variance request on the Larson property for bluff setback. A deck is to be replaced with a patio and will include an engineered stormwater plan to mitigate erosion issues within the bluff area. He did not have details available, but felt the plan would improve conditions. The plan will be available for the county planning commission to review at the hearing on August 18th. Chairman Peterson commented that it is difficult for the Board to make a recommendation regarding the variance without having all the details of the plan. No Board action was taken.

Supervisor Bilek gave the Planning & Zoning report as follows:

1. Supervisor Bilek had attended the recent DRT meeting at the county. The Valdez project was discussed but a variance application has not been submitted yet.

Chief Schultz presented the Fire Department report as follows:

1. There had been 15 medical runs during July; 8 fire, and 7 first responder. Total year-to-date is 74 runs.
2. Training on pumper operation & water transfer was held. Was a good session for members to get familiar with the new rescue pumper.
3. There are 2 applicants being considered for membership. They will be required to pass background checks and a physical exam. One of the two will be for Station II.
4. Everything is set to go for the Beef Feed on Wednesday.
5. The vehicle title for the new pickup was received but has Chief Schultz’s personal address. The clerk will apply for a corrected version asap.
6. There were no safety incidents.

Supervisor Johnson noted that there are grants available for public safety through the National Joint Powers Alliance which the township is a member. Schultz said he will pass the message to the grant committee.

A discussion of the Relief Association report and benefit level took place. The department had provided a report comparing the benefit level and funding of the relief associations for the surrounding communities’ departments. It showed that Ideal’s benefit level was competitive but lower than several others. Peterson commented that the township is contributing at a set level that could lead to a surplus given the fund’s current growth rates and benefit level. Schultz explained some details of how the benefit level affects recruiting and retention when compared to other nearby departments. In order to attract and retain good candidates, it is important to maintain a competitive benefit level that increases regularly over time. An increase as requested to $2400 would help retention, would not put the fund into deficit, and would not require additional township contribution to the fund as it is currently performing. Motion by Bilek, second by Johnson to increase the Relief Association benefit level to $2400 per year as requested. Carried unanimous.

Chairman Peterson presented the Road and Bridge report as follows:

1. Expect the road construction work to begin soon.
2. The maintenance crew has been busy with storm clean up throughout the township.
3. They have started doing the second pass mowing.
4. The sign inventory project was nearly complete. Once done there will be a meeting with Mark Hallan from Widseth Smith Nolting to discuss the conclusions of the study and to receive the documentation.
5. A road vacation hearing for a portion of Trout Lake Drive was set for August 25th at 1pm at the Ideal Town Hall. The description for the portion was updated and the township attorney will be contacted to draft proper documents for the hearing. Based on the current description, the only affected property owner is the Minnesota-Iowa Baptist Conference who own Trout Lake Camp.
6. There were no safety incidents.

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

1. The station is looking sharp and has received several compliments.
2. A cement pad has been added to the front of the office building to improve safety and ease maintenance.
3. The office interior has been repainted.
4. A sign indicating that permits are required was added to the office door.
5. Have been receiving lots of brush due to recent storms. Crosslake had asked to bring some of theirs to the transfer station but declined because of cost.
6. May be possible to coordinate with Crosslake for chipping the brush piles to be used for biomass. A service was contacted in years past, but was not interested due to small amounts, but maybe if combined with Crosslake it may be worthwhile for them. The Clerk will try to coordinate with Crosslake.
7. Year to date revenue is up about $5000 over last year.
8. Permit sales are up compared with last year. For July, 143 permits were sold.

Bill Wortham commented that it might improve efficiency if one attendant was outside to enable recycling users to move through faster without having to stop at the office.

Supervisor Johnson presented the Parks & Recreation report as follows:

1. Had spoken with Alden Hardwick about the process that was used to get the Crosslake Community Garden setup. He provided lots of good info and is available for further consult.
2. Johnson was researching grant options that may assist with a disaster recovery plan and facilities for the township. He asked the Clerk to obtain electric usage demand reports so that a generator could be properly sized for the town hall’s needs. He will work with the contractor to make sure the generator is sized properly and to develop an estimate.
3. He has contacts that could help set up a commercial property appraisal to be used to set insurance coverage amounts.
4. Has met with the Mayor of Crosslake to discuss collaboration and strategy to improve utility coverage in the area. Through collaboration, he hopes to affect changes that cross over municipal boundaries to serve the well being of citizens and expand services.
5. Received a proposal from Moss & Barnett attorneys for $3500 to assist with the process to renew the township’s franchise agreement with Charter cable. Johnson also presented a document – 10 steps to franchise renewal – that was provided by the attorney firm.

Motion by Bilek, second by Johnson to accept the treasurer’s report for July as presented. Report includes receipts #5155 through #5175 totaling $187,081.79 and disbursements #20646 through #20698 for total of $68,693.93. Carried unanimous.

Motion by Peterson, second by Johnson to confirm the levy for 2017 as set at the Annual Meeting at $962,000. Carried unanimous. The Clerk will certify the levy amount to the county auditor before the September 15th deadline.

Motion by Bilek, second by Peterson to approve the August claims as presented plus the additional Lakes Area Gallery claim for $343.40; claims #42546 through #42587 totaling $53,663.34. Carried unanimous.

Peterson gave an update on progress regarding the north side emergency siren.

1. The easement agreement has been completed and is being reviewed by Trout Lake Camp. When easement is approved and signed, will give go ahead to ReadyWatt to begin installation.
2. The siren equipment has been received and is in storage until ready for install.

Peterson presented a proposal from Hakenson Anderson Inc. to provide engineering services to the Township. Proposes to start them with a limited engagement and see how it goes. Priority projects would include a review and update to the township’s road standard, the driveway policy, and the mailbox policy.

Upcoming calendar items were reviewed as follows:

1. The State Primary Election on Tuesday, August 9th from 7am until 8pm.
2. Ideal Fire Beef Feed on Wednesday, August 10th from 4-8pm.
3. The Region 5 Visioning Session on August 11th.
4. MN Assoc. of Townships District 8 Meeting on Wednesday, August 17th at 5:30 pm.
5. The Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast on August 17th.
6. The September Town Board Meeting on September 12th at 7 pm.
7. Beyond the Basics Conference that include planning & zoning training on September 22nd in Little Falls.
8. The MN Association of Townships Annual Conference on November 17-19 in St Cloud.

The Clerk presented info regarding the annual health insurance renewal which is due on November 1st. The current plan is no longer available, but would be replaced with a plan that has a higher deductible. Premium cost of the renewal plan would increase by about 6.5%. The Clerk will contact the agent to get a comparison of available plans.

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

John Plein,
Ideal Township Clerk
August 18th, 2016