Ideal Township

Crow Wing County - Minnesota

Board Meeting February 2017

Monday, February 13, 2017 - 7:00pm
Minutes Status: 
Approved

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 one resident were in attendance.

Motion by Bilek, second by Peterson to accept the minutes of the January 9th Board Meeting, and the January 31st Special Meeting as presented. Carried unanimous.

Dave Johnson asked about having the Township elections in November when more voters would be participating. The Clerk explained that the Board has considered that option but declined due to several issues. At that time, the Board decided to keep the election and the annual meeting together in March. Johnson also commented that he felt that the Board was doing a great job running the Township.

Supervisor Peterson suggested having a presentation at the Annual Meeting to recognize former employees & Board members. The Clerk will look into options.

Supervisor Bilek gave the Planning & Zoning report as follows:

  1. Attended the recent DRT meeting and discussed plans by MLD Investments to change zoning to commercial for the old Piney Ridge property on Upper Whitefish. They are considering building a restaurant on one lot of the development. They may need variances & a CUP, but Bilek did not see any issues with approving the project.
  2. There were no land use permits issued in Ideal during January.

Chairman Peterson presented the Road and Bridge report as follows:

  1. Have received an additional shipment of road salt. Thirty additional tons were purchased at the same price under the state CPV contract.
  2. The crew have been working to repair some hydraulics and complete general maintenance on the plow & work trucks. New plow edges have been received.
  3. Peterson is researching options for a salt shed and has spoken with representatives at the DNR, MNPCA, and County about the plans.
  4. Attended a road salt symposium sponsored by the Freshwater Society. Presentations included ways to reduce usage and the use of liquid salt.
  5. Attended the Crow Wing County roads meeting to discuss coordinating on chip seal and line striping work for the Township. The meeting also included information about the county’s snowplowing work this season.
  6. The heliport at Fire Station II will be given official paint markings. Peterson has also asked MN DOT to evaluate the facility and get it registered & certified.
  7. There were no safety incidents.

Supervisor Peterson presented the Fire Department report as follows:

  1. There had been 6 runs during January; 3 fire, and 3 false alarms. Total year-to-date is 11 runs.
  2. Members will receive training on the new SCBA equipment this month and expect it to be fully in-service in March or April.
  3. Members had a work night last week to clean & organize the fire hall & office.
  4. A contract renewal for Timothy Township fire service was prepared and will be forwarded for their approval and payment.
  5. There were no safety incidents.

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

  1. Year to date revenue for January was $2046 including sale of 120 permits.
  2. Received the yearly SCORE grant funds of $22,500 to support the recycling program. Will meet with the County to determine SCORE funding for 2018.

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

  1. Received final approval for the $2500 grant from the National Joint Powers Alliance in support of the building generator project. This is in addition to the $10,000 pledge from the Ideal Community Service Organization to support the project. The Clerk will work with these groups to receive the funds.

Supervisor Johnson gave a Legislative & Research report as follows:

  1. Made calls to the Governor and State Representative asking for support to retain township control of planning, zoning, and economic development.

Motion by Peterson, second by Bilek to transfer $10,000 into the Transfer Station fund from the General fund. Carried unanimous.

Motion by Bilek, second by Johnson to accept the treasurer’s report for January as presented. Report includes receipts #5277 through #5291 totaling $45,685.00 and disbursements #1749L through #21077 for total of $46,760.40. Carried unanimous.

A discussion of the annual audit took place. Motion by Peterson, second by Bilek to accept the adjusting journal entries determined by the auditor. Carried unanimous. Most of the adjustments are to allocate the payments for property & workers comp insurance premiums to the affected funds rather than them being all charged to the General fund. The adjusted fund balances will be reflected on next month’s treasurer’s report.

Motion by Bilek, second by Johnson to approve the February claims as presented; claims #42818 through #42862 totaling $28,679.39. Carried unanimous.

The Clerk presented a series of items:

  1. The contract with Crow Wing County to provide support services for the Township election was presented and signed.
  2. Discussion of the proposed 2018 budget and levy took place. Due to the requirement by auditors to apply the Timothy Township fire contract payment to the fire department fund, the proposed budget was adjusted to reflect that revenue. Motion by Bilek, second by Johnson to approve the proposed 2018 as follows:
    General  $175,000
    Road & Bridge $200,000
    Road Construction $255,000
    Fire Department $216,000
    Parks & Rec  $5,000
    Recycling  $5,000
    Capital Projects $110,000
    Transfer Station $12,000
    Total   $978,000 (1.6% increase over 2017)
    Carried unanimous.
  3. Provided an update regarding the group dental insurance coverage for employees. Several plans were considered for cost and accessibility. Other options were also discussed including having a hybrid plan where the Township could self-insure for typical services and have a policy to cover catastrophic costs. The Clerk will confer with the insurance agent to provide more info at a future meeting.
  4. Requests for donations were considered. Motion by Peterson, second by Bilek to make donations to Crow Wing County Historical Society ($100), the Crow Wing County Fair Association ($100), and the Crisis Line ($250). Carried unanimous.

Upcoming calendar items were reviewed as follows:

  1. The Career Fair at the Pequot Lakes High School on Wednesday, February 15.
  2. Township Association L&R Meetings on February 21-22 in St. Paul.
  3. The MN Association of Townships Capitol Bus Trip on Wednesday March 8.
  4. The March Board Meeting on Monday, March 13.
  5. The Annual Township Election and Meeting on Tuesday, March 14.
  6. The MN Association of Townships Short Course on Monday March 27.
  7. The April Board Meeting on Monday, April 10.
  8. The Crow Wing County Association of Township Officers Meeting on Monday, April 24.

There being no further business to transact, the meeting adjourned at 9:00 pm.

John Plein,
Ideal Township Clerk-Treasurer
February 17th, 2017

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