The meeting was called to order by Supervisor Brandt at 7:00 p.m. with the Pledge of Allegiance. Supervisor Badger was not in attendance.

Motion by Wortham, seconded by Brandt to accept the minutes of the October 8th, 2012 Board Meeting as presented. Carried unanimous.

Dave Johnson asked about having the board meeting on Veteran’s Day. Supervisor Brandt explained the Board had passed resolution to allow.

The Road and Bridge report was as follows:

1. The maintenance crew has been mowing right-of-ways for the final pass for the year. There had been some issues with the mower that need to be repaired.
2. All road equipment has been prepared for the winter season.
3. The supply of road salt & sand has been received and prepared.
4. The DNR permits for the culvert & stream bed repairs at Willow Creek & Long Farm Road have been received. FEMA will pay a portion of the costs as part of the disaster funding from the extreme rainfall in June – approximately $1800. The work has been contracted to Wannebo Excavating and is scheduled to start on 11/19/2012.
5. The township’s fuel tanks have been relocated. The maintenance crew did most of the work. Some electrical work is still to be finished, but the pumps are ready to go.
6. An area realtor had inquired regarding if the township would take over Woodcrest Lane. Brandt explained that the road had been reviewed and appears to be up to the township’s standard. He has contacted the realtor and explained the process to have the township take over the road.
7. Brandt explained that he will be meeting with residents of Northview Harbor Road regarding the township mowing policy.
8. Brandt has completed the annual road mileage certification with the county. There are 73 township roads totalling 49 miles.
9. Considering posting a sign at the entrance to the maintenance building to prohibit trespassing. Brandt will develop the wording for the sign.
10. The township received payments from the property owners share of the paving of Storage Park Road. There is one owner who has not submitted payment yet.
11. There were no safety incidents.

The Fire Department report was as follows:

1. There were 7 emergency runs in October including 6 medical, and one mutual aid calls. Total year-to-date is 112 calls.
2. Last month’s training drill was on chimney fires, grassland fires, and pumping operations.
3. The department is taking applications for Station II firefighters.
4. Chief Clasen and Assistant-Chief Stoltman attended the Fire Chief’s Conference in Duluth.
5. The department is now using the 800MHz radio equipment. The county is expecting the communcations tower in Pequot Lakes to be completed in December.
6. The benefit for Marty Griffith’s family held on October 20th at Moonlite Bay was a success. About $17,000 was raised.
7. The annual truck maintenance has been started.
8. Clasen explained they are in process of getting T12 tank repaired, but are considering postponing the work until after January 1.
9. Tina Chisholm and Troy Cable have met their 12 month probation and were voted on by the membership. They will be doing additional training this winter.
10. Clasen commented that the Station II bathrooms are being cleaned by the Clean Team and look great.
11. The department Christmas Party has been scheduled for December 8th at Timber Jack.
12. Chief Clasen explained that the annual firefighter compensation will be ready after December 1st and asked the board for approval so that the checks can be distributed at the Christmas Party. Motion by Wortham, second by Brandt. Carried unanimous.
13. A discussion of the department’s review of equipment for the annual insurance renewal. Clasen is working on an inventory of equipment and will use that to confirm coverages.
14. Clasen asked if the annual 2% aid to fire departments money was received. The clerk indicated that it had been received and was available to be forwarded to the relief association. The total amounted to $20,425.10.
15. There were no safety incidents.

The Transfer Station report was as follows:

1. The payments to the DNR and the county for the fire last fall had been made.
2. The metal and appliance had been picked up and recycled. A total of 18.81 tons of metal were removed and yielded a payment of $470 to the township.
3. Supervisor Brandt reported on incidence of theft of fire wood. The sherriff was given the surveillance photos and info. The person was confronted by the sherriff and denied it was him in the photos. Brandt will contact the person and let him know the board’s concerns.
4. A person had asked about permission to bow hunt on the transfer station property that had been posted recently. Board agreed to allow on a temporary basis. Brandt agreed to follow-up with township attorney to see if he had any concerns. Dave Peterson asked if allowing the hunting introduces liability. Brandt said he would have the person sign waiver.

Chief Clasen mentioned that the transfer station could have a security system.

The report for Park and Recreation was as follows:

1. The merry-go-round has been installed and tested thoroughly by the clerk.

Supervisor Wortham gave an update on the progress with the town hall renovation plans. A new survey of the property had been completed. Brandt reported that the survey revealed that the property currently has too much impervious surface area to qualify for permit, but found that the board could request that the zoning classification be changed to commercial which allows higher amounts of impervious. Motion by Brandt, seconded by Wortham to pursue the rezoning and variances needed. Carried unanimous.

Brandt reported on Planning & Zoning issues:

1. Supervisor Brandt reported on the Jensen request for driveway relocation. At the hearing, the issue was tabled based on the township’s comments.
2. A request to allow a driveway from South Kimble Road down to the lake edge was received. The request was not supported.
3. The Rauenhorst variance has been approved with conditions as requested by the township.

Wood splitting for Big Island is ongoing at the transfer station, with about 10 cords completed. About 30 cords are needed. Brandt also reported that the Big Island Joint Powers restoration project received an award from the Brainerd Lakes group thanking the Big Island group for their lakescaping work.

A discussion occurred regarding the annual insurance renewal and the review of equipment coverages.

Supervisor Brandt will begin scheduling planning for the 2014 budget and include some discussions on long-range plans.

Motion by Wortham, second by Brandt to approve the payments to the fire department Relief Association to include the 2% contribution and the township’s contribution.

The review of the annual fire contracts with Breezy Point and Timothy Township needs to be completed. The clerk agreed to get the information to the Board & Chief Clasen and will schedule a special meeting to discuss.

The clerk announced that the township had received two donations from the Ideal Community Service Organization. A donation for $400 had been given to the Big Island fund, and the other was for $1500 to be used for the Fire Department Display project.

The clerk presented a proposal to obtain a .gov domain name for the township website. The name would allow for better search engine ranking, but would cost $125/year. The board tabled the decision.

The clerk explained progress on the idea of having a “guest” wireless network at the town hall to allow visitors to access the internet while at the hall. He had contacted the phone company but that person said it was not possible with the current equipment. Dave Peterson mentioned that he was able to do that at his home and was even able to limit which websites a guest could access. The clerk agreed to investigate further.

The clerk presented the treasurer’s report for October. Motion by Wortham, seconded by Brandt to accept the treasurer’s report as presented. Carried unanimous.

Motion by Wortham, seconded by Brandt to approve the claims as presented; claims #18134 through #18184 totaling $96,879.07. Carried unanimous.

There being no further business to transact, the meeting adjourned at 8:35 pm.

John Plein,
Ideal Township Clerk
November 15th, 2012