Ideal Township

Crow Wing County - Minnesota

Board Meeting September 2018

Monday, September 10, 2018 - 7:00pm
Minutes Status: 
Approved

The meeting was called to order by Chairman Peterson at 7:00 p.m. with the Pledge of Allegiance. All Board members, Chief Schultz, the Clerk, and 6 others were in attendance.

Motion by Bilek, second by Johnson to approve the minutes of the August 13th Board Meeting and the August 22nd Special Meeting as presented. Carried unanimously.

David Reese of Widseth Smith Nolting spoke to the Board about the County Road 145 Feasibility Study which was recently completed. The study was commissioned by Crow Wing County in cooperation with the City of Jenkins, Jenkins Township, and Ideal to look at the costs, impacts, and challenges related to reconstructing CR 145 with enhancements to promote multi-use of the roadway. In 2017, the County and City of Jenkins worked jointly to improve a segment of the western end to include 6’ paved shoulders. The study examined options for doing similar paved shoulders for the rest of CR 145 to enhance safety for use by pedestrians, bikers, and motorists. The study provides overall reconstruction cost estimates for 30’ width and 36’ width options.

Chairman Peterson commented that he would be reluctant to spend Township funds to improve a County road, but that it is good to begin planning for enhancements that would benefit residents and to show the County that local jurisdictions support the concept.

Supervisor Bilek presented the Planning & Zoning report as follows:

  1. Attended the DRT meeting at the County today and reviewed several issues.
  2. Discussion of the variance requests by Hannah & Seth Gravdahl took place. The applicants were present and provided details about their case. They are renovating an older cabin to make a year-round home. Motion by Bilek, second by Johnson to recommend approval with no conditions. Carried unanimously.
  3. Discussed the new Hubley variance requests on Echo Bay Drive. Bilek has not received the application info from the County so is unable to make an informed decision at this time. Will submit a letter to the County Planning Commission deferring the decision to them.

Chairman Peterson presented the Road and Bridge report as follows:

  1. The road construction work for this season is completed.
  2. The additional pavement markings on the Station II helipad are now completed.
  3. The old lighting at the helipad is to be removed and replaced with the new portable lighting. Peterson will work with Chief Schultz to provide a training session on the new helipad lighting system.
  4. Was contacted by counsel Gerry Brine regarding a lawsuit about a road in Ideal. The road in question is not a Township road so there is no Board action required.
  5. The cold storage addition to the maintenance building is now complete except for concrete aprons in front of the overhead doors. Have already started moving equipment into the new storage area.
  6. The first pass of mowing is complete throughout the Township.
  7. Working with a couple property owners on road issues including taking care of obstructions placed in the road ROW.
  8. There were no safety incidents.

Chief Schultz presented the Fire Department report as follows

  1. Looking to install a holding tank to be used for pump testing, practice, and training. Motion by Peterson, second by Bilek to approve expense up to $5000 for the holding tank. Carried unanimously.
  2. Discussion of Relief Association benefit level and its effect on recruiting. Other departments in the area have higher levels and that makes it more difficult to get new members. As a long-term thought when considering benefit levels, it would be good to get ours closer to the other neighboring departments. Peterson said that they are committed to taking steps to get the benefit level competitive with other departments but also needs to make sure the pension funding is fully covered.
  3. The Beef Feed last month was a success with an estimated 2160 diners served.
  4. There were no safety incidents.

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

  1. Year to date receipts of $56,806, compared to last year at this time at $48,338.
  2. Year to date permits sold is 1145, compared to last year at 985.
  3. The sheriff caught and arrested another trespasser in the station over the weekend.
  4. The review of hauler contracts is continuing. An agreement was reached with Waste Partners for the hauling of recyclables and was started on September 1. The contract is projected to yield a 30% savings over current. The trash hauling setup has also been reviewed and has come to an agreement to have Waste Partners begin trash hauling from the station on October 1. The new trash hauling plan saves costs by diverting materials from the big rolloffs into the trash bins including mattresses & furniture items to be placed in a new large container. The new trash hauling plan should save about 15% versus the current setup. The combined savings expected from the new recyclables & trash hauling contracts is about $16,000 per year.
  5. Due to the recent trespassing incidents, new security lighting is being installed and are considering also getting cameras to monitor the gate and station grounds. Peterson suggested waiting to see if the new lighting deters trespassing before spending more on security cameras.

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

  1. Working with additional contractors to get more information on options for the fire hall roof repairs needed. Will schedule a special meeting to look at options once we have received the additional info and quotes.
  2. Will check in with attorney at Moss & Barnett on status of Charter franchise agreement review.
  3. Getting some plumbing work done at the maintenance building to move the pressure washer and to install an eye-wash station as required by OSHA standard.

Supervisor Johnson presented the Legislative & Research report as follows:

  1. The MN Association of Townships L & R Committee Meeting is coming up on September 19-20 in St Cloud. Supervisors Johnson & Peterson are planning to attend.

Motion by Peterson, second by Bilek to accept the treasurer’s report for August as presented. Report includes receipts #5645 through #5670 totaling $27,502.42 and disbursements #SL080118 through #22148 for total of $123,609.37 plus a $500,000 operating funds transfer to the new 4M fund savings account. Carried unanimously.

Motion by Peterson, second by Bilek to approve the September claims as presented; claims #43591 through #43639 totaling $48,841.31. Carried unanimously.

The Clerk presented a series of correspondence items as follows:

  1. Received notice from Crow Wing County that they are looking to classify two properties in Ideal as non-conservation so that they may be sold. There were no objections from the Board.
  2. The Clerk asked for a motion to allow that Deputy Clerk-Treasurer Royce be added to the bank accounts as signatory. Motion by Peterson, second by Bilek to approve as requested. Carried unanimously.
  3. Received notice of the 2019 PERA rate increase aid from the state will be the same as in the past at $408.
  4. Received notice of rate increase from law firm of Couri & Ruppe.
  5. Upcoming calendar items were reviewed including the October & November Board meetings which both fall on national holiday. Chairman Peterson set the two meetings to be on the following days – Tuesday October 9 & Tuesday November 13.

There being no further business to transact, the meeting adjourned at 9:20 pm.

John Plein,
Ideal Township Clerk-Treasurer
September 25th, 2018

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