JANUARY BOARD MEETING MINUTES

JANUARY 12, 2010

The meeting was called to order at 6:00 p.m. by Chairman of the Board of Supervisors, Jeff Bachke.  The “Pledge of Allegiance” was recited.  Present for the meeting were Chairman Bachke, supervisor Greg Andrews; treasurer Holly Herstad; clerk Patti  Alander; deputy clerk Cammy Hansen; and fire chief Matt Frantz.  Present in the audience were MSA representatives Jerome Flogel, Eric Sautbine and Pete Wiedman and resident John Alander.  Absent were supervisor John Goman and animal control officer Gloria Dallum.

Jeff took a moment to recognize Patti Alander, our outgoing clerk who is retiring.  Patti has done an extraordinary job and has truly been an overachiever.  All the best to Patti; her presence will be missed.

Jeff went over the list of upcoming meetings:

January 19, 2010 6:00 p.m. Planning & Zoning

January 20, 2010 6:00 p.m. Utilities

January 21, 2010 7:00 p.m. DAT

January 25, 2010 7:00 p.m. Relief Association

January 27, 2010 7:00 p.m. SLCAT

February 1, 2010 6:00 p.m. Agenda meeting (note:  Monday meeting)

February 9, 2010 6:00 p.m. Board meeting

A motion to approve the December 8, 2009 Board meeting minutes was made by Greg and seconded by Jeff.  All vote

in favor.  Motion carried with minutes to be placed in file.

The December financial report was presented by Holly Herstad:

December Receipts                        $711,251.15

December Expenditures                             

General Fund                                    $10,591.73

Administration                                $16,029.18

Public Works                                    $ 5,817.91

Road & Bridge                                 $ 5,043.97

Fire                                                     $10,485.33

Building Inspection                          $ 9,937.98

2007 Sewer Bond                             $   1,695.96

West Calvary Road Project           $   1,487.57

Lift Station #3 Improvements     $   1,909.00

Lift Station #1 Improvements    $123,062.06

Total Expenditures                     $186,060.69

January Expenditures thus far

General Fund                                $297,505.00

Utilities                                                 $5,998.75

Payroll                                               $20,000.00(est.)

Fair Housing                                         -0-

CORRESPONDENCE RECEIVED:

·         Office of the State Auditor E-Update, December 4, 18, 31 issues

·         Stream-Line Autumn/Winter 2009 newsletter

·         Municipal Sewer & Water, January 2010 issue

·         Letter acknowledging receipt of Completion of Corrective Action from MPCA

·         Ag Innovation News, Jan.-March 2010 issue

·         Letter scheduling Worker’s Comp audit

·         State of MN Pension Division newsletter, December 2009

·         Lakewood Town Crier, November/December 2009 issue

·         RSPT 12/16/09 Agenda

·         Minnesota Cities, November/December 2009 issue

·         MAT News, November/December 2009 issue

·         Minnesota Counties, November 2009 issue

·         SEH Insight, Fall/Winter 2009 issue

·         Cities Bulletin, December 2 and 16 issues

DEPARTMENT REPORTS:

1.       Building Department:  Cammy read the following reports submitted by Marty Paavola into the record:

DECEMBER BUILDING REPORT

Total valuation of projects $2,288.00

Total fees collected $109.29

2.       Planning & Zoning:  A Planning and Zoning Commission meeting was not held in December.

The next regular meeting of the Planning and Zoning Commission is Tuesday, January 19, 2010 at 6:00 p.m.

The Judi Walter’s violation hearing is to be held in Duluth District Court on 1/29/2010.

3.       Public  Works/Road and Bridge:  Gary Olson submitted the following report:

·         12/3/09:  Water was off on Milwaukee Avenue while Comfort Systems installed a new hydrant and valve on the corner of Kolstad Avenue and Austin Street.  The outage was approximately three hours.

·         Commercial water meters were read

·         Radio read water meters were read on W. Calvary and Rice Lake service roads

·         12/4/09:  Recirculation pump was turned on in the water tower

·         WLSSD took over operation of lift station #9 on 12/2/09

·         Lift station #4 was rewired and both pumps are operating

·         A pickup load of software and computers was disposed of at the Materials Recovery Center

·         Sander was installed on the  Ford

·         Plowed snow and shoveled, especially after Christmas blizzard

·         Nine Gopher One locates were done

·         Four legal postings were put out

·         Six loads of aluminum cans were hauled to the recycler

·         Water usage was 2,508,411 gallons; daily 80,916 gallons

·         Waste water collected was 1,041,900 gallons; daily 33,609 gallons

Jeff asked if all ties related to Lift Station #9 have been cut (phone and power.)  Patti stated there was a problem with the phone, but it has been taken care of.  She thinks the power is done.  Jerome asked if the utility locates have been transferred to WLSSD.  Patti stated that yes, they have.

4.       Fire Department:  Matt Frantz read the following report for December into the record:  The fire department responded to:

·         Seven medical calls

·         One mutual aid call

·         One line down

·         One fire in garage

·         One good intent

In addition, the fire department has accepted an offer of $2,000.00 for the 1956 fire truck. 

Greg asked Matt to put an article in the next Town paper regarding fire hydrants (keeping them cleared, etc.)  Patti stated that she has told the board about the lack of proper access at Homecroft School for fire trucks.  Matt will contact the school, starting with the school principal.

5.        Animal Control:  Cammy read the following report provided by Gloria Dallum into the record:

Hours                                    42.5

Miles Driven                       106

Fines Collected                 $180.00

Citations Issued                                none

Dogs to Pound                  1

Licenses                               $19.00

6.        Utilities:  Cammy mentioned that the Utility committee met on 1/7/10 to discuss rates.  Cindy has made a recommendation to the board to increase rates equal to our increase in fees/expenses.   This is in process.

7.       Park:  Greg received a call from Dairyland Fence stating they could do the fencing job in January or February.  Greg asked them to wait until after the spring thaw so there isn’t any damage done to the fields.

8.       Sheriff:  Cammy read the sheriff’s report into the record.  We were billed $2,640.00 for services in September, October and November 2009.  In September, deputies worked 16 hours, made 19 traffic stops resulting in 18 warnings.  Deputies also responded to a damaged mailbox incident and one disturbance call.  In October, deputies worked 16 hours, made 20 traffic stops resulting in 19 warnings and 1 citation.  Deputies also investigated a vehicle theft, a suspicious vehicle, a traffic accident with injuries, a suspicious activity call and an animal disturbance.  In November, deputies worked 16 hours, made 19 traffic stops resulting in 17 warnings, 2 citations and one arrest.  Deputies also investigated a suspicious person, a car vs. deer accident, a burglary and an assault with a gun at the Sunset Bar which resulted in a felony arrest.

9.       Rice Lake Fair Housing Authority:  no activity

OLD BUSINESS:

1.        Rice Lake Dam Road project:  no new information

2.       New North Fire Hall:  Cammy reported that George Eilertson of Northland Securities is wondering if we are still planning on pursuing financing for the fire hall.  Patti clarified that the board has discussed this and has determined to wait on any bonding for this project for at least one year.  Cammy will contact the County to let them know we are moving forward, but will not be building in 2011.

NEW BUSINESS:

1.       Cammy reported that the Township Supervisor filing closed today at 5:00 p.m.  Only Jeff Bachke has filed.  Also, the Town Annual Meeting and Election is on March 9, 2010.  Polls open noon-8:00 p.m., annual meeting at 8:15 p.m.

2.       Jerome Flogel and Pete Weidman gave us an information update on what MSA is working on for us: 

A.      Lift Station #10: Jerome stated that monitoring equipment has been removed.  The information is now being compiled and will be presented along with recommendations for remediation.  There are two basic ways to treat odor problems, first treating the water and second treating the vapor.  Sieman’s Water Technologies estimates that treating the water will be an upfront cost of about $50,000 and ongoing consumables (the chemicals to treat the water) expense of approximately $3,000 per year.  Vapor treatment would be significantly more expensive.  Sieman’s would want to do a trial prior to installing permanent equipment.  Jeff asked where Sieman’s is based out of.  Jerome answered that it is a very, very large company with the nearest rep based in central Illinois.  He has many clients in the Twin Cities area and has been extremely responsive to MSA. 

B.      Rice Lake Road North:  No further information except that Jerome is putting together an engineering proposal for Northland.  Northland would like to build the line this spring.  Jerome recommends that we set up a meeting soon to discuss this, separate from the Utility meeting.  Jerome and Cammy will work on setting up a time to meet.  Jeff asked if we should inform everyone along the stretch of Rice Lake Road of the plan to date.  Jerome said it should be made clear that, at this time, there is no financial cost to residents.  This is a private project, although if residents have an interest they may certainly attend, as is the case with all meetings.  Pete recommends taking the extra step and informing community members of the project.

C.      Pete gave the board some information regarding funding for next spring and summer.  At this time there is a lot of “talk” about another stimulus package of some kind.  This is based on requests that engineers are receiving from funding agencies regarding outstanding projects.  MSA firmly believes that there will be another package, although they have no idea how much money will be allocated.  They think that the 569 Program will be better funded compared to last year.  In light of these developments, Pete recommends that we have plans in place so that if funds become available we will be prepared to act.  This means having projects designed and “shovel ready.”  Greg said that our concern, as a Town, is that we spend funds on engineering and then do not receive funding for our project.  Then we have made an outlay of cash and cannot get the funding for the actual project.  Pete mentioned that the project will still need to be done at some point.  He mentioned that Minnesota Rural Water Association offers a service which will pinpoint leaks within a system.  Pete believes that having this information will also be great “ammunition” for future funding.  Jeff asked Jerome to go ahead and set this up as long as it is a nominal cost ($100.00 range.)  Pete also mentioned he has spoken with David Boe of Congressman Oberstar’s office regarding Rice Lake Township projects.  Pete thinks it would be wise to set up a meeting with Oberstar’s office and Town representatives.  Greg noted that we did meet last year with Jackie Morris to discuss last year’s stimulus package and we would be happy to do so once again.  Greg asked when the engineering for this project would need to be done.  Pete answered that MSA would like to start working on it immediately so that when the legislative session ends in March/April, it is ready.  Greg asked for a preliminary design figure.  Jerome said that based on last year’s numbers the project cost was $1.3 million and $162,000.00 engineering (design about ½ of the fee and construction about ½ of the fee.)  Soil borings and the soil report have already been done.  John Alander asked if the design would still be good three-four years down the road if we did not receive funding this year.  The design itself would not have an expiration date on it; it would only need to be updated and, of course, costs will change.   Pete also mentioned the Clean Water Legacy Fund which is new this year and allocates $80 million per year for water related projects.  This year all of the funding is going to the MPCA for use on phosphorus reduction projects, but that will not be the case next year.   

3.        A motion to approve Resolution 10-01-01, a resolution appointing North Shore Bank of Commerce as the Town’s bank and naming authorized signers, was made by Greg and seconded by Jeff.  All vote in favor; motion carried.

4.       A motion to approve Resolution 10-01-02, a resolution naming North Shore Investments & Trust as an additional depository for the Town’s investment accounts, was made by Greg and seconded by Jeff.  All vote in favor; motion carried.

5.       A motion to approve Resolution 10-01-03, a resolution adopting enrollment in the Minnesota Benefit Association’s group life and accident expense programs, was made by Jeff and seconded by Greg.  All vote in favor; motion carried.

6.       A motion to approve Resolution 10-01-04, a resolution to include elected officials, planning and zoning and board of adjustment members in the Town’s worker’s compensation coverage, was made by Greg and seconded by Jeff.  All vote in favor; motion carried.

7.       A motion to approve Resolution 10-01-05, a resolution appointing election judges for the Town’s March 9, 2010 election, was made by Greg and seconded by Jeff.   All vote in favor; motion carried.

8.       A motion to approve Resolution 10-01-07, a resolution revoking a Conditional Use Permit on the property located at 5121 Rice Lake Road, was made by Greg and seconded by Jeff.  All vote in favor; motion carried.

9.       A motion to move funds in the amount of $76,795.00 from the general checking account to the general project investment account for 2008 and 2009 unused budgeted capital improvement monies for the Town Hall ($20,000.00), General levied capital improvements ($19,350.00), Public Works Building ($20,000.00) and Fire Department ($17,445.00) was made by Greg and seconded by Jeff.  All vote in favor; motion carried.  Patti stated that unused capital improvement funds must be moved at the end of each year in order to keep them classified separately for capital improvements.

10.   A motion to move funds in the amount of $29,000.00 from the general checking account to the general project investment account for 2009 excess revenue from the Building Department was made by Greg and seconded by Jeff.    All vote in favor; motion carried.  Patti clarified that this is being done so that if the building department does not cover all of its expenses in a future year, there will be funds available to cover any deficit in order to keep the department self-sufficient. 

11.   A motion to approve the proposed 2011 Budget and Levy was made by Jeff and seconded by Greg.  These documents will be published in the February issue of the Rice Lake Township newspaper; the levy will be voted on at the March 9, 2010 Annual Meeting.

12.   A motion to approve Resolution 10-01-06, a resolution accepting Patti Alander’s resignation and Cammy Hansen’s appointment as Town Clerk was made by Jeff and seconded by Greg.  All vote in favor; motion carried.  Patti then swore Cammy in as clerk.  Jeff thanked Patti for doing a wonderful job as clerk for the Town. 

13.   A motion to approve and execute claims as follows was made by Greg and seconded by Jeff.  All vote in favor; motion carried:

General Fund checks #50350 through #50377

Utility Fund checks #4179 through #4183

Payroll checks #10112 through #10117

14.    A motion to adjourn was made by Greg and seconded by Jeff.  All vote in favor; meeting adjourned.