November 9, 2021 Township Board Meeting Minutes
Meeting was called to order at 7:30 p.m. by Chuck Kuettel.
Attendance
Town Officers: Supervisor Chuck Kuettel, supervisor Donald Swanstrom, supervisor Doug Dressen, clerk Amber Cruz (via phone), deputy clerk Lita Wallace and treasurer Carol Nelson
Guests: Ted Wallace, Bonnie Dressen, and Raymond Barnes (stopped to return some keys/didn’t attend the meeting)
Clerk’s Report
The October 12, 2021 Township Board Meeting minutes for approval. The following changes were made: The ending check number for October 2021 was changed from 1726 to 1728. Under Old Business, referencing the easement on Moose Lake Road, the wording was changed to read as follows: “The Township is going to contact Minnesota Association of Townships for advice, and if it is ok the Township will hire a lawyer.” Motion to approve the October minutes to include the changes was provided by Dressen. The motion was seconded by Swanstrom, the motion carried 3-0-0
Treasurer’s Report
October 2021
Total Funds on hand as of 10/01/2021 (Includes Investments) $188,061.72
Plus: Deposit $124.50
Interest on Accounts $124.50
Less: Disbursement $2791.83
Payroll $824.13
Other Expenses $441.51
Form 941 Taxes $404.94
St Louis County Plowing $1121.25
Total Funds on hand as of 10/30/2021 $185,255.87
November 2021
Deposits (November) – $0
Claims (November) – $494.75
November check # 1729 – 1734
No transfers to the Checking Account is needed at this time
Motion to accept the treasurer’s report was provided by Dressen. The motion was seconded by Swanstrom, the motion carried 3-0-0
Old Business
- Update on the deputy treasurer and deputy clerk position: Job opening notices will be mailed to residents that are on the election roster. The job openings will also include the position of election judges. A notice of the open positions will also be posted on the website as well as the Pequaywan Lake Association. The clerk will contact the new owners of the Pequaywan Inn to find out about posting the openings as well as public notices. A motion to approve the mailings as well as postings was provided by Dressen. The motion was seconded by Swanstrom, the motion carried 3-0-0
- Update for the 66’ easement on the Moose Lake Road: Kuettel contacted Minnesota Association of Townships to inquire and ask for guidance whether the township could be liable if it sponsors the request. Also told them that the township does not want to be liable. This is to acknowledge that the township will not be doing anything anymore on this matter. For this reason, John Wilson will be working directly with the county and state.
- Update on the township website: The Clerka and Daisy Wallace will continue to work on updating information on the township website
- Update on LBAE training: Swanstrom was reminded that the training needs to be completed
New Business
- Staking for snowplow turnaround: The staking is planned in the area where there is a slope towards the lake. The staking will help warn the plow driver where the edge of the road is. The staking will allow the driver to determine where the slope is located and help the driver know where/how far they can push the snow. This is to try and prevent property damage to private property in the area. A motion to approve the purchase of staking material as well as the placement of the stakes was provided by Swanstrom. The motion was seconded by Dressen, the motion carried 3-0-0
- Frontier Communication requests road Access and permission to bury cable. A motion to accept Frontier Communication’s request was provided by Dressen. The motion was seconded by Swanstrom, the motion carried 3-0-0. All paperwork was signed and will be mailed promptly
Correspondence
Received
- Email from Debbie Peterson of Lake Superior School District containing information on who will be paying the election judges fr the November 2, 2021 school election
- Email from Debbie Peterson of Lake Superior School District with the official times of the school election
- Email from Debbie Peterson of Lake Superior School District verifying if election judges are needed from other precincts
- Email from Debbie Peterson of Lake Superior School District with information on the pay rate for the election judges
- Email from Lola Haus Lake County Election Administrator stating that the Automark cards and ballots were sent to the townships, but that there was a problem with the software for any St. Louis County townships. The Automark card will not work on any St. Louis County townships.
- Email from Lisa Sweet of St Louis County elections office verifying election judges
- Email from Lola Haus Lake County Election Administrator with updates on the Automark media cards. New cards have been ordered.
- Email from Phil Chapman of St Louis County Clerk of County Board/ Elections Supervisor containing election reminders and information
- Email from Lora Skarman of St Louis County Assessor’s Office with LBAE training availability reminder
- Email from Debbie Peterson of Lake Superior School District with new wage information for Pequaywan Township judges
- Email from Cathy Rouleau of St Louis County Association of Townships on the upcoming monthly meeting
- Email from Heather Gregor of Frontier Communications on the request for access for bury cable on township road
- Email from the Minnesota Association of Townships (MAT) containing the October 2021 newsletter
- Email from Cathy Rouleau of the St Louis County Association of Townships containing the minutes of the SCLAT monthly meeting
- Email from Lola Haus of Lake County Elections administration stating the new Automark cards were in and directions on where to pick them up at
- Email from Daisy Wallace containing updates on research and work done for/on the township website
- Invoice from Daisy Wallace for the sum of $37.50 for website administration
- Missing payment invoice reminder from Daisy Wallace for the sum of $12.50 for last month’s website administration
- Email from Lisa Sweet of the St Louis County Elections verifying election judges and the need to find one more judge
- Email from Debbie Peterson of Lake Superior School District with directions on where to return election materials
- Email from Lita Wallace containing her resignation of deputy clerk.
- Email from Phil Chapman of the St Louis County Elections department with the news that Lisa Sweet has transferred to a different department
- Email from the Minnesota Association of Townships (MAT) with a notice that the MAT Insurance and Bond Trust has mailed a packet with Worker’s Compensation Invoices and Audit forms.
- Received a packet from MAT Insurance and Bond Trust containing the Worker’s Compensation Invoices and Audit forms
Sent
- Email to Debbie Peterson of Lake Superior School District with questions regarding the upcoming school election
- Email to Debbie Peterson of Lake Superior School District asking what the pay for the election judges is to be
- Email to Daisy Wallace with website update requests
- Email to Debbie Peterson of Lake Superior School District with judges update
- Email to Lisa Sweet of St Louis County with election judges update
- Email to Debbie Peterson of Lake Superior School District inquiring where to drop off election materials
- Phone call to the Lake Superior School District with election results
Public Comment
There was no public comment at this time
Next Meeting December 14, 2021 at the Pequaywan firehall with the additional option of attending via teleconference. The location will be reassessed 2 weeks prior to December 14, 2021 Township Board meeting. Any changes in location will be made at that time in accordance with Minnesota Association of Townships and the State of Minnesota
A motion to adjourn the meeting was provided by Dressen. The motion was seconded by Swanstrom, the motion carried 3-0-0
Kuettel adjourned the meeting at 7:55 p.m.
Respectfully submitted by,
Amber Cruz, clerk
Lita Wallace, deputy clerk