September 12, 2017 | Township Board Meeting

Meeting was called to order at 7:32 p.m. by Chair Scott Mead.

Present: Supervisors Scott Mead and Lee Kaplan, Treasurer Ray Barnes and Clerk Lita Wallace. Number of residents present: 6, Number of non-resident present:1.

Clerk’s Report: Copies of August Minutes were provided for those present to review. Motioned by Scott, seconded by Lee, (Scott yay, Lee yay) motion carried.

Treasurer’s Report:

$269,186.23    Total Cash on hand as of 7/31/2017
5,642.91    Plus: Deposits
            543.42    Less: Disbursements
$274,285.72    Total Cash on hand as of 8/31/2017

Old Business

  • Discussion of rental property use – a resident planning on renting two cabins on the Big Lake was in attendance at the meeting in response to a letter he received from the township and Pequaywan Lakes Association. He stated that he shares the same concern in protecting the lake to be free of invasive species and its water quality. He explained that they do not intend on putting a boat landing on the property. If they decide to use something on the lake, it will be a pontoon and will only be dedicated for Pequaywan Lake use.
  • Review of proposals for widening West Branch Road turnaround – the contractor, Garrett Campbell was in attendance and submitted a proposal for $20,500.00. The proposal was originally for $22,500.00, but because an adjacent property owner was willing to permit the use of five feet of his property, the price was dropped by $2,000.  The project will consist of removal of trees and stumps (stumps will be dumped at site down the road from West Branch Road); trucking of gravel; leveling the designated area away from the lake; sloping back side while maintaining an existing walking path; and installing hay mat and seeding the back side of the designated area. Work will start the week of September 17 and done by mid-October. Payment due upon completion. Lee motioned to accept the proposal as amended, second by Scott, (Scott yay, Lee yay) motion carried.

There are two properties affected by the project. One resident stated that he will give easement on part of his property that is affected with the turnaround. Scott mentioned that he talked to another resident whose property is also affected and told Scott that he will give permit for the 5 feet use of his property instead of going that much farther down the hill and also to avoid an issue with erosion.

  • Discussion of a gate for the township parcel land – Big rocks have been placed on the Rossini Road entry. While ATV’s will not be able to be kept out, cars and trucks will be blocked to prevent people from dumping trash, tires, carpet, etc. on the property. Gate with lock will be purchased at a cost of about $100.00 for placement in Pequaywan Lake Road entry. Scott motioned to purchase gate, Lee second, (Scott yay, Lee yay) motion carried. Walking trail and parking will be addressed later.
  • Report on the MAT Dist 10 meeting at Grand Lake Township – Gary Pedersen of Minnesota Association of Townships talked about what they have done; i.e., putting Township signs across the state. We have our own homemade so it did not matter with us. They also talked about getting the legislators on board about upgrading broadband in the rural areas; and Noxious Weeds and having the legislator provide funds for its removal.
  • Kaspersky – Ray reported about a discussion he had with an IT person at UMD. Their department had moved from using Kaspersky to a different software due to security reasons. Ray mentioned that Bit Defender is the best one in the market. Cost will be zero as he is buying one for himself and he will have four extra licenses that the township can use for the two laptops.

New Business – None

Claims: Check numbers 1278-1284 in the amount of $710.23.

Correspondence:

Received: (1) Updated Publication of 2017 Minnesota Election Laws from the Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State; (2) Email from St. Louis County Election Department re-legislation passed by the legislature to make $7 million dollars of grant funding available for jurisdiction to update election equipment; and (3) Zoning and Assessment requests from Appraisal and Title companies for resident properties.

Sent: None

Public Comment: None

Next Meeting:
October 10, 7:30 p.m., Pequaywan Fire Department, 8764 Pequaywan Lake Road

Motioned to Adjourn by Scott, Lee second, (Scott yay, Lee yay) motion carried.

Respectfully submitted by,
Lita Wallace, Town Clerk