October 5, 2015 Meeting Minutes

Alexandria Township

Alexandria, Minnesota 56308

Minutes of the meeting of October 5, 2015

A regular meeting of the Board of Supervisors of Alexandria Township was held on the 5th day of October, 2015 at the Alexandria Township Conference Room, 324 Broadway.

 

ROLL CALL: Supervisors present were Jul Feuling, Jeff Oberg, Joel Dahlheimer, Rod Eldevik and Russell Niskanen. Also present were Gregg Raisanen, Clerk, and Mona Billmark, Treasurer. As said members formed a quorum and the meeting was called to order by Chair Feuling at 6:00 p.m.

 

Oberg, seconded by Eldevik, made a motion to adopt the agenda as presented. Motion carried unanimously.

 

Dahlheimer, seconded by Niskanen, made a motion to approve the minutes of the 9/21/2015 regular board meeting as written. Motion carried unanimously.

 

Niskanen, seconded by Dahlheimer, made a motion to authorize payment of claims 15191-15202 in the amount of $23,708.56, net payroll of $4,946.97 totaling $28,655.53 and a transfer of funds from savings in the amount of $25,000.00. Motion carried unanimously.

 

CITIZEN’S CONCERNS: none

 

PLANNING AND ZONING: Zoning Administrator Oleson presented an inquiry from Roger Nelson regarding a possible lot line adjustment. Mr. Nelson is interested in purchasing the lot to the south of his property and adjusting the lot line. Oleson stated that the property to the north is not platted; the property to the south is platted. Normally a lot line adjustment would be all that was needed; however our ordinance will not allow it in this instance since the ordinance requires both properties to be either platted or unplatted. Oleson said the town has two options: 1) the applicant could apply for a variance or 2) the property could be replatted. A variance would be necessary as there is insufficient road frontage and thus would not meet the road frontage requirements for the lots. Mr. Nelson commented that he wants to be able to make two compliant lots with the use of a common driveway. Board was in consensus for the applicant to apply for a variance for the lot line adjustment as currently presented instead of going through the replatting process.

 

Oleson provided an update on the landowner who had put fill in the right-of-way on E. Lake Burgen Road. The township attorney has been attempting to settle with the landowner but has not met with success. He is proceeding with a court date.

 

A landscaper was notified that he will be assessed an “after the fact” fee. Oleson stated that the contractor may want to appeal the fee.

 

Engineer’s Report: Clerk Raisanen reported that the Neewana Beach project is close to or below budget and is proceeding well.

 

OLD BUSINESS: none

 

 

NEW BUSINESS: Supervisor Oberg presented a handout of the proposed 2016 LAR budget. He said they have had conversations about the increase of the rent for the building and ways to bridge the gap. One proposal was to seek an extra 25 cents per resident from Alex City, Alexandria and LaGrand Townships. Board consensus was that the increase should be shared amongst all participants in Levels I – IV.

 

Clerk Raisanen provided information on the process for changing town elections from March to November. He stated that the issue has come up from time to time due primarily to low voter turnout. The state made this an option in 1994. One reason the town has not made the change is due to the fact we have a five member supervisor board with staggered 3-year term limits. Clerk Raisanen stated that if the election is moved to November, the term limit has to be changed to either 4 or 6 years.

 

Supervisor Oberg mentioned that some of the information on our website is obsolete and wished to discuss options of making updates more frequent. Clerk Raisanen will research other website design options.

 

Being no further business, Dahlheimer, seconded by Eldevik, made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Meeting adjourned at 6:57 p.m.

 

Respectfully submitted….

 

 

______________________________________

Gregg Raisanen, Clerk

 

Approved this ____ day of ________, 2015

 

 

_______________________________________

Jul Feuling, Chair