Alexandria Township
Alexandria, Minnesota 56308
Minutes of the meeting of May 4, 2015
A regular meeting of the Board of Supervisors of Alexandria Township was held on the 4th day of May, 2015 at the Alexandria Township Conference Room, 324 Broadway.
ROLL CALL: Supervisors present were Jeff Oberg, Jul Feuling, Joel Dahlheimer 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.
Niskanen, seconded by Oberg, made a motion to adopt the agenda with the addition of road inspection under Engineer’s Report. Motion carried unanimously.
Niskanen, seconded by Dahlheimer, made a motion to approve the minutes of the 4/20/2015 regular board meeting as written. Motion carried unanimously.
Niskanen, seconded by Dahlheimer, made a motion to authorize payment of claims 15083-15097 in the amount of $38,561.34, net payroll $4,094.37 totaling $42,655.71 with a transfer of funds from savings in the amount of $20,000. Motion carried unanimously.
CITIZEN’S CONCERNS: Clerk Raisanen reported he had received a call from a resident regarding the township’s affiliation with Charter Communications. The resident was concerned about the recent programming changes and asked if the township is bound to Charter or do we have an option to change providers. He also queried how Charter can operate as the only wired cable and internet (TV) provider in our area. Consensus to have Clerk Raisanen research the issue and report back to the board
PLANNING AND ZONING: Zoning Administrator Oleson reported that the planning commission had conducted a public hearing on the preliminary plat and conditional use applications for Lake Jessie Meadows 2nd Addition. Their recommendation is to approve two elements of the application: 1) to rearrange the shape and layout of the lots; and 2) to convert the community center to a private residence. The board decided to table a decision on these issues until the Board of Adjustment’s public hearing on May 18th regarding the variance application for this development.
ENGINEER’S REPORT: Engineer Kuhn provided an update on the Neewana Beach Road project. He reported that he had met with Gary Thompson, owner of the Geneva Golf Course, to discuss the location of the box culvert. He originally planned to locate the underpass as far as possible into the hill in order to minimize the amount of fill that would be required. Upon further research, he concluded that it would be best to align the box culvert instead with the existing trail. He suggested the town may want to obtain a permanent easement. He also suggested the town may opt to take over maintenance for the culvert once it is installed. He discussed an option of a ceiling height of 7’ as opposed to 8’, which would still provide one foot of clearance. He reported that Mr. Thompson plans on grading his property to ensure drainage flow away from the culvert. The board requested Engineer Kuhn obtain specifics from Mr. Thompson on what costs he will front before the project goes out for bid.
Supervisor Niskanen reported that the road inspection has been completed and that the gravel roads appear to be in good shape.
OLD BUSINESS: none
NEW BUSINESS: Dean Berglund of Carlson Highland was present to give a summary of the 2014 financial audit. He stated the audit went very well and there were no audit findings.
Clerk Raisanen reported we had received one quote for the application of calcium chloride from Alden Just Road Maintenance @ $1.10/gal. He stated the county had obtained two quotes, one @ $1.08/gal. and the other @ $1.00/gal. The county awarded their 2015 contract to Tri-City Paving @ $1.00/gal. He reminded the board that the reason the town has not contracted with the county over the past few years is because the county provides only one application per year versus being able to apply chloride on an “as needed” basis. Motion by Dahlheimer, seconded by Niskanen, to award the 2015 calcium chloride contract to Alden Just Road Maintenance @ $1.10/gal. Motion carried unanimously.
Clerk Raisanen reported the animal control contract with Alden Just Road Maintenance has expired. He explained the purpose of the contract is for nuisance calls only, transporting roaming/lost animals to the Humane Society, with calls coming through either the township office, township officials or law enforcement. Mr. Just is proposing a fee of $65/hr. for this service. Motion by Niskanen, seconded by Dahlheimer, to contract with Alden Just Road Maintenance for the 2015 animal control services at the fee stated above. Motion carried unanimously.
Clerk Raisanen reported that Rod Eldevik has expressed an interest in serving out Lyle Hammerschmidt’s term on the town board. Clerk Raisanen to invite Mr. Eldevik to attend the next meeting.
Being no further business, Dahlheimer, seconded by Niskanen, made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Meeting adjourned at 7:17 p.m.
Respectfully submitted….
______________________________________
Gregg Raisanen, Clerk
Approved this ____ day of ________, 2015
_______________________________________
Jul Feuling, Chair