Alexandria Township
Alexandria, Minnesota 56308
Minutes of the meeting of 8-06-2007
A regular meeting of the Board of Supervisors of Alexandria Township was held on the 20th Day of August 2007 at the Alexandria Township Conference Room, 610 Fillmore Street.
ROLL CALL: Supervisors present were Bryon Alstead, Joel Dahlheimer, Jim Casper, Louis Ross, and Roger Thalman. Also present were Clerk Gregg Raisanen and Mona Billmark, Treasurer. As said members formed a quorum and the meeting was called to order by Chairman Thalman at 7:30 PM.
Dahlheimer, seconded by Casper, made a motion to adopt the agenda with the addition of the building code public hearing and LAR update under new business. Motion carried unanimously.
Dahlheimer, seconded by Alstead, made a motion to approve the minutes of the August 6, 2007 regular board meeting as written. Motion carried. Supervisor Casper abstained.
Alstead, seconded by Casper, made a motion to authorize payment of claims 7259-7268 in the amount of $2,081.83. Motion carried unanimously.
CITIZEN CONCERNS: Zoning Administrator Oleson provided the board a summary of his conversations with County Attorney Karpen regarding the Zunker Junkyard. Mr. Oleson reported that Mr. Zunker has agreed to an informal timeframe with the Attorney Karpen to remove the junk on the southern lots and has been removing junk from the existing junkyard. Mr. Zunker reported that he had some physical injuries during the past year that prevented him from removing more junk from the property and is making progress on getting the material removed. He also indicated that he had never received a conditional use permit for the junkyard since he has been in operation. Mr. Oleson recommended that a short time frame be established for the junk on the southern lots and to establish a reasonable time frame the removal of the remainder. Supervisor Casper reported that he had been in operation for many years without a conditional use permit and has benefited from the operation of the junkyard. Mr. Zunker indicated that he is not interested in any formal time frame to remove the junk and left the meeting.
Ross, seconded by Alstead, made a motion to draft an agreement to require Mr. Zunker to remove all of the junk off of the southern most lots of his junkyard within 90 days. Motion carried unanimously.
Al Beisner was present and offered the township some fill for the construction of a bike trail along Liberty Road from Golf Club Drive to the bike trail along Hwy. 27. He indicated that he is in the process of excavating a pond and has approximately 11,000 yd3 of excess material that he would be willing to move to facilitate the building of a bike trail. The board directed Clerk Raisanen to discuss the feasibility of a bike trail with Engineer Kuhn.
Clerk Raisanen reported that he and administrative assistant Fulghum had received numerous calls regarding tree and limb pickup. Residents heard that the City of Alexandria was picking up this debris and wondered about the township. Clerk Raisanen questioned if the township should adopt an emergency response plan to react in the event of an emergency as a result of bad weather. The board directed Clerk Raisanen to research the issue and report back to the board.
ENGINEER’ REPORT: Jessie from WSN reported that the original price for the E. Lake Burgen drainage project had increased to approximately $18,000.00. The board tabled a decision, to a future meeting, to hear the recommendation of Engineer Kuhn and to also speak to the residents about additional tree loss due to the change in design before proceeding with the rip-rap design for the drainage project.
Jessie reported that the Queen’s Road sewer project would result in a temporary detour for the area residents.
OLD BUSINESS: Clerk Raisanen reported that Attorney Clark recommended that the board use the sealed bid process instead of RFP for the road maintenance contract. Ross, seconded by Alstead, made a motion to advertise for bids for the road maintenance contract. Motion carried unanimously.
NEW BUSINESS: Ross, seconded by Casper, made a motion to approve the road name of Donway Pl. for the private road into Geneva Estates North, second edition. Motion carried unanimously.
The board discussed the building code public hearing. Supervisor Dahlheimer reported that most of the individuals at the public hearing that spoke in opposition to adoption of enforcement were from his neighborhood. Supervisor Ross reported that he supports adoption since most homebuyers are unaware that the homes have not been inspected during construction. Supervisor Casper reported that the building code enforcement is the government’s responsibility and in Minnesota, it has been given to local jurisdictions to enforce. The board will consider adoption at the next meeting.
Supervisor Alstead provide the board a summary of activity at the LeHommeDieu Beach this summer. In addition, he indicated that the LAR board is considering proposals for a feasibility study for long range planning.
Supervisor Casper requested updates from the parks subcommittee and transportation subcommittee at the next meeting.
Being no further business, Ross, seconded by Alstead, made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Meeting adjourned at 8:55PM.
Respectfully Submitted….. Approved this _____ day of________, 2007
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Gregg Raisanen, Clerk Roger Thalman, Chairman