Alexandria Township
Alexandria, Minnesota 56308
Minutes of the meeting of May 6, 2019
A regular meeting of the Board of Supervisors of Alexandria Township was held on the 6th day of May, 2019 at the Alexandria Township Conference Room, 324 Broadway.
ROLL CALL: Supervisors present were Jeff Oberg, Joel Dahlheimer, Rod Eldevik, Dennis Butz and Jerry Wright. Also present were Gregg Raisanen, Clerk, and Mona Billmark, Treasurer. As said members formed a quorum and the meeting was called to order by Chairman Eldevik at 6:00 p.m.
Dahlheimer, seconded by Oberg, made a motion to adopt the agenda with a comment to be added under New Business. Motion carried unanimously.
Wright, seconded by Oberg, made a motion to approve the minutes of the 4/15/2019 regular board meeting as written. Motion carried unanimously.
Dahlheimer, seconded by Butz, made a motion to authorize payment of claims 19075 – 19090 in the amount of $56,009.60, net payroll $3,496.42, totaling $59,506.02 and a transfer of funds from savings of $20,000.00. Motion carried unanimously.
Dean Birkeland of CarlsonSV, the town’s auditing firm, presented the findings of the 2018 audit report. He reported that an unmodified opinion was issued for a clean audit and also reported that his staff had no issues working with Alexandria Township staff in completing the audit.
CITIZEN’S CONCERNS: none
PLANNING AND ZONING: Attorney Johnson reported on the court proceedings of May 3, 2019 concerning the Dropik property. He stated that an initial hearing was scheduled for February 2019. At that time, the court issued a judgment for clean up of the property located on Newman Road. The court found the landowner in violation of the town’s nuisance and zoning ordinances. The resident had until April 26, 2019 to comply with the order. The court issued a supplemental order which says, in effect, that the resident hasn’t removed the items that were deemed in violation of the town’s nuisance ordinance and thus is not in compliance with the order from February 2019. The town has the authority to remove the property and sell it to recoup the town’s costs. Supervisor Oberg and Chairman Eldevik will research companies to assist in the removal/sale of the personal property and report back to the board. Once a company has been secured, Attorney Johnson will notify the landowner. Zoning Administrator Oleson was requested to contact the landowner to ascertain if he is willing to turn over the vehicle titles for sale.
Attorney Johnson reported that a new order was issued on April 30, 2019 evicting Mr. Dropik from the Highway 82 property.
Zoning Administrator Oleson reported the town had received another complaint concerning the Doug Norris property. Mr. Norris has indicated he is in the process of cleaning up the property. The recent complaint also concerns the number of dogs on the property, at times up to 15 dogs. Clerk Raisanen stated that the town’s kennel policy applies to platted areas. Since this property does not fall into that category, the town cannot enforce the small animal ordinance limiting the number of domestic animals on the property. Consensus to have Oleson make one more contact with the landowner and, if unsuccessful, to then turn the situation over to Attorney Sugden.
Oleson reported that the Chock septic violation is still ongoing. Mr. Chock was unresponsive to a May 1, 2019 deadline for compliance. He has until June 1, 2019 to either install a new septic system or obtain a letter from ALASD about connecting to the sanitary sewer. Consensus to have Oleson send another letter and, if no response, to turn the situation over to Attorney Sugden.
ENGINEER’S REPORT: Engineer Kuhn reported the town received one gravel quote for the 5,000 ton Class 5 aggregate by the deadline and one after the deadline. Central Specialties submitted a quote in the amount of $58,100 for 5,000 ton. Engineer Kuhn remarked that the late quote was significantly higher. Dahlheimer, seconded by Wright, made a motion to accept the quote from Central Specialties in the amount of $58,100.00 at $11.62/ton. Another quote was submitted late by Mark Lee Excavating; however the quoted amount was significantly higher than the Central Specialties quote. Motion carried unanimously.
OLD BUSINESS: none
NEW BUSINESS: Clerk Raisanen reported that Douglas County had gone out for bids for calcium chloride and awarded the bid to Knife River Corporation at $1.079/gal. He said the town received one quote, from Alden Just Road Maintenance, for $1.19/gal. Raisanen stated the county would provide a one-time application whereas Alden Just would be able to provide chloride on an “as needed basis.” Dahlheimer, seconded by Butz, made a motion to award the calcium chloride contract to Alden Just Road Maintenance for $1.19/gal. Motion carried unanimously.
Clerk Raisanen presented a proposal for Animal Control Services submitted by Alden Just Road Maintenance. He indicated that the rate would remain the same as last year, at $65/hr/call. Oberg, seconded by Wright, made a motion to contract with Alden Just Road Maintenance for Animal Control Services for the period of May 7, 2019 – May 7, 2020. Motion carried unanimously.
Chairman Eldevik reported that the town had received a comment from the MPCA regarding the extension of the permit for the landfill for another five years.
Being no further business, Dahlheimer, seconded by Oberg, made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Meeting adjourned at 7:04 p.m.
Respectfully submitted….
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Gregg Raisanen, Clerk
Approved this ____ day of ________, 2019
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Rod Eldevik, Chairman