Alexandria Township
Alexandria, Minnesota 56308
Minutes of the meeting of April 4, 2022
A regular meeting of the Board of Supervisors of Alexandria Township was held on the 4th day of April, 2022 at the Alexandria Township Conference Room, 324 Broadway and via teleconference.
ROLL CALL: Supervisors present were Rod Eldevik, Dennis Butz, Jeff Oberg and Jerry Wright. Also present were Gregg Raisanen, Clerk, with Mona Billmark, Treasurer, attending via teleconference. As said members formed a quorum and the meeting was called to order by Clerk Raisanen at 6:00 p.m.
Clerk Raisanen called for nominations for chairman. Oberg nominated Rod Eldevik for chairman. Wright, seconded by Butz, made a motion to have nominations cease. A unanimous ballot was cast for Eldevik as chair. The meeting was turned over to Chairman Eldevik.
Chairman Eldevik called for nominations for Vice-Chairman. Oberg nominated Joel Dahlheimer for vice-chairman. Oberg, seconded by Wright, made a motion to have nominations cease. A unanimous ballot for Joel Dahlheimer was cast as vice-chair.
Oberg, seconded by Butz, made a motion to adopt the agenda as written. Motion carried unanimously.
Wright, seconded by Butz, made a motion to approve the minutes of the 3/21/2022 regular board meeting as written. Motion carried unanimously.
Butz, seconded by Wright, made a motion to authorize payment of claims 22062 – 22070 in the amount of $18,401.31, net payroll $4,762.13, totaling $23,163.44 with no transfer of funds. Motion carried unanimously.
CITIZEN’S CONCERNS: none
PLANNING AND ZONING: Oleson reported he had received an extension request for the final plat timeline of Wosepka Acres. He stated this was a 2-lot plat on Lake Jessie which was approved by the town board on June 7, 2021. He explained that the owner has run into title issues and does not think he will be able to meet the mandatory one-year deadline to bring this to final plat. Chairman Eldevik proposed granting an extension until August 1, 2022. Oberg, seconded by Butz, made a motion to grant an extension until August 1, 2022 for bringing the Wosepka Acres preliminary plat to final plat. Motion carried unanimously.
Oleson reported the planning commission had held a public hearing on March 28, 2022 concerning two requests. The first request was for a conditional use submitted by All Around Companies on behalf of their client, Joey Andreasen. Property location is 2434 Little Norway SE. The request was to allow the movement of more than ten cubic yards of material within a bluff. The applicant is proposing to install a new stairway leading down the bluff on the property to the lake. At the bottom of the stairway they would install a 3-foot tall boulder retaining wall and a 200 square foot sand beach area. Rock riprap would be installed along the shoreline. The conditional use is required by ordinance due to the movement of more than ten cubic yards of material. Oleson said the planning commission recommended approval with three conditions. Wright, seconded by Oberg, made a motion to approve the conditional use request for the movement of more than ten cubic yards of material within a bluff and to include the three conditions as outlined in the board report. Motion carried unanimously.
The second request was for a conditional use for PUD and preliminary plat of Maple Storage. This project would have created a plat involving 63 private individual storage buildings on approximately 15 – 16 acres of land located along Maple Drive SE. The planning commission was unanimous in recommending denial of the request. In the time period between the planning commission meeting and the town board meeting, the applicant, Brad Johanson, withdrew his application, effective March 29, 2022.
Clerk Raisanen stated currently the town board considers planning commission recommendations at their first meeting of the month. He proposed moving those considerations from the first to the second meeting of the month to allow for additional review time of board reports. Oberg, seconded by Wright, made a motion to move action on planning commission recommendations from the first meeting to the second meeting of the month. Motion carried unanimously.
Oleson reported he had received a request from a property owner on Burgen Lane for vacation of a drainage easement. The property owner owns two adjacent lots, Lots 3 and 4 of Block 3, Little Norway 3rd Addition, which have an existing drainage easement running between the two lots. The owner has submitted an application for two townhomes which would be joined on the east side of Lot 3 and the west side of Lot 4. The easement runs north/south along this juncture. Since the existing easement is not in the appropriate area where water flows, the landowner is proposing to establish a 20-foot easement along the west and south sides of Lot 3. Consensus of the board is to permit the vacation of the existing easement and the establishment of the proposed easement contingent upon the procurement of appropriate legal descriptions for the new easement and determining the legal requirements to vacate the existing easement.
ENGINEER’S REPORT: Engineer Kuhn reported he received four bids for the 2022 road overlay projects, which include the following areas: Lake Park, Maple Drive, Donway Drive, and 30th Avenue. The low bid came in at $278,001.14 from Mark Lee Asphalt & Paving. Engineer Kuhn’s estimate was $279,000. Wright, seconded by Oberg, made a motion to award the 2022 road overlay contract to Mark Lee Asphalt & Paving at the bid amount of $278,001.14. Motion carried unanimously.
Oleson reported comments on the appearance of property located at 3505 Co Rd 82 SE. Consensus of the town board is to have Oleson research and report back.
OLD BUSINESS: none
NEW BUSINESS:
- Board Appointments: Economic Development Commission.
Oberg, seconded by Butz, made a motion to appoint Vice-Chairman Dahlheimer to a one-year term on the AAEDC board.
- Planning Commission Appointments – Oberg, seconded by Wright, made a motion to appoint Larry Steidl and Jessica Fettig each to a 3-year term expiring March 2025. Motion carried unanimously.
- Per Diem Rate –Chairman Eldevik called for a motion to set the 2022 per diem rate. Wright, seconded by Oberg, made a motion to have the per diem rate remain at $80/meeting with an additional $20/meeting for the chairman. Motion carried unanimously.
- Inspection Rate – Eldevik called for a motion to set the 2022 inspection rate. Oberg, seconded by Butz, made a motion to have the inspection rate remain at $40/inspection. Motion carried unanimously.
- Incidental labor rate – Clerk Raisanen stated this is an hourly rate for non-staff employees. Wright, seconded by Butz, made a motion to have the incidental labor rate remain at $20/hr. Motion carried unanimously.
- Administrative Assistant Salary – Clerk Raisanen stated the current salary is set at $25/hr. He noted the rise of inflation and price increases due to economic constraints. Wright, seconded by Oberg, made a motion to increase the administrative assistant salary by 5%. Motion carried unanimously.
- Treasurer’s and Clerk’s Salary – Oberg, seconded by Butz, made a motion to increase the treasurer’s and clerk’s salaries by 5%. Motion carried unanimously.
- Mileage Rate – Oberg, seconded by Wright, made a motion to adopt the IRS mileage reimbursement rate. Motion carried unanimously.
- Official Publication for Notices – Oberg, seconded by Wright, made a motion to designate the Echo Press and the township’s website as the township’s official site for legal notifications. Motion carried unanimously.
10.Township Bank – Butz, seconded by Oberg, made a motion to designate Bremer Bank as our depositor of funds. Motion carried unanimously.
11.Township Attorney – Oberg, seconded by Wright, made a motion to designate the Pemberton Law Firm as legal counsel, with Marc Sugden serving as the township attorney for all current and future general township matters and Charlie Good for all prosecutorial matters. Motion carried unanimously.
12.Weed Inspector – Wright, seconded by Butz, made a motion to designate Vice-Chair Dahlheimer as chief weed inspector. Motion carried unanimously.
13.Group Life Insurance – Clerk Raisanen stated the town has designated and paid for a group life insurance policy at the silver level. Oberg, seconded by Butz, made a motion to retain coverage at the silver level. Motion carried unanimously.
14.Annual Road Inspection – the town board will determine at their next meeting to conduct road inspection on either Saturday, April 23rd or on Saturday April 30th.
Being no further business, Butz, seconded by Wright, made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Meeting adjourned at 7:00 p.m.
Respectfully submitted….
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Gregg Raisanen, Clerk
Approved this ____ day of ________, 2022
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Rod Eldevik, Chairman