April 5, 2021 minutes

Alexandria Township

Alexandria, Minnesota 56308

Minutes of the meeting of April 5, 2021

A regular meeting of the Board of Supervisors of Alexandria Township was held on the 5th day of April, 2021 at the Alexandria Township Conference Room, 324 Broadway and via teleconference.

ROLL CALL:  Supervisors present were Joel Dahlheimer, Rod Eldevik, Dennis Butz 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.  Dahlheimer, seconded by Wright, nominated Rod Eldevik as chair.  Nominations ceased and 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.  Wright, seconded by Butz, nominated Joel Dahlheimer as vice-chairman.  Nominations ceased and a unanimous ballot for Joel Dahlheimer was cast as vice-chair.

Dahlheimer, seconded by Butz, made a motion to adopt the agenda as written.  Motion carried unanimously.

Wright, seconded by Dahlheimer, made a motion to approve the minutes of the 3/15/2021 regular board meeting as written.  Motion carried unanimously.

Wright, seconded by Butz, made a motion to authorize payment of claims 21064 – 21076 in the amount of $11,442.50, net payroll $6,119.76, totaling $17,562.26 with no transfer of funds.  Motion carried unanimously.

CITIZEN’S CONCERNS:  none

PLANNING AND ZONING: Zoning Administrator Oleson reported on drainage issues posed by a farm field in the Lake Geneva area.  It appears the problem has resolved.  Consensus of the board to continue monitoring the situation.

Oleson reported one of the planning commissioners expressed concern that the Norris property along County Road 23 is accumulating more vehicles and junk viewable from the road.  Consensus of the board to have Oleson write a letter to the landowner directing them to remove inoperable vehicles from the front of the property.

ENGINEER’S REPORT: Engineer Kuhn requested that the board authorize him to ascertain the status of paved roads in the township and determine those in need of repair.  Once his assessment is complete, he will report back to the board.  Consensus to grant authorization for Engineer Kuhn to determine road viability for 2021.

Due to the early spring weather, consensus of the board is to conduct road inspection either on Saturday, April 10th or on the 17th.

OLD BUSINESS: none

NEW BUSINESS:

  1. Clerk Raisanen reported the town had published an RFP twice for solicitation of proposals for summer road maintenance. The town received one quote, from Alden Just Road Maintenance.  The proposal includes all the requested information.  The contracted amounts listed per the fee schedule are as follows:  grading of roads with motor grader, $97/hr.; mowing road ditches, $75/hr.; spraying weeds, $75/hr.; sweeping roads, $75/hr.; sign installation and other maintenance, $40/hr/worker and base fuel prices of $2.747 /gal. for off-road fuel and $3.104/gal. for highway fuel with 12-cent increments @ $1/hr. fuel adjustment for $0.12/gal. increase in fuel prices.  Dahlheimer, seconded by Butz, made a motion to contract with Alden Just Road Maintenance for summer road maintenance per the quoted fee schedule for the period April 5, 2021 – September 30, 2021.  Motion carried unanimously.
  1. Board Appointments:
  • AAEDC – Vice-chairman Dahlheimer
  1. Planning Commission Appointments – Dahlheimer, seconded by Wright, made a motion to appoint Linda Dokken-McFann to a 3-year term expiring March 2024 and to appoint Jerry Wipper to a 1-year term expiring March 2022 to fulfill the vacancy created by Mary Hacker’s resignation.  Motion carried unanimously.
  1. Per Diem Rate –Chairman Eldevik called for a motion to set the 2021 per diem rate. Butz, seconded by Dahlheimer, made a motion to have the per diem rate remain at $80/meeting with an additional $20/meeting for the chairman. Motion carried unanimously.
  1. Inspection Rate – Eldevik called for a motion to set the 2021 inspection rate. Wright,    seconded by Butz, made a motion to have the inspection rate remain at $40/inspection.  Motion carried unanimously.
  1. Incidental labor rate – Clerk Raisanen stated this is an hourly rate for non-staff employees. Wright, seconded by Butz, made a motion to increase the incidental labor rate to $20/hr.  Motion carried unanimously.
  1. Administrative Assistant Salary – Clerk Raisanen stated the current salary is set at $22/hr. Wright, seconded by Dahlheimer, made a motion to increase the administrative assistant salary to $25/hr.  Motion carried unanimously.
  1. Treasurer’s and Clerk’s Salary – Dahlheimer, seconded by Wright, made a motion to increase the treasurer’s and clerk’s salaries to $800/month. Motion carried unanimously.
  1. Mileage Rate – Dahlheimer, seconded by Butz, made a motion to adopt the IRS mileage reimbursement rate. Motion carried unanimously.

10.Official Publication for Notices – Wright, seconded by Dahlheimer, 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.

11.Township Bank – Dahlheimer, seconded by Butz, made a motion to designate Bremer Bank as our depositor of funds.  Motion carried unanimously.

12.Township Attorney – Butz, seconded by Dahlheimer, 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.

13.Weed Inspector – Wright, seconded by Butz, made a motion to designate all town supervisors as weed inspectors, with Vice-chair Dahlheimer as chief weed inspector.  Motion carried unanimously.

14.Group Life Insurance – Clerk Raisanen stated the town has designated and paid for a group life insurance policy at the silver level.  Wright, seconded by Dahlheimer, made a motion to retain coverage at the silver level.  Motion carried unanimously.

Being no further business, Dahlheimer, seconded by Butz, made a motion to adjourn the meeting.  Meeting adjourned at 6:50 p.m.

Respectfully submitted….

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Gregg Raisanen, Clerk

Approved this ____ day of ________, 2021

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Rod Eldevik, Chairman