Alexandria Township
Alexandria, Minnesota 56308
Minutes of the meeting of 12-03-2007
A regular meeting of the Board of Supervisors of Alexandria Township was held on the 3rd Day of December 2007 at the Alexandria Township Conference Room, 610 Fillmore Street.
ROLL CALL: Supervisors present were Bryon Alstead, Louis Ross, Joel Dahlheimer, Jim Casper, and Roger Thalman. Also present were Clerk Gregg Raisanen and Mona Billmark, Treasurer. As said members formed a quorum and the meeting was reconvened by Chairman Thalman at 7:35PM.
Ross, seconded by Alstead, made a motion to adopt the agenda as presented. Motion carried unanimously.
CITIZEN CONCERN’S: The board received numerous citizen complaints regarding snowplowing after the recent snow event. A list of the complaints received was summarized by the office and distributed to the board. The most common complaint received was the timeliness of the snow removal- some residents had not been plowed until at least 5 pm on Sunday when it quit snowing at approximately 10:00 pm Saturday evening. Other residents expressed concern about the width of the road; in some cases the snow bank was 4-5 ft. away from the mailboxes. The snow had not been winged back away from the road surface by Monday PM. Citizen’s complained about the equipment that was used to plow snow; a pickup and plow was used which required numerous trips down the road to make the road wide enough. Another complaint was the intersections where the snow was not removed adequately. Chairman Thalman presented a photo of an intersection at Ridgeview Terrace and Parkview Road that had not been cleaned by 3:00 PM on Monday. Douglas County public works contacted the township office expressing concern about the inadequacy of snow removal at the intersection of township and county roads. The last area of concern was the lack of salt/sand at intersections. Clerk Raisanen reported that just prior to tonight’s meeting he viewed intersections in his neighborhood and found no evidence of any salt/sand that had been applied. Clerk Raisanen reported that he had spoken with the clerk of LaGrand Township regarding their snow removal. She had informed him that they have two trucks with plows, wings, and sanding equipment and one road grader and 66 miles of roads. The operators had begin plowing snow at approximately 10:30 PM Saturday and had finished with the first pass and sanding by 8:00 AM Sunday morning. Chad and Julie Rubner, representing Canyon Contracting reported that they had had an equipment breakdown, which delayed them from completing the job in a timely manner and used a pickup truck with a plow and a tractor with a plow to remove snow. They reported that the company had begun plowing at 6:30 pm on Saturday and had stopped at 2:30 AM and resumed at 7:00 AM on Sunday. They were in the process of purchasing another truck with a plow this evening. As far as the sanding, they could not comment since they were not responsible for this; another employee was completing the job.
Ross, seconded by Alstead, made a motion to authorize Supervisor Dahlheimer to inspect Canyon Contracting equipment in the morning to ensure that they have the proper snow removal equipment to complete the conditions of the contract. Attorney Michelle Clark informed the board that as a result of the complaints received and the observations of the board, Canyon Contracting has materially breached the contract and the contract can be terminated. She indicated that the Health, safety, and welfare of the residents of the Township are at risk. Supervisor Dahlheimer inquired if the township is liable in the event of an emergency. Attorney Clark responded that the board could be at risk if they were aware of an issue regarding the health and safety of residents and took no action. Motion carried unanimously.
Attorney Clark informed the board that the emergency power act would allow the chairman to call an emergency meeting should the necessity arise.
PLANNNING AND ZONING:
The board considered the conditional use permit to allow shoreline alteration on a steep slope located at 304 E. Lake Geneva Road submitted by Mark and Carmon Watkins. Zoning Administrator Oleson reported that the planning commission unanimously recommended approval of the permit with 6 conditions. Supervisor Casper questioned if there was any agreement with the adjoining landowner since the entrance to the drainage is on an adjacent property. Zoning Administrator Oleson reported that this is private project and it is a benefit to both properties so therefore he was not concerned. Alstead, seconded by Ross, made a motion to accept the planning commission recommendation and approve the Conditional Use Permit to allow shoreline alteration on a steep slope located at 304 E. Lake Geneva Road submitted by Mark and Carmon Watkins. Motion for: Alstead, Ross, Casper, Dahlheimer, Thalman. Motion against: None. Motion carried unanimously.
The board considered the application for a Preliminary plat of “Second addition to Rambows Subdivision” to subdivide a parcel of land into 3 single-family residential lots located at 2701 50th Ave. submitted by Arlynn Johnson. Zoning Administrator Oleson reported that the planning commission unanimously recommended approval of the permit with the condition that the applicant receive written approval from ALASD of the proposed easement across lot 1 to provide sewer service to lot 2. Alstead, seconded by Ross, made a motion to accept the planning commission recommendation and approve the preliminary plat of “ Second addition to Rambows Subdivision” to subdivide a parcel of land into 3 single-family residential lots located at 2701 50th Ave. submitted by Arlynn Johnson with the condition as noted. Motion for: Alstead, Ross, Casper, Dahlheimer, Thalman. Motion against: None. Motion carried unanimously.
Zoning Administrator Oleson reported that the planning commission tabled discussion regarding potential amendments to the Alexandria Township Comprehensive plan to identify additional areas appropriate for commercial/light industrial uses. The planning commission wants additional time to view the area and to allow time to determine other legal nonconforming uses in the township.
The board considered the recommendation of the planning commission to amend the zoning ordinance to allow for improvement and/ or expansion to legal, nonconforming uses on a case-by-case basis. The planning commission recommended that the amendment included language similar to what the City of Alexandria’s zoning ordinance included. Zoning Administrator Oleson presented the board proposed language to allow for legal, nonconforming uses. Supervisor Ross expressed concern that this new language would not discourage continued non-conforming uses from continuing. Zoning Administrator Oleson indicated that the language would allow some flexibility in administering legal nonconforming uses and would not make situations worse. Casper, seconded by Alstead, made a motion to accept the planning commission recommendation to amend the interim zoning ordinance to allow for improvement and/or expansion to legal, nonconforming uses on a case-by-case basis and to approved the language presented by Zoning Administrator Oleson in the staff report. Motion for: Alstead, Ross, Casper, Dahlheimer, Thalman. Motion against: None. Motion carried unanimously.
Zoning Administrator Oleson reported that the planning commission tabled discussion regarding rezoning of property or a portion of property, from Urban Residential to Commercial-Rural or light industrial until or if the comprehensive land use plan is amended to include additional areas.
The board considered the conditional use permit application to allow light industrial use of a building in the Urban Residential District on a property located at 3801 Hazel Hill Road submitted by Kathy Hodges. Zoning Administrator Oleson reported that the planning commission unanimously recommended approval with 7 conditions. Supervisor Casper questioned if the new building will be used for electronic recycling since her application mentions 44 additional materials. Ms Hodges indicated that the plan is to move the electronic recycling inside the new building. Ms Hodge presented a landscaping plan of two rows of 5-7 ft. spruce trees to meet the screening condition. She indicated that her facility is one of 22 in the state of MN, which is a certified electronic recycler. No material is burned at the facility and she has fire suppression equipment. In addition, she has a bailer for metal siding on site. Supervisor Ross questioned whether finding of fact No. 6, which indicated that, this use is in conformance with the Comprehensive land use plan of the township. Zoning Administrator Oleson indicated that the existing use is different; however, the conditional use process allows the township to manage legal non-conforming uses. Casper, seconded by Dahlheimer, made a motion to approve the conditional use permit submitted by Kathy Hodges to allow light industrial use of a building in the Urban Residential District on a property located at 3801 Hazel Hill Road with the 7 conditions recommended and the addition of another condition to not allow the expansion of land area for the operation. Motion for: Alstead, Ross, Casper, Dahlheimer, Thalman. Motion against: None. Motion carried unanimously.
The board discussed the final plat of Piepho Pines located along CR 17. Zoning administrator Oleson reported that the plat has met all the conditions for final plat approval. Engineer Kuhn reported that estimated cost for inspection was higher than the actual cost. Dahlheimer, seconded by Alstead, made a motion to approve the final plat of Piepho Pines and to charge the developer the actual cost of inspections. Motion carried unanimously.
The board discussed the inspection fee for new plats in the subdivision ordinance. The board made the recommendation to charge actual costs with Engineer Kuhn providing an estimate not to exceed to the developer.
Zoning Administrator Oleson reported that a public hearing of the planning commission has been scheduled on December 17, 2007 at 6:30 to discuss zoning and subdivision ordinances to replace the interim ordinances.
ENGINEER’S REPORT:
Engineer Kuhn presented the board a copy of the new fee schedule for engineering services for 2008. Ross, seconded by Casper, made a motion to contract with Widseth, Smith, and Nolting for engineering services in 2008 and authorized Clerk Raisanen to sign a contract. Motion carried unanimously.
Clerk Raisanen reported that the following blacktop projects should be considered in 2008: Queens Road to the Natures Edge subdivision and Erickson Heritage replacement. Engineer Kuhn recommended that Le Homme Dieu Heights and a portion of Maple Drive should be overlaid. Alstead, seconded by Dahlheimer, made a motion to authorize Engineer Kuhn to develop cost estimates for the blacktop projects. Motion carried unanimously
The board discussed the status of the roads into little Norway, 3rd addition and Geneva Estates East and the status of maintenance on these roads. Engineer Kuhn reported that the road into Little Norway, 3rd addition was just finished and the developer would be responsible for plowing this winter. Clerk Raisanen will send Mark Anderson a notice of this action. The roads into Geneva Estates East have been constructed for over one year however the final layer of blacktop was just installed and there are a few minor improvements that need to be made before township acceptance. The board was in consensus to plow snow this winter on these roads since they have been constructed for more than one year.
Engineer Kuhn reported that the Developer of the Geneva Estates 5th addition has constructed the stormwater basin and has installed erosion control measures. Construction will continue in the spring.
OLD BUSINESS: Chairman Thalman and Zoning Administrator Oleson reported that their meeting with the City of Alexandria regarding the building code application procedure when well and both parties agreed that there will be one application for the city building permit and the township’s land use permit in all areas of the township. The application procedure will be finalized in the near future.
NEW BUSINESS: The board discussed road maintenance in Lake Jessie Meadows. There is currently no maintenance into this PUD.
Alstead, seconded by Dahlheimer, made a motion to approve the minutes of the November 19, 2007 regular board meeting as written. Motion carried unanimously.
Dahlheimer seconded by Alstead, made a motion to authorize payment of claims 7380-7399 in the amount of $14,959.18 and net payroll in the amount of $4,450.34 for a total amount of $19,409.52 and to authorize the transfer of $19,000.00 from the savings into the checking account. Motion carried unanimously.
Being no further business, Dahlheimer, seconded by Alstead, made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Meeting adjourned at 9:30PM.
Respectfully Submitted….. Approved this _____ day of________, 2007
_______________________________ ______________________________
Gregg Raisanen, Clerk Roger Thalman, Chairman