Alexandria Township
Alexandria, Minnesota 56308
Minutes of the meeting of February 6, 2023
A regular meeting of the Board of Supervisors of Alexandria Township was held on the 6th day of February, 2023 at the Alexandria Township Conference Room, 324 Broadway and via teleconference.
ROLL CALL: Supervisors present were Jeff Oberg, Rod Eldevik, Dennis Butz and Jerry Wright. Also present via teleconference 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.
Butz, seconded by Oberg, made a motion to adopt the agenda as presented. Motion carried unanimously.
Oberg, seconded by Butz, made a motion to approve the minutes of the 1/18/2023 regular board meeting as written. Motion carried unanimously.
Butz, seconded by Oberg, made a motion to authorize payment of claims 23021 – 23030 in the amount of $40,481.98, net payroll $4,153.38 totaling $44,995.36 with a transfer of funds from savings of $38,000.00. Motion carried unanimously.
CITIZEN’S CONCERNS: none
PLANNING AND ZONING: Zoning Administrator Oleson presented a draft of a postcard to be sent to all township residents notifying them of the upcoming public hearing regarding ordinance amendments and changes to sections of the comprehensive plan. He stated the planning commission had requested a change of venue to accommodate a potentially larger crowd. They had also requested the board consider an additional outreach via postcard to attract a larger audience for public input. Wright, seconded by Butz, made a motion to direct Oleson to have the postcards created and distributed for an estimated sum of $734.92. Motion carried unanimously.
Oleson presented a draft of revisions to the fee schedule. Changes include eliminating the notation “for Unexecuted permits” in the header; eliminating the phrase “not meeting DNR standards” as it relates to rip rap under Minor Landscaping Permits and the elimination of No. 7 under Applications concerning Planned Unit Developments. It was noted PUDs are included under No. 1 Conditional Use Application(s). Oberg, seconded by Butz, made a motion to approve the proposed changes to the fee schedule as presented above. Motion carried unanimously.
Oleson presented a draft of proposed changes to the township’s violation and enforcement policy. He had added item no. 5 After the Fact Fees for consideration. The town board proposed amending 5 a) to read: “After the fact fees (as set by the Township fee schedule) shall be imposed by the Zoning Administrator in all cases where a violation has been determined to have occurred. This fee shall be waived for those situations where: i) the violator brings the violation to the attention of the township first; and ii) the structure is 200 square feet or less in size.” Consensus to have Oleson compare the township’s fee schedule with the county’s overall and the after-the fact fees in particular.
ENGINEER’S REPORT: none
OLD BUSINESS: none
NEW BUSINESS: Clerk Raisanen reported the town needs to appoint election judges for the upcoming township election. He recommends appointing Linda Dokken-McFann, Deb Eigen and Mona Billmark, with Dokken-McFann serving as head judge. These individuals would also serve as the Absentee Ballot Board. Wright, seconded by Butz, made a motion to appoint the aforementioned as judges for the township election and to function as the Absentee Ballot Board with Dokken-McFann serving as head judge. Motion carried unanimously.
Clerk Raisanen reported the township and Hometown Planning had entered into an agreement for administrative services in May of 2016. Due to the administrative assistant’s increases in pay and retirement contributions by the township, the amount paid by Hometown Planning is not in keeping with the current amount paid by the township. Therefore, a new contract for services is being proposed, raising the estimated hourly dollar amount from $25/hour to $35/hour. The minimum of 10 hours per calendar month would be modified to the following: “A minimum of 120 hours of such work per calendar year shall be paid by Contractee unless otherwise agreed to by Town or unless this contract is terminated mid-year in which case Contractee shall have paid an average of 10 hours per month for the months the contract is active.” Oberg, seconded by Butz, made a motion to accept the terms of the new contract as defined above. Motion carried unanimously.
Clerk Raisanen informed the board he would be retiring from his position after the reorganization meeting in April. It was also discussed that Administrative Assistant Fulghum’s appointment as a deputy clerk would be ended at the same time since the clerk appoints the deputy clerk. The board will have to appoint a new clerk in the future.
Being no further business, Wright, seconded by Oberg, made a motion to adjourn the meeting.
Meeting adjourned at 7:13 p.m.
Respectfully submitted….
______________________________________
Gregg Raisanen, Clerk
Approved this ____ day of ________, 2023
_______________________________________
Rod Eldevik, Chairman