Alexandria Township
Alexandria, Minnesota 56308
Minutes of the meeting of June 16, 2025
A regular meeting of the Board of Supervisors for Alexandria Township was held on the 16th day of June, 2025 at the Alexandria Township Conference Room, 324 Broadway, and via teleconferencing.
ROLL CALL: Supervisors present were Jeff Oberg, Joel Dahlheimer, Rod Eldevik, Dennis Butz and Jerry Wright. Also present were Mark Meuwissen, Clerk, and Bryon Alstead, Treasurer. As said members formed a quorum, the meeting was called to order by Chairman Eldevik at 6:00 p.m.
Oberg, seconded by Butz, made a motion to adopt the agenda as presented. Motion carried unanimously.
Dahlheimer, seconded by Butz, made a motion to approve the minutes of the 6/2/2025 regular board meeting. Motion carried unanimously.
Butz, seconded by Wright, made a motion to authorize payment of claims 25116 – 25123 in the amount of $11,972.58 with a transfer of funds from savings of $1,000.00. Motion carried unanimously.
CITIZEN’S CONCERNS: Erik Gullickson, 2010 W. Lake Jessie Dr, remarked that he has observed many cars driving on West Lake Jessie Dr SE traveling at unsafe speeds. There are curves to consider as well as the number of young children in the neighborhood. There are no shoulders or striping on the road, which means kids ride their bikes and scooters and many of the neighbors walk their dogs on the road. With the new pavement being so smooth, cars probably don’t realize the speed at which they are traveling. Mr. Gullickson asked if the Board would place caution signs or reduce the speed limit to somehow protect the safety of children and pedestrians using the road. Engineer Kuhn agreed to review the road signage.
PLANNING AND ZONING: None
ENGINEER’S REPORT: Engineer Kuhn presented the Board with the bids submitted for the summer 2025 road projects. Kuhn stated the bids are lower than expected, reflecting a lower cost per ton of asphalt.
Oberg asked if the bid represents the final cost. Kuhn clarified the bid is a per unit quote with an estimated quantity needed to complete the projects. While the quantity estimated should be very close, there could be differences in the final cost. It was agreed that any significant variance from the bid would be treated as a change order and would be communicated by Kuhn to the road committee, comprised of Joel Dahlheimer and Rod Eldevik, for approval.
The town received a total of four bids, with the low bid submitted by Ferguson Brothers in the amount of $539,080 for the following road projects: Wilderness Ridge Road, Wildflower Way, Shadow Lane, Lois Lane, Burgen Terrace, Burgen Lane and Vinland Strait. All bids are retained at the township office. Motion by Oberg, seconded by Dahlheimer, to award the contract to Ferguson Brothers for the 2025 road improvements projects at the bid price mentioned above. Roll: Dahlheimer, Butz, Oberg, Wright, Eldevik – yes. Opposed: none. Motion carried unanimously.
Kuhn relayed to the Board he had received a request to stripe and add speed limits to Lakecrest Road. Kuhn agreed to review the request and report back to the Board at a future meeting.
Kuhn followed up on his review of the Shadow Lane drainage issue. Kuhn agreed to review the situation further and report back to the Board at a future meeting.
Tom Pappenfus requested that the Township take over responsibility for maintenance of the private road in the Gavins Point development. He reported the current residents of the partially completed development do not believe an association could adequately and efficiently maintain the road to the standard that the Township would. He also stated the road in its current state is not effectively handling stormwater and requires some work. The current residents seem to be willing to have the Township make the necessary improvements before taking over the road and assessing costs to the properties.
Mr. Pappenfus suggested the 22 parcels in the development will add a significant tax base that could offset the cost of the Township’s having more control over the road’s future maintenance.
Kuhn said the normal process for requesting a Township to take over a road requires a petition signed by a majority of the residents on the road. Mr. Pappenfus agreed to collect signatures on a petition and will present this to the Board at a future meeting.
OLD BUSINESS: None
NEW BUSINESS: Clerk Meuwissen reported the goal of the budget review was to give the Board general information on whether the township had the funds to exceed the budget for summer road projects. Meuwissen believes there are adequate funds to continue the second of a two-year aggressive plan on road maintenance with the expectation of having reduced costs in future years. Oberg stated he would expect next year’s road projects to be lower by the amount we exceed budget this year. Kuhn confirmed that his prior 20-year estimate of annual costs for road projects averaging under $300,000 per year is still reasonable. Kuhn believes the aggressive spending by the township in 2024 and 2025 on road projects will result in more value and lowering of long-term costs.
Clerk Meuwissen alerted the Board to new legislation effective in August that significantly removes some of the burdensome requirements of the open meeting law. The open meeting law was originally written in the 1950s and does not reflect today’s technology and remote access available through web-based teleconferencing. Meuwissen asked the Board to consider some protocols that might be more restrictive than the new legislation requires. These protocols could be considered best practice, but not necessarily binding. Meuwissen suggested that whenever possible, supervisors should attend meetings in person and that remote access be by exception rather than by convenience. He also mentioned that resolutions should only be voted on by supervisors attending in person, and that if a supervisor attends a meeting by teleconference, any motions should be approved by roll call vote. The Board discussed Meuwissen’s suggestions, but no action was taken.
Being no further business, Chair Eldevik adjourned the meeting at 7:22 p.m.
Respectfully submitted….
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Mark Meuwissen, Clerk
Approved this ____ day of ________, 2025
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Rod Eldevik, Chairman