Alexandria Township
Alexandria, Minnesota 56308
Minutes of the meeting of March 7, 2016
A regular meeting of the Board of Supervisors of Alexandria Township was held on the 7th day of March, 2016 at the Alexandria Township Conference Room, 324 Broadway.
ROLL CALL: Supervisors present were Jul Feuling, Jeff Oberg, Joel Dahlheimer, Rod Eldevik and Russell Niskanen. Also present were Gregg Raisanen, Clerk, and Mona Billmark, Treasurer. As said members formed a quorum and the meeting was called to order by Chair Feuling at 6:00 p.m.
Niskanen, seconded by Dahlheimer, made a motion to adopt the agenda with the addition of Princeton Township letter under New Business. Motion carried unanimously.
Oberg, seconded by Dahlheimer, made a motion to approve the minutes of the 02/17/2016 regular board meeting as written. Motion carried. Feuling abstained.
Niskanen, seconded by Eldevik, made a motion to authorize payment of claims 16039-16046 in the amount of $22,475.59, net payroll of $3,314.83 totaling $25,790.42 and a transfer of funds from savings in the amount of $25,000.00. Motion carried unanimously.
CITIZEN’S CONCERNS: none
PLANNING AND ZONING: Zoning Administrator Oleson had previously distributed a draft of the comprehensive plan for the board’s review and was asking for comments. Niskanen requested that the phrase “increase for demands of city services” be omitted on page 3. Chair Feuling instructed that any additional comments be conveyed to Oleson by day’s end on Wednesday, March 9th.
Oleson reported that the planning commission recommended approval of the zoning ordinance amendment which would allow for up to 100% credit against impervious coverage for areas covered by pervious paver systems in non-shoreland areas via a conditional use permit. The amendment largely matches the county’s ordinance for shoreland areas. The major exception is the overall cap on the amount of lot coverage when adding together impervious surfaces plus any pervious pavers that are used. The proposed cap would be 30% lot coverage (normally required cap is 25%). The county had expressed concern that the cap was not high enough. Supervisor Niskanen proposed a cap of 40%. Feuling, seconded by Oberg, made a motion to deny the recommendation by the planning commission to allow up to 100% credit for pervious paver systems in non-shoreland areas. Motion carried unanimously.
ENGINEER’S REPORT: Engineer Kuhn reported he had received bids for the Neewana Beach road project (Neewana Beach Road, Apache Lane and Colorado Circle) from Mark Lee Construction in the amount of $199,893.78, Central Specialties, $233,526.75 and Riley Brothers, $190,306.26. He noted that with the lowered prices on asphalt, the road project could include the alternates as well (Pinewood Lane and Lakecrest Road). Eldevik, seconded by Niskanen, made a motion to accept the low bid from Riley Brothers in the amount of 190,306.26 to complete the Neewana Beach road project, to include the aforementioned roads including the alternates and shouldering. Motion carried unanimously.
OLD BUSINESS: none
Chair Feuling recessed the regular board meeting to open the Board of Audit meeting.
Clerk Raisanen reported that since we have an outside audit, the purpose of the Board of Audit is to review the financial statements that have been submitted by our auditor. The financial statements show total net assets of $1,210,480 at the end of the year. Total revenue for the year was $$887,132 compared to expenditures of $775,495. Total change in fund balance for the year was $111,637. Eldevik, seconded by Feuling, made a motion to accept the financial statements as presented by the auditors. Motion carried unanimously.
Chair Feuling closed the Board of Audit meeting and reconvened the regular board meeting.
NEW BUSINESS: Clerk Raisanen reported the winter road maintenance contract will terminate at the end of March. The clerk will solicit RFPs for written quotes for summer road maintenance.
Clerk Raisanen presented the proposed budget for 2017 as recommended by the budget committee in the amount of $793,628. He noted that a levy increase will be necessary to offset the decline of revenue from the payments from the City of Alexandria due to the phasing out of the final annexation phase. The following levy amounts were proposed for 2016: General Revenue-$135,000.00, Fire Protection-$46,128, Parks and Recreation- $23,000, Road and Bridge- $178,000, Snow and Weed- $68,000, Blacktop $83,000, and ALASD-$122,000. Dahlheimer, seconded by Niskanen, made a motion to recommend forwarding the proposed levy to the voters at the annual meeting. Motion carried unanimously.
Clerk Raisanen provided copies of a letter and proposed legislative bill from Princeton Township. Princeton Township is asking townships to support Bill 919, which seeks to clarify existing law with regard to annexation agreements. Consensus to not send a letter of support as the bill does not impact Alexandria Township.
Being no further business, Eldevik, seconded by Feuling, made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Meeting adjourned at 7:27 p.m.
Respectfully submitted….
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Gregg Raisanen, Clerk
Approved this ____ day of ________, 2016
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Jul Feuling, Chair