Alexandria Township
Alexandria, Minnesota 56308
Minutes of the meeting of October 21, 2013
A regular meeting of the Board of Supervisors of Alexandria Township was held on the 21st day of October, 2013 at the Alexandria Township Conference Room, 610 Fillmore Street.
ROLL CALL: Supervisors present were Bryon Alstead, Jul Feuling, Joel Dahlheimer, Lyle Hammerschmidt, and Russell Niskanen. Also present was Gregg Raisanen, Clerk and Mona Billmark, Treasurer. As said members formed a quorum and the meeting was called to order by Chairman Alstead at 6:00 p.m.
Feuling, seconded by Hammerschmidt, made a motion to adopt the agenda with the addition of the administrative assistant HRA under new business. Motion carried unanimously.
Hammerschmidt, seconded by Niskanen, made a motion to approve the minutes of the 10/07/2013 regular board meeting as written. Motion carried.
Dahlheimer, seconded by Feuling, made a motion to authorize payment of claims 13228 – 13238 in the amount of $8,251.20, net payroll of $644.60, EFTPS $1,071.19, totaling $9,966.99 with a transfer of funds from savings in the amount of $8,000.00. Motion carried unanimously.
CITIZEN’S CONCERNS: None
PLANNING AND ZONING: Zoning Administrator Oleson reported that Tim Rock submitted a revised plan to him for his proposed 3 lot subdivision off of Liberty Road. (Note that a formal application has not yet been submitted.) All lots in the proposed plat would meet zoning requirements; however; Mr. Rock requested to waive the variance requirement in regard to sanitary sewer installation. Two of the existing lots have private sewer systems and the proposed third lot would be sold for farming purposes. Zoning Administrator Oleson reported that section 5.5, section 2 of the zoning ordinance requires that all subdivisions located within the public sanitary sewer district boundaries be supplied with sewer lines. The board was in consensus that Mr. Rock would have to apply for a variance if he does not plan to bring public sewer lines to his proposed lots.
Clerk Raisanen reported that Township Attorney Paul Johnson was contacted by the court system to provide guidance on fines for violation of township ordinances. Attorney Johnson had prepared a summary document listing all of the township ordinances and a proposed fine for petty misdemeanor offenses. If the board had any proposed changes, they should contact Attorney Johnson.
ENGINEER’S REPORT: None
OLD BUSINESS: The board discussed the Zimmerman property located off of Neewana Beach Road. Clerk Raisanen reported that the proceeds of the sale went to four different public entities: 20 % ($2,779.46) to the county park department, 40% ($4,447.14) of the remainder went to Douglas County, 40% ($4,447.14) to the school district, and the remaining 20% ($2,223.57) went to the township. Chairman Alstead and Clerk Raisanen will meet with Douglas County officials to discuss the current status of the property.
NEW BUSINESS: The board discussed the revised snow plowing policy that was completed by Supervisors Niskanen and Dahlheimer and administrative assistant Fulghum. The new policy was changed to reflect the addition of Crestwood Drive as a township road. Dahlheimer, seconded by Niskanen, made a motion to adopt the new snow plowing policy as presented. Motion carried unanimously.
Clerk Raisanen reported that the township had received correspondence from Educator Benefit Consultants, LLC which indicated that because of the Affordable Care Act, the current HRA plan that the township has for its administrative assistant will not be in compliance as of January 1, 2014. In order for the plan to be in compliance, it has to fall into one of three categories: integrated with a group health insurance plan; must reimburse vision and dental expenses only; or be classified as retiree-only. Since the plan does not comply with any of the options above, the recourse is to either 1) not permit any new contributions after January 1, 2014 in which the current value of the plan will continue until all funds are exhausted; or 2) to change the plan to comply and pay a $1,200.00 fee. Feuling, seconded by Niskanen, made a motion to freeze the contributions to the administrative assistant HRA effective January 1, 2014. Motion carried unanimously.
Being no further business, Hammerschmidt, seconded by Niskanen, made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Meeting adjourned at 6:55 p.m.
Respectfully submitted….
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Gregg Raisanen, Clerk
Approved this ____ day of ________, 2013
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Bryon Alstead, Chairman