April 14, 2020

                          SCHROEDER TOWNSHIP

      Minutes for Regular Board Meeting of April 14, 2020

*Due to the Emergency Declaration of Covid-19, The meeting was held virtually on Zoom. All votes are by voice roll call.

Present: Supervisors Tina McKeever, Rick Anderson, Bruce Martinson; Clerk Anna Green; Deputy Clerk Doug Schwecke; Treasurer Carla Menssen, Fire Chief Phil Bonin; Commissioner Storlie and residents of Schroeder.

The meeting was called to order by Chair T. McKeever at 7:01 PM.

B. Martinson moved to approve the agenda with 3 additions from Carla Menssen under Recreation, Other Business and Treasure Report. R. Anderson seconded. Motion carried unanimously.

R. Anderson had a request to change the March 9th minutes. This changes “Permits” to “Permission” as a part of the road and bridge report. R. Anderson moved to approve the new change in the minutes. B. Martinson Seconded. Motion Carried unanimously.

T. McKeever moved to approve the minutes of the board of canvas as presented. B. Martinson Seconded. Motion Carried unanimously, with R. Anderson abstaining.

Treasurer’s Report: Treasurer Carla Menssen reported; Receipts for March totaled $33,419.61. Disbursements totaled $15,423.66. The ending checkbook balance, as of March 31, 2020, was $67,259.40, and a Total Balance of $202,599.70. R. Anderson moved to approve the treasurer’s report and to approve checks #4812-4831, totaling $6,451.18. B. Martinson seconded. Motion carried unanimously.

Lodging tax for January was $949.18. Cook County Auditor Braidy Powers asked Carla if the township could manage if the first period property taxes were delayed a couple of months to allow later payment due to the pandemic. She felt that with our current balances, the township would still be in good standing. The Supervisors agreed.

R. Anderson moved to approve resolution 2020-01 authorizing teleconference meeting until the emergency declaration expires. B Martinson seconded resolution 2020-01. Motion carried unanimously.

Reorganization: R. Anderson moved to continue Tina McKeever as Chair and Bruce Martinson as vice chair. Department heads will stay the same. It was designated that the Cook County News Herald will be the official newspaper. Posting places will stay the same. B. Martison seconded. Motion carried unanimously. R. Anderson moved to approve the Grand Marais State Bank as our official depository, with the following as signatories; Tina McKeever, Bruce Martinson, Rick Anderson, Anna Green, Doug Schwecke, Carla Menssen, Mary VanDoren. B. Martinson seconded. Motion Carried. R. Anderson moved to adjust compensation with a $5/hr increase for Clerk, Treasurer, and deputy positions. B. Martinson seconded. Motion carried unanimously.

Fire Dept: Phil reported no fire calls last month. Inventory that includes masks, gloves, safety gear was checked. All are available as needed. Fire Department meetings are currently on hold until further notice due to the pandemic. Phil also reported that Schroeder has a new first responder, Mikala Schliep.

Commissioner Storlie: Commissioner Storlie reported that the county has recognized a plan needs to be in order due to the pandemic. Each county worker was asked if they could work from home. The county board decided to have meetings virtually. Applicants for a new administrator is currently put on hold until further notice. A State of Emergency was declared in March. As of April 13th 2020 the county was asked to extend the declaration of emergency for 30 more days. Options for property tax relief will be discussed at the next committee of the whole work session.

Road and Bridge: Rick reported that the roads are looking good. There was a little damage on the south end of Sugarloaf  road and is set to be taken care of. As talking about at the last meeting, Rick wants to proceed with the 2 culvert repairs. It would be ideal that these would be done at the same time due to road closure. As long as it stays a culvert repair, no permit is required and permission from the county has been granted. Due to these culverts being on wetlands there are some recommendations that need to be followed. At this time, Bids are being considered and should be sent to the Schroeder Clerk, Anna Green by 7pm on May 12, 2020. Following up on the culvert by Sugar Loaf Creek, the DNR hydrologist wants to confirm the existing culvert as well as the size. The DNR thought it was a red flag that the culvert to be put in is narrower than what is existing. Rick stated that we would be willing to install a second culvert nearby that would more than likely be used for overflow and this would make up for the size of the culvert. The DNR has agreed to do a Hydrology report.

Cemetery: Bruce reported a down tree at the cemetery. Karl Crawford has been contacted. Bruce also stated that he will be looking into landscaping suggestions within the next month.

Recreation: Carla was asked by a citizen where the brown Tac Harbor sign was purchased. The Historical Society is searching for one that can say “Museum.” It was advised to contact MNDOT out of Duluth. Port-a-Potty has been approved to be put out on the weekend of May 9, 2020. The dock at Dyers Lake is also set to go in when the lake is clear of ice. Karl Crawford will be contacted.

Maintenance: Rick is still working with Pete Borson to get cost estimates for the remodeling of the kitchen and repairing the roof. There is no update on the bathroom repair. Siding is planned to be done once it gets warmer. Waiting on quotes.

Other Business: The Local Board of Appeals and Equalization meeting is set to be on May 12th at 6 p.m. Due to Covid-19, this meeting will be done by teleconference on Zoom. Directions on how to access this meeting will be posted. R. Anderson moved to approve resolution # 2020-02 $1,500. Tofte Celebration fireworks for the year of 2021. B. Martinson Seconded. Motion carried unanimously. It was stated that an outdoor information kiosk on township property at Cross River Heritage Center may be in the works. Building a capital improvement would need permission from the board. This is being flagged as a possibility. B. Martinson moved to approve if all state and county laws and regulations are followed. R. Anderson seconded. Motion carried unanimously.

Correspondence: Sent- A letter has been sent into the post office regarding the hour request change. Because of the coronavirus, the Postmaster has held off on making any new requests.

Public Comments:  None.

B. Martinson moved to adjourn. R. Anderson seconded. Motion carried. Adjourned at 8:00 PM.

Respectfully submitted,

Anna Green, Clerk