SCHROEDER TOWNSHIP

      Minutes for Regular Board Meeting of Feb. 14, 2017

Present: Supervisors, Tina McKeever, Roger McKeever, Bruce Martinson; Clerk Doug Schwecke; Treasurer Alicia Kangas; Deputy Clerk Gale Ring, Fire Chief Phil Bonin, and residents of Schroeder.

The meeting was called to order by T. McKeever at 7:00 PM. 

R. McKeever moved to approve the agenda with the addition of Birch Grove taskforce. B. Martinson seconded. Motion carried.

B. Martinson moved to approve the minutes of Jan. 10, 2017 regular meeting as corrected. R. McKeever seconded. Motion carried.

Treasurer’s Report: Receipts for Jan. totaled $444.46. Disbursements totaled $7,291.64. The ending checkbook balance, as of Jan. 31, 2017, was $60,055.44, and a Total Balance of $204,582.23. B. Martinson moved to approve the treasurer’s report. R. McKeever seconded. Motion carried.

T. McKeever moved to approve checks #3974-3994 in the amount of $10,039.97. R. McKeever seconded. Motion carried.

Lodging tax debit slip for Nov. 2016 of $850.41, was approved and signed.

Commissioner Storlie: was absent as she was in St. Paul attending legislative sessions. She reminded everyone about a public forum on workforce housing on Feb. 28. Also she is on a committee to update the Cook County Subdivision Ordinance.

Fire and Rescue: Fire Chief Bonin reported they had 12 out of 13 members at last night’s meeting. Fire training sessions are being held with Tofte. No calls last month. They are in the process of updating eligibility requirements. T. McKeever moved to approve David Carlson as a new member of the Fire Dept. and Relief Assoc. B. Martinson seconded. Motion carried. A cost analysis of switching the Relief Assoc. to PERA was presented. It showed that at the current $1300 benefit level, there shouldn’t be any liability for the township. Charlie Muggley will try to set up a meeting with a PERA representative in April, to answer any questions we may have.

Road and Bridge: Bill McKeever reported on a problem of too many locks on the gate to the maintenance building. (picture on file) He thinks he has it fixed for now. Roads are in good shape right now, but is worried that the unusually warm weather right now could lead to problems with rutting.

Cemetery: Diane Booth had inquired about lots. Bruce and Doug will see what is available. It was decided to advertise for bids for lawn care. We have been happy with Greg Johnson’s work, but would like open bids for everyone. Clerk will notify Greg of termination of his current contract and advertise for new bids. Bids to include cost/piece, proof of insurance, and be due April 1. We reserve the right to reject any or all bids.

Recreation: nothing

Maintenance: nothing

Other Business: Wording changes to the loan program was tabled until March. Clerk presented a proposed budget for 2017. It showed projected receipts of $128,500 and disbursements of $126,750. After discussion, it was decided to increase Road & Bridge by $5,000. T. McKeever moved to set the 2017 Budget as: General-$41,250, Road & Bridge- $50,000, Cemetery- $2,000, Recreation- $4,000, Fire Dept.-$21,500, Rescue Squad- $13,000. B. Martinson seconded. Motion carried. The date for our Board of Appeals and Equalization was set for April 11, 2017 at 6 PM. There is about $54,000 in Tofte-Schroeder Sanitary Sewer District. The 3 board members from Tofte would like to see this money go towards the sewer systems for Tofte’s Town Hall and Birch Grove apartment complex. About 1/3 of this money came from Schroeder residents. Discussed our continued participation. It was felt that since the original objective is not feasible and that the county has responsibility for inspection and permitting of individual systems, we should again try to detach from TSSSD. T. McKeever moved to have Schroeder Township work towards detaching from Tofte-Schroeder Sanitary Sewer District and to have current funds frozen until a determination is made. R. McKeever seconded. Motion carried. Requests for support were received from W.E.CONNECT and Birch Grove School. No action taken. Absentee Ballots are available to anyone who requests them. Carla Menssen has agreed to run as a write-in candidate for Treasurer. Birch Grove taskforce was discussed. No one from the Board has been attending the meetings, but some are receiving minutes of the meetings. The last meeting covered workforce housing. The Schroeder Township Land Use Plan was approved by Planning & Zoning Board and now goes to the Commissioners for final approval. The compensation approved last month can take effect immediately.

Correspondence: Sent– various year-end reports, letter and minutes to Planning & Zoning, compensation question to MAT

Received– answer to compensation question, soil composting

Public Comments: none

R. McKeever moved to adjourn. T. McKeever seconded. Motion carried. Adjourned at 8:45 PM.

Respectfully submitted,

Doug Schwecke, Clerk