July 19, 2016

                          SCHROEDER TOWNSHIP

      Minutes for Regular Board Meeting of July 19, 2016

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

The meeting was called to order by T. McKeever at 7:00PM. It has been delayed 1 week as 2 Supervisors were not able to attend on July 12

B. Martinson moved to approve the agenda with the addition of Tofte’s response to disbanding TSSSD under Other Business. T. McKeever seconded. Motion carried.

Commissioner Storlie: She reported on 7 County District meeting that she attended last month. They have hired a new Public Health & Human Services director. He is Josh Beck and he starts Aug. 1. Current openings are; Assessor, Emergency Manager, and Asst. County Engineer, which has been open for almost two years. She attended a Gitchi-Gammi Trail meeting and learned money may soon become available to put in a tunnel under Hwy. 61 just west of Tofte. The revised sign ordinance was approved at their last meeting. The county website has been upgraded.

B. Martinson moved to approve the minutes of June 14, 2016 as presented. R. McKeever seconded. Motion carried.

Treasurer’s Report: Receipts for June totaled $1,973.77. Disbursements totaled $15,455.61. The ending checkbook balance as of June 30, 2016 was $48,425.32. R. McKeever moved to approve the treasurer’s report. B. Martinson seconded. Motion carried.

R. McKeever moved to approve checks #3819-3843 in the amount of $17,224.43. B. Martinson seconded. Motion carried.

Lodging tax debit slips-none this month.

Discussed a policy on authority to expend funds as presented. Discussed pros and cons of requiring 2 quotes on anything over $15,000. Tabled for further research.

Fire and Rescue: Phil reported that the meeting last week was well attended. The new gear for the 6 new members has arrived, at a cost of $1,300/suit. Will recycle old gear. Looking for someone to tile bathroom floor, without any success yet. 3 calls last month, 2 false alarms. A near-drowning at Bluefin this afternoon. Fire Relief Assoc. also met and passed new by-laws raising the lump-sum payout from $800 to $1300 and vesting requirements from 10 years to 5 years. Their investment report showed plenty of assets to cover this change. They would like the Board to approve them before the end of the year, so they can change over to PERA on Jan. 1.

R. McKeever moved to approve the changes to the Bylaws of the Schroeder Fire Dept. Relief Assoc., as approved by Relief Assoc. on July 11, 2016. B. Martinson seconded. Motion carried.

Road and Bridge: The grading/reshaping of Sugarloaf Rd. is progressing. Will probably need some gravel in spots. Randy Merrit will mow the ditches on all the township roads. Greg Vetter can begin work on the parking lot the week of Aug. 20. He will need to do a couple test holes before to determine the correct pipe placement for the sumps. Rick Anderson was asked to be the Township’s liaison for this project. It was brought up that a concrete culvert at the end of Skou Rd. is rising above the road bed and separating. According to our information the Township’s portion of the road ends before the culvert. T. McKeever moved that, according to our information, the Township is not responsible for this culvert and that, unless it can be proven otherwise, no action will be taken by the Township. B. Martinson seconded. Motion carried.  Clerk was requested to notify Arrowhead Electric that they installed a line on the wrong side of the road last fall and that the Township will not be liable if it is damaged.

Cemetery: Discussed several issues resulting from the lack of having all the cemetery lot deeds. B. Martinson moved that we allow burial of the urn of Sharon (nee)Smith between the lots of her father and mother in Block 23, and that we request a copy of her birth certificate. T. McKeever seconded. Motion carried. Apparently, Lot 5, Block 24, has been sold to two different individuals. An urn has been placed in it before we realized the problem. B. Martinson is working to resolve that issue.

Recreation: Gale Ring reported that the last project from the Great Place grant, staining the bleachers, will be completed as soon as the weather permits.

Maintenance: Clerk reported on the clean-up in the fire hall and G&G’s inspection of the septic lines. The backup last month was probably due to a clogged filter. Recommended cleaning the filter semi-annually, pumping the tanks, and increasing the runtime on the discharge pump. T. McKeever moved to approve pumping the septic tanks. B. Martinson seconded. Motion carried. The new railing on the outside steps has been installed and has been receiving good reviews. The top step still needs to be corrected. Staining the steps and deck was approved. Thank you to the 8-9 people who helped with the Welcome Wall clean-up.

Other Business: The first revised draft of the Schroeder Township Land Use Plan was discussed. The next work session was scheduled for 6:30 PM on Aug. 15. Gale has reorganized the maps & surveys. Some are missing. While they are available for public viewing, they should not leave the building. The information requested by the OSA has been sent, but no response has been received yet. A letter from the Tofte Town Board was read. They do not want to disband the TSSSD.  Discussed options going forward. Our representatives, Charlie Muggley and Bruce Martinson will keep working on it.

Correspondence: Sent–  information to OSA

                        Received- thank you from Tofte(4th of July donation)

 

Public Comments: Llyod Geillinger suggested having written documentation to the family if that urn has to be moved.

T. McKeever moved to adjourn. R. McKeever seconded. Motion carried. Adjourned at 9:37 PM.

Respectfully submitted,

Doug Schwecke, Clerk