Sept. 13, 2016

                          SCHROEDER TOWNSHIP

      Minutes for Regular Board Meeting of Sept. 13, 2016

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

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

B. Martinson moved to approve the agenda as presented. T. McKeever seconded. Motion carried.

R. McKeever moved to approve the minutes of Aug. 10, 2016 as presented. B. Martinson seconded. Motion carried.

Treasurer’s Report: Receipts for August totaled $1,685.90. Disbursements totaled $3,104.88. The ending checkbook balance as of August 31, 2016 was $57,627.42, and a Total Balance of $201,999.68. B. Martinson moved to approve the treasurer’s report. R. McKeever seconded. Motion carried.

B. Martinson moved to approve checks #3862-3887 in the amount of $10,195.28. R. McKeever seconded. Motion carried.

Lodging tax debit slip for June, $3,458.64, was approved and signed.

Commissioner Storlie: reported that Todd Smith has been hired as the new County Assessor. A new Emergency Management Director has also been hired. The Commissioners are working on the 2017 budget. It currently shows a 26% increase. They have a committee working on bring that down before the final budget is due Dec. 20. Lowering the budget could result in cuts to services. They are leaning towards approving the ½% sales tax for transportation, roads only, no buildings.

Dave Rannetsberger presented a lease proposal for the MN Power maintenance building by the fly ash site. The Township is looking at the lease to provide a ready source of water for the Fire Dept. as well as storage for township equipment. After initial discussion it was decided to hold a work session to work thru concerns at 4:30 PM on Oct 4 at the Town Hall.

Fire and Rescue: Phil reported they attended a training session last night with the other area fire departments at MN Power, to go over emergency procedures in case of a fire once the plant is idled. The rescue squad had 3 calls last month, no fire calls. Working on adding more shelving, overhead cord reels, and cleaning out the back room. T. McKeever moved to approve the appointment of Marc Buckman to the Schroeder Fire Relief Association’s Board of Trustees, and to set the effective date of the pension upgrades at Sept 1, 2016. R. McKeever seconded. Motion carried.

Road and Bridge: Rick Anderson reported on the work done on the parking lot. New pipe has been laid, the old catch basins removed, sump line replumbed and fill added where asphalt was removed. Discussed a bid from Thorsens to patch the asphalt this year instead of waiting until next year. It was decided to go ahead because of erosion concerns and having a good bid price.  B. Martinson moved to approve the bid from Edwin Thoreson, Inc. to patch the parking lot for $6,500, and to have Greg Vetter prepare the areas to be patched. R. McKeever seconded. Motion carried.

Cemetery: B. Martinson and D. Schwecke are working on updating the cemetery register. T. McKeever moved to approve a deed to Phil Bonin family for Lots 1-6, Block 33.  B. Martinson seconded. Motion carried. T. McKeever moved to approve the sale of Lot 11, Block 26 to the Jacobson family at the residential price of $100 in consideration of problems with another lot deed.

Recreation: Greg Vetter looked at straightening the ball park fence. Problem is partially due to drainage issues alongside the fence and the height of the fence. Discussed shortening the fence. Decided to start by using one of the old culverts from the parking lot to improve drainage.

Maintenance: Phil is getting an estimate to tile the bathroom and changing room in the fire hall. T. McKeever moved to approve having 2 extra keys made for town hall rental. R. McKeever seconded. Motion carried.

Other Business: The third draft of the revised Schroeder Township Land Use Plan was discussed. A public hearing was scheduled for 6:30 PM on Nov. 9. Discussed a policy on authority to expend funds. B. Martinson moved to approve the policy to expend funds, with the addition of Fire in item 2. R. McKeever seconded. Motion carried. (copy attached) T. Mckeever will attend the MAT L&R session in St. Cloud on Sept. 21-22.

R. McKeever moved to approve the renewal of a liquor license for Temperance Liquors, Inc. B. Martinson seconded. Motion carried.

Correspondence: Sent–  letters to Arrowhead and C. Jacobson

                        Received– International Day of Peace-Sept. 14

 

Public Comments: Alicia Kangas questioned if IRRRB ever approved our changes to the loan program. Yes they did, Clerk will forward the email. She also commented on the article in the CCNH about the letter from Kent Sulem concerning donations.

R. McKeever moved to adjourn. B. Martinson seconded. Motion carried. Adjourned at 9:10 PM.

Respectfully submitted,

Doug Schwecke, Clerk

 

SCHRODER TOWNSHIP Policy for Expenditures

 

1.The Township Clerk or a designee thereof is authorized by the Board of Supervisors to incur obligations of $2,500.00 or less on behalf of the Township, with all obligations exceeding $2,500.00 approved by the Board of Supervisors.

2.The managing supervisor in charge of Road and Bridge, Cemetery, Recreation and Fire departments have authority to work within the budget that was set for that year.

  1. a) under $25,000- at the discretion of the individual Supervisors for regular           maintenance* and approved projects. (Mn. Statute 471.345, subd. 5)
  2. b) $25,000 to $100,000- 2 quotes required (Mn. Statute 471.345, subd. 4)
  3. c) over $100,000- sealed bid process (Mn. Statute 471.345, subd. 3)
  4. Emergency response:
  5. a) emergency meetings or inspections may be held without public notification,      MN Statute 13D.04, subd. 3
  6. b) contracts may be let without providing notice or using competitive bidding,  MN Statutes 365.37, subd. 4
  7. c) any activity deemed necessary under MN Statute 12.37

The board has the right to change these guidelines with a vote as time and people on the board change.

The current Board of Supervisors fully embraces its responsibility to spend wisely as it provides quality township services, builds infrastructure development, and cares for roads, and/or parks/recreation programs and cemeteries.

*Regular maintenance includes gravel and culvert replacement, small asphalt repairs and right of way clearing.

Adopted September 13, 2016