Board Meeting Minutes – September 26, 2022

by | Oct 24, 2022 | Meeting Minutes

NORTHERN TOWNSHIP BOARD OF SUPERVISORS – Monday, September 26, 2022. 6:00 p.m. Northern Town Hall, 445 Town Hall Road NW, Bemidji, MN.

PRESENT: Chairman Jess Frenzel, and Supervisors Chris Lahn, Curt Blumhagen, Mike Kelly and Gary Barnard. Road Supervisor Tim Vigen, and Clerk Mary Israelson. See sign-in sheet for guests.

MINUTES: A motion was offered by Kelly, and seconded by Barnard, to approve the minutes of the September 12, 2022, meeting as presented. The motion carried unanimously.

VISTORS:

Joint Planning Director Jamin Carlson was on the Agenda for tonight’s meeting, but will attend the next meeting instead.

ROAD REPORT:

Town Hall Parking Lot – The sealcoat and striping work was done by Minnesota Sealcoating for $2,700.00, and it looks real good.

Striping and Crack Filling – Vigen will make a priority list of the roads that need this work done for next summer. It will then be determined how much will be done, and a request will be made to Beltrami County Hwy Dept for being included with their bid work.

Pickup Truck – The new plow is being fitted and installed on the truck.

Tavistock Road – The contractor ran into an area that needed extra work done. Registered letters were mailed to three (3) property owners who have not signed the needed ROW Easements, and as a result, another has been signed.

Wild Plum/Beach Lane – The State of MN DNR has been contacted regarding the possibility of obtaining right-of-way in the area of their parking lot, in order to center the road as it relates to possible improvements that might qualify for a grant from the State Park Road Fund.

Elliot Road – Frenzel has drafted a letter to the DNR with a possible compromise for the ROW Easement needed along Section 36 on Elliot Road. It will be reviewed by all and presented to the DNR for consideration.

JOINT PLANNING BOARD (JPB) REPORT:

Frenzel will miss the October 12th meeting and Kelly will try to attend in his place. There is a question regarding the minutes and what was approved for the Royal Bay Townhome special use permit. So those who had voted at that meeting have been asked to attend, and Kelly was at that meeting.

Budget – Following the joint meeting held earlier this evening, it was presumed that a 20% increase in the budget is expected for 2023. This will amount to an approximate $11,000.00 increase in Northern Township’s current contribution of $57,103.00. A motion was offered by Barnard, and seconded by Lahn, to approve the expense. The vote was Barnard, Lahn, Blumhagen, and Frenzel – ‘yes’, and Kelly – ‘no’.

TOWNSHIP/CITY:

As a result of the meeting held earlier this evening, the City has asked that a smaller group meet to work out some of the questions that they still have. They are asking for alternate plans if the state/federal funding does not come through. It has been agreed that annexation is not a part of the alternate plan, since the affected residents have indicated that they do not want to be annexed.

INCORPORATION:

It was agreed that input from the township’s residents is necessary prior to proceeding with any steps toward Incorporation. Lahn and Barnard will work on drafting a letter to be mailed out to all property owners, asking for feedback regarding this topic. It was also suggested that a couple informational meetings be held at the Town Hall, or if needed, at one of the buildings at the Beltrami County Fair Grounds.

TOWNSHIP PROPERTY REPORT:

Garage – The only things left to be completed on the new garage is the hot water heat connection and the landscape work.

Parking Lot Lights – Lights have been installed on the garage and the entrance of the town hall building overlooking the parking lot, and will replace the overhead lights in the parking lot. The three (3) light poles in the parking lot will be removed. Also, the lights on the entrance of the building were replaced with LED lights.

CORRESPONDENCE:

1) Road Petition from Jay Hill, 2) email from Pam Arndt, DNR, regarding easement fee for portion of Big Bass Road, 3) Notice of Joint LGU Fall Tour, 4) copy of Construction Stormwater General Permit for Tavistock/S. Movil Lake Roads, 5) request to move construction sign on So. Movil Lake Road, 6) notice of MAT training, 7) email regarding status of Treasury’s Recovery Program Operations, 8) quote from Minnesota Sealcoating for town hall parking lot.

Road Petition – Jay Hill has submitted an uncompleted Road Petition for acceptance of the roads in the Acorn Ridge Plat. The Clerk will contact Hill about completing the form, and at that point, the Board will consider acceptance of the Petition and likely schedule the inspection and Public Hearing for a meeting in November.

Big Bass Road – Turtle River Township had completed an easement in 1983 for the northern-most portion of Big Bass Road that lies in Northern Township. The 1.2 acre portion of the road runs alongside a swamp and used primarily by Turtle River Township residents, and amounted to $600.00.

Construction Signs – A caller had asked that the ‘construction ahead’ signs at the intersection of S. Movil Lake Road and Irvine Ave be moved due to the fact that they were obstructing traffic. When called, Mark Fuller, Freeberg & Grund, reported that he had already looked at the signs with the County Hwy Engineer, who agreed that they were in the proper location.

OTHER:

Utility Extension – Frenzel will talk with Beltrami County Administrator Tom Barry about another application to the State Legislature for bonding in 2023.

With no further business forthcoming, the meeting was adjourned at 6:59 p.m.