NORTHERN TOWNSHIP BOARD OF SUPERVISORS – Monday, October 23, 2023, 6:00 PM. Northern Town Hall, 445 Town Hall Road NW, Bemidji, MN.
PRESENT: Supervisors: Jess Frenzel, Chris Lahn, Gary Barnard, Mike Kelly and Curt Blumhagen. Administrator Mark Borseth, Road Supervisor Tim Vigen, and Clerk Mary Israelson. See sign in sheet for guests.
MINUTES: A motion was offered by Barnard, seconded by Blumhagen, and carried, to approve the minutes of the October 9, 2023 meeting as presented.
VISITORS:
TOWNSHIP UTILITIES:
Borseth reported that Mark Fuller has completed a new estimated budget for the updated plan for a wastewater treatment and collection system. This estimate considers the acquisition of 80 acres of property at fair market value, connection to 440 users, and totals just less than $20M. He prepared two (2) scenarios, 1) depicting $6.5M from Federal funding, $6.7M in potential State funding, and $6.7M to be bonded, with collection from connection fees estimated for 15 years at 3%, and 2) $6.5M from Federal, $10M in potential State funding, and $3.4M to be bonded. These figures are daunting and came as a surprise to some, but the extent of the project has grown to a much larger area and includes the construction of a pond treatment system. It was agreed that a request for state bonding will be for $10,000,000.
ROAD REPORT:
Tavistock/S. Movil Lake Road – The blacktop work is complete. Johnson Construction did the shouldering work, but was not done according to the specs and will be re-done. A street sign was damaged and Vigen will be checking on its replacement.
Wild Plum – Borseth reported that he is finishing up on the application to the State Park Road Account, for improvements to Wild Plum and Beach Lanes. He explained that the funds are awarded based on a points system, with 32 being the highest. A request of 25% funding receives 5 points, while one requesting 75% funding receives 1 point. The total cost of the improvements would be approximately $279,203, and a 75% funding request would be $209,402. With the local share of 25%, plus engineering fees, the township portion of the project will be approximately $100,801. This request would include an overlayment on the portion of Whitetail Road that is already blacktopped. A motion was offered by Kelly, and seconded by Lahn, to approve the request for funds and the anticipated expense. The motion carried unanimously.
Fairgrounds Road – Another letter of support was received from the Fair Board, to be included with the Local Road Improvement Project (LRIP) fund application. County Hwy Engineer Bruce Hasbargen reminded us that the County Board is required to pass a Resolution in support of the project, and that request to them needs to happen prior to November 13th. Fuller will take care of that request.
Dels Court – This road in the Plat of Plantation Estates was accepted three (3) years ago and is nearing the end of the warranty period. Mark Fuller, from Freeberg & Grund, has done an inspection and noted that there were still some rocks within the road ROW on one property’s driveway. Once that has been taken care of, Fuller will do a final inspection and if satisfactory, the escrow funds will be released.
JOINT PLANNING BOARD (JPB) REPORT:
Lahn reported on the recent meeting regarding the Ordinance Amendment relating to Jail facility uses. The JPC had reviewed the recommended amendments for the ordinance as it relates to Jails. There are some questions regarding the information provided, and what the staff was asked to do.
Dissolution Meeting – The next meeting will be held Thursday at 3:30 p.m. A draft dissolution Agreement has been forwarded for all to review, and Attorney Kubousheck will be asked to also review it. Lahn will attendthe meeting in Kelly’s place.
Land Use Planning – Borseth has been reviewing the existing Ordinance and is making adjustments as needed. He is hoping to have a draft available this week, for all to review. A tentative schedule will be to conduct the 1st review and reading of the proposed ordinance during the November 27th board meeting, and then the 2nd reading at the December 11th meeting. The Ordinance will be effective once published.
Planning Commission – Notice for interested applicants has been published and posted since mid-September, with several applications submitted. There has been no end date posted, so it was agreed that November 1st would be the final date to receive applications. This will be a five (5) member commission, with the three (3) current members indicating that they wish to continue.
RURAL FIRE ASSOCIATION (RFA) REPORT:
Blumhagen reported that there are two (2) meetings scheduled for this week.
BELTRAMI ASSOCIATION OF TOWNSHIP OFFICER (BATO):
The regular semi-annual meeting will be held tomorrow evening, with Barnard as our representative. A meal will be served and guests include, Beltrami County AIS Coordinator Bruce Anspach, Sheriff Jason Riggs, and Commissioner Craig Gaasvig.
CORRESPONDENCE:
1)Email from Mark Fuller regarding the status of the roads in Plantation Estates, 2) response from Jason Kuboushek regarding the Birchmont Court ROW, 3) notice from MAT regarding upcoming annual educational conference, along with notice of proposed changes to the MAT Bylaws, 4) letter from the President of the Beltrami County Fairgrounds Board in support of the application to the Local Road Improvement Project (LRIP), 5) letter from County Road Engineer Bruce Hasbargen in support of the State Park Road Account (SPRA) application for Wild Plum/Beach Lanes, 6) positive report from Minn Dept of Health on town hall drinking water, 7) reminder from Hasbargen that a resolution from the County Board is required for the LRIP application.
Birchmont Court – Kuboushek reiterated that the ROW can be established through a process establishing actual width of use from the past six years, or condemnation if the actual width of use is not adequate.
LRIP – Fuller indicated that he would get the required information sent to Hasbargen requesting a Resolution from the Beltrami County Board.
OTHER:
Treasurer Position – Crystal Peterson has applied for the position and was interviewed by Blumhagen, Borseth, and Israelson. A motion was then offered by Frenzel, and seconded by Blumhagen, to approve offering the position to her at $25.00 per hour. The motion carried unanimously. She will be asked to keep track of her hours during this training/transition period until the end of the year. At that time, a monthy salary will be considered for her, as has been paid in the past.
Website Maintenance – Lahn submitted an invoice for the work his did developing the new website, along with an annual maintenance fee for 2023 and 2024. oug Kranich for his exemplary work over the past years. The motion was carried unanimously.
With no further business forthcoming, the meeting was adjourned at 7:29 pm.