2012 October 9 Minutes

Posted byWacouta Township

Wacouta Town Board Meeting
October 9, 2012 – APPROVED
Oct 9 Meeting Minutes (Word doc.)

October 9, 2012 Meeting
Present: Sue Betcher, Mickey Payne, Ray Bronson and Barbara Charlson
Others: Dick Johnson, Beckie Plaas, Fred Plaas, Sue Simonson, Commissioner
Ted Siefert, Gary Thomforde, and Wendy Thomforde

Sue called the October 9, 2012 meeting to order with the Pledge of Allegiance at 7:00 PM.

Motion was made by Sue and seconded by Mickey to approve the Agenda with the addition of Sign Retroreflectivity (Old Business) and MAT Volunteer Service Statement & Agreement form (New Business). The motion carried.

There were no Declarations of Conflicts. Meeting minutes from September 10, 2012 were approved with no corrections.

Roads and Bridges

  1. MN Counties Intergovernmental Trust announced the final rules for sign retroreflectivity. The new Federal Highway Administration rules allow counties to replace existing signs based on their condition and available resources rather than by a specific date, thus easing budgetary demands. (*.pdf available upon request.)
  2. Goodhue County requested verification that Wacouta Township road mileage is 8.09 miles. Barbara will sing and submit the appropriate paperwork.

Planning and Zoning

  1. Planning Commission met on Oct 1 to discuss Township ordinances. It was noted that we have already spent $100,000 on defining ordinances per Tracy Gadient and it is not well-advised to move ahead with something that will create litigation. The Commissioners recommend we review what the Goodhue County as well as MN State final ordinances are before re-defining ours. Sue and other Board members will attend county meetings on this topic as schedules allows. (NOTE: County meeting minutes are available on the website linked at the end of these minutes.)
  2. Payne Variance ? Request to allow design and construction modifications to their existing property. Payne?s are changing encroachments but not any closer to the bluff, lot sides or road. The Commissioners recommend the Town Board accept the variance. Motion was made by Sue and seconded by Ray to accept the Payne variance with Planning Commission recommendations. The motion carried 2-0 with Mickey abstaining.
  3. Reese Variance ? Request to split their beach frontage between two (2) residential lots. Per the Planning Commission, there is no need for a Planning Commission meeting nor for the Reese? to appear before the Town Board as this is a county issue, not township.
  4. Motion was made by Mickey and seconded by Ray to submit a Generic Environment Impact Statement (GEIS) in support of Senator John Howe?s bill in the MN Senate. The motion carried. Mickey will draft this letter and all will sign.

Wacouta Web Page (http://www.wacoutatownship.org)

  1. No update

Town Hall Structure

  1. Ray received a thank you letter from the MN Department of Corrections for the Township gift of a Panasonic Cordless Drill to the Red Wing District Sentence to Serve program.
  2. Motion was made by Sue and seconded by Mickey to have Fred service the furnace, burners, provide age of furnace, etc. for the 2012-13 Winter season. The motion carried.
  3. Motion was made by Ray and seconded by Sue to propose a Town Hall preventive maintenance budget at the 2013 Annual Meeting that would include new windows, outside handicap rail work, etc. The motion carried.
  4. Fred will look into changing the existing lights or adding some to the SE corner of the Town Hall.

Treasurer?s Report

  1. Motion was made by Ray and seconded by Sue to pay bills and payroll on October 9, 2012 in the amount of $9,810.86 as presented. The motion carried.

General Election

  1. Motion was made by Mickey and seconded by Sue to approve Nancy Barth, Susan Jablonski, Laura Lutjen, Rick Wirkkala and Barbara Charlson as General Election Judges and substitutes with all paid at a rate of $10 per hour. The motion carried.
  2. Public Accuracy Test to test the assistive voting device and the optical ballot counting equipment to be used for on Nov 6 for the General Election ballot marking and vote tabulation will be held on Nov 5 at 6:00 PM.

Picnic Closure

  1. Annual Picnic was well attended with the excepetion of being light on Sevestopol residents. Those residents will be sought out as 2013 planning committee members.
  2. Expenses were under-budget $2,150

Miscellaneous

  1. Sue expressed concern over two (2) recent Red Wing Fire Department (RWFD) responses in our township. One was a house struck by lightening and the other an out-of-control beach fire. Sue will speak with a RWFD representative to find out about their GPS capability.
  2. 2013 Annual Meeting agenda items include: 1) Building Permits cost; 2) Cemetery Lot fees; and 3) Town Hall Preventive Maintenance Budget
  3. 3. MAT website has a Volunteer Service Statement & Agreement form that will be adapted for use by Wacouta Township. (*.pdf available upon request.)
  4. MN State Auditor Department is requesting verification of 2011 expenditures. Minnesota Association of Townships emailed that 180 townships have not submitted a 2011 Annual Report and 300 have outstanding questions that need to be answered. Barbara is working with their office to finalize the verification.
  5. Suggestion was made to organize a ?National Night Out? in 2013 Spring in order for us to meet Wacouta neighbors. We?re looking for a chairperson to coordinate this activity.

Motion was made by Sue and seconded by Mickey to adjourn the meeting at 8:33 PM on October 9, 2012. The motion carried.

Respectfully,

Barbara Charlson
Wacouta Township Clerk/Treasurer

Upcoming Dates:

Nov 5 Mon Public Accuracy Test of Election Equipment at 6:00 PM
Nov 6 Tues General Election at 7:00 AM ? 8:00 PM
Nov 12 Mon VETERANS DAY ? Federal Offices Closed
Nov 13 Tues Town Board Meeting at 7:00 PM
Dec 10 Mon Town Board Meeting at 7:00 PM

Noteworthy Web Sites