Wacouta Town Board Meeting
September 10, 2012 – APPROVED
Sept 10 Meeting Minutes (Word doc.)
September 10, 2012 Meeting
Present: Sue Betcher, Mickey Payne, Ray Bronson and Nancy Barth
Others: Gary Thomforde, Beckie Plaas, Fred Plaas, Sue Simonson, Vickie
Stein, Mike Christensen, Chuck Curt
Sue called the September 10, 2012 meeting to order with the Pledge of Allegiance at 7:00 PM.
Motion was made by Ray Bronson and seconded by Mickey Payne to approve the Agenda with the following changes: under Old Business added the Ries/Knudsen bridge repair issue, under New Business removed Goodhue 2013 Final Levy Certification, Sevastopol & Wacouta Left Turn Lanes, and Emergency Broadcast Siren which were carryovers from the August meeting and would not be discussed. We also added a discussion on Trail Map which indicated where the cracks are due to mole activity. The motion carried.
There were no Declarations of Conflicts. Meeting minutes from August 13, 2012 were approved with this correction. Under Planning and Zoning heading, Item #2. The board agreed that we should remove the statement that says ?At this time the Board has no plans to pass an ordinance precluding mining as we are waiting to see what the County does.? Change to: ?Discussion on Frac Sand Mining will be continued and no action to be taken at this time.? Question from Nancy Barth about whether past Election Judges Beckie Plaas and Nancy McKay were still asked to assist with the election. This point was under Elections ? State Primary and General. It was determined that due to Barbara?s absence that it would stand as read and it will be discussed with Barbara at the next meeting. Meeting minutes from August 13, 2012 were approved with those corrections. Motion made by Sue Betcher, seconded by Mickey Payne.
Roads and Bridges
- Ray Bronson brought up an issue brought to his attention by Jennifer Beck with the bridge near Ries/Knudsen properties on Lakeview. Issue is that with road settling on the bridge, there is soil erosion on bluff side where the lowest protective railing has about a 2.5? opening which could be hazardous. Mickey to call Greg Isaacson regarding recommendations for repair to help prevent future accidents.
Town Hall Repairs and Groundskeeping
- Ray reported that Sentence to Serve Supervisor and Safety Inspector have looked at the basement project and will have a crew of approx. 8 starting Monday, September 17 at 8:00 AM. A dumpster will be delivered on Friday to accommodate the debris. They will be removing debris, old appliances, etc. so that basement is clean and free of rodent droppings and potential mold. They will be wearing protective maskings/clothing for this project. Old records will be moved upstairs possibly to the office. There are several of the old schoolhouse desks and old books from the original schoolhouse. Nancy Barth requested they be saved and wants to use them at the upcoming Wacouta picnic. The coat rack in the foyer will be tossed as no one has been using it and it takes up considerable space. It will be determined if the windows are intact and not allowing water in so we know whether any repairs are required with them. Fred Plaas to bring in his crew to remove stools and sinks and will cap off the plumbing. Nancy Barth suggested in the future we might want to install a utility sink since the only sink for cleaning is the small bathroom sink. That will be determined at a future time. Request by Nancy Barth to ask if Sentence-to-Serve could also wash the windows and floor during their time there. Several of the members cannot perform the basement work and might be available for other projects. They will also trim branches in the cemetery. Sue Betcher will mark with red ribbons areas requiring attention. They will need to retain electrical in the basement so that there is lighting. Large table will be scrapped. Ray Bronson to bring a step ladder as we had to toss the one that was at the Town Hall as it was wooden and dangerous. The crew may be bringing one with them and Ray will check with them. He will be bring window washing equipment. Ray indicated that we will want to consider a donation to the Sentence-to-Serve Program for their work and that will be determined later.
- Ray sprayed a large black bees nest in the large pine out in front of the town hall. There doesn?t appear to be any bees going into it now.
Web Research & Development
- Ray Bronson advised that he has renewed the contract with the Web Site Developer in the amount of $74.00. He mentioned that we don?t have a good photo of the outside of the
Town Hall. Sue Simonson/Gary Thomforde will look for their photos taken during the installation of the Wacouta Hall sign which is in memory of Cliff Simonson and will provide in jpeg format to Ray.
Update from Ray on Land Stewardship Workshop
- This is covered under the Frac Mining Section of minutes.
Stein Culvert
- Vickie Stein appeared regarding request to have County purchase a necessary culvert serving as a clean water run which will require them to replace their drive. County can purchase culvert at a discount so Vickie presented a check to the Township in t he amount of $482.60. Sue Betcher made a motion to approve this transaction, Ray Bronson seconded. Sue Betcher to call Public Works to OK with Sheila
Picnic Update
- Nancy Barth reported that the picnic will take place on Saturday, September 29 from 3:00-7:00 PM. The ?Old School? theme will include bingo, kickball and croquet. We will see if the school bell is still positioned up in the crawl space in the foyer to ring at the event.
- Beckie Plaas reported that food will be provided by Randy?s and will be a chicken dinner and rootbeer floats.
- It was confirmed that the budget for the picnic is $2,500.
Wacouta History Project
- Nancy Barth reported that the Wacouta History Project held its second meeting to gather general information on the Township, Maps, Stories from individuals and photos.
- Ray Bronson said he will include a tab on the Wacouta Web Site to house the information.
- This will be an ongoing project with a display at the Wacouta Picnic showing the initial work.
Bill Wells Cabin Project
- Mickey Payne reported that the cabin was dismantled but due to poor condition of the logs it would not be possible to reuse them for other purposes.
Frac Sand Issue
- Lengthy discussion on this issue. Wacouta currently has an ordinance in place that only allows mining of any kind in industrial zones.
- Ray Bronson attended a session on Land Stewardship and suggested that we might want to create an interim ordinance to create a moratorium on mining. After further discussion a motion was made by Sue and seconded by Ray to have the board members submit a list of their concerns (water table concerns, pollution, etc.) to the Wacouta Planning Commission (Mark Poss, John Schueller, Tracy Gadient, Gary Iocco) who will then meet and report back by the next Township Meeting in October (9) after reviewing the Comprehensive Plan and Mining Ordinance and present their recommendations. Gary Iocco will call this meeting. Sue Betcher will discuss with Gary.
- Clerk to provide 7 copies of ?Protecting Your Township From Unwanted Development? provided by Ray Bronson and to be distributed to Town Board members and Planning
Commission members for review (return original to Ray Bronson). This is available online at: http://landsstewardshipproject.org/repository/1/37/townshipmanual06.pdf or by callling LSP at 612-722-6377.
Mole Destruction on Trail
- Sue Betcher presented a map that shows two areas where moles are believed to have caused cracks in two areas of the trail.
Other:
- Discusson on the two largest pines outside the town hall and that the building is no longer visible from the road and the suggestion that they come down at some point. A cutting bee would be required to do that. Moving them looks to be too difficult as the trees are huge.
Treasurers Report
- Approved for $1,003.34 by Sue Betcher; approved by Mickey Payne.
Motion was made by Sue Betcher and seconded by Ray Bronson to adjourn the meeting at 8:39 PM September 10, 2012. The motion carried.
Respectfully,
Nancy Barth
Wacouta Deputy Township Clerk/Treasurer
(in Barbara Charlson?s absence)
Upcoming Dates:
Sept 10 Cleanup of Town Hall Basement during this week
Sept 19 Wed. Election Judge Refresher Course 2:00-4:00 PM, Goodhue Co. Court House
Sept 23 Sun. 4:00 PM ? Clean up of Town Hall for picnic
Sept 29 Sat. 3:00-7:00 PM ? Annual Town Hall picnic
Oct 9 Tues. Wacouta Board Meeting ? 7:00 PM
Nov 6 Tues. Election ? 7:00 AM ? 8:00 PM