Township of Wacouta – Monthly Board Meeting
January 13, 2014
Present: Sue Betcher, Mickey Payne, Gary Thomforde, Kyle Mehrkens
Others: Jill Mehrkens, Fred Plaas, Nancy Braschler, Jan Nelson, Wendy Thomforde, Steve Betcher, Brent Jablonski.
Sue called the meeting to order at 7:05 PM with the Pledge of Allegiance.
Agenda
Sue motions to approve the agenda with the addition of;
- Add heard back from Paul Zeig to old business.
- Add Zumbrota VFW Road and Bridge Lunch to new business.
Mickey seconds. Motion Carries.
December 02 Minutes
Sue motions to accept the December 02 minutes as written with no changes. Mickey seconds. Motion carries.
Declaration of Conflicts
None
Paul Zeig Attorney
Paul is from Wacouta Township. Sue spoke with Paul about being an attorney for Wacouta Township. Sue motions to have Paul send a proposal on his services for the township for the board to look at. Mickey and Gary second. Motions carries.
Friends of Wacouta Chimney Swifts House
The friends of Wacouta propose to build a Chimney Swift at the Town Hall. This is a free standing, 15ft chimney swift. There is one at Colvill and one at Frontenac.
The funds would not come from the township and the say the project total would be $600. Sentence to serve would help build and they built one in Colvill already.
The board recommended that the construction of the house be at the trail intersection by the town hall. The board debates location, dangers, foundation of a Chimney swift.
Sue motions to have Friends of Wacouta seek to build a chimney swift house. Mickey seconds. Motion carries.
Letter from Dick Johnson
Sue indicates that the board has already asked the Wacouta planning and zoning commission to review our ordinance and its implementation and does not think it would be appropriate to have a meeting with Mr. Johnson at this point. The planning and zoning commission will hold public meetings and public hearings as required. Sue brought in a proposed response to Mr. Johnson?s letter. The board agreed to send the letter to Mr. Johnson, and Kyle will mail it to him and make a copy for the township records.
Planning and zoning commission reappointment
Sue says they have to appoint 1,2, and 3 year terms of the planning and zoning commission.
Mickey agrees to contact the current planning and zoning commission members about possible reappointment.
Sue motions to appoint Fred as Planning and Zoning Administrator to a three year term, to be reviewed January 2017. Mickey and Gary second. Motion carries.
Goodhue County Land use Management New Zoning Application.
Sue reads the letter and shows the new permit. Fred says he has a copy of it.
Sue to ask Mike Wozniak at the County about the project needing township board approval before the zoning administrator.
Fred leaves 7:45pm.
Fire Service Contract
The City of Red Wing let us know our contract is up and we have to negotiate a new contract if we wish to continue service. They had wanted us to indemnify them but they removed the language.
Sue presents the contract the City of Red Wing has written. Sue, Gary and Mickey are OK with the contract. Sue motions to approve the contract, Gary seconds. Motion carries.
Kyle and Sue sign it, and Steph Betcher as the public notary.
Township Clerk and Supervisor Openings
- Clerk/Treasurer Position
Kyle to talk to Laura Lutjen about the open clerk/treasurer position. - Supervisor
Brent Jablonski asked questions about the position and has entered into the election to run as supervisor.
Xcel Rate Increase
Xcel notifies township of rate increases. Sue says it is more of an FYI notice from Xcel and the board takes no action.
MN Dep of Trans HWY 61 turn off letters and maps
Sevastapol Rd turnoff and Wacouta Rd turn off will have left had turn lanes constructed. Steve suggests that we ask them if there are any costs the township has to pick up for the closing of the entries/exits on hwy 61.
Gary suggests that we go to any open meetings on the construction.
Health Impact Assessment post card and meeting on jan 14
The board reads and takes no action.
Tax W2 forms
Kyle to talk to Laura about the W2 how PERA should be added.
Board of Audit
The board took three bills at random and asked Kyle to produce records for them. The audit was successful. The list of bills is;
- 5/28/12 Plaas Check
- 3/4/13 Goodhue County Check
- 5/8/13 Xcel Enery Check
Tax Levies
Sue motions to move $10,000 from Road and Bridge Checking to Road and Bridge Savings. Mickey seconds. Motion Carries.
Pay Bills
Motion was made by Sue and seconded by Mickey to approve paying bills and payroll on January, 13th, 2014 in the amount of $25,965.71 as presented. The motion carries.
Recess Meeting
Sue motions to recess the meeting until January 25th on 9am. Gary seconds. Motion carries.
Meeting is recessed at 9:15pm.
Meeting Continuation
Present: Sue Betcher, Mickey Payne, Gary Thomforde, Kyle Mehrkens
Sue resumes the meeting at 9:10am Saturday, January 25th.
Lake Pepin Legacy Alliance Township Address List Request
Marilyn Albright asked if we could send a recent address list of residents in Wacouta Township. The board saw no issue as long as the list was publically available. Kyle to forward Marilyn the list of addresses.
Fire Contract Final Copy
Sue brings the final copy of the fire contract and Kyle has original and will file for township.
Budgeting
- Rename Street Cleaning to Street Cleaning /Tree Removal
- Move $5,000 from General checking to Trail Maintenance per annual budgeting commitment.
- Salary down to $8,000 to accommodate
- Web Hosting, Ray is currently paying.
Cemetery
Sue motions non-residents/non-property owners pay $1,200 per lot. Mickey seconds motion carries.
2014 Elections
Kyle to talk to Caroline Holmstead about elections as he is not trained, and will also talk to
- Rich Wirkkla
- Mike Christenson
- Barbara Charleson to help and/or run meeting, but she can?t be a chief election officer.
March Regular Meeting
Sue motions to move the regular March 10th board meeting to March 3rd at 7:00pm. Gary seconds. Motion carries.
Sue motions to adjourn meeting at 10:50am. Gary seconds. Motion carries.