2012 December 10 and 29 Minutes

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Wacouta Town Board Meeting
December 10 & 29, 2012
Dec 10_29 Meeting Minutes(Word doc.)

Dec 10, 2012 Meeting
Present: Sue Betcher, Mickey Payne and Barbara Charlson
Others: Nat Timm, Don Nappin, Mary Nappin, Wendy Thomforde and Gary Thomforde

Dec 29, 2012 Meeting
Present: Sue Betcher, Ray Bronson, Mickey Payne and Barbara Charlson
Others: Kyle Mehrkens
Sue called both the Dec 10, 2012 meeting to order at 7:02 PM and the Dec 29, 2012 meeting to order at 11:04 AM with the Pledge of Allegiance.

Motion was made by Sue and seconded by Mickey to approve the Agenda with the addition of: 1) Siren Update – Nat Timm (Goodhue Co. Sheriff?s Department); 2) GCPW crack sealing letter from John Schueller (Goodhue Co. Public Works); and 3) Resignation of Barbara as Clerk/Treasurer. The motion carried.

There were no Declarations of Conflicts.

Meeting minutes from November 13, 2012 were approved. Motion was made by Sue and seconded by Mickey to approve the November 13, 2012 minutes. The motion carried.

2014 Budget Preparation

  1. $25,000 recommendation for Town Hall maintenance; Board members agreed that the amount can be accumulated over a few years, not all in 2014.
  2. Town Hall building improvements over $1,000 may require septic updating unless the Township would be granted an exception; replacing windows in the same size hole or putting new shingles on would not fall under this category; Board members expressed a budget concern for a positive cost-benefit ratio to proceed at this time unless there is a clear and present need (e.g., safety issue, furnace repair, etc.).
  3. $24,000 recommendation for future road repair; Sue will ask John Schueller to present road maintenance information at 2013 Annual Meeting; options discussed were: 1) perform the road work now and pay for it with a bank loan or 2) accumulate funds in a savings account for future expenses; suggestion was offered that some asphalt roads may need to be abandoned and returned to appropriate residents. Mickey provided informational handouts for the Annual Meeting.
  4. Recycling costs are increasing and so will this budget line item.
  5. Trail maintenance was over budget; winter usage will be an agenda item at Annual Meeting.
  6. Estimated legal expenses are $5,000. Suggestion was made to have Planning & Zoning members and/or a special citizen?s committee be engaged on the frac sand issue and keep township legal fees to a minimum.

March 12 Annual Meeting and Election

  1. There is one (1) Supervisor position up for election this year. Sue?s three-year term is up this year; she agreed to run again and welcomes others to run, too; filing deadline is Jan 15, 2013; call Barb at 507-221-0570 if interested in applying.
  2. Concern was expressed that two (2) of the Board Supervisors will be physically absent for the Annual Meeting; we will utilize Skype technology so the Supervisors can be available from Florida and Australia.
  3. Sue will make inquiries for an available moderator.

Roads and Bridges

  1. Goodhue County Public Works (GCPW) sent a ?Letter of Interest? for road work that needs to be signed and returned by Dec 21, 2012; Wacouta Township work would be incorporated with that of Goodhue County in their request for bids; if the bid is accepted, we will be responsible for 8% of the final construction costs to cover contract administration/project supervision by Goodhue County; if the township does not participate, we will be charged $400 for administration fees.
  2. Motion was made by Mickey and seconded by Sue to sign the letter for partnering with Goodhue County for crack sealing our roads. The motion carried.

Planning and Zoning

  1. Wolner variance meeting was held on Dec 20, 1012 at the Wolner residence (27850 Greens Point Road) at 5:45 PM; Tom and Peggy are replacing their existing garage with a wider one (East and West) but one that is not closer to Greens Point Road (South). Motion was made by and seconded by to approve the building variance.

Cemetery Update

  1. Mark and Ann Warrington are requesting a cemetery lot near their infant daughter but the land isn?t surveyed yet.
  2. FYI – Cemetery lots remain $300 each.
  3. Motion was made by Sue and seconded by Mickey to have the land surveyed by a Warrington relative in exchange for a free cemetery lot. The motion carried.

Treasurer?s Report

  1. Motion was made by Sue and seconded by Mickey to pay bills and payroll on Dec 10, 2012 in the amount of $17,833.35 as presented. The motion carried. (NOTE: $16,349.75 was paid to the City of Red Wing for 2nd half of the Fire Services contract.)
  2. Motion was made by Mickey and seconded by Ray to pay bills and payroll on Dec 29, 2012 in the amount of $9,052.75 as presented. The motion carried.
  3. Barbara erroneously deposited $10,000 from the 2012 Tax Settlement (May 21 to Nov 20, 2012) monies into the Trail Maintenance Money Market. Motion was made by Sue and seconded by Mickey to transfer $5,000 from Trail Maintenance Money Market account to the Road and Bridges Money Market account and leave the remaining $5,000 in the Trail Maintenance Money Market account.
  4. Motion was made by Sue and seconded by Mickey to accept the as-of-Dec 10, 2012 Treasurer?s Report. The motion carried.
  5. Motion was made by Sue and seconded by Mickey to accept the completed Dec 29, 2012 Treasurer?s Report. The motion carried.
  6. Township has not yet received $8,000 (est) invoice for upgrading the two (2) sirens.
  7. Internal Board of Audit Review will be done in January 2013 of Township revenues and expenses.

Miscellaneous

  1. Jan, Feb and March Board meetings will be available at the following Skype locations: 25120 Goldcrest Dr. #321, Bonita Springs FL and Australia.
  2. Warrington Summons Response ? Township was served a warrant and required to respond; Sue was granted a time extension until the Board met again; on March 1, 2011 and April 11, 2011, the Board pulled together a committee for a similar reason and minutes reflect that the Board will not respond if summoned and the Board chose not to take a position for or against the summons; this Board voted unanimously to support this recommendation and responded to Attorney Clinton McLagan as such
  3. Siren Update ? Nat Timm (Goodhue Co. Sheriff?s Dept) informed the Township of the need to secure the two (2) siren boxes; required locks were purchased and Ray will lock the boxes.
  4. Friends of Wacouta Eagle Presentation ? well attended by adults and children; spectators saw the eagle consume an entire rat ? tail and all – and needless to say, the free hot dogs afterward were not a big hit.
  5. Red Wing 20/20 Forum Meeting ? Attended by Sue, MNDOT, health department and many others; researching ambient air standards within a mine; are no standards defined yet; Wacouta is mainly affected by heavy truck traffic.
  6. Barbara will re-locate to Iowa after the 2013 March Annual Meeting; she will resign after the election and the Board will appoint a candidate to serve the remainder of her term through March 2014.
  7. Township congratulates resident Steve Betcher on earning the Association of MN Counties (AMC) Outstanding Service Award ? the first time an attorney has ever won such an honor; to qualify for the award, the individual must have met criteria that included exceptional service to the county, pursuit of innovative improvements in county government, demonstration of consistent leadership and improvement of relationships and communication among county elected officials, staff members, the AMC, the public and the media

Motion was made by Sue and seconded by Mickey to reconvene the Dec 10 meeting at 11:00 AM on December 29, 2012 (Sat). The motion carried.

Motion was made by Ray and seconded by Mickey to adjourn the Dec 29 meeting at 12:31 PM. The motion carried.

Respectfully,

Barbara Charlson
Wacouta Township Clerk/Treasurer

Upcoming Dates:

Jan 14 Mon Town Board Meeting at 7:00 PM
Feb 11 Mon Town Board Meeting at 7:00 PM
March 4 Mon Town Board Meeting at 7:00 PM
March 12 Tues Town Board voting 5:00 ? 8:00 PM
March 12 Tues Annual Meeting at 8:15 PM

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