Wacouta Town Board Annual Meeting
March 12, 2013
Signed March 12th, 2013 Meeting Minutes (PDF)
Wacouta Township Annual Meeting
March 12, 2013
Board Members Present: Sue Betcher, Barbara Charlson, Kyle Mehrkens, and Mickey Payne
I. Call to Order by Barbara Charlson at 8:15 PM
II. Selection of a Moderator
a. Motion was made to elect Gary Iocco as the 2013 Annual Meeting moderator. Seconded. The motion carried
III. Pledge of Allegiance
IV. Approval of 2012 minutes
a. Motion was made to approve the 2012 Annual Meeting minutes. Seconded. The motion carried.
V. Sheriff?s Department
a. Kris Johnson (Goodhue County Sheriff?s Department) said that communication with the citizens of Wacouta is key and the department would like to receive phone calls regarding problems and/or issues before they become too big to handle.
b. Suggested we add a list of residents to the www.wacoutatownship.org website.
VI. Treasurer?s Report ? Approved as Read; $162,150 total revenue and $104,326 total expenditures for 2013.
VII. State of Township Report
a. Town Hall Maintenance ? Ray Bronson lead a Town Hall repair project utilizing the Sentence to Serve personnel; moldy dry wall was removed from the basement as well as a new walk-through door was installed; in 2013 we plan on replacing broken windows ? something that will not trigger the need to update the septic system ? and installing a new water pressure system
b. Mining/Frac Sand Update ? Wacouta Township does not provide easy access to frac sand and trucking sand is not the most cost effective method to transporting it; Planning Committee members are reviewing current Wacouta ordinances and working with County members to define a solution that is best for all involved
VIII. Township Picnic
a. Motion was made to nominate Jill Mehrkens as the 2013 Wacouta Township Picnic Chairperson. Seconded. The motion carried.
IX. Road & Bridge Update
a. There were no major repairs done in 2012. Some potholes were filled along Sevestapol and Lakeview Avenue.
b. Discussion topic was the lack of salt and sand clean-up; because the winter was ?light? and there wasn?t that much accumulation, the Board made a decision to remove accumulations manually, thus saving $2,000; NOTE: There is a $3,000 line item in both 2013 and 2014 budgets to cover the clean-up costs
c. MN DOT is scheduled to enhance Sevestapol and Wacouta turn-offs in 2015; these turn-offs will be similar to County Road 21 and Frontenac.
X. New Tax Levy
a. Sue Betcher presented the 2014 Tax Levy proposal of $162,273. The breakdown is:
i. $ 39,273 Fire Fund
ii. $ 70,100 Road and Bridge Fund
iii. $ 52,900 General Fund
iv. $162,273 Total
b. The proposed levy is slightly higher than 2013 as we plan for major road repairs
c. Motion was made to accept levy of $162,273. Seconded. There was no additional discussion. The motion carried.
XI. Old Business
a. None at this time.
XII. New Business
a. HBC Fiber Optic ? Mike Christianson is spear-heading an effort to provide HBC fiberoptic services to Lakeview and Greens Point residents. If a strong interest is shown (and there certainly is from our standpoint), HBC will entertain this request at future planning meetings. Sevestapol residents will need to spear-head a similar action if they desire HBC coverage.
b. Bike Path ? In the past the Board had discussed an option to connect our existing trail to a bike trail leading to the City of Red Wing or Flower Valley; it was agreed that this would need to be a citizen-led approach; highway funds were available in the past and still are via proposals
c. John Falkner was introduced to attending residents; he bought the old Flower Valley Apple Orchard and plans to develop it into a plant nursery/winery ? and perhaps even host a Farmer?s Market in a few years
XIII. Election Results Reported
a. Congratulations to Sue Betcher. Sue won the 3-year Supervisor position with 41 votes. There were no write-in votes and no spoiled ballots.
XIV. Motion to adjourn at 8:58 PM. Seconded. 2013 Annual Meeting was adjourned.