BIRCHDALE TOWNSHIP REGULAR MEETING MINUTES TUESDAY, MARCH 25, :00 P.M.

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1 BIRCHDALE TOWNSHIP REGULAR MEETING MINUTES TUESDAY, MARCH 25, :00 P.M. 1. Call to Order/ Pledge of Allegiance/Roll Call Clerk Jackie Bauer called to order the regular meeting of the Birchdale Township Board at 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday, March 25, 2014 at the Birchdale Town Hall. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited. Present were Supervisors Dale Ahrens, Jim Carstens, Arnie Berscheid, Cathy Lensing, Mark Brinkman and Treasurer Marlene VanHavermaet and Clerk Jackie Bauer. Also in attendance were Ervin Herdering, Larry Bebus, Ron Pettit, David Weber and Jeff Rahn. 2. Oaths of Office Prior to the start of the meeting, Clerk Bauer administered the Oath of Office to Supervisor Cathy Lensing. Supervisor Cathy Lensing was elected to a three year term at the March 11, 2014 Township Election. 3. Select Chair and Vice Chair Clerk Bauer called for a motion to select a Chair. A motion was made by Supervisor Berscheid, seconded by Supervisor Brinkman, and carried to re-elect Supervisor Carstens as Chair for the year. Chair Carstens called for a motion to select a Vice Chair. A motion was made by Supervisor Brinkman, seconded by Supervisor Ahrens, and carried to re-elect Supervisor Berscheid as Vice Chair for the year. 4. Approval of Agenda A motion was made by Supervisor Berscheid, seconded by Supervisor Ahrens, and unanimously carried to approve the agenda as amended. 5. Approval of Minutes A motion was made by Supervisor Berscheid, seconded by Supervisor Brinkman, and unanimously carried to approve the February 25, 2014 Regular Meeting minutes as amended. A motion was made by Supervisor Lensing, seconded by Supervisor Berscheid and unanimously carried to approve the March 11, 2014 Canvassing Board Meeting Minutes. 6. Approval of Treasurer s Report

2 Treasurer VanHavermaet presented the March Treasurer s Report. A motion was made by Supervisor Ahrens, seconded by Supervisor Berscheid, and unanimously carried to accept the Treasurer s Report. 7. Approval of Bills Next presented was the list of bills for the month of March to be considered for payment. A motion was made by Supervisor Lensing, seconded by Supervisor Brinkman, and unanimously carried to approve payment of the bills in the amount of $13, (See attached list of bills). 8. Residents Comments a. Dust Control/Speed Limit Sign Request for 213 th Avenue Residents Ron Pettit and David Weber, who live along 213 th Avenue, were in attendance to discuss the possibility of having dust control applied on this road. They also inquired about the possibility of having a speed limit sign erected on this section of road. Alcott Drive has a 30 mph speed limit sign prior to 213 th Avenue but according to Residents Pettit and Weber, vehicles are driving fairly fast when they hit 213 th Avenue, which is a gravel road. There are 4 houses along this section of road and there are also young children who live in these homes. Supervisor Lensing stated that some type of speed study may need to be done before the county or state would add a speed limit sign here. She will contact the Minnesota Department of Transportation about doing a possible speed study for 213 th Avenue, and if they are willing to do this for 213 th Avenue, that they may be willing to possibly also do one for Angler Drive too. This topic will be added to the April meeting agenda. The Board then discussed applying dust control for 213 th Avenue. Last year, approximately 4 miles of township roads had a new type of dust control applied by Herdering Inc. This dust control uses magnesium chloride which over time, will maintain the roads better causing less upkeep to be needed. The Board discussed possibly adding 213 th Avenue to the 4 miles of test roads having the new type of dust control being applied. A motion was made by Supervisor Brinkman, seconded by Supervisor Berscheid, and unanimously carried to approve adding 213 th Avenue to the list of roads that the Township will apply magnesium chloride dust control to. 9. Reports/Requests/Presentations a. Annual Weed Meeting and Training for Local Weed Inspectors Weed training was held on March 20, 2014 for Supervisors. However, the notification for the meeting was received late and none of the Supervisors

3 were able to attend. Clerk Bauer will provide information provided by the County Weed Inspector, that she received by , at the April Board meeting. 10. Unfinished Business a. Angler Drive Safety Concerns Resident Larry Bebus, who was in attendance, stated that nothing new has really occurred with Angler Drive however now that spring is here, many of the residents will be returning for the summer and he will be talking to them further about signage. Supervisor Lensing stated that it might also be helpful if the Department of Transportation can do some type of speed study or vehicle counter to provide evidence of the number and speed of vehicles using Angler Drive. She is going to contact MN-Dot regarding this possibility. The Board also asked Clerk Bauer to contact Tapco, the company that sells solar-powered, LED lighted speed limit signs so that new quotes can be provided at the April meeting in preparation for the purchase of these signs for Angler Drive. Clerk Bauer will do this. b. Dust Control Maintenance Plan The Board further discussed a dust control maintenance plan on selected township roads. The Board identified approximately 4 miles of roadway last year that had Magnesium Chloride dust control applied by Herdering Inc., who had been awarded the 2013 dust control quote. The Board will be monitoring these roads to see if this new type of dust control will improve the upkeep of these roads. If so, the Board may consider applying this type of dust control to all township gravel roads. Quotes forms will be sent out to vendors again this year to obtain estimates for dust control. c. Local Board of Appeals & Equalization Clerk Bauer reminded the Board that the Local Board of Appeals and Equalization meeting will be held on April 16, 2014 at 9:00 AM at the Birchdale Town Hall. Clerk Bauer presented a notice regarding the Board of Appeals that will be posted in the Sauk Herald and Long Prairie Leader as well as being posted at the Town Hall. A motion was made by Supervisor Lensing, seconded by Supervisor Ahrens, and unanimously carried to approve posting this notice in the Sauk Herald and Long Prairie Leader as well as being posted at the Town Hall and on the Birchdale Township web-site. d. Postcard mailers for Elections/Annual Meeting Supervisor Berscheid stated that Burnhamville Township had mailed out a postcard to all of its residents to notify them of the Annual Township Meeting and the Township Elections. He will follow up with their Board to find out how effective this post-card mailing was. This might be something that Birchdale Township could try for next year s meeting. This item will be placed on the April meeting for follow-up.

4 e. Alexander Loop Residents living along Alexander Loop had previously presented the possibility of requesting that the Township take over Alexander Loop as a township road. Per the Birchdale Township Road Standards Policy, 60% of the lots along Alexander Loop do have homes constructed on the lots. This is a requirement per the policy in proceeding with taking over a private road as a township road. The Board had requested that if residents wanted to proceed with this possibility, that all residents would need to present a signed petition stating this. The residents that had inquired about the township taking over Alexander Loop were mainly concerned with snow-plowing being done on the road during the winter months. Clerk Bauer had drafted a letter to Ms. Delane Sawyer who was one of the residents inquiring about snow-plowing services. Clerk Bauer outlined the steps to be taken for the township to take over Alexander Loop and that this item would be placed on the April 29 th, 2014 Board meeting. 11. New Business Another possibility was brought up at the Minnesota Association of Townships Spring Short Course training. Supervisor Lensing, Clerk Bauer and Treasurer Van Havermaet stated that there is a Minnesota state statute that requires townships to keep private roads plowed when there are residents living along the road. Clerk Bauer will check with Minnesota Association of Townships regarding this statute and provide this information to the Board for the April 29 th, 2014 meeting. a. The Board then considered appointing the Township Attorney for the coming year. A motion was made by Supervisor Berscheid, seconded by Supervisor Ahrens, and unanimously carried to reappoint Troy Gilchrist of Kennedy & Graven as the Township Attorney. b. Consideration was then given to designating the official newspaper for the coming year. A motion was made by Supervisor Lensing, seconded by Supervisor Brinkman, and unanimously carried to reappoint the Sauk Centre Herald and the Long Prairie Leader as the official newspapers. c. Next considered was designation of the official posting places for the coming year. A motion was made by Supervisor Berscheid, seconded by Supervisor Ahrens, and unanimously carried to again designate the Township bulletin board and Township website as the official posting places. d. The Board then considered the Road Committee appointments for the coming year. A motion was made by Supervisor Ahrens, seconded by

5 Supervisor Brinkman, and unanimously carried to re-appoint Supervisor Carstens and Supervisor Berscheid to the Road Committee. e. Birchdale Township holds a safe deposit box at the Central Minnesota Federal Credit Union and CMFCU is requesting a signature form stating who would have access to this box. The box contains the abstract for the town hall property. A motion was made by Supervisor Berscheid, seconded by Supervisor Lensing and unanimously carried to reappoint Supervisor Carstens, Clerk Bauer and Treasurer VanHavermaet as the designated signatures for the box. They will hold the keys that access the box. f. Next considered was the proposed resolution designating the depositories of Township funds; The proposed Resolution is the same one approved for 2013 which states that financial entities the Township is currently doing business with are; First State Bank of Sauk Centre, Minnesota National Bank, Sauk Centre, the Central Minnesota Federal Credit Union, Melrose, and the North American State Bank of Elrosa. A motion was made by Supervisor Lensing, seconded by Supervisor Ahrens, and unanimously carried to adopt Resolution No , Resolution Designating Depositories of Township Funds. (A copy of the Resolution is on file in the Official Resolution Book of the Township.) g. The Board then reviewed the Compensation and Reimbursement Policy and considered any possible changes. Clerk Bauer stated that there are no changes to the current policy. A motion was made by Supervisor Brinkman, seconded by Supervisor Berscheid and unanimously carried to adopt Resolution No , Resolution Adopting Compensation and Reimbursement Policy for Birchdale Township Officers. (A copy of the Resolution is on file in the Official Resolution Book of the Township.) h. Next considered was the proposed gopher bounty resolution. The law requires that each year, the Board must establish the gopher bounty for that year. The bounty is again set for $2 per gopher. A motion was made by Supervisor Ahrens, seconded by Supervisor Carstens, and unanimously carried to adopt Resolution No , Resolution Establishing a Gopher Bounty in Birchdale Township as amended. (A copy of the Policy in on file in the Policy Book of the Township.) i. Review and extension of Capital Improvement Plan Clerk Bauer is continuing to work on the extension of the Birchdale Township Capital Improvement Plan. This plan needs to be extended out for five years at a time so does need to be updated. When Clerk Bauer has a draft of the Plan ready for the Board to review, she will place this item on the agenda.

6 j. The Board then opened the quote received from Jeff Rahn for mowing of Town Hall Property for the 2014 Season. Quote information had been sent to Jeff Rahn and Matt Tschida and a notice was posted on the Township s website and bulletin board. Mr. Rahn s quote was $30 per cutting. A motion was made by Supervisor Berscheid, seconded by Supervisor Brinkman, and unanimously carried to award the Lawn Mowing of Town Hall Property work to Jeff Rahn as per his $30.00 per cutting. The lawn is to be cut no more than two times a month unless prior approval is given by a Township Supervisor. k. The Board then opened a quote received from Astech Corporation for Crack Filling for the 2014 Season. Quote information had been sent to both Herdering, Inc. and Astech Corporation. A notice was also posted on the Township s website and bulletin board. The quote received from Astech Corporation was as follows: Rate of $1.63 per pound. All new cracks will be routed out ¾ or 1 X 1 as needed. All cracks are to blown clean by means of compressed air. All cracks are to be filled with hot pour rubberized crack filler per manufacturer s specifications. All crackfiller will be covered with single ply paper. Traffic will not be allowed on area until material has cured properly. Cracks greater than 1.5 wide should not be treated with this process. Alligatored areas should not be treated with this process. Price includes all labor, equipment and materials. The work will be done to MNDOT Spec (3723) A motion was made by Supervisor Brinkman, seconded by Supervisor Berscheid, and unanimously carried to award the Crack Filling for the 2014 Season quote work to Astech as quoted at a rate of $1.63 per pound. Clerk Bauer was directed to notify Astech of the quote award and that the Road Committee will be in contact with them to inform them which roads will need crack filling done. l. The Board then opened the quote received from Herdering, Inc. for Grading/Blading of Gravel Roads for the 2014 Season. Quote information had been sent to Herdering Inc. and Mayers Inc. and a notice was posted on the Township s website and bulletin board. The Herdering quote was as follows:

7 Equipment at $80.00 / hour: o #14D Cat Motorgrader o #12F Cat Motorgrader o #118 Galion Motorgrader Fuel Surcharges: o Prices based on a $3.00 per gallon Off Road o For every $.25 increase per gallon over $3.00, an additional $2.00 per hour would be added. A motion was made by Supervisor Lensing, seconded by Supervisor Brinkman, and unanimously carried to award the Grading/Blading of Gravel Roads for the 2014 Season work to Herdering, Inc as per their quote. Clerk Bauer was directed to notify Herdering, Inc in writing of the quote award. m. Clerk Bauer presented the proposed quote information and form regarding Dust Control. A motion was made by Supervisor Berscheid, seconded by Supervisor Lensing, and unanimously carried to approve the quote information and form and authorize seeking sealed quotes for Dust Control. Clerk Bauer was directed to send the quote information and form to Herdering Inc., Central MN Dust Control and Tri-City Paving and to post the information on the Township website and Township bulletin board. Quotes to be received until 8:00 p.m. Tuesday, April 29, 2014 and the quotes to be opened at the 8:00 p.m. Board meeting. n. The Board then considered street seal coating and paint striping projects for There are none scheduled for this year per the township s Capital Improvement Plan however this item comes up on the yearly Calendar of Events for March for discussion. o. Barricades that have been placed at the entrance of minimum maintenance roads within the township can now be removed. However, these barricades have already been removed by Supervisor Ahrens. p. Renewal of Fire Service Contract with the City of Melrose (Contract terminates July 1, 2014) This item is placed on the March meeting agenda per the Township s Calendar of Events. Supervisor Carstens suggested that Clerk Bauer send a letter to all residents within the Township who fall within the fire call area served by the City of Melrose Fire Department to ask them to contact her if they would like to possibly be served by a different city fire department. Clerk Bauer will work on this mailing to residents. Supervisor Carstens also suggested that Clerk Bauer put this notice on the Birchdale Township website and she will do this. 12. Informational Items

8 The Board then reviewed the following informational items: a. Todd County Board of Adjustment Public Hearing Notice - Clerk Bauer presented correspondence from the Todd County Board of Adjustment of a meeting on Thursday, March 27, 2014 at 7:00 PM at the Historic Courthouse to discuss an After The Fact Variance request by Andrew Burlet for an 18X32 ft. patio constructed 6 feet from the side property line versus the required 10 feet. Supervisor Ahrens will plan to attend this meeting. b. Township Levy for Taxes Payable for 2015 and Certification of Town Officers correspondence - Clerk Bauer presented correspondence received from the Auditor/Treasurer s Office regarding completing information for the Township Levy for Taxes Payable 2015 and the 2014 Certification of Town Officers. Clerk Bauer will complete this correspondence and return it. c. Minnesota Association of Townships Officer List Correspondence - Clerk Bauer presented correspondence received from the Minnesota Association of Townships regarding completing information regarding the new list of Township Officers. She will complete this and return it. d. Final 2014 Fire Assessment Calculations for Sauk Centre Fire Department Clerk Bauer presented correspondence received from the City of Sauk Centre Fire Department with new calculations for the 2014 Fire Assessment. The assessment cost has dropped compared to last year. e. Todd County Planning Commission Notice of Public Hearing A public hearing will be held on Thursday, April 3, 2014 at 7:00 PM at the Todd County Historic Courthouse regarding a Conditional Use Permit request for Arnold Jenc, (9.11 acres) Lot 6, Block 2 of Middendorf s Subd. Supervisor Ahrens will plan to attend this meeting. f. Correspondence Received From CenturyLink Clerk Bauer presented correspondence received from CenturyLink requesting that if construction projects are planned within the township, that CenturyLink be notified so that lines are kept intact. g. Notice of Todd County Town Officer s Association Meeting Clerk Bauer presented correspondence regarding Notice of the Todd County Town Officer s Association Meeting. It is set for April 10, 2014 at 12:30 PM at the Browerville Community Center. Any Supervisor is welcome to attend. 13. Officers Comments

9 None 14. Adjournment With no further business, a motion was made by Supervisor Brinkman, seconded by Supervisor Berscheid, and unanimously carried to adjourn the meeting at 9:09 p.m. Respectfully Submitted, Jackie Bauer Birchdale Township Clerk