2005 Board Minutes - Lynden Township

LYNDEN TOWNSHIP
STEARNS COUNTY
December 5, 2005
Those present were Anne Ackerman, Jerry Finch, Dave Johnson, Karen Weeres and Del Moeller.

Anne opened the meeting at 7:00 p.m. and led the pledge.

Minutes of the previous meeting were read. Jerry made a motion to accept the minutes after review, second by Dave, all in favor, motion approved.

Treasurer’s report was reviewed. Karen had a question about a deposit made directly to the bank. She will check further where it came from. She will use the same breakdown of the monies that were used last year. She received a new disk for CTAS; she did not load it on the computer. She was afraid that it would cause problems. She was right in that just today she received an e-mail stating there were problems. Anne explained to those in attendance that CTAS is software that we are required to use for accounting record keeping. It has some problems, and hopes that the auditor’s office will work the bugs out; Karen has been doing an excellent job as treasurer and is much appreciated. Anne made a motion to accept the treasurer’s report, second by Jerry, all in favor motion passed.

Karen is interested in attending a workshop in Alexandria in on November 18, 2005

It will be a workshop dealing with the CTAS program; if she feels it will be help she will attend.

.Bob Stavrum Building Permits: Denise Humphrey Porch $19.50, Steven Philipp Garage $47.00, Jim Marsh Garage $245.00, Bercheid Builders Dwelling $1036.00, Richard Lang, Deck, $43.00, Aggressive Builders Dwelling, $921.00, Martin Schramm, Garage $84.50 Rick Holman Deck 47.50 Stuart Erickson Storage, $124.00, Kurt Evavold Garage $217.50, Trent Johnson Dwelling 348.50, Donald Helget Dwelling $504.00, Berscheid Builders Dwelling $1176.00.

991 Signs to be ordered: 14782 Hidden River, 14785 Hidden River, 14826 Hidden River, 21992 Fairfax Road, 457 221 St East. Del will put the order in.

Leo Jacobs: The township board agreed the transaction of a land transfer from Richard Kloeppner to Leo would require a certificate of compliance from Lynden Township. Del will call Chelle for a Compliance Form, and take care of the matter.

Jerry was asking to make a motion to change our ordinance about outdoor and building sign size; we cannot make any changes in the Ordinance until we have a public hearing. There will be changes to the Comprehensive Plan and Lynden Township’s Zoning Ordinance by the next building season. We will try to have the changes by the Annual Meeting March 14, 2006.

Del made a list of what had been accomplished after the April road review, and some matters that still needed attention. There was a quick review of the October 29th road tour. Every one will check the list of things to be handled. Every one will work on those areas; a complete review will be done at the December monthly meeting. We will proceed on what matters are left to be taken care of at that time.
Tri County Waste Commission Advisory Board met this month. It was decided that if renewing the existing contract is not an option, a burner would be better than to putting all waste into landfills. If they move forward it will be smaller than the 400 ton per day burner they had planned. If built smaller than 250 ton per day capacity there are not as many environmental restrictions. It was the recommendation of the waste advisory committee to submit to all environmental review standards no matter what size they build. The have not yet put proposals out. There should be some kind of decision within the next month or so. Elk River/NRG has proposed the option of renewing the contract with the Tri County Waste Commission in 2009. They are still considering moving forward with the bid options to build. The contract renewal from Elk River/NRG will also be considered.

Anne talked about the dog issue that went to trial. The defendant was found guilty. It was costly; in the future we are going to have our attorney contact us before taking any case to court. There is another dog issue. Anne plans to send a letter to the dog owner, stating that a case has been taken to court and the defendant lost, in hopes that will help encourage compliance with the ordinance. Anne talked with Mike Couri about an ordinance that would impose a civil penalty. If there is a complaint the township would send the violator a notice with a fine to be paid. They have the option to have a hearing. It would be handled at the Township level. There will be more information on this in the future. This would remove the court expense and corresponding attorney fees. Anne will get a copy of the ordinance and bring it to next planning meeting.

Anne suggested that we send an official violation notice to everyone we send a letter regarding any violation. In that way there is a paper trail to present to the county attorney’s office if needed.

Anne will contact the mayor of Clearwater to get the fire contract numbers.

Road Review: Anne followed up on the residence on 221st St. and has the address of the home where the trailer has the straw under and will follow up with a letter. Anne explained what the town board checks on our road tours that happen twice a year. If violations have been reported or if violations are noticed we act on them. Jerry is going to check into Woods Edge Plat to see if the township could require some kind of a community septic system be installed. He will also check on the year it would be open for sale. Karolyn will put in the news letter a notice to all Lynden residents who have old Annandale fire signs please remove them. Middendorf case from this point on will be handled by Mike Couri there will be no further costs. 2032 Fulton Circle a burned out trailer, Anne will check into it. Wayne Schmidt taken care of, Rodger Bieker, Dover Road a building inspector will take care of this, postpone until spring, Anne will make a drive by targeted areas and check them out. Industrial Park tarring, Anne asked Pat Haegele when the park would be tarred. He was not sure when it would be done, possibly in 2006. Jerry has asked to have our engineer check the slope before he tars. Pat will call before he tars. Pat was given a copy of our road specs. Out side storage will be discussed. All equipment must be fenced ordered by Stearns #209 Ordinance. The building on 17th Ave. at Stolpe’s has been a problem, Keith asked about the building. The township has pursued it, and if there are additional problems the township should be notified. Kia stated that when she and her mother drove by they notice a huge pile of junk or garbage at this address. It will be checked. Progress made on road tour will be discussed in January. The February monthly meeting we will go through the list again.

Monday January 23rd will be a building inspector review, North West Inspecting Service at 6:00 p.m. Inspectron Building Service. 7:00 p.m.

Pat Haegele asked about how close he could build to the Clearwater River. The answer is 100 feet. It was decided that Pat is in an A-5 district. Pat is not interested in doing anything with this land in the near future. Jerry will check on the snow plowing and salt on the roads with Schendzielos.

Meeting Dates for December and January:
• Public Hearing December 20th 7 p.m.
• January 10th 2006 Township Board and Planning Commission
• January 23rd 2006 interviews for building inspector

Correspondence and Bills were reviewed.

Jerry made a motion to accept the bills, second by Dave, all in favor, motion passed.

Dave made a motion to accept the Correspondence, second by Jerry, all in favor motion passed.

Jerry made motion to adjourn the meeting, second by Dave,meeting adjourned at 9:10 p.m.

Respectfully submitted: Corrected Minutes

Del Moeller, Lynden Township Clerk Anne Ackerman, Lynden Township Chair

LYNDEN TOWNSHIP
STEARNS COUNTY
MONTHLY MEETING
November 7, 2005
Those present were Anne Ackerman, Jerry Finch, Dave Johnson, Karen Weeres and Del Moeller.

Anne opened the meeting at 7:00 p.m. and led the pledge.

Minutes of the previous meeting were read. Jerry made a motion to accept the minutes after review, second by Dave, all in favor, motion approved.

Karen is interested in attending a workshop in Alexandria in on November 18, 2005

It will be a workshop dealing with the CTAS program; if she feels it will be help she will attend.

991 Signs to be ordered: 14782 Hidden River, 14785 Hidden River, 14826 Hidden River, 21992 Fairfax Road, 457 221 St East. Del will put the order in.

Waste Commission Advisory Board did not meet this month. Elk River/NRG has proposed the option of renewing the contract with the Tri County Waste Commission in 2009. They are still moving forward with the bid options to build. The contract renewal from Elk River/NRG will also be considered.

Marlin Schroder arrived as the board was finishing bills and correspondence. He asked what the board was going to do at this time. When he attended the monthly meeting in October 2005, he stated that he was not going to do anything to clean up his property. He stated there in nothing to clean up. Anne understood how he felt, and at the last meeting it was agreed that when the township made a decision, we would contact him. This matter will be taken up at later date.

Meeting Dates for November and December:

November 14 6:00 p.m. interviews for building inspector

November 28, and 29th 6:00 p.m. Township Board and Planning Commission

December 1st. interview with Bob Stavrum

Correspondence and Bills were reviewed.

Dave made a motion to accept the bills, second by Jerry, all in favor, motion passed.

Anne made a motion to accept the Correspondence, second by Jerry, all in favor motion passed.

Jerry made motion to adjourn the meeting, second by Dave, meeting adjourned at 8:27 p.m.

Respectfully submitted:Del Moeller Corrected, Lynden Township Clerk
Anne Ackerman, Lynden Township Board Chair

LYNDEN TOWNSHIP
STEARNS COUNTY
MONTHLY MEETING
October 3, 2005
The township officers present were Anne Ackerman, Jerry Finch, Dave Johnson, Karen Weeres, and Del Moeller
Anne opened the meeting at 7:00 p.m. and led the pledge.

Minutes of the previous meeting were read; Jerry made a motion to approve the minutes; Dave second the motion, all in favor motion passed.

Treasurer’s report was reviewed: There are still bugs in the soft ware we are using but they hope to have cleared up soon Anne made a motion to approve the treasurer’s report, second by Jerry, all in favor, motion carried.

Bob Stavrum Building Permits: Wally Engel Garage-311.40 Jerome Wittrock Re roof 42.50 Will Hanson Res. Addition 348.00 John Clare Garage/deck $185.00 Tim Denardo Garage $92.40 Check Mark Ryan, he is enclosing a deck. Bob will check it out. We always must get an access permit, before any building permit is given. Make sure that it will be legal access. Check in on DMB we want to watch that closely they need to have everything up to specs before they move in. Check the house on 17th Ave and Co. Rd. 146 added a deck on to the house. Bob was given a proposal to fill out for the township, building inspection services. This isn’t saying that we are hiring someone else; we just want to check out all options.
The building permits were accepted.

Schmidt burned out house on County Road 44: Wayne Schmidt wants to build a new home. He will be building a bigger house than what is there now. The house is not secure; the township is asking that it be taken care of this fall. It was suggested that he check if the Annandale Fire Dept. could do a burn for training. Wayne said he will try to have an answer for us by next monthly meeting. Wayne will be put on the agenda for next month.

Haegele property living in industrial park: Anne will prepare a letter and Del will send it certified.

Clearwater Fire Meeting: Rick Holman, Dave, Anne, and Del attended a work shop at the Clearwater Fire Hall regarding computation of Lynden Fire protection assessment formula. The meeting resulted in a formula that includes a five year rolling call average and 20% of the land value. Anne worked he numbers for the final formula to assist the group into working to get the job done. A preliminary agreement in principle has been arrived at, to be followed up with more firm numbers distributed to all parties involved and it appears that everyone was satisfied.
Del will contact Clearwater City Hall to get something in writing.

There will be public hearing on October 19th for Mike and Cathy Olson owners of 421 Alder Road, for a variance from the township road. Interviews for Planning Commission Members will be held the same evening. Del will schedule them and let all parties know.

The Planning Commission will meet with Myron and Greg Vait on site 2010 Daisy Circle on October 11, at 5:30 the meeting will continue at the township hall.

Middendorf Update: Within the next 60 days we could be on the court calendar. In eight months we have spent $8000.00 dollars in legal fees regarding this matter. Jerry will talk to the county commissioners about finding a way to get areas cleaned up without this much expense when they consider a county nuisance ordinance.
Ed Lumley: The reason Ed was called because he is living in a shed that was built as am accessory building, not a primary residence. He indicated that he retired earlier than he expected; things did not work out as planned. To make a compromise, we will have Ed write an explanation of his situation and intentions regarding the duration of living in the accessory building. We will accept a letter stating that he is going to stay in his building until going to Arizona, and when he returns in the spring of 2006 he will start building his home. He will have six months to build his home and live in his shed. The permit gives you a year to complete your home; but a person can only live in an accessory building the shed for six months. Ed’s letter will be our record of his intentions; any follow up will be handled by Jerry Finch.

Marlin Schroder burned out house on County Road 44: Marlin was upset that he received his letter. Anne explained the ordinances to him; he is not interested in doing any thing. He pays taxes on it. Dave Johnson explained that is not a viable structure. He Marlin Schroeder said that he is not is going to do anything with it. He has no plans as of now. Further discussion is not necessary. The board will make a decision and move forward. Anne told Marlin she would tell Marlin what our intentions are after talking to a building inspector.

The question was asked if the minutes and resolutions should be put on the website. Del will forward the minutes after they are approved to Karolyn and Dave will forward the resolutions. She will put them the web site. Karolyn reported that there had been 48 hits since the news letter. That is good news.

Wash out at Bridge on 161st It was been noted that Schendzielos and Sons the new operator that will be contracting with Lynden Township, will be taking care of the repair of the bridge with riprap.

Jerry is made a motion that he would like the township to sign a contract with Schendzielos and Sons, Snow Plow Maintenance only; starting November 1st 2005, second by Anne, all in favor, motion passed.

Jerry is asking for a contract to propose to Schendzielos, for all of the road maintenance work for the township. Anne is asking Jerry to look at what all the prices are. He stated the prices and they are very good due to them servicing other townships.

Jerry had proposals for Building Inspectors. He gave copies to the board. We will put this on the November 7th agenda. All proposals will be reviewed. We will be interviewing all proposals for professional Building Inspectors that we receive.

Waste Commission: They are preparing a request asking for proposals to have companies design and build a waste-to-energy facility. The waste water plant location is only one option. Elk River as indicated that Stearns County could renew their contact with NRG when is expires in 2009. This was not thought to be an option, but now they are back in consideration. Anne will continue to monitor this situation.

Jerry Schmidt approached the town board to do something about 8th Ave. off County Road 44 the road Jerry Schmidt lives on. The intention was to have it graveled this spring. Jerry Finch got a bid from Duane at Schmidt’s but they could not get it done. Jerry Schmidt was advised the road is on list for next year. The Town Board will check it out on our road tour this fall, it is our plan to do it early in the spring. Jerry apologized for not getting the work done this year.

A question about Township Claim Forms and the need of an original signature.. We are supposed to have signed copy legally for the treasurer to create a check for any payment. We will be asking that be done in the future. They should be signed and in the Lynden Mail Box or given to Del and she will put them in with all the bills. They could be mailed to Karen Weeres; they must reach her the Thursday before the monthly meeting.

Meeting Dates for October:
Clearwater Clean up October 8th 8:00 a.m. to 12 noon
October 11th Planning Commission Vait
October 19th Public Hearing
Interviews will start at 6:00 p.m.
October 21st Del and Jerry will attend at District Meeting in Freeport
October 24th and 25th Town board and Planning Commission
October 28th Road Tour starting at Lynden Township Hall 8:00 am

Dave will take care of signs. He will talk to Jerry Duncan. There are many signs that go to Hidden River. We will add to November agenda.

Correspondence and Bills were reviewed.

Steven Homolka received a variance decision by the Stearns County Board of Adjustment for a deck to be added to the house (but only to replace the original size and not to be enclosed.
A soft ware charge bill that was received is an annual maintenance fee for the year to Stearns County for election services.
A filed copy of our Resolution regarding for the Egret Road was returned by the recorder’s office, copies have been, sent to Storms Partnership and Leroy Hanish, Owner, and Stearns Environmental Del will file the Original Copy.
LGA has sent us a notice the Couri Law firm is no longer going to represent them, but they will continue to help them if needed. LGA will continue to represent the townships.

Anne made a motion to accept the bills and correspondence, second by Jerry, all in favor, motion passed.
Jerry made motion to adjourn the meeting, second by Anne, all in favor, meeting adjourned at 9:40 p.m.

Respectfully submitted:

Del Moeller, Lynden Township Clerk Anne Ackerman, Lynden Township Chair

Lynden Township – Stearns County
Minutes from the September 12, 2005 Meeting

The township officers present were Anne Ackerman, Jerry Finch, Dave Johnson, Karen Weeres, and Del Moeller

Anne opened the meeting at 7:00 p.m. and led the pledge.

Minutes of the previous meeting were read… Jerry made a motion to approve the minutes; Dave seconded the motion, all in favor motion passed.

Treasure’s report was reviewed: Anne made a motion to approve the treasure’s report, second by Jerry, all in favor, motion carried.

Bob Stavrum Building Permits: Jim Corbett, move house in $252.50, Gary Danger, Add to residential $130, Mark Jacobs, Garage $89.40, Scott Wroblewski, Deck 24.60, Ray Gregoire Loafing Shed $105.00, Rich Thiesen Garage $121.70. Anne asked if Bob had been on vacation he said yes. People have continued to have problems reaching Bob. He was asked to leave a message to someone on the board when Bob is not available. Bob does not want to leave a telephone message that he will not be home. Dave suggested that he gives a number they can contact if he not available. Jerry wants a back up before next building season begins. There is still the issue of about people living in the industrial park.

Stephanie Kingston: Did not have to present. Del tried to call her but missed her.

Mark Muller and DM Builders: Anne asked if the had their MPCA permit, they said they applied for it but they had not heard back. They could start working ten days after they applied. Jerry questioned John from DM Builders about the permit from MPCA and John said the excavator had it but that was not true. John has now applied for it, and John stated that all the work that was done was in compliance with the order. Mark said he signed papers the county will check after the permit comes. John stated that everything was done up to code that was asked of them. John and Mark presented a plan illustrating how they intend to achieve the 60%40% impervious requirement. Two lots will be used. John said he feels this plan is workable. John stated the engineer that planned it said that it would be workable. Rick Holman asked if they had a plan for the flow of traffic. John did not feel that it was necessary to show any more plans for the flow of traffic. The accesses will not be changed. Dave was concerned that with the two fifty foot driveways that they would meet their green space. Dave asked if the had a letter from the environmental services department. John stated that Angie at Stearns Environmental Services said she could not give them a letter; she would get nothing done other than write letters. Dave felt the township should have some thing from the county before the township could OK it. The board will discuss this with Chelle Benson, Township Planning consultant and proceed from there. Jerry has offered to go to environmental service to check out where they are with on this plan. Mark stated several times that he wants to do it right. After further discussion an access permit was issued to Mark Muller for all three accesses to their property, to reflect the previously submitted “Plan B” proposal. The permit specifically states that access onto 200th Street can only be utilized to reach the office parking spaces, and cannot be used for access to any other areas. If the back lot is subsequently sold, a new owner will have to come back in front of the town board in order to be granted additional access from 200th Street. It was felt that the access permit cannot be held up because the questions about staying under the required impervious surface levels. That issue along with the NPDES permit, will be closely monitored and will be enforced by the county. It should be confirmed by the township building inspector that everything is in order before a final occupancy permit is granted… Bob Stavrum will be giving final inspection before business will be conducted. Anne has a copy of the access permit that will be filed with the building permits

Franklin Signs will be doing the signs for Tel Com they have all regulations need to be in compliance with Lynden Township’s more restrictive sign size requirements.

A Resolution to accept the Web Site as Lynden Township’s official site was presented by Dave and passed unanimously. The Web address is www.Lyndentownship.org

Anne attended a Clearwater Fire department meeting. Clearwater Township is questioning the formula being utilized by the city to calculate the fire contract. No conclusions were reached. They are having another meeting on September 28th. Lynden Township board was invited, with Anne, Dave, Del, and Rick indicating they would attend on behalf of the township.

A tentative date was set for the October 17th at Lynden Township Hall for brain storming meeting for Regional Waste Water Treatment. Five other townships will attend.

Del brought up the change of election for townships going from March to November. It will be discussed further at a later date.

Jerry made a motion for Insurance to be paid with an additional premium of $250.00 for Planning and Zoning endorsement for errors and omissions, second by Dave, all in favor, motion passed.

Legal charges have increased. Couri, MacArthur & Ruppe, P.L.L.P. Effective January 1, 2006 price increase will be increasing from $120 per hour to $130 per hour for all general legal work and to $145 per hour for all development work. (This amount is passed through to the developer for payment related to work done on their plat) It is the first raise asked by their firm. There was no further comment.

Our cell phone is no longer on the $11.00 a month plan. It will now be $0.10 per minute, plus $11.00 per month.

Jerry is going to get some proposals for building inspectors for the township. He will also ask Bob Stavrum for a proposal. Anne will also contact Fred Patch from Monticello who previously expressed interest.

Dave discussed using the U.S. Department of Energy information regarding average price of fuel on basis of how the figure fuel adjustment. When we are working with vendors that impose fuel surcharges we should be aware of how it works. When a vender wants to raise a price, we should know if the adjustment is correct. It would need to be incorporated into the contract.

Dave looked at roads where there are housing developments, where there are housing developments and whether we could place 30 mile speed limit signs in the area. Dave will have a resolution ready for next month. Jerry heard there was a grant that would be coming available to townships to help pay for signs. We will get more information on this.

Correspondence and Bills were reviewed

Jerry made a motion to accept the bills, second by Anne, all in favor, motion passed.

Jerry made a motion to accept the Correspondence, second by Anne, all in favor motion passed.

Dave made motion to adjourn the meeting, second by Jerry, meeting adjourned at 9:40 p.m.

Respectfully submitted:

Del Moeller, Lynden Township Clerk
Anne Ackerman, Township Chair