MINUTES

REGULAR MEETING

PALMER TOWNSHIP

January 8, 2024

 

The regular meeting of the Palmer Township Board was called to order at 7:00 p.m. at the Palmer Township Hall, with Chairman Ganz, Supervisor Demeules, and Supervisor Wipper present. Also, present was Amy Bragelman Township Clerk. Roger Johnson Treasurer joined the meeting remotely. The meeting was opened with the Pledge of Allegiance.

 

Treasurer’s Report:  Roger Johnson read the balances from the Treasurer's report. Supervisor Demeules made a motion to approve the Treasurer’s Report. Supervisor Wipper seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously. Roger recommended that since we have -$7,000 we take 50,000 out of the Capital Reserve fund and move it to the Road and Bridge. Supervisor Demeules made a motion to move funds, and Supervisor Wipper seconded and the motion was carried.

 

Sheriff’s Report: Deputy Kevin Grams read the Sheriff’s for the month of December. 65 Total calls for service as compared to 92 calls for service in 2022. Officer Grams stated that there were 2 auto accidents in the month of December one involving property damage, and one with an animal. Crime was also low for the month of December. He noted a dog bite, 1 theft, 4 medics, 14 traffic stops, 19 security checks, and 2 suspicious activities.

 

Road Maintenance/Signs: Chairman Ganz reported that Herbst was out sanding tonight, he may need to plow. The 911 signs are caught up on, Supervisor Demeules reported that a shed in Cedar Point needs a 911 sign he will get the address and give it to the Clerk so she can order a 911 sign. Maureen Havert reported that the sign on 16 and 20 is lying on the side of the road. It looks like when they were working on the road, they took it out and forgot to put it back. It is lying on the Northeast side. Lefty Kleis asked about the street sign, just before you get to Highway 10, that leads to nowhere. Supervisor Demeules stated that is Haven Township and it’s been that way for years.

 

 

Fire Department: Chief Koren gave the monthly call report for the period of 12/11/23 – 1/08/23 There was a total of 16 calls for the Clear Lake Fire Department. 7 of those calls were for Palmer Township, 5 being medical, 2 were fire, and 0 auto accidents.

 

 

P.E.C: We are all set for clean-up day which will be held on May 18th. Chairman Ganz will call Midway, and Liberty in the coming days to get them set up for May 18th.

 

Park Report: Shelly Alger- Peyton reported for the park committee. The committee met on January 2nd.  People are already using the disc golf course. They will wait until spring to install signs and posts, except for the first hole sign will be installed sooner rather than later, so people know where the course starts. They added Palmer's disc golf course to an app so players could record their experiences and so they know that Palmer has a disc golf course. The Committee would like to use wood posts for the signage, and they would like to concrete or artificial turf for the tee boxes. Chairman Ganz asked how big the tee boxes are. Rick Peyton stated that they are about 13 feet long by 4 feet wide. Chairman Ganz stated that is a lot of concrete for 9 holes, and he wasn’t sure if that was in the original estimate. Rick stated that they are hoping to have volunteers do all the prep so the Township only has to pay for the concrete. The Committee would like to get an article in the paper this spring to announce that the park offers disc golf and the course's official opening date. We still don’t have the official Stewardship report yet. The trees with oak wilt will have to be dealt with as soon as the report comes in. Chairman Ganz stated that as soon as the sap starts flowing you won’t be able to cut any tree due to the spread of oak wilt. Volunteers and cut the smaller buckthorn if approved by the Supervisors, Shelly stated that this needs to happen before February to reduce the spreading. Rick stated that they could go for a DNR grant after they get the Forestry report. Shelly also stated they would like to get volunteers to help remove the brush and ask that the Township then come and pick it up. The committee is still looking for an official spot for the Tennis and Pickleball court so they can get prices and ask the Lions for a donation toward the Courts. Chairman Ganz stated that the committee needs to set up a time to meet with the supervisors so they can finalize the placement of the courts. The bids for the courts will come directly to the Township. Palmer Ball starts June 10th so the field prep will need to be finished before then. Ganz reminded the committee that before volunteers do work at the park, we need to get liability waivers signed.

Supervisor Demeules reported on Elk Lake Park Two Inlets.  A new sign is being installed at the park entrance on County Road 16. They are looking into putting a pronunciation of the park name on the Parks and Rep website. They are looking at training for next year in the cities it’s called the Dot Program, they will get back to Demeules on specific dates. Bids on the second round of deconstruction should be available by the end of the month. 2024 is a Bonding year for Minnesota and the park is requesting a 3-million-dollar bond for deconstruction. The next meeting is January 17th at the County.

 

Lake Association: Shelly Alger-Peyton reported that their next meeting is this Saturday at 8:30 AM at the Hall. They are still waiting to get the online membership form up and running, PayPal is not up and running as of yet. They have a new editor team for the directory. They are still waiting on a report from the Alam feasibility study. They are looking at putting up signs stating the new law that was passed that has to do with garbage and waste on ice. It’s not looking good for Ice Day which is supposed to be held on February 10th. They are looking at possibly pushing the date out. Walt will be doing an annual report at the next Town Hall meeting. Steve McComas will make a presentation at the April 13th BLCA meeting. Barb Aaberg asked if someone should go remove a big log that is at the Rush Lake Landing. Mike Schendzielos stated that he could go over and remove it. Lefty Kleis inquired whether or not they should move Ice Days to the Park. Selly stated that they have discussed it and it may be an option. Chairman Ganz was concerned about side-by-side running around the park.

 

Legal Comments: David Myers is writing a right-of-way agreement for the holding pond on 109th.

 

 

Approval of Minutes: Supervisor Demeules made a motion to approve the December minutes as written. Supervisor Wipper seconded it and the motion carried.

 

 

OLD BUSINESS: Chairman Ganz asked Supervisor Demeules if he had heard from Dahlke regarding the culverts. Demeules said that he hasn’t, but he will reach out to him.

 

 

NEW BUSINESS:

 

COMMENTS/QUESTIONS: Chairman Ganz stated that the Truth and Taxation date has been set for April 16th at 9 AM. Chairman Ganz made a motion to approve that date Supervisor Demeules seconded and the motion was carried. Clerk Bragelman will put it on the website. This month’s Workshop will be held on the 4th Tuesday at 9 am.  Kleis inquired about term limits for Supervisors and would like to see it on the agenda for next month and vote on it. He would like to see a two-term limit. Chairman Ganz stated that at this level of politics, it is a lot of volunteering. If anyone would like to run for Supervisor, they can put their name in and run between now and the 15th for the supervisor election held on March 12th. Demeules stated that this was brought up at the County level, they felt like they wouldn’t be able to learn what they needed in 6 years. Barb Aaberg stated that at the Township level, she didn’t think it was necessary.  Maureen Havert asked when was the last time anyone ran against a supervisor. Ganz stated that the last 3 elections have been run unopposed. The option to run is always there. Supervisor Wipper stated that this is the purest form of Government. Chairman Ganz stated that if we were going to do term limits it would need to be brought up at the annual meeting passed and then voted on next March. There are protocols that need to be followed. Treasure Johnson stated that there is no need to put it up for discussion all of that is decided at a legislative level. Townships have no authority on term limits. Barb Aaberg added that if constituents aren’t happy then they should run at the next election. Virginia stated that before Steve became a supervisor, she had no clue what it was all about. It’s not just about one meeting a month it is serving your community for little to sometimes no money. Chairman Ganz stated that they are a very hands-on board that does a lot of labor themselves at $22.00 an hour saving the township a lot of money. Clint Schendzielos commented that it doesn’t make much sense to put term limits on a position that is often run unopposed. You can also not run again if you no longer want to be a supervisor. 

Supervisor Demeules made a motion to approve claims #24001- #24016, plus Conexus, Frontier, and Midco for a total of 7,488.84 Supervisor Wipper second

 

Chairman Ganz made a motion to adjourn.  Supervisor Wipper seconded and the motion was carried.  The meeting adjourned at 8:04 p.m.

 

Amy Bragelman, Palmer Township Clerk Approved as reviewed February 12th, 2024