MINUTES
REGULAR MEETING
PALMER TOWNSHIP
October 9, 2023
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 were, Amy Bragelman Township Clerk, and Roger Johnson Treasurer. 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.
Sheriff’s Report: Capitan Ben Zawacki read the Sheriff’s for the month of September. 74 Total calls for service as compared to 107 calls for service in 2022. There were 28 traffic stops, 16 security checks, 12 boating complaints, and 3 fatalities. Supervisor Demeules mentioned that there have been a number of residents parking on the road, overnight, and are repeat offenders. There have been no attempts made by this resident to pull off to the side of the road. In this particular area, the roads are very narrow, as they are in much of the Township. Supervisor Demeules also read Ordinance number 110 paying particular attention to subd. 2 – 4 which states
Subd. 2. 24-Hour Parking. In addition to the restriction in subdivision 1, no person shall park a vehicle in any portion of a street or highway for a period exceeding 24 hours. After 24 hours, the vehicle may be towed away and impounded at the owner’s expense.
Subd. 3. Safety. Under no circumstances shall a person park a vehicle in any portion of a street or highway in such a way as to create a hazard for the traveling public or interfere with maintenance of the Right-of-Way.
Subd. 4. Parking Enforcement. The Sherburne County Sheriff’s Department may issue a parking citation and sign a towing order. All parking citations shall include the license number of the vehicle if available, the date and hour at which the violation was found to exist, the nature of the violation, and any other necessary facts relating to the violation.
Capitan Zawacki stated that he would go talk to the repeat offenders tomorrow.
Road Maintenance/Signs: Chairman Ganz stated that about 10 percent of the residents who have been affected by this year's road construction projects have complained. The Supervisors expect some of this. Chairman Ganz wanted to make it clear that before residents take to social media, for answers and complaints, the Supervisors and Clerk are very easy to reach via phone, website, or email. We expect that schedules and designs may change through the course of a project. Chairman Ganz wanted to remind everyone that a preconstruction meeting was held. Letters were hand-delivered to all the residents who were affected by the construction. The Supervisors understand that not everyone was able to attend the meeting, but we also have a monthly Town Hall meeting and those minutes are available on the website if you are unable to make it. The supervisors are doing their best to accommodate residents who may have run into issues during this construction season. In order to improve the roads around the lakes some driveways were altered, in some cases damaged, and they are working with the contractors and homeowners to rectify any concerns. Supervisor Wipper stated that going into the 115th construction they were aware that there would be some driveways, mainly concrete ones, that would need concrete put back in. Also, due to the change in elevation of the road, a curb will need to be added to direct water. Shelly Inquired if we could put a time frame up on the Township website. The Supervisors stated that the time frames change so frequently that if we put a schedule up it wouldn’t be accurate. Chairman Ganz mentioned that 109th, 42nd, and patchwork on 106th are complete. Supervisor Demeules and Wipper finished potholing, and Herbst fished ditch mowing. Signs and posts are all ordered. Chairman Ganz mentioned that if a resident sees a sign down or damaged to report it and we will order a new one and install it.
Fire Department: Chairman Ganz mentioned that the Fireboard meeting is at the Town Hall on Wednesday. Chief Koren gave the monthly call report for the period of 9/11/23 – 10/09/23 There was a total of 16 calls for the Clear Lake Fire Department. 4 of those calls were for Palmer Township, 2 being medical, 0 fires, and 2 auto accidents.
P.E.C: Next year clean-up day will be held on May 18th from 7-12.
Park Report: Stacy Strang reported that the park committee met with the Supervisor at the park on the 19th of September, and stated that it was very productive. They all agreed that the Tennis courts needed to be removed and since have been. They approved going through with the disc golf course, with a budget of $7,000, and Supervisor Demeules has ordered the materials needed for that. The committee is currently looking for volunteers to help set up the disc golf course. There is a potential for the pitch ball to be held at the old tennis court location. The court sight will need to be seeded. Albert met with a DNR officer, Tony Miller, at the park to do a site visit. He identified a cluster of Oak Wilt but he thought that most of the damage to the oak trees is stress related due to drought. Officer Miller thought that we would benefit from a woodland stewardship program. This program focuses on actively managing land and natural resources, keeping the land healthy for present and future generations, and increasing the benefits of the land. He suggested that we start cleaning up the Buckthorn now being that it stays green. Chairman Ganz suggested cutting them down and making piles.
All of the waterlines have been drained for the winter, at the park. Mitch Hoefer stated that the one water heater needs to be removed before next year.
Supervisor Demeules reported that legislation toured Big Elk Park in August. Good contacts were made with Klobuchar’s office and the state DNR. They are closing in on a park name. It will be Two Inlet National Park with the tribal names added to that. There are 3 tribes that will be tied to the park's name. They are working on new signs for all the county parks. The first walking trail is to be laid out and mowed. The first phase of decommissioning the building is completed. Supervisor Demeules attended cultural training and stated that it was enlightening. Demeules will ask at the next meeting if the County will take over plowing the road for the park or if the Township is responsible.
Lake Association: Shelly Alger-Peyton reported that the BLCA membership stands at 250, which is not great, they will work on increasing that number in the next year. They are looking at having a cleaning station at each access. The goal is to eliminate the transfer of aquatic invasive species. The cleaning stations will be equipped with brushes and signs they can start at $3,000. Mrs. Alger-Peyton stated that she wrote a lengthy email to the DNR about the condition of each boat's access and she is happy to report that Elk’s access was cleaned up. Water testing and Alum feasibility testing are wrapping up in October, but the Carp testing has been pushed off until next Spring. The results from the studies will be available mid-winter. Ice Day will be held on February 10th they will be passing out ice fishing and conservation education information. October 28th is ditch clean-up volunteers are needed. This Saturday at 8 a.m. is the BLCA monthly meeting. Roger commented that they should consider moving Ice Day to the middle of the lake due to the effects that it has on the shoreline and the vegetation under the water. Chairman Ganz asked if they had heard anything about the DNR putting a dump station at the accesses. Shelly said she hadn’t heard anything about it but would ask.
Legal Comments: Chairman Ganz stated that David Meyer will write up an easement agreement for the holding pond on Kimball’s property. Ganz also mentioned that he spoke to David regarding the Firehall in Clear Lake and what the Township would need to do as far as voting on it. David stated that he thought we would vote on it during the annual meeting in March and not on a ballet. Chairman Ganz stated that he would also reach out to MAT to see what they thought.
Approval of Minutes: Supervisor Demeules made a motion to approve the September minutes as written. Supervisor Wipper seconded it and the motion carried.
ARPA FUND: The door locks, culvert, and road rebuild 109th were all added to the ARPA funds.
OLD BUSINESS:
NEW BUSINESS: Chairman Ganz made a motion to recommend Steve Demeules as the Palmer Township representative on the Sherburne County Planning Advisory Board and Mitch Wipper seconded. Chairman Ganz also made a motion to recommend Mitch Wipper as an alternate and Supervisor Demeules seconded.
COMMENTS/QUESTIONS:
Supervisor Demeules made a motion to approve claims #23238- #23261, plus payroll, Conexus for a total of 53,240.16 Supervisor Wipper second
Chairman Ganz made a motion to adjourn. Supervisor Wipper seconded and the motion was carried. The meeting adjourned at 8:03 p.m.
Amy Bragelman, Palmer Township Clerk Approved as reviewed November 13th, 2023