Draft Copy of Minutes---Subject to approval at the next Monthly Board of Supervisors Meeting
Lakewood Board of Supervisors Meeting
March 5, 2008
Call to Order: Chair Tim Musick called the March meeting of the Lakewood Board of Supervisors to order at 7:03 p.m. on March 5, 2008 at the Lakewood Town Hall.
Present: Supervisors Shannon Ostazeski, Jerry Larson, Tim Musick, Chuck Campbell, and Phil Halverson. Also present: Clerk Gene Bromenshenkel, Treasurer Brenda Lagarde, Office Coordinator Lauren Quigley, Department Heads and general public (register attached).
Pledge of Allegiance: The Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America was recited by all present.
Review of Agenda: Additions requested: 1) add under CLUP update—definition of quorum as per Steering Committee request, 2) Office hours–see position under new business. Motion by Larson to approve the agenda as amended. Second by Campbell. Motion Carried.
Review of Minutes:
- Agreed to refer Feb. 25, 2008 Special Board mtg. Minutes to the April 2 Board agenda.
- January 31, 2008- Special Board Meeting on Lipe Appeal—referred minutes of all Lipe appeal meetings to the March 6 recessed meeting.
- Feb. 6, 2008 Monthly Board Meeting—Motion by Halverson to approve the minutes with one amendment—on page 4; word “is” to ‘be”. Second by Ostazeski. Motion Carried.
- February 13, 2008 Board of Audit & Budget Meeting—on page 4, wording of motion for road & bridge fund; the words are out of order. Motion by Ostazeski to approve the minutes as amended. Second by Campbell. Motion Carried.
Financial:
Treasurer’s Report: Treasurer Brenda Lagarde presented the cash control statement for January 1, 2008 through March 5, 2008. She presented the receipts, disbursements and balances in all funds. The total funds are in balance with the Clerk’s records and with outstanding checks, in balance with the monthly bank statement. Motion by Campbell to approve the Treasurer’s cash control statement of 1-1-08 through 3-5-08. Second by Ostzeski. Motion Carried.
Bills/Claims: Clerk Gene Bromenshenkel presented the monthly claims due in the amount of $14,233.92. He gave a brief explanation of the claims and payments due. Motion by Halverson to pay claims 4788 through 4825 in the amount of $14,233.92. Second by Larson. Motion Carried.
Budget: no comments or actions on the monthly budget print out statement.
Levy Proposal: Notice was received from St. Louis County after the development of the proposed levy on 2-13-08 that the minimum levy of $90,286 would be required for Road and Bridge in 2009 to be eligible to receive approximately $7,000 in county gas tax refunds. The levy proposed on 2-13-08 was $90,000. Motion by Halverson to recommend to the Annual Meeting a Road & Bridge levy for 2009 of $90,300.00. Second by Campbell. Motion Carried.
On the Fire Hall Bond Repayment, since the Board of Audit meeting was held it was learned from the Fire Hall Bonding Financial Advisor, that the three years since bonding is up in early March and that the balance of funds in the construction account should be used to reduce the levy and transferred to the bond payment account. (The amount of the balance is $33,700.) Motion by Halverson to recommend to utilize the balance of the Fire Hall Construction Fund surplus to reduce the bond repayment levy in 2009 by that amount. Second by Larson. Motion Carried.
Public Comment:
- Don Putnam: Raised concern about the community letter received. The letter is put out by an unidentified community group, not the township.
- Bob Gray: Have 9 people on P&Z Commission, 5 people on Bd. Of Supervisors; how come we can’t get issues resolved at lesser costs. People on Boards are not volunteers, are paid something.
- Greg Follmer: Owns property on Hwy. 61 Expressway. Letters have gone out; there are errors in the letters (referring to election campaign letters). For land on Hwy. 61, had an open house and planned to offer a beneficial use and to present it to the P&Z Commission. Was not allowed to present the offer to the Commission. Has never mentioned some items in one of the letters sent out by candidates.
- Phil Halverson: Spoke as a citizen. Indicated he had information from the law suit and statements made.
- Dean Lipe: Received letters from two Supervisor candidates. Appears that positions are biased when the process is still in motion. Feels that while an appeal is in process, personal views should not be given.
- Sid Simonson: have an issue with letters sent out by Supervisor candidates; especially the comments made about the survey.
- Tim Huchthausen: Suggests sending out another community survey. Refers to Halverson’s letter—feels the letter is erroneous to small business owners.
- Clint Massie: Regarding the land use survey—made a copy that he received from a friend and sent in. Feels the land use survey should be re-done.
- Dean Lipe: Received a copy of the survey from his father. Received the survey from the township three days after the due date.
Department Reports:
Fire—Kurt Rogers
- Four calls in past month—two medical, one propane leak, and one false alarm.
- Propane boiler in Fire Hall fixed; have not received the bill. The company warranty will take care of the heat exchanger but not the labor to re-fill the system. Suggests the Town write a letter to General Heating (the installer) to request payment support on the warranty.
Maintenance & Grounds- Don Putnam
- Notes appreciation to Lipe Construction for donating materials to put a shield on the new rink broom.
Getting some black sediment in the Town well water. Obtained one quote of approx. $250 for a line filter on the system. The Board recommended by agreement that the water be checked and the problem identified for quality before further action is taken on filters, etc. On setting up for meetings, the labor cost is being billed from the Bldg. & Grounds fund for all of the general Board and township meetings; likewise with the heating costs for the Town Hall. Feels these items should be paid for out of the General Fund.
Road & Bridge - Don Putnam
- No special items to report.
Recreation - Scott Anderson
- Chuck Campbell reported for Scott Anderson. Gave an update on the summer program; noted that the volley ball court is being used well; the new water storage for rink flooding is saving considerable time in flooding the ice rinks. One issue for the Recreation Program is transportation for summer activities, ie. field trips. The cost of alternative (alternative of having parents and volunteers drive) transportation such as bus rentals is expensive.
Don Putnam indicated that the hockey rink boards need some repairing. There has been some concern expressed about the large number of youth in the skating building at one time. One parent expressed concern about a fire hazard potential. It was agreed by Board members that Don Putnam, Chuck Campbell and Scott Anderson need to meet to review the space and capacity issues.
Planning & Zoning Commission - Bob Wolfe
- No official meeting was held due to a lack of a quorum of the members.
Zoning Administrator Report - Brennan Mears
- He shared the letter that was sent to Levine’s attorney regarding concern about LIU-10 uses after the Sept. decision to change the use status to wholesale only for the zone.
- No zoning permits issued in the past month.
- A variance public hearing is scheduled for this month. An issue for the variance request is grandfathered parcels. The Zoning Administrator wishes to contact the Town Attorney to discuss this.
Recycling - Merle Abernethy
- Everything is operating fine.
Committee Reports:
MPAC- The next meeting is Tues. March 11; same date as Annual Town meeting.
NSMB - No recent meeting held.
DAT - No recent meeting held.
SLCTA - No recent meeting held.
At this time on the agenda (8:24 p.m.) The planned recess to complete the financial business was taken. The meeting was reconvened at 8:40 p.m.
Unfinished Business:
1. Town Newsletter - March edition. Items to include: Annual election results, April 28 Board of Equalization meeting, dog control, general items.
Supervisor Ostazeski suggested that the newsletter consider candidate for town office information in the future. She made reference to Duluth township doing such. She will check on the legality of doing so.
2. Comprehensive Land Use Plan update—A letter was received from the Center for Rural Planning requesting the Board to determine what should constitute the Steering Committee quorum and that the Committee was unable to reach a consensus on concept area three of the Plan. It was agreed by consensus of the Board, to send a message to the Steering Committee that the Board feels a consensus does not mean a 100% agreement but rather a general group agreement in a decision making process. Supervisor Campbell: The current plan and Zoning does not prohibit development, variances are possible in many instances.
Quorum issue for CLUP update: There are 21 members on the Steering Committee; there has not been a majority in attendance at recent meetings. The Committee originally set 12 as a quorum number. Campbell: Feels that a quorum of those present would be fine. Suggests the Board send a letter to the 21 members encouraging the completion of work and also an appreciation to the members for the work completed thus far. Supervisor Ostazeski concurs with Campbell. Supervisor Larson also supports.
Motion by Campbell to amend the motion to include Board agreement on a definition of consensus. Second by Ostazeski. Motion Carried. Ostazeski feels the Board of Supervisors should define concept area three. Motion by Musick that the Board of Supervisors agree with the CLUP Steering Committee to continue with the 1985 concept Area 3 plan. Second by Larson. Motion Carried.
3. Town Hall Rental Rates and Policies:
- Office Coordinator, Lauren Quigley presented a revised proposal for the rental agreement. Campbell proposed a hold-harmless clause be included. Motion by Ostazeski to adopt the revised agreement schedule raising rental rates and to include the proposed insurance and security requests and also a hold-harmless agreement. Second by Larson. Motion Carried.
New Business:
1. Hall Office Hours—Supervisor Ostzeski raised a concern about town office hours with a change in Clerk’s. There was discussion with no action or agreement. Clerk Gene Bromenshenkel felt this needs to wait until a new Clerk is elected or appointed. There was no further discussion on the matter.
2. Annual Meeting- Clerk Gene Bromenshenkel indicated there were a number of questions about the Hall capacity for an anticipated large turn out for the March 11 Annual Town Meeting. The capacity for people load is 239 seated in chairs. There also have been questions from the public about holding the meeting at another location. Upon checking, the only close possibility for capacity is the Lakewood School gym and it is not available on the evening of March 11. By State Statutes, the Annual Meeting is designated to be held on the second Tuesday in March. The Clerk indicated that a possibility in event of an over-size crowd, might be to recess the meeting to another date and time when the Lakewood School is available. It is available on weekends in March and April. That would be the decision of the electors present at the Annual Meeting.
Other:
- WLSSD Information Meetings will be held in the area on March 19 and 25. Supervisor Campbell agreed to attend; Recycling Coordinator, Merle Abernethy, also.
There was no other business brought forth at the meeting.
Motion by Larson to adjourn the meeting at 9:50 p.m. Second by Ostzeski. Motion Carried.
Respectfully Submitted;
Gene Bromenshenkel
Town of Lakewood Clerk