REGULAR MEETING

PALMER TOWNSHIP

June 13th, 2022

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, Supervisors Demeules, and Larson present. Treasurer Roger Johnson and Amy Bragelman Town hall Clerk. The meeting was opened with the Pledge of Allegiance.

Treasurer’s Report: Roger Johnson read the balances from the Treasurer's report. Supervisor Steve Demeules made a motion to approve the Treasurer’s Report Supervisors Larson Second. Motion carried unanimously.

Sheriff’s Report: Luke McLean gave the Sheriff’s Report for May. There was an Increase in boating complaints. There was one shooting incident. A civilian shoot themselves in a car it was found to be an accident. Steve Demeules inquired about the increase in patrols going to the Weis property. McLean stated that because this site will soon be a park that they will swing in periodically to make sure that there is no vandalism or suspicious activity. James Langowski inquired on the status of the speed bumps that had been discussed a few months back. Chairman Ganz stated that he had reach out to Public Works. They said that they are available for purchase but that they don’t have any and the Township hasn’t purchased any as of yet. Mclean stated that speeding is a problem state wide and that they are aware of it and are patrolling the roads. Lonnie Suckert inquired about possibly parking a squad car in the Town Hall Parking lot to detour motorist from speeding in town. McLean stated that Captain Broich would be the one to contact and he would let him know that the Township may be contacting him.

Road Maintenance/Signs: Chairman Ganz stated that he met with TS Dirtworks and they will be doing the gravel on 98th and also 113th tomorrow. Pot holes and washouts are an ongoing process. Mike stated that we are caught up on the most dangerous washouts.42nd to the west has a hole where a washout was previously fixed, due to high water. Chairman Ganz stated that we will need to get a camera down to see what is causing the hole. There may be a void under the road. 7th street our shared Township Road with St. George has been completed. Ganz mentioned that we should check with a few different people in regards to mowing the ditches. We would like to complete this before the 4th of July. Mike spoke with Scott Dahlke about the North side of Julia Road project. Permits need to be pulled for this project. If there is a culvert already there then the permit will take less time to process. Richard will go check it out. Supervisor Demeules mentioned that there has been a large number of people parking on the roads. This could make it hard for emergency vehicles coming through. Mike stated that we should mention it to Luke McLean. Jeff Peterson has been putting out signs for the Township. We put a few No Shoulder signs out. Roger Johnson inquired about woodchips being left in the ditch of 115th. He was concerned about drainage issues. Ganz stated that is probably standard practice due to their organic material. Supervisor Demeules stated that if he gets a chance, he will ask them when he sees them working. James Langowski asked what we are going to do with the corner by his house. Mike said that we will put some rock on the corner to help with drainage. Chairman Ganz stated that we need to look into the garbage trucks that are going around the lakes, and how it is negatively affecting the roads.

Fire Department: Chief Ron Koren gave last month’s call report for the time period of 4/11/22- 05/09/22 for Palmer Township. There was a total of 13 calls for the Clear Lake Fire Department. 7 of those calls were for Palmer Township, 5 medical and 1 grass fire on 124th Ave and 1 Auto accident on Co RD 3. He also gave this month’s report 5/09/22-6/13/22 for Palmer Township. There was a total of 21 calls for the Clear Lake Fire Department. 4 of those calls were for Palmer Township, 3 medical and 1grass fire on 107th lane. Chief Koren mention that there are 3 new hires for a total of 29 Fire Fighters. The Chief also mentioned that 67th court has one fire sign that is missing and one that is not visible from the road.

P.E.C: Roger reported that Clean Up Day hand 189 participants.

Park Report: Chairman Ganz stated that he met with the Lions tonight and the have come to an agreement as to what to do with putting up another building for Palmer Day. They have decided that they will use what they have, take out the middle door, so everyone can work in the same building. The west door will be used for the Legion. We will try that for this year. We are looking into extending the irrigation in the ball field so we can water more to the East. Chairman Ganz mentioned that we are waiting to get a quote from Rhodes to seal coat the Park parking lot. Roger inquired as to the state of the Tennis Court grant. Supervisor Demeules said he still hasn’t heard from the DNR yet to see if we have been approved. LJ plumbing is coming on Friday to move a couple of toilets and add a sand trap. Mike stated that we have a few people interested in cleaning. We need to get a list of duties and process. It may not be an hourly rate but may be paid per clean.

Lake Association: Demeules stated that Mike Ganz and Scott Ruiter will be Steve’s back up if he is unavailable when the no wake ordinance goes into effect. The Sherburne County Sheriff’s department had three NO WAKE signs made up to put down by the accesses, when the ordinance is in effect. We will still post the Ordinance at the Town hall. Sherburne County came out a week and a half ago to calibrate the gauge. It was off by 1/8 of an inch. Supervisor Demeules stated that the end justifies the means. July 1st is the Fire work. July 2nd is the boat parade that starts at noon. The decided to do spraying for curly leaf pond weed. Due to the High water and temperature of the lakes they were able to get out on Briggs and Julia.

Legal Comments: None

Approval of Minutes: Chairman Ganz asked for approval of Mays minutes as written. Supervisor Demeules made a motion to approve, Larson seconded and the motion carried.

ARPA FUND: Supervisor Demeules stated that Camera’s and a Well Repair have been made via ARPA Fund.

OLD BUSINESS: Wipper Pit. Steve Demeules stated that we receive the second phase of the report. The ground water came back good. They took sampling as to where they think a dump may have been. Demeules stated that it has come to the conclusion of the Supervisors that due to roads that need maintenance, Grants that may or not be available, and startup cost, it would not be in the Townships best interest to purchase the pit. We may be able to have some waste days a couple of times a year to help residence around the lake get rid of some of their organic material. Ganz stated that when this idea of buy the pit as a transfer station came about the County was and still is very interested. There is a need for this side of the County, but the County has no guarantee that grants will always be available and Vonco isn’t in the business of purchasing the woody material they need to make their compost. We had hoped that this venture would pay for its self-down the road, but that no longer looks to be feasible. James asked if we could reclaim any of the money we put into the Pit. Demeules replied that one it was the responsible thing to get the environmental studies, and two the test are property of Palmer Township. If down the road someone needs the results, we would have them. Steve Demeules made a motion to discontinue the purchase of the Wipper Pit, Larson second and the motion was carried.

David Jacobsen 11117 42nd St Clear Lake

PID 40-406-0150 came back with another variance. Jacobsen is working with soil and water, and has changed some designs. He would be adding fill, a French Drain system, and rain gutters to negate run off to the lake and neighbors. He has also removed the front Porch. Demeules stated that Palmer is concerned with the size of the house as it is too big for the lot. He would like to see a reduction in the garage size in order to not need a variance. Demeules stated that there is also concern with run off and expansion in the flood plain. Demeules stated that he would like to see more detail of adding Fill and a better description of the slope. He will send comment to Addison Otto in the Morning.

NEW BUSINESS: PID: 40-023-4220 CUP Bob and Betty Kissell. They are looking to put a 30x30 pole barn on the property that the own across the road from their house. Demeules stated that he has no issues with this plan as it is written and he will send comment in the morning.

59th Court Residents: The Residents of 59th court have contacted the Township in regards to their neighbor lack of lawn negatively impacts their homes, outdoor activities, and Township Road. The residence presented a letter that they will be sending to their neighbor, and they have given a copy to Township to put on file. They have had many conversations with said neighbor that have not been pleasant. Mike stated that he has talk with Matthew Moriarty back in May and told him that he has 2 months to do something about his lawn, and that he would be back to check on the progress. Mike also added to keep reaching out to the County for help, with their support more can be done faster.

COMMENTS/QUESTIONS:

Supervisor Demeules made a motion to approve claims #22134-22164 plus payroll, Conexus, Busy, and LRS for a total of $38,089.32 Chairman Ganz seconded it and the motion carried.

Chairman Ganz made a motion to adjourn. Supervisor Demeules seconded and motion was carried. Meeting adjourned at 8:29 p.m.

Amy Bragelman, Palmer Township Clerk Approved as reviewed July 11th, 2022