WILMA TOWNSHIP  BOARD OF SUPERVISORS’ MEETING, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2020

Chairman Glen Williamson called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. with the Pledge of Allegiance.  Also present: Supervisors Mike McCullen and Gary Vink, Treasurer Patrice Winfield, Clerk Paul Raymond, Pat Story, Suzanne Story, and Grader Operator Alden Shute.

              Meeting Record:  Paul read the record of the August 5th board meeting.  Mike moved to approve; Gary seconded.

            ROAD REPORT:  Alden said all gravel projects have been done: Three loads of red-rock gravel on Heller Drive; 3 loads on Crooked Lake Road, and 2 loads on the cul-de-sac of Lost River Road. He ditched South Duncan Road and said that the Sauter Loggers plan to put in their landing/driveway for their logging project. They already paid into the escrow.

            Road Brushing and Mowing:  All roads will be brushed, maybe as soon as Friday, and then every 3 years after that.  Alden said he heard from citizens that we ought to keep our roads mowed annually like the county does, and not just the tri-annual brushing. Mike said we need to let the voters have an input on this at the annual meeting next March and that Alden should get the cost for a mowing contractor, either by the hour or by the mile. We have 15 miles of roads. 

            OLD BUSINESS:   Pressure Wash Hall:   Project completed.  We won’t need a complete paint job for awhile. Paul scraped and touched up peeling areas.  Some trim boards in back need repair. Mike said he had authorized Paul at the August meeting to do touch-up scraping and painting where the paint has peeled and he wanted it on the record that Paul had permission.   

            NEW BUSINESS:  Elections CARES Funding:   The state of Minnesota is requiring a specific format agreement between the County and the Cities/Townships regarding the Election CARES funding.  This is the funding that was used to purchase all the COVID-related supplies that were sent out at the primary election.  The State wants formal agreements from each City/Township before they will release the funds.  Glen moved that Paul be designated as the township representative and to sign the contract; Mike seconded; passed.

             CTAS Discrepancies:  Paul asked the board  to review the Clerk’s Cash Control Statements from December, 2019 through July, 2020.  At the end of the year, Patrice and Paul had total agreement on funds and balances, but starting in 2020, the clerk’s beginning balance did not match the 12/31/19 ending balance, and every month he has had different totals from Patrice.  They are very small differences, but it would take Paul a long time to go through all the statements and find the error, or the program’s error. The ending and beginning balances should always agree.  Paul requested that the board  let him download Patrice’s backup so that he has a fresh start where both books are in agreement. The Board can see that there is no cover-up or fraud or attempt to deceive, but a desire not to spend hours trying to find the problem.  Mike asked Patrice’s opinion on letting Paul copy her books to get a fresh start. She said she may have been able to help Paul back in January when his starting totals didn’t match the 2019 ending totals, but she didn’t mind since the purpose of two sets of books is to prevent theft and fraud and there is none of that.  The totals are small.  Mike moved to let Paul download Patrice’s backup; Glen seconded; Gary abstained.

            FallFest:    The Board needs to make a decision on whether to hold it or not Saturday, October 23.  Glen said with Covid restrictions that we should not attempt it and moved that it be cancelled for this year.  Gary seconded. Passed.

             Treasurer’s Report and Claims:  Patrice corrected her totals for July and issued a new treasurer’s report for August. Patrice gave the September treasurer’s report (attached).  Total bills for September $4,725.52 and she wants to transfer $4,700 from savings to checking.   Gary moved to approve her report and to transfer the funds; Glen seconded.   Gary moved to adjourn; Mike seconded. Meeting adjourned 9:00 p.m.

 Report by Paul Raymond _________________________________

Attest:  Glen Williamson, Chair______________________________

WILMA TOWNSHIP BOARD OF SUPERVISORS’ MEETING, WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 5, 2020

Public Automark Test

Chairman Glen Williamson called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. with the Pledge of Allegiance. Also present: Supervisors Mike McCullen and Gary Vink, Treasurer Patrice Winfield, Clerk Paul Raymond, Pat Story, and Grader Operator Alden Shute.

Meeting Record: Paul read the record of the July board meeting. Mike moved to approve; Gary seconded.

ROAD REPORT: Alden graded Heller Drive and McCullen Drive. Road Construction Projects for 2020: The big gravel project on Lost River Road is completed with 23 loads of gravel put down and graded. The River Cabin Road frost boil at the end was dug out and rock was put down. The Mona Drive project got 13 loads of gravel. Pat Story said the gravel on Lost River Road is a beautiful color and made a good road, but the cul-de-sac didn’t get new gravel. Alden said that’s because he put gravel on that part of the road within the past two years.

Alden said it’s difficult to reach the grader for cleaning and asked if he could purchase a ladder for the township. Glen moved that he be authorized to buy a 8′ fiberglass ladder; Mike seconded. Passed.

OLD BUSINESS: OLD BUSINESS: Pine County Taking Over Wilma’s Septic Inspections and Permits: Pine County has taken over Wilma Township’s septic inspections and permits, effective July 17^{th. Tim McCullen was their first inspection and permit.}

^{Public Hearing to Solicit Testimony in Consideration of the Reclassification and Sale of 53 Acres of Tax Forfeited Land in Section 18 in Wilma Township: The Board of Commissioners met yesterday at the N. Pine Government Center, Sandstone. Mike attended this meeting and presented Wilma’s position against the sale of public lands in Wilma Township and he said the Commissioners had a long and involved discussion. Some of them seemed very sympathetic to Wilma’s position but only one voted on our side. They said we could petition to acquire the Dollar Lake parcel for the township like we did the park, but Mike said that is not an option for us. Mike was impressed by how informed Steve Chafee was, but he still voted against us. The head of the forestry division was there and Mike spoke for a long time with him. The sale of the landlocked parcel by Glienke’s was voted on and decided earlier, and they advised us that if someone buys it and petitions for a cartway for access that we get a full escrow to cover ourselves for any damages. Mike said they gave him a good hearing and reminded him that there are over 8,000 acres of public land in Wilma Township out of a total of 23,600 acres. Mike said they said we will get 10% of the sale of any tax-forfeited land. They have two more parcels on North Duncan Road, 200 acres, that they want to sell, probably after they clear cut it. Much of the county land is in dedicated memorial forest and cannot be sold.}

^{Contract with Duxbury Volunteer Fire Department: Our annual payment of $4,500 is due, with a new contract to sign. Gary said that was decided at the Annual Meeting; Paul said that only the levy was approved; the board approves contracts. Glen moved that we renew our contract for fire and medical services with the Duxbury Volunteer Fire Department and pay the $4,500 fee; Mike seconded.}

^{Mandatory Judge Training for 2020 Elections: Head Judge/Clerk training was Monday, June 29; regular Judge Training was Monday and Tuesday, July 27 and 28. Paul, Patrice and Gary attended; Glen and Stefanie will take it online.}

^{NEW BUSINESS: Mowing Town Hall: As per Mike’s suggestion, Paul contacted Brock Bloomquist of the Pine Co. Sheriff’s Dept. Sentence -to-Serve program to ask him to mow the hall lawn when he did the County Garage and the Duxbury VFD Fire Dept. Eagle Head Station. He did a good job.}

^{NEW BUSINESS: Primary Election: Will be next Tuesday, August 11, polls open from 10 a.m. To 8 p.m. Paul, Patrice and Stefanie will judge. Automark Public Test: Paul did the test while Patrice was completing the payroll; the new machine was very responsive and it went quickly. Filing Period for November 3, 2020 Election: Kelly Schroeder said deadline to file for the 11/2/2020 election is 5 p.m. Tuesday, August 18, 2020, including for District 3 County Commissioner.}

^{District 7 Meeting: Will be Thursday, August 13 via Zoom. Ballots for Director were mailed to all officers. Link to attend the meeting (The board said anyone who attends will be paid hourly pay): https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82197050558, Web ID: 821 9705 0558. If no monitor camera, can view and participate by phone: 312-626-6799, passcode 82197050558#}

^{Paint Town Hall: Mike said the hall needs painting. Paul volunteered to do it, but Mike said it could be dangerous to be so high on a ladder to do the necessary scraping. Paul and Mike inspected the outside; the biggest problem was spider webs in the board joints and pressure washing would clean the hall a great deal, plus remove flaking paint. Most of the paint is still intact. Mike moved that Paul be authorized to pressure-wash the hall and put off a paint job until next year, when STS may have a crew that is able to do it again. Gary seconded.}

Treasurer’s Report and Claims: Patrice gave the treasurer’s report (attached). Total bills for August $14,516.36, and she wants to transfer $15,000 from savings to checking. Gary moved to approve her report and to transfer the funds; Glen seconded. Gary moved to adjourn; Mike seconded. Meeting adjourned 9:00 p.m.

Report by Paul Raymond _________________________________

Attest: Glen Williamson, Chair______________________________