Alexandria Township

Alexandria, Minnesota 56308

Minutes of the meeting of 03/02/09

A regular meeting of the Board of Supervisors of Alexandria Township was held on the 2nd Day of March 2009 at the Alexandria Township Conference Room, 610 Fillmore Street.

ROLL CALL: Supervisors present were Joel Dahlheimer, Bryon Alstead, and Roger Thalman. Also present were Gregg Raisanen, Clerk, and Mona Billmark, Treasurer. As said members formed a quorum and the meeting was called to order by Chairman Thalman at 6:00 PM.

Alstead, seconded by Dahlheimer, made a motion to adopt the agenda as presented. Motion carried unanimously.

Dahlheimer, seconded by Alstead, made a motion to approve the minutes of the 2/18/09 regular board meeting as written. Motion carried unanimously.

Alstead, seconded by Dahlheimer, made a motion to authorize payment of claims 9061 – 9070 in the amount of $18,803.44 and net payroll in the amount of $2,829.64 for a total of $21,633.08 and a transfer of funds from savings into checking in the amount of $10,000. Motion carried unanimously.

PLANNING AND ZONING: Zoning Administrator Oleson stated that the Planning Commission had forwarded the preliminary plat of Outlot-A, Lake Jessie Meadows, First Addition to the town board and recommended approval with four conditions. The conditions are: First, that the old County Road 81 right-of-way be vacated prior to final plat approval; second, that the sewer stub be installed and approved by ALASD prior to final approval; third, that an approved drainage easement be provided to adequately accommodate drainage coming from the county road ditch to the south/southwest of this lot and fourth, that no permits be issued until a grading/fill plan has been submitted by the applicant addressing drainage from the ditch and potential erosion. Some driveway and culvert changes may need to be made. The township engineer prior to issuance of permits will review the plan.

Clerk Raisanen read a letter from Charles Klimek, stating his concerns with the project. Oleson commented that Mr. Klimek was present at the planning commission meeting and his concerns were discussed at that time. Engineer Kuhn said that the erosion situation sounds like an issue with his property rather than a driveway issue.

Supervisor Dahlheimer expressed concern as to the amount of water run-off onto this lot. The board asked Zoning Administrator Oleson if this could be classified as a buildable lot according to our ordinance. Oleson stated that it does meet the minimum requirements. He also said that the planning commission proposed a 20-foot easement to handle the run-off, which would then be re-directed and/or contained in a small area on the west side of the lot.

Supervisor Ross joined the meeting.

Questions raised were: should the developer re-grade or would that be the responsibility of the buyer? Should the township require a conditional use permit? Oleson stipulated that the planning commission felt confident that there would be enough controls in place for the lot to be developed properly; i.e. by placing conditions on the plat and ultimately on the building permit. A concern raised by the board is that a potential buyer may not be aware of the restrictions on this lot. Oleson stated that legally the lot meets the minimum requirements. The burden would be on a potential buyer to look at the public record or contact the township. Motion by Alstead, seconded by Thalman, to approve the preliminary plat of Outlot A, Jessie Meadows with the four conditions recommended by the planning commission. Roll: Alstead – yes, Dahlheimer – no, Ross – abstain, Thalman – yes. Motion carried.

Zoning Administrator Oleson reported that the planning commission had discussed home-based businesses. He stated that the planning commission recommended sending this issue to the zoning subcommittee for further discussion when it reconvenes later this year. The town board assented.

ENGINEER’S REPORT: Engineer Kuhn recommended that the town board approve roads in Geneva Estates East {Old Glory Drive, Yorktown Court, Constitution Court, Patriot Court, and Colonial Court} by resolution. Motion by Alstead, seconded by Dahlheimer, to approve Resolution 09-01, a resolution recommending approval of the roads in Geneva Estates East. Motion carried unanimously.

The town board discussed pavement striping for 2009. Engineer Kuhn stated that the county is putting together the striping plan for bids. Township policy is to not re-stripe low-volume roads. Some residents living on roads recently overlaid have requested that striping be done. Engineer Kuhn’s recommendation is not stripe low volume residential roads. Ross, seconded by Dahlheimer, made a motion to not stripe roads this year and to re-visit the issue next year. Motion carried unanimously. Supervisor Ross also requested that we obtain a ruling from our township attorney to confirm that a) we are not required to stripe; and b) we are not exposing the town to liability.

The board discussed a private road off of Erickson Heritage. Some residents, who live on the private road off Heritage Lane, were present and interested in learning the process for having their road blacktopped and maintained by the township. The platted property in question consists of six parcels along the lake and six back lots. The residents are asking that blacktop be extended only past the three residences along the lake. Engineer Kuhn’s estimated costs were $2,000/lot for blacktop and another $2,500 – $3,800 for road upgrades, rounding up to around $4,600/parcel. The potential blacktop assessment would affect six lots, since the other six lots are undeveloped. It was noted that those owners of the undeveloped lots have not expressed interest in this project. A resident stated that the road, if extended, could connect with East Lake Geneva Road to the north. The residents will contact all parcel owners to try and obtain unanimous approval to go ahead with the project, thus avoiding the costs and delays of public hearings.

BOARD OF AUDIT: Chairman Thalman opened the board of audit meeting at 6:40 PM. Clerk Raisanen presented copies of the audited financial statements and a revenue/expenditure analysis for the township for the past 10 years. In 2008, the township spent $83,463 less than what was received. Clerk Raisanen reported that the balance sheet shows a total liability and fund balance of $835,553. Total revenue for the township in 2008 was $1,106,831 and total expenditures were $1,023,168. The fund balances in all of the accounts were in the black and total fund balance at the end of the year was $621,972. Alstead, seconded by Ross, made a motion to approve the audit report. Motion carried unanimously.

NEW BUSINESS: Clerk Raisanen presented a 2010 budget as recommended by the Budget committee in the amount of $1,049,127, which is a 3.9% decrease from the 2009 approved budget. The recommended 2009 levy to support the 2010 budget is as follows: General Revenue- $145,210, Fire Protection- $95,000, Parks and Rec.-$43,000, Road and Bridge- $172,421, Snow and Weed- $52,271, Blacktop- $118,705, ALASD- $170,000, for a total of $796,607, a decrease of 8.3%. Alstead, seconded by Ross, made a motion to present the 2009 levy as recommended to the annual meeting. Motion carried unanimously.

Park dedication account – Clerk Raisanen stated that we had received a letter from the county regarding the park dedication fee. The township had chosen to not contribute to the fund for land acquisition regarding Kensington Runestone Park. Clerk Raisanen said the township had begun building a fund for possible park improvement. As of the end of this year, the total amount contributed in Alexandria Township was $52,500. The goal is to get enough money in the township fund to possible purchase land for a future park.

Being no further business Ross, seconded by Alstead, made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Meeting adjourned at 7:15PM.

Respectfully Submitted.....

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Gregg Raisanen, Clerk

Approved this _____ day of _________, 2009

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Roger Thalman, Chairman