Big Lake Twp. held a brief regular meeting Wednesday, March 24. The board discussed franchise agreements and roads, as well as took care of some other regular business.

Cartway Public Hearing

The township held a public hearing about creating a “cartway” for a landlocked property. A cartway is a strip of land over another person’s property used to access a property that doesn’t have its own road access. The township was hesitant to allow the cartway, as it can be unclear who has the responsibility of maintaining the driveway, but, fortunately, the party who was inquiring about the cartway believed they may be able to find a solution with their neighbors without involving the township. The board then decided to recess the public hearing until their next meeting, April 14.

BLFD February Report

The Big Lake Fire Dept. received 25 calls for service in the month of February, trending upwards from last year. The department trained in search and rescue in February, and have been training with ladders this month. The training is currently taking place at a house that was donated to the fire dept. Chief Seth Hansen said he hopes the department will soon be able to have a live burn in the old building, so firefighters can practice for an emergency situation. 

Chief Hansen reminded citizens that conditions are dry at the moment, though he hoped the rain would help the situation. Regardless, conditions are ripe for wildfires, and he asked residents to avoid burning at this time.

Franchise Agreement

The township continued to make steps towards a franchise agreement with Midco. The board approved some details in the language of the agreement, such as the amount of money to be held in escrow ($10,000). The board decided to send out copies of the agreement to Skynet and Charter as well, in case those companies wished to (respectively) create or renew a relationship with the township. 

A public hearing about the franchise agreement will be held April 28 during the regular meeting. 

Roads

After putting out a bid for overlays, the township approved Knife River’s bid, being the lowest. The bid came in significantly under budget, and Supervisor Bruce Aubol asked the engineer and the road committee to look into any other projects they could get done this year, as long as the funds were available.

The board also considered putting aside money to purchase swing-away mailboxes for township residents after having some issues over the winter. The road committee will review this issue, and information will be made available on the township website, and possibly through a mail flyer, if the township decides to provide mailbox posts to residents.

The annual spring road tour will take place this week, April 5 & 6, starting at 7:30 a.m. at town hall. Supervisors will use this opportunity to see for themselves the condition of the township roads. Residents are also welcome to attend. 

Announcements

The Big Lake Twp. board of equalization will be held Thursday, April 8, at 9 a.m. Residents who wish to contest their property value as evaluated by the county may do so at this meeting.

There will be a frozen meal distribution for residents over 60 April 22 from 10 a.m. to noon at the Lions Park. The meals are provided by Catholic Charities Senior Dining.