The Clear Lake Twp. Board of Supervisors held their meeting at the Clear Lake City Hall Tuesday night, the first time they’ve held a meeting in a location other than town hall since they took ownership of the building in 1948. The township will be meeting at city hall until the new township hall is built within the next two years.

 

 

Chairman Gary Gray informed the board the City of Clear Lake seems reluctant to move forward on the orderly annexation, although they had approached the township about the matter in 2017. The township spent money to draft an orderly annexation agreement and presented it to the city in October 2017 for review. To date, the details are still not worked out.

 

“I’ve been trying to do this with the city for two years,” said Gray. “I think they’ve fumbled the ball, this doesn’t benefit the township at all. Both attorneys have agreed on it. My recent proposal to the city was to all meet and hold a public hearing so landowners have the opportunity to speak their minds, but before that happens there needs to be an agreement between us.”

 

“We can do it piecemeal if they want and we can fight them every time, or we can just take care of it all at once.”

 

 

Twp. Engineer Terrance Vander Eyk reported Knife River has tentatively scheduled the 108th Ave. overlay to start on May 24, pending weather conditions and availability of aggregate materials.

 

The new fire fill station is substantially complete; however, the original design didn’t include provisions for filling the ditch section between the two access points to Co. Road 8; the county requested this section be filled and agreed to provide the material needed.

 

Eight additional equipment hours were necessary to complete the dirt work request, resulting in a change order of $1,000. A motion carried approving the change order. A second motion carried approving partial payment of $13,630 to the contractor.

 

 

Dave and Michelle Martin approached the board to request a home business IUP (interim use permit) to be situated on their 90-acre parcel. Currently they’ll be using their two-stall garage for the business, but in the future plan to build an 1,800-sq. ft. detached garage.

 

Gray asked if they were comfortable with the contingencies listed by the county; the couple indicated they had no problems with it.

 

Seeing no issues with it themselves, the board agreed to send a positive comment form to the county.

 

 

Gray reported closing on the old town hall was completed on May 7. After closing fees and realtor costs the township netted $31,500 on the building.

 

A discussion was held on what to do with various items that had come out of the town hall that are no longer needed, as well as where some items should be located during the time the township is without a hall.

 

Supervisor Bud Stimmler reported that at the fire board meeting the need for a new fire hall in approximately three to five years was discussed. 

 

Caretaker Ronnie Juenemann was thanked for his 20 years of service to the township with cake and refreshments.

 

The sheriff reported a quiet month with 30 incidents, including five traffic violations, four medicals and a garbage/littering complaint after someone dismantled a bike in a ditch.

 

The next Clear Lake Twp. meeting will be at 7 p.m. on June 18 at Clear Lake City Hall.