During their meeting Monday night, Haven Township Supervisor Jeff Steinmann informed the board he and Supervisor Mark Knowles had met with representatives of Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad and the State Highway Dept. to discuss compensation to the township for closing the 52nd Street railroad crossing.

 

He explained the offer given the township was substantially less than the number they had requested. Because adequate terms weren’t agreed upon, the decision was made to keep the crossing open. It will be upgraded to meet safety conditions.

 

Jon Bogart from Bogart, Pederson & Associates, Inc., updated the board on the progress of the Elk River Estates road improvements. He explained the project was on schedule and paving would be done the following week. Work is expected to be completed by the second week of August.

 

Jeff Rhodes from Driveway Services updated the board on his company’s portion of work on the project, which is also on schedule. Knowles requested he look into filling potholes that had been reported on the Hwy 10 service road and Sherwood West.

 

Schlingmann informed the board their attorney had sent letters to residents of 50th Ave. explaining the township will no longer be maintaining it as it’s been determined to be a private road.

 

He asked the board to consider another road tour in the fall; Sherburne Cty has offered to identify where noxious weeds are located in the township.

 

The board discussed the three-year snow removal proposal submitted by Rhodes; a motion passed to accept.

 

Supervisor Kathy Koslowski thanked Rhodes for the work previously done, saying he’s been very responsive to short notice requests and changes.

 

Sam Larson, representing Nathan Mueller, approached the board to discuss Mueller’s CUP (conditional use permit) request. 

 

Larson explained Mueller has no plans to tear down or enlarge the house, instead he intends to fix the building in order to make it livable while still keeping its historical aspect.

 

A motion passed to send a positive referral to the county, with the provision that it only apply to the current building and a new one wouldn’t be built.

 

Resident Gary Kiffmeyer approached the board to ask when the new signs for Haven Rd. would be in place. Knowles apologized for the delay and stated they would be ordered that week.

 

Kiffmeyer also asked about the gate erected on 54th Street, which has been closed, saying people are going around it and through his field.

 

Knowles explained they could add fence posts along the right-of-way, however people will most likely continue to cut through. He and Steinmann both recommended continuing to inform the sheriff when trespassing occurs so they can catch the violators. 

 

There was no sheriff’s report available at the time of the meeting.

 

The next Haven Township meeting will be August 21 at 7 p.m.