The Palmer Twp. Board met Monday evening and Chairman Mike Ganz started things off with a moment of silence in honor of the 9-11 anniversary.

Next, the board spent considerable time discussing items related to Palmer Park, including repairs made to the bike trail and the possible installation of a disc golf course.

The Palmer Park committee provided an update on their current projects, as well as the results of the survey they conducted regarding the use of the park.  Responses included praise for the cleanliness and safety of the park, in addition to ideas for additional programming. Additional copies of the survey are available at the Town Hall.

The nine hole disc golf project has been mapped for the west side of the park, with the hole layout complete. According to information available at the meeting, there are nearly 10,000 disc golf courses in the United States, with nearly 600 in Minnesota.  

Other information included possible signage for the course, adding the layout to a popular app that is used by disc golf players and potential liability for users of the park.  The budget for installation of the course, as well as all materials came in just under $6,500.  

The supervisors took the disc golf presentation under advisement and will consider moving forward in the future.

Supervisor Steve Demeules then updated the board on the Big Elk Lake Park project, including information on the survey work being completed and the status of Tribal Monitors overseeing all of the work.

Demeules detailed phase one pf the deconstruction project, which will include the removal of eight buildings.  Temporary fencing will be installed in certain areas of the park and additional funding continues to be pursued.

Lake Association

Demeules also reviewed recent happenings with the lake association, including the upcoming Carp survey, lake bottom core samples and continued water sampling.

The Two Lakes Improvement District started training for its new members, and discussions are already underway for efforts this winter to educate people on making sure their dogs are not using the lakes as a litter box during the ice season.

Fire Hall

Several residents in the audience asked for some clarification on the potential future pans for a new Fire Hall for the City of Clear Lake. Currently, Palmer is home to Station 2 of the department, with the CLFD providing the equipment and Palmer Township having paid for the construction of the building.

Ganz and Demeules noted that no official request has yet come to the township for funding for the potential new station in Clear Lake, and any discussions they are currently having are to give a voice to the citizenry surrounding any possible contribution.

There seemed to be consensus in the crowd of their satisfaction with the current arrangements and the need to keep a strong CLFD presence locally.

The supervisors assured those in attendance that they will keep the lines of communication open if and when the issue continues to be discussed in the future.

Road Report

In the road report, the supervisors noted that some mowing was accomplished before Palmer Day, while the asphalt patching has been finished. A few shouldering projects were also completed in the past month, putting the roadway edges in good shape before winter commences.

In road related news, the board approved several expenditures from the ARPA fund for this summer’s construction projects (109th and 42nd), while the work continues on 115th with asphalt expected on September 18th.

In Other Business, the Board:

• Heard from Commander Ben Zawacki, who presented the SCSO report, noting 99 calls for service last year for the month of August and 93 calls this year.  Traffic stops and extra patrols continued to make up the bulk of the activity;

• Listened to CLFD Chief Ron Koren’s update, and he detailed 17 calls for service, with five being in Palmer;

• Approved the new electronic locks which will help to better control access at the Town Hall;

• Approved positive comment for a CUP for Kyle Strang to construct an outbuilding, provided he has a water management plan to deal with run-off.