Ditches, township elections and solar farms were some of the numerous things talked about at Wednesday’s Santiago Twp. Board meeting.

 

The board voted to approve a ditch policy and discussion turned towards the idea of clearing out 300 feet of a 1,250 foot of ditch line on 7th Street. 

 

The ditches along 7th Street have been overflowing and spilling out onto the roadway — caused by several beaver dams. More research has been done to determine if the township can act without a permit in the cause of the “public good” or because of road safety and damage caused by flooding.

All issues and decisions need to be approved by the Minnesota DNR and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers before proceeding.

 

Further discussion also revealed the idea that not just the 300 feet needs to be cleared but the entire line of 1,250 feet.

 

Chairman Stuart Nelson said he would provide the new information to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and then “go ahead if we so choose to.”

 

Nelson, whose land would be impacted by the project, cannot vote on any decisions that would involve improvements along 7th Street.

 

Matt Weber of the fire department said the Becker Fire Board approved the idea of selling their old grass rig to Santiago. The truck is valued at $10,000 and is a highly effective vehicle in getting to areas where a large pumper truck cannot go. It can also provide transport for responders on other types of calls and would be useful in cordoning off emergency situations like traffic accidents.

 

The board discussed the proposal and voted in approval of purchasing the grass rig. Fire Chief Doug Kolbinger will be asked on how to go about transfering the vehicle.

 

Weber also reported there were 32 calls for service last month with 22 being medical, one being a fire and one being a fire alarm.

 

Weber reported for the parks committee and said things are relatively slow right now but he has heard that Clear Lake is conducting talks about using the softball fields in the spring and summer. Weber said Princeton is also discussing the idea of using the fields.

 

A donation came in for the parks fund in the amount of $25 from a resident.

 

Contractor John Herbst said he would be salting this week and said nothing much else was an issue during last week’s” nuisance storm.”

 

Supervisor David Jehoich displayed maps and documents identifying the two parcels in Sherburne County being considered for solar farms.

 

One of the properties is in Clear Lake and the other in Big Lake.

 

Jehoich said he wanted to bring this information forward to anyone who might be interested in following the projects. The Clear Lake solar farm — which Jehoich said the zoning board approved — sits on 241 acres while the Big Lake farm — not approved yet — sits on 269 acres.

 

The company interested in installing the solar farms is Sunrise Energy Ventures out of Minnetonka.

 

Last week it was reported the county hasn’t approved anything yet and are still having issues with the ordinance drafted.

 

Clerk Kathy Woolard made a suggestion of moving the town election each year from March to November, which would in turn change all the terms of each supervisor, clerk and treasurer.

 

Woolard said two of the supervisor’s terms would be up in even years and have a four-year term. Chairman Nelson’s seat would be up for election on odd years and also have a term of four years.

 

The biggest changes would be to the clerk and treasurer positions, which currently are two-year terms. With the change, the clerk’s seat would be up for election every federal fourth year while the treasurer’s would be on the state election years. Both positions would have four-year terms.

 

Nelson expressed his concern for changing the terms  longer, especially for the positions of clerk and treasurer.

 

Further discussion by the board and from members of the audience spurred the idea to leave the decision to the people of the township. Nelson said he thought it would be a good idea to let the citizens know what is being proposed, then decide if it will or will not be on the upcoming ballot.

 

“Let’s leave it to the voters,” he said.

 

With one more meeting still on the calendar before the annual meeting in March, the board felt comfortable that the citizens of Santiago will make their voices heard on the township election subject.

 

Forty-three calls for service came into the sheriff’s department in December with 13 being reported as traffic calls and four being alarms.

 

The next Santiago Twp. Board Meeting is Wed., Feb. 10 at 7 p.m.