After lengthy, and sometimes chilly, negotiations, the board and the county reached agreement on the terms by which Haven Township would take over ownership and maintenance of Co Ro 66, the full text of which was presented to the board for approval at the Monday meeting.

 

Under the terms of the agreement, the county agreed to a reconstruction of CR 66 to current county standards as part of the 2016 construction schedule, a project that will be much more expensive than the “mill and overlay” resurfacing that had been originally considered.  The township also agrees not to seek “any additional fiscal reimbursement, maintenance ort additional upgrade” after the reconstruction is completed, and will also take over maintenance of the roadway immediately after the construction is completed, rather than having the county retain maintenance for two years after turn-back, which is the usual procedure.

 

The board approved the agreement unanimously Monday night, with Chairman Jeff Schlingmann, Vice-Chairman Mark Knowles and Supervisor Mike Pesch voting in the affirmative.  Supervisors Randy Linn and Kathy Sims-Kosloski were unable to attend the meeting.

 

Knowles commented that the agreement is “a great deal for us,” and Pesch stated that the final agreement term were “much better than the deal they wanted to give us at first.”

 

After being held up in traffic, Planning Commission Chairman Pesch convened a meeting after Schlingmann suspended the regular board meeting for presentations on two simple plat requests.  No comments were forthcoming from the audience during the public hearing portion of the commission meeting, and positive comments were approved on both requests for presentation to the township board later that evening.

 

In the Prairie Pine Second Addition plat request, Brad Pauley appeared before the commission representing property owner Phyllis Behrens in regard to a proposed split in the property layout.  The current zoning regulations would not allow the property to be split, Schlingmann said, and creation of a simple plat would make the change possible, since it involved three or less lots with no new road construction required.

 

The Amcon simple plat request involved a change from a “meets and bounds” property description to one which would include a “platted lot,” including descriptions of a house, showroom and 13 acres of warehouse space for the property alongside of Hwy 10.

 

After the regular board meeting resumed, taking into account the positive comments from the planning commission, the board voted unanimously to approve both the preliminary and final plat requests in both cases.

 

The board also approved the use of a new driveway access application form, which will also be used when new culverts are needed on private property.  Knowles reported that sign replacement is underway in the township.  A proposal to seek bids for a recycled asphalt project is currently on hold, he said.

 

Schlingmann asked the board to study the current township fee schedule, and to return with recommendations for next month that would bring the township more into line with the surrounding area in terms of charges for services.

 

The sheriff’s report for June indicated 50 calls for service, with 14 traffic stops, one motor vehicle accident and one vehicle fire among the items reported.

 

The board also approved the Board of Canvass to convene at 8:30 p.m. Tue., Nov. 4. Polls close at 8 p.m. in the fall election.