The Haven Township Planning Commission met prior to the town board meeting and provided a favorable recommendation to the board on the feedlot setback ordinance.

 

 

The board unanimously approved Ordinance NO. 2013-3, which amends Ordinance No. 2013-2 to include details for an required Interim use Permits (none required), Environmental Assessment Worksheets (required for operations with 500 to 1,000 animal units (AU),as well as specific distances required from residences, parks, lakes and other restrictions (See attached chart).

 

Haven Township had approved the original zoning ordinance after the Sherburne County Board revoked the existing county ordinance earlier this year.  The areas of the township not included in the Orderly Annexation Area are still subject to state feedlot ordinances.

 

 

The board approved a motion directing Chairman Jeff Schlingmann to proceed with an application for reauthorization of the Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems (MS4), which has a deadline at the end of the month.  Township engineer Jon Bogart is working with Schlingmann on the application forms, which include a host of specific questions regarding current water management practices.

 

The township will be examined in terms of water quality issues, drainage, wetlands and river input, among other things.  Attorney David Meyers said that there will be many “No” boxes checked on the application, and that the township “may get beat up pretty hard” in terms of what enforcement actions the state could require from the township board.

 

Schlingmann commented that there will be a host of new regulations coming in the future, some of which “will be hard for a five-member volunteer board to deal with.”  He also said that the township does not have the funds available to hire additional staff to deal with the increasing level of regulation, though help will very likely be required in the future.  Schlingmann also said that the unfunded mandate to comply with the new regulations is “onerous at best” from the township’s point of view.

 

 

Vice-Chairman Mark Knowles told the board that some “informal” easement agreements had been reached with property owners in the Sherwood West area where the road project on 64th Street and 36th Avenue is scheduled to begin next spring.  A number of temporary construction easements are currently being negotiated as well, Knowles said, and must be concluded before bids are taken on the project next year.

 

Assuming success in that area, the board approved a motion to publish a call for bids in January, and the bid opening day to coincide with the regular board meeting in February.

 

 

Schlingmann reported that the board had met with a group of Sherburne County officials including engineer Rhonda Lewis in regard to the reversion of Co. Rd. 91 to Haven Township ownership.  Questions were raised in regard to language in the documentation regarding “ownership in perpetuity” and any “litigation or any disagreement” that could arise from ownership in the future.  Schlingmann stated that the actual documents would have to be studied before any action was taken, and the matter will remain on the board’s agenda for the immediate future.

 

The sheriff’s report indicated 70 calls for service in Haven Township in November, of which 37 were traffic-related.

 

Knowles reported that the renovations to the town hall had been completed, and that the project had come in $5,000 under budget.  Some of those funds will now be applied to needed repairs to the heating system, and insulation in the attic area, he said.  The board agreed to address the issue of an outdoor sign for the town hall at a subsequent meeting.

 

There was also some dark muttering from attendees who had had to trek through deeper than normal snow to attend the meeting, as the hall parking lot and sidewalk had not been cleared as of Monday night.