Treasurer Randy Linn had presented a payable 2016 levy of $370,000 at the Haven Township annual meeting last Tuesday night, which was approved by the voters in attendance.  The levy has remained the same for the past three years, and gives Haven residents one of the lowest levies in the area.  Total receipts for the 2016 budget were $427,375 and disbursements were to $421,575, leaving a projected $5,800 surplus.

 

After a short discussion, the board voted to approve the 2016 budget and levy as presented, with Chairman Jeff Schlingmann, Vice-Chairman Mark Knowles, Treasurer Randy Linn and Supervisor Kathy Sims-Kosloski voting in favor of the measure.  Supervisor Mike Pesch did not attend the Monday meeting.

 

Schlingmann informed the board that the township may end up bearing some responsibility for bills sustained by a domestic cat that was injured by a car on Hwy 8.  The animal survived the impact, and was taken by the motorist to the emergency veterinary clinic in St. Cloud.  The clinic contacted Schlingmann in regard to treatment and cost, at which point he told the facility to “do what it had to do” in regard to treatment, if it was determined that the animal could survive, which it subsequently did. 

 

The owner has not been identified, according to the discussion, and the animal is now convalescing in a foster home before being put up for adoption at the Tri-County Humane Society in St. Cloud.

 

The situation became more complicated when Township Attorney David Meyers stated that, once the animal was picked up and taken for treatment, the township had no authority to have the animal put down, since it was the property of the owner.

 

Knowles pointed out that the township has no animal control officer, and that “if we do one” (pay costs for one injured animal), the floodgates will open.”  Sims-Kosloski said she felt that such costs were not a proper use of taxpayer money.

 

In the future, Meyers advised the board to “have no position” on such cases, since the township has no established ordinance dealing with injured privately-owned animals.

 

The board also discussed the details of a single-hauler refuse collection program.  While the voters at the annual meeting last week were strongly opposed to the idea, Knowles said that he believed the board should continue to study the matter, mainly for the benefit of the township roads.  He told the board that, from a maintenance standpoint, the continued heavy truck traffic will require more frequent and expensive assessments to repair roads if the present system continues.  The board agreed to continue the discussion at future meetings to provide more information on the potential benefits of such a system.  The entire process to begin such a system would take “about a year,” Schlingmann said.

 

Dorein Johnson from the Canine Agility of Central Minnesota addressed the board, thanking them for their support in recent years as the operation worked through some problems with unsympathetic neighbors at the Hwy 8 location.  She informed the board that the site has recently been sold, and the spring event can no longer be held there.  The group planned to close the facility after that event in the face of mounting legal costs in any event.  Johnson asked the board members to contact her if they were aware of any comparable sites in Haven Township, since her group had enjoyed working with the township during their time at the site.

 

The annual Clean-Up Day will take place on Sat., May 16 from 8 a.m. to noon at the Haven Township Hall.