The planned project on 64th Street and 36th Ave. requires that all property owners in the neighborhood sign a new construction easement before bids on the project can be solicited.  A small number of residents have done so, with the remained having voiced concerns about the project and the size of the easement (15 feet) asked for by the township.

 

The board had stated at several previous meetings that all of the property owners would need to sign the easement if the project was to go forward, and it held a special meeting with detailed project maps to allow residents to see exactly what would be involved in the work.   

 

Township resident Joe Sexton told the board that he felt that the amount of water going into the adjoining lake from residential and agricultural land is “unacceptable” to residents who own lake homes because of the adverse effect it will have 20 years into the future.  

 

He also said he had been informed that the Sherburne Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) and the MnDNR had funds available for efforts to curb water run-off.  He also asked if the $250,000 the board had set aside for the project could be set aside for a year or so until more information and possible county/state aid was available.

 

Vice-Chairman Mark Knowles said the township had been informed at the beginning of the project that there were no SWCD or MnDNR funds available at that time.  He also stated the roadway and ditch re-sculpting was the responsibility of the township board and the focus of the engineering designs created.  There were no issues raised by state or county agencies in regard to possible effects on the watershed area at the time of the design.

 

Knowles also said the $36,000 spent on survey and design work on the project is “far more” that the township had spent on any other project in recent memory.  The volume of water moving through the area will not change the current road plan, he said, as the township will need the ditches to be at the depth required to move water off of the roadway, their primary responsibility.  It may be possible to install some smaller culverts, Knowles said, but removal of trees in the easement area and other changes will be necessary if the plan is to succeed.

 

Residents Skumautz and former board member Lewis Stark also addressed the board, with Skumautz expressing concerns for the 20 homes on the lake and potential degradation from excess water run-off.  Stark listed a number of potential solutions involving land in the surrounding area, and the possibility of plantings and other means of holding or re-directing water run-off.

 

Chairman Jeff Schlingmann stated that water run-off issues are “beyond the scope of what we have to address” in terms of the road project, and that the township has no authority over what is done or not done on private lands, such as creating a holding pond.  The township is responsible for “providing a decent road for the neighborhood,” Schlingmann said, and the project has been “engineered to the parameters to which we build our roads.”  He also said the township has not been informed as to any violation of state or federal regulations in the design of the project, and that the residents must now decide whether or not they want the road repaired at this time.

 

Responding to the question of whether the township can put the $250,000 set aside “on hold” for the future, Supervisor Kathy Sims-Kosloski stated that, while the board could do so, they would then have to explain to the rest of the township why other projects are not being done instead.

 

Schlingmann said the cost of the project over one year would certainly increase, and township residents may not favor adding an extra $50,000 to meet those costs.  The project can be “put on the shelf,” he said, but there is no guarantee that the funding will be there in the future.

 

Supervisor Mike Pesch said the board had been visited may times in the past by residents of the area asking when the road would be repaired, and that the engineering, planning and funds are in place now because the board “stepped forward” and committed to the project.  He also pointed out that delay will certainly increase the cost of the project, with no clear path to increased funding in sight.

The board took no immediate action on the issue following the discussion, and the project remains in limbo pending resolution of the easement issue.

Other Business

Schlingmann told the board he had been contacted by Sherburne County Engineer Rhonda Lewis in regard to possible state aid for the removal of the bridge on Co. Rd. 54.  The Town Bridge Program is funded through the Highway Users Tax Distribution Fund, and Schlingmann said it would be sufficient to meet the $50,000 estimated cost of removing the bridge, which would result in a “big headache gone” for the township in the future.  Following the discussion, the board unanimously approved a motion to apply for the funds.

 

Knowles told the board a final road sign inventory is underway, and he anticipates holding off on rotating all of the township signs until next year, since they are currently in compliance with state guidelines.

 

Schlingmann told the board a public hearing would be held in April on the township Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems (MS4). 

 

Sims-Kosloski said a proposed state law would require all regional airports such as St. Cloud and Duluth to “coordinate” their schedules with the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport in an effort to avoid duplication of service.  She expressed concern the new law would require communities to have state approval to deal with airlines as they seek to improve local air service.

 

She also said she will have the forms needed for volunteers at the May 17 clean-up day at the town hall at the April 21 board meeting.