Haven Township received three bid packets for their Elk River Estates road improvement project during their meeting Monday night.

 

The three bids came from Tri-City Paving, Knife River and Hardrives; Knife River’s bid of $591,716 gave them the apparent low bid. A motion passed to turn all the bids over to the township’s engineer, Jon Bogart of Bogart, Pederson & Associates, for review.

 

Monday night’s meeting was recessed at its conclusion; the board will reconvene on April 24 to accept or reject the bids, after which a final award determination will be made.

 

Township Attorney David Meyers updated the board on research he’d done to determine why the township was maintaining 50th Ave, as it’s a private road.

 

He explained the township has been maintaining the road for over 30 years, however if people are only using it to access a piece of private property it’s not considered a public use.

 

The board discussed potential options to the issue, including just stopping the maintenance, and decided to keep it as a discussion item for the time being.

 

Supervisor Jeff Schlingmann informed the board that although 54th Street has been closed and barricaded, ATV riders have cut the trees down on either side of the right of way so they can get around the gate, and also have another trail going behind it. 

 

The sheriff has been advised of the issue; people going around the barricade can be cited for trespassing.

 

Supervisor Mark Knowles requested the township purchase vests that will identify the wearers as Haven Township supervisors when they visit private properties.

 

Supervisor Kathi Kosloski will look into options; a motion was made for her to spend up to $500 on township vests and vehicle door magnets.

 

Cleanup Day is scheduled for May 13 from 8 a.m. to noon.

 

The sheriff reported 91 incidents for March, including 42 traffic, seven medical, three accidents, one fraud and one DUI.

 

The next Haven Township meeting will be May 15 at 7 p.m.