A road report, a building report, a park report and a visit from Steve Karel from the Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge were all part of Wednesday’s Santiago Town Board meeting.

 

Karel said he wanted to come to Wednesday’s board meeting to introduce himself and to start building a relationship with the township.

 

Karel is a 19-year veteran of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and he took up the reins of former manager Anne Sittauer in 2012. Prior to coming to the Sherburne Refuge, Karel was the deputy refuge manager of the Quivira National Wildlife Refuge in central Kansas near Stafford and the assistant manager of Rainwater Basin Wetland Management District in Kearney, NE.

 

Karel said he wants to encourage people in the community and the state to visit the Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge, especially the new $1.6 million Oak Savanna Learning Center. The Refuge plans to hold a grand opening/ribbon cutting event June 7 at 9 a.m.

 

“Come over and tour our new building and experience what we have,” Karel said. “It’s a great thing for Sherburne County and it helps people get connected with nature.”

 

Karel also mentioned the upcoming migratory bird day today (Saturday) from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. at the Blue Hill Trail, one mile west of the Refuge headquarters on Co. Rd. 9. There’s also a pollinator party immediately following the bird event from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

 

Dave Jehoich said the brushing project was almost done and grading was in process to take the “washboarding” out of some roads.

 

He also mentioned a new driveway that went in at 16406 41st Street and was unsure if the property owner had applied and received a permit to do so. 

 

Discussion ensued about some boulders in a right-of-way off 7th Street and the need for a culvert. The boulders, Jehoich said, could be hazardous for plows and other large vehicles who need to maintain the ROW.

 

Chairman Stuart Nelson said he would talk to the property owner and see what his or her plans are for the property. Nelson plans to bring his findings back to the board at June’s meeting.

 

Jehoich also said he contacted Jeff Peterson and ordered five signs for the township.

 

All was good reported for the park and it was mentioned some cement was going to arrive soon and will need to be installed soon before the upcoming baseball tournaments. A few makeup games are on the horizon and traveling leagues starting up soon, so the work needs to be completed soon.

 

Also, work needs to be done on the horseshoe pits and the Lions have stepped forward to provide funding for the repairs and the manpower.

 

John said he is working on the lighting  issue in the parking lot where he suggests the township convert their lights to LEDs to save money over the long haul.

 

Dave said the conversion would mean the bulbs would go from 400 watt to 155 watt and emit the same amount of light. He also said the life expectancy of each light would equal about 76,000 hours. The lights are also warrantied for five years with a 10-year life expectancy.

 

The cost to the township for converting to LEDs would come in at around $4,700 with a $960 rebate from the energy company. With an approval to move on, the lights would be ordered and be in the hands of the township within two weeks.

 

“It’s a no brainer,” said Nelson. “Let’s get it done.”

 

The board agreed and voted in favor of purchasing the new lighting system.

 

Seventy-two vehicles were said to have come through for the recent clean-up day event and it was reported the items filled up two packers. The township made $400+ on rolls of metal and the workers filled up the entire tire cage.

Electronic items were up and appliances down in contrast to last year.

 

The board thanked CentraSota for providing a front-end loader that was used for mashing metal.

 

Thirty-nine calls for service came into the Sherburne County Sheriff’s office for Santiago with 15 being traffic situations.

 

• The board approved the paying of bills amounting to $21,211.27;

 

• A contract for the new voting equipment was voted on and approved in the amount of $1,731.53 (cost share);

 

• A bid came in from Kevin Anderson for mowing the area and it was noticed the bid was the same as last year and from the same service provider. The board okayed the bid.

 

The next Santiago Twp. Board meeting is June 13 at 7 p.m.