Approval of a public hearing date for a request for a cartway and a change in road right of way in the plat of Lake Julia Park, a report on the progress of the proposed Lake Improvement District (LID) and a closed session to discuss legal strategy were among the items on the agenda at the regular meeting of the Palmer Town Board Monday night.
Public Hearings
The board agreed to set two public hearings to deal with a request for creation of a cartway and to extinguish road rights of way on property in the plat of Lake Julia Park at the Monday meeting. David Westby had appeared before the board in April to request some type of documentation regarding the cartway/road rights of way in regard to township property the Westby family is planning to sell. After visiting several county agencies, he asked that the board provide some kind of written assurance regarding access to the property that could be presented to potential buyers.
The board agreed to suspend the regular meeting on Monday, June 9, with a public hearing on the cartway petition set of 7:30 p.m., with a second public hearing on the extinguishing of certain road rights of way in Lake Julia Park set for 7:45 p.m. that same evening.
Legal Matters
The board went into executive session following the regular meeting Monday to discuss strategy in regard to the pending appeal of the March, 2013 decision of the Sherburne County Board of Adjustment in regard to grant variances granted on the Perkins property, on which the town board had earlier declined to provide positive comment.
Township Attorney David Meyers had earlier said that a decision from the Circuit Court is expected on or around May 23.
Lake Improvement District
Briggs Lake Chain Association President Dan Merchant informed the board that no petition has been circulated as yet in regard to the proposed Lake Improvement District (LID), and that, while the LID idea remains popular, details of the proposed taxation plan are not universally popular, especially the current assessment projections.
Merchant said that it will be difficult to assess each property on the lakes the same, due to differences in size and value. If approved, the process would apply only to lake properties, not to other residents in the township, he said.
Other Business
The sheriff’s report indicated 80 calls for service in Palmer in the previous month. Of those, 30 were traffic stops, resulting in four citations. The list included three ATV complaints, and a high number of “high water violations” issued to boaters on township lakes.
The fire report indicated 20 calls in the previous month, including eight medical in Palmer Township along with two fires.The MnDNR burning restrictions are still in effect, the report said.
