During their May meeting, Township Building Inspector Nancy Scott came before the board to discuss a number of issues.

First was a rebuttal to comments made about her performance and the building permit process by township resident Dave Johnson during the March meeting, followed by a review of the township form for applying for a construction site permit.

Scott brought up concerns that the language on the form can be somewhat confusing and because of this, the form is sometimes submitted incomplete or incorrect. The board will compare the form to applications used by neighboring townships to see where improvements can be made.

Scott questioned whether subdivisions over an acre of land will be disturbed, as the current ordinance is not clear whether this rule applies to each individual permit or if it applies to the project as a whole. The township will check with the county and township engineer for clarification.

Scott also made a recommendation to the board to discuss and formalize a permit refund policy. Supervisor Tom Plaggerman will check with the township attorney and surrounding townships to see how they handle funds. The matter was tabled to the June meeting.

Fire Contract

The board reviewed an invoice for the 2023 fire contract with the City of Clearwater, which included a deficit from 2022. Plaggerman reached out to the city for details and was told it was due to increasing costs, the expense of training new members, and the fact that the fire department income was less than expected due to the credit issued in 2022 (which came because they were under budget in 2021). The contract with the fire department allows for an annual credit or deficit.

Other Business

Supervisor Dennis Niemi informed the board he had spoken with Concrete Concepts regarding the town hall foundation repair; their bid from fall 2022 has not changed. Because of this, a motion carried to approve the cost of the repair in November 2022 still stands. Niemi will work with Concrete Concepts to get the repair scheduled.

Closing on the new township land was on April 20.

A site visit will be set up for Twp. Engineer Andrew Vistad and Jerry Konz to verify there have been no changes to the property since the lot survey was completed in November 2022.

Tom Peterson approached the board to share his concerns about the set speed limit of 55 mph along 4th Ave. E. The board reviewed information from Stearns Co. Engineer Jodi Teich which included speed limit/zone statute 169.14, 169.011, and options for the process.

Supervisor Scott O’Konek presented the findings from his research to see if the road qualifies under rural residential district and enforcement, which will be sent to Teich. The item was then tabled to the June meeting.

The board reviewed the user guide for Stearns Co. Emergency Management (SCEM) Services Damage Assessment Tool, which can be used to document and submit photos of any damage experienced in the township.

Motions carried approving:

• Stief/Frederickson Cascade Road property certificate of compliance;

• John Matthees Co. Road 145 property certificate of compliance;

• Anderson Trucking minor plat;

• Annual Pilgrim Pride hauling permit

• Renting a bobcat to assist with sign removal and repair in the township, not to exceed $700.

The next Lynden Twp. meeting was June 5 and will be covered in a future edition of the Patriot.