The swearing in of newly-elected officers, approval of a bid for brush cutting work in the township and an annual report from the Becker Fire Dept. were among the items on the agenda at the regular meeting of the Santiago Town Board Wednesday night.

 

Clerk Kathy Woolard conducted the formal swearing-in ceremony for re-elected Supervisor Jeff Pappenfus and new Treasurer Patricia Simonsmeier prior to the start of the meeting.  Pappenfus received 32 votes in the Tuesday election, while Simonsmeier polled 27.  Both were unopposed on the ballot.

 

Supervisor David Jehoice moved that the board accept a bid for $8,400 for brushing work on 41st st. and 165th Ave. from contractor John Herbst.  Following a discussion, the board voted unanimously to accept the current bid without calling for bids on the project, in part because it will be easier to complete the work while the ground is still frozen.

 

The board will put out a call for bids for snow-plowing and other seasonal work in December.  Chairman Stuart Nelson stated that the board had no issues with Herbst’s work for the township to date, but that the matter should be opened to the public in the interest of transparency in township affairs.  The board also approved a motion to publish a call for bids on lawn maintenance at the town hall.

 

In the Becker Fire Dept. annual report, Matt Weber stated that the department had handled 383 calls in 2014, with 54 of those in Santiago Township.  Pappenfus asked how many of the 383 calls required Santiago equipment to respond, to which Weber estimated just over 50.  A distance formula is used to determine which fire stations respond to specific calls, and alerts are displayed on screen in each fire station.  Weber also told the board that the BFD expects to sell their current grass fire truck in the near future, a low-mileage vehicle that Santiago may wish to consider adding to the fleet at the station.  Nelson said that the current station would not have room for another vehicle, but that the township would continue to study the matter.

 

New carpeting will be installed in the town hall in early April, Weber reported.  The current individual carpet tiles will be replaced by a one-piece unit.