Orrock board member Gregg Felber decided to bring an item to the board’s attention during open forum at the recent twp. meeting. Normally open forum is reserved for citizens who wish to address the board, but Felber used the opportunity to bring a somewhat politically-charged item to the board’s attention before formally adding it to a meeting agenda. 

Felber spoke about how some cities and towns are adopting language promising to be a second-amendment safe city/town, meaning that, should legislation rule in favor of heavier gun control, those laws would not be enforced in said town/city. Given that Orrock has no policing force of its own, relying on the Sherburne County sheriff’s office, this would be a largely ceremonial action. 

Felber reviewed current gun control standards, saying that individuals who were suspected of being unsafe to themselves or others can have their guns held by law enforcement for up to 72 hours. The weapons will be returned to the individual when it is deemed the situation is safe. Proposed legislation would allow guns to be taken permanently from individuals in a similar situation, with less recourse for the individuals affected. Felber believed the system currently in place works well, and that the new legislation would overstep citizens’ rights.

Treasurer Gary Goldsmith spoke a few words of caution before they finished discussing the topic for the evening. He said that, since the adoption of this policy was largely ceremonial, it more or less amounted to a political opinion, and he was uncertain about the morality of binding all the members to a political opinion, especially if the vote was not unanimous and some chose to vote against the action. He also was uncertain about binding that opinion to the township, when perhaps not all township residents would agree with the opinion.

The board decided to add the item to next month’s agenda for further discussion and consideration.

Sheriff’s Report

Sgt. Luke McLean of the Sheriff’s dept. gave a report to the Orrock town board. The dept. received 103 traffic complaints over the last month. They are trying to get more patrols out on the road to get drivers to slow down. He also noted there has been some thefts reported in the area, regarding items being taken from cars. McLean encouraged residents to take valuable items with them after leaving their vehicles or to stow them in the trunk of the car so thieves are not tempted to break into the car. 

He encouraged residents not to light off fireworks due to the dry conditions this year. 

JP Brooks Agreement

Kevin Clark, a representative of JP Brooks, the developer who is building homes in the Shores of Eagle Lake development, attended the recent Orrock town board meeting. He hoped to come to an agreement with the township where the township took over control of the roads. 

The company is willing to chip seal the roads using funds from an escrow account with the township before giving up control of the roads to the township. However, it was not clear who was the true owner of the escrow account. The account is tied to the land in question and is believed to be held for the purpose of road maintenance, but the land which is now the Shores of Eagle Lake has changed hands a few times before being purchased by current owner JP Brooks. The party that opened the escrow account had to cancel their development plans for the land after becoming bankrupt. 

The board wanted to make sure they were covered before agreeing to let JP Brooks access the escrow funds. They planned to ask Bev Harvey, the owner of the land before JP Brooks (who purchased the land from the bankrupt owner) to promise to reimburse the township in the event that they get sued over using the funds. They thought it was likely Harvey would agree to this. 

The board also wanted to review the HOA agreement for the development, to see what the homeowners are liable to maintain. 

They planned to have further discussions with JP Brooks before coming to a decision. 

Roads 

The board decided to send out a letter to a resident who had parked his trailer in the right of way on a property adjacent to his.

They scheduled tree trimming for the year.

The board discovered that a weight limit sign within the township had recently been removed by an individual in order to get away with exceeding the weight limit. The issue is under investigation, but there were supposedly some witnesses who saw an individual commit the act. 

In Other Business,the Board:

• Adjusted some policy language regarding snow removal and right-of-way;

• Agreed to identify storm drains in the township for the adopt-a-storm-drain project;

• Passed on purchasing a parcel of tax-forfeited land;

• Moved to allow the treasurer to make plans for the American Rescue Plan Funding – the board was hopeful the funds would be eligible to be used for a potential town hall expansion;

• Moved to repair the irrigation system at town hall, so long as the cost is under $4,000;

• Asked that residents call Midco directly with any issues they have regarding their property being torn up by the cable company, as the township and clerk have no power over the issue.