During the December meeting, the Orrock Town Board held a heated discussion regarding access to the town hall office.
The new town hall is mostly finished, with a few finishing touches still needed. Town Clerk Chris Weber asked the board about whether they would like a mail organizer to be hung on the wall near the entrance of the new town hall building, where Weber could leave mail for each supervisor to pick up at his or her convenience.
Supervisor Anne Felber suggested the mail organizer be hung in the office, but Weber said that wouldn’t be a good location because the office will be locked most of the time, and that only she and the treasurer would have keys to access the office.
Supervisor Felber asked why supervisors wouldn’t be given keys for the office, to which Weber replied that it is the clerk’s duty to make sure files are in order and in order to do that, there should be minimal access given to the space. Supervisor Bob Hassett supported Weber, saying there have been issues in the past with supervisors, not maliciously, moving and losing records, and that it creates issues for the clerk.
Supervisor Felber stated that it sounded as if the clerk were deliberately trying to hide things. At this suggestion, Weber and the other board members expressed their offense.
To clear things up, the board held a vote on who should be allowed access to the office, and the majority of the board opted to keep the status quo. Supervisor Felber suggested that the board would vote to keep her from seeing hidden information.
Town Hall Project
The town hall project is mostly complete now, and Supervisor Paul Ellinger suggested that Town Clerk Weber and Supervisor Bryan Adams be given a one-time bonus for all the hard work they put into the project, which came out far under budget. Both Weber and Adams respectfully declined the bonus, but the board does intend to honor their efforts in another way, perhaps with a plaque.
Sheriff’s Report
Derek Barret introduced himself to the board as the new representative of the Sherburne County Sheriff’s Office. He reported no major happenings for the month, and also said calls for service for 2023 remained similar to 2022.
Sgt. Austin Turner, the former representative, will be moving into a new role in the Sheriff’s Office in investigations.
Board of Appeal Meeting
The board set the Board of Appeal meeting for April 10. The Board of Appeal meeting allows residents to come and discuss their township portion of property taxes on an individual basis.
Election Dates
There will be three elections held in 2024 at Orrock Town Hall, including the Presidential Nomination Primary on March 5, the General Election Primary on August 13, and the General Election/Town Board Election on November 5.
In Other Business, the Board:
• Approved a town hall lease agreement with Hope Up North, a sobriety support group;
• Discussed potential changes to the town hall lease agreement;
• Approved a gambling permit for the Zimmerman chapter of Ducks Unlimited, who will be holding a bingo event as a fundraiser at the Getaway Bar on February 24;
• Approved sending out an annual newsletter to township residents;
• Set an open house for the new town hall building for the day of the annual town meeting, March 12.
