During their May meeting, the Orrock Town Board heard from a resident from 233rd Ave., who spoke during open forum to complain about water collection on his road. 

The water collection makes navigating the road difficult for the local residents, as well as for services like garbage collection and postal service. 

Supervisor Dalton Keiderling followed up on the complaint later in the evening, showing the board pictures of the area in question after some rain. Keiderling said the water pooled up to four and a half inches in places. The board discussed how there used to be a ditch for the water to drain into, but it naturally filled and flattened out over time. The board agreed to look into digging out the ditch again as a stopgap solution, and move up reconstruction of the road as a permanent solution. 

From the spring road tour, the road committee noted some roads had significant sinkholes that they asked town handyman Darryl Waletzko to look into. 

Sheriff’s Report

The Sheriff’s Department reported 122 calls for service in April. This was down significantly from the 219 calls in April 2024.

Some notable calls included a response to a camper in the Sand Dunes who hadn’t registered their campsite or paid the fee, which was sorted out along with a park ranger. The department received some littering complaints and also responded to a self-inflicted injury of a non-resident. Finally, there was some illegal dumping in a local parking lot and officers are keeping a closer eye on the area.

Prairie Restoration

At the previous meeting, the board discussed options they could pursue with the native prairie restoration project by town hall. When town hall was rebuilt, Orrock residents voted to use native prairie grasses instead of a manicured lawn, but the board member balked when they saw the cost of mowing by the company they had been working with, Prairie Restorations. The company was asked if there was any way they could adjust their price for a more limited scope of work, but the company declined. 

Town Clerk Shelley Erickson met with Sherburne County Water and Soil Conservation District (SWCD) who stated that the plants were coming in very nicely, and after a couple years of continued growth the prairie would need very little maintenance. In the meantime, the board asked town handyman Darryl Waletzko to take care of the mowing.

IT Update

Erickson reported she had a productive meeting with DATASuccess. The IT company went through the township’s computers and cleaned out some old programs, which already has the machines working much better. 

Erickson also reported she created a YouTube channel for meeting videos. 

In Other Business, the Board:

• Approved tobacco license renewals for local businesses;

• Heard that Big Lake Recycle Day was an overall success, but that attendance was down from prior years;

• Reminded the audience that a permit is required to remove any vegetation, sand, or rock from shoreline areas, and that more information about this could be found on the township website;

• Discussed the county’s adoption of a Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) ordinance and that the board may see residents approach hoping to build an ADU on their land;

• Approved a gambling permit for Ducks Unlimited of Zimmerman for a gun raffle bingo event;

• Heard that the field audit of the township’s finances was complete and the board could expect a presentation at an upcoming meeting.