The first public hearing involved a petition for a cartway from David Westby, the trustee of the Phyllis M. Westby Trust which owns property in the Lake Julia plat that the family would like to sell.  According to Palmer Township Attorney David Meyers, state law does not allow a township to “land-lock” a parcel of property by denying access.  Any resident owning five or more acres of property has the legal right to petition the township for a cartway, Meyers said.

 

The second part of that public hearing involved a proposed license agreement between Westby and Palmer Township that will grant Westby or the new owners permission to construct and maintain a private driveway on both the north and south sides of the property in the Lake Julia plat from Hennepin Ave., including 33 feet of on the north and south ends of Nicollet Ave. as shown on the Lake Julia plat.

 

The license agreement grants Westby and his successors a license to construct and maintain a private driveway in the town right-of-way, which can also be used for all public utilities.  The license can transfer with the sale of the property, and any changes need the written consent of Palmer Township.  The license agreement can be terminated by Palmer Township at any time on six months prior written notice to the owners.  The owners may also terminate the license agreement at any time upon written notice.

 

The agreement includes the following:  “In no case will Palmer land lock the Westby property.  Palmer reserves the right to use and improve the Town Right-of-Way as public road, so long as Westby or the then owners of the Property have access by the existing North and South sides to their Property by the public Right-of-Way.  Palmer and Westby agree that the Rights-of-Way may be used only for access and utilities.”

 

The owners of property adjacent to the Westby parcel, Cary and Diane Becker, have engaged legal representation to ensure that their interests were represented in the matter.  In a letter to Meyers, attorney Thomas Olson wrote that a statement from Chairman Michael Ganz that the town “has never accepted, nor has it ever spent money on any of the road right-of-way shown on the plat, lying east of Hennepin Avenue; now 115th Avenue” is an “acknowledgement that an abandonment had occurred as to the “alley.”

 

Olson’s letter also refers to an “alley” in reference to the extinguishment as shown on the plat of Lake Julia Park north of the Becker property, and goes on to say that Meyers had told his clients that the establishment of a private cartway near or at the location of the extinguished road right-of-way would require damages paid to the property owners affected by the establishment of a cartway on their property.

 

The letter also seeks an explanation of the plan to extinguish all but the “seemingly arbitrary” north 33 feet of the right-of-way, cite an existing township ordinance that requires driveways intersecting townships roads to do so at a 90-degree angle for public safety and emergency vehicle access, when the town can confirm a cartway across property north of the “alley” which would comply with the 90-degree requirement.  Non-exclusive use of the roadway or “alley” between Nicollet Ave. and Hennepin Ave. (117th Ave.) was also listed as a concern.

 

 Cary Becker appeared before the board at the hearing to list several objections to the cartway/license agreement action by the township, including a question as to why action on the cartway petition had been moved to the Dec. 8 town board meeting.  Meyers said he had placed the matter on the agenda then should problems arise with the driveway license agreement to preserve access. 

 

Westby stated later in the discussion that he could not withdraw the cartway petition until the driveway license agreement question had been settled.  The property, if sold in two parcels, would require two driveway access points, he said.  Becker stated that the cartway would take property away from a landowner if it went forward, and he also questioned the width of the proposed driveway, which is not contained in the legal description, he said.

 

At the conclusion of the hearings, the board voted unanimously to grant the existing license agreement to Westby, with any further action on the cartway petition tabled until the December meeting.

 

The board also voted in favor of the extinguishment of the road right-of-way on Nicollet Ave., except for the 33-foot sections on the north and south ends, which the township retains.  On advice from Meyers, the board members did not sign the extinguishment order Monday night, as the county auditor’s office had requested a review of the document before final approval.  The board expects to sign the order at the August regular meeting.

 

Briggs Lake Chain Association President Dan Merchant reported that the July membership meeting featured a presentation by Steve McComas, an aquatic ecologist and well-know radio personality who operates as “The Lake Detective”, who described containment efforts involving exotic invasive species including Eurasian milfoil and curly-leaf pond weed.  The program also included a discussion of the proposed Lake Improvement District with Commissioner Felix Schmiesing, Merchant said.

 

Work has begun on a project to install large rocks at the dam on the Rush Lake access, he said.  A formal construction plan will be provided to the MnDNR on the effort.  The BLCA has also obtained a grant, and milfoil spraying has been done on area lakes, he concluded.

 

The sheriff’s report for June indicated 101 calls for service, including 45 traffic stops resulting in 11 citations, according to Capt. Robert Stanger.  

 

There were four lake citations issued, along with nine warnings, and the department investigated a report of someone throwing rocks at carp fishermen one evening.  A suspicious package report was investigated, and resulted in the deputies moving the boxes to the correct address after determining that they had been miss-delivered.

 

A community forum on heroin addiction will be held at 7 p.m. Wed., July 30 at Becker High School, Stanger said.  The program will deal with the efforts of law enforcement to interdict the supply, methods of prevention and discussions with users.  The program is open to the public and admission is free of charge.

 

The board also approved a snow plowing contract with Clint’s Excavating for the 2014-15 season.