During their recent meeting, the Palmer Town Board discussed recent vandalism at the park. They heard the sheriff’s report about the investigation, and discussed it further during the parks report.
Sheriff’s Report
The board heard about a few notable calls for the month of May during the sheriff’s report, including two Facebook Marketplace scams and 22 traffic stops within the township.
They also heard about some suspicious activity, where a Ring camera picked up someone walking at 2 a.m. The sheriff’s department representative believed that the suspicious activity report was related to a vandalism case at the park. A group of juvenile boys supposedly trashed the park. The case is under investigation and the suspects’ parents are cooperating with the sheriff’s department to seek justice.
Parks Report
The board supervisors spoke more about the vandalism at the park, mentioned earlier in the meeting during the sheriff’s report. An outhouse was tossed up over a fence and into the woods. Tables were tipped up on their end, creating a danger for the youngest park patrons. Garbage was dumped out of cans and scattered around. The board supervisors said it took hours to clean up the entire mess. An itemized list of all the damage was being collected to be given to the sheriff’s department. The supervisors figured the crimes were committed by a group of boys between 12:30 and 2:30 a.m. The boys confessed when confronted.
There was a lot of little league action on park baseball fields the night of the meeting. The board made sure to do some fertilizing and seeding to make the fields nice.
The pickleball court fence was erected, but painting still needed to be completed as of the time of the meeting. Workers were trying to work around the rainy weather, and even after the painting the court would need two days to dry.
Roads Report
The board asked that any advertisements be removed from township ditches, as they were intending to mow.
The road committee held a pre-construction meeting for the culvert installation project. They expect construction to begin around the end of July and wrap up in mid-August. Road closed signs will be erected the week before construction begins.
Supervisor Micheal Ganz noted that he had been driving around when he noticed a giant heap of gravel dumped in the middle of the road. The contractor who was using the gravel said he often will dump gravel in the middle of the road during his projects, and didn’t see it as an issue. Ganz said it is an issue and it is not allowed. The township could possibly be found liable for damage if a person ran into the mess at night, for example.
Palmer Environmental Committee
The board supervisors reviewed the township expenses for cleanup day. The township cost came to $11,098.71, but Treasurer Roger Johnson expected most of that to be reimbursed by the county SCORE grant.
The township now has a food waste dumpster as part of a county program. Residents can pick up a bucket and biodegradable bags from town hall during office hours on Tuesday. Residents can add food scraps to the bucket and toss it out at the food waste dumpster. The county will pick up the waste and use it to make natural fertilizer.
In Other Business, the Board:
• Heard the powwow at Two Inlets park went well;
• Heard the fire report which included 11 calls for service;
• Heard the Briggs Lakes Chain Association would be holding their annual membership barbeque soon with a special speaker from the Sherburne Soil and Water Conservation District;
• Gave positive comments on a variance request from the Niemann family;
• Renewed liquor licenses for local businesses.
