The Palmer township board met Monday evening and reviewed the current expenditures related to its CARES Act funds before appropriating most of the remaining balance.

Treasurer Roger Johnson provided a list of current expenditures, as well as his estimates for the items that are still being purchased and have yet to arrive.  In addition, there are some salaries that will be reimbursed from the fund as they pertain specifically to COVID related expenditures.

The board decided that they would purchase two new laptops with the capability to live stream meetings in the future so they could be held remotely if needed.

Johnson will work with Supervisor Stephen Demeules in securing the computers, as well as monitors and a docking station.

With the remaining balance, the board approved allocating $11,500 to the Clear Lake Fire Department for the purchase of five sets of turn out gear.  This should account for most of the remaining balance of the township CARES funds.

Sheriff’s/Fire Report

Captain Bob Stangler of the SCSO appeared before the board to update on September’s calls for service.  There were 87 points of contact, compared to 80 a year ago for the same period.

Ten of the calls were for suspicious activity, as deputies have been providing extra patrol at the storage facility in town.

Fire Chief Ron Koren reported on 7 calls within the township last month, all of which were for medical reasons.

Road Maintenance

Chairman Mike Ganz reported that the ditch mowing is mostly complete and the board also will be checking to make sure the snow plow contract is up to date with insurance, costs and expectations for the contractor.

Ganz and clerk Kelly McCann have worked on a form that the township will start using to track sign maintenance and replacement.  This will allow all supervisors the ability to sign off on these tasks as they are completed and also provide record of the location and reason for the work.

A resident concern prompted Ganz to check into some signage on a shared roadway with Santiago Township.  MN Dot sets the standards for signage so the board is unable to unilaterally change the signage, but some additional warning signs could be added.  Ganz will forward the issue to Santiago for consideration as the area if within that township’s maintenance area.  To aid in the sight lines on 135th avenue, Ganz said some brush will be trimmed back from the roadway.

Parks

The water lines at the park have been drained and blown out, while the leaves are also under the process of being cleaned up.

Clean up day costs were addressed, as this year the expenditures were about $5,200 higher than a year ago.  Johnson reported that the township was authorized about $9,000 from the county in the form of a SCORE grant and most of the money should be reimbursed.  However, there were some expenses that will end up costing the township more than a year ago.

Lake Association

Demeules reported on some lake related issues including that Eurasian Water Milfoil was found in Big Elk Lake.  It was estimated that it may have been there for nearly a year and was near the outlet area in 4-5 feet of water.  Volunteers went into the lake and removed the plants but it will be monitored moving forward.  Homeowners on Big Elk have also had discussion about creating a LID for help with funding as these issues arise.

Demeules reported on the discovery of the Asian Clam found near the landing on Briggs Lake.  It is believed that these species cannot survive the cold weather and the Sherburne SWCD will be keeping an eye on this issue.  He also discussed fish stocking efforts on the chain, most likely to center around the Sunfish species.

The next meeting of the board will take place on November 9 at the Palmer Township Hall.