Vice-Chairman Mark Knowles presented two proposals for paving work at the Monday meeting.  As the planned Sherwood West construction is unable to go forward after some residents in the project area declined to sign construction easements, Knowles suggested that the township proceed with a $15,000 resurfacing project in the town hall parking lot, and a $24,000 project using recycled tar to create a new road surface on 65th St.

 

The parking lot has sustained damage from heavy trucks depositing road-building materials on it this spring, Knowles said. Contractor Jeff Rhodes would do the preparation work on the lot, Knowles said, and Hardrives, Inc. would do the resurface paving of the 1 ½” overlay.  The road project bid is from B & G Excavating, Knowles said, and the recycled tar would be used to create a 4-inch surface to create a “gravel-type” road surface.  The material “packs very well”, Knowles said, would minimize dust in the summer months and would be easy to plow in winter.

 

In the subsequent discussion of the 65th St. project, Supervisor Randy Linn said that the cost of the project seemed too high.  Supervisor Mike Pesch agreed, stating that the cost of the project has risen 20 per cent from the previous year when the board had considered the same project.  Supervisor Kathleen Sims-Kosloski said that the board is responsible for the maintenance of town roads, and, if work is required, they are obligated to do it.  Pesch said that another bid on the project would give the board a better picture of the current market.  Projects costing under $75,000 do not require townships to seek more than one bid.

 

At the close of the discussion, the board voted to approve the town hall parking lot project, and tabled the 65th St. project until the July 21 regular meeting.

 

Chairman Jeff Schlingmann suspended the meeting to conduct a public comment session on a request from Knife River, Inc. to expand a gravel mining operation from the current 39 acres to 59 acres.  When no comments from the audience were forthcoming, Schlingmann then reconvened the regular meeting, which began with a proposal from Ron Klinker, environmental and land development manager for Knife River, Inc.

 

Klinker said that the current 39-acre plot will shortly be exhausted, and the company is seeking the additional 20 acres to provide for an additional two years of use on the site.  The operation will be conducted under the existing regulations for the original 39-acre plot, with hours of operation from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m., no blacktop plant on site, and no mining under the current water table depth.

 

Schlingmann asked if any Haven residents had registered complaints with the company regarding the current operation, and Klinker replied that there have been none to date.  Schlingmann also suggested that the company change the existing Conditional Use Permit (CUP) on the property to an IUP, which would make it easier to sell the property once the gravel mining is completed, since an IUP is not transferrable to the new owners, while a CUP “is forever” on the property documents.

 

Following the presentation, the board voted unanimously to approve a “positive comment: to be passed on to Sherburne County for final approval of the plan, with stipulations that the company adhere to existing regulations and the IUP replace the CUP going forward.

 

Schlingmann told the board that Sherburne County Engineer Rhonda Lewis had recently expressed “some confusion” over the terms of the turn-back of County Road 66.  He said that Lewis had been under the impression that the township had waived a two-year maintenance agreement which would see the county handle snow-plowing during that time.  The agreement, as spelled out in state statutes, would also call for the county to complete a reconstruction of the roadway before turning it over to the township permanently.  Schlingmann said he did not recall the township agreeing to waive the maintenance portion of the plan at the most recent meeting on the subject.

 

Attorney David Meyers suggested that the matter can be resolved with a simple phone call to Lewis, which Schlingmann said he would make this week.

 

Schlingmann also said that Lewis has informed the township that the 54th St. bridge environmental assessment is ready to go forward, and the process of removing the bridge is in process.

 

The sheriff’s report for May showed 69 calls for service in Haven Township, most of which were traffic-related, Deputy Johnson said.  Three residential thefts were investigated, and two cases of copper wire being stolen from irrigation equipment are also under investigation, he said.