A potential solution to an on-going driveway access issue, after action reports on the Palmer Day festival and missing fire hall equipment and a mysterious geyser in the middle of the ball field in palmer Park were among the items discussed at the regular meeting of the Palmer Township Board Monday night.  

 

Supervisor Steve Demeules chaired the session in the absence of Chairman Mike Ganz, who was out of town on business.

 

Township Attorney David Meyers informed the board that a solution may have been reached between the three landowners involved in an ongoing disagreement regarding driveway access and/or a cartway being created to provide guaranteed access to property owned by the Westby family in the plat of Lake Julia Park.

 

David Westby had approached the board several times in the past; seeking some kind of guaranteed access to the family property that he said was needed before he could sell the land.  The township had moved to extinguish right-of-way to make that happen, and had placed a hearing on a cartway on the property on the agenda for the December meeting, if no solution was reached.

 

On Monday night, Meyers told the board that a potential solution had been reached between Westby and the owners of the adjoining Becker and Briggs properties.  The solution the three parties came up with requires the extinguishment of a different section of township right-of-way that was previously discussed (see attached map).  Meyers also said there may have been errors in the original survey of the property that compounded the problem.

 

Demeules asked if this was, indeed the “final solution” to this issue from the township’s point of view, to which Meyers replied that it was, in his opinion.  

 

Supervisor Richard Larson then said that if the parties involved could provide the township with a legal document to that effect signed by all three parties, it would be in the interest of the township to support the proposal.  Meyers said that such a document would likely be forthcoming, which ended the discussion.

 

Treasurer Roger Johnson and Briggs Lake Chain Association President Dan Merchant stated that the Palmer Day event had been a great success, with perfect weather, outstanding parade and an excellent car show among the highlights of the one-day festival.  Merchant said the BLCA food booth had done an excellent business throughout the day, and Johnson said other vendors reported similar success.  Larson said he had been approached by some attendees with questions about “day-old bread” in some of the hot dog and hamburgers and also relayed some complaints about the fried cheese curds, which Merchant vigorously defended, since he had done much of the cooking. No complainants came forward during the meeting, however.

 

Clear Lake Fire Dept. Asst. Chief Steve Schrader noted in his fire report that several items had gone missing from the Palmer fire hall during the day, including mops, buckets and a squeegee.  He said that the department is considering painting such equipment “hot pink” to deter unauthorized borrowing.  Schrader found himself under the hot lights shortly after that report, when an audience member speculated that the leak in the ball field may have been caused by a large fire truck running over a junction, though no witnesses came forward on that matter, either.

 

Johnson reported that the Earth Day clean-up will cost the township an additional $82 for processing abandoned television sets.  The sheriff’s report indicated 80 calls for service in Palmer in August, with 40 traffic stops and 10 citations issued.  In the fire report, Schrader reminded residents that the “fall heating season is starting,” and suggested that this is a good time to have stoves and furnaces cleaned and batteries checked  in smoke detectors.

 

C. Perry Schenk appeared to thank the board for their support of water issues in Sherburne County, and to invite the board members to a Rural Runoff Water Workshop being conducted by the Sherburne Soil and Water Conservation District.