The Orrock Twp. board met August 19. Among the topics discussed, it was clear the board had big ideas for the future of the township. Orrock can expect to see some updates to roads and to the town hall in the near future.

Elections

Two hundred twenty Orrock Twp. voters showed up to cast their vote in the primaries  August 11. The election was held at the Sherburne County Snowmobile Trail Association Trail Shed. Assistant clerk Chris Weber stated that the new polling location received a lot of positive feedback.

Orrock Twp. will be using this location again for the November elections. By then, the board hopes to put up signs indicating where to park, and have the building professionally cleaned again.

Three positions are open on the township board this November. Election day is November 3.

Propane

The board approved a motion to pre-buy propane in order to heat town hall over the winter. Last year, 590 gallons of propane were used between October and May. Pre-purchasing propane can cause it to be cheaper in most cases, although a situation could arise in which the going price suddenly drops dramatically, such as with gasoline prices at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Still, the motion carried, as the board saw little risk in the venture.

New Security for Town Hall

The board is engaging Wright-Hennepin Security to install a new security system in town hall.This would include adding sensors to the doors, motion detectors inside the building, and a panic button in case of emergency. Installation was estimated to cost $965.95, with a monthly fee of $35.90 for monitoring services. The new lock on the door will allow authorized persons to access the building with a unique code, which can be changed when the person is no longer an authorized user- for example, when a board member leaves office.

Road Maintenance and Improvement

Some of the roads in Orrock are in need of maintenance. The board moved to engage North Metro Tree Service to trim trees alongside township roads to increase visibility. The estimated cost for this would be $75,000. Another $39,000 is going towards general road improvement.

The board contemplated changing official literature to require culverts in some new-construction homes in the future. This should help to regulate snowmelt in the springtime. The board decided to table this discussion for next time.

The board then considered purchasing an ice crusher machine to help maintain roads in the wintertime. This would make Orrock roads safer, and the town could possibly lease the equipment out to other communities as a source of income.

Orrock street signs also need some updates. The board decided to create a virtual map of road signs in the area and roll out new signs over the next few years. A similar strategy was suggested for implementing swing-away mailboxes throughout the community.

Sherburne County Bank CDs

Sherburne County Bank has given Orrock Twp. an incredibly high interest rate in CDs the town has purchased. Treasurer Gary Goldsmith was asked to investigate purchasing another one or two CDs in order to take advantage of the high interest rate available.

Sheriff’s Report

The sheriff reported 144 calls, two cases of domestic violence and two sexual assaults. The sheriff also noted that he and staff had been helping to investigate homicides outside of their jurisdiction.

The board questioned the sheriff on whether anything could be done about hooligans frequently doing “doughnuts” in the area. The sheriff responded that there was an increase in “doughnuts” and similar shenanigans across the state, and he chalks it up to pent up energy.

He went on to discuss the situation at the Eagle Lake public access. The board mentioned that during busy weekends, Labor day, for example, the parking at Big Eagle Lake would fill to capacity and then overflow onto both sides of the road. This creates a dangerous situation for traffic driving through. The sheriff responded that if such an issue should occur and create a hazard, concerned citizens should contact the police. He also noted that the sheriff’s office was working with the DNR to possibly increase the amount of parking in the area.