The Santiago Twp. Board met last Wednesday and spent a considerable portion of the meeting listening to an update on planning and zoning issues, as Sherburne County Planning and Zoning Administrator Lynn Waytashek and county staffer Jerome Doede were on hand to share information with the supervisors.

Waytashek began her presentation by reviewing the different divisions within her department, and then continued on to provide a summary of the work the county had done on behalf of the township.

Areas under her department’s jurisdiction include building code enforcement, environmental review (such as Wetland Conservation Act), solid waste, and zoning. In 2021, Waytashek reported six new home building permits in Santiago, as well as two solid waste violations and 25 total septic system permits.  

Doede reviewed the specifics of the county’s Septic Compliance Program, which provides grants and loans for individuals and businesses who need to upgrade their septic systems. There are income guidelines for the programs, and assistance is available up to a maximum of $5,000, or 33% of the cost of the upgrade or replacement.

Waytashek mentioned that the grant monies the county receives from the state is a “use it or lose it” type of funding so she encouraged residents to call her office and see if they may qualify for assistance.

She also mentioned that residents would be well-served to seek two quotes on any septic replacements, as her office sees thousands of dollars in variance between installation costs for systems that are specced out in similar fashion.

At the end of her presentation, the supervisors asked to review the zoning regulations for a home that was constructed at the east end of the western portion of 67th St. The township had never agreed to a driveway permit in the area, as the roadway has a cartway designation and there were concerns over how the building permit was issued by the county.  

Chairman Stuart Nelson noted that the area is a peat bog and the cartway was never meant to be a thoroughfare. In his opinion, someone has messed up by issuing the building permit without a proper access to the parcel.

Waytashek had come prepared with the permit application and other materials, but there seemed to be some confusion over the status of the cartway and how access was gained to the home. Waytashek agreed to do some more checking on the easements being used and report back to the supervisors.

Sheriff/Fire

Sgt. Andy Ochs of the Sheriff’s Office was at the meeting for his monthly report on the activities and calls for service in the area. In the past month, 61 calls were answered in the township, including 28 for traffic complaints or stops.  The calls also included five for medical assistance and two vehicle/animal accidents.

The board had a few questions for the fire department, but no representative was present at the meeting. Chair Nelson instructed Clerk Kathy Woolard to reach out to the Becker Fire Department and request the Chief or an Assistant Chief be present at January’s meeting, as there were a number of items that needed to be discussed. Further action on those pending items was tabled until the board could receive satisfactory responses to their questions.

Becker Reps

As has been the case at many meetings over the past year, Becker twp. representatives appeared at the meeting to discuss shared roadway projects. Robin Boros and Joe Danielson were present to “keep the lines of communication open” between the two entities and review future plans for 67th St.  

Boros stated that Becker has budgeted for the work on 67th St. in the 2021 road plan and wanted to make sure progress was going to be made in the near future.  

The Santiago supervisors noted that they had signed the roadway agreement last meeting, but now Becker was requesting a signature of the Santiago Twp. attorney to keep things moving and on track. Nelson agreed to seek out the attorney and see what could be done to satisfy the signature needs, and the board instructed Woolard to keep in touch with Becker Clerk Lucinda Messman about the next steps in the process. 

Supervisor Jeff Pappenfus noted that Santiago is planning to do the culvert work as soon as possible and John Herbst has been working with Sherburne County on the plans moving forward.

The two boards decided to check in again in January or February to gauge the progress and plans for going out for a new set of bids in early 2022, a process that will be overseen by Santiago.

The Santiago board will meet next on January 12 at 7 p.m. at the Township Hall.